Sonetto: Sorry, Regulus didn't mean to offend. We meant to say ...
6: 37 mentioned preparing a gift for me.
Regulus: Oh, right! You mean the ice cream.
Regulus: But you know, ice cream melts, right? I couldn't let my brand-new APPLe III get all sticky, could I?
Regulus: So I ate it for you. You can thank me if you want.
6: Much obliged.
Regulus: Uh, well, you're welcome.
Now it's the ice cream thief's turn to feel awkward.
Sonetto: I'm sorry ...
6: As for the other items 37 sent, please place them here. I'll put them away later.
Sonetto: Please remember to check them. I left the list here, too.
Regulus: Not to brag, but it was real hefty! Yeesh.
Regulus: We're in a hurry to get back to the Foundation, so hurry up and write a reply, and we'll take it back with us. Time ain't on our side.
Surprisingly, the young man shakes his head.
6: There's no rush for now.
Regulus: You sure?
Regulus: Not to stick my beak in where it isn't welcome. That kid's a right looney at times, but she's still a kid at heart. Aren't you worried about her at all?
6: 37 sent some puzzles. I need time to think through the answers.
It's an evasive answer, but the rockin' pirate simply stares into his expressionless face and, after a time, accepts it.
Regulus: Righto, if that's what you want.
Sonetto: Regulus?
Regulus: I'll go get the ship ready. My new partner and I need some time to bond. She has a bit of a touchy temper sometimes.
Sonetto: Understood. I'll wait here.
Sonetto watches her companion leave.
Sonetto: ...
6: You seem troubled.
Sonetto: You're right.
The young man's gaze is as calm as still water. Under his silent scrutiny, Sonetto decides to voice her concern.
Sonetto: I've been thinking about 37. I'm not sure if keeping things the way they are is the right thing to do anymore.
Sonetto: She's brave. Even when facing the worst, she never backs down, leaving her home alone to find new answers in the outside world. I admire her.
Sonetto: I'm not here to judge your school's philosophy. Apeiron has provided us with numerous ways to combat the "Storm."
Sonetto: Only 37 still seems to believe that finding the Truth will solve everything, even what happened with Sophia and your fellow islanders.
Sonetto: But can that Truth truly solve everything?
6: ...
The young man remains silent. Sonetto takes a deep breath and continues.
Sonetto: Maybe, sometimes, bad things just happen. People have to accept it and move on.
Sonetto: Someone needs to tell 37. Tell her those friends of hers who "returned to essence" won't come back. Tell her that maybe there is no Truth that can bring Sophia back.
Sonetto: While she's been searching for the Truth, we've avoided telling her it. Maybe that's not the best thing for 37. We're in danger of letting her waste her time and effort, only to find out it was all for nothing.
Sonetto: Maybe we should tell her before that happens.
Her composure buckles as she finishes each phrase. Sonetto knows she is crossing a line with these words. She looks up to observe the young man's expression.
6 shows no anger. He simply turns his expressionless face once more.
6: There's no need. Everything you wish to say to her, 37 already knows.
Sonetto: You mean?
6: You care about 37, and I'm deeply grateful for that, but there's a certain misunderstanding I must correct for you.
6: She may still be a child, but she observes everything that happens in the phenomenal world with precision beyond any of us. 37 isn't blind. It's just that her faith remains strong, no matter what.
6 turns, facing out at the distant sea, but his gaze seems to pierce further and deeper beyond it.
6: Allow me to put it this way: How many grains of sand do you estimate there are on this beach?
Sonetto: Sand?
The abrupt change of topic causes Sonetto's eyes to widen. She dutifully looks around the sprawling beach.
Sonetto: Perhaps a hundred million? A billion?
Sonetto: I'm sorry, I really don't know.
6: I don't need an exact number, just an estimate within an acceptable range.
6: There are numerous methods to obtain an answer—the Fermi estimation is one of them.
Sonetto blinks.
Sonetto: I've studied that ... Yes, you're correct.
Sonetto: Only ... sorry, I still don't understand what you're saying.
6: Listen to my next question. How many grains of sand do you think there are on this planet?
The girl's eyes widen further.
Sonetto: The whole planet?
Sonetto: That ... must be a very large, astronomical number, something no one could possibly find—oh ...
For the first time, the young man nods.
6: You see it now.
6: This number is just "very large," but not "infinite." So it is possible to devise an approximate answer.
6: Archimedes pointed this out over two thousand years ago. He claimed that even if sand filled the entire Cosmos, the number wouldn't exceed 1063.
6: His knowledge of the Universe was limited by his time, so while his estimation might not have been accurate, his method remains above reproach. The answer must be "many myriad," but not "infinite."
6: It's finite.
Sonetto: So, then you mean ...
Sonetto looks at the sand beneath her.
The average mind cannot imagine numbers like 1063, but this first-class graduate of the SPDM understands what the young man wishes to convey.
Sonetto: You believe that what 37 is searching for exists.
Sonetto: Yet, even if it exists in this world or anywhere beyond, finding it will be extraordinarily difficult.
Sonetto: But not impossible.
Sonetto lifts her eyes up from the not-quite-endless grains of sand, matching her gaze with that of 6's own.
Beyond the sea, a young girl is determined to calculate that very, very, very large number.
6: I can confirm one thing.
6: 37 made this hypothesis herself. Now, she is trying to prove it.
6: And until she disproves it herself, no attempt at telling the Truth from any of us will shake her from it.
