[538] That Problem (2)
* * *
"Incarnation of Ra! Grant us eternal life! An undying body!"
As the shouts rolled out beyond the city, the officials scanned the ground, checking for any sign that the underground dwellers were stirring.
Not wanting to dampen the celebratory mood, the priest stepped forward and smoothly continued the ritual.
"From this moment, I will appoint the regent of the colony."
"This is intolerable!"
The regent cried out, eyes flashing with a mix of anger and fear.
"That man is one of the ancients! He's our slave! How could the great children of the Sun be ruled by a slave?"
The crowd answered his desperate protest with murmurs.
Light was the only sustenance for the children of the Sun, and the idea of being ruled by someone they had revered like the sun was certainly unwelcome.
"Think about it! How could anyone who is not a child of the Sun wield the light? It's a trick. It's not the language of the gods! If that power disappears one day, what will you use to withstand the darkness?"
As the crowd began to waver, a gaunt man with bat-like wings approached the priest.
He was one of the Guardians—Eckser.
"Priest, did you see the divine language in that boy?"
While the priest answered Eckser, Shirone moved closer to the regent and signaled him not to escalate the situation.
"Listen, I don't want to take anything from this. If you don't harm anyone, I'll remain in this colony—"
Before he could finish, the regent's neck was cut cleanly.
Shirone looked up to see Eckser floating like someone upside-down in the air, his two swords slashing in an X.
He landed lightly and, as if he'd been walking the ceiling all along, strode to its edge and announced to the people.
"With this, the colony's regent is decided. If you have objections, come to me."
"Waaaaaaaah!"
The crowd erupted into a single roar.
The sun must exist; for them there was no room for choice.
Shirone, however, was far from pleased.
Only an hour earlier the man they had worshiped like the sun had been cut down in a single stroke—something that made Shirone realize how precarious the regent's position could be.
'For now, accept it. To survive here I must use whatever I can.'
Back at the temple, Shirone took the throne.
Four Guardians paired up to guard either side, and the priest bowed his head and explained the role of the regent.
It wasn't a difficult civic duty anyway.
The slaves would handle the menial tasks; Shirone only needed to use his light magic to keep the colony lit.
What he gained in return was absolute power.
Like worker ants sacrificing themselves for a queen who can only reproduce, as long as the colony had light Shirone would stand in a sacrosanct position where he could do anything.
'I've gained the ability to make plans. But I can't live my whole life as a fluorescent bulb. If I'm to survive—'
He had to rebuild human civilization.
That, more than anything, was the greatest aim a single person could have in a ruined world.
Shirone looked back at the priest and asked, "What is your name?"
"I am Bebeto. I was born with the ability to see the language of the gods."
Bebeto explained how the Guardians came to be.
'Hmph. A mutation. From the Tree of Life...'
Starting with the priest, the Guardians introduced themselves one by one. Finally a huge man beat his chest and announced his name.
"I am Targan. I was born with a detonation ability."
"A detonation ability?"
Targan rolled up his sleeve and demonstrated.
He clenched his fist; his muscles turned rock-hard and small crater-like hollows opened up.
"Guh!"
There was a hiss and a bang as gas exploded and flames licked around his arm.
"That was a weak demonstration out of respect for the regent, but it's far worse underground. Leave combat to me."
After checking the Guardians' capabilities, Shirone nodded and descended the steps.
"Eckser, was it?"
Shirone's gaze flashed sharply.
"Yes. Do you have orders?"
"From now on, in any situation, do not act independently without my orders."
He meant the decapitation of the previous regent.
"But two suns in one colony—"
"I know. I'm saying you must be cautious when making irreversible choices. For example, you might have used this as a bargaining chip against a hostile force."
There was no negotiation system in the colony.
But since the regent's word was law, Eckser accepted Shirone's remark without argument.
"I will remember that."
Because power had come to him so easily, Shirone didn't press the matter further.
"Night has fallen. Go and rest. I will officially begin duties tomorrow morning."
Like when they first arrived, the four Guardians vanished like wind and Bebeto hooked himself into the code and disappeared.
Alone on the throne, Shirone rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
'There's much to do. To reach my goal I need stronger governance. Steady yourself.'
The regent's seat was revered by all the children of the Sun, but for Shirone it was only about survival.
* * *
In the dark subterranean facility, dozens of monitors lit up at once.
This place—the source of the Mucus—couldn't support a single animal or even a fly, yet a black shadow moving between the monitors took on humanoid shape.
"Energy mass gauge check. Current reserves: 428 percent."
A low voice and the tap of a keyboard blended into the silence.
The computer, recognizing the voice, flooded the monitors with program lines.
"Start purification system. Code number 387."
A firm press of Enter sent thousands of lines of code streaming up.
Whirring fans filled the room and the monitor running the program flashed.
"Complete. Program terminated."
As dozens of monitors went dark, the silhouette vanished into the gloom.
Ten minutes later, hundreds of projectiles roared skyward from all over the city, jetting into the air.
* * *
Swoooooosh!
As if a hole had been torn in the sky, rain poured down from early morning.
Dark clouds covered the sun, but the colony's people streamed out cheering.
"It's rain! It's finally raining!"
"Ooooh! Great Ra! Bless us!"
The children of the Sun scooped the life-giving water into their mouths, while the slaves hauled giant water containers outside.
"Hmm-hmm. Hmm-hmm-hmm."
Yo was in high spirits from the morning on.
Not only because it was the first rain in sixty days, but because from today they would serve a new regent.
She hummed nonsense as she primped, checking her reflection in her polished palm, when a knock pounded on the door.
"Hey, what are you doing? Didn't you hear the regent's orders?"
"All right, I'm coming."
Three Guardians waited outside the door.
Targan frowned at Yo's painted eyes and clean clothes.
"What happened to you? Too much photosynthesis? Why do you look like that?"
"Mind your own business. Hurry up. We'll be late for the morning assembly."
"You were the latest one."
Targan grumbled as Yo left.
On the way up to the temple they spotted the priest Bebeto hurrying and Karof spoke.
"It's raining."
"Heh-heh. Ra himself must be welcoming the new regent. By the way, are you coming up now?"
"Yes. I was urgently summoned."
Bebeto licked his lips.
"Same here. There's not much to do in the colony, but they insist on holding morning assemblies every day. And the way they spoke to Eckser yesterday—this new regent is certainly unusual."
No one mentioned Shirone's origins, and Karof deftly changed the subject.
"It's a bit late this time. Rain used to fall roughly every thirty days, but it seems to be getting delayed lately."
In an apocalyptic world without seas, they could only guess at the reason for rain from the sky fish; nobody truly knew why it fell.
They simply labeled it a miracle of Ra, as if humans were budding from the Tree of Life.
"The Sun's Guardians are called to the regent."
The Guardians who entered the temple bowed before the throne.
The slaves who had tended the previous regent were gone, and Shirone alone sat with a solemn look.
"You seem to have changed in a single day. Even in the ancient era you probably weren't an ordinary person," the priest thought aloud.
Shirone spoke, "From today I will actively govern this colony. Guardians, attend the morning assembly every day and report your results."
Karof, looking apologetic, said, "But the colony has been peaceful. The incarnation of the great Ra need not trouble himself—"
Shirone cut him off. "How many colonies are there in this city?"
The Guardians looked at one another while the priest stepped forward.
"I can't say for certain, but we estimate about three."
"Estimate? You live in the same city and you don't even know how many colonies there are?"
"The children of the Sun follow only Ra's will. As long as your incarnation exists over there, we have no reason to interfere."
'Like ant society,' Shirone thought.
Even among the same species, the center is the queen, not the species itself.
"Then make contact. Guardians, find the nearest colony and tell them our regent requests negotiations."
Targan raised his head.
"I would never disobey an order, but... why must we do that?"
In a world ruled by control, a meeting of suns was an awkward affair.
But Shirone intended to change this world.
"I will propose an alliance. We cannot remain trapped forever. There are devices outside that can produce light. Attempting them alone is too dangerous. I plan to join forces with the city's colonies and make it happen."
Eckser said, "Only the regent is our light. We need no other light."
That may be true for the children of the Sun.
But what about the ancients?
Including those who'd been brainwashed, the countless people still sleeping in artificial stasis chambers could never be happy in this world.
"Do you refuse my order?"
Realizing their mistake, the Guardians hastily bowed their heads.
Personal doubt was a luxury before the sun—the future of their kind.
"We are sorry. Whom shall we send? Give us orders, and we will carry them out with our lives."
"The outside is dangerous, so send as many as possible. Let three Guardians handle the negotiations, and the remaining one will guide me."
The first order made sense; the second did not.
"Guide you where, exactly?"
"From today I will inspect the city. It's daytime while the sun is up, so it should be safe to leave the colony."
The priest gasped and cried, "No! That's too dangerous! If anything happened to the regent, the colony would—ugh!"
Bebeto flinched when he looked into Shirone's glaring eyes.
He had forgotten one thing: this regent not only wielded light, he was also exceptionally skilled in combat.
'Well, he's certainly no less capable than the Guardians. What can we do?'
The Guardians wore troubled expressions.
No matter how strong they were, it was unprecedented for the colony's most protected person—the regent—to go outside.
"I will guide the regent!"
Breaking the hesitant mood, Yo sprang to her feet. "Leave it to me! Whether it's underground dwellers or Mucus, whatever the situation, I will protect the regent!"
"Hmm."
Only then did Shirone look satisfied, and Yo lifted the corner of her mouth in a faint smile.