Episode 09: Chaos Theory Homeostasis II

Chaos Theory Homeostasis II (幻相のホメオスタシス, Gensō no Homeosutashisu) is the ninth episode of the anime adaptation of the visual novel Steins;Gate.

Okabe grows concerned over the drastic changes his experimentation is causing, and the IBN 5100 disappears from the lab. The only hope for finding a replacement rests upon the delicate shoulders of Faris the cat girl.

Synopsis
August 6, 2010, 1:07 PM.

Rintaro discusses their discovery of D-Mails with Daru inside May Queen Nyan-nyan, but Daru points out that they were unable to change Daru's luck in his match with Faris, to which Rintaro responds by blaming Daru himself for his loss. Despite the issues found in the system, Rintaro claims that a time machine is just a few fixes away.

Unfortunately for Rintaro, Faris caught wind of his blabber and asks more about it... all while staring deeply into his eyes. Rintaro seems immune to Faris' charms, but Daru quickly gives in to her request.

Upon finding out what they are talking about, Faris shows interest in "sending text messages into the past".

Rintaro soon returns to the Future Gadget Lab, still disappointed that Daru spilled the beans on their latest project. As he heads to the rooftop to dry some laundry, he sees Kurisu arguing with someone over the phone. Kurisu quickly heads back downstairs, and soon confronts Rintaro, pointing out that she is not crying, although it is clear that she is upset. Eventually, Kurisu sits beside Rintaro and breaks down on Mayuri's Oopa pillow.

Although Rintaro couldn't think of what to do for Kurisu at that moment, he tells her that he can listen to her sorrows anytime as someone important to him.

It turns out that it was all just a ruse.

Meanwhile, back at May Queen Nyan-nyan, Faris decides to visit Mayuri after the end of her shift. Mayuri tells Faris what she thinks about Okabe's Phone Microwave, and although she finds the idea of a time machine a bit exciting, she feels like Rintaro is leaving her when he is busy tinkering it.

Soon, Mayuri, dressed in her school uniform, visits the Future Gadget Lab to bring some lunch to Rintaro and his friends. Daru seems interested in Mayuri wearing a school uniform, and Kurisu is forced to warn Daru about his thoughts. Meanwhile, Rintaro is slowly becoming impatient as his supposed round-table meeting ends up being just a simple lunch. It seems that no one takes his agenda of physical time travel seriously... for a good reason.

Kurisu explains that no one, even SERN, was able to successfully send a human back in time, and their current device can only send 36 bytes of data plus a few bytes extra. However, the SERN's usage of lifters and black holes appear to be similar in principle to the Phone Microwave, although Kurisu notes that their device doesn't have a lifter in the first place.

Pessimistic about the Phone Microwave in its current status, Kurisu wants Okabe to handle its current issues for the meantime. Rintaro stubbornly refuses, finding that task boring, and the disappointed Kurisu eventually leaks her inner "neler" (i.e., @channeler) to Daru and Okabe.

Okabe soon decides to ask reports about their investigation, with Kurisu being ridiculed for her knowledge of Internet memes. Daru then reports that he is caught in a hitch and cannot proceed until he could start the analysis of the IBN 5100.

Rintaro is shocked at his report, and even more so when he finds no IBN 5100 at the Future Gadget Lab.

He soon explains this to Kurisu, who quickly assumed that the D-mail they last sent caused him to lose track of the IBN 5100. Rintaro is in disbelief, pointing out that their experiment only dwelled on minor events. Kurisu then explains that the Butterfly Effect was the explanation for such major changes, and one of the well-recognized risks in changing the past.

Rintaro then asks about the current whereabouts of the IBN 5100. Kurisu corrects the question: "Where was it?"

After a short phone call with Luka, Rintaro confirms that there was an IBN 5100 in Yanabanashi Shrine, but is currently elsewhere. Kurisu discovers that they might be at a dead end, but Rintaro has an idea about who might know...

As Faris prepares for a Q&A portion at the May Queen Nyan-nyan, she receives a call from Rintaro, asking her about an IBN 5100. Faris confirms that her father has a lot of old PCs, but does not have an idea about an IBN 5100. Then, Faris asks Okabe whether it has something to do with the time machine he has talked about before.

Rintaro soon goes on a visit to Faris' place by her request, and Daru and Mayuri tag along, although Okabe preferred going alone. Soon, Rintaro hears someone say "IBN 5100" and catches a glimpse of Moeka Kiryuu from a distance. After a frantic chase by Okabe, he sees Moeka slumped on the ground, as if despairing after not being able to find something. Rintaro soon finds out that Moeka also had no idea where the IBN 5100 is.

As Moeka quietly walks away from him, Mayuri and Daru catch up to him. Rintaro is surprised to discover that both knew Moeka despite the fact that she disappeared from everyone else's memories when Moeka sent her D-mail, although Moeka did return when Luka sent her D-mail.

Soon, they reach Faris' address, and after a long way up, they head to Faris' house at the topmost floor of Akihabara's tallest building.

Faris soon welcomes them personally, and after Rintaro's demands, Faris reveals to them that she is Rumiho Akiha, the daughter of the owner of Akihabara and the girl who brought the culture of moe to Akihabara.

However, it seems that Rintaro is not interested in moe, and quickly asks Faris about the whereabouts of the IBN 5100. Faris decides to tell them, but only if they will allow her to use the D-mail once, to which Okabe quickly objects to. Rintaro, after learning about the Butterfly Effect, becomes more cautious in letting more D-mails be sent, but Mayuri and Daru's pleas, along with the risk that may help bring back the IBN 5100, made Rintaro reconsider his decision, but only if Faris agrees to become a Lab Member.

Soon enough, Faris becomes Lab Member #007.

Faris prepares her message and asks Rintaro to send to ten years into the past, and refuses to divulge its contents despite Rintaro's requests. After being pressured to leave the message to Faris, Rintaro endures the next few minutes being hung up by Kurisu, who is supposed to handle the Phone Microwave.

Okabe is forced to act polite just for Kurisu to operate the Phone Microwave.

As the Phone Microwave becomes ready to use, Faris shows some hesitation in sending the D-mail. However, with Okabe's cue, Faris decides to press "send".

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Soon after, a nauseous Rintaro finds himself alone with an unfamiliar man, which is later revealed to be none other than Faris' father. Daru and Mayuri soon comment on Faris' father's refined air, and Rintaro soon takes the chance to ask about the IBN 5100 he has been looking for. Unfortunately for Okabe, Faris' father has long parted with his IBN 5100 a long time ago, and clarifies that he did not send it to a shrine.

Rintaro still has the IBN 5100 in his head after leaving Faris' home, and now, the chances that the Yanabanashi Shrine had gotten the IBN 5100 are now down to 0%.

However, that is not that only thing Rintaro is worried about.

He thinks that he may have changed something that he hasn't noticed... and it may be possible that he will never have the chance to change it back.

Soon, Mayuri thinks of going to Nakano to buy some doujinshi, and as Mayuri mentions wanting to have a Toranoana in Akihabara, the confused Okabe points out the Toranoana nearby—

Only to find that he is no longer in an Akihabara that is the city of otaku and moe culture.

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Rintaro Okabe
 * Itaru Hashida
 * Faris Nyannyan
 * Kurisu Makise
 * Mayuri Shiina
 * Luka Urushibara
 * Moeka Kiryū

New Characters

 * Kuroki
 * Yukitaka Akiha

Locations

 * May Queen Nyan-nyan

Cultural References

 * Kurisu's quote that leads to her being found out as a "neler" is "This guy's no good, if I don't do something fast..." (駄目だこいつ・・・、早く何とかしないと, Dame da koitsu... hayaku nantoka shinai to) is a real 2chan meme which originates from a quote in chapter 26 of the manga Death Note.
 * Okabe's line looking down from Faris' apartment, "The people are like garbage" (人がゴミのようだ, Hito ga gomi no you da) is a quote from the 1986 Studio Ghibli movie Castle in the Sky.
 * "Ai-Sword" said by Mayuri, is one of the earlier names for the game ChäoS;HEAd during the development.

Quotes

 * "I'll only say this. You're part of my life now. Anytime you want to talk, I'll listen." — Rintaro's "assuring message" to Kurisu
 * "99.9% of science is boring." — Kurisu's response to Rintaro's lack of interest to proceed with mundane tasks with the Phone Microwave

L'homéostasie des illusions