Chapter 365: Dawn
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Teacher, why can observation affect the result? Sorry, teacher... Am I too stupid and not suitable for learning quantum physics?"
"Don’t worry. You are not stupid. Quantum theory can by no means be comprehended by ordinary people. Not that observation can impact the result, but both results exist at the same time. Only when you begin to observe it can you know what happened actually. Imagine Schrödinger's classic thought experiment, where a cat was kept in an absolutely sealed black box, in which a poisoned bottle, controlled by a radioactive switch, filled with highly toxic cyanide, was placed later. The rate of decay of the radioactive material was uncertain, and you never knew when the switch would be triggered, so before you opened the black box and observed it, you had to realize the cat may either be still alive or could be dead, right?"
"Well... I seem to have understood that, but teacher, why use a cat to do this experiment? Wasn’t it cruel?"
"No one has actually done this experiment... no one probably has. This is just a thought experiment, and that cat only exists in our imagination, so it’s not a cruel experiment. Besides, Schrödinger’s cat is a better name than Schrödinger's cockroach, isn’t it?"
"Haha, teacher, you're right. I'll try to think again."
"Well, take your time. Imagine as much time as you want."
...
Its ears moved a little bit. It woke up.
Outside, some inexplicable and vague dialogues were drifting through, as if in its proximity, but it seemed like they were from a very far distance. Before it was about to yell for help, outside quieted down swiftly.
What is this place?
There was the familiar coldness of metal beneath its body.
Wait! Am I not dead?
It shuddered for a moment and remembered what hadhappened! It was locked in an indestructible metal black box, with a strange black and white kitten. Then... it seemed to have accidentally knocked over a bottle.
Bottle? What's in the bottle?
The bottle seemed to contain something extremely horrible, even more terrifying than the devils of hell!
The bottle was knocked over by it, and the hint of bitter almond was still lingering in its head. Headache, nausea, feeling oppressed, teeth clenched, convulsions all over its body, and unconsciousness before it entered the eternal darkness...
No, this must be a dream, this must be a nightmare! As soon as I open my eyes, the dream will be over, and I will return to the wax museum and squat in front of the wax figure of that angel.
Contrary to what it hoped for; when it opened its eyes, it was still surrounded by abysmal darkness.
It had never been so freaked out before. What the hell was going on? These strange metal walls, the terrible darkness, the memory that it seemed to have died once and then revived...
It stood up, urgently wanting to do something. It couldn’t just lie there and do nothing!
"Meow! Don’t move!"
It heard the sound again, and its body froze automatically. Not long ago, it seemed as if something had been accidentally knocked over, and then the smell of bitter almond had diffused...
"I won’t move," it said. After struggling, it stabilized its body like waxwork, "Can you tell me what's going on? Am I in a dream? If I bite myself hard, will I wake up?"
"Meow? I don’t know what's going on either. I’ve been here since I was born."
"Since you were born?" It laughed miserably, "No kidding, no one is born here! Where are your parents? Your siblings? Your owner? Did your owner lock you here?"
"Meow, I don’t know. I've never seen my parents, brothers, or sisters. I've been here since I remember… what do you mean by owner?"
It was tongue-tied by the question. "Owner… is someone who gives you delicious food, provides you with a warm place to sleep, and plays with you... Oh, I know! You must have provoked your owner, so he locked you here to make you learn a lesson!"
"Meow… is that right?" The voice of black and white kitten was full of confusion and uncertainty.
It seemed to have found a viable way to get out of here, and it exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! This must be the truth! I once bit my boss, and my owner put me in a dark room to punish me... your owner, what's his name? He's got to have a name, right? Can you tell me? "
"Meow… name .. I heard the name most frequently referred by people is Schrödinger. Is he my owner?"
"Probably…Hey! The owner of black and white kitten! Hey! Schrödinger! Where are you? You were wrong! I'm not your cat! You can punish your cat! But I have not made a mistake, do not punish me! Please, please! Let me get out!" It shouted aloud and almost cried out.
It shouted countless times, but no one responded. It didn’t stop to gasp until its throat was completely sore and couldn’t utter a sound.
"Meow, name... I also want a name," said the black and white kitten in the darkness.
It swallowed saliva to lubricate its throat, and said hoarsely, "I told you. You do have a name. You called yourself Galaxy, and I met you in the wax museum. You asked me to play hide-and-seek, and then I somehow ended up in this place... "
"Meow, Galaxy... is this my name?"
"Probably." It sarcastically said, "Your name Galaxy means ‘the ocean of stars’. It’s the universe, isn’t it? Well, the universe is way bigger than this place!"
Black and white kitten said, "Meow, then I shall call myself Galaxy... What is hide -and-seek? Is it fun?"
It sneered and said coldly, "It’s a game where one person hides himself and the other person goes to find him. I don’t think it is very fun… but you seemed to like it very much at that time."
"Meow, Galaxy wants to play hide-and-seek!" The black and white kitten's tone was full of anticipation.
"Forget it. Just think about playing it when you can leave this place. Besides, playing hide and seek here, what if that bottle is knocked over again?" it said coldly. It had been so frightened by that bottle. Playing hide-and-seek in this narrow black box? Leave me alone, I don’t want to die again…
Wait!
Die again?
It was dumbfounded.
How many times have I died here?
Why could I think of such terrible words as "die again" so easily...
Why was the bottle so familiar when I touched it? I can almost sketch the shape of the bottle in my heart. Have I accidentally knocked it over many times?
It seemed that the bottle could appear anywhere. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, I would encounter it and knock it over eventually. Even if I didn’t touch it, it would automatically fall…
So, this was the truth… then, how many times had I been resurrected?
It sank into contemplation. With its mind completely overwhelmed by these problems, it was not desperately longing for an escape...
"Meow, it’s okay. When you get used to death, it won’t be so painful... Galaxy wants to play hide-and-seek!"
It woke up from its contemplation and shouted exasperatedly, "Kill me! Just kill me! Don’t bring me back from death again! Have mercy! I don’t want to live without dignity anymore!"
No matter how hard it shouted, no response was heard.
"Meow, what is a wax museum?"
It didn’t answer, and the black and white kitten kept asking.
Fed up with its asking, it had to say, "It is a large room full of wax figures for people to look at. I don’t know much, but that’s the place I met you."
"Meow, sounds fun, but Galaxy has never left here..."
It thought for a moment, "Maybe you'll leave in the future. You looked so happy and carefree at that time—don’t tell me I mistook you for someone else. I'm pretty sure that was you, my nose can smell everything correctly."
"Meow, will Galaxy be very happy?"
It went silent, seriously recalling the short moment it had met the black and white kitten.
Thinking of the black and white kitten, and the wax museum, it also remembered the wax figure of the angel, whose smile was so pure, and whose last words were so selfless…
It was sure that it couldn’t hold on in this black box perennially like the black and white kitten did.
The black and white kitten could survive here not because it was gifted, but because it had been here since it was born and had gotten used to loneliness. But it couldn’t be like the black and white kitten. It had seen the big world outside. It could not bear the loneliness, and before long it would probably go completely crazy here.
Even only for once, it wanted to become an angel. At least then it would have no regret before losing its mind.
It suddenly calmed down. It had never been so calm before.
"You will be very happy." It imagined itself as an angel and said softly, "Cats are probably not allowed in that wax museum, and I didn’t see other people carrying cats there. You must have been taken there secretly—indicating that in the future, you will meet a new owner who loves you. He will give you delicious food, let you sleep in a warm bed, play hide-and-seek with you, and to make you happy, he will secretly bring you into the wax museum... So, you must hang on, no matter how much pain you are in. Stay strong and wait for the arrival of happy days. Don’t fall into the darkness before dawn!"
Upon finishing these sentences, it suddenly felt very relaxed, and its body seemed to have become weightless, so that even life and death were no longer important.
Helping others made it so happy.
"Meow! Meow!" the black and white kitten seemed to have believed its words, and was meowing happily.
If its words could help the black and white kitten stay strong in the endless reincarnation, then it probably had completed its mission. It could now relax, eat a cookie, smell the flowers, spin around at the feet of the angel, wag its tail towards her, and ask her to stroke its head…
After it imagined such a beautiful picture, it quietly lay on the cold metal floor, waiting for its next death.
It had accepted its fate of death open-mindedly. Yet in the next moment, it was dawn that was ushered in.