There was an obvious shift in the demeanour of the Grantz in the room.
The atmopshere shifted subtly as soon as the insects were mentioned. Secretary-General Lin could sense their eager bloodlust.
The insects could possibly be the only faction that could unite the Grantz through mutual hatred.
“Approximately half of the sensors sent out to the galaxy bounds returned bearing traces of insect attacks. Some detectors are missing altogether.”
Unexplored regions of the galaxy surrounded the part humanity resided it. Exploration was slow but steady. These regions were dangerous due to rampant insect activity. There were no guaranteed safe routes, and insects or rogue meteorites could appear at any time.
In addition, the region inhabited by humanity was still relatively abundant with resources, meaning any annual explorations were more for research’s sake than necessity.
It was possible to roughly estimate the insect population outside the galaxy boundaries by releasing detectors a certain distance and counting how many were damaged.
The insect population wasn’t as dense before. It could mean they were about to encroach on the habitable region, or it could just be a temporary increase. In any case, this wasn’t good news.
Jacob was bemused.
“So what are their motives for going there then? I thought they had discovered the Grantz graveyard.”
Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. That was his initial speculation as well.
Helene first broke the silence, “We just need to go and see for ourselves what Arachnid is up to, no? Dice them up into mincemeat with the insects.”
Norton glanced at her with obvious disapproval. “We can approximate two goals from Arachnid’s past actions, the limits of humanity and–”
Norton raised his eyes. “The insects.”
Arachnid considered themselves as humanity’s guide.
Bert snorted from the side, commenting, “How arrogant.”
Adrian frowned, “Although Arachnid has inherited some technology from before the Plague, even they are unable to traverse the unexplored regions of the galaxy to what lays beyond. In light of this, the shift in insect activity over there may not be related to them…”
“The Plague.” Norton suddenly stated.
The others raised their heads and shared a look. They had an idea of what Norton was getting at.
Even Secretary-General Lin was shocked by the possibility.
The insect tides were not even close to the same magnitude as the Plague.
The last Plague almost wiped out human civilization.
Modern countries were gradually rebuilt after the Plague. Afterwards, humanity was able to slowly clear out the region of the galaxy they inhabited. It was truly fortunate that the insect tides that followed were on a much smaller scale.
Before the Plague, humanity had just taken the first step towards the stars. Technology was advancing at a breakneck pace with an emphasis on interplanetary exploration, interplanetary navigation and artificial intelligence.
After the Plague, all forms of technology stagnated or even regressed. And after the bleakest time had passed, there was an inevitable shift towards developing physical and psychic weaponry.
Yet despite the highly advanced warships and psychic weaponry of today, Secretary-General Lin couldn’t be certain if the same mistakes would be made along the way if they were given a second chance.
Norton turned to Dylan and the others. “Helene, Aria and Jacob–”
He paused before including Bert, “Go. Set off tonight to investigate.”
The trio made a sounds of acknowledgement. Bert lazily raised his hand to the same effect.
Ye Muo shifted in Norton’s arms, murmuring, “Daddy…”
Norton glanced down and saw that Ye Muo had dozed off. He was talking in his sleep and even kicking a bit. Norton habitually caught that little leg and began to massage it gently.
Ye Muo often had growing pains, so he had a habit of plopping his legs down in Norton’s lap before going to sleep.
Secretary-General Lin quickly took note of Norton’s orders and discreetly left the room.
……
In a certain room deep within a base in the Exile Sectors.
A long conference table streched through the room.
There were many attendees surrounding the table, but it was easy to tell they were just virtual projections.
The individual sitting at the head of the table gestured, their synthesized voice echoing through the room.
[The agenda for this emergency meeting is discussing the suspected hastening of the second Plague as well as appropriate countermeasures in that scenario.]
[We still haven’t determined the stability of the Grantz. The evaluation is unlikely to be completed yet.]
[Based on the feedback received so far, it is almost certain that the Plague will be here earlier than expected by a significant margin. It simply defies logic. The research results from the pre-Plague era should be accurate. After all, they were calculated by humanity’s magnum opus. The second Plague should not be happening yet. Humanity hasn’t developed enough to be able to resist it.]
[That thing already developed emotions back then and was sealed away. Who knows if its calculations were accurate or not? Maybe it deliberately miscalculated as a form of revenge against us.]
[We should disclose the arrival of the Plague to all so they can be on alert.]
[That wouldn’t suffice. Not unless we can mass-produce the Grantz.]
[What a wonderful idea. Setting aside whether we would be able to succeed with the Grantz already on high alert, even if everything went according to plan, we would be left dealing with the insects and berserk Grantz in the future.]
[Silence!]
The meeting room settled down again.
That synthesized voice spoke again after a beat: [First, we cannot be certain the Grantz are completely stable as of yet. Second, the Grantz are already too powerful for us to control despite all their interal conflicts over the years. All we can do is provide what resources we can and hope they can repel the Plague.]
[Even so, there is one other possibility we can explore. If we can find a way to traverse the unexplored regions and find the ones who left back then…
As we all know, a subset of humanity formed the organization ‘Noah’s Ark’ and left in the face of the Plague to seek refuge elsewhere in the galaxy. They had a very high suvival chance due to taking away most of humanity’s brightest minds and most advanced technologies. They’ve more than likely developed countermeasures against the insects by now.]
[Then let us convene the meeting here. In summary, we must inform all of humanity about the early arrival of the Plague and offer our full assistance to help them survive. Second, we will search the unexplored regions of the galaxy in hopes of finding the other branch of humanity and obtaining their help.]
[We will do all in our power to achieve these goals through whatever means necessary. As long as the human race can continue to survive to the end of the universe.]
[Meeting convened.]
……
03 scoffed at the counteless detectors and holographic projection devices set up outside around the station.
“Here they go again.”
Faceless made a sound of acknowledgement from the side. “It’s even more exaggerated than before.”
This station was situated the furtherest into the unexplored regions of the galaxy. The rest were in the surrounding area.
Any attempts at further exploration would basically have to start here.
03 was somewhat interested. “Is it even possible to get good signal out here? Using this kind of technology like this… I really think the organization has some sort of performance or snooping kink sometimes.”
Why else would an organization hidden in the shadows be so keen to do things like this?
Faceless came to join him at the warship window.
“They seem to be preparing to reveal a secret of sorts to humanity this time.”
His gaze turned to the countless planets flickering like stars in pitch black space of the unexplored regions.
Just what kind of secret could be hidden there?
Something important enough to concern humanity as a whole?
03 scoffed again. “They always go ‘humanity this’ or ‘humanity that’, but I’ve never seen them actually respecting anyone. The things they do make even scum like me sick to the bone.”
Faceless was a bit hesitant as he recalled the attitude of the higher ups. “What about the Grantz then?”
03 stretched his back. “Definitely not before, but now? Who knows? Maybe they’ll realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew by the time the knife’s against their throat.”
Faceless retreved a pouch of nutrient solution and showed it to 03. “There are three flavours.”
Faceless hesistated when 03 just stared. He offered the pouch to the man, who didn’t take it. “Do you want another flavour?”
03 forced himself to look away.
……
After Secretary-General Lin left to make preparations for departure, the study returned to its former state.
Norton continued massaging Ye Muo’s legs. He sensed something was off halfway through. Looking down, he met Ye Muo’s eyes. The child had woken up at some point and was lying in Norton’s arms, staring up at him.
Upon being discovered, he shyly burrowed into Norton’s side and kicked Norton’s hand a little.
“Leggies hurt, Daddy.”
“Uncle Adrian can also help massage Muomuo.” Adrian commented from the side.
At this time, Adlet entered the room with a pot of black tea and finger snacks on his tray.
Ye Muo smell the treats immediately. The child who was just complaining about aching legs practically squirmed out of Norton’s lap. Climbing down one of the man’s boot-clad legs, he started following Adlet around like a little tail, waiting for the butler to hand him half or even a whole cookie.
Adlet set the tray down and handed Ye Muo a cookie that was obviously smaller first. “This is your share, Your Little Highness.”
Ye Muo looked at his cookie, then the other ones on the plate. He could only watch as the pile quickly disappeared as everyone else divvied them up.
Ye Muo had so many sweets before that he stopped eating properly at mealtimes for several days. The doctors insisted he get more protein in his diet as a result.
The huge pile of cookies had disappeared in an instant.
But Ye Muo wasn’t upset. He didn’t even mind that his cookie was obviously smaller than everyone else’s as he happily nibbled away.
As he gnawed away, he looked around and realized that Norton and Adlet were the only ones without cookies.
He held Adlet’s leg for balance and offered his own cookie to Adlet. “Have some too, Adlet.”
Adlet looked down at Ye Muo, somewhat astonished. He broke off a piece. “Thank you, Your Little Highness.”
Then Ye Muo trotted over to Norton, who was taking care of paperwork. He brought his cookie to the man’s mouth, only to remember something and quickly stop.
With a little exclamation, Ye Muo broke the cookie in two with all his might. After carefully comparing the pieces, he got on tiptoe and carefully set the smaller one by Norton’s arm.
He graciously pushed it closer towards Norton. “This is Daddy’s.”
After all, Ye Muo still remembered the time where Norton took most of his cupcake in one bite.
