Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Empire Infiltration Preparations
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The Empire currently had no major conflicts with PATO.
From the initial encounter, delegations had been exchanged, starting on friendly terms, and nothing noteworthy had happened since.
So, strictly speaking, the Emperor harboring secrets wasn't really our concern.
Everyone has a secret or two in life, after all.
But this current relaxed relationship stemmed largely from our borders not touching.
France and Russia, for all their power that kept their neighbors on constant alert, paid little attention to each other.
In this galactic era, the distance between nations felt even greater than in medieval times before sea and air routes had opened.
Thus, friendly relations with the Empire were inevitable.
But no one knew how long that would last.
Both the Empire and we would continue expanding, and eventually, our borders would meet.
Wouldn't it be too late to scramble preparations only when that happened?
They might suddenly invade Deneb and mechanize everything overnight.
It was only natural to prepare for immediate retaliation if that occurred.
The problem was that I was extremely—extremely—disadvantaged for infiltrating the Empire.
In a nation teeming with machines, a species incapable of mechanization would stand out far too glaringly.
A Hirak caught snooping around the imperial palace would undoubtedly face a grim fate.
Still, it wasn't impossible.
Just send someone other than me.
Quite a long time had passed since the Deneb Federation—within PATO—had signed immigration treaties with other nations.
Even just since PATO's founding, it had been about thirty years, and even longer for the Deneb Federation, which had maintained those treaties beforehand.
More than enough time for us to blend in as members of the Federation.
Me, begging near the slums just to survive.
Me, wandering construction sites, living a life of manual labor.
Me, studying at Deneb University.
Me, a fresh company employee getting chewed out by my manager for mistakes.
There were so many mes, but inevitably, some astonishingly successful ones too.
When you run enough trials, a jackpot hits now and then, right?
Me, risen to executive at a semiconductor manufacturer.
Me, chief overseer of a national space station construction.
In terms of assets, this me might rank among the richest of all mes, but assets weren't a particularly important metric for me.
No matter how diligently they earned money, they couldn't surpass the Queen's main body.
In my view, this me offered the highest output among Deneb immigrants.
"Director. Comprehensive report on Nualalkaima. Notable item: immigrants from the Holy Kingdom have increased sharply recently."
"You're always so quick. Good work."
This me belonged to Deneb's National Security Agency.
Not quite director, but did that matter?
Access to a nation's top security facilities alone made this the pinnacle of output.
Security-sensitive organizations typically avoided immigrants for obvious reasons.
But anyone still viewing Lushaka immigrants as outsiders had long since retired.
Lushakans didn't cause trouble over religion or ideology.
People who had watched them grow up as integral parts of society weren't about to discriminate now by calling them immigrants.
Only outright species supremacists would.
Of course, subtle discrimination lingered, but humans—having weathered the measles of racial prejudice—assimilated faster than expected.
Amusingly, extremists who once fixated on skin color now overlooked it, having aliens with far starker differences living among them in Deneb.
"ALL HUMAN LIVES MATTER!!"
"Boo! Fucking racist!"
Of course, there were mes protesting against such supremacists.
But no me who was discriminated against yet held supremacist views.
Oddly, Earth had people exhibiting such contradictions, but among my autonomous mes—across billions of instances—not a single one emerged.
A slight historical inaccuracy, perhaps, but no need to tweak it.
Anyway, with so much time passed, gaining entry to security agencies wasn't all that surprising.
Question how Lushakans entered security organs? You'd just get called a racist.
If the Lushaka Kingdom couldn't send spies, others could.
Plenty of humans clamored for mechanization procedures anyway.
"Director, we need to ramp up investment in the Empire too."
Fortunately, this me was positioned to advise the director directly.
From the moment this me joined the agency, I'd taken personal interest and pushed hard—promotion was inevitable.
"The Empire? Not Lushaka?"
This me was essentially talent hired for the anti-Lushaka Kingdom espionage network, routinely feeding Lushaka intel.
Local ethnic hires had always been the most effective method.
Not intentional on their part, but an astonishing pick.
I was always willing to provide Lushaka internal info through me.
"Yes. With the Sirtish incident and all, we need to prepare for potential hostility with the Empire. Plus, as the most alien nation, failing to prep early might make building a network impossible."
"Fair point, but is it worth diverting resources from Lushaka and the Holy Kingdom?"
Of course not.
From the Deneb Federation's perspective, the Empire was distant, borders nowhere near.
With the Holy Kingdom-Empire war freshly ended, focus had to shift to postwar Holy Kingdom changes.
Lushaka was an ally but the most influential in PATO, demanding close watch.
"Holy Kingdom aside, it definitely merits higher priority than Lushaka."
"Hm..."
Investigate the Empire—now.
You've fetched near-miraculous Lushaka intel routinely.
"No one knows Lushaka better than you, so we'll do it that way. Can't pull you from Lushaka, though... Jacob? Head to the Empire."
"Yes sir! Understood!"
Having me handle everything myself spoiled me—outsourcing felt uneasy, untrustworthy, downright anxious.
Couldn't monitor progress midway.
If they died before compiling intel, years of effort down the drain.
But what choice? Treat it as subcontracting.
If needed, they'd mechanize their body to infiltrate.
If I couldn't do it, rely on someone who could, right?
Now, just wait for results.
While the Holy Kingdom and Empire battered each other, pouring all resources into war...
PATO underwent constant changes too.
The simplest were pure windfalls from war profiteering.
Analyzing Empire and Holy Kingdom weapons and ships from the debris I procured, establishing doctrines.
Even without massive military investment, PATO's forces advanced daily.
Vast war resource sales fueled economic boom; mining and manufacturing saw huge leaps.
War accelerates tech fastest, as they say—spot on.
Not direct belligerents, yet watching planetary progress was undeniable.
But PATO growing from external Holy Kingdom-Empire strife was one thing.
With PATO's chief foe—the Holy Kingdom—distracted by war...
It was the perfect window to strike at PATO.
Like the many species now in the Holy Union, PATO kept discovering new ones and nations.
If galactic-era ready and diplomacy-fit, no issue.
They had one choice:
Join PATO? Or not?
Most joined.
Credit, an untouchably massive currency.
Economic, tech, military walls built through countless nations' exchanges.
Few could endure isolation long.
No force ignored PATO's sway—thankfully.
Non-joiners were minor powers opting isolation over external ties, claiming self-sufficiency.
Nothing to do about that—no war needed.
Problem: primitive species too weak to even voice intent.
Holy Kingdom and Empire chose conversion or modification, fast-tracking to galactic era as force members.
PATO, being democratic, argued leaving their fate to their choice—and it held weight.
(For the record, I backed it.)
Force-feeding? Not my land anyway.
Lushaka's influence usually kept me out of PATO squabbles unless critical.
But new species treatment was vital.
Limiting expansion competition, bridging gaps between expandable and non-expandable species.
Regrettably, my view wasn't dominant—just strong enough. Meaning, forces pushing immediate incorporation of primitives were equally potent.
Leading them: Amphibian Cooperative and Varisa Space Company.
Amphibians argued equal PATO citizen rights meant right to full knowledge.
Varisa just chafed at not gobbling planets.
Committee stayed neutral. Deneb sided with Lushaka: 2:2.
Among PATO's top five influencers.
This was early in the Holy Kingdom-Empire war.
The two powers rampaging freely across the galaxy irked me greatly.
Essentially under Lushaka sway yet defying us? Infuriating.
Couldn't just smack allies.
Perfect timing for a "talk," I thought.