Chapter 137: Best Actress
Lacus hid at 30,000 feet in the air, thinking that this would free her from the unspeakable pain. But just as the earth's gravity relentlessly pulled at the flying machine, the jumbled and confused thoughts still clung to her, only resisting and unable to escape.
When Loran was taken away by the terrorist's MS, Lacus sat calmly without expression; when Alejandro Corner was shot and fell down in front of her, Lacus looked out of the window indifferently; when the black hole of the gun inadvertently swept between her eyebrows, she finally could not restrain herself from turning on SEED — rightfully, nothing was perceived.
"Oh, brain quantum waves?" Ribbons, who was pretending to be a victim, raised an eyebrow, "That would be interesting."
"What am I doing, expecting him to save me?" She instantly turned off SEED and thought to herself, "This must be the worst birthday I've ever had."
It was Lacus' birthday, but of course no one remembered it after Ade learned of Stella's survival. Everyone was so busy discussing the possibility of Stella's rescue that everyone didn't have time to care about such a trivial matter.
"If you really want to maintain this twisted harem relationship, at least give me a self-deceiving reason. That's why everyone is a liar, he is too, they are too, I am too." Lacus looked out of the window with her hand on her cheek, staring at the clouds, "What is the point of what he did? Feelings are absolutely selfish, we can not understand each other, it is impossible for everyone to be happy. Now it's just me, later, Ange and the other will be so painful as well."
Every day with Ade is a torment, she felt she was on the verge of not being able to act anymore. It's not that she hasn't thought about taking the initiative to solve it, but no matter how much she meditates on it, she can't find any way to break the situation. When the shootout happened just now, she even thought for a moment that it would be easier if she was killed by a shot.
"I don't want to leave, but also, I can't find a solution, and I can't even find the courage to run away from the pain. How useless am I." She thought sadly, "A happy ending doesn't exist in the reality, we can not go back. Miracles do not exist."
Alejandro Corner's body was dragged away, and the blood nearby had been cleaned up. She sat impassively in her seat, thinking about her own business, not even moving from beginning to end.
"Mrs. Lingus is worthy of being a strong woman, still so indifferent under this situation." Ribbons sat down next to her, "Aren't you curious where we'll be taken?"
"Mrs. Lingus …" she laughed softly with a complicated look, but a virgin like Ribbons couldn't understand the meaning in this laugh, "Come on, don't act, you are with these terrorists, right? No, it's not any terrorists, it's the regular army, I guess it's TITANS in disguise?"
"Oh, why do you think so?" Ribbons made an interested look, not hiding it at all, "Even Alejandro Corner was sacrificed, it should be a perfect layout. I wonder where you saw the breakage?"
"Your combat power was too high, wiping out the moon's defense in the blink of an eye. And the timing was too coincidental, it happened to be this time when Ade was not there. Your acting skills were too bad, and you kept making a show of watching." Lacus continued to look out the window and said without looking back, "There are so many broken spots that I can't bear to look at them, and is this what you call a very perfect layout?"
"Great, you are worthy of Aeolia's work, unlike those foolish naturals." Ribbons smiled smugly, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Ribbons Almark, your superior species."
"Superior species?" The inexplicable name finally caught Lacus's attention, and she turned her head to look at this man who was ninety percent similar to Amuro Ray, "You've been genetically adjusted? A clone of Amuro Ray?"
"I am your superior species, an absolute being far above all humans, and cannot bear for you to use such insulting epithets to me." Ribbons stared sharply at Lacus, "Don't blame me for being rude if you say that again."
"Another psycho." Lacus thought of Creuset, of Embryo, and of Charles. She sighed silently in her heart, "There are so many psychopaths in this world, no wonder he is busy trying to save the world every day."
"You can call me an innovator, the culmination of human evolution in the future depicted by Aeolia, a guide to lead humanity to the ideal land, a creature of a higher dimension that is different from all humans." Ribbons pointed to himself and then to Lacus, "And you, Coordinators, are the experiments on his great voyage and the seeds that give birth to the new innovators."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lacus asked in disbelief, "What's the point?"
"You are one of the premier beings in the Coordinators, and moreover, the only human I have ever seen who has awakened the crippled brain quantum waves on your own." Ribbons looked at Lacus admiringly with a condescending look, "You have the qualifications to become an innovator, and my plan needs coadjutants. In other words, you have the value to be my partner."
"And you just teamed up with TITANS to kidnap Loran, and then you want me to betray my husband and join your camp by only moving your lips?" Lacus looked at him incredulously, "What do you think you are, a god-like being?"
"Not like," Ribbons eyes lit up, "I am God itself."
In the past, Lacus would probably have put on her top acting skills to fudge with him and try to extract as much useful information as possible, but now, she didn't have the slightest intention to do so — what was the point? She would die anyway.
"I think I'll be drained of my last value and sold privately to some big shot." She thought sadly, "I will die before this happens, and even if I die, I will not discredit you."
It was then that she finally vaguely realized that she had created this situation — just the subconscious self-destruction of a woman who had no courage to get out of her misery.
"You have no good reason, what is an innovator, and what is a brain quantum wave?" She absentmindedly acted casually, "I do have a grievance with Ade's duplicity, but these words alone are not enough reason for me to join you."
However, even a third-rate performance for Lacus was already flawless in Ribbons' eyes. Ribbons concluded from Lacus's eyes, movements, facial expressions, and other details that she was extremely unhappy with her family and very much moved by his proposal.
"An innovator," he said in an arrogantly loud voice, "is a perfect lifeform with the best genes, adjusted to use brain quantum waves freely, and then lend TurnA's nanotechnology to achieve a nearly infinite lifespan. Among the countless humans I have seen, you are the only one who fulfills the first two conditions on your own, and that is the reason I chose you."
"What are brain quantum waves?" Lacus continued to ask, "How come I didn't know I could use brain quantum waves?"
"Just a moment ago when the shooting occurred, there was a moment when your brain quantum waves spread out, and there was no way, I, Ribbons Almark could have been mistaken." Ribbons said confidently, "The so-called brain quantum waves are Aeolia's NT sympathies achieved by scientific means. But unlike those NTs who drive their instincts like wild animals, the innovators are guided by scientific theories and have fully mastered the ability to communicate, with a gap as big as that between apes and humans compared to NTs. Our most notable feature is the ability to switch on and off our induction at will, just like you just did."
"SEED…" Just now when she was in danger, she subconsciously turned on SEED, for which she regretted. SEED was now the biggest knot in her heart. She had never known why her SEED ability was so strange. This time, Lacus instantly came up with a full set of acting skills, "Why do Coordinators have brain quantum waves? I haven't been specifically genetically modified for that."
"According to Aeolis's theory, everyone has brain quantum waves, and some people can send and receive it with their talent, so they become NTs," Ribbons explained, "For ordinary people, brain quantum waves can only be received but not emitted, and when they are received, they cannot be parsed, so the brain will filter the information out. But if the will is strong enough, it is possible to parse the brain quantum waves of a specific frequency, and even more, someone can resonate with each other at that specific frequency."
"If the will is strong enough…" Lacus chewed on the meaning of this sentence. Suddenly, she remembered Garrod and Tiffa and couldn't help but laugh out bitterly, "So I like him so much? … It seems he doesn't like me that much. Well, it's good to have it all figured out, there are no more regrets."
"So all you lack is to further awaken the brain quantum waves, and inject nanobot to transform your body." Ribbons said proudly, "Once these two steps are completed, you can become a true superior species."
"Becoming an innovator will not only allow you to stay young forever, but you can also understand each other like NTs?" Lacus took a little interest in Ribbons's topic. She thought back on the previous conversation carefully and quickly found the key to gaining the other party's trust, "So what is the future of humanity in Aeolia's description?"
"Hooked, good deceitful woman…" Ribbons smiled faintly and said silently in his heart, "Although it's a bit of a pity to lose Alejandro, an excellent clown, so early. Lucky, I got an even better pawn."
After the next few hours of communication, Ribbons and Lacus had a good conversation. With Lacus's excellent words and near-perfect acting skills, Ribbons almost told her everything. The more Ribbons said, the brighter Lacus's eyes became, as if she could not stop herself from getting excited.
"It is only natural for a believer to be overwhelmed by the greatness of the gods, and as an innovator's infant, she instinctively obeys me." He unconsciously enjoyed Lacus's eyes, "Aeolia, I am indeed right. I am the being responsible for guiding humanity and standing at the apex of all life."
"Emperor Charles' plan, Ribbons plan, Aeolia's plan…" And Lacus, seeing a glimmer of light in a dark quagmire. She grasped the only straw to get out of the status quo in spite of everything "Ade, if you can't move forward, I'll try. I've finally found the way to make everyone happy."
Time came the next day.
Lacus stepped out of the incubator naked and nodded to the female assistant Ribbons had assigned to help operate the experimental apparatus, who left with a respectful salute. She dried her body and slowly walked to the mirror to turn on the switch in her consciousness — the eyes of the person in the mirror, who looked exactly like herself, emitted a color that seemed like a disc.
"Look what you've become, Lacus, is that even human?" She fought the urge to cry out, smiled, and said to the person in the mirror, "I didn't give up on myself, I just found a way out, that's all. No one will be miserable anymore, not me, not Ade, not C.C., not Ange, everyone will be happy."
She left the lab in her original clothes and made her way skillfully down the hall, where Ribbons was sitting on the couch, watching the news. The television was broadcasting that the special plane Alejandro Corner was on had been attacked by unidentified terrorists, and now Corner and Prince Loran, who was traveling with him, were missing, and no organization had declared responsibility for the moment.
"It seems that the transformation is going well, congratulations, becoming the second innovator in the world after me." Ribbons noticed the look in Lacus's eyes, "What you want to do about Loran Cehack is your freedom, my deal with them is over."
"Thanks." Lacus faithfully continued her acting, "It is important to continue to maintain my current position."
"I won't say anything if you're willing to continue acting with those humans." Ribbons turned his head to continue watching TV, "Don't forget your mission, find the box."
"Yes, I understand." Lacus turned away with a peaceful look, "I'll leave then."
She left Ribbons' secret stronghold and once again boarded the same craft from yesterday, went to 30,000 feet and flew to a location not far from the meeting point with the person calling herself Emma Sheen and sent a distress signal to the moon. Hours later, she sensed Ade's presence, and a few moments later, her men reported to her that a white MS was approaching.
"Looks like I'm at least more important in his mind than Stella." She muttered to herself, "Don't make me regret it, Ade, at least prove that you really love me first. I've bet everything on it, tell me I'm not doing it wrong."
She changed into her spacesuit, went to the rear of the plane, opened the hatch, and stood at the door. Her disc-colored eyes suddenly lit up and her both hands trembled slightly from fear.
"If my transformation is successful, then I will try to make everyone happy. If my transformation fails, then I'd better die with this inhuman appearance." She leaped decisively, "Catch me, Ade."
