Chapter 116: CH 108

Kou moved his gaze to the two kaleidolithos on the table.

「Let’s get back on topic. These guys are basically ultra-hardline egalitarians. They no longer have individual qualities. They’ve all but abandoned qualitative differences and genders and inputted data close to souls into these monolith-like objects.」

「But the data still isn’t a true soul.」

「It’s not. Asia said that they were just flimsy veils of superficial consciousness. Since their mental age and sense of self-awareness are all fixed, they really can’t be qualified as souls.」

「What does that mean?」

「The passage of time that one doesn’t remember — maybe you can call it self-awareness stemming from others or observation; information that includes external observers and time. That seems to be what defines a soul. For example, the 3-year-old Jenny that you probably don’t remember anymore and the 25-year-old Jenny right now makes up your soul, including the time that had passed in between. That’s why if you only trap the 25-year-old you inside a monolith like this, it can only be said as a superficial consciousness and not a true soul.」

「I see. Every event in my life from the time I was born to the current me constitutes my soul, right?」

「That’s how it is. In Asia’s own opinion, these being made up of superficial awareness being called souls is too absurd.」

「Asia’s own opinion?」

「It looks like that’s not always the case for Okeanos. One is still counted as a human if one can again accomplish feats that one was able to do when one was still a human. Simply put, as long as you have a suitable body, Okeanos will treat you as a human. That’s why Okeanos can be accessed by the Stones that have snatched and taken over human bodies for themselves — the so-called Hemitheos or demigods.」

「So that’s it. Now I can finally see the reason for all those incomprehensible things regarding the Stones, including being able to recruit forces via the Mercenary Association.」

The two kaleidolithos emitted eerie lights.

「The fact that they light up at fixed intervals and have a gray base color is also a result of their extreme pursuit of equality.」

「But why did they go that far?」

「The distinction between beautiful and ugly is considered unequal, and therefore, unnecessary. Different forms are considered discriminatory. So they moved on to forms that are absolutely equal to any observer. If one is different from the whole, one is incomplete. That’s why all the lights they emit are exactly the same. The intervals too. If one didn’t shine in the exact same rhythm, it was considered unequal.」

「Uwah…… A complete and utter denial of the ‘individual’ huh.」

Fuyuki displayed his disgust from the bottom of his heart. Absolute equality that had been taken too far that it had turned into something sinister.

「But they consider snatching bodies as a form of entertainment okay. After all, it’s impossible for humans to be absolutely equal, and the Stones are fully aware of that fact. That’s why concepts like freedom, equality, and fraternity only apply to their fellow Stones and nothing else.」

「I really feel like destroying them all right now.」

「Me too. They capture humans to choose the ideal body to use among them. That’s just too unreasonable. It’s like hermit crabs choosing shells to inhabit. After all, they treat humans as nothing more than tools or playthings.」

「Let’s dispose of them right now.」

Blue looked down at the kaleidolithos on the table with a frosty gaze.

「They want to regain the five senses they once lost simply for entertainment. I think that’s something utterly selfish and disgusting.」

「I wonder if there are people who don’t think so.」

「Apparently, there are…… People who want to turn into Stones in order to preserve their consciousness for eternity are actually present all over the Nemesis warfront.」

「They sure are a pitiful bunch.」

Rick spat in distaste, and Kou nodded in agreement.

「It seems that the memory, physical abilities, and skills of the possessed body can be freely used by them. Because of the Stone’s mad pursuit of absolute equality, they all eventually turned out to be equally incompetent, so they need the bodies to make up for that.」

「They threw away their entire lifetimes in the pursuit of equality. So that means they also discarded their skills?!」

「Yeah.」

Everyone present was at a loss for words. It is true that the treatment of individuals may vary depending on their individual skills, abilities, and knowledge, so that can be said as a source of inequality.

But was there really any reason to go as far as the Stones have in pursuit of ultimate equality?

「The body possessed by the one I defeated was probably that of a Development Engineer. His combat skills were absolutely pathetic. He was really weak despite piloting an Antique.」

「That’s just because your combat skills are totally absurd you know. Regular guys won’t be able to react to that speed.」

「R-Really?」

Kou, who didn’t have a great sense of self-awareness, hurriedly changed the topic.

「It seems the purpose of the Stones is to return to Earth…… But speaking in real-time, the Earth might not even be there anymore.」

「What do you mean?」

「In the 21st century, scientists estimated that in 5 billion years the sun will expand to a Red Giant and swallow the entire Earth within it. I’d already asked Asia. It’s unclear if we’ll even find a planet suitable for us to inhabit if we went back right now.」

「Even so, they still endeavor to control each Nemesis system planet’s management AI, all for their goal of returning to Earth.」

「Or maybe they want to recreate a planet that’s a complete replica of Earth. Including the terrain and the advent of humanity.」

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「How unreasonable. Even though they’re nothing but dumb rocks.」

「They’re an absolutely unpleasant bunch of dumb rocks, aren’t they?」

Jenny and Kou turned frigid gazes onto the kaleidolithos on top of the table.

「They can actually hear us, right?」

「Even though they look like that, those stones are high-performance stuff. If mishandled, they might still be able to take over the consciousness of a compatible individual without anyone noticing. However, we’ve already destroyed the device that allows them to do that, so there’s no problem.」

「That spare seat at the back of the MCS?」

「Right. They operate Antiques, no, even current-era Silhouettes through synchronizing their consciousness and the body they took over from the unit placed at the back of the MCS. Their possessed bodies die immediately in order to spare the Stones themselves from pain and suffering, as well as to make it easier for the kaleidolithos to be recovered and sold on the black market.」

「I see. So none of them have ever experienced being thrown into the vacuum of outer space huh.」

Jenny knocked on one kaleidolithos with all her might.

It emitted a pathetic-looking shine in response.

「Since we can’t get any information from them, they aren’t worth anything. The signals being emitted by these stones are being blocked by Dike.」

「Hmmm. Hey. Can I press the switch myself when it’s time to send these bastards to Nemesis?」

「Sure. Be my guest.」

「Thanks, Boss.」

The kaleidolithos pair protested by shining weakly. No one paid them any attention.

Aristides was now out at sea.

Only Kou and Jenny were present on the deck.

A Silhouette-sized small space rocket was also installed on the deck.

「This advanced spacecraft will carry those guys all the way to Nemesis.」

「A spacecraft……? Isn’t this just a box?」

「I won’t spend money and resources just to dispose of rocks. Its only passengers are two rocks after all.」

Kou handed Jenny the launching switch.

「It will use Planet Asia’s gravity to conduct a swing-by. Then it’s a one-way trip to Nemesis.」

「May they be subjected to the judgment of Nemesis.」

Red dwarf Nemesis.

It was a dwarf star with such a low caloric value that it can be mistaken for a brown dwarf.

Its surface temperature was 3,000 degrees Celsius, which was about half of Earth’s sun. The temperature of its core however was said to be millions of degrees.

Even though it wasn’t as hot compared to other stars, any substance thrown into it will still lose its form and eventually get annihilated.

「 Bye-bye, you damn rocks.」

Jenny resolutely pushed the switch.

The rocket jetted away and eventually disappeared beyond the sky.

「Ah, that was refreshing!」

Jenny stretched her body and laughed.

Kou thought it suited Jenny more to act cheerful like this.

「What, Kou-kun? You’re staring at me hard. Did you fall for me again?」

「W-What the heck are you saying? Let’s head back.」

「I want to breathe a bit more of the air outside.」

「Take it easy.」

With a bright red face, Kou passed through the catwalk and returned to the interior of Aristides.

Jenny looked up at the sky without tiring of it as her blonde hair fluttered in the sea breeze.

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