With a cold and stern voice, while looking down at her coffee cup, Aurelia began laying out her arguments in a clear and commanding tone befitting a religious leader.
“This is far too intricate… the virtual reality described in the apocrypha, correct? This will undoubtedly corrupt humanity.”
“Corrupt?”
“This nightscape, this comfortable room, this tea that surpasses even ceremonial tea. According to the apocrypha, these things can be so easily prepared, can they not?”
Well, that’s true. After all, this is a mere virtual reality, a mass of data. I could snap my fingers and an impressive meal with a hamburger as the main dish would cover the table.
“Everything I’ve experienced, adjusted further by experts, is just data. If one can be digitized, it can be supplied infinitely to anyone.”
“But we humans possess form. If we indulge in this, people will greedily consume happiness in dreams and starve to death in droves.”
Ah… ah… that’s right. I’d forgotten, but this could be dangerous for them.
Incidentally, I once heard this in a historical study project: a faction of mankind who incompletely mechanized themselves got lost in virtual reality and were taken over by a self-proclaimed superior numerical entity, unable to return to the base reality. Their community was destroyed by another group of old-style humans who deemed them evil, but now that you mention it, for those living with flesh bodies in areas with inadequate food supply, this is a real poison.
Our race no longer requires eating, treating it purely as a hobby, so I hadn’t given that side much consideration.
“Currently, there are certain restrictions, but even so, the upper echelons of the cathedral are indulging in excess. Should you gain authority in the Canopy Holy Capital, what would you do?”
“…If there was a factory that could be restarted, I’d want to make the people’s lives more prosperous…”
“It won’t turn out that way. There will surely be those who deceive your eyes and gorge themselves on profits. Over a thousand years, the cathedral has fallen into corruption.”
So much? When questioned, she buried her face in pain and covered her forehead with her left hand, which should be separated from the base reality.
From what I understand, the petition incident in which I was brought to the Exgiel Border Territory as a heretic was, in fact, a privateering scheme colluding between the Margrave, Aurelia, the banished corrupt Gear Priest Virgil, and those who sought power for personal gain.
I see now the reason they wanted me on the witness stand without allowing any testimony was not purely religious reasons.
“Decorative cardinal, fools who consider their ability to handle sacred spells as a divine privilege, swine who have only learned to indulge in profits… Such individuals have overrun the cathedral.”
That sounds troublesome, but it’s a common story.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, or so the great words salvaged from historical records go. This is the truth of the matter. Medieval Rome and early modern Italy were no picnic either, so this isn’t an exceptionally rotten exception. Places that were worse off were much worse.
Searching through Galatea’s memories, the cathedral holds power over not just the judiciary, legislature, and executive, but even military authority, making it the absolute ruler within the borders of the Canopy Holy Capital.
That is, the power they wield is equivalent to life and death over every human who lives here, capable of having everything go exactly as they please. How many people would really desire such a thing?
“Is the political competition that intense?”
“Four people have ‘died of illness’ just this year alone.”
Wow… illness, how ominous… quite the situation.
To be honest, as mechano-humans or sequence selves, because of the freedom the digital world offers compared to the base reality, we have become beings that know the meaning of contentment. In the words of the supreme ruler of the high-order beings, the light-life entities, we are said to be the human species closest to enlightenment. Our desires are shallow, we know our duties and responsibilities, and we define ourselves severely. Since the day of our birth, we have been educated and continue to define who we are after being released into the world. Even though we can control ourselves should we choose to, trying to understand the relentless desires of ordinary humans feels like grappling with the incomprehensible.
“Then what about your own rise to become Archbishop?”
“That I had a particular aptitude for terminals. And with the crucial support of the rare martyr group known as the Pure and Upright.”
Honestly, I can’t understand the minds of those who want to become dictators over vast territories, let alone cities with populations of a million, while I find even leading the officers under my command as a senior officer intimidating. Doesn’t it seem obvious that they’ll be crushed under the weight of their obligations? Even as an archbishop, it seems quite challenging. From what I’ve heard, back when I was active, in the high-order confederate’s secretariat, light-life entities made up about a fifth. Being a general representative sounds incredibly difficult. Even the mechano-human senators were complaining, “Though it’s forbidden knowledge, I’d like two more of myself.” Thus, at least for a sane neural state, such heavy responsibilities are to be avoided at all costs.
Rights may seem splendid, but no matter how radiant they might shine, the stick of obligation will inevitably come sprinting from behind to strike. Escaping this has been impossible from ancient times to the modern day. Even if one manages a clean get-away during their lifetime, most often their descendants end up paying the price.
Even that historical simulation game super-character, Napoleon, who monopolized the names of the strong, came to ruin at the end. Where does this arrogance originate, which believes it can succeed where someone like him failed?
“Please forgive me for a moment, I’ll take a break.”
“Eh? Oh, yes. Please.”
Anyhow, with a dragon approaching, it seems Virgil was up to something quite unforgivable, and I found myself summoning cigarettes into the virtual space to initiate calming protocols.
“Also, there’s another reason you could be considered a devil.”
Once she had a cigarette and calmed down, she gripped the terminal with all her might.
At that instant, an interference occurred in the virtual reality… wait, this is the entrance layer surrounded by multiple safeguard barriers! How can a person with just guest access manipulate programs like this!?
Ignoring my confusion, she called up the “Inanna 12” image.
The map was layered with cross-sections and color-coded, with green indicating residential zones, yellow for production sectors, and red for sealed areas.
“This sealed zone follows your plans, where various manufacturing machines remain, but it was sealed by the progenitor crew, borrowing your term, of “Inanna 12.”
“Sealed? No, before that, how did you interfere—”
“I merely asked a machine spirit.”
There it is again! Spare me! Initially, I thought it was just about people not understanding the working principles of machinery and attributing it to spirits or fae, but now it’s clear that a completely unknown principle is at work here.
“Should I eject her, Captain?”
“Nah, since we’re discussing things, that’d be incredibly rude.”
Still, I’ll have her monitored. Seriously, it’s terrifying.
By the way, this sealed forbidden area is rumored to contain various wonders— technologies for perpetual youth, methods to resurrect the dead, and the lost holy sword.
“A lost holy sword?”
“Well, they say it can cut through anything.”
Ah, just a regular mono-molecular blade? That’s a dime a dozen. No need to get worked up over it. We have mass-production versions as standard equipment; it’s commonplace for us.
What was scary was supposed to be an extra-large type of railgun that went by the name of a “light-cleaving holy blade” or something. Sure, it can accelerate objects to sub-light speeds with enough power, but if you fire it recklessly on a planetary surface, you might end up tilting the axis. That’s not a joke. Especially when used as an anti-ship weapon, the aftermath could lead to climate changes that go far beyond such trivialities.
However, the crew of the “Inanna 12” must have deemed even these dangerous and sealed them, leaving only the bare essentials for survival, tools for food production, and maintenance knowledge before departing.
Still, it remains a mystery what they were thinking when they left. If this happened five hundred years ago, I could have accepted the idea that their brain capacity was a unique limitation due to their non-mechanized nature. But the progenitors started to leave around a hundred years after their arrival and all the last one were gone three hundred years ago. Nobody knows where they went or why they disappeared. What truly occurred?
“In any case, the progenitors sealed these things because they deemed them too much for us. Opening these seals will attract many who seek to monopolize profits. Selfishly, devoid of faith, everyone will rush for their wants.”
“…I see, Archbishop. You’ve realized, haven’t you? That I’m not a devil, but someone who can open the seal?”
“That’s correct. The apocrypha warned about the endosystem users. Furthermore, the progenitors were concerned about the downfall of the Holy Capital depending on your actions.”
In spite of these concerns, we’ve been somewhat saved, she said with a self-mocking laugh.
“However, you’ve now become our guardian god. No one in the town will listen to our words anymore. Compared to the small divinity dispatched by the gods to protect this city, our authority is negligible.”
“Does this mean the cathedral’s influence is waning?”
“Even at its peak, the cathedral can’t rival this. A ten-meter steel giant threatening the Canopy Holy Capital for a long time, and the many knights who failed to slay the dragon—how could anything compare to the small god who decapitated that dragon?”
Hmm, I see. That makes sense. It’s just like how, if a contemporary saint of Saint T. Osamu were to resurrect and start writing comic books, many mechano-humans would surely snap their pens in awe of absolute authority. I finally see why you call it a divine mandate.
“Therefore, if you’re devoid of malice, I sincerely have a request. Please… do not become a devil. We don’t need a devil who indulges our shallow desires and corrupts us. Rather, if you can be a strict and wise saint, I’ll not object to any punishment you may see fit to impose on me for my insolence.”
Upon saying this, she prostrated herself, pleading earnestly as if about to lick my feet.
I see… So devils aren’t just conceptual beings but ones who spread ruin through thoughtless benevolence. Given what mechano-humans could potentially do, the progenitors must have placed this insurance carefully to ensure the inhabitants of the city didn’t turn into another Sodom.
They’ve been clever, but really— couldn’t they have chosen better phrasing? Especially since we’re supposed to be allied countries!!
While voicing complaints about the absent progenitors, I pulled her up and made a vow— not to meddle unnecessarily for the sake of the city and to consult with her before making any significant moves.
“By the way, looking back, it seems quite convenient now. How many holy men have fled the city?”
“About half sought refuge in the Holy Capital, but quite a number have fled indeed. Some retreated to areas of influence nearby, while others scattered aimlessly in search of safety.”
“How many key figures are among them?”
Upon asking this, I learned that, thanks to the manipulations of corrupt flatterers, about two-thirds of the cardinals, along with all but her among the archbishops, had fled— the papal seat being traditionally vacant as it was the title of the progenitors.
This, in a way, is quite convenient. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth, but when the cooks are idiots and fools, things get even worse. One must eliminate the fools before they get the chance to act as fools—a proverb passed down through the ages.
“In that case, just excommunicate them all.”
“Eh?” The archbishop exclaimed, but I nodded, crossing my arms.
“I currently have the authority to wield power. If I use it to purge the corruption from the cathedral and at least give minimal charity to the common people, I can restore my prestige without overstepping. If you let me use the canopy slightly, we can solve most issues. Thus, excommunicating all the escapees will tidy everything up, won’t it?”
“Well, that’s true, I suppose…”
“What? If they dare resist, at worst, we’ll deal with them this way.”
I swung my arm, which reminded her of the massive arms of the Titan-2, no doubt.
Haha, quite terrifying— an authority figure with overwhelming physical superiority capable of erasing them completely. There’s no more fearsome entity for religious officials than this.
“If you’re willing to cooperate with me, I’ll help you cleanse and reclaim the cathedral. Well, Archishop, will you join hands with me?”
“…Still, must you be a devil? To propose such violent yet irresistible deals…?”
Though she dared to utter such discourteous words, Aurelia eventually took my virtual hand weakly…
【Planetary Exploration Record】 The cyber entrance is a personal space where connected individuals are invited. Being invited here implies opening a few protective barriers, making it a very private area. It’s a sign of friendship among mechano-humans, as this space is disconnected from the self-conscious domain, making it relatively safe.
However, there are wizard-level cyber technicians who could hack from here, so one must be cautious.
Our backlog of accumulated content is starting to feel a little thin, so the update on 2024/08/03 will resume the usual schedule.
We aim to update around 15:00, so stay tuned!
