Chapter 504
Chapter 504
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Gedroits's Heir, Deul (19)
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‘I have no intention of just dying like a moron.’
Becoming a Type 3 Variant meant that the current Professor Park would vanish in one way or another.
Just look at W and the Collector. Didn’t they treat their originals, William Turner and Natasha Gedroits, as little more than vivid memories?
I’m just a nosy busybody with a few personality issues. I only save the people who catch my eye out of my own greed—I’m not some endlessly self-sacrificing saint, and I never will be.
“....A method. Give me a method.”
『A method...?』
“W was involved in developing the Variant Virus, and you, Collector, have access to most of the facilities Andrey Gedroits left behind. You’ve even enthusiastically researched your own existence as Adapters. So you must know a way to suppress the changes happening to me right now, right?”
『Professor Park.』
“Give me a way to revert my body, turning into a Type 3 Variant, back to normal—or at least maintain the current state. Do that, and like you said, I’ll become your saint or savior or whatever.”
So, we needed to make a deal. If what they wanted was something I had, and what I wanted was something they had, wasn’t this the natural order of things?
The Collector fell silent, and her screen displayed only a troubled emoticon, floating calmly.
“It’s not a very welcome proposal for you guys, is it? If you just leave me be, there’s a very high chance the current Professor Park will be reborn as a ‘Type 3 Variant Adapter who was once Professor Park.’ That’s exactly the kind of savior you’re hoping for.”
『When did you... start thinking like that?』
“You’re not denying it.”
Yeah. This was how it always turned out.
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the Collector’s mechanical voice.
“It’s just... when a complicated puzzle starts filling in piece by piece right in front of you, an empty space in the middle stands out.”
Sure enough, I felt much more at ease knowing the full story.
Look at this. When I had no idea what was going on and just felt swept up in something, my face was stiff, ready to smash everything if things went south. But now, even after learning that someone I’d viewed positively had sinister intentions toward me, I could laugh about it?
“Like you said, Gedroits is planning something horrific for a second time for some reason—and Professor Park, confirmed as the Completer, is at the center of it. That’s why you wanted me, the center of all future events, to know these past truths for whatever choices lie ahead... But you still glossed over what the Artist Alliance really wants. That part got swept under the rug all vague-like.”
Why did you call me? / To tell you the truth.
Why tell me the truth? / Because Professor Park will be at the center of everything going forward.
Why does Professor Park, at the center of everything, need to know the truth? What does that have to do with you, Collector, and the Artist Alliance? / ....
No matter how I thought about it, that was the one part of the Collector’s explanation that felt unnaturally missing. I wasn’t such a pushover that I wouldn’t notice.
『Yes. That’s right. We desperately hope you’ll join us, become one of us. Are you disappointed?』
“Pretty much. Maybe because you’re the original World Tree’s offspring, I had really good feelings toward you from the start.”
『Well. I heard my sister in the digital world operated in much the same way.』
“Huh... Now that you mention it, yeah. She secretly prepared the Extra Stage and then bam! revealed it. She quietly set up contingencies through Astrad and Yggdrasil without me knowing. Father and daughters, all with that sneaky triple streak.”
Hearing her confirmation, I let out a sigh mixed with a laugh, shaking off my personal fondness for the Collector.
“You wanted the ‘Professor Park who knows everything’ to die. You have no interest in the living me. You’re intensely interested in what will be born after I die—the ‘thing that was Professor Park.’ Right?”
『....That the Adapter Plan didn’t fail. If you clearly recognize our origins and manifestation process, then the Variant Virus human survival plan still holds great potential—and that will be fully conveyed to the Adapter born after your death.』
The Collector had retained almost all of her appearance from her living days, but she was ultimately a Type 3 Variant manifested by the Variant Virus. That meant she was a fixed personality moving solely toward one purpose.
The form of a Type 3 Variant was both the origin trauma and the greatest indicator of their current state. In the Collector’s case, she had manifested as a machine into which her father had shoved a spinal cord probe while she was still alive. She was born with her human body from back then replacing the spherical machine parts. What did that mean? What was the Collector’s one singular goal?
“No way. Did you actually forgive Gedroits or something? Were you born with the thought of carrying on your father’s legacy, the one who turned you into machine parts?”
『Of course not. I just had questions. Natasha Gedroits literally became a ‘俗 brain’ and thought. Just how monumental must it have been? Why did she strive so hard, suffer so much, get betrayed, challenge again, fail, twist herself apart, and in the end use her own daughter, colleagues, and even Gedroits herself from a biological standpoint as consumables? What was this plan she had to achieve at all costs? She thought and thought and thought about it.』
『Then, reborn as the Type 3 Variant Collector, she found the answer to that question. The Adapter Plan didn’t fail. I am a being with self and will. The Adapter Plan succeeded; it just has a long way to go! ‘Natasha Gedroits didn’t sacrifice herself in vain!’—It was just a moment of realization like that.』
The Collector’s voice, laden with intense human emotion, echoed around them.
『As the entity that inherited Natasha Gedroits’s ‘questions,’ I desire the unwavering success of the Adapter Plan. To prove her sacrifice wasn’t in vain, I want the surviving humans not to perish like this but to pass on to the next generation. And as the minimal capacity to carry out that process, I pursue creating ‘a very large number of Adapter comrades.’』
“And at the top of the recruitment list for those ‘very large number of Adapter comrades’ is whoever Professor Park births upon dying... Something like that?”
『The Adapter born from you as the original will very likely manifest as an entity with ‘aggressive altruism.’ We inherit most of our past memories and knowledge. We predicted that such a being, knowing the full story of all this, would join the Artist Alliance with very high probability.』
“We have no intention of exterminating humanity. We’re purely following what Gedroits’s Adapter Plan sought: ‘preserve humanity to the next generation amid the scheduled catastrophe.’ It’s not much different from now. We just gather the surviving humans into one group and protect them as they build a peaceful, new society under our Adapters’ management.”
W continued the Collector’s words in a more earnest, heartfelt tone.
“It’s not about turning all of humanity into Type 3 Variants. We only turn as many as needed into Adapters to sustain them through the environmental catastrophe, then herd and manage them. Like livestock.”
“Please don’t view it only negatively—broaden your perspective. Adapters have bodies capable of operating in radioactive contaminated environments. You know how rapidly the contaminated zones have expanded in recent months, right? Eventually, those zones will cover the entire planet, and humanity’s survival space will inevitably shrink to the insides of shielded buildings. That’s why our mutated Adapter abilities, adapted to the changed environment, are essential for them.”
“....”
“This has nothing to do with a superior-inferior manager-managed relationship. Think of it as the gap between the living world and the afterlife. We are born from your deaths. More precisely, we’re born from those among you who endured horrific suffering. Only the socially abused and unjustly treated will be reborn as Adapters to ‘manage’ them upon death! Imagine such a society! Retribution becomes not a moral choice but a biological process! The newly born Adapters won’t leave the sources of their trauma be! The guilty will be punished by the hands of those they abused, humans will naturally become gentler toward each other, and society will be reborn as one that empathizes with mutual pain. What else could you call this but utopia?”
“And like what I pursued, it’ll naturally become a ‘small world where you can meet the Collector anywhere.’”
“....I won’t deny it. It does align with my personal goal. But understand this: every Adapter’s trauma stems from some evil human act, so every Adapter feels repulsion toward humanity’s negative and wicked behaviors. Even if we each have individual goals, we all react positively to maintaining human lives in a ‘comfortable state free of trauma generation.’”
“....Yeah. Sounds plausible. Very plausible.”
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
With the opponents laying all their intentions bare, only the sound of tapping the cable as he organized his thoughts lingered between the three Variants.
‘Artist Alliance. A group moving with firmer motivations than expected.’
In my mind, their threat level jumped several notches.
If what they said was true, the Artist Alliance wouldn’t side with anyone in the coming war.
Why? The more humans died miserably on either side, the more talent they could recruit. They’d be thrilled no matter who did the dying. They’d said outright they’d ‘manage humanity as one herd,’ so clearly fewer survivors than now would suit them fine. And amid countless deaths, a significant number would transform into Adapters.
No doubt, once war broke out, W would scour the battlefield with augmented reality drones, eyes bulging, while the Collector used my transport drones and every Gedroits Inc. device with a camera to snatch up freshly dead bodies where the Variant Virus was starting to manifest.
‘Bystanders during the war. After the war... they’d become merciless occupying forces oppressing humanity, or strict guardians depending on cooperation.’
It was headache-inducing because, mad ramblings of lunatics though it was (and they were literally embodiments of mental illness), it had a certain logic to it.
Radiation was still advancing southward even now.
Mandu, who had come all the way here, had to wear bulky environmental protection gear that made even lifting his arms difficult. Thousand Stream Emperor wore light radiation detox gear, and I just sucked in the radiation bare-bodied.
‘Adapters. Human mutants custom-made by Gedroits for the environmental catastrophe he prepared. Indeed, their abilities will be helpful in the not-too-distant future.’
“....Does that plan absolutely require the Professor Park Variant? Seems like plenty of useful hands will pop up soon enough without me.”
『No, it has to be you. You’re already like a lottery ticket that’s been scratched and confirmed as a winner—your post-death rebirth form as a Variant is fully revealed. Your altruism, which you downplay as ‘nosiness,’ has been proven to apply equally regardless of race, gender, age, or class. The billions of data personalities inside the mechanical device in your chest prove it. Rescuing them when they were meant to be eternally consumed until twisted—that proves your ‘nosiness’ extends to the futures of unspecified multitudes.』
『The being reborn after your death will play the role of the highest decision-making body in future human management. Having proven itself morally and personality-wise complete through countless trials, it will hold supreme authority in caring for all surviving humanity.』
“The product of the Completer Plan collaborates with the product of the Adapter Plan. Perhaps this is the true scenario Gedroits dreamed of back when he hadn’t yet despaired of humanity—a way to save it from extinction. I can’t imagine a better future than this, Professor Park.”
“So ultimately, you want me to die soon and join as ‘Adapter Professor Park.’”
There seemed to be no room for persuasion. They had set a firm course and placed me atop it, forcing a choice.
“....Alright, I heard you out. I thought you were loose screws, but turns out you gathered them up neat and built a precision machine.”
“The initial courtesy and respect are gone.”
“You’re completely different beings from anyone I knew. Hard to approach with a ‘friend’s family’ mindset when you’re so unlike World Tree over there, Collector.”
“Well, fine. We didn’t call you to be respected anyway. So, will you collaborate with us and take the lead in ‘saving humanity’?”
W extended a hand in place of the immobile Collector.
“....If we collaborate, you can overturn that ‘Raptor’s scheduled victory’ you mentioned.”
“Exactly. Through Collector’s abilities, we confirmed what Gedroits is plotting inside Raptor Society, and we can guess how they’ll use it. Stopping that will flip the tide toward Dome like turning your palm over.”
“Not only that, but everyone currently in the Artist Alliance will join to support Dome. You’ve experienced Buru’s combat abilities firsthand, so you know. Glinda’s ash, though minor against Dome’s cyborg troops doped to the limit with drugs, will be plenty effective against those handling their equipment. And beyond that, numerous comrades you can’t even imagine will support Dome with their various abilities. Raptor will crumble, Gustav al-Harb Raptor—carrier of Gedroits’s malevolent personality—will vanish with the grudge he left on the world, and only the will he left behind pursuing peace through the Adapter/Completer Plans will guide the world rightly.”
Oh, how grandiose.
Definitely poker level with a dozen spade aces.
“Fine.”
After much deliberation, I reached a conclusion.
“Pretend you never said any of that. Let’s go back to the original deal.”
“....Are you sane?”
“Of course I am—that’s why I’m saying this. Give me a way to suppress the Variant Virus eating my body. Then I’ll gladly lead Dome’s army and help slaughter Raptor’s reptile spawn.”
Sorry, but I can’t oblige requests to die for some grand future.
I’ve got a family now. Haven’t even named the kid yet.
『You know we have no reason to accept that deal, right? Even without us giving you a recovery method, you’ll fight Raptor. Professor Park won’t sit by while Dome falls and the people you love die.』
“Really? If that were true, you wouldn’t have asked me to collaborate in the first place, Collector. You need my help somehow to achieve your goals, so you dressed it up with all this talk to request ‘collaboration.’ Probably swinging that ‘Gedroits’s hidden plan’ around like a double-edged sword to stop it~? If that gets properly executed, the Artist Alliance’s goals go up in smoke, right? All that herding humanity like livestock or ‘protecting’ them gets totally wrecked.”
『Your people are the same! If we don’t stop him, there’s no future for the barely surviving humans! Our cooperation goes beyond mutual need—it’s a necessity for each of us!』
“Reaaaally~?? I’ve got this famous saying I’ve cherished in my heart all my life: [To screw over your enemy, first push things in a direction they don’t want.] What black-hearted Gedroits wants? Who knows. But with his counterintelligence and spies, he knows we’re prepping for war. A guy who’s already seen the future might’ve anticipated this and set plans perfectly timed down to the day. So, screw it—we cancel the war and hole up in Dome.”
『That’s a foolish decision! It only gives him more time for perfect preparations!』
“Who knows? Dome’s a freak military group that performs at over ten times efficiency in defensive battles. So far, we judged offense right based on infighting between Dome and Raptor, but add the Artist Alliance—a group with ‘clear goals and intervention will’—and it changes everything. Too uncertain. I’m out. I’ll hole up in Dome, pedal the bike generators, and blast Zeus with the power.”
『How can you...』
“Won’t work? I’m the expeditionary force chief of staff? If I report everything I’ve seen and heard here to our Alexander Young, you think he’ll say charge out or hunker down?”
『How... how can you be so foolish...』
As the Collector’s mechanical voice grew laced with despair and gloomy clouds floated on her screen.
I leaned fully against her cable, legs swinging casually, looking utterly relaxed—
‘Please buy it. Please! Roharam-nim, please make the Collector treat me like an idiot!’
Inside, I was biting my nails like mad, praying this nonsense would work on them.
‘If Gedroits prepared something, it’s obviously beyond Dome’s existing defenses. Pulling back offensively makes no sense to begin with.’
Everything I said in front of the Collector was a lie. The attack was decided to cut off the enemy before they finished prepping—if we retreat just because risks increased, we’d be adding new risks to the scheduled ones. Holing up in Dome was obviously idiotic.
‘But it’s crucial to make the Collector think we might do that.’
Considering all situations, withdrawing the offensive was impossible for us.
But for them? The Type 3 Variant Collector had to achieve her life goal, ‘completing the Adapter Plan,’ unconditionally, no matter the situation or plans.
‘Type 3 Variants live solely for their personal goal. The Collector can’t move toward any future, even slightly, that derails her objective. Her level of anxiety is different.’
In the same conditions—mutual bluffing where either backing down dooms both—the desperate side always loses. Sure, I could contemplate the ‘possibility’ of going ‘all in!’ and turning back, but the Collector couldn’t even consider such a direction.
‘No idea what Gedroits prepared, but from the Collector’s view, me and Dome’s forces absolutely must stop him. I’m essential to their plans. Which means in this situation, I have the edge! I can squeeze them!’
‘They definitely pivoted the moment I brought up the deal! That means they know a way to reverse the Variant transformation! Those bastards drag inner truths out into the open! They suck at lying! They’ve definitely got it! They have a method!’
.
.
.
.
....While thinking that, inwardly screaming Roharam’s name until I reached the stage of vowing to build a Radiance Temple in 3-World as close as possible to the original once I got back.
『Fine.... Agreed. I’ll tell you how to alleviate the Variant transformation—how to suppress the Variant Virus encroaching on your body, Professor Park.』
‘Yes!’
『In exchange, you and Dome’s forces must absolutely attack Raptor Society. As you said, this is a deal, and that’s my condition.』
“Deal. You won’t, say, assassinate me because my Variant transformation isn’t progressing naturally, right?”
『That would be idiotic. If you reborn as an Adapter harboring ill will toward us, we’d gain nothing and just create a powerful enemy. That won’t happen.』
“Then no issue. Fine. The moment I step out of this bunker, I’ll issue the advance order on my personal channel. Once the army starts moving, Raptor will react. At that point, no turning back. That fulfills our deal condition, right?”
『Understood. The method to suppress the Variant transformation is....』
A somewhat weary explanation of the method to extend my life flowed from the Collector’s mouth.
『....Do you understand?』
“Yeah, sure. That’s plenty. It’s just... absurdly simple.”
A simple, clear fact pierced through me.
I survived.
The mere fact of survival shot from my toes up my spine, thrilling my brain.
“....Gonna have to build it even bigger than I thought.”
『What does that mean?』
“Nothing. Just personal, religious stuff.”
I grinned wide at the deeply frowning emoticon on the monitor.
- Go to the Artist Alliance
- Check what stance this small military group, which we clashed with once during the 38th District incident, will take in this war
- And most importantly, see if they have a way to reverse my worsening condition.
All that Gedroits this and past that was just inserted facts—my true purposes were solely those three.
And just now, I’d achieved all three.
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