Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 264

Chapter 264

After finishing a round of destruction, Kait looked around and picked out several suitable pieces of wreckage.

"This one looks good. The internal mechanisms seem to be mostly intact."

He kept the ones that were conveniently sized for concealing and had some internal structure remaining, discarding the rest.

Still, they were extremely aggressive toward him. It felt like there was no room for negotiation. Was it the same even with native Mardilans? If so, he couldn't understand why the Talvani would want to investigate such a massive machine. Normally, with an uncontrollable giant machine that attacks on sight, the dominant opinion would be to destroy it rather than study it.

Kait hadn't met them yet, but apparently Earthlings resemble a species on this planet called the Pautri. If they were identifying him by something other than appearance, then just being Kait might be enough reason for hostility.

"Well then, I guess it's time to head back."

Using his psychic power, he opened a hole in the nearest wall and leapt outside. As he looked back midair, the hole was closing from the inside. It almost seemed alive.

"Even so..."

The mechanical interior, the behavior of the machines that attacked him inside—it all felt completely disconnected from Mardila's level of technology. This one thing alone was anomalous. As if it had come from space.

Yes, as if it had suddenly descended from space—such an uncanny feeling.

"...No way."

Five hundred cycles. In Earthling terms, five hundred years. Even a hundred years is a long time by Earth standards. Five hundred would qualify as history.

But what about five hundred cycles from the perspective of species that have advanced into the Federation and the Galaxy?

Kait lowered his gaze to the wreckage he was holding. The inhabitants of this planet might be caught up in the schemes of someone other than the Federation.

***

Before dawn, Kait returned to the sky above the inn. Unlike when he left, he cloaked himself before reentering the room. Unless they had extremely specialized equipment or vision, no one should have been able to detect him. And such equipment shouldn't be available at Mardila's level of civilization.

"Welcome back, Captain."

Emotion was waiting in human form inside the room.

As instructed by Kait, the lights were off. In case someone monitoring them tried to enter, they could be misled. With Emotion's capabilities, taking Kait's appearance temporarily wouldn't be difficult.

"I'm back, Emotion. Did Asban and the others come in?"

"No, there was only a knock. We were also on alert for external contact, but there was nothing of note."

"That's a relief. Thanks."

"So, how did your investigation go, Captain? You returned rather quickly."

Prompted by her, Kait handed over the wreckage he was holding.

Emotion looked down at the wreckage she received and froze in place.

"Captain, where did you get this?"

"Inside that large machine. It attacked without warning, no chance to investigate. So I just rampaged a bit and came back."

"I see."

Emotion responded tersely, not turning her gaze back toward him. She spun the wreckage in her hand and stared at it intently. She was probably extracting data. Kait sensed a hint of urgency in her response, but waited for her to speak next.

Analysis was her job. Interfering wasn't Kait's style.

Emotion stopped moving. She looked up and spoke in her usual tone.

"Captain. We need to request reinforcements from the Federation Congress immediately."

"Oh?"

"The technology applied to this machine group has been identified as belonging to the Araslan Mechanized Race."

But Kait sensed an unusual seriousness in her demeanor.

"They are one of the anti-Federation factions that the Federation is clearly hostile toward."

***

The Araslan Mechanized Race.

Said to be a type of species with highly developed forelimbs that wander the galaxy. The reason it's only said is because, when the Federation first made contact with them, the entire species had already discarded their organic bodies.

They had achieved complete mechanization as a species—an unprecedented form of intelligence in the galaxy. Records state that their relationship with the Federation was relatively friendly at first. In fact, it's said that the foundation of the Federation's mechanization-related body modification technology came from them. In that sense, they may share a common ancestor with the Federation's mechanical intelligences.

However, that friendly relationship soon broke down. The Araslan Mechanized Race had a fundamental difference in values that was incompatible with the Federation.

It was their pathological hatred for organic bodies. They believed, almost religiously, that all intelligent beings must abandon their flesh and ascend to the next stage through mechanization. As a result, they deemed species with organic bodies as inferior and treated them like slaves, as servant races. This attitude drew criticism from the Federation and led to strained relations.

They had long criticized the Federation, which valued life extension through body modification and respected species diversity, and tried to reform it. That led them to declare war on the Federation. The conflict escalated into a large-scale war known as the Araslan Galactic Struggle.

***

"...And the Araslan Mechanized Race suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the Federation?"

"Yes. Although there were times when they held the upper hand against the Federation. The fact that Federation history calls it a 'struggle' rather than a 'war' likely reflects a certain level of respect."

Kait could imagine how the war unfolded even without checking. The Araslan Mechanized Race must have had some advantage over the Federation's mechanical intelligences. That probably gave them the upper hand for a while, until the Federation deployed Terapolapaneshio to turn the tide.

In other words, when the Federation got 'serious,' the Araslan Mechanized Race was driven into a losing position. Despite having rallied their full strength against a formidable opponent, they lost about ninety percent of their forces and fled in all directions.

"It seems most of them escaped beyond the Federation's sphere of influence. The Federation still maintains strict surveillance, so they must be very cautious."

"So someone within the Federation's territory is secretly using Araslan Mechanized Race technology. That's a serious problem."

If they came here because they knew this planet was no longer under observation, it might mean the Araslan are preparing for another invasion of the Federation.

While Kait was thinking that, Emotion shook her head.

"That's not the only problem. It's possible that Planet Mardila itself is a breeding ground secretly created by the Araslan Mechanized Race for their servant species."

"...What?"

"Don't you see, Captain? The intelligent beings on this planet all have visibly different appearances and skeletal structures depending on their species. Yet they can interbreed, and there's no sign of their traits blending. It's clearly unnatural."

Now that she mentioned it. He hadn't thought much of it, assuming it was just different from Earth, but if a highly advanced civilization was involved, it made sense to suspect interference.

"We haven't directly confirmed their genetic samples, so we can't say for sure. But if that were true..."

"Then the inhabitants of Mardila might originally be from some other planet entirely."

"Yes."

Even so, Mardila was supposed to be under Federation observation. If it became a breeding ground after being removed from the watchlist, then the Federation's surveillance must be far too lax.

In response to Kait's doubt, Emotion gloomily shook her head again.

"It's only speculation, but perhaps the Araslan had already colonized this planet even before the Federation began observing it."

"What do you mean?"

"There have been others who interfered with planetary civilizations while evading Federation surveillance."

"...That's true."

The Divin people.

Intelligent beings who hid their ship underground and quietly infiltrated Earth's civilization, influencing human history and evolution. If the exiled Divin could do it, it wouldn't be surprising if the Araslan could too.

Or perhaps the Divin and Araslan were connected at some point in the past.

"Are you saying the Araslan might have been responsible for the environmental decline of this planet?"

"We can't rule it out. If they were waiting for the right moment and the Federation's presence was a hindrance to revealing it..."

A chilling thought.

If this theory were true, then the needs of the living beings on Mardila had been completely ignored. To the Araslan, organic life was inferior. That meaning was starting to make sense.

"Captain. I've already reported to the Federation Congress. I believe we should proceed with some level of investigation before reinforcements arrive."

"Understood, Emotion. Sheesh, we really can't seem to escape trouble, can we?"

"Indeed. Looks like we'll have to put off enjoying Dangaresion for a while. A shame."

If Emotion was putting off meals, it must be serious.

By Kait's standards, that fact alone made this the most critical incident they'd faced so far.