Chapter 29: The effects of belief on predestination

A fundamental principle of time is that events are not determined until they are witnessed.

What constitutes “witnessing” is still unclear, but I know people literally seeing it counts.

Time is not determined linearly. If an event in the future was witnessed in the past, it was created at the moment it was seen. Similarly, if a period of time in the past had gone unwitnessed until the future, and someone from the future somehow saw it, the events that had transpired would be decided in the future, at the moment of witness.

But, there is usually always something around to witness events, or at least the events that take place afterwards which would then influence the events preceding it, so this principle only really applies to events in the future.

To summarize: the future isn't set in stone until you see it.

(Which has some kind of implication about the Observer effect in quantum physics.)

Once witnessed, events in the future are then predetermined or predestined; known before they happen, but cannot be changed.

Predetermined events cannot be changed, but they can be affected— In a weird, retroactive, seems like you didn't do anything at all sorta way.

This is where the predestined free will theory comes in.

This theory states that, in the event of time travel and predetermination, free will is still relevant, and can roundaboutedly decide the predetermined events.

Specifically, when something with free will learns of predetermined events, the choices that they make afterwards— while they cannot change the events that they witnessed— retroactively affect what the predetermined events were in the first place.

For example:

4 variations of the same subject, A,B,C, and D, are in four separate but nearly identical timelines. The only thing that’s different are the subjects’ personalities. They each find an artifact that shows them a massacre in the future, thus predetermining that that massacre will come to pass.

Subject A learns of a massacre of 100 million souls, and decides that since the massacre is predetermined and can't be avoided, they will do nothing to prevent it. 100 million die.

This decision to do nothing to prevent it after learning of it is what retroactively determined that the massacre would take place.

Subject B learns of a massacre of 50 million souls, but decides it is their moral obligation to fight against destiny itself, and do everything they can to prevent it. The same 50 million still die.

Though subject B couldn't prevent any of the deaths they learned of, their decision to mitigate the massacre prevented more deaths from being predetermined.

Subject C learns of a massacre of around 10 million souls, refuses to believe in predestination, forgets about the prediction and continues to make decisions without thinking about the massacre. 9.2 million die.

Subject C's refusal to believe in predestination, and their forgetting of the prediction retroactively caused the original predestination to be significantly less specific or complete. Hence the “around” 10 million souls. Through their disbelief of the events, less of it was witnessed, and therefore less of it was predetermined.

(Keep in mind this could also mean that more deaths would occur, but maintaining potentiality is healthy for the timeline. Better the devil we don’t know, cuz he might not be a devil at all.)

Subject D wasn't paying attention and completely missed the prophecy. No massacre ever happens.

If a future event isn't witnessed, it doesn’t exist (yet), and is completely possible to be avoided.

This is where the effects of belief on predestination are showcased.

When someone learns of predestined events— even though any truly predestined future event cannot be changed from what was predetermined— the less one believes in them, the more you ignore them, or the less you know of them, the less strictly these events exist; retroactively changing what was predetermined in the first place.

It makes it so “when” those events were “determined” (see simultaneous causality, page 28) they were far less specific, and only the events the subject learns of, remembers, or believes, actually exist and therefore come to pass.

In the above example, while scenario C or B are more likely, scenario D is a best case scenario; complete ignorance of future events is safest and has the most potential.

The exception is instructions from our future selves as we are trying to reach a specific, usually favorable future, and maintain the events of the primary timeline.

Therefore it is recommended that, in the event you encounter an [Oracle] or [Soothsayer], to employ the “Virgin ears method” described below:

Place forefinger of either hand snugly within their respective ear canals and begin singing the ‘Inspector Gadget’ theme, loudly. If the seer is capable of telepathy, immediately drink a full dosage of blackout juice.

—Excerpt from page 9 of Horatio “Cyclops or Cy” Bergmann's [Traveler’s Journal], pre tier-4 edition.

***

“A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it”

—Jean de la Fontaine

***

Let Mato die

It's the only way.

That final line, that shitass “tip” the book and my future self gave me is what's keeping me up after everyone else went to sleep.

We wedged the door shut from our side using rope, and this basement floor is much warmer than the “higher” (in a non-euclidian sense) floors, so a fire wasn't needed. We ate dry rations as I helped wash the blood from Izzy's hair.

I wonder if the heat is actually from the desert this tomb/ruin and the sandstone I'm leaning on is originally from.

Regardless, the point is that it's dark. But thankfully not that same oppressive, liquid dark from before; My eye adjusts to this one.

I stare at the vague silhouette of Mato's sleeping body as insomnia taunts my aching limbs while graffiting my eye in red.

“Let Mato die, it's the only way.”

It's the “only” that I'm getting stuck on. If this was just in the tips section I'd be saying “fuck that. I'll do it the hard way.” But the presence of “only” really says in no uncertain terms that there is no hard way. Just the way where we all die.

Is he dead in the future of the primary timeline? Would I just get branched even if I manage to save him?

I could flip ahead to any mention of Mato, but if I understand things correctly, I shouldn't read ahead lest I cement an unfavorable future in place.

I'm gonna have to read the first half of the book to copy it over, so any mention in that half should be fine, right?

I don't know the exact page I'll finish on though, so I can't really roll those dice. I copy that half over before the final fight though, so if Mato's mentioned in any entries I copy by then I'll know. But I don’t know if I can wait that long. What if I need the prep time to save him? Besides, I'm patient but this is killing me; My head throbs and my gut churns and— maybe that's the lack of sleep.

I rub my eye and lay my head back against the stone, frustrated and tired. Maybe there's a way I can cheese it? See if he lives without actually reading about the future.

I ask the [Traveler’s Journal] skill to find me any entries about Mato in the latter half of the journal, but I don't open those pages, and I get the feeling that I don't have enough fingers once more.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding captive— and grab its shoulder on the way out my cellar door.

That's… inconclusive. Maybe I turn him into an undead slave or something, or I have to set up an elaborate lie about this.

I instead ask the [Traveler’s Journal] to find all the entries specifically mentioning Mato being dead.

My fingers find several.

Okay, don't freak out, by your same logic that's also inconclusive. Maybe magical resurrection is a thing? Or… there was mention of meeting a branched self before, maybe…

I ask the journal to find mentions of branched Mato's and my fingers find several again, but I feel subtly that they're in slightly different locations.

My face twists as my head slams back against the stone, exasperated.

I sigh, put my book away, and lie down. Higgy always said nothing good ever gets done after 2am, so I don't think any more thinking is gonna be constructive. Then again, Higgy did shoot me, so he might be wrong about a lot of stuff.

The chloroform rag over insomnia's face thankfully cuts off that line of thinking.

***

Level up!

Tier 1 [Half-baked Time Traveler], level 6 — Tier 1 [Half-baked Time Traveler], Level 7

Spell earned: [Stone Dart], tier 1

Skill earned: [Hare-brained Scheme] (active)

***

“Anybody else level up last night?” Demarcus asks, chipper as ever.

“Eyup.”

“Sure did.”

Replies from Mato and I. We all turn to Isabella and she just crosses her arm and bites hard into her ration bar.

“Say something. I dare you.” She narrows her eyes.

Mato tries to pat her on the back and she violently jerks her shoulder away from his reach.

“What'd you guys get? I got [Lessened Weight], my armor feels like I'm wearing nothing. I could do a thousand push-ups right now.” Demarcus says with an ecstatic grin that shifts to mischievous. He turns to me and picks me up without even a grunt, and tosses me over his shoulder as I yelp like a kicked chihuahua. “Ha! This is like Christmas morning!”

He spins me around and I'm facing the other way, tossed over his shoulder, when he says “right. Sorry Izzy. I'm sure yours is coming, just gotta play that guitar more.”

He sets me down and I playfully punch him in the chest and hurt my hand on his chainmail.

“What about you lil’ buddy?” He asks with a wink.

I twist and purse my lips in indignance, playing the part of the childish heel.

“Ha— —d Sc—m-.” I mutter under my breath.

I know what I'm setting myself up for, but I'm playing the part. Izzy could use the laugh and I need to needle her if I wanna be successful at getting her to reach her potential by spiteing me.

So, I sigh, and say “[Hare-brained Scheme]. But I also got a new spell! [Stone Dart].”

Izzy snorts, and surprisingly it's Mato that gives the biggest guffaw of the group. The sound twists a knife I had forgotten about.

Izzy pipes up, a smug smile reaching her lips. “What does that one do? Cuz you can make dumbass plans just fine without help.”

“I dunno. I can find out just fine though.” I say, and kneel on the ground to cast [Eye-dentify].

I find out that the skill kicks in any time I'm crafting an ill-thought-out plan or something crazy, and subtly improves it. [Eye-dentify] notably specifies that it doesn't make the plan less stupid or crazy, just more likely to be successful.

As I'm casting my spell and finding this out, the conversation continued. Mato apparently got the skill [Greater Proprioception], which he stumbles over the pronunciation of.

“What— what the hell does that mean?” Demarcus asks.

“Dunno. Never heard it before.” Mato replies as he packs up the camp.

Demarcus turns to look at me, but I interject. “Don't look at me. All the fancy words I know are from reading. Never read that.”

“Never seen a greater skill before. Only lesser, serviceable or ones without a specific quality.” I say, thinking of my regular old [Fear Resistance].

I turn to Mato, and can't meet his eyes. “I— I can try to identify it, if you'd like?”

Mato shrugs, and says “go fer it.”

He sits on the ground with an old man grunt, and takes the same meditative stance that I’m in— he must think it’s a necessary part of the process.

I feel a bead of sweat, wicked off of my self-cleaning coat, slowly trail down my back. I take a deep breath, and close my eye, trying to focus on Mato’s [Greater Proprioception] skill.

Mato’s skill.

Is this one that will help him survive the fight? It seems to have something to do with sight or sense with the -ception suffix, if the word ‘perception’ is any indication.

Will that be of any use against a beholder? Is this what gets him killed? Is it actually a direct counter to the beholder’s abilities but the act of using it overwhelms him and—

“Anythin’?” Mato asks, breaking me from my spiral.

I breathe out and give up, lying. “I don’t think it works on other people.”

He just stands with a nod. Easygoing, principled, conscientious Mato.

I stay seated, sinking into the mire of doubt, as Mato and Demarcus head to the door. I’ve already explained what’s up next so we should be fine to enter the next room without dying— it’s leaving that’s the problem.

The colossal sandstone door splits around the mural with a grinding sound, and purple light from magical flame bathes us through the opening. We peek in to see yet another door, covered in hieroglyphics of some kind, likely a warning. Our necks crane slowly up, up, and further still, until we see the dog heads of the anubis-style statues on either side of the door. Their feet are the size of Demarcus.

I’m supposed to kill that with a [Stone Dart]?

Or, no, Mato will. With the rope.

Good ol’ reliable Mato.

I'm in so much shit, aren't I?