Interesting lore.... probably not sensible lore but we'll work with it. I still don't see how the Tohoku Earthquake gets worse in this timeline though.
Edit: What? Blanchard's typology is problematic while more or less you just recreated his definition............ Honestly sounds like a weird sidestepping considering I doubt Zach's identification affects his liking of his female body.
Overall though, the theming is quite profound, and I love the explanations overall given there so don't get me wrong. Everything is wonderful from a writing perspective. It's top-notch and a masterpiece
Update: So far I've decided to go for Mother's help because it's the most sensible one to me. I mean, she's 180 iq, you cannot make a mistake with looking for her help. (Also there's an inkling suspicion that some of the other paths will make me like Mom but I'm clueless).
Otherwise I will note how it's sort of silly to demonstrate smartness with what for some people are middle-school lessons in maths. No, seriously. Look up Additional Maths. Even without that you generally are armed with that stuff with A-levels. Might be some sort of illusionbreaker.
He honestly sounds to me more like a motivation-dependent 125 iq than someone anywhere near his mother.