Red Sea

Mutation

Light streaming in from the ceiling tapped against his eyelids. Just before opening his eyes, the entire world appeared red. The bright sky-blue eyes, hidden beneath long eyelashes, were revealed. The first thing that came into view was the solid black chest, jawline, and forearms of a giant.

Had he ever seen the creature’s body in such detail under bright light?

He had thought it felt like stone to the touch. However, the surface, different from actual rock, possessed its own unique characteristics. The aching muscles and the pain in the hole told him that what had happened last night was not a dream.

“Ugh…, um…”

Jake cleared his dry throat and rubbed his palm from his forehead to his eyes. He thought it would be nice to wash his face and drink some water to ease the dryness.

[You’ve started moving again.]

“…Were you awake?”

It was hard to tell from the outside whether the faceless being was asleep or not. In the first place, it was unclear if he was even sleeping. Kashan answered Jake’s question briefly.

[Yes.]

Kashan let Jake squirm out of his embrace. The human, freed from the giant’s hold, crawled to a spring to drink water. He couldn’t muster the strength to stand up.

“Everything is fine, but I wish you could do something about the dryness…”

After gulping down the water and exhaling deeply as if it were refreshing, Jake spoke. Once he started voicing his desires, there would be no end to it, but it was true that there were many disappointing aspects since this civilization was not made for humans.

“……”

Jake stood by the water’s edge, lost in thought. After escaping the swamp of desires and returning to his senses, he was suddenly hit by shame and self-loathing. However, unlike ten days ago, when he had been unable to control his rage due to a loss of direction, he could now calmly reflect on the situation with a more settled mind. All that remained was to accept reality and strive to adapt to the changes.

Whether he liked it or not, he had to reside on this planet, and if he didn’t engage with it, he would lose the remaining humanity he had due to frustration.

It was strange to be questioning humanity and reason at this point. Yet, Jake still had the awareness that he was human. After washing his face and body clean, he approached Kashan, who was sitting on the sandy ground, and extended his arm.

“Isn’t it time to end this period of reflection? Lift me up again.”

[I will do so.]

Kashan lifted Jake effortlessly and began to climb the cliff. As he watched the wide sandy area gradually recede, Jake felt a twinge of melancholy. It was just a return to where he originally belonged, yet the approaching space felt unfamiliar. It was a different feeling from having grown fond of the isolated space. He was leaning more towards a skeptical reaction to the fact that he had to change.

No matter how much he drilled into his mind that he had to adapt to survive, it took a long time to emotionally accept it. He had lived his entire life as a human, and that time was by no means short. Becoming a being capable of performing functions that ordinary humans could not, amidst the changing world he belonged to, was more painful than he had anticipated.

“Are we going out today as well?”

[Yes. We will go out when the light tilts a bit more.]

“Can you tell me where we are going? I’ve been curious about it for a while.”

Having safely arrived at the entrance of the cave where he used to live, Jake perched on the bed and asked Kashan. Now that he had resolved to live firmly on this planet, there were so many things he needed to know. Upon hearing Jake’s question, Kashan answered succinctly and poured a heap of food onto the bed for Jake.

[We are going to engage in production activities. I am the landowner, so I cannot neglect my duties.]

“You’ve mentioned being a landowner before… What does that mean? Are you like a king on this planet?”

[A king? A landowner is a landowner. It refers to an entity that possesses a certain territory.]

At least it seemed that there was no monarchy in place. Strictly speaking, their conversation was not conducted through language but was closer to telepathy. It was more about conveying meaning than understanding the words themselves, and the giant did not know the concept of a king.

“Is having land such a big deal? Well, I suppose real estate is important…”

Jake muttered while stroking his beard. On this land without writing, it didn’t seem likely that real estate would be traded with documents. Upon hearing Jake’s question, Kashan responded with a hint of disbelief.

[Don’t humans engage in territorial disputes? Owning land is very important. An entity without land will die soon.]

“Hmm… Yes, humans have fought over territory. But the idea that one dies without land is hard to grasp. Is it that one’s lifespan shortens if they don’t have their own land?”

Looking at how they had mobilized armies to fight over the native creatures and the jungle, it was indeed true that land was fundamental for living beings. However, explaining the more complex human stories would be pointless now, and since he was not well-versed in politics and history, Jake decided to ask another question instead of discussing humanity.

[Thermos cannot engage in life activities without a heat source. This vast planet has the problem of very low temperatures at night. Therefore, each entity must occupy good land where they can survive the night. For example, like this cave.]

“It certainly gets cold at night… How strange. To die without heat.”

[Can humans live without heat? I find that more strange. Fortunately, there are many heat sources and caves on this land. So, you can choose any place to spend the night. You can spend quite a long time outside at night. However, if you do that, your body will cool down soon, so it would not be wrong to say you would die.]

“At least you have this large cave… So, you won’t die outside, right? That’s good to hear.”

Since they were in the same boat for now. Jake said dryly. Thermos responded with a rumbling sound, as if agreeing.

[Yes. I own a lot of land… I lend land to production slaves, and they work for me. They extract various gems and stones from the land.]

“So that’s how it is. Then it sounds like if you send those production slaves away, they would die.”

[When they are no longer needed, I tell them to leave. After all, they are weak entities that cannot occupy land on their own, so they would have been eliminated long ago if they weren’t surviving by providing me with labor. Now do you understand how reckless your actions were?]

“Honestly… I don’t quite get it. Yes, I know those beings are weaker than you. And… they didn’t seem very friendly either. Are they inferior beings that cannot communicate?”

[You made noise in front of them.]

The growling sound became lower. Jake felt that he was displeased, but he had no other way to soothe his feelings, so he remained silent.

[They are weak beings without power or land, merely surviving. And making noise in front of them means you revealed that you can communicate with us… They would have known they were about to be crushed by me, yet they still tried to spread their offspring to a breeding entity with a nest.]

“That’s a horrifying thought.”

Hearing that, Jake grimaced as if he were feeling nauseous. He had sensed it was a dangerous situation, but knowing the details made it even more displeasing. It was indeed true that he had felt he could be violated by those rocks if things continued as they were.

[So do not approach other entities recklessly. I have no urgency… I own land, have a place to sleep, and I can sufficiently take responsibility for you. However, those beings are inferior, and if they engage in breeding with you, they will leave you behind.]

“I understand well enough. You don’t need to say more.”

Jake thought Kashan’s way of doing things was quite vile and despicable, but realizing there were worse beings made him feel frustrated. He barely held back a sigh about what kind of species they were and changed the subject.

“Then, where do these foods come from? Eating the same thing every day… Honestly, it’s getting a bit tiresome. How do you know I can eat this without ever having met a human?”

[If you dig into the moles’ burrows, a bunch of plant roots they have gathered will come out. The production slaves are doing a remarkable job finding them. When I met other landowners, they taught me. Organisms like traders are made of similar components to moles and share similar traits. I learned this by trading two pieces of kaonium, so it should be accurate.]

“If you had just asked me… No, right, we couldn’t communicate. You’ve really been putting in a lot of effort.”

Jake awkwardly bit into the plant roots that the alien planet’s moles had diligently gathered. He wondered if roasting the somewhat dry-textured plants over a fire would make them taste better.

“Is it okay to start a fire? I promise not to do it outside the cave… Don’t we have a container? I don’t think I’ve seen you eat things like this. If you leave, I won’t have anything to do. If you allow it, I will try to make what I need.”

[Do as you wish. As long as you don’t jump off the cliff, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t do anything dangerous.]

Kashan readily permitted the use of fire. From the moment Jake recognized that this was not just a cave but a place to live, he began to see things differently than before, and he sensed that whatever he did would be a challenging endeavor. Still, it was fortunate that Kashan communicated kindly and answered his questions without showing any signs of annoyance. When Jake stopped speaking, silence fell. He felt that if the conversation ended like this, Kashan would go out of the cave, so he tried to think of anything else to ask. Habitually stroking his chin, Jake felt something come to mind from the sensation of his beard and exclaimed, “Ah,” before speaking to him again.

“Do you happen to have a knife? I haven’t shaved, and it’s bothering me… Is that too extravagant a request?”

[I don’t have one, but if you need it, I will try to find one.]

“Is it possible to find one? More importantly, you know what a knife is…”

[Keep in mind that we are not as distant a species as you might think. If it falls under the category of simple tools, we probably share many things… Of course, Thermos does not use knives. However, other landowners’ breeding entities might have one. It would be known through trade.]

That makes sense. These sturdy beings probably wouldn’t use knives in combat, nor would they need to cut things delicately. Moreover, they had no hair at all. Jake thought that since he was prohibited from meeting the production slaves, it was unlikely that he would be allowed to meet other breeding entities. That was an unreasonable request. Knowing the limits and the subject matter, it was right to stop negotiating.

“Thank you. After all, you are trading for me.”

[It is only proper. If you need something, express it. I will get it for you as far as I can.]

“For now, I can’t think of anything else. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. I thought you were a mute and violent monster.”

It felt strange to be able to have a normal, lengthy conversation with him. When Jake honestly confessed about his first impression, Kashan rumbled as if he agreed.

[The same goes for me. I thought humans were cruel and fickle beings… No, I don’t particularly think that has changed now. You are more complex than us.]

“Is that so? I think we are not that cruel… You are bigger than me, stronger, and could kill me anytime you want, right? So, I have no choice but to be defensive.”