Terraforming - The Revolution's Mirror Image
* Knock knock knock! I rap on a plain door indistinguishable from any other. But I know this place is no ordinary dorm room. It's the meeting room that most trainees—everyone except Brack—have visited at least once lately.
My stray thoughts don't linger long. A heavy voice soon rumbles from inside.
"Come in."
I ease the door open and slip inside at his words. The man who granted me entry is none other than Gerard Hoffman. As long as he's solely in charge of the Northern Training Camp, no one else uses this room.
Creeeak...Thud.
"Hm. Trainee Park Chanyoung, right? I gave you a Prum just the day before yesterday. What brings you here?"
"It's about the plan you mentioned to me before."
I cut straight to the chase. My goal, of course, is to fan the flames for Gerard. I can't wait forever for him to take the initiative. A whole month has already passed. Yet he hasn't given even a hint about the execution date.
All I have left is a little over a month.
Gerard's expression remains unchanged at my words. No—if anything, his brow furrows ever so slightly.
"The plan... Didn't I tell you I'd let you know when the time comes? Just keep your head down?"
As expected, Gerard reacts prickly. From his ideology that power must concentrate in one supreme leader, someone like me meddling must grate on him. But I have to push through. I need to convince this man who only knows how to gather followers, not lead them competently.
"I've come to propose one idea. Instructor, you can hear me out and then decide whether to dismiss it or accept it as you see fit."
"Hmph..."
As predicted, he softens a bit when I yield slightly, gesturing for me to go on. He's hypersensitive about ideology, but not fundamentally evil, so I could anticipate his response. After all, Gerard harbors genuine sympathy for the trainees collapsing around him—regardless of his incompetence.
"Has the revolution's execution date not been set precisely yet? Or are you looking further ahead?"
"...That's right. Our priority is gathering more who share our cause. Even if they're all combatants, a hundred isn't nearly enough for the grand undertaking."
"Hmm... Is there anyone besides you spreading the ideology to others?"
There can't be. The very reason this absurd number has joined is Gerard's unique ability. I doubt there's another like him. If some loose-lipped fool tried propagating the ideology and word leaked to Central Command, all our preparations would go to waste. A man as cautious as Gerard, amassing a hundred comrades without a whisper, wouldn't make such a hasty call.
"No. I'm the only one igniting the spark of revolution. It's something only I can do."
Nod.
"As I thought. In that case, we should raid Central Command right now."
"...What?"
Gerard eyes me with puzzlement. I press on undeterred.
"Please hear me out before judging. If you recruit alone, we'll never close the gap in force with Central Command. The only people you can recruit are trainees coming through this Northern Training Camp."
"..."
"By the time we recruit an entire cohort, Central Command will have produced three times our number from the Eastern, Western, and Southern camps. The disparity only widens with time."
This assumes we recruit every single Northern trainee—the most optimistic scenario. When Gerard pulls in twenty, Central Command churns out sixty full combatants. It's impossible to catch up.
That's why I've deemed him incompetent all this time. He couldn't even grasp this basic reality. A would-be leader blind to the obvious future right in front of him... well, it's a bit much, isn't it?
"Even if we somehow scrape together equal forces through blood and sweat... the moment we clash in all-out war, whichever side wins will be crippled. And that's only assuming parity."
"...Go on."
"That's why I offer this stratagem: A small team of allied combatants raids Central Command, assassinates only the Shelter Leader, then escapes outside. What do you think?"
"Ho. Outside the Shelter?"
"Yes. That leaves nearly a hundred combatants deserting en masse, exposing massive gaps. With monsters pressing in daily, they'll crumble from within."
Combatants notice even one or two absences acutely. Even seven years from now, when things stabilized, losing someone like Kaya was a burden. Now, with ten missing per district? The impact would be devastating.
"But that risks civilian casualties. This revolution is for humanity's better life. We can't harm innocents."
"Not all hundred need to flee. Leave a few as spies per district to relay intel. We support the truly dire spots. The unrecruited combatants' goal is protecting residents too—they'll buy at least some time."
"...Hmm."
"I've also planned contact with your recruited combatants. For instance... we could lead trainees on 'field trips' or 'practical training' to observe their work. Once there, link up with your pre-recruited allies and strike Central Command immediately..."
"A Shelter bereft of its head descends into chaos, unable to fill the void of a hundred vanished combatants?"
"Exactly."
This is my stratagem. The most viable one. Of course, they won't let it succeed easily.
Suddenly, Gerard sizes me up from head to toe, staring straight into my eyes. I can't read his thoughts. But I sense unfounded 'suspicion' in his gaze.
"Trainee Park Chanyoung... hiding something from me?"
I have no reason to flinch, whatever he's suspecting. I've only laid out deductions from the info I have. In my mind, there's nothing suspicious about me.
Gerard questions me in that signature weighty, resonant tone—like demanding the truth.
So I play the innocent.
Gulp. I swallow hard as if my throat's parched, dropping my voice to an anxious quiver, feigning slight panic. My pupils dart, fingertips twitch awkwardly in the air.
"P-Pardon?... Uh... No matter how I think... there's really... nothing...?"
Some believe these are tells of deception. But real liars grow calmest right before exposure—or raise their voice in feigned anger. My act is the perfect template of an innocent wrongly accused.
"...Coincidence?"
"Yes?"
"...Damn! It is! Hahaha!"
At least Gerard doesn't stupidly conclude I'm lying from my performance. He lacks precognition, but his instincts kept the rebellion hidden for years. That's why I played flustered.
'So... why the laugh? What's coincidental? Let me in on the joke.'
I stare at him, genuinely baffled. Gerard looks back as if amused by my confusion, chuckling.
"Heh heh heh! Let me show you something fun."
Whoosh.
Rumble...
Gerard rises abruptly, opens the top drawer of a large cabinet, fiddles inside—and the drawer floor slides open.
'Double-layered cabinet! A hidden compartment?'
The documents in his hand must contain vital info, likely revolution-related. Why else hide them so thoroughly?
"Read it."
He hands them over. I take them carefully and pore over the pages.
Flip—flip—
Pages fly by, my eyes scanning relentlessly.
'This... matches my proposal exactly...!'
Mass desertion of a hundred combatants. Contingencies for civilian safety. Central Command raid. Even linking with recruited combatants during post-team-training 'field exercises' at the barracks.
Execution date: imminent. Weeks away, right when we head to Combatant Lodge for training—the perfect moment.
Every scenario I'd aimed to persuade him with was right there.
"This is..."
"Identical, right?"
"..."
"Kuhahaha! How could I not laugh? A plan I slaved over for years, sleepless nights perfecting it, spilling from the mouth of a novice who's barely harbored 'revolutionary' zeal for weeks!"
"Hah... So you were already thinking the same..."
"I first thought you'd found this document. But of course, I know that's impossible."
Kuh huh huh.
Gerard looks thrilled, even with his plan exposed to me.
"You're... exceptionally sharp. That brain will serve us well."
"...You're too kind."
"No! I'm quite objective now. Maybe a tad amused. Anyway, use that head for our cause from here on. I intend to make good use of you. Indefinitely."
Chills crawl over my skin. Gerard eyes me with greedy intent.
No, that's not the only reason for the goosebumps.
'Fuck... not incompetent—paranoid cautious?'
Gerard wasn't incompetent. Just extremely cautious. Not even hinting to a close supporter with execution day looming.
"Keep this between us for now. I'd never have revealed the plan otherwise, but hiding it in this amusing twist would be petty, no?"
"...Thank you for trusting me."
"No need. It was your own idea, after all."
I finish with Gerard and exit the meeting room. Mission accomplished.
This will surely trigger it.
'Hard Mode Quest. About time, right?'
I can't forget the rewards from past Hard Mode Quests. Any major episode, and I'll snag one for sure.
This time's no different.
'People who'll suffer from my actions? Why care about strangers? I'm no world-saving hero.'
This era's Shelter Leader isn't the 'Doctor' from seven years ahead. The face I saw appointing combatants was unfamiliar. Whether he dies here or evacuates safely to retire in peace—none of my business.
The combatants facing skyrocketing death rates from mass desertion... somewhat relevant? Chris and Brack will become combatants too.
Actually, they might be safer. Most of this cohort, minus them, will follow Gerard in rebellion. With a full cohort revolting, even desperate for hands, they won't casually deploy those two outliers.
They'll scrutinize ideologies step by step. Whether Chris and Brack are Gerard's spies or not.
They might suffer a bit... but better than dying, right?