“Hey, wake up.”
While I idly brought down the function of my cyborg system, a protocol that would awaken my consciousness upon detecting a certain level of impact worked, and I woke up.
When I came to, I found myself on a carriage. It was a rough carriage with no canopy, being pulled by a four-legged walking mechanism that looked like a crude gear caliber, and suddenly I felt a sense of awe.
Prisoner start! Isn’t it prisoner start?!
I was momentarily moved by the sight before me, which I’d likely seen more often than my parents’ faces, but I couldn’t help but speculate insensitively that, if the events went as expected, it would be quite unsettling.
There’s the man trying to escape and getting shot, the heads that fall, the dragons that descend, and the forts that burn.
Well, that does have its charm, though.
“It’s surprising you can sleep in a situation like this… Heretics will be burned at the stake, you know.”
“Fu fu… Sleeping, eating, and going are things we can’t control, right? Besides, no one knows when a human will die, so worrying too much is a loss, my friend.”
Awoken by the guard, I casually cracked my neck with a loud “Gokiri” and spoke without giving it any thought.
In reality, even someone like us who’s gained near immortality can easily die. We’d die if the ship we were on got atomically decomposed by enemy fire, we’d die if a large mass missile fell from a satellite orbit, and sometimes we’d even die if the communication band got suddenly contaminated while we were seriously working. I happened to survive by chance, but when it’s time to die, you die no matter what. It’s better for your mental health to live with that awareness.
“Ohh… Is that the Holy Capital?”
After two months of being captured, I had finally arrived at the Holy Capital just as the season had transitioned to summer, riding on this dilapidated open-air transport carriage. It was a long journey but quite convenient. My rights weren’t violated, I was fed three meals a day, and I didn’t have to endure a gag like some monkey-king. Moreover, I effortlessly bypassed the countless troublesome checkpoints I would have had to handle myself. You don’t get such an easy journey often.
“…It’s huge, isn’t it?”
Finally, I could see the next destination – the Canopy Holy Capital just beyond the hill.
As its name rightly suggests, its silhouette resembled the upper part of a sphere, about half to a third missing, as if it had been thrust into the ground, with a diameter of approximately 120 km. Based on the data, it seemed to be the type 3 model of a quasi-satellite class space vessel, which is an export model. It appeared to have broken apart around the middle, landing diagonally on Earth in a soft landing. The way it was split seemed regular, implying it had activated a self-destruct protocol so as not to damage the planet, while the massive shards, each several kilometers long, stood around like buildings parasitically clinging to the ruins.
“Captain, there is no doubt. That is indeed ‘Inanna 12.'”
Upon observing the silhouette of the vessel and communicating discreetly with Selene, who was following in the upper atmosphere, it was confirmed that it was the upper half of the ‘Inanna 12’ wreck. Considering its landing didn’t result in a complete loss, I imagined the ship had fired its propulsion units at the bottom of its spherical hull until they blew off, using the anti-gravity units to decelerate and achieve a soft landing. It’s fortunate it went well. A quasi-satellite class ship about one-thirtieth the size of the moon would have annihilated the land had it crashed. At best, it might have triggered the onset of a second ice age. Furthermore, it was fortunate that it was the type 3 model sold to the Zodiac Republic Alliance. Had it been the ‘Planet-class Mothership’ that accompanied the Second Seeder Fleet, the Terra 16th would have been utterly destroyed.
Around the shipwreck, the remains of the great mother goddess’s vessel, a vast urban area spread out, and from the first glance, one could imagine the residence of millions of people. The streets shown by Selene’s telescopic optical sensors harmoniously brought together steel and bricks, appealing to the sensibilities of a fantasy VR enthusiast.
Ah, I wonder how many quests are sleeping within those streets?
“… No, there’s no way. We get no response from any of the communications. It might either be completely damaged, or the control system is in self-isolation mode. Any external interference is impossible.”
“Is that so? That’s disappointing. Can we send in a reconnaissance drone?”
“Possibly. The anti-espionage functions appear to be dead. There are no drones flying around.”
“Well then, I know it’s asking a lot, but I’d appreciate it if you could do me a favor and let the reconnaissance drone have a run.”
While asking my partner and recalling that the Sylvanians and Tech-Gobs I had let go earlier were waiting on a hill 60 km to the south, following me using wolves in areas with little foot traffic, eagerly waiting to snatch me back on command.
However, as much as it pains me, they’re going to have to wait a little longer. I became a prisoner because I had a reason to enter there easily.
Ah, speaking of prisoners, it seems Galatea has also been captured. However, her treatment is not as bad as mine. She hasn’t had her title of Magius Geanaite stripped, and she’s calmly being transported in a carriage at the front.
I do feel bad for causing her distress, but this is the shortest route, so please bear with it. I apologize for the phrasing, but I imagine questioning and a trial await her.
Indeed, as the only survivor of a large-scale expedition team, it’s not hard to imagine that the high-ups would try to pin all the blame on her to avoid taking responsibility themselves. Moreover, all those sacrifices resulted in the “Great Mother” falling into the hands of the Tech-Gobs.
Besides that, allowing me to use the Holy Factory arbitrarily might mean it would typically end in three strikes. Of course, I do intend to help her. With the structure preserved in such good condition, there must be information about the cosmic situation being transmitted rather accurately. If the Sylvanians, who don’t have a written language, can orally preserve the testament of Tisy from five hundred years ago accurately, the Unified Army’s information must have been transmitted. Given their governance structure, it is likely that a certain privileged class monopolizes that information, but conversely, if we can manage to contact them, it should work out. Negotiating with my security clearance and military code, we should be able to get a reasonable amount of cooperation. That way, receiving Galatea’s pardon and getting the necessary assistance to explore the planet should be easier if we can uncover the information about the crash of “Inanna 12.”
Lost in these calculations, I noticed another three-dimensional object apart from the wreckage on the outskirts of the Holy Capital.
Long exposure to the elements had caused moss to grow, but… Was that…
“Titan!!”
“Whoa! Don’t shout so suddenly!!”
Startled by the sight, I voiced my surprise accidentally, and the guard struck me with a baton. That was a mobile weapon. 10 meters tall at the top, weighing over 300 tons, and armed excessively due to its massive power output and payload, it was the king of terrestrial combat. A mobile weapon. And that model was loaded in my cyber-database. The official Zodiac Republic Alliance medium weight mobile weapon Titan-2 Type G. Wasn’t this designed for ground combat on planets under 1G of gravity?
“What’s it doing there…?”
“Titan…? Heretic, do not call the Guardian Deity by such an ordinary name. That is the great hero who repelled the dragons and protected the Holy Capital eight hundred years ago.”
A hero? Tilting my head in surprise, while sitting idle, the guard started to narrate various stories. Apparently, after the Mechanical God’s guidance, the divine ancestor descended to the land and all was peaceful for a while, but due to the presence of evil-minded individuals, monsters began to rise from the eastern lands. When the danger threatened the Holy Capital, the gods sent the Guardian Deity to repel the dragons, and though the battle caused it to cease functioning, it continued to guard the Holy Capital like this.
The credibility of the myth aside, I was genuinely moved. I was originally from the Armored Corps, transitioning from the local defense force to the Unified Army, serving as a pilot for mobile weapons all along. The machine wasn’t the same one I had once driven in battlefields, but I never thought I’d encounter something akin to it in this transformed world.
“Check it out, Selene! Isn’t it incredible? Is it still active??”
“No heat source detected. It’s impossible to know without scanning close proximity, but judging from the catalog specifications, it must have long exceeded its operational life span, so…”
Ignoring my heightened spirits, Selene’s response was rather indifferent. What’s wrong? Aren’t we comrades who have fought and supported each other through battles? Don’t you feel a sense of nostalgia for this old weapon’s lineage?
“We, as mechanical beings, do not have as deep an emotional attachment to large robots as the Mechanical Humans do…”
“Cold… Despite its unparalleled superiority in combat sustainability, nothing can compare to this structure.”
Feeling a bit disheartened and bidding farewell to the Titan, we finally entered the Holy Capital after about half a day.
…At first glance, the city seemed lively from the outside, but once we were in, it wasn’t as bustling after all. The people occasionally looked up at the sky with a melancholy expression, and not many shops openly displayed their goods in an open-air fashion. Moreover, the level of civilization seemed lower than expected. There were no refrigerators on display selling fresh and frozen foods, and I couldn’t find any stores selling machines.
It was as if the city appeared as science fiction on the surface but was fantasy at its core, creating a strange mismatch.
“Don’t look around so much, heretic.”
“Sorry about that.”
Reprimanded, I lowered my head humbly while shifting my vision to the surveillance drone sent out by Selene.
“Captain, it seems the city has a multi-layered structure, and those living on the outskirts appear to be poorer people.”
“Is that so?”
“Judging by the residential areas surviving within ‘Inanna 12,’ it seems they are not in the same situation.”
Through reconnaissance, it seemed the citizens of the Canopy Holy Capital were divided into three classes.
First, the lower strata: the areas created around the edge of ‘Inanna 12,’ where poor people and manual laborers lived. Electricity was available, but there were only a few streetlights here and there, suggesting a lack of civilization’s touch. The living standard was not much different from rural estates, except that the work had shifted from rural to urban jobs.
Next, under the canopy: The upper structure of the fallen ‘Inanna 12’ slanted like an opened clam shell, and under its shaded parts where sunlight didn’t enter, there was another city. This area had iron-reinforced concrete buildings lining up, and incredibly, there was even a “tram” running. Few vehicles were around, but hybrid bicycles powered by batteries were running, and the number of streetlights was in contrast vastly different from the earlier area, making the quality significantly better.
Finally, the residential areas inside the canopy. Since most of this area was enclosed with walls, Selene’s drones couldn’t explore much, but it was evident it was far more prosperous than the bustling town below.
Amidst the luxurious one-family homes and large spaces, odd religious structures stood everywhere, for reasons unclear.
Using the unusual amount of space built into the ship design, the extravagant living environment typical of old human vessels was created, taking full advantage of the gaps.
Apparently, this was considered the bare minimum by their standards, something incomprehensible for me, a mechanized human. Be it a three-mat room with merely coffin-like sleep pods, as long as it connected to a virtual space, we could freely use a whole planet’s worth of space, making such expansive areas unnecessary in our base reality.
Even officers were given relatively large rooms for prestige, but I still couldn’t understand why someone would build detached houses inside a ship, regardless of its size.
Space is vast and harsh. Building ships with so much redundant space didn’t make sense.
Be that as it may, it was evident the higher-ups were living comfortably using this extra space.
Hmm… This world, originally thought to be fantasy, turned out to be a dystopia.
While pondering, the carriage moved forward steadily until it finally stopped at the edges of the huge structure.
I thought creating a city under such an enormous structure would be insane, but pillars were visible everywhere, and large lighting rigs provided illumination. With the canopy leaving space above, it might not be as unpleasant a place to live as I assumed.
“Is this the heretic?”
“Yes, Sir Deacon.”
As I was contemplating, a man accompanied by a guard approached. He wasn’t as flamboyantly adorned as the Gear Priests I had met in the Exgiel Border Territory, but he was still a monk with a peculiarly adorned bronze staff.
I nonchalantly greeted with a forced smile, but something seemed amiss. He frowned and swung his staff, and then I heard something strange.
It was a radio wave. The staff radiated a special frequency in the air, disseminating compressed radio words.
“Get down.”
This wasn’t directed at me. A lift mechanism, responding to the radio language, groaned from far above as it descended.
Come to think of it, the staff must have a language generation device within that head. The sound or words changed upon the motion, meaning it wasn’t just a decorative piece… It’s a cyborg’s skull!
What stylish desecration of a corpse, casually achieved!
Stunned by the sheer horror of such actions, I barely noticed the lift traveling hundreds of meters upward…
【Tips】The Gear Priest’s Staff: A traditional ritual item passed down for a millennium that commands machines. Now unable to produce new ones, they are treated as valuable relics.
I always appreciate your feedback. Thanks to you, I can write more fluently.
An update is planned for around 6:00 PM on July 24th, 2024.
