Chapter 18: The Leader of a Cult?
Would Marcus befriend Kyle?
Of course!
According to the Transcendence System, Marcus needs to accumulate over 100 points of destiny before the Transcendence System can open the World Gate and leave the Terminator World.
That means Marcus needs to reverse even more crucial points of destiny!
Furthermore, after leaving the Terminator World, Marcus will need to cultivate a proxy for his interests there, in case he re-enters the Terminator World later.
Inside Interrogation Room Seven, Kyle remained silent for nearly three minutes, and neither Marcus nor Richard showed any sign of urging him.
"If I agree to your plan, how confident are you in stopping Skynet?" Kyle asked tentatively. Although Kyle didn't immediately agree, it seemed he was beginning to waver.
"I have no confidence whatsoever," Marcus replied without hesitation.
Richard and Kyle both looked at Marcus in surprise.
"Why are you both looking at me like that?" Marcus retorted. "I just explained that once Skynet is born, stopping it will be extremely difficult. Unless the entire world's technology regresses to the industrial age, or even completely abandons digital technology and chooses analog technology, it's impossible to completely stop Skynet."
Marcus added, "Although I have no confidence, I know that according to your original plan, we will definitely fail, Skynet will definitely be born, and humanity will barely survive."
Richard frowned. "Are you sure?"
"I'm 100% sure," Marcus nodded seriously.
Kyle gritted his teeth. "What if we fail with your plan?"
"According to your original plan, our future is 100% doomed. According to my plan, although I don't know the success rate, at least we have a different choice and a glimmer of hope," Marcus replied.
Kyle smiled bitterly; he was truly wavering now!
Kyle couldn't refute Marcus's analysis of Skynet. He couldn't find any flaws, and even felt that their future destruction of Skynet might be orchestrated by Skynet itself.
"Is our plan really without any chance of success whatsoever?" Kyle asked through gritted teeth. "Even now, with all the preparations you've made, even with complete control of the situation, rendering the Terminator T-800 utterly ineffective against Sarah, and even if I don't die, right?"
Marcus nodded.
"Even so, it doesn't change the future?" Kyle stared at Marcus, as if trying to discern something from his expression.
Marcus sighed. "Time and fate have powerful corrective forces. Even if we had all the advantages in 1984, even rendering the Terminator T-800 ineffective, the key to the future is still John Connor."
"We can look at Skynet's target. Skynet's target is Sarah Connor; it wants to prevent John Connor's birth, so it sent the Terminator T-800 back, right?" Marcus analyzed.
Richard and Kyle both nodded.
"According to our information, after the Terminator T-800 arrived, it killed a punk and three LAPD officers. Logically, this has already changed fate, and the future will change accordingly, right?" Marcus listed relevant information.
Richard lowered his head in thought.
Kyle became puzzled; he vaguely felt something was wrong.
"If we compare fate and time to a river, most people are just fish in the river. Even if they suddenly disappear, or something unexpected happens, or even swim upstream, what impact do they have on the river?" Marcus explained with an example.
Kyle had a flash of insight, "We are the fish swimming upstream?"
"That's a rough way to understand it," Marcus nodded in agreement. "If we still want to use an analogy, we're like fish that suddenly pass through a temporal anomaly from the downstream of the river of time and fate, and then appear upstream. The impact on the river is still very limited; the river is still the river. Even with a couple more fish like us, the river still flows forward."
This theory was also Marcus's own speculation!
The river of time and fate in the Terminator world does indeed resemble Marcus's example.
Take Kyle as an example. He traveled from the world of 2029 to the world of 1984. It was merely a matter of one less fish in the future timeline and one more fish in the timeline of 1984. The impact on the timeline itself was negligible!
"What about Sarah and John? What are they?" Kyle asked.
"They're also fish, but they're like depth charges. If something happens to them, they'll explode like bombs, causing the riverbanks to collapse!" Marcus explained with another example.
Kyle retorted, "According to your theory, the Terminator T-800 is also a bomb, right? It could easily kill Sarah, thus affecting the entire river, but you dealt with the Terminator T-800 and detonated that bomb. Wouldn't that affect the timeline and the river of destiny?"
"I'm glad you understand my explanation, but fish come in different sizes, and bombs vary in power. The Terminator T-800's impact is equally insignificant in the timeline and the river of destiny," Marcus replied.
"How do you know?" Kyle pressed with military directness.
"Because according to your original plan, Terminator T-800 dies, and you die too. Your deaths have absolutely no impact on time and the River of Fate," Marcus raised his voice.
He continued, "Have you ever seen a river in nature? Have you ever seen a river change course and then flow back into its original channel?"
Richard suddenly looked up; he vaguely understood what Marcus meant.
"Kyle, I'm not trying to deceive you. If I follow my plan, I really don't know what the success rate will be, or even if the River of Fate will simply overflow its banks and immediately flow back into its original channel, merely forming an isolated pool on the riverbank," Marcus said sincerely.
"But I want to take that chance on an uncertain future!" Marcus suddenly declared with conviction.
"Because in the future I came from, humanity really will disappear from this planet!" Marcus said emotionally.
Kyle fell silent again. His feelings were complex. He had already wavered, but now he was moved by Marcus's sincerity, especially when Marcus said those last words. Kyle thought of his own era.
In his time, they also lived a very difficult life!
"Is there really such a thing as an uncertain future?" Kyle asked seriously.
Kyle had already made his decision, even though he had come on John Connor's orders, the situation he faced now far exceeded his expectations.
So Kyle made his own decision!
Marcus nodded solemnly, "Yes!"
"For the future of humanity!" After saying this, Kyle closed his eyes.
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