Chapter 107: The Fountain of Foregone Conclusions
The Bureau was a fortress of forward momentum, but at 10:00 Cycles, it became a victim of Sentimentality. From the center of the Lobby rose the Giant Silver Fountain, its tiers carved from "Rose-Tinted Quartz." It didn't spray water; it sprayed Liquid Nostalgia—a shimmering, lavender mist that smelled of old library books, childhood summers, and the "First Draft" of every dream ever dreamt.
"Commissioner!" Assistant Yue's voice was slowing down, her diagnostic alerts replaced by the soft, rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock. "WE. ARE. UNDER. 'CHRONAL. SEDUCTION'. THE. FOUNTAIN. IS. EMITTING. A. 100%. 'COMFORT. RADIANCE'. IT. IS. MAKING. EVERYONE. BELIEVE. THAT. THE. BEST. CHAPTERS. ARE. ALREADY. WRITTEN. IT. WANTS. US. TO. 'RETIRE'. INTO. THE. FAMILIARITY. OF. CHAPTER. ONE!"
The Lure of the Beginning
The mist acted as a Narrative Paralysis.
The Muse sat by the fountain, her hair fading from electric-neon to a soft, sepia-toned brown. "Ne Job... remember when we first met? When everything was just a 'Creative Spark' and the universe didn't have so many 'Memos'? Let's just go back to being a 'Vague Idea'."
Architect Ao Bing was staring into the lavender spray, seeing the very first pebble of Novus Aethel. "It was so simple then. No drifts, no erasers. Maybe I should just build sandcastles instead of cities."
Pip had curled up in a filing bin, clutching a toy wrench. "I don't want to fix 'Trajectories.' I want to go back to being 'Potential'."
Ne Job felt it too—a 7.5% pull toward the safety of the prologue. His silver-plumed hat felt heavy with the weight of 106 chapters of responsibility. The "Unknown" of Volume 2 looked terrifyingly vast compared to the "Known" of the past.
The 7.5% Stagnation
The Fountain was a Closure Trap. It wanted to turn the Bureau into a "Memorial" rather than a "Department." If they stayed in the mist too long, they would become "Static Characters"—forever trapped in a loop of their own greatest hits.
"We can't go back!" Ne Job roared, his voice muffled by the thick, sweet scent of the mist. "Chapter 1 was a 'Introduction'! We are a 'Developing Plot'!"
"But the past is safe," a voice whispered from the fountain—a voice that sounded like a cozy fireplace on a rainy night. "Why face the 'Giant Silver Anchors' and 'Identity Thieves' of the future when you can stay here in the 'Warmth of the Already-Done'?"
The Semicolon of Progression
Ne Job realized that Nostalgia is just a "Period" disguised as a "Story." It wants to end the sentence by repeating it. To break the spell, he needed to inject the "And" of Uncertainty.
"The past isn't a destination!" Ne Job shouted, raising the Semicolon. "It's a Launching Pad!"
He didn't fire at the fountain. He used the Semicolon to Staple a 'What Happens Next?' to the Mist. He touched the violet light to the rose-tinted quartz and channeled the Exhilaration of the Unwritten:
The 7.5% chance of a plot-twist that changes everything.
The terrifying, beautiful blankness of a new page.
The absolute, 100% necessity of "Moving On" to find out who we become.
The Evaporation of the Echoes
The violet energy hit the Liquid Nostalgia and turned it into "Forward-Thinking Steam." The lavender mist thinned, revealing the sharp, high-definition reality of Volume 2. The Muse's hair snapped back to electric-neon blue. Ao Bing stood up, his eyes refocusing on the future skyline of Novus Aethel.
The Fountain of Foregone Conclusions shriveled into a dry, silver birdbath. The "Comfort of the Past" was gone, replaced by the "Cold, Hard Logic of the Next Deadline."
The Archivist's Log
Ne Job adjusted his hat, feeling 100% ready for the unknown. He didn't mind the 7.5% anxiety in his gut; it was the engine that drove the story.
LOG: CHAPTER 107 SUMMARY.
STATUS: Nostalgia-loop broken. Future-trajectory secured.
NOTE: The past is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to file there.
OBSERVATION: A story that stops moving is just an obituary in a fancy font.
P.S.: Assistant Yue has bottled some of the 'Liquid Nostalgia.' She says it makes an excellent 'Ink-Thinner' for when the plot gets too thick.
The Muse leaned over his shoulder, her hair glowing with a bright, anticipatory violet. "The 'Unknown' looks pretty big from here, Ne Job. You think we're ready?"
Ne Job looked at the Semicolon. It was glowing with a fierce, forward-leaning violet.
"Ready or not, Muse, the page is turning," Ne Job said. "Now, why is Assistant Yue sounding a 7.5% alarm and why has a Giant Silver Scissors appeared in the air, and why is it currently trying to 'Cut' our 'Protagonist' out of the 'Background'?"