Chapter 155 Another World Side Story - Bread Tree
The people on the Nautilus had no idea about the divine child in the middle of Eden. Mary Shelley, whose mind was now like that of a child, was unaware of it herself, and Stevenson vaguely sensed something, but he wouldn't be too clear about it.
If Christy hadn't been so engrossed in her own world, she might have been able to figure out what was happening. But she wasn't paying any attention to the outside world.
Looking out the window at the world that had changed once again, Verne felt a throbbing headache: "Staying here for a while will take you to another world, is this the power of the Dead Sea Scrolls?"
The first time, he was unprepared and recorded the data a little late. The second time, he recorded it on time, but the data showed that it had deteriorated over time.
“Insufficient information.” Looking at the changing scenery, Romain Rolland also felt a headache: “That’s a minor problem. What I really want to know is when we can actually go back.”
If they keep teleporting between other worlds like this, then from the perspective of their original world, it's no different from being dead.
Vladimir shrugged: "If that's the case, maybe this is their conspiracy to banish us to some other world or something."
As he spoke, Vladimir absentmindedly nudged Barry: "What do you think, you pretentious jerk?"
However, Barry did not argue with Vladimir as usual, but stared out the window with a serious expression.
Next to Barry, Exupé also sat by the window, quietly watching outside.
With a sense of foreboding, Vladimir looked at Barry, then at Exupé: "Just tell me, who is it this time?"
They had been teleported twice before, once to Christie and once to Mary Shelley, and now Barry and Exupé were standing at the window with such serious expressions.
Vladimir felt he had guessed something and had a bad feeling.
"Ah," Barry responded instinctively, as if he had just heard Vladimir's words, before continuing, "It's time stop..."
Vladimir slapped his face, turned to the other UN members, and said, "Alright, it's Exupéry's turn this time. Will it be my turn next time?"
What are these Dead Sea Scrolls showing them, one by one? The possibility of turning UN members into tourist attractions?
Vladimir remained silent, while Barry pondered other things: "It feels a bit like Exupéry, but it's so strange..."
Vladimir asked, "What's strange?"
“The size difference is too great.” Barry looked troubled. “This feels too enormous.”
Vladimir casually asked, "How big?"
“Hmm… about ten kilometers?” Barry paused. “Diameter?”
Vladimir: "..."
Vladimir: "Why are you using a question, you pretentious idiot?"
Now Barry started to speak with conviction again: "Because this is just too outrageous! I myself can hardly believe there's anything wrong with it?"
It was tens of kilometers in diameter! Even he couldn't determine its height. Looking at the enormous time-stopping domain in front of him and then at Exupéry next to him, whose face was full of innocence and carefree joy, Barry really couldn't understand what was going on.
Putting everything else aside, the difference in body size alone is too great, isn't it?
After being overwhelmed by Barry's size, Verne tentatively explored the space in front of him. Sure enough, not far from the Nautilus, he encountered a huge, slightly curved, solid surface.
Barry, still hovering above Verne, said, "While I know Antoine-Saint-Exupéry could harmlessly stop other parts of time, that would only make a rose specimen at most. This colossal thing in front of us doesn't fit Antoine-Saint-Exupéry's description..."
Verne suddenly interrupted Barry: "Barry, how many years have you known Exupéry?"
Barry tilted his head in confusion, frowned, and spun around in the air twice: "More than forty years...it seems to be almost fifty years, what's wrong?"
Verne's expression was somber and uncertain: "So this world's Exupéry may have taken fifty years to expand to this size, or even longer."
Barry, who was about to say something, couldn't finish his sentence.
Once time stops, nothing will change, meaning Exupéry has endless time to do whatever he wants.
No matter how slow the efficiency, endless time can build magnificent miracles.
Barry instinctively wanted to refute it, but found that he had absolutely nothing to say in his rebuttal.
Exupé did not join the discussion; his eyes gleamed with an enigmatic light as he carefully observed the vast area outside where time had stopped.
Fallen leaves danced in the air, scattered objects were shaken into the air, birds and airplanes soared among the clouds, trees on the ground were gently waving their branches, and gravel was blown into the air and then slowly fell down.
Then, everything was frozen in that instant.
Exupé watched all of this without moving, and the people and the scenery came to a complete standstill.
Exupéry's gaze pierced through the still landscape, transcending distance and obstacles. It was as if he saw directly "himself" still wandering in the middle of this area.
Exupé could guess the cause because they were the same kind of people, and he could naturally understand his own emotions.
It's probably because he wants "friends".
Just like the rose in his hand, it represented the first time Exupéry felt sadness because the rose was about to wither and part from him.
Exupé didn't understand, but he guessed that the feeling was sadness. After all, it really did resemble the sadness that others had described.
So, when he was sad, his supernatural abilities began to "flow".
The fragile rose, soon to wither, is also enveloped by "The Little Prince," and time stands still.
It was around that time that he made his first "eternal friend".
Although it was just a rose, Exupéry was happy about it for years and is still happy about it today.
Although his later encounter with Barry prevented him from experiencing that feeling again, he still remembered it.
Now, Exupé's gaze swept over all the stagnant objects in turn, and he nodded thoughtfully.
He seemed to understand.
This must be what Douglas meant by "loneliness."
This feeling that is incomprehensible, indescribable, and inexpressible must be what is known as "loneliness."
Exupé watched all of this in silence, yet he could not resonate with it.
Whether it's "sympathy" or "regret," those are emotions that Exupéry cannot comprehend.
It's not that he lacks these emotions, it's just that he simply can't understand them. Just as one cannot understand fear without experiencing pain and death, or appetite without experiencing hunger, Antoine de' Essupé simply "doesn't understand."
As Douglas said: This lack of understanding is both a misfortune and a blessing.
"Exupéry, what are you looking at?" Barry's voice came from behind him, interrupting Exupéry's rare moment of contemplation. "Verne said it's almost time, we should go!"
Exupété snapped out of his reverie, no longer dwelling on things he couldn't understand, and jogged over to the group: "You're here!"
The Little Prince couldn't understand adults, but he had friends.
They were a strange group of people who seemed neither like adults nor children.
They taught the Little Prince many things, but they never made him follow any "adult rules," so the Little Prince didn't need to understand anything.
This must be what Douglas meant by "happiness."
The Golden Child—Exupéry thought to himself as he listened to the daily noise of the UN around him.
——
"Based on current observations, the fixed timeline of 'The Little Prince' can be disseminated outwards, for example, through the clothing worn by Antoine de' Exupéry and the rose he carries."
“Unlike a forced time stop that would cause a target to be thrown off Earth, this unconscious time stop effect doesn’t cause individuals to remain at absolute coordinates. I suspect it’s because Exupé subconsciously ‘pinned’ them all to Earth.”
"This forced time stop cannot preserve the ability to think. In addition, the time being blocked means that nothing will ever change, and everything will be frozen at the moment when the world stands still. Once the freeze is lifted, this period of time will disappear for the target as if it has vanished without any impact."
There's no evidence to prove what standard Antoine used to spread the idea of frozen time, but I have a guess: when Antoine feels lonely, the "Little Prince" begins to spread outwards, adding "friends" to Antoine's circle.
"However, Exupé has hardly shown this so far. As a playmate and friend, Barry is quite competent."
—Excerpt from Jules Verne's Notebooks
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