Call from the Dead (死者からの電話 Shisha Kara no Denwa) is the twenty-seventh episode of the Dr. Stone anime, and the third episode of the second season.
Summary
On the run from the hunter Ukyo, Gen manages to return to the village where he acts as Lillian Weinberg to try and recruit Nikki, a member of the Tsukasa Empire to Senku's side.
Plot Details
At the Tsukasa Empire, people are loudly eating some cooked meat by a campfire, including Taiju and Yuzuriha (though Taiju is being more orderly and Yuzuriha is eating out of a bowl with a spoon). As this is happening, they are being glared at by a woman named Nikki.
The morning after, Nikki follows them at a distance to Senku's fake grave site. As this is happening, Yuzuriha notes that the ground has been disturbed in an unusual way, like something has been buried there. By sheer force, Taiju buries his hand into the crumbly dirt, and out comes having discovered the telephone receiver.
Once they recover from being overcome with emotion after finally contacting Senku after over a year, Senku requests that they bring someone over from Tsukasa's empire. Although the villagers are anxious over Senku's haphazard plan, Taiju inquires if Senku's plan is the best to avoid any bloodshed, which Senku confirms. Taiju agrees to do it, and Kohaku compliments the trust between Senku and Taiju. With that settled with, Senku asks Taiju if he's gotten any other messages from Gen's group, to which, Taiju answers he hasn't, and all he found was the receiver buried deep in the ground.
Meanwhile, Gen's group hide in some bushes to avoid the incoming arrows shot by Ukyo. Gen tells Chrome and Magma about their adversary, Ukyo, and that he lured them into a trap. After an intense and loud argument between Magma and Chrome; Chrome remembers a spare battery he's carrying, originally a spare for Taiju and Yuzuriha, but he couldn't deliver it. With a spare wire, he short circuits the battery causing it to get hot and ignite as he tossed it into the tall grass, creating a smokescreen. Running and yelling through the smoke, Magma and him create a diversion for Gen to make an escape.
At this point we are brought back to Taiju and Yuzuriha, as they approach an apprehensive looking Nikki.
At the village, Kaseki creates a Clock Spring, which allows the record player to be upgraded to a wind-up spring motor rather than having the record to be spun manually. Most importantly though, this upgrade allows the music of Lillian Weinberg to be reproduced much more faithfully and convincingly.
All this effort could be pointless however, as Gen and his voice mimicry haven't yet returned from their secret mission; fortunately he shows up completely winded and exhausted at the last moment. On the other side of the telephone, Taiju and Yuzuriha confront Nikki and try to convince her to hear them out. She initially refuses, pointing out that she was assigned to watch over them for any suspicious behavior; her stubborness condensing into violence against the greater stubborness of Taiju, who doesn't fight back, but also doesn't stop insisting. Intrigue ends up overcoming her as Taiju demands she talks to their friend, while visibly from Nikki's perspective, they were both alone.
Afoot of the cross shaped grave marker, they dig out the telephone's receiver and microphone out of the soil, Nikki being rightfully surprised by the realization of what she's witnessing, and only exacerbated when the voice of no other than Lillian Weinberg spoke on the other side. Acting as Lillian's translator named Sebastian, Senku translates everything Gen's english-speaking fakery says; about how the United States have recovered from the stone, and are on their way to Japan to rescue them. Although Nikki initially questions if the Lillian she's hearing is an impostor, Gen lies, and Nikki chooses to believe it, revealing how big of a fan she is. On the other hand, Nikki proclaims that if someone really is impersonating Lillian, she'll kill them.
To prove that the person she's talking to is the real Lillian, Nikki asks a couple of questions only Lillian would know the answer to. Thanks to Senku's insightful deductions, Gen manages the first question correctly, however, the 2nd question was a trick question. To avoid a confrontation with Nikki, they play the song left by Lillian. Overcome with emotion, Nikki recognizes that she was being played by an imitation, Senku confirming her final question, about whether Lillian was long gone from the world. Senku refuses to lie to her about the possibility of using science to bring back more of her recorded music, pointing out that only the glass record could survive that long. Instead he makes the promise to protect the record of her last remaining song for Nikki, and under those terms, she joins the side of the Kingdom of Science.
Characters
Locations
Inventions and Discoveries
- Clock Spring
- Record player with spring motor.
