Chapter 7 Gamblers Fallacy (1/2)
Alex gave Asteria another suspecting look as Clint left the room to explain his case to the angry newcomer.
”Asteria, maybe its just me, but isn't this a little convenient?” Alex said as he looked at the exposed wire nearby him.
”I just randomly thought of using your Fairy Dust, and then the face that I got is actually Clint's friend. What's more suspicious was the fact that this new face of mine led me here at this place and allowed me to awaken my Esper Ability without any need to expose myself to the WEO…”
”Huh? What are you harping on about? Shouldn't you be happy that you already got your Esper Ability?” Asteria mumbled, with the tone of her voice indicating that she wants to change this conversation.
”Well… I just feel that I am too lucky right now…” Alex said as a worried look appeared on his face.
”And why are you worried about that? Shouldn't you be happy right now?” Asteria said as she seemed to be leading Alex onto something.
”Well, I just have the hunch that if I let the things that happened right now get to my head, then I will have more difficulties in the future.” Alex said as he cupped his chin in deep thought.
”I have known some gamblers who got lucky on their first attempts at gambling, and after these lucky wins, these gamblers gained the confidence to do more gambling activities. And since these gamblers have won before, they will be thinking that they can still win more, and they will try bigger and more expensive ways to gamble.”
”And you know what happens to a gambler who got cocky and overconfident.” Alex muttered as he gingerly stepped over the scattered wires. ”All of them go bankrupt and they lose all their money to the grubby casinos.”
(A.N. This is called Gambler's Fallacy.)
Asteria stayed quiet for a few seconds before hesitantly saying,
”Are you telling me right now that this whole Endless Journey is a gambling game, where you are the gambler and the Endless Monarch is the casino?”
”Exactly.” Alex agreed as he brushed off some soot that had formed on his clothes. ”I have the feeling that first-time Travelers will experience some sort of lucky experience in their first missions.”
”Once that lucky experience happens, these Travelers will then feel as if they were already invincible, as if they had a 'plot armor' protecting them. That kind of thinking will lead to these people being cocky on their next missions, and I am sure that most of these poor Travelers die early.”
”Hmph! You did not disappoint me!” Asteria's tone suddenly changed from sullen to proud as she gave Alex a beaming smile that had somewhat dazed him.
”Most of the things that you said was right.” Asteria said as she flitted around Alex. ”Through some unknown way, the Endless Monarch will set up some set of events at the first missions of the Travelers that will make them feel lucky and invincible. Once that happens, these Travelers will feel that they can take more risks on their next missions. However, just like what you have said earlier, most of them die because of their overconfidence.”
”So the Endless Monarch is actually a shrewd businessman.” Alex said as he sat on a nearby chair. ”And I presume that you are not allowed to tell me about this slimy move, and that I have to discover it by myself?”
”There are some things that I am not allowed to say, and this lucky event is one of them.” Asteria said as she somehow looked apologetic, but also not apologetic. ”It will be up to the Traveler if he/she can see the truth… And you Alex, are one of the travelers that saw through this scheme.”
”Yeah, it's a good thing that I noticed it.” Alex said as he felt more terrified against the Endless Monarch.
Now that Alex realized that what happened to him right now was not his luck helping him, but rather a malicious move to increase his confidence, he managed to cool his head off as he started to become more prudent of everything.
”Oh right, you said that you gained your Esper Ability already, right? Come tell me what it is!” Asteria said as she bopped up and down like an excited child.
”My Esper Ability is Electromagnetic Wave Manipulation.” Alex said as he squinted his eyes. ”Just like what its name says, my Esper Ability allows me to manipulate Electromagnetic Waves.”
”You know, your ability sounds cool, but I am not sure how powerful that could be.” Asteria hesitantly said. ”Like, I know that there are 7 types of EM Waves. Can you use them all to your advantage?”
”Of course, I can.” Alex replied confidently.
”It doesn't matter what kind of power a person has. What's more important is on how he or she uses this power.”
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Electromagnetic Waves, or EM Waves, are a form of energy waves composed of electric and magnetic fields.
They can carry energy through everything, even through the vacuum of space.
The EM Waves are distinguished via their frequency and wavelength, separating the EM Spectrum into 7 portions.
The EM Wave with the longest wavelength is the Radio Wave, and they are mostly used for communications and data transmission in Alex's world.
The next one is the Microwave. They can penetrate through clouds and smoke, making them useful for communication. They also have the property to vibrate water at an extreme rate, which is a useful property for heating up foods.
The Infrared on the other hand is produced by anything that emits heat. Its can be also used on devices like remotes to control nearby things.
The most common EM Wave to humans is the Visible Light.
Visible light has a lot of application, and more of it are being discovered as time passed by.
Next is the Ultraviolet Wave. They contain much higher energy than the visible light, which makes this wave extremely harmful if left unprotected from it.
X-Ray on the other hand, contains higher energy than the Ultraviolet Wave, but its use had been regulated for medicine and astronomy.
X-Rays can penetrate soft tissue like skin and muscle, allowing precise observation of the human body.
The final wave is the Gamma Wave, and it contains the highest amount of energy among all the EM Waves.
Gamma waves are created from nuclear explosions and cosmic events like supernovas.
The power of this wave can be used in weaponry and sometimes, even cancer treatment.