All Possibilities

Alina couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

"Hmm, looks like I won't forgive you this time!"

"Ow, really?" Alina shook her head slightly. "Unless I want to be your date, is that so?"

"Exactly, sweet lady!"

"What a jerk!" Alina chuckled. She realized that it was only with Yu that she could swear this and that, and that felt a little pleasing to her. "Keep dreaming, you naughty virgin boy!"

"What a poor I am?"

"Don't dramatize your situation!"

"Great God! What kind of creature is that?"

"What did you find?!"

"Oh, you won't believe this, Alina."

"Hey, come on now! Tell me!"

In his simulation realm, Yu who was heading to a nearby land saw the form of an amazing creature.

The creature was like a very large bird. From the head to the base of the tail looks like a peacock. That pair of legs is the same as the feet of a peacock that has spurs. It only differs in the shape of the tail. However, the bird has two necks and two crowned heads. Also, it has four wings. Two pairs of large wings in front, and two pairs of smaller wings on the back, between the ribs and thighs.

At the very least, Yu who flew at one height, above the bird saw eight elongated tail feathers, and the two in the middle were even much longer than its own body.

"Yu?"

"Hey, do you believe that the phoenix exists?"

"Phoenix?" Alina frowned, she folded her arms under her breasts. "What are you talking about, Yu? Phoenix only exists in mythological stories!"

"I know," said Yu, smiling admiringly at the creature flying below him. "But at least, that's how I see it now. Even its body size is very large. Hmm, as big as your wheelless I think."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Alina was flabbergasted. "Don't tell me the bird's feathers are fire?"

Yu laughed. "Now who's kidding?" he said. "How can there be a bird with fire feathers! I mean, the beauty of this bird I'm seeing now reminds me of the phoenix."

"Aah, I see, you pranked me!"

"No," said Yu. "Is there really such a creature?"

"Who knows!" Alina shrugged her shoulders, then sat back down in her chair beside Yu's right. "There are always possibilities, Yu. In one universe alone, there are millions or even billions of planets. And we don't know for sure whether is life there or not."

"Well, I guess you're right," said Yu. "But this one is indeed very unique. It has two heads, two pairs of wings, and a very large body."

"Wow…!" Alina nodded. "Hey, check the composition of the air on that planet!"

"With this device in my left hand?"

"Yes of course!" said Alina. "It's a multi-functional tool."

"Okay."

"Tell me!"

"Ermm…" Yu looked at the device in his left hand.

But it's quite difficult. The problem is, that Yu still wants to see that unique and beautiful bird, he still wants to follow the direction of the bird's flight into the wilderness.

"Yu?"

"Ah, sorry!" Yu finally stopped his flight for a moment, then flew higher because he didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Perhaps, there was some kind of beast hiding in the forest canopy, then pounced on him.

"So?"

"Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen… and many more," said Yu as he looked at the screen of the device in his left hand.

"Okay," said Alina. "That's more or less the same as the air composition on Earth. Then, what about the oxygen percentage?"

"Thirty-seven point seven percent."

"Wow…!" Again Alina was amazed. "That's even higher than the oxygen levels on Earth."

"Is it?"

"No wonder a bird can reach the size you saw earlier."

"Aah, I see," Yu nodded.

"Do you remember the lesson about pre-human life on Earth?" asked Alina.

"Hey, hey, come on!"

"Ah, I'm sorry," Alina smiled.

She forgot that Yu never attended school. His ability to read and write speaks to the teachings of his parents.

"I mean, in the era before the dinosaurs, the insect race was even tens of times bigger than it is today."

"Is that true?"

"At least from the fossils found later. According to the study, scientists concluded that the condition was due to the oxygen content on Earth when it was very abundant."

"Wow…! No kidding, huh?" now Yu is the amazed one.

"All right," said Alina. "Enough for the lesson, and now, try to keep exploring the planet."

"Alright, Miss Alina."

"Good grief!"

Yu laughed as he flew closer to the lower ground.

***

"Finding a single life form on an alien planet, this alone is already very difficult, Yu. Moreover, if you want to find intelligent beings like humans. This, the near-impossible thing."

"Hey, didn't you just say that all possibilities exist?"

'Yeah," Alina nodded slowly then took a bite of her food. "I did say so,' she said a moment later. "Given the countless number of planets. It's only in one galaxy, imagine if you add planets in other galaxies?"

"Hmm…" Yu took a deep breath. This time, he finished his food faster than Doctor Alina herself.

"In essence, it becomes more difficult because of the limited resources, knowledge, and equipment that humans have at this time."

"Even though today is very sophisticated."

"Indeed," said Alina. "It's just, everything needs a process. And the process itself takes a lot of time."

"Oh, I see?"

"Take an example with a Black Hole that will be your goal later," said Alina. "You've read a few articles about that, haven't you?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah, a few times."

"Well," Alina shifted her plate. "About the Black Hole itself, so many theories and speculations of experts overshadow it. Some say that the Black Hole is another world or an interdimensional portal, and so on. This all indicates that our knowledge is very limited, Yu."

"There are also those who say that Black Holes are a kind of time tunnel."

"Yeah, that's sort of what I meant."

After that, they were equally silent in the dining room. Only the sound of chewing in each other's mouths could be heard, as well as the sound of a spoon colliding with a plate.