Chapter Text
June paused, and for a fleeting moment it looked as if she wanted to say something. She closed her mouth, and stayed silent instead. The uncomfortable and stale air surrounded them again.
Junpei then realized that they should probably investigate the room they were in. They had talked for quite a while in the quaint space, and he didn’t really feel like wasting anymore time- especially considering their 9 hour time limit.
The place looked a bit like the flooded room he was in at the beginning- a cabin came to mind. Both had beds, but the drastic difference in quality made Junpei think that this was a higher class suite of some kind. In his immediate area, he could see a couch, table, display case, vase, and the faint outline of another door down the short corridor.
He wondered what sort of escape room Snake, Ace, and Seven were in right now.
“Hey, we should look around the place… we got pretty distracted.”
June nodded in agreement.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t even notice… sorry Jumpy- I’ll get right into investigating!”
Junpei chuckled dryly. Maybe he didn't have to worry about June so much after all.
“You go to the bedroom- I’ll stay here.”
The pair of unfortunate adults split to look around the 2nd class cabin, with June sauntering towards the aforementioned bedroom. Junpei had stayed behind in the main room with swirled thoughts in his mind. The silence let his mind wander.
The [ship of Theseus]...
It was a thought experiment that presented the problem of what identity is for an object when it’s juxtaposed with what an object is . When the ship is entirely replaced with new parts, is it still the same? How does one define what a boat is? There were endless possibilities on how to go about answering it, but a few explanation seemed the most logical to Junpei.
—[option A]—
Involving the law would be the easiest way of answering the paradox. The ship is the same even after all of its parts have been replaced, because it is still registered as the same ship.
That line of thinking had a few gaps though. Boats have existed long before the law, so how would you answer this question in a time period with no government? It depends too much on the context of modern civilization.
—[option B]—
To determine if it is the same ship, counting the original parts and comparing them to the amount of newer parts should yield a result. If there are more original parts, then it is the same ship. But if there are more replaced parts, it is not the same ship.
The logic fell flat on its face when Junpei considered what would happen when there are equal amounts of old and new parts in the boat. He didn't want to try and wrap his head around that thought.
And finally,
—[option C]—
It was up to Theseus himself to determine if the ship is the same as before. Ultimately the boat is his and no one else owns it, so he should get the final say on the topic.
Junpei didn't know what to make of option C. It did make the most sense, but it wasn't enough for him. There must have been a definitive answer other than ‘it is subjective’. Measurable truths of the universe existed and all Junpei had to do was uncover the guarded secrets. Sure, philosophers and mathematicians have been trying to do the same for millenia, but who said a failing college student couldn’t try to do the same?
Junpei was interrupted by June. It must haven’t taken her too long to examine the bedroom.
Her words were laced with a melancholic tone.
“Junpei… I…”
She gripped at her scarf, and stared down at her bracelet. The glare that reflected off of the screen was ill placed. From Junpei’s angle, he wouldn’t have been able to make out what number June had if she hadn't told him earlier.
“If… we make it out alive…”
June holds her scarf tighter.
“Please promise me something.”
Junpei’s heart lurched.
“Of course. What is it?”
“...”
June kept staring at her and Junpei’s bracelets. She was fixated on them, increasingly so as the seconds passed. Her body language was reminiscent of a terrified girl, awaiting her horrible destiny.
“... Don’t forget me.”
Junpei’s mouth opened, then closed, and opened again. He felt like a fish out of water- how could he possibly forget June? Akane ? Why did she want him to promise her that?
“Hey, I won’t. You have my word- I’ll cross my heart and hope to die.”
Junpei did a crossing motion on his heart to emphasize his point.
June tried to smile, but it was meek and half hearted. Her once cheerful attitude had evaporated and left a shell of who she once was.
“... okay.”
The ship continued to creak and groan. It should have been adjacent to nails on a chalkboard, but in reality was closer to the sound of someone screaming for help.
Junpei wondered what hid in the walls of the ship.