#24. Artificial Goddess (1)
When animistic religions began worshiping ancient poplar groves and fungal kingdoms, scholars cautiously warned of the possibility of mental contamination caused by awakened beings. They hypothesized that massive awakened entities might be polluting human minds in realms beyond scientific measurement.
The White House's official stance on this was as follows.
Facing reporters directly, the US President shot back sharply with a tone of utter exasperation.
"If that hypothesis were true, every Aetherist who's encountered massive awakened beings would show the exact same symptoms without exception. But what's the reality? No, right? Plenty of ability users testify to feeling an overwhelming presence, but only a tiny fraction fall into these bizarre cults."
"Let's be blunt—this is frankly an intelligence issue, isn't it? People dumb enough to worship trees and mushrooms as gods? Just let low-IQ folks do their low-IQ things."
"Something about how only those chosen by the giants will survive when their domain engulfs the world? End-times nonsense like that? We had similar doomsday cults back in the old days too. The Lady Amilaria mushroom worshipers are the same. To me, they don't look like anything more or less than your standard cult."
"Our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. It's tragic that idiots waste their money and lives on stupid faiths, but as long as they don't infringe on others' rights, America's public authority won't violate citizens' freedoms either. Whether they insist mushrooms are goddesses or bow to a Flying Spaghetti Monster as their creator—it's all personal freedom."
"In short, all this mental pollution crap is just empty conspiracy theory on the level of global warming. Those self-proclaimed scientists, professors, and environmental activists shoved 'scientific evidence' down our throats, but it was all a cheap ploy to stoke fear, gather followers, and make a buck."
"Bottom line: we're dealing with a new era's new breed of con artists."
"Democrats want blockades, surveillance nets, and troops stationed at every disaster zone with massive awakened beings to control civilian access. Ha— they opposed walls on the Mexican border when it was actually needed, but now they're all for wasting money on something that brings zero profit? Wonder how much budget and manpower they think that'll suck up."
"Let me borrow from President Clinton for a moment: 'It's the economy, stupid.' The United States can't waste a single dime on pointless crap. If patrols are needed, expand police with state budgets or hire private hunters! If empty-headed Democratic governors want to blow their budgets, I won't stop them."
"But the federal government will only build control systems for awakened beings when real profits are guaranteed. We're already hemorrhaging cash on high-risk hunt bounties, Awakened ability user medical systems, Immortal Cancer insurance— you name it! This country's got 40 million starving kids—40 million! Double what it was before the world went nuts! Federal budgets exist to fix problems like that!"
"I'd love to cut meaningless research and exploration projects too. We can do that once the economy stabilizes, right? I'm the president the people elected— I don't get why Congress keeps interfering with governance."
"Foreign policy's the same. America should always come first, but the old fogeys in both chambers—Democrats and Republicans alike—scream about doing favors for other countries."
"And blocking the secondary cash-out of seized Chinese Communist Party assets? 'There might still be room for dialogue,' 'It could hurt our economy long-term'—what bullshit. Dialogue? China's a thug, and thugs only wise up after a beating."
"Let me say it again: I'm this country's president! The hypocrites lounging in Congress, posturing like big shots, are all conspiring with squinty-eyed communists in acts of treason—"
As it dragged on, the briefing devolved into off-topic rants, complaints, and unfiltered trash-talk—a comedic spectacle for any viewer. But even a broken clock is right twice a day. Take the global warming bit, for instance.
What was once an academia-wide consensus on humanity's crisis had flipped 180 degrees. The cause? Forests' skyrocketing CO2 absorption. One study showed the Trembling Giant alone devoured over 30% of America's total emissions last year. This surge was common across growth-spurred awakened trees, making a slight decline in atmospheric CO2 inevitable after years of relentless rise.
Ability users generating heat and electricity from mana must play a part too...
No wonder even China's fake reds spouted nonsense like, "China is protecting all humanity from climate change." For the White House Madman and his supporters—who'd staunchly denied warming—it was cause for glee.
On the afternoon of April 7th, I arrived in Canyon City, eastern Oregon. Stretched north-south along a gentle canyon as its name suggested, the town served as a gateway to the fungal kingdom, thanks to its proximity to the county regional airport.
Grant County Regional Airport was a small strip with just two light aircraft runways—barely any passenger traffic originally. Back on my first visit, a handful of air taxis was the daily max. Now, after expansions, mid-sized turboprops came and went constantly—a total transformation for backwater locals.
Stepping out, I saw barefoot missionaries in white robes.
"Lost wanderers in pain! Lambs scarred by the world's harsh waves! Find peace of mind in the holy embrace of Lady Amilaria! Live in beautiful harmony with nature in our merciful goddess's bosom!"
Next came the militia touts hawking to tourists and pilgrims.
"Cheap, cheap! Lady Amilaria pilgrimage trek package—round-trip transport included for just $500! County-certified militia 'Strawberry Rangers' guarantee your safety with our top hunters! Stroll the enchanted forest worry-free from wild awakened beasts or criminals! Pay extra for an awakened hunt experience! We strictly follow epidemic prevention protocols—book with confidence!"
Behind their picket signs waited multi-passenger vans for travelers, dotted with militia armed vehicles mounting heavy weapons.
I could've skipped this hassle by chartering a helicopter straight to the fungal kingdom, but humans had tried aerial terrorism on the "humanity-threatening massive awakened being," so air access near it was restricted.
Anyway, as the scene showed, Mule Deer National Forest—home to the fungal kingdom—wasn't treated as dangerous as the Trembling Giant's domain. The massive fungal colony, fondly nicknamed Lady Amilaria even by normals, had never threatened humans.
Exceptions existed, of course. Last September, idiot ability users in a crop-duster formation spraying herbicide over the kingdom got wiped out by a sky-filling electric net. Even the state guard's scramble armed helicopters suffered system failures and emergency landings from high-voltage surges. The state promoted this hard as a cautionary tale.
But absent such intense provocation, the colossal fungus consistently "mercifully" welcomed the hordes of humans seeking it. It barely reacted even to clueless tourists plucking its parts.
"Welcome to Canyon City, Lady Amilaria's gateway, everyone!"
A camo-clad tout approached us.
"Need an armed guide? Let our 'Northern Dixie' hunters escort you."
Before we could reply, he tsked through his mask, wagging a finger side to side.
"No guide-less tours, friends. Famous spot or not, plenty vanish without a trace sans escort. Especially Asians like you—must, must, must stick with reliable armed guides!"
"These days it's extra rough for East Asians," he winked with a grin, pale skin gleaming.
"Even confident ability users aren't exempt! Superpowers don't stop bullets. If your homeland isn't China, local hunter group 'Northern Dixie' is your best bet for group tours!"
Scammers fleecing tourists were all the same—how elite could they be? Posing as tourists for scouting anyway, a guide would dodge hassles. Especially locals, and it'd help with police checks too.
I nodded slightly; Kyung-tae stepped up.
"Free trekking possible?"
"Of course! How long you planning?"
"One night."
"One night? That's it? Mule Deer's a vast forest— a week might not cut it for mystical sights. Friend's got cheap cabins; stay longer. We got period discounts."
"Haha, I'd love to, but it's a company outing—schedule's fixed."
"Aw, too bad. Might just end up with basic forest bathing if luck's not on your side."
As the tout said, the fungal kingdom—insensitive to external stimuli—wasn't ideal for observation. But for me, just checking erosion code changes would be profitable enough. More gains would be nice, but upsides were limited.
Codes from the Trembling Giant alone strained my temporal capacity. Hoarding indigestible knowledge was pointless.
One extra hope: verifying bizarre tales circulating among mushroom cultists.
Goddess in visions... huh.
Religious hallucinations happen occasionally. Faith activates the nucleus accumbens reward circuit; repetition enables "spiritual experiences" sans drugs.
But the "divine possession" claimed by Lady Amilaria Church's amateur druids was abnormally frequent. Likely cheap drug highs plus collective unconscious synergy—but I couldn't rule out magical projection from the colossal fungus.
Put simply, I wondered if psychedelic magic was viable. If chemical lures, it should affect all forest visitors, and sensors would've detected it.
Assuming magic behind "possession," it'd be novel wisdom beyond my imagining.
Low odds, but worth checking. Another factor: the fungal colony's magical quirks as an awakened being.
Starting with erosion wasn't normal.
I suspected innate fungal parasitism/symbiosis. With host trees awakening and withholding nutrients, it needed erosion waves to neutralize their mana fields.
But tools built purposefully often evolve beyond intent—like in human world.
If it fully neutralized shared-trait human mana fields, it could magically influence the cores within.