Loop - The Ring III
Loop - The Ring III ( Japanese ル ー プ , Rūpu ) is a novel by Kōji Suzuki from 1998. It is the third and final part of the Ring trilogy. The novel is about a virtual reality from which a mysterious virus enters the real world. Compared to the previous volumes, the book takes a completely new direction; at the end the events overlap with those of Spiral .
Table of contents
In the near future: Mankind is confronted with a new virus , the so-called Metastatic Human Cancer Virus (MHCV). This is transmitted through saliva, semen or blood and triggers metastases in the body . A cure is so far impossible. During a visit to the hospital, the 20-year-old medical student Kaoru Futami, whose father is infected with the virus, meets Reiko Sugihara and her ten-year-old son Ryuji. The two are also infected with the MHCV. Kaoru begins a love affair with the young mother (although he himself could become a victim of the insidious disease). But when Ryuji learns of this relationship, he feels betrayed by his mother and commits suicide. From now on Reiko also plagued suicidal thoughts, especially since she is now pregnant by Kaoru and the child will also carry the virus. However, Kaoru persuades her to stay alive two more months so he can find a cure.
Shortly afterwards, his father told him about a scientific project, the so-called loop. This was a computer simulation that was supposed to reproduce the evolution. However, the project had to be discontinued 20 years ago because the simulation deteriorated due to a virus within the loop. Instead of a multitude of living beings, there was only a single species. When Kaoru later dealt with the MHCV, he suspected that it could be the loop virus, which has come into reality. But all the scientists in the project who could give him information about it fell victim to the MHCV, only Kenneth Rothman seems to be able to help. In order to track him down, Kaoru finally travels to the USA.
Once there, he succeeds in tracking down Kenneth Rothman in a ghost town, but realizes that he, too, has since died of cancer. To do this, he finds data glasses that allow him access to the recordings of the loop. The first record he follows is the life of an Indian who long ago roamed the area with his tribe. Shortly afterwards, he uses these smart glasses again to find out about the origins of the virus that led to the end of the loop. In this way he learns about the events of The Ring and Spiral - The Ring II and thus also about the Ring Virus. He discovers that Ryuji Takayama, who was involved in events surrounding the mysterious video tape, realized shortly before his death that he was only part of a simulation. With the help of the video, he is able to call outside the loop and ask for help. A terrible suspicion grows in Kaoru: Did the project's scientists manage to get Takayama out of the loop? Is the MHCV a mutated version of the ring virus?
Since he sees no other option, he finally sets off to the west, the direction that the Indians also used in the loop. In a ravine, he is caught by a sudden rain shower and can only barely be rescued by a suddenly appearing helicopter. Completely hypothermic and weakened, he is brought to an underground facility, where he meets Christoph Eliott, the creator of the loop. From him, Kaoru finally learns the truth: In fact, the scientists have succeeded in replicating Takayama in the real world. In this way, however, the ring virus came into this world, which mutated into MHCV. The only one immune to this disease is Takayama's clone, which in this way becomes the key to saving humanity. The name of the clone: Kaoru Futami.
Kaoru has to have his body scanned with a new system, the so-called Neucap, so that a remedy can be made from this data. In addition, however, it must prevent the ring virus from spreading in the loop and the Sadako Yamamura species from displacing all other genera. This is the only way to ensure that the MHCV can be defeated. The scan destroys his body in the real world and he is reborn as Ryuji Takayama in the restarted loop. Wherever he is endowed with godlike power, he sets out to save both worlds.
title
Loop primarily refers to a question that is asked throughout the book. If it is possible to create a digital world that appears completely real to the beings within this world, isn't it also possible that our reality is not also just a simulation? Christoph Eliott once said in the book: “Atoms are exactly the same in their structure as our solar system, every atom and every elementary particle forms an unimaginably small universe. This is the cycle, the wheel of life - everything is alike, everything returns. Hence the program name Loop, the 'loop', which stands for the recurring. "