**Chapter 1108**
AHEM! Hello? Check, check… Is this on?
Hello out there! Come in, world… Ahem… I am Dr. Vegapunk, a humble genius scientist. While many of you will likely be shocked by what I have to say in this message, I assure you that it is the truth of this world!!!
**Chapter 1109**
Shaka: “Come now, Stella. You can’t just start this up out of nowhere.”
Hmm? What do you mean, Shaka?!
Shaka: “Surely the audience will need to be adequately prepared to hear it.”
You really think that’s necessary? Some intelligence agency will pick it up and it’ll spread across the world by the next day…
Shaka: “Are you certain about that? What if they manipulate the information?
Hrmm. A good point… So what do we do?
Shaka: “I’ll relay the signal through every naval base in the world and force them to output at maximum strength. The transponder snails can receive audio signals, but the visual transponder snails will take time in order to be set up for viewing. I suggest giving them an interval of one hour.”
One hour?! That seems long. So long, in fact, that it will give those who might not want this message heard the time to interfere with it.
Shaka: “Very well! Let us set the preparation period for the message to… ten minutes!!”
You hear that world?!!
…
Shaka: “The coffee will take ten minutes to brew.”
Then I won’t have time to drink it!!
Shaka: “I calculate the chances of jamming are exceedingly low.”
**Chapter 1110**
Shaka: “What is that, Stella?”
Hmm? Why, it’s the dream of all mankind: Vega Coffee!! One little speck of this stuff dropped in water, and you’ve instantly got nice, warm coffee!!
Shaka: *ZRT* “How many minutes left?”
It’s not like we’re on a strict timer. Let’s wait seven minutes or so and then we’ll begin. Not that anyone will be close enough to stop us if they wished.
**Chapter 1112**
Shaka: “I can’t help but notice you’re not drinking your Vega Coffee.”
It’s hot! I have a very sensitive tongue!! That’s mean, Shaka, you know that already.
Shaka: “Four more minutes, Stella.”
*sip* YEOW!!
Shaka: “Stella, there’s not much time left. Why not use thermoelectric elements to take the coffee’s heat and convert–” [dialogue cut off by other speech bubble]
…
Shaka: “One minute left, Stella.”
*slurp* I know!!
**Chapter 1113**
Well, it’s been such a short time that the coffee’s not even cool yet, but… Are they all set up with their video transponder snails by now, I wonder?
Shaka: “Thirty seconds to go, Stella.”
Pythagoras: “I feel a bit nervous knowing this is going all over the world.”
Video will one day connect the entire world. It will mean knowing and the discomfort of being known.
…
Can you all hear me? Test, test. Hello? This is Vegapunk. Hello, world. Come in, world!!
Shaka: “It’s a one-sided hijack of the waves, Stella.”
I know that! Well! In that case… let’s get this message started!!
…
I have committed two sins. Therefore, whether I am arrested or executed, I shall program this message to be broadcast when my heart stops beating. I want to make one thing very clear first. Whoever may have rendered their judgment unto me, I am not trying to convince you that their intent is **evil**. I will not apply the lavels of good and evil at all, in fact because I understand too little about **him** to begin with. What I am about to tell you is so preposterous, you might even burst into laughter. However, you all have the right to know. To make a long story short, the world as we know it, will sink into the sea!!
**Chapter 1114**
Now, speaking of the near future for me, assuming that the sensors I built are functioning correctly, in the days after I record this message, there should be a most remarkable earthquake that strikes the entire planet!! As a result of that, the sea should rise about one meter around the world, rendering some islands uninhabitable. Beaches around the world will be lost for good. If I am wrong in this prediction, feel free to disregard the rest of this message. If this has happened, however, you should heed my words very carefully! This particular earthquake is not exactly what I would call a natural phenomenon. In my own way, I only ever hoped for peace, but this was the root of my first sin. I dreamt of a source of endless, eternal energy… And in my desire to push the world forward into the future, I flew too close to the sun!! Allow me to explain just what it is that is happening to our world. From about 900 years ago to 800 years ago – a period of a century – there is a span of history that is completely and entirely blank. We call this the Void Century, because all records from this time were eliminated. The only means to know this lost piece of history is to find a message from the past in the form of ponegliffs scattered across the world and decipher its contents!! However, the World Government has made it a crime of the highest order to decipher the message of the ponegliffs. And despite being a member of the government myself, I broke the law. That was my second sin. Through the sheer tenacity of a group of excellent archaeologists, I inherited some texts and a number of ponegliffs, which I have deciphered and continued studying to the best of my ability. I regret none of this!! History, you see, tells a story… In other words, what I know is an incomplete story of that 100-year void!! It would be dishonest to fill the blanks with my own speculation, so I will leave you only with the verified truth!! The main character of this story was born into a kingdom with an impossibly advanced civilization, 900 years ago. Like the Sun God Nika spoken of in Elbaph legend, he fought with a body that stretched and contracted. His name was JoyBoy. And he was the very first man on this sea to be called a pirate!!