Story Reader / Main Story / 19 A New Divide / Story
Yarha is adjusting the data on his terminal in the dimly lit Construct Laboratory. Projected before him in the holo-screen is a white-colored Construct slowly taking shape.
Ever since he took the assignment to design the new specialized frame, Yarha has had to stay in this room.
Even with how focused Yarha is, the slightest breeze or movement around him makes him double-check his surroundings before returning to his work.
Phew... It's alright... Just dropped a pen.
He is clearly scared of the girl in the center of the laboratory—the Ascendant Luna.
Although he does not know much about Ascendants, even the mad scientists of Kurono consider them to be extremely dangerous.
For no particular reason, he recalls the other white Construct who startled him in the past during the first test.
Dammit... I really should stay away from anything white next time.
His gaze lands on the unfinished white Construct in his terminal, and he sighs.
Sigh. I guess I'll leave Kurono after completing this frame...
Hey...
Aaargh!
Right as Yarha is about to dive back into his work, he is startled by a greeting from behind, so much so that it makes him toss his terminal away involuntarily.
Luckily, the flying terminal gently lands on the ground, and Yarha is reminded of the Moon's lower gravity.
Seeing his terminal is still intact, Yarha finally has time to check who greeted him—and finds Karenina standing there.
Karenina... Why are you here?
Karenina picks up the terminal for Yarha, and she notices the frame on the screen.
Hey, is this the design for the new specialized frame...?
Yeah. It's not too different from what we planned. With the data we got from this agent, the frame can absorb the Punishing Virus in a larger area before eliminating it with the Omega Weapon inside.
I thought you people from Kurono would have kept this secret.
Given that the guards let you in, it means Collins is fine with whatever you do.
Hmph, it seems so. After all, he needs us to maintain this Omega Weapon... but there doesn't seem to be a reason to turn it on.
Ever since Luna woke up, she has not put up any resistance despite her indifference, providing Yarha with the data he needs for the new specialized frame.
No! No, no! There are still plenty of reasons! Please make sure it's working properly, Karenina...
All his fear is the fear of the unknown. No one knows when the gentle girl before them will turn into a bloodthirsty monster.
Seriously... Why did you take this job if you're so afraid?
Because the person using this frame is someone I knew. I want to do my absolute best for her—right, you might know her too.
Yarha opens up the list of testers for the new specialized frame... and the first and only person on it is none other than Liv of Gray Raven.
Liv?! I thought the Gray Ravens were still on the surface! Why would she...
They're trying to get Liv and her commandant back to Babylonia so that they can perform adaptation on her while treating that commandant. Liv will need to connect to her commandant when she switches her frame.
But if Commandant doesn't wake up in time...
Karenina remembers from previous files that without a commandant with high adaptability to stabilize the M.I.N.D. of the new specialized frame...
The user of the new specialized frame will suffer from unknown M.I.N.D. illnesses and die in three hours at the latest.
Liv... Does she know about that?
Yarha nods solemnly, answering Karenina's question.
For the people with her, for the entire humankind... she still chooses to become this "necessary sacrifice." She hasn't changed at all, not hesitating to put others before herself.
Yarha takes out a small bullet shell from his pocket. Once a symbol of his cowardice, it now gives him courage.
So I'm going to do my best to help. After all, it's rare to work on something righteous like this in Kurono.
Yarha scratches his head as he closes his terminal before leaving Karenina behind, telling her he needs to submit some reports to Data Analytics.
Is that a "necessary sacrifice"...?
Karenina knows that no one wants to sacrifice anyone willingly, but "there is no other way," "we cannot help it"...
Humanity is simply facing an impossible choice. If it were not Liv, it would have been Lucia, Bianca, the Gray Raven Commandant... or even Karenina herself.
Still, Karenina cannot help but think that this sacrifice is her fault... or the fault of all humankind. They are weak—they have been weak, so they need to sacrifice someone in exchange for hope.
Humans have always been like this. There has never been progress without sacrifice.
Karenina almost forgets that there is still a frightening presence in this laboratory.
She looks up at the speaking Luna. Enveloped in dim blue light, the girl in white looks ethereal.
Countless humans stand at the crossroad of choice, sacrificing the fated few, surviving due to the science built upon absolute rationality.
You... are also one of the few sacrificed in the name of science, aren't you?
Karenina remembers what Collins said. Luna only became a Corrupted because the Construct technology back then was flawed—and Karenina's grandfather was the one responsible for the theories on Construct Tech.
It doesn't matter to me anymore. Like what that man said, I was simply... unfortunate.
Perhaps Luna does not care about what will happen to her anymore. Be it an unjust fate or the consequences of her actions—Luna cannot go back and choose another path.
But what does that mean to you? The culmination of absolute rationality is now in the palm of your hand... Can it bring hope without requiring sacrifices...?
When Karenina was very young, living in the slums where hunger and death stained the air, she also tried to be a well-mannered child and fit in with others.
No matter how hard she tried, however, it always ended in a fight.
Karenina used to wonder about the similarities between her and science, if its developments and her constant brawls were simply a curse of destruction, destroying nature, the earth, and eventually, themselves.
Karen! Look, it's a full moon tonight! It's been exactly 29 days and 12 hours since the last one...
No, it's 29 days, 12 hours, and 43 minutes! You got so mad when I didn't remember the exact time, Grandpa.
Is it? Haha, I've forgotten. But it's no matter—Karen can remember what I forgot, can't you?
Right, let me tell you about the stories with the Moon and the rabbits before I forget... Once, there was a bunch of happy rabbits…
Grandpa, why aren't you mad... I had a fight with someone again today.
Is fighting other people fun for you, Karen?
Fighting... It hurts where I got hit, and my fist hurts when I punch, but I can't hold back even knowing that... They say I only know how to fight and destroy, and I'm just as mad as you.
How boring! Let's look at the Moon instead. That's way more interesting...
Alright, pop quiz! Do you know how the Moon was formed, Karen?
The Moon... Wasn't it always there?
Of course not! Once upon a time, a giant meteor clashed with the Earth, and "Poof!"—a massive chunk of the Earth got separated before becoming the Moon.
So the land we're standing on was once connected to the Moon up there?
Haha, you got that right! There would be no Moon without destruction. Isn't that something? So destruction itself isn't inherently a bad thing, you see!
And it's not just the Moon! A theory says that the universe was just a lifeless singularity before it exploded and created everything beautiful! So the greatest power of all is actually explosions, haha!
Oh... I see.
Alright, onto the next question!
Hold on, Grandpa! I'm not ready...
Scientific discoveries always accompany uncertainties. Perhaps, like the development of zero-point energy, they will bring about endless disasters and create many "necessary sacrifices" like you...
Karenina smiles, meeting Luna's gaze.
Perhaps we aren't strong enough yet, and our best researchers are as naive as the children who wonder about the Moon.
But the knowledge we amass is not for nothing. One day, we will transform science's destructive power into a new hope.
Luna cannot help but smile. This is the first time she feels human to Karenina.
...Unwilling to give up hope... You're as stubborn as my sister.
Lucia and the others are still fighting on the surface... Hmph, I'm not going to lose to them!
The warrior's battle is coming to an end, but the engineer's fight is just about to start.
