Chapter 509
Chapter 509
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Gedroits's Heirs, Deul (19)
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‘I have no intention of just dying like a fucking idiot.’
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 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 way. Give me a way.”
『A way...?』
“W was involved in developing the variant virus, and you, Collector, have access to most of the facilities Andrey Gedroits left behind. Hell, you’ve enthusiastically researched your own existence as adapters. So you must know a way to suppress the changes happening to me right now, right?”
『Professor.』
“Give me a way to revert my body back to normal as it turns into a Type 3 variant, or at least maintain the current state. Do that, and like you said, I’ll become your saint or savior or whatever.”
So, we had to make a deal. If they had what I wanted and I had what they wanted, wasn’t this the natural order of things?
The Collector fell silent, and her screen only displayed a faint, troubled emoticon.
“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 will be reborn as a ‘Type 3 variant adapter who was once Professor.’ That’s 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 ended up.
I couldn’t help but give a bitter smile at the Collector’s mechanical voice.
“It’s just... when a complicated puzzle starts filling in 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.
See? When I had no clue and just felt like I was caught 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 some reason—and Professor, confirmed as the Completer, is at its center. That’s why you wanted me, the center of all future events, to know these truths from the past for whatever choices lie ahead... That’s the gist. But you still glossed over what the Artists’ Alliance really wants. You skipped right over that.”
Why did you call me? / To tell you the truth.
Why tell me the truth? / Because you’ll be at the center of everything going forward.
Why does Professor, the center of everything, need to know the truth? What does that have to do with you, Collector, or the Artists’ Alliance? / ....
No matter how I thought about it, that part of the Collector’s explanation felt unnaturally omitted, and I wasn’t oblivious enough to let it slide.
『Yes, that’s right. We desperately hope you’ll join us as one of our kind. Disappointed?』
“Pretty much. Maybe because you’re the World Tree’s original, I had really good feelings about you from the start.”
『Well, I hear my sister in the digital world operated in a similar sneaky 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 triple the sneakiness.”
Hearing her confirmation, I let out a sigh mixed with laughter, shaking off my personal fondness for the Collector.
“You wanted the ‘Professor who knows everything about your past and truths’ 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.’ Right?”
『....That the Adapter Project didn’t fail. If you clearly recognize our origins and manifestation process, then the variant virus humanity survival plan still holds great potential. It’ll be fully conveyed to the adapter born after your death.』
The Collector 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 driven by a single purpose.
The form of a Type 3 variant reflected both its originating trauma and its current state as the biggest indicator. In the Collector’s case, she manifested as a machine where her father had vivisected her alive to insert the spinal column. She was born with her human body from those days replacing the spherical mechanical parts. What did that mean? What was the Collector’s one and only goal?
“No way—you’ve forgiven Gedroits or something? Born with thoughts of carrying on your father’s legacy after he turned you into machine parts?”
『Of course not. I just had questions. Natasha Gedroits literally became a ‘mortal brain’ and thought. What could be so monumental? Why the effort, the suffering, the betrayal, the retries, the failures, twisting herself until she used her own daughter, colleagues, and even her biological self as consumables. What plan was so vital she had to go that far? She thought and thought and thought about it.』
『Then, reborn as Type 3 variant Collector, she found the answer to those questions. The Adapter Project didn’t fail. I’m a being with self and will. The Adapter Project succeeded; it just has a long way to go! ‘Natasha Gedroits didn’t sacrifice in vain!’—that was the moment of realization.』
The Collector’s voice, laden with intense human emotion, echoed around us.
『As the entity inheriting Natasha Gedroits’s ‘questions,’ I seek the Adapter Project’s unwavering success. To prove her sacrifice wasn’t in vain, I want the surviving humans to continue to the next generation without perishing, and to that end, I pursue creating the minimum necessary capability: ‘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 spawns after dying... That’s the gist?”
『The adapter spawned from you as original will very likely manifest with ‘aggressive altruism.’ We inherit most of our past memories and knowledge. We predict that entity, knowing the full story, will join the Artists’ Alliance with very high probability.』
“We have no intention of exterminating humanity. We’re purely following what Gedroits’s Adapter Project sought: ‘preserve humanity to the next generation from the scheduled catastrophe.’ It’s not much different from now. We just unite the surviving humans into one group and protect them under our adapters’ management to build a peaceful, new society.”
W continued the Collector’s words in a more earnest, heartfelt tone.
“It’s not about turning all 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 negatively—broaden your perspective. Adapters have bodies suited for radioactive contaminated environments. You know how fast radioactive zones have been expanding lately, right? Eventually, they’ll cover the entire planet, and humanity’s survival space will be limited to insides of shielded buildings—that’s obvious. That’s why our mutated adapter abilities, adapted to the changed environment, are essential for them.”
“....”
“This isn’t a hierarchical manager-managed relationship. Think of it as the gap between the living world and the afterlife. We’re born from your deaths. More precisely, from those who suffered horrific agony. Only the socially abused and unjustly treated are reborn as adapters who ‘manage’ them upon death! Imagine such a society! Retribution becomes a biological process, not a moral choice! Newly born adapters won’t leave their trauma’s perpetrators alone! 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 suffering. What else could you call that but utopia?”
“And, like what you pursued, W, 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 humanity’s evil acts, so all adapters feel aversion to humans’ negative, evil behaviors. Even with individual goals, they’ll all positively respond to maintaining human lives in a ‘comfortable state free of trauma generation.’”
“....Yeah. Sounds plausible. Real plausible.”
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
With the opponents laying all their intentions bare, only the sound of tapping cables lingered between the three variants as I sorted my thoughts.
‘Artists’ Alliance. A group moving with more solid motivations than expected.’
My internal threat assessment of them jumped several levels.
If what they said was true, the Artists’ Alliance wouldn’t side with anyone in the coming war.
Why? The more humans died miserably on the other side, the more talent they could recruit. They’d love for everyone to die off in droves. They even said outright they’d ‘unite and manage humanity,’ so obviously fewer survivors would be better. At the same time, among the countless deaths, plenty would transform into adapters.
No doubt, once war broke out, W would scour battlefields red-eyed with augmented reality drones, and using my transport drones and every Gedroits Inc. device with cameras, they’d snatch up freshly dead bodies where the variant virus was starting to manifest and bring them here?
‘Bystanders during the war. After... merciless occupying force oppressing humanity, or strict protector depending on cooperation.’
It was headache-inducing because their ravings (technically, they were embodiments of mental illness) had some logic.
Radiation was still advancing southward.
Mandu, who’d come all this way, needed thick environmental protection gear just to lift an arm. Thousand Stream Emperor wore light radiation detox gear, and I just inhaled it bare-bodied.
‘Adapters. Human mutants custom-made by Gedroits for the environmental catastrophe he prepared. Definitely, their abilities will be helpful in the near future.’
“....Does that plan absolutely need a Professor variant? Seems like plenty of useful ones will pop up soon enough without me.”
『No, it has to be you. You’re already like a lottery ticket scratched and confirmed as a winner—your post-death variant form is fully revealed. Your ‘nosiness,’ as you downplay it, has been proven to act equally regardless of race, gender, age, class. The billions of data personalities in the device on your chest prove it. Rescuing those who should’ve been 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 morally and personally complete through countless trials, it’ll hold supreme authority in caring for surviving humanity.』
“The Completer Project’s outcome collaborating with the Adapter Project’s. Perhaps this is the true scenario Gedroits envisioned back when he hadn’t given up on humanity—to save it from extinction? I can’t imagine a better future, Professor.”
“So ultimately, you want me to die soon and join as ‘Adapter Professor.’”
No room for persuasion. They’d set their firm course and placed me on it, forcing a choice.
“....Alright, I heard you out. Thought you were loose screws, but you’ve neatly gathered them into a precision machine.”
“Your initial politeness is gone.”
“You’re completely different from who I knew. Hard to approach with a ‘friend’s family’ mindset when Collector here is so unlike World Tree.”
“Fine by me. Wasn’t called here to be respected. So, will you lead the way in ‘saving humanity’ by cooperating with us?”
W extended a hand in place of the immobile Collector.
“....If we cooperate, we could overturn that ‘Raptor Society’s scheduled victory’ you mentioned.”
“Exactly. Through Collector’s abilities, we confirmed what Gedroits is plotting inside Raptor Society and how they’ll use it. Stopping that will flip the tide to Dome like turning your palm.”
“Not only that, but everyone currently in the Artists’ Alliance will join to support Dome. You’ve experienced Bu-ru’s combat prowess firsthand, and Glinda’s ash, though minor against Dome’s cyborgs doped to the limit with drugs, will be plenty effective against those handling their gear. Plus countless comrades you can’t even imagine, each with unique abilities supporting Dome. Raptors will crumble, Gustav al-Harb Raptor—vessel of Gedroits’s malevolent personality—will vanish with his lingering grudge, and only the peace-seeking Adapter/Completer Projects he left will guide the world right.”
Oh boy, how grandiose.
Definitely poker level with twelve spade aces.
“Alright.”
After deliberation, I reached a conclusion.
“Pretend I didn’t hear that, and go back to the original deal.”
“....Are you sane?”
“Of course—only because I am do I say this. Give me a way to suppress the variant virus eating my body. Then I’ll gladly lead Dome’s army and slaughter Raptor’s reptile spawn.”
Sorry, can’t oblige requests to die for grand futures.
I’ve got a family now. Haven’t even named the kid yet?
『You know we have no reason to accept that deal? Even without giving you recovery, you’ll fight Raptors. Professor won’t sit by while Dome falls and your loved ones die.』
“Really? If so, you wouldn’t have asked for cooperation in the first place, Collector. You need my help somehow for your goals, so you dressed it up as ‘cooperation.’ Probably swinging that ‘Gedroits’s hidden plan’ like a double-edged sword to stop it~? If it works perfectly, it’d wreck Artists’ Alliance goals too, right? All that livestock-izing or protecting goes down the drain?”
『Your people too! If we don’t stop him, no future for barely surviving humanity! Cooperating is natural for each other’s sake beyond needs!』
“Reaaaally~?? I’ve got this quote I cherish: [To screw your enemy, first proceed in a direction they don’t want.] What black-hearted Gedroits wants? Who knows. But with his intel net and spies, he knows we’re prepping war. A guy who’s seen the future might’ve already anticipated and timed everything perfectly. So, cancel the war and hole up in Dome.”
『That’s idiotic! Just giving him time for perfect prep!』
“Who knows? Dome’s a freak military group that pulls 10x efficiency in defense. So far, we judged offense right due to Dome-Raptor infighting, but add Artists’ Alliance—a group with clear goals and intervention will—and it changes. Too uncertain. I’m out. Hole up in Dome, pedal bikes for Zeus power, whatever.”
『How...』
“Not buying it? I’m expeditionary chief of staff? Tell Alexander Young everything I saw and heard here—will he say charge out or hunker down?”
『How can you be so foolish...』
As the Collector’s mechanical voice filled with despair and gloomy clouds appeared on her screen.
I leaned fully against her cables, legs swinging leisurely—
‘Please buy it. Please! Roharam, make Collector treat me like an idiot!’
Inside, I was biting my nails like mad, praying this bullshit would work on them.
‘If Gedroits prepared something, it’s obviously beyond Dome’s current defenses. Pulling offense makes no sense.’
Everything I said to Collector was lies. The attack was decided to cut off enemy prep early; retreating now over added risks just stacks them. Holing up in Dome was idiotic, obviously.
‘But making Collector think we might do it is key.’
Realistically, pulling offense is impossible considering all factors.
But them? Type 3 variant Collector’s life goal—completing Adapter Project—must happen unconditionally, no matter the situation or plan.
‘Type 3 variants live solely for personal goals. Collector can’t move toward any future, even slightly, that derails hers. Her impatience level is different.’
Same stakes, mutual destruction bluff where one retreat dooms both—the desperate side always loses. Sure, I could think ‘fuck it, retreat!’ as a possibility, but Collector can’t even consider that direction.
‘Whatever Gedroits prepared, Collector needs me and Dome’s forces to stop it. I’m essential to their plan. So I hold a slight edge here! I can squeeze them!’
‘They pivoted right when I brought up the deal! Means they know a way to reverse variant-ization! They’re the type whose innards we dragged out! They suck at lying! They definitely have it! A way!’
.
.
.
.
...With thoughts like that, inwardly screaming Roharam’s name until promising to build a Radiance Temple in 3World as close as possible to the original once back.
『Fine.... We’ll tell you how to mitigate the variant-ization, suppress the variant virus encroaching on your body, Professor.』
‘Yes!’
『In return, you and Dome’s forces must attack Raptor Society. As you said, this is a deal—my condition.』
“Deal. You won’t assassinate me if my variant-ization doesn’t progress naturally, right?”
『That’d be stupid. If you reborn as an adapter hostile to us, we gain nothing and just make a strong enemy. Won’t happen.』
“No issue then. Soon as I exit the bunker, I’ll issue march orders on my private channel. Once the army moves, Raptors react. No turning back then. That fulfills our deal, right?”
『Understood. The way to suppress variant-ization is....』
From the somewhat weary Collector came the method to extend my life.
『....Do you understand?』
“Yeah, sure. That’s plenty. Kinda absurd, though.”
A simple, clear fact pierced me.
I survived.
The sheer fact of survival shot from my toes up my spine, thrilling my brain.
“....Gonna have to make it bigger than I thought.”
『What’s that mean?』
“Nothing. Just personal, religious stuff.”
I grinned wide at the deeply frowning emoticon on the monitor.
- Go to Artists’ Alliance
- Check what stance this small military group, who clashed once during 38th District incident, will take in this war
- Above all, see if they have a way to reverse my worsening condition.
Gedroits this, past that—they were just inserted facts. My goals were purely those three.
And I’d just achieved all three.
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