Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Ship of Theseus
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Even though discovering monsters already existing in the world was common enough, witnessing the very moment one was "created" was rare.
Honestly, it was so rare I could count them on one hand. Lower odds than pulling an SSR in your average gacha game.
In other words, the instant Patient A's brain shifted from naturally occurring to artificially farmed was one of those precious few SSSR-grade specimens.
"[Ship of Theseus]. That's the monster."
"Ship of Theseus? What's that...?"
No Do-ha, whose knowledge in certain fields lagged far behind, asked back.
The reason was simple. There was no philosophy subject on the South Korean civil service exam. It was the backlash against the Joseon era, where they only tested philosophy.
"There was a ship that the hero Theseus sailed on. Being as precious as a turtle ship, you'd think they'd preserve it, right?"
"Hmm..."
"But as time passed, the planks rotted, so they replaced them with new wood and repaired it. If you keep doing that, eventually all the original planks that made up the ship disappear, replaced entirely with new ones—"
"Aha. So, can you still call it the 'Ship of Theseus'? If you judge by the materials, isn't the contents completely changed? Something like that...?"
"Exactly."
At what point does it stop being the 'Ship of Theseus,' and from where is it no longer that?
What was the Ship of Theseus to begin with?
The classic dilemma tied to identity.
Why did it have to be the ship Theseus sailed on, of all things?
It didn't particularly matter. He was just the most famous hero in Athens.
It was like how they'd repair 'Yi Sun-sin's ship' far more diligently than 'Won Gyun's ship,' even if both were Joseon navy command ships.
Truth be told, there were tons of dilemmas with different names but the same substance.
Back then or now, hungry scholars needed to repackage the same product with flashy wrappers to make a living.
A scientist's brain going into a jar or Schrödinger's cat into a box—they all sacrificed themselves to feed their masters.
"Alright, fine..."
No Do-ha averted her gaze slightly.
There, strapped immobile to the operating table, was Patient A—or whatever had once been Patient A, now a monster.
If No Do-ha were a mad scientist or an evil organization's executive, it would look like the setup for some major catastrophe ahead.
"I've got the gist of what kind of monster it is. One that gets confused about its own identity, babbling nonsense like 'Who am I? Where am I?' or whatever...?"
"Um. Probably?"
"Why does our dear Regressor end his sentences with question marks? You're making me anxious..."
"Because even I've never witnessed this before. I use terms like identity or, more precisely, sameness—identity. But no point explaining; the Corps Chief wouldn't get it anyway. Moving on."
"Aha. You wanna die...?"
"Anyway, it's definitely a monster whose identity wavers."
Right now, Patient A, isolated in the lab, kept muttering nonstop.
-A single speck of dust falls on the table, and from an atom's perspective, the table as an object has changed. How much more so for a human? Am I Areum? What is Areum? What defines Areum's Areum-ness, her beauty, her loveliness?
No Do-ha pressed her forehead at the Gestalt collapse of "Areum."
"What a headache..."
"Hmm. Maybe the patient's real name being 'Areum' was a trigger point too. Remove one dot, and it's 'name.' Names are the term closest to identity."
"No, why remove the dot...?"
"How should I know? That's just what monsters do."
No Do-ha spat out curses. Fill in the blank with whatever top-tier profanity you can imagine.
"Sigh. Anyway, excluding the nonsense babbling, no other anomalies, thank goodness. Let's just keep it isolated in prison forever..."
"Agreed."
~And so the new monster was confined to Impel Down at National Highway Management Corps HQ, living out its happy days.~ END.
If it had ended there, they wouldn't have bothered mentioning the episode.
Monsters begin "growing" the moment they're born, inflicting irreversible effects on the world.
The purpose of this episode is to let you taste that aftermath.
[Undertaker.]
Starting that very day—the day Patient A's monster was born and isolated—bizarre phenomena erupted.
"Yes, Saintess. What is it?"
[Some Awakeners scouting Voids on the Korean Peninsula have fallen into mental delusion.]
"Pardon?"
[The afflicted started questioning their own existence, and within five minutes, passed out. Fellow guild members are evacuating them to the rear.]
"..."
A chill ran down my neck.
"Send me the coordinates of the closest afflicted to my position."
[Got it. Near Gimhae...]
I rushed to the location immediately.
By then, guild members were already transporting the injured to the hospital. I helped and followed them there.
The building was more clinic than full hospital, but that's how places were these days. Even drug dispensing separation couldn't survive the apocalypse.
"This kid suddenly lost consciousness. We didn't do anything wrong!"
An Awakener from the same guild as the afflicted testified.
He seemed a bit scared by the sudden arrival of someone like me.
"We were scouting per protocol to guard against mental corruption. R-Really. We prepared thoroughly. No warning at all—really—the kid boarded the boat first, and suddenly lost it..."
"Boat?"
My mind snapped alert.
"Wait. You boarded a boat in the Void?"
"Yes? Oh, yeah... The Jo Man River area is way faster by water route. Ah. Over there! We didn't take any dangerous paths! It was our usual route, really!"
Separate from the Awakeners desperately defending themselves lest blame fall on them, I sighed deeply inwardly.
'It's barely been born, and it's already devouring the very concept of [ships]!'
This was no time to dawdle.
I left the hospital room and contacted Yongsan's control tower.
"Saintess. Are you watching me now?"
[Yes.]
"Check for commonalities among the Awakeners showing mental delusion symptoms. Did any first board or sight a 'boat' in the Void?"
[...Hard to verify all, but it fits. All groups with cases were near water.]
"Ha."
A faint hesitation.
The face of an Awakener who charged into the Void to fight monsters despite losing their powers. A smile. Thanks.
Resolve always stronger than hesitation.
"Saintess."
[Yes.]
"Contact Corps Chief No Do-ha and request termination of Isolate-239-430-1-A. Or just say 'Areum'; she'll know."
[Got it.]
Silence flowed.
Two minutes.
[Terminated.]
I asked immediately.
"Physical dissolution?"
[In progress. No observed resistance to the aura so far. Physical dissolution seems viable.]
"Good work."
[No problem.]
"Tell Corps Chief No Do-ha it's not her fault. I agreed too, and monsters can emerge anytime."
[...Yes. I'll pass it on.]
My mind raced.
'Is this the end? Or too late to stop the contamination?'
Monsters grew their power in various ways.
Let me introduce the most typical one on this occasion.
Contaminating a specific 'concept.'
For example.
Suppose a monster contaminates 'the lily in my backyard.'
Not very dangerous. I just don't grow lilies.
What if it contaminates 'lilies' as a whole?
A bit riskier. But still no need for obsessive vigilance.
Lilies don't kill people (some theories aside), and if truly dangerous, post on SG Net: 'Everyone, beware lilies.'
But beyond lilies to 'plants'?
No, beyond plants to 'life' itself?
Yes.
Sharp readers get it already, but the narrower the concept, the less dangerous; wider it spreads, the risk scales proportionally.
Simple diagram:
――――――――――
[Existence]
│
[Living] [Non-Living]
│
[Cellular Life] [Acellular Life] ....
――――――――――
Like that.
Imagine the world made not of space but concepts.
Monsters climb those conceptual ladders, spreading their cells.
Sometimes up, sideways, down. Steadily or leaping. Occasionally logically. Mostly illogically.
Monsters' vile virus-dialectic to corrupt our world's pyramid of existence.
Thus.
To become a fine 'monster virus quarantine expert,' first discern where the monster started contaminating, which ladders it's climbing, and where it's spreading.
Even as a Regressor, that's what I did.
My brain churned:
'Ships contaminated. Next? All vehicles? Bikes, trains? Headache if so. Or since it's ships, expand to water-related? Or physical destruction means it's subjugated?'
Then.
-Uh, uhh? Uh? What's wrong with you?!
-Wait! Hey! Stop! I said stop!
Bang!
The hospital room door burst open noisily.
Turning, I saw the recently transported mental case gaping blankly.
Words leaked from its mouth.
"Ship..."
"Hey, hey! Lee Geum-seon! What are you doing?!"
Fellow guild members rushed out after it into the hall.
"Eyes opened and suddenly muttering weird stuff! Ah, uh. Undertaker, sir. Sorry. Kid regained consciousness and hopped right out of bed!"
"Need to fix the ship..."
Mumble.
The mental case trudged forward.
"Must fix the ship. Existence crumbles; only fixer of ships shall save us. That ark for all..."
Fellows yelled "Hey! Hey!" and grabbed, but futile.
Somehow superhuman strength surged; it strode on, dragging them along as they yelped "Huh? Huhh?"
Not just that.
[Undertaker!]
Urgency in the Saintess's voice shook my heart's edges.
[Big trouble. Many Awakeners on SG Net are showing 'Ship of Theseus' symptoms!]
"SG Net? Suddenly, why."
Even as I spoke, my mind spat out the worst hypothesis.
No way.
"...Someone uploaded a boat photo or ship-related image?"
[Dunno. I thought the same, so I'm not using Clairvoyance on suspected infectees.]
"Good call. Can't have you infected too. For now, have Seo-gyu shut down the boards..."
[Sorry.]
My breath hitched.
[Seo-gyu is infected. Probably first.]
"..."
Breath orbited uselessly in my mouth.
Just before a weak exhale, my teeth and tongue snapped its momentum.
"Activate emergency protocol."
[Yes. Activated. Issued 'SG Net Access Ban Warning' to all Awakeners in Constellations' name.]
True enough.
Awakeners dragged by the super-strong one suddenly "Huh?"-ed and looked up.
"What? A Constellation message just..."
"You too?"
"Yeah. But,
[Beware Ships]
? What the hell?"
"Wait. More messages incoming.
[Beware Ships], [Do Not Approach Water], [Observe No Ship Photos, Drawings, or Similars]
..."
Awakeners' voices lowered.
"Fuck. What is this? Why now? Creepy."
"Wait. Come to think, we went there today too... Hey! Hey! Stop! Why's this bastard so strong?"
Thud.
I charged the mental case first, subduing it. Fortunately, this monster's infectees could be knocked out.
"Ah, Undertaker! Th-Thank you!"
"..."
My eyes spotted literal 'anomaly' on the mental case's body.
Fingers severed. Index and middle, two. Scissors jammed slantwise into the stumps.
I eyed its fellows.
"What's this?"
"W-We didn't do it! Geum-seon did..."
"Cut off his own fingers and jammed in the scissors?"
"Y-Yes! Really! Undertaker! You won't believe it, but we swear!"
No need for their pleading eyes. I believed them.
And pondered.
Awakeners who'd just been on SG Net.
Including admin Seo-gyu, bored Korean Peninsula Awakeners glued to an internet board—what happened when they saw 'ship images.'
The aftermath that could hit one day after outbreak.
The world we live in.
"Saintess. Connect me to Yoo Ji-won."
[Yes. Connected.]
"Relay my words exactly. Request cooperation from Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa. Assemble all National Highway Management Corps under Operations Control Room. Prepare quarantine procedures."
Yes.
To reiterate: We humans live in a world that hates us.