Electric Civilization (3)
When the battle with the Jakra pirate crew ended, the refugee ships reformed their lines.
Because Jakra had been captured quickly, the Arachne galleon had narrowly avoided capsizing.
"The treasure is intact."
Canis was the first to speak.
"We owe another debt. The Arachne knight order didn't prove much help."
The absence of political commentary showed they'd already sized up Shirone's stance.
"Results are the sum of all causes. It's not wise to judge merit and fault by parts."
Shirone turned his body.
By the way—
Jakra, bound with rope, knelt with his mouth agape.
Using the mental technique Confinement, his self had been locked away deep in his mind.
"You'd better think carefully. From now on you might spend the rest of your life trapped in the prison of your body."
Jakra's pupils trembled in shock, but that was the only reaction he could muster.
"It's useless. The only one Jakra truly fears is his brother, Kalt."
The great pirate—so-called king of Dionas.
"What kind of man is he?"
The Kalt Shirone remembered through his Omega had, up to age twenty-four, been a frontline fighter in a mid-level pirate crew.
Even then he had a serpent's heart, but compared to Jakra's madness he had seemed almost ordinary.
"I'd call him odd. He calls himself a pioneer—buried in his own doctrine. The most difficult type to deal with diplomatically."
"Hmm. A pioneer."
Ancient civilization, electric technology, a pioneer.
The shards of mystery formed some shape, but even that only deepened the questions.
"He's the kind of person for whom profit-and-loss calculations don't apply, which is what's caused Arachne so much trouble. Perhaps it was fortunate he wanted Rangi. Of course, if it turns out like this, the situation changes."
Poine spoke.
"I can't say why there's a blank in the Messiah's Omega. All I can tell you is this: Maika is the name humanity gives to a supposed super-ancient civilization. It's said to have been a chain of ten island kingdoms somewhere in the South Pacific, and the prevailing theory is that it sank beneath the sea."
"A hypothetical continent. So it hasn't been verified—even by dragon intelligence?"
"Karatorsa—the Omega guarded by the Mudeung Dragon—was delivered only to the Messiah. We couldn't access it, so any transmission errors can't be pinpointed. But when the Core existed, the Twelve Apostles could exchange information. That gives us a few clues. Still, the sea-dragon Kaios will know the details better than I do."
They pushed the same information to Kaios because some impressions couldn't be conveyed without direct confirmation.
After resting, Kaios—who had ridden out to stop the tidal waves and returned—landed on the deck.
"Messiah, I have returned. From my analysis of the continental plates, the next quake should be in forty-eight hours."
"Good work."
Shirone recounted everything, from the fight with the pirate crew to the matter of Maika's relics.
"So that happened. I'm sorry I couldn't stay by your side. If I'd been there—"
"That's all right. What I want to know is about the Maika ruins. If the continent sank, you who cruise the world's seas would surely have noticed."
Kaios spoke gravely.
"To give you the conclusion first: it appears the Maika civilization did exist."
"Appears?"
"Yes. First, the abilities of that pirate crew you asked about are likely the effect of OPARTS—anachronistic artifacts. The term is fairly accurate. The chronology of the super-ancient civilization I investigated—"
Kaios' expression turned severe.
"—is at least two billion years ago. In other words, a time when even dragons did not yet exist."
Shirone blinked as he compared that to the Omega's records.
"Then why don't I remember? No—if OPARTS exist, isn't that proof Maika existed?"
"That's the problem. The prevailing theory is it sank in the South Pacific, but over time the ruins scattered across the oceans. I've confirmed over seventy sites. Yet those ruins share a common feature."
"A common feature?"
"There are no traces that humans or any living beings ever lived there."
Silence fell.
"What do you mean? OPARTS are—"
"Yes, manufactured objects. Things like spatial jump points or magnetic defense fields couldn't arise naturally. The ruins bear marks of civilization. But nobody ever lived there."
"That's truly strange. Making something requires an agent. But Maika is the opposite: civilization, foundations, tools exist, yet there's no agent."
"Outside of causality…"
Shirone suddenly pictured fish in an aquarium.
'Fish simply swim in their own world. If a human drops a ring into the tank—
To the fish, that ring might not be perceived as an artificial object made by an agent.
'So even if the fish had the tank's Omega, it wouldn't register the ring.'
Kaios continued.
"The reason interest in the super-ancient civilization waned was that everything was exactly as it appeared. There was no agent to enjoy the civilization, so no imaginative interpretations could be applied."
"And the OPARTS?"
"That's hard to say. They're certainly tools with definite purposes, but I couldn't figure out how to use them. In short, I couldn't even guess their function."
Poine interjected.
"If a living intelligence is limited by the universe, perhaps a concept outside the universe must be grafted onto it. All twelve apostles tried—and all failed."
Shirone looked back at Jakra.
"But they used them, didn't they? No—how did you become certain that spatial jumps were an OPARTS function?"
"Because it was electricity," Kaios said.
"Objects without an agent can only be interpreted as they are. The only conclusion I could draw after obtaining and examining OPARTS was that a faint current ran through them."
Shirone listened closely.
"It was astonishing. A device over two billion years old still holding a charge. I wanted to dig deeper into that part, but—"
"But?"
"It disappeared."
"What disappeared? The OPARTS?"
"I don't know. The OPARTS might have vanished, or perhaps it was my memory."
Poine's eyes darkened.
"Messiah, we do not understand OPARTS. We only know they're devices that use electricity. When we tried to go further, the dragons' mental network suffered serious damage."
Kaios picked up the thread.
"We suspect a powerful magnetic field. It's possible the OPARTS literally disappeared, but the sensation at the time was very alien. It felt as if they had never existed—a phenomenon where the brain rejects the perception."
Poine added, "When that kept happening, Karatorsa forbade further investigation into the OPARTS. There was a risk of damaging the logs of the Omega he guards, and for the Time Apostle who protects humanity's history, an artifact from two billion years ago isn't necessarily worth that risk."
Shirone asked, "What did they look like? The OPARTS."
"There were various types, but their shapes weren't remarkable. Some were cube-like, some tray-like. Of course, their uses are probably nothing like what we imagine."
"Hmm. Can we get one?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Dragon intelligence couldn't figure it out, but perhaps human insight could."
Shirone knew someone whose insight into form reached the pinnacle of humanity.
Arin.
Her pristine, unprejudiced gaze pierced the true intent of every shape.
"She'll be exploring archaeological sites with Canis. I need to pinpoint the location."
During the simultaneous event, Shirone had asked Rampa about Canis's whereabouts and then continued.
"Anyway, Jakra actually used OPARTS. Even though he didn't properly understand their function."
Poine looked at Jakra.
"Then wouldn't it be better to hear it from him directly? Leave it to me and I'll get him to speak within two hours."
Shirone wore a troubled expression.
"If he truly has no will to speak, then he might not know. Being in a state of Confinement is a terror humans find hard to endure. We'll reach Dionas tomorrow anyway, so it's probably faster to ask Kalt."
Poine gave a kind, wry smile.
"Just play along."
That night.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
A scream, as if its throat were torn, painted the Arachne galleon's deck.
As the promised two hours drew to a close, for the first time a human voice spoke instead of screams.
"I don't know! I really don't know!"
Poine grabbed Jakra's sweat-soaked head and pulled it up.
"Hoho, yes. You don't know. Now then, let's start again from the top. This time—"
Jakra burst into tears.
"I really don't know! My brother knows! I swear he put something in me. After that I can't remember. I don't know either! Damn it!"
Poine's gaze chilled.
This looks like the truth.
If Shirone was right and the OPARTS' magnetic field could affect humans too—
"Hold out two more hours. If then you can say the same thing, I'll believe you."
"No, wait. Hey, you mad— Uaaah!" The screams that had filled the night faded, and dawn found everyone fast asleep.
Shirone went out alone onto the deck and looked at the stars.
What is there?
Or perhaps the answers humanity must find are, by nature, different.
Why does it exist?
He sensed someone approaching.
Turning, he saw Rangi, still damp, wearing a gown.
"Rangi, you're up?"
"No, I got up. I had breakfast, exercised, and just finished washing."
Looking at the sky, it was five in the morning.
"Is there something important in Dionas? Is that why you want to confront the king directly?"
Shirone said nothing.
"I'll go to Kalt. I had to go anyway, but I didn't feel good about it. But I'm okay now. As long as I can be of help to you—"
Rangi frowned.
"What's with that smile? I mean it. I'll go for you, Shirone."
"You don't need to worry. Nothing will happen to you, Rangi."
Shirone watched the dawn-lit horizon.
Whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
Whatever lies beyond the sea, he would do what he could in this moment.
Because that alone—
is the reason we must exist.
"Ah, look."
Rangi pointed, rapt. In the distance a golden land shimmered faintly.
It was Dionas, the pirates' nation.