"Welcome back, Professor," the hotel receptionist said, her tone polite and respectful.
"Yes. It's been a tiring day." Professor Norman smiled mildly. "I just finished a lecture."
"Shall I prepare dinner for you?" the receptionist asked.
"Oh, that would be wonderful." Professor Norman nodded in thanks.
He entered the elevator, reached his floor, and swiped his key card.
Just as he was about to step inside, he noticed a man and a woman sitting in the living room, quietly playing chess.
"Professor Norman. Long time no see."
The man placed a piece on the board, looked up, and smiled faintly.
"I apologize for the intrusion, but she needs your help with something."
"Do I know you?" Professor Norman asked, his expression calm.
"Of course you do." The man shrugged. "I've met you in many other worlds. For a while, I even wondered whether you could travel between worlds like I do. Maybe?"
"Sloan, the leader of the assassins. Lucius Fox, Batman's ally. Thaddeus Bradley, the magician."
"And now, in this world, I see you again."
"Professor Norman."
That was right.
The man sitting there was that legendary elder-Morgan Freeman.
Wanted. Now You See Me. The Dark Knight Rises.
Morin had encountered him in all those worlds.
One could say they were already quite familiar.
"...Oh." Professor Norman fell silent for a moment. "That sounds remarkably real."
"I even brought proof." Morin snapped his fingers.
Several photographs appeared out of thin air and drifted toward Professor Norman.
"This..." Professor Norman's eyes widened. He instinctively searched for transparent threads or mechanisms, but found nothing.
"Just some basic material manipulation," Morin said casually. "You can examine them."
Professor Norman carefully took the photos.
One showed a desert backdrop.
Another depicted a high-tech facility.
Another looked like a magician's prop shop.
But without exception, each photo contained the same person.
Himself.
Or rather... people who looked exactly like him.
"How is this possible...?" Professor Norman murmured.
"Are these... photoshopped?" he asked despite himself.
"The universe is vast. This isn't the only world," Morin replied. "I'm just an unemployed drifter. There's no reason for me to lie to you."
"And even if you don't believe me, it doesn't matter."
"I'm not here for that."
"I'm here for her."
"Hello, Professor Norman." Lucy nodded. Her face was calm, almost blank.
"Hello..." Professor Norman replied slowly, still struggling to process everything.
"Anyway, let's begin." Morin pointed casually.
A nearby chair floated up and slid into position.
Professor Norman felt his worldview crack. His words came out unevenly. "How... how can I help? I'm just an ordinary man."
"At the same time, you're a biologist specializing in brain and cellular research," Morin said. "I watched your lecture. It was interesting."
"When the brain reaches twenty percent capacity, one can fully control their own body."
"At forty percent, one can control external objects."
"You..." Professor Norman inhaled sharply. "You've already reached forty percent?"
"I have," Morin replied calmly. "But my method of controlling external objects doesn't rely on the brain. It uses other abilities. That's why the control is so precise."
He turned his gaze to Lucy.
"She's the one who needs your help."
"A few hours ago, she was an ordinary person."
"Now, every cell in her body is evolving at a rate millions of times faster than normal."
"So the enormous energy contained in this substance activates your neurons and forces cellular evolution?" Professor Norman frowned deeply as he held the bag of CPH4.
"That's impossible."
"There are limits to energy absorption. Even for something as extraordinary as CPH4..."
"Whether it's possible or not doesn't matter," Morin said. He gestured toward Lucy. "The result is standing right in front of you."
"With so many humans in the world, one exception isn't inconceivable."
"You're right..." Professor Norman exhaled slowly. "But then... what can I do?"
"Provide advice," Lucy said softly. "My emotions are fading."
"As my knowledge increases, sorrow, joy, surprise... they're all disappearing."
"I..." Professor Norman shook his head. "I don't think I can help you."
"You're undergoing an evolution that should take hundreds of millions of years."
"Unless it can be stopped."
He hesitated, then spoke carefully.
"If I must offer a suggestion... I believe the meaning of life lies in inheritance."
"I hope you can pass on the knowledge you possess."
"No," Morin said flatly. "That won't work."
"Why?" Professor Norman froze.
"You said it yourself," Morin replied. "This evolution should take hundreds of millions of years."
"The knowledge produced by it should also take that long to accumulate."
"If you pass it all down to humanity at once... have you considered the outcome?"
Professor Norman's blood ran cold.
"Knowledge is wealth," Morin continued. "When wealth arrives too quickly, before humanity has the strength or discipline to control it, it becomes a catastrophe."
"Just like what's happening to her."
"Collapse would be nearly inevitable."
"I understand." Professor Norman nodded stiffly, sweat forming on his back. "I almost destroyed the Earth."
"Not quite," Morin said. "If there were a sufficiently powerful existence capable of suppressing the process and stabilizing the aftermath, it might still be salvageable."
Just like in the original story.
If Lucy had simply handed Professor Norman a flash drive, Earth's collapse would have been almost guaranteed.
How much technology would that drive contain?
How would it be distributed?
How many weapons capable of ruining the planet's future would be hidden inside?
Even fighting over ownership alone would likely trigger World War III immediately.
Fortunately, in that version, Lucy had ascended to a god-like existence and could impose order herself.
But now, Lucy wanted to keep her emotions.
She wanted to keep her body.
So Morin had to stop this inheritance from ever happening.
At that moment, he noticed Lucy's fixed gaze and met her eyes.
"Then," Lucy said calmly, "you are the only one who can help me."