A Truly Lawful and Legitimate Slave Trader
In the year exactly 1,256 years after humanity first began to transcend and officially changed its calendar from the Common Era to the Human Era.
Around the time I, the last human ever born, who came from the year 9999 CE, was busy going to school.
Humanity was basking in the joy of transcendence, swept up in humanism, optimism, and excessive idealism.
After searching the entire universe and realizing that they were its only intelligent life, humanity devised a grand plan to solve this tremendous waste of space while fulfilling their sense of duty as transcendents.
The plan was to create intelligent life forms similar to pre-transcendence humanity, Homo sapiens, but more advanced, then scatter them across the universe.
At any rate, this universal life-colonization project began with the enthusiastic support of the majority of humanity, despite the worried objections of a tiny minority, myself included, who judged from media I'd seen in my previous life that things would probably end very badly.
As with most things, it went smoothly at first.
On a planet called Prometheus, in the neighboring galaxy of Andromeda—once known as the Milky Way, but now called the Origin Galaxy or the Core Galaxy—humanity succeeded in recreating an ideal environment like Earth and creating humans superior to the original Homo sapiens.
And the advanced intelligent life forms humanity officially created after transcending worshiped and revered humanity as gods in the beginning.
Humanity, for its part, thought these creations were good.
Promising to become their parents and teachers rather than their masters, humanity passed on a great deal of technology and knowledge without restricting their freedom.
These creations were more capable than anyone had expected. They quickly absorbed the knowledge humanity taught them, and their civilization continued to develop until, in roughly a hundred years, they were advanced enough to venture into space.
Delighted, humanity gave these creations the species name Prodium, meaning "first," and marked them as humanity's successors, who would manage and protect the universe if humanity ever disappeared for some reason.
Humanity treated the Prodiums well. Quite literally, without distortion.
Thanks to humanity's help, they had never even learned the concept of hunger. They had never experienced deprivation or scarcity, let alone war or even competition for survival.
But perhaps treating them too well was the problem.
At some point, the Prodiums gradually became arrogant, and eventually began to look down on their creators.
They even fell into the absurd delusion that this universe, which belonged to humanity, existed for their sake.
Trusting that the Prodiums would do well, humanity refrained from interfering much, as before, in the name of respecting their freedom.
The truth only came to light after a Prodium battleship attacked a human spacecraft that had come to teach them, as it did regularly.
Taken aback, humanity sent five of their own, the ones who had essentially designed the Prodium species, as unarmed emissaries to find out why the Prodiums had turned against them and, at the same time, persuade them.
But the arrogant Prodiums went on to do something they should never have done.
They committed the unforgivable sin of murdering their creators.
'Humanity had only recently transcended, and, more importantly, Cosmic Computational Engineering hadn't been developed yet. We'd conquered aging and disease, but death by physical murder was still possible back then.'
So what did humanity do to the creations who had killed their own kind and dared to raise a blade against their creators?
Die without resisting, marveling at the rebellion of their creations, like the creators in some sci-fi fiction?
Humanity was still humanity. It wasn't going to do anything like that.
The thing humanity had cared about most while transcending was preserving its own "humanity." And though humanity had matured morally, its fundamental nature hadn't changed.
The rage and hatred brought on by the first—and last—death of one of their kind since transcendence awakened the destructive instinct humanity had kept so carefully under control.
After that, well...
'We used literally everything at our disposal to wipe out the Prodiums.'
Humanity exterminated the Prodiums across the universe, quickly suppressing the rebellion of these arrogant creations. Based on that experience, humanity established the Westminster Code, completely prohibiting the implantation of free will in creations.
And that was how the war ended.
No—or, to be precise, that was how humanity thought it ended.
Until today.
"So the Prodiums had been hiding in all those universes they made with the Microcosm Maker?"
"And they've flourished enormously in those microcosms, too..."
"Yes. That's correct. We traced their hyperspace jumps and confirmed their bases. There's no doubt about it."
I nodded at the words of Agu halabeoji and Jeina halmeoni.
The Microcosm Maker was a device created by humanity, and, just as its name suggested, it could create small universes.
It had existed even before the creation of the Prodiums. It sounded impressive, but the maximum size it could create in one go was a single galaxy. Nothing special.
It had been the pinnacle of technology when it was first created, but now it was a commonplace item you could order online.
However, the device was secured so that only humanity could operate it, and I doubted there had been more than a handful of them back then. I couldn't figure out how the Prodiums had gotten their hands on one.
"Grr... I'm sure some of the people who died while serving as emissaries back then were key personnel in developing the technology used in this device..."
That was only a guess, though.
In any case, after probing the paths through hyperspace the Prodiums had used with my cosmic senses, we discovered that they were spread across countless microcosms created with the Microcosm Maker.
-THUD!!
"We need to dispatch fleets right now and incinerate every universe they're in!!"
The first to act was Son White, the Defense Minister, who had a rather aggressive disposition.
Slamming his hand down on the table in front of him, he insisted that humanity immediately use its universe-destroying weapons to erase the Prodiums from existence along with their microcosms.
-Zawa-zawa
-Zawa-zawa
His fellow humans began to react, agreeing with him.
"Is that truly the right thing to do? Given their original sin, extinction is inevitable. But shouldn't we at least show them the final mercy of letting them understand why they must meet their end?"
-Zawa-zawa
-Zawa-zawa
In contrast, the gentle-natured Jeina halmeoni, the Foreign Affairs Minister, suggested that killing them was fine, but humanity should at least show them the mercy of allowing them to realize why, and for what reason, they were being killed.
The humans who agreed with her began to murmur.
Though she was mild-mannered, she spoke as if exterminating the Prodiums was only natural. And no one in the chamber found anything strange about that.
That was partly because hatred for the Prodiums, who had murdered their kind and dared to betray humanity, ran so deep—but there was another reason, too.
'An ideology imprinted through Meme Imprinting Technology... The Prodiums did something rather interesting.'
Meme Imprinting Technology was developed by humanity in the early days of transcendence. It was a technology that imprinted specific ideologies, thoughts, and behavioral patterns into a living being's genes, down to the level of instinct.
Nowadays, it was an obsolete technology, replaced by the development of the more powerful Cosmic Computational Engineering, which could be applied not only to life forms but to a far wider range of things.
Anyway, these Prodiums had used Meme Imprinting Technology to instill their descendants with instinctive hostility and hatred toward humanity.
-Hoook!! Hoooook!! Oh-go-gok!! Humanity is the best!!♥ Woof woof woof!!♥
'I discovered that memes had been imprinted while processing the existence of the puppy. How vile. How disgusting.'
After surviving humanity's wrath, they should have reflected and repented, promising never to do it again, and lived quietly with their heads down. Instead, they had once again been sharpening their knives against humanity.
Their technology probably hadn't advanced compared to humanity's, since we hadn't detected any use of Base Energy for Reality Programming yet.
But if things had gone wrong, humanity might have suffered devastating internal damage at the hands of countless Prodiums without even knowing why.
Even the moderate faction couldn't forgive this, not when humanity's bonds with its own kind had grown so strong.
"No, what I mean is..."
"Even so..."
"Grr..."
The extremists, led by Uncle White, and the moderates, led by Jeina halmeoni, were calmly discussing things in an attempt to find common ground. But it looked like the discussion would take quite a while to end.
Agu halabeoji, who was in a neutral position, let out a groan-filled sigh, lamenting that the council wasn't going to wrap up anytime soon today either.
The topic seemed dangerous enough that dragging things out might be a problem, but time inside this place had been set to flow far more slowly than it did outside. Even if a hundred million years passed here, not even a second would pass outside, so time wasn't an issue.
"Ministers, and my fellow humans."
But I had no intention of letting this dull, high-minded discussion—which wasn't even getting heated—drag on for long.
The moment I spoke, everyone fell silent, and countless gazes turned toward me.
"Before you decide what to do with the Prodiums, there's something I'd like to say."
"Speak, young Omega."
"Article 12, Paragraph 1, of Chapter 7 of the Empire's Amended Constitution. Any person who is the first to discover an unregistered cosmic region and prove its existence shall possess full ownership and exclusive dominion over all matter, energy, structures, and life within its boundaries."
I recited the imperial law that would establish the legality of what I was about to do.
It was a law created in the empire's earliest days, and it was still in force.
Unlike when it was first established, it was rarely used, but even now, there were occasional explorers who discovered an extracosmic region beyond the Void and gained ownership of it.
"Paragraph 2. The rights set forth in the preceding paragraph shall apply only when no prior claim to the cosmic region in question by a citizen of the Human Empire or a creation of humanity has been confirmed."
The Prodiums weren't citizens of the Human Empire, but they were creations of humanity. Therefore, they didn't fall under the category of alien intelligent life forms other than citizens of the Human Empire or creations of humanity, as specified in Paragraph 2.
Furthermore, only citizens of the empire could report and register the discovery of an unregistered cosmic region in the imperial database, so the microcosms claimed by the Prodiums weren't registered in the imperial system.
Therefore, the reason specified in Paragraph 2 did not apply to the Prodiums' prior claim to those microcosms, and did not restrict the first discoverer's acquisition of ownership under Paragraph 1.
Besides, the Prodiums had forfeited all human rights and legal protection the moment they betrayed humanity.
So what was my point?
"Therefore, I hereby claim 'legitimate' ownership of the microcosms I discovered, and of all the 'resources' within them, including the Prodiums."
In legal terms, those microcosms and the Prodiums were all mine.
-Zawa-zawa
-Zawa-zawa
-Zawa-zawa
As soon as I finished speaking, the chamber became noisy once again.
And it wasn't just the other humans seated in the general assembly. The three ministers were reacting the same way.
"There's no legal issue with it, but granting the young Omega's request could cause problems in the future."
"Even so, the law is the law. If we abandon what we ourselves established, its very foundations will crumble."
Once again, the council split between those who argued that it should accept my request and those who insisted on taking a more cautious approach, and the debate began anew.
"Enough."
Unable to watch any longer, Agu halabeoji stepped in.
"First, I'll ask you this. Young Omega, what do you intend to do with the microcosms and the failures?"
"To be perfectly frank... I intend to process the Prodiums and turn them into slaves."
I answered the old man honestly.
Basically, the Prodiums were creations of humanity, not aliens, but they weren't citizens of the empire either.
In other words, there was no legal problem with doing whatever I wanted to them.
This was an extremely unusual case, especially considering that even mechanical AIs were granted citizenship in the empire as soon as they became self-aware, if they were creations of humanity.
'That means I can marry them and keep them around like my wives without paying them a salary.'
And they had no human rights or other basic rights. More importantly, they weren't precious beings like the citizens under my command, so I could play with them pretty roughly without any problem.
It was a perfect fit for my goal of building a larger harem.
Of course, that wasn't all.
"Also, I'd like to contribute to human society by supplying and selling these slaves, once they've been made, for your personal purposes as well as my own."
Intelligent-life slaves who could legally be used for whatever you wanted?
I could guarantee it: that would make money.
A ridiculous amount of money—so much that the smell of it wouldn't just go up my nose and slam into my brain, it'd be enough to make my brain break-dance.
'And if I make more money, I can create more citizens-wives.'
That fit my goal, too.
"My dear fellow humans.
Technology has continued to advance without pause. At this very moment, human civilization stands at the most glorious peak in its history. Yet even amid this dazzling prosperity, we have never cast aside our humanity.
And that is precisely why, ever since we crossed the threshold of transcendence, the oldest enemy we have faced has remained before us.
As always, it is none other than boredom.
Stagnation brings decline, ennui dulls the mind, and a dulled mind eventually devours civilization from within.
And so, with these failures, I wish to create a new source of vitality for humanity as it faces its great adversary, boredom.
Therefore, I humbly ask you to give me this opportunity."
After finishing my long speech, which concealed my real intentions and dressed up my actions in plausible rhetoric...
"..."
Agu halabeoji wore a faintly troubled expression as he considered it, then said:
"Very well. I understand your thinking, young Omega. Your claim to ownership of the microcosms and the failures is entirely lawful."
However...
"Many of our kind have expressed concern about the very existence of the Prodiums, and we have yet to reach a precise judgment about the degree of threat they pose. Even so, the law and humanity's legitimate exercise of its rights must be upheld. Therefore, I propose that this matter be put to a vote before the council."
"Hmm. That would be best."
"I agree."
The other ministers agreed with Agu halabeoji's proposal, and a voting window was immediately distributed through the Cosmic Network.
Naturally, it was distributed to me as well, since I was directly involved in the matter. I immediately voted in favor.
The vote involved an enormous number of humans, but it took less time than the blink of an eye.
Once the results were in, Agu halabeoji, who was the Internal Affairs Minister and had to handle matters like this, spoke.
"The count is complete. There were 23 trillion, 345 million, 214 thousand, 452 votes in favor, and 2 trillion, 234 million, 134 thousand, 321 against. With approximately 92% in favor, the proposal has passed. Therefore, the Prodiums and the microcosms they inhabit are now the lawful private property of Omega Primus, a 1st Class Citizen. Does anyone here wish to object?"
Agu halabeoji asked everyone present, but no one seemed inclined to voice an objection.
Among humans, who had achieved great mental evolution and maturity, those who usually opposed a matter decided by majority vote in this council were few and far between.
'If a lot of people had voted against it and the proposal had been rejected, I would've accepted that, too.'
It wasn't as if I stood to lose anything in particular.
At any rate, my plan had been a tremendous success.
"None, then. This matter is concluded."
Now that the discussion was completely over, it was time to—
'I can't wait.'
When you added together all the microcosms inhabited by the Prodiums, they were about the same size as our universe. That wasn't all that large, but when I thought of the beautiful Prodium women and resources within, my mouth was already watering.
As I imagined my rosy-colored future...
"However, as I said earlier, we still don't know the exact extent of the threat posed by the Prodiums. Therefore, after discussing the matter with the two ministers, I've decided to dispatch an investigator to determine the situation on the ground. And to prepare for any eventuality, we will also dispatch the 12th Fleet to protect 1st Class Citizen Omega Primus and exterminate the failures."
The ministers had given me an unexpected gift.
"Furthermore, 1st Class Citizen Omega Primus shall be granted the rank of Legatus, which permits limited possession and use of military technology, and the 2nd Class Citizens under his command shall also be permitted to possess and use military weapons for subordinate beings."
-Nod
"Hmm!"
Jeina halmeoni and Uncle White nodded in agreement with Agu halabeoji's words.
But I was more distracted by what Agu halabeoji had said than by their reactions.
'Oh, military technology.'
By the standards of humanity, which had evolved beyond the limits of transcendence, military technology referred to weapons of overwhelming power, capable of anything from destroying a galaxy cluster to wreaking havoc on a cosmic scale.
Because excessive use could upset the balance of the universe and literally risk its collapse, civilian use was strictly prohibited.
Humanity could survive even if the universe collapsed, but the universe itself was humanity's shared public property.
Anyway, the thought that I could use military technology already made me feel much more secure.
And the fleet they were attaching as my escort went without saying.
But the best part was—
'The girls are going to love this.'
Even if it was for 2nd Class Citizens, I could let my wives use military technology and equipment with far better performance.
It was always a good thing when my wives got stronger and performed better.
"With that, I hereby conclude this emergency council session."
Agu halabeoji's words brought the council to a close, and, like everyone else, I left the council building and headed home.
There was a lot to do before I could conquer the Prodiums' microcosms.
◆◆◆
The council chamber, after all participants had left.
Only the three ministers remained, talking amongst themselves.
"Senior Augustus, are you really sure it's all right to grant that young Omega that much authority?"
Son White asked, glancing at Augustus, who stood beside him.
He was thinking about the matter that had just passed in the council.
Of course it was important to uphold the law and humanity's legitimate rights. Still, recognizing ownership of the Prodiums, who were clearly enemies, and even granting him the rank of Legatus seemed excessive.
"I agree with Minister Son to some extent. I'm worried this might hurt the boy."
Jeina quietly added from beside them.
"I share some of that concern. But... didn't the boy look at the failures and the worlds they belonged to with such eager anticipation? How could I go against the wishes of a child like that?"
Despite the two ministers' concerns, Augustus spoke calmly, gazing at the spot where Omega had stood.
"You both know what that child is... what he means to humanity."
If this Infinite Human Empire without an emperor had an emperor, it would probably be that child.
The last human to be born.
The origin of all transcendent humanity.
The final messiah descended upon the earth.
A living salvation.
"That child is... the 'Child of the Stars.'"
So this much was something they could gladly give him.
At those words, the two ministers nodded as if they understood.
Soon, they too left the council, and a profound silence settled over the enormous assembly hall.