1 Chapter 1: Indians? America?!

TL: A_Passing_Wanderer

ED: Chrissy

The advances in science happened a lot quicker than most people expected.

Things found only in dreams and imaginations ten, twenty years ago were all brought to reality.

And eventually...

Humanity conquered the 'aging' process.

The longest lifespan a person could reasonably expect to live was currently around one hundred and twenty years. However, with this breakthrough, the expected duration had shot into the realm of 'eternity.' Only 'expected,' because it hadn't been all that long since the aging process had been overcome.

But this breakthrough allowed humanity to begin dreaming about the impending age of immortality and their own rose-colored future.

...Of course, that was only until a massive asteroid was found rapidly approaching Earth.

*

The cigarette smoke leaking out of his lips didn't need long to scatter in the air. Kim Gi-Wu dazedly stared at the dissipating smoke.

The sky above was so blue that it almost seemed cruel at this point, as if the sky was mocking the human race living under it. The humans, that had built up an extensive civilization in the present.

'I guess... this will be my last time seeing this scenery, right?'

Beyond that blue sky and in the vastness of outer space, a massive asteroid named Narvas was hurtling toward Earth and getting closer and closer by the second.

In less than one day, that asteroid would smash straight into the planet.

What would happen by then?

'Earth will turn into a dead planet where lifeforms won't be able to thrive for a very long time, that's what.'

Even if he tried to spin this whole thing positively, the odds of humanity's survival in the case of Narvas impacting the planet still remained absolute, definitive zero.

'Why did it have to be...'

He grew resentful of the heavens above.

Maybe... in a couple of decades, humanity could've become a multi-planet species. Or, at the very least, developed enough technology to make that asteroid miss the planet altogether.

Such a thing didn't seem so far-fetched since the technological singularity was just about within reach. And that breakthrough would herald a revolution in science incomparable in scale to anything that came before it.

Unfortunately, time was not on humanity's side.

Shu-woop, fuu-hoo...

Kim Gi-Wo sucked in another lungful of cigarette smoke before exhaling deeply. Even so, this frustration burning in his heart didn't ease up a single bit.

"I knew I'd find you here."

A husky and wizened voice came from behind him—a voice that happened to be intimately familiar to Kim Gi-Wu's ears.

That's why he didn't even bother to look back before replying, "What brings you here when you don't even smoke?"

"To watch you mopping about like a sob, obviously. Hehe."

"F*ck off. You're here to call me back since the preparations are complete, aren't you?"

"Was it that obvious? I'm telling you, you're still as quick on the uptake as ever. Let's hurry back since you guessed it right. Director is waiting for you."

Only then did Kim Gi-Wu turn his head and stare at the face of Son Seong-Joong, the owner of that familiar voice.

Didn't the old adage say that you can't spit on a smiling face? That seemed to be more or less on the money. Son Seong-Joong was indeed smiling away, and that was why...

Kim Gi-Wu spat out a question straight from his brain without bothering to filter it first. "Aren't you terrified?"

His question left out the subject altogether, but both Kim Gi-Wu and Son Seong-Joon knew only too well what had been left out.

Almost instantly, Kim Gi-Wu realized his slip-up, but it was too late by then. The milk had been spilt already. Openly expressing one's anxiety was forbidden within the confines of the research center, or at least that's what everyone had tacitly agreed upon.

Kim Gi-Wu was about to apologize for his slip of the tongue, but then...

"Yeah, I'm terrified." Son Seong-Joong cut off Kim Gi-Wu's apology even before it could start. "We all believed that we've been liberated from death only for death to hit us in the face soon after. Who won't be terrified by that? You know that outside the research center is in utter chaos right now."

"..."

Son Seong-Joong's voice was dry and flat, as if he was talking about a stranger's death.

At least, he wasn't exaggerating the last bit. The whole world fell into an unprecedented state of panic after the news of the asteroid Narvus impacting the planet was revealed to the public.

Those who might survive the impact would be the folks with enough financial muscle to get themselves on a spacecraft and travel to outer space. Even then, their odds of survival post-impact didn't seem all that high, either.

"That doesn't mean we should cower in fear and do nothing, now does it? We might as well grasp at straws if we can. If you're finished sobering up and getting your head ready, let's get going already. I wasn't lying about the director waiting for you."

"... Alright."

Kim Gi-Wu knew too well what the straws Son Seong-Joong was talking about here.

'And it really is a straw, too...'

Of course, he said those words only in his mind.

But he should be forgiven for thinking this way since the odds of this mission succeeding were so bad that it might as well be considered zero.

However, what else could he or anyone else do? They had no choice but to bet their everything in this final ray of hope with hopeless odds.

However, it was also the last desperate struggle humanity could manage in the current situation.

*

Whiiiiiiir-!

A noise akin to a computer booting up—but dozens of times amplified—slammed into Kim Gi-Wu's eardrums.

Was it because he was deeply nervous and tense? His heart was racing like crazy, and his mouth was rapidly drying up.

-T-minus one minute until launch. Perform the final inspection.

The flat voice of the research center's director came out from the speaker. Kim Gi-Wu heeded that order and began inspecting every part of his body.

Starting from the clothes and the safety shoes he was wearing, the protective goggles, and finally, the bag and the parachute slung on his back...

He must've inspected all these things at least ten times by now. Unsurprisingly, there were no irregularities.

"No issues here."

Even if he did find an irregularity or two now, would they try to stop the operation at this late stage?

Probably not. The entrance of this untested time machine would've been sealed shut tight the moment the launch crew started feeding the device with the necessary energy.

It was impossible to turn back now. If Kim Gi-Wu wanted to survive the trip, he must accurately 'warp' to somewhere in the atmosphere of the past timeline of Earth. Failing to do so would definitely result in his death.

This experiment was nothing but an unproven theory even now. In other words, a gamble. A gamble where ten people, including Kim Gi-Wu, had bet everything of theirs and even an astronomical sum of funds to succeed.

This theory still required lots more research and advancement in science to prove feasible. If only it weren't for the impending destruction of Earth...

'Basically, the odds of success are infinitely close to zero.'

For one, there was no guarantee of actually traveling back to the past. And even if the trip proved to be successful, there were greater odds of him warping to somewhere in outer space and suffocating to death.

After all, the universe was impossibly vast, while Earth was smaller than a speck of dust in the cosmos.

Let's say that he did manage to travel to the past Earth; it would be a good fortune for him to not warp straight into the ground and get buried alive. And even if he miraculously warped to the planet's atmosphere somehow, he would still drown if that spot happened to be above the middle of an ocean.

The more he thought about it, the worse his odds seemed in his mind, so much so that it looked like they were spending an astronomical sum of money just so that he could kill himself.

Even so, someone still had to do it. And that someone happened to be Kim Gi-Wu.

He was the lone ray of hope for humanity's survival—as long as he managed to survive the trip despite the astronomically bad odds.

What a simple-enough story it was. Travel to the past and accelerate scientific progress—by doing so, science could leap forward by decades, nay, centuries ahead.

And also by doing that, humanity might find a way to change Narvus's trajectory before the damn asteroid could impact the planet. Or even find a way to migrate everyone to another habitable planet instead.

-...Five, four, three...

While Kim Gi-Wu was thinking about this and that...

The seconds ticking down faster than he'd like could be heard coming from the speakers.

And right at that moment, the number reached zero...!

A type of pressure too heavy for a human to endure slammed into him, and his consciousness left him in an instant.

*

Flaaaaap-!

"Heok?!"

Kim Gi-Wu snapped wide awake. Well, he had no choice but to wake up as powerful gusts of wind were smashing mercilessly onto his whole body.

He cracked his eyelids open and scanned his surroundings. Thanks to the goggles protecting his eyes, he could see where he was without any issues.

'The sky...! Which means...'

Did we make it?

There was no mistaking it; he was high up in the air. Even at this very moment, the effect of gravity was causing him to get closer and closer to the surface far below.

To think that he would find gravity this wonderful. He could confidently say that this was his first time feeling this way.

His training had already accounted for a potential situation like this one, so they made him skydive eight separate times before the operation. Thanks to his training, he was able to quickly regain his calm.

If we really succeeded, where am I exactly?

Kim Gi-Wu scanned the ground below.

What a fortune of all fortunes this was; it was not an ocean. His eyes caught the sight of an expansive grassy plain, forests, and even a faint outline of a river in the distance.

What's notable about this scene was that... He couldn't see a single hint of technological development anywhere.

Not a single spot of this open, expansive land showed signs of civilization? Now that would be a difficult sight to come across in modern times.

'The odds of this being present are low. More than likely, I... I've managed to come to the past somehow. Holy sh*t! To think that that crazy science fiction theory would really work!'

Suddenly, this incredible chill ran down his spine. This was thanks to the euphoria from realising that he succeeded in traveling to the past, all the while overcoming the nonsensically poor odds of survival.

However, Kim Gi-Wu quickly reined in his emotions threatening to spill over.

Now wasn't the right time to revel in the success. Right now, he was freefalling from high, high up in the air. In other words, ensuring his survival came first.

'Right. I need to head toward the river.'

He still had no idea what era this was or where this place could even be. But at least one thing was certain—there was no sign of civilization anywhere. And most civilizations started from near a water source like a river; after all, it would be advantageous to start farming there.

In other words, he must head to the river no matter what.

Kim Gi-Wu finished organizing his thoughts up to there, then deployed his parachute once he had reached a suitable altitude.

FLAP!

The powerful force tugged at him in that instant, greatly decreasing his rate of descent.

Soon after that, he shifted his body toward the river visible below.

'It's big.'

That was Kim Gi-Wu's rather brief impression of the river. Not only was it long, but the river's width was quite something else, too. But that didn't mean he could recognize the river or where this place was, though.

Still, he did his best to recall the overall outline of this river.

And when he had gotten fairly close to the ground...

'...People?'

Kim Gi-Wu's eyes narrowed to slits.

Although those people were still as small as ants in his view, there was no mistaking it—they were human beings.

'Aren't I off to a pretty good start here?'

Actually, it wasn't merely a 'good' start anymore. One could say that this was the best possible scenario for him with how things were going. If he wanted to rapidly advance technology and science, he needed to become an integral part of the current era's society no matter what.

There were more than one or two people down there. According to his rough count, there seemed to be around fifteen, maybe sixteen individuals.

And when he eventually reached the distance close enough to confirm their appearance...

Kim Gi-Wu finally got to see for himself what they looked like.

Their lower halves were covered in something that could either be fabric or leather. Feathers decorated their hair. And their crude-looking bows and arrows...?

Right at that moment, a single word flitted in and out of Kim Gi-Wu's head.

'...Indians?'

More correctly, the Native Americans.

His thoughts gradually became a certainty the closer he got to the ground below.

In that case...

'Are you saying this is America? This place here?'

It was unknown whether this specific location was North or South America, but those people's presence meant that he was definitely somewhere in the American continent.

'Huh. To think that I would end up in America...'

Of course, Kim Gi-Wu and the team did think about the scenario of him landing in America. However, they all prayed that he would arrive somewhere in Asia instead.

But that couldn't be helped, really.

After all, the level of America's civilization before the Europeans settled here was quite low.

A place with some foundation already laid out would've been far more preferable when trying to cause a rapid scientific advancement. But Europe was excluded since it would be difficult for Kim Gi-Wu to assimilate to European societies due to his race.

The worst-case scenarios were Africa and Australia or some other small islands.

What a small mercy that I didn't end up in one of those places...

While Kim Gi-Wu was thinking about this and that...

He could hear a commotion taking place on the ground below. He wordlessly stared at the source of all that noise.

Smirk.

Not too long after that, a wry chuckle leaked out of his lips.

But that was all because of the natives prostrating toward him, as if to worship a descending god.

< 1. Indians? America?! > Fin.