Episode 15: Missing Link Necrosis

Missing Link Necrosis is the fifteenth episode of the anime adaptation of the visual novel Steins;Gate

Suzuha reveals the harrowing truth about state of society in the year 2036, and the lab members work together to help find her father and prevent the rise of SERN.

Synopsis
Suzuha proceeds to describe her version of the future. In 2036 of her world line, SERN has taken control of the world, ruling in a totalitarian state, and slaughter everyone who does not agree with their vision. Suzuha also reveals that she was once a member of the anti-SERN resistance, constantly on the run from them. Eventually, Suzuha came to the realization that she couldn't possibly defeat SERN in the current year, so she decided to use the time machine, which her father had given her, as a last resort. She looked at a small pin, and then proceeded to punch in the date.

Okabe is shocked to see that John Titor is a real person, but Kurisu questions it since SERN has no army. She even admits to have asked Titor about it on the same forum site, allowing Okabe to discover who she was on it, to her embarrassment. Suzuha then explains that SERN got the resources by using their time machine to make the Butterfly Effect bend to their own will. She also says that one person helped them monopolize time: Kurisu's future self known as the "mother of the time machine", explaining why Suzuha reacts oddly around her. Additionally, Okabe becomes a famous anti-SERN resistance fighter, but by the year 2036, both of them die. Suzuha then declares that she plans to go back to the year 1975, explaining that SERN only gets their technology because they get their hands on the time machine. Additionally, they have a worldwide monitoring system that allows them to sense any time-traveling activity, and quickly caught on to Okabe's first d-mail, so if they went back in time and stopped their ambitions from coming to fruition, the world line will become far better, and potentially save Mayuri and the world. As she walks into the time machine, she notes that her actual mission is to get an IBN 5100 from 1975 and give it to Okabe to hack into SERN, but because she spent so much time in 2010, she never got the chance to do so. She tries firing up the time machine, but it ends up broken.

Two police officers make their way to the time machine, and Okabe promptly distracts them by declaring himself as Kyoma and then running off. He then escapes into a corner, allowing the three of them to escape. As they sit in an alley and mope over the fact they can't go back, Suzuha notes that not only did she materialize mid-roof, but that the rainstorm from before probably caused the time machine to break. Realizing it's his fault, Okabe begins to think about what to do. As Mayuri and Daru suddenly appear and give them food before walking off, Okabe decides to use the phone wave to go back five hours and then use it again to go back 48 hours. With everything set, Okabe goes back.

August 11, 2010: 2:21 PM

When Okabe arrives, he finds Kurisu alone with him in the lab, and tells her to call up the other lab members. Okabe takes them all to Suzuha's time machine, along with Suzuha herself. Kurisu mentions that it's impossible to fix the time machine with current technology, but Okabe forces Daru to do it in 48 hours with the reward of a date with Faris. Okabe then has Kurisu go back to the lab to get the phone wave, but Mayuri starts complaining that Suzuha never got to meet her dad. However, the only clue Suzuha has to him is the pin, not even knowing his name (although "Amane" is her mother's name) since she never met him. Mayuri promptly takes a picture of the pin and leaves.

August 11, 2010: 5:51 PM

Daru continues working on the time machine and notes its similarities to the phone wave. He asks Suzuha about her dad and if he might be someone they know since he knew enough about them to give her the info. Suzuha doesn't really know since all she knows is that he did separate research on time traveling from SERN, and that this is all she can do to honor his memory. Daru promises to find her and asks her to come back sometime, but Suzuha starts to cry. She then heads back to the lab, where Kurisu is rummaging through the gadgets, and shows her and Okabe the divergence meter, which hasn't changed. Suzuha and Okabe go to the roof, where the former reveals that the latter founded the resistance movement and invented the divergence meter, and that because of the Reading Steiner ability he is the only one who can track the changes. Okabe feels appalled at the thought, but Suzuha tells him that wanting to change the future is a goal worth dying for.

August 12, 2010: 2:20 PM

Okabe and Suzuha walk through town looking for someone who knows about the pin, but find no one. They eventually come across a colored pin collector, and after Okabe accidentally makes racist comments, they give him their number. Suzuha then concedes, but Okabe refuses since she is a lab member also, nearly drawing unwanted attention in the process. They then notice Mayuri, who has made fliers for Suzuha's dad, claiming that he kidnapped somebody, by coloring on various pieces of paper. Of course, since her dad actually didn't kidnap anyone, this draws the attention of the police and they have to flee. They get to the park, where Kurisu find them with groceries and happens to have heard of the "kidnapping", to their amusement.

They then head back to Daru, who says he can get the time machine done by the next day. As Suzuha comments on Daru's skill, he proceeds to invite Suzuha in to strip down. Mayuri then notes that the two of them have a good dynamic. She proceeds to proclaim that she wishes she could go with Suzuha as backup. As everyone has sushi on the roof, Suzuha takes Okabe aside and thanks him and the rest for everything, as because of it, she has had more fun than ever, and feels glad that she got to come here. She then asks Okabe to promise her that he can protect the future, and he does. Okabe then gets a call from the street vendor, who mentions meeting someone that wanted the pin. Believing it to be Suzuha's father, he promptly leaves while Suzuha looks on.

Characters

 * Rintarou Okabe
 * Mayuri Shiina
 * Kurisu Makise
 * Itaru Hashida
 * Suzuha Amane