Chapter 2: Passive Time Traveler
In the living room,
Marcus was shocked by the Transcendence System's theory. According to the Transcendence System, wasn't he a traveler who had traversed time?
"Yes, the host has indeed traversed time," the Transcendence System confirmed Marcus's guess.
"Based on the system's analysis of the host's fluctuations in the river of time, the host is a prisoner of the Time Cage, a passive time traveler," the Transcendence System explained.
"The host feels out of place in this world, yet has a vague sense of familiarity with some information. This is because the host possesses a talent for true time perception, causing the Time Cage's time reversal to not fully affect the host's soul, resulting in some memories remaining in the host's soul," the Transcendence System explained in detail.
Listening to the Transcendence System's explanation, Marcus's heart sank. "I'm a prisoner, then who owns this Time Cage?"
"I'm sorry, host, the system doesn't have enough destiny points stored to pierce the fog of time and glimpse the truth," the Transcendence System responded.
"Destiny points?" Marcus wondered.
"In different civilizations, destiny has different names, including 'fate,' 'karma,' 'predestination,' and so on. According to the technological understanding of the world where the host resides, destiny can be understood as 'causality,'" the Transcendence System explained.
"Destiny is the system's most important resource. If you possess enough destiny, you can reverse all fates," the Transcendence System explained the importance of destiny.
Marcus immediately asked, "Then how do I obtain destiny?"
"Reverse destiny!" the Transcendence System answered. "If the host can reverse an originally fixed destiny, then they can obtain the corresponding destiny points."
"Reverse destiny?" Marcus was puzzled again. "How do I reverse destiny?"
The Transcendence System responded, "According to the host's understanding, the host can understand this as the system integrating the host into the world of certain movies."
"Movie worlds... changing the fate of movie worlds?" Marcus added, "Then are movie worlds real worlds or virtual worlds?"
"What is real, and what is virtual? According to scientific research in the host's world, the observable universe currently spans 93 billion light-years, which is indeed enormous. But what if we shrink 93 billion light-years to a diameter of 3.66 inches? Have you considered what lies beyond the observable universe?" the Transcendence System countered.
"If we compare the universe to a baseball, are there other baseballs outside it, and what contains them?" the Transcendence System asked again, providing an example.
Marcus remained silent; he couldn't answer this question.
"Take the wave-particle duality of light as another example. When not observed, it exists as a wave, capable of existing in multiple places simultaneously; but when observed, it becomes a particle. The famous double-slit experiment and delayed-choice experiment illustrate this. So how does light know it's being observed?" the Transcendence System asked again, providing an example.
"The world is the world!"
"Warning! The system has detected the Time Cage rewinding time. To protect the host, the system has urgently opened the World Gate, transporting the host to a movie world," the Transcendence System suddenly warned.
"What world?" Marcus asked.
But the Transcendence System had no time to respond. After a moment of disorientation, Marcus found himself in a dark alley.
"Where am I?" Marcus silently asked the Transcendence System.
He had just been in his living room, and now he was in a dark alley. According to the Transcendence System, he was definitely not in his original world.
"Please wait. The system is searching for information about the current timeline. Please take special care to protect yourself," the Transcendence System replied.
Marcus became wary. He was in an unfamiliar environment and definitely needed to be careful.
While waiting for the Transcendence System, Marcus stood in the shadows, observing the situation outside the alley.
"The cars are old, the buildings are old-fashioned, and the clothes people are wearing... Could I have traveled back in time to the past?" Marcus quickly analyzed.
"Ding!"
The Transcendence System issued a notification.
"Good news for the host. The system has officially confirmed the detailed information of the current timeline. It is now May 12, 1984, Los Angeles, California."
"After a system scan, there are no supernatural forces in the current spacetime, which is very advantageous for the host," the Transcendence System added good news.
Marcus complained, "What the hell are supernatural forces?"
"Naturally, they are the forces that the host imagines: magic, chi, psychic powers, and even cultivation abilities. Due to the Time Cage, the system cannot control the destination world on its own when the World Gate is opened for the first time. Now, entering a technologically-based world is very beneficial for the host's early development," the Transcendence System explained the situation.
"But I must warn the host of some bad news: the host has entered another Time Cage," the Transcendence System delivered the bad news.
"..." Marcus was speechless.
"Please rest assured, host, this time the Time Cage is a temporal paradox cage, not an ordered existence, but a natural occurrence in the river of time. After the system's matching, the current world is the world of [The Terminator] in the host's memory," the Transcendence System reminded him.
Marcus quickly recalled the plot of [The Terminator], and it took him several minutes to remember the general content.
Kyle Reese, the protagonist of The Terminator, is a time traveler. He is the father of John Connor, the future leader of humanity's resistance. He is ordered by John Connor to travel back in time to 1984, where he protects and falls in love with Sarah Connor, resulting in John Connor's birth.
There's a logical contradiction here!
Without John's order, Kyle wouldn't have traveled back in time, and therefore John wouldn't exist.
But without Kyle's journey back in time, there would be no John, and therefore no order from John.
So this is a temporal paradox cage!
"Why are we in a Time Cage again?" Marcus asked, a headache forming. He now felt terrified at the mere mention of a Time Cage.
"Because the host is marked by a Time Cage. Even if you leave your original world, under the influence of fate, when the system cannot intervene, the host is captured by other Time Cages in endless spacetime," the Transcendence System responded.
"Please rest assured, host, once you accumulate enough destiny points, you can escape the Time Cage with the help of the system," the Transcendence System added.
"How many destiny points do I have now?" Marcus asked.
"Please check for yourself." After the system replied, it displayed the relevant information in Marcus's mind.
Host:
Marcus Foster
Destiny: 19
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Constitution: 9
Spirit: 22
Note:
The maximum four-dimensional stats for an average human is 10 points.