LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 144
Colors glimmer upon the pitch-black canvas.
We call this the universe.
The AA Team, having discovered a new universe, exclaimed in wonder at the beauty of the cosmos like never before.
“This is the universe…”
“It feels like I’ve fallen into a sea of stars…”
In contrast to the bif universe, which had succumbed to thermal death and emitted no light, here we could truly feel the mysteries of nature.
The researchers who discovered the new universe couldn’t hide their excitement as they continued their investigations.
“─Thermal motion, confirmed!”
“The lifespans of the stars are surprisingly long!”
“No life signs… detected!”
Combining all manner of science, superpowers, and mysterious forces, the AA Team established that this new universe was safe, and began the search for a planet suitable for humanity to inhabit.
It was, after all, much easier to relocate billions of humans to another planet than to move an entire planet and its solar system.
After delegating every task to the AI, the researchers could finally take a breather, chatting with joyful expressions.
“That went faster than I thought.”
“Well, we had already discovered one universe. It shouldn’t have been impossible to find another…”
“We’re going to be remembered in history as the ones who discovered a new world!”
Discovery of the new universe.
The ones who found the beacon of hope for humanity began to relish an air of leisure, as if all problems had been resolved. So much so that they indulged in activities previously prohibited like going out or sleeping.
While wandering outside and spending time with family, the seals for confidentiality remained unbroken, but all the same…
“─Looks like a playground has opened over there.”
“Indeed.”
“Someone needs to work harder, right?”
And just as one side burst into laughter…
The other side inevitably turned glum.
Such is the way of the world.
The AA Team, devising the Re-ignition Plan, was still working on creating the necessary machines. In terms of the overall plan, they were just starting to crawl.
It was unavoidable. Without support from Scholar (though receiving aid doesn’t solve everything), it was never going to be a machine completed overnight.
Just because one knows the answer doesn’t mean they can whip out the solutions to dozens of high-difficulty problems in one or two minutes—while there may be no trial and error, producing a machine overnight was simply not feasible.
Moreover, while creating the machine might not require trial and error, coming up with the machine itself surely did…
“Mr. Steelstone. You seem to have started to understand. It really is just a matter of time now.”
“…But are you sure this will really work, Professor? It feels absurdly ridiculous.”
“Would I ask you to do something that couldn’t work? Don’t you see? Theoretically, there’s no problem.”
“And that’s the problem… Why does this work? The fact that it theoretically poses no issues is scarier.”
Meister muttered this as he read a paper in his hands. Essential knowledge needed to handle the machines required for re-ignition. It was a thesis explaining the theories behind the machines.
This cutting-edge knowledge was created by Earth scientists with the help of artificial intelligence. There wouldn’t even be a chance of errors; even if there were, it would be something humans could never detect…
“Why does it work, you ask? I find you all the more frightening.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”
“This has at least a theoretical basis, but you guys…”
In Eight’s view, it was the exact opposite.
Something as convoluted that not even a human brain could fathom a single line of text was less strange than those wielding superpowers.
Eight chuckled wryly at that thought.
This wasn’t exactly a time to speak while relying on those super-powered beings.
* * *
The members of Scholar attempted to hide the end of days.
The world’s largest secret organization, supported by numerous conglomerates. The power of Scholar was so significant that they had managed to keep the apocalypse, bif, and the reasons behind its emergence under wraps to a degree.
However, human curiosity and greed are uncontrollable entities, and there were those in the world who moved merely to see people fall into despair.
[─O humanity, behold! This is the end that your desires have wrought!]
[The world will perish! By the calamity that humanity has brought upon itself!]
Villains sought to kidnap scholars entering and exiting Scholar, or waged guerrilla warfare against Scholar to steal any information within—employing all manner of means to discover what Scholarship was researching.
Of course, this is what villains do. Eight managed to successfully silence them using artificial intelligence. They were careful to control the internet and video media to prevent whatever information the villains uncovered from spreading.
However, there were things beyond reach, even with their eyes closed and mouths sealed—namely, humanity itself.
[We have foreseen the demise of humanity…]
[This is a currently unregulated city of controlled management. However, here,─]
[Everyone, starting today, be with your loved ones.]
Not just villains, but religious groups, prophets with precognitive abilities, the bif universe influencing stagnant local cities, politicians triggering bombs out of a desire to escape the situation… All of them surfaced, exposing the end that Scholar had desperately tried to hide. Naturally, chaos ensued.
“It’s the end!”
“Damn! Those damn power-hungry scum are planning to save themselves!”
“Kill them all!”
Riots and protests erupted, villains took advantage of the situation, and heroes ran around trying to thwart incidents and accidents. Meanwhile, in Scholar, an ominous silence fell.
“Shall we… reveal it?”
“It’s still incomplete. You know full well what will be said if we reveal it now.”
Dr. Eight’s words sparked a counterargument from Dr. Swallon. Upon hearing that point, Dr. Eight nodded and shrank back.
The Great Escape Plan she had conceived was already somewhat successful. They had succeeded in discovering another universe, and had also determined that there would be no significant crises there.
Yet several issues remained; foremost among them was the elusive method to evacuate humanity as a whole.
The initial proposal to take the entire planet and solar system to a new universe had long been discarded, and the idea of finding a new planet to relocate humanity had also become vague.
If they were to announce Dr. Eight’s plan for a grand escape, what would people’s thoughts be? It was obvious.
“The citizens will think the power-holders are abandoning them and fleeing together. Fear will only spread further.”
“Then… shall we simply leave it be?”
“Rather than that… Dr. Eight. What’s the status of your plan?”
When called, Eight momentarily stared blankly before looking at Dr. Swallon. His eyes seemed to ask why he was called. After a brief cough, Dr. Swallon repeated his question.
Realizing he was summoned for a reason, Eight brought forth the calculations that had only been rolling in his mind.
“I believe it will be completed in about a week.”
“Oh—really? To be frank, your plan seemed the most absurd…”
“I didn’t believe it would be completed either.”
Saying so, Eight offered a wry smile. Honestly, he never thought making this machine would be possible even with Earth’s technology.
His plan, the Re-ignition Plan, was to reignite the thermally dead bif universe.
In simpler terms, it meant to call forth the light of cosmic creation, the Big Bang. A feat impossible even if it used all the energy of the universe.
It was something that couldn’t be achieved through simple science, a concept that had merely existed theoretically, now on the verge of being realized.
“However, the chances of success are the highest with this.”
Yet even such an absurd technology was far more realistic than relocating billions of humans to another planet or sending the entire planet to another universe.
After all, how difficult is it to create a gate large enough for an entire planet? Even with all the technology on Earth, it would be too expensive to consider. Suggesting that dozens of countries, each split into hundreds of millions, could be controlled was laughably absurd.
“Really now. Sometimes I suspect you might be a superpowered person.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t you think there’s a legendary library where all the knowledge of the universe is stored? I can’t help but think that you have some sort of supernatural ability allowing you to access that and pull out such ridiculous technologies.”
“…Ah, haha.”
Hearing Dr. Swallon, Eight scratched his cheek as if slightly embarrassed.
The Akashic Records…
Yes, from the perspective of these worlds, the knowledge of Earth’s beings might indeed seem that way.