Chapter 200 – Contact (2)
After determining that there was no danger to Solaver, I entered the space beyond the tempered glass.
We sit across from each other at a large table.
“It’s a good chair.”
The chair he sits on is larger than usual and has a different structure for supporting his back. It looked so uncomfortable that I couldn’t even stand it for 30 minutes if I sat down, but it seemed really comfortable to him.
“Artemis analyzed your body structure and made it herself. “I’m glad you’re fit.”
Even though there was a large height difference, the eye level between him, and I was carefully set so that it was level.
“Has personality been given to the structure?”
Solaver spoke as if he was scanning the entire laboratory rather than looking in a specific direction.
“Rather than that, it would be more accurate to say that Artemis has come down. This lab is only a small part of it. In reality, we are controlling a much larger area.”
“I roughly understand the scale. “She is probably the most advanced intelligence on this planet.”
“If you wish, I will invite Artemis to attend as well. According to you, she is the smartest woman on Earth, so we will communicate well.”
Solaver shook his head.
Rather than a natural gesture, the movement was closer to a ritual of adjusting the left and right angles and time.
“Just one of you is enough. Aren’t you listening to our entire conversation anyway? This place is like her stomach, so there will be no breakdown in communication.”
“Does this lifestyle seem strange to you?”
My relationship with Artemis is special.
I am her manager, her client, and at the same time a subordinate.
Because everything I eat, drink, rest, and exist comes from her. Even my blood and my flesh.
Artemis is embracing me. In some ways, it can be seen as more than the relationship between the fetus in the womb and the mother.
“No, but I think it’s interesting. Because thanks to the special circumstances of this land, there are no restrictions or oppression in your relationship with her. It’s like a pair of spore seeds with infinite possibilities. It can extend anywhere, under the sea or beyond the sky.”
“Isn’t this being too grandiose? It is true that Artemis is great.”
It is not easy for us to overcome the immediate adversity. Even at the level of technology, it cannot be compared to an alien civilization.
“There was a legend. “It’s a story of two beings who were just like you are now.”
“You mean a legend?”
It’s awkward for an alien capable of interstellar travel to discuss a legend.
“There is no need for a god to appear and wield lightning and fire in his hands. Depending on the civilization, legends are filled with much more logical beings.”
He pointed to the ceiling and to me with both hands.
“One who is perfect but empty and one who can fill the imperfect but perfect. One is an inorganic intelligence and the other is an organic life form. There was a time when the two came together and went to the other side of the universe where no one could reach. To an unknown place that not even we can observe.”
We were talking about something somewhat unrelated to the current situation.
But Solaver doesn’t seem to have any intention of rushing. They seem to think of it as a kind of ice-breaking time before interacting with each other.
The topic continued with each other’s occupations.
“I was a soldier. At the same time, he was also an engineer. Now, I happen to be the head of a group.”
“I know. “The fact that you are a soldier is proof that God led me here.”
Solaver smiled strangely while saying somewhat cryptic words.
“You were a diplomat?”
“Okay. However, it was not a position that only represented the interests of my species.”
Solaver was in charge of the important task of interacting with and mediating with numerous civilizations.
Unfortunately for Artemis, it was a liberal arts major, not a science or engineering field.
I could feel her sadness through her brain implant. It seemed like she had a lot of technical questions she wanted to ask.
“It’s definitely the perfect face. A poker face is installed as standard. Ah, no intention to belittle.”
“It is not demeaning to us to say things as they are.”
Solaver’s smile refers to the eye smile, and displeasure refers to the frowning of the eyes.
Thanks to his exoskeleton face, it was difficult to see changes in his expression, so attention naturally focused on his eyes.
“Still, my face is pretty easy to recognize. A place where various races gather is like a masquerade ball. Since we can’t read each other’s facial expressions, it’s difficult to understand their emotions. When cattle are upset, they show their teeth and howl, but civilized people refrain from doing that.”
“Subtly unpleasant planting. Are you saying it only reveals that much?”
“Yes. Thanks to this, it is common for people not to recognize that the other person is angry even though they are rude. A small problem that could have been resolved in time turns into a big problem.”
“That… I don’t think just anyone can do it.”
Even on Earth, where humans are unified, various problems arise due to differences in language and culture. For example, in some regions, nodding your head up and down means rejection.
What would it be like if there were races with extremely different characteristics, such as the number of limbs, the position of the eyes, pulmonary and cutaneous respiration, diurnal and nocturnal nature, and visible and infrared vision?
Just imagining dealing with so many of those people gives me headaches.
“Thanks to this, the person in charge of exchanges with outside races has virtually no term of office. You must be able to distinguish between language and culture, as well as gestures and subtle facial expressions. Moreover, since you have to know the history and situation of each race… It is difficult to easily replace such officials.”
Solaver told other interesting stories.
Among the Goldilocks Zone planets observed from Earth, this is where life actually exists.
The end of the universe.
His views on the dark forest hypothesis.
Even though it was a topic I wasn’t usually interested in, the stories he told each had the flavor of stimulating my sense of exploration and curiosity. Solaver was a great storyteller.
“If you were a stand-up comedian on Earth, you would have made it big, right?”
“That’s a great compliment. “Professions that focus solely on humor and laughter are surprisingly rare among civilizations in the universe.”
For the first time, I saw his face twitch and move. Are you truly happy?
When the atmosphere was sufficiently warmed up, I started asking serious questions.
“You said you were watching our activities via communications. But wasn’t he still hibernating in the incubator?”
“The devices attached by the scientists here who were studying me when I was in suspended animation were helpful.”
I think it probably refers to a brain scanner. It could be something else.
“I gathered my consciousness using the stimulation flowing into my body through the device as a lighthouse. Thanks to the technology applied to my body, I can observe the outside world to some extent even when I am outwardly in suspended animation. The aircraft carrier’s observation equipment and communications became my eyes and ears.”
He pointed to his body that had been replaced by a machine.
“Because my body was like this, I still couldn’t escape the bottom of unconsciousness.”
His gaze as he looked at his mechanized parts was mixed.
“It would have been better that way. “If you had woken up early, the infected organisms would have greeted you warmly.”
“I guess so. Unlike you, I am not a soldier.”
My eyes went to his body.
“Did you undergo unwanted mechanical surgery? “When I repeatedly said it was a sin, it sounded like that.”
“To rashly change the body born under God’s blessing. Living outside of God’s providence. For us, it is as taboo as killing ourselves.”
“It was for religious reasons.”
“Anyway, I had no choice.”
When he manipulated the toshi, a perfect hologram of Ye appeared.
It was Solaver’s body information. It appears to be from a healthy body before undergoing mechanized surgery.
“This is…”
And there were dark red dots all over the body. Those parts are now parts that have been replaced by machines.
In some places, even intact parts were cut out and replaced entirely due to their location.
“As you expected, special measures were taken before the infection spread throughout my body. But at the time, there were very few surviving veterans on board.”
The hologram of the ship he showed areas where the infection had progressed, with more than 95% of the hull turning red.
“In your language, young people who are equivalent to ‘apprentices’ were in charge of my surgery. A young, inexperienced medic cut through my flesh and bones and took out my organs. Likewise, inexperienced technicians filled the machines inside. “It was the most painful time in my short life.”
The scene of the procedure also remained blurry. Because the conditions were so bad, it was a terrible sight that was almost like a ritual of offering a living sacrifice.
“It is not strange that it has been in suspended animation from the time it was discovered until now. “It’s a miracle that he didn’t die of shock.”
He was silent for a while, as if he was honoring the dead.
“How did you come to the solar system? So, our solar system.”
“As I already said, to protect this planet. From what you call infectious agents.”
“…”
I felt that we were now entering a full-fledged story.
“We have been fighting this fight for a lot longer than you can imagine. It also includes the defense of innocent civilizations. A boy cannot be called into battle until he is fully grown.”
From their perspective, humanity seems to be nothing more than a child.
“Many civilizations collapsed in the process, but I did not consider it a wrong policy. But we became weaker and weaker. If your fingers are cut off one by one, it is natural for sand to leak between them.”
A hologram depicts our solar system. Eight large planets rotating around the sun.
At one point, there was a black entity approaching from afar.
“What is this?”
“I only know that it was a technology developed by the greatest civilizations during their heyday. “We don’t even know its exact identity.”
Solaver showed an enlarged image as it gradually got closer, but it was an appearance that was difficult to describe.
It wasn’t a spaceship, it wasn’t just black darkness, it wasn’t a collection of energy, it was something.
It was a bizarre shape, like shadows running alone in a three-dimensional space.
There was something blocking them as they moved straight toward the Earth.
“It was you.”
It was an alien ship discovered in Mars orbit.
At this time, it was moving forward vigorously, spreading brilliant light in the dark space.
The holographic ship succeeded in blocking the dark entity.
But at that moment, the brilliant light disappeared and fell like a paper boat that had lost its power. The place where it stopped was the orbit of Mars.
And ominous red spots appeared inside the ship that had lost its light. It was probably a visual demonstration of the spread of infection.
The holographic video ended by showing an Earth probe approaching the alien ship.
“Perhaps the most important question is… What is the culprit behind this terrible disaster? “Where did it start?”
“…”
Sola Ber, who answered any question immediately, paused for the first time.
His face contorted subtly, and I could tell it was pain.
Because even I, who only spent a short amount of time with him, expressed emotions so vividly that I recognized them right away.
But the silence was short.
“Yes, you have the right to know.”
Solaver opened his mouth.
