Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Ocean Planet Outreach
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After countless versions of myself conducted independent checks, I concluded that no spies from the Empire had infiltrated Lushaka.
But that wasn't a result I could let my guard down over.
Lushakans weren't exactly the ideal environment for Empire infiltrators to begin with.
The real concern was the Amphibian Cooperative.
It was a nation built around mechanical engineering, with frequent exchanges with the Empire.
And since it had a certain level of scale, it was perfect for hiding spies.
You could sniff out a spy hiding in a minor nation with just one star system in no time.
Contrary to my worries, though, they didn't seem to think the Empire had extended its reach that far yet.
"Your concerns seem excessive, guruk."
What can you do if they don't want to bother?
Still, I had to agree to some extent that the worry might be overblown.
The war between the Empire and the Holy Nation had only just ended, after all.
If they'd already infiltrated PATO, that meant they'd had the leisure to do so even during the war.
Production lines were strained, yet they'd cram high-ranking nobles fit for diplomats into outdated models.
The Empire surely hadn't waged war with that kind of slack.
"Let's just inspect all incoming goods from here on out."
That would have to suffice.
For now, I'd wrap up the matter of Empire spies in PATO.
I'd learned something fantastic from the Empire.
Implanting personalities into artificial organs or prosthetic devices to use as spies.
What a brilliant idea.
I immediately tried creating a new instance to implement it, but there was a problem.
The Empire implanting personalities into mechanical arms felt like tools with built-in AI.
And broadly speaking, Imperials were practically AI themselves.
But implanting a personality into the bio-prosthetic arms Lushaka provided gave the impression of some creature parasitizing the arm.
A mechanical arm chatting with its user and making independent judgments? Cutting-edge AI.
A bio-arm chatting with its user and moving on its own judgment? Parasite.
I asked PATO members if they'd be willing to receive bio-arms with personalities implanted, and if so, whether the kingdom would develop them at a national level.
"Kakakat, that's fine-nyang. We still have plenty of mechanical arm contracts left-nyang."
"...We'll discuss it with the home country."
Hmm.
Isn't a parasite cool?
It's a shame they can't appreciate this utility.
If the aversion is that strong, there's no helping it.
It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Especially when it's too valuable not to use.
Still, experiments would be needed before full-scale rollout.
The search continued for friends in the Holy Alliance willing to join PATO on behalf of the alliance.
Excluding nations with strong lingering faith in Ozztlan.
Excluding nations under heavy Empire influence.
Among them, I found a rather promising candidate.
Lourka III Planet.
This planet was among the rarest even when surveying the entire galaxy.
Over 98% of its surface was covered in ocean—an aquatic world where the natives had built a civilization adapted to underwater life.
As might be expected, their underwater lifestyle meant they hadn't ventured into space on their own.
They were simply a species forced to learn the truth of the galaxy and the universe through the Holy Nation's conversion and enlightenment policies.
Thanks to their insular society and culture, they showed little interest in the Holy Nation's enlightenment efforts, leaving religious influence shallow.
The ocean depths restricted machinery's mobility and utility.
They were so disinterested in the outside world that they hadn't even noticed the Holy Nation-Empire war raging at the time.
With virtually no land, neither the Holy Nation nor the Empire could use it as a strategic base.
No reason for orbital bombardment or ground assaults, so no one bothered it.
Battles for orbital stations did rage in its orbit, but the natives never looked skyward, oblivious to the fighting.
With no need for individual peace treaties—and never scorched by war in the first place—it was the only nation to have voluntarily left the Holy Nation.
The boondocks of the boondocks.
To the Holy Nation and Empire, it was a total nuisance.
Thus, it was one of many overlooked nations.
But from my perspective, it was different.
A blue planet where nothing but ocean stretched to the horizon.
The ocean.
Crade of life and treasure trove.
Most galactic civilizations developed on land, so oceans—awkward for activity—were often neglected.
As civilizations shifted to space, even less attention went to seas more inconvenient than vacuum.
But that didn't diminish the ocean's value.
Oceans remained ideal for cultivating vast biomass, especially with natives who could roam them freely.
Hiraks could operate in vacuum without oxygen and endure most toxins, but they couldn't swim.
Their muscle density was too high; they sank like stones.
So, the natives who thrived in these seas could mass-produce organics here for Lushaka.
With organic matter, Lushaka's space stations and monsters could be maintained indefinitely, making semi-permanent sustainment in this system possible with native help.
In exchange, Lushaka would address the natives' physical defects and injuries via... experiments with Lushaka-Parasites. No, support.
The natives would join PATO in gratitude.
Perfect.
Time to get started.
All my instances in the Holy Alliance converged on Lourka III Planet.
With the Empire's presence raising the difficulty of embedding PATO influence, concentrating resources on one nation made sense.
Perhaps due to 98% ocean coverage, all facilities—including docks for visiting ships—clustered on the remaining 2% land.
It was immediately clear why the Empire and Holy Nation treated it like a nuisance.
A single orbital strike on that one zone could trap all planetary forces and wipe out ground troops.
Militarily useless to Holy Nation or Empire.
Moreover, even as our ships descended from the sky, no locals came to gawk.
After seeing countless galactic species, this was a first.
No choice but to dive in and make contact ourselves.
Genes from my Amphibian Cooperative friends, swimming experts, proved handy.
But where to go?
No guides, no signage—impossible to know where the planetary leaders might be.
In the end, I activated scanners from orbit to hunt for life signs.
It was instantly clear why the Holy Nation called it by its full planetary name instead of a nation name.
It perfectly exemplified why Lushaka Kingdom and Deneb Federation shouldn't meddle with pre-spaceflight civilizations.
For starters, the planet lacked a unified nation.
No single government encompassing the whole world.
And no common language, either.
Unlike civilizations where culture spreads across 2D land surfaces, language couldn't propagate easily here.
Oceans had not just cardinal directions, but depth as a vertical dimension.
Mapping this planet's nations required 3D holograms.
Forcing galactic Empire tech into such an unstable internal situation was pointless.
Especially when that tech wasn't suited for underwater life.
My plans to sell the new masterpiece, Lushaka-Parasite, were already hitting snags.
Still, thanks to the Holy Nation, their tech level wasn't primitive.
Even in ocean confines, they'd managed sealed spaces for nuclear fission and fusion, by estimates.
Not bad for limited Holy Nation tech transfers.
Like Earth's pre-spaceflight era in my past life.
But just as coastal humans wouldn't dream of crossing to the deep sea, locals stuck to shallows.
Anyway, I approached the nearest coastal dwellers first.
"Travelers from beyond the surface. Welcome to the Rostian Tribe."
A tribal society, huh?
Doesn't matter—I introduced them to Lushaka-style modern bio-prosthetics right away.
I anticipated they wouldn't trust an outsider tribe immediately—
So, I'd provide them free: try on the truly desperate cases—
Contrary to expectations of drawn-out rapport-building, they immediately guided me to their critical patients.
Fortunately, not xenophobic.
Just isolated by geography.
Normally, bio-prosthetics require species samples to minimize side effects.
But Lushaka-Parasites were different.
With my ego included, they could mutate genes on the fly as needed.
Analyze host genome and adapt accordingly.
What if the host couldn't withstand the process and went into shock?
Well...
No failures yet, so it'd be fine.
The first volunteer for Lushaka-Parasite testing was a massive shark with two sturdy arms.
One eye missing, surrounding tissue grotesquely swollen.
Sharks were my specialty.
I'd treated thousands of Treegalaons.
Lushaka-Parasite straight to the eye socket.
It devoured the dead eye and skin, mutating into the needed organ.
To avoid grotesque visuals of organ consumption, I sealed it with mucosa.
As it linked nerves to the dead tissue, pain made the shark thrash wildly.
"Kraaagagagaaakgrrrkuk."
This guy's a drama queen.
Quit shaking—jostling during surgery could actually kill you.
Whether he was important or not, soldiers had surrounded me before I knew it.
But I wasn't worried.
I was personally overseeing the surgery from the shark's new eye.
I knew it was going smoothly.
And sure enough, the shark stopped thrashing.
Shaking off the pain's afterglow, it scanned its surroundings with its new eye.
Rolling the eyeball a few times, swimming about, then...
"A miracle! It's a miracle!"