Chapter 28: This Script Is Not Right
Out of the silent darkness, five light sources lit up out of nothing. the SOUND ONLY sign indicated that this was an ongoing teleconference.
"Fifth meeting of the cosmic century zero-eighty-five." A young female voice emitted from number two, as usual, with no audible emotion, "No anomalies detected this week."
"Ditto, no abnormal conditions detected." Numbers three through five uttered the exact same lines.
"How long has it been, and none of the angels have appeared. How about that?" Number four had the voice of a middle-aged male, "Ikari, don't you have anything to explain?"
"I am only responsible for the safety of the Terminal Dogma, I don't need to make an explanation whether the angels appear or not." The voice of number five was also a middle-aged man, with a steady indifference, "Everything went according to plan, there was no unplanned situation."
"Isn't angel not showing up the biggest unplanned situation of all? The whole plan went wrong in the first step." Number four sounded seemingly disgruntled, "Old man, wasn't it your plan itself that went awry?"
No one answered.
"If angels don't show up, Britannia's invasion of Japan will be superfluous." The voice of number three is an old male, eloquent and powerful, "This has a very bad effect on Britannia."
"We're discussing something big that affects all of humanity, don't bring out the chicken scratch to discuss." Number Four's voice dripped with disdain, "Is there a need to revisit the plan itself?"
"I don't agree, continuing to wait is the best option, time is on our side." Ms. Number Two's voice remained unruffled, "We should discuss the possibility of unplanned interference. Do you all on Earth have any clue?"
"No." "No." Number Three and Number Five replied one after another.
"There's something wrong with the Misurugi Kingdom." Number Four suddenly spoke out, "That kingdom completely closed off, neither joining the Earth Federation nor having any communication with the outside world, refusing to even access the Internet. It's too suspicious."
"That alone can't mean anything, It's probably just a stubborn little country." Number Three returned the same disdain, "If you insist, investigate it yourself. I won't do anything to interfere."
"Seconded." Number Five spoke out in support, "I can't do any support, but approve of your actions."
"It's decided then." Number Two finally clapped his hands, "This meeting is over."
"All for the sake of the final dialogue." Number One suddenly made an old voice.
All the light went out in one go, and the space returned to darkness once again.
"All for the final dialogue." Ikari's voice rang out from the darkness, "This kind of stuff …"
…
"This kind of stuff actually exists!" Ade pressed his hand against the explosion-proof glass in front of him and looked across the glass at the fossil, "What the hell is on Jupiter …"
"I knew that must be what Dr. Adrien was most interested in." Siegel Clyne showed a smug smile, "But this is the only piece of evidence left by the father of the Coordinator, there are no other images or written materials, and all those who know the truth have passed away. You must want to see it on Jupiter, right?"
"Yes." Ade struggled to find something in all his memories that would match the fossil in front of him, "I would love to go tomorrow if it wasn't too far and too risky a journey."
Ade arrived at Apulilius-1 last night, and on the night of his arrival was put up in the presidential suite of the most exclusive hotel in Apulilius with Uraki.
"If you want to bring back girls, I will get another room for myself." Uraki swore last night and patted his chest, "Doctor, don't worry, Miss C.C. will never know anything that happens here."
He was originally invited over as a mascot, and Ade's original plan for this month was also to travel and take a vacation. Too many things had happened in the last year, and he felt it was time to take a break. Unexpectedly, Siegel Clyne actually arranged a rich itinerary for him. Ade looked at it roughly, and he had to admit that it was very sincere.
The first stop of the day was to visit the PLANT Supreme Convocation in the city of Apulilius. For Ade, who has always shown himself as a scholar, this kind of political center should be the last place he wants to go. But Clyne was keen to guess what Ade really wanted to see the most - the fossil brought back from Jupiter by the father of Coordinators: a suspected alien creature.
The existence of this fossil caused a huge uproar back then, and all existing religions were greatly affected. The ethical problems faced by the existence of the Coordinators themselves were subtly mitigated by this fossil - if God doesn't exist, it doesn't matter to violate the domain of God, right? Thus was born the first baby boom of the Coordinators.
But Ade's desire to see this fossil wasn't motivated by curiosity. Just like the news of the photographed dragon, if that person had photographed a real dragon, it would not only mean that there was a dragon in the world, but that a population of dragons existed, a population that would have to have a historical origin, a physiological structure, a habitat, a food chain, and even an explanation of why dragons have not been discovered until today.
The world is made up as a whole, not as Lego blocks that you can just add parts to. Even any of the cosmic constants has a small deviation, the human race would not exist, and the universe would not be what it is now.
This thing in front of him, if it is not a fake created by the father of the Coordinator himself, means that there are really such extraterrestrial beings in the world. They have populations, habits, food chains, and have traveled to Jupiter. And there must be a plausible reason why they all died on Jupiter and turned into fossils.
What is the truth hidden in this world?
The opposite side of the blast-proof glass is not the winged whale Ade remembered, but something else not seen before. The thing in the fossil was close to three meters high and more than four meters long, and the head, torso, and six limbs could be clearly distinguished, like a large-sized spider. However, the fossil seems to have been severely deformed by some impact, and many details cannot be confirmed. It is almost certainly a creature and not any extant species on Earth.
What the heck is this? It wasn't anything related to "CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion", it wasn't from any of the "Gundam" series, and it didn't look like ELS (Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shapeshifter) at all. Its spider shape reminded him of the insects, and he even went through the Zergs in StarCraft, the Arachnids in Starship Troopers, and the Flood in Halo, and nothing matched up. Is it some kind of unseen "material"?
Come on, this makes me unable to sleep peacefully! Why should I, a time traveller, worry about the destruction of the world every day? Why didn't I transmigrated into a gal game world where there are full of beautiful girls?
"Dr. Adrien, you seem to be worried." Seeing that he was really dazed for too long, Clyne couldn't help but speak out to remind him, "Is there any opinion about this fossil? I'd like to learn about it if I can."
"… have no opinion, just emotion. How small and ignorant, bewildered and helpless we are looking at such things exist in the universe." This kind of fake and empty-sounding line is his sincere words, "The unknown is the greatest fear of mankind."
"And the curiosity to explore the unknown is also the greatest motivation for human beings to move forward, right?" Clyne looked down at his watch, "Dr. Adrien, it's getting late, and I don't think that you are interested in the rest of the Convocation. Hereby I invite you to dine at my home, would you like to enjoy it?"
"How is it possible to refuse such an invitation?" Ade imitated Char's smile, "I will respectfully do so."
On the way to Clyne's house, Uraki winked at Ade with an "I understand" expression, and finally became more serious after Ade threatened to deduct his salary. This is Uraki's first time to come to PLANT, he had been a little over-excited from last night.
The Clyne house is the largest private residence Ade has ever seen, and it also has its own private garden and private pool. Ade is rich, but he is still living in a shabby two-room apartment. Although the price of the land on the moon is high, he can still afford it. It's just not necessary. There are only him and C.C. , why bother? He can change the house after there are "more people" in the family.
Lunch was served at Clyne's dining room, and surprisingly there were only two people, him and Clyne. Clyne's wife died early, and Lacus was supposedly rehearsing for a concert in a few days, so she couldn't make it back in time for lunch. Clyne also invited Uraki, which was politely declined by Uraki - he finally regained his previous professionalism as the bodyguard.
After the meal, Clyne invited Ade to take a walk in the back garden of his house, and before he could take a few steps, he answered a phone call, muttered something in a low voice, and then showed an apologetic expression to Ade, "Sorry, Dr. Adrien, I have an urgent matter on my side that must be handled by me personally. Please take a moment to rest in the garden, and I will return as soon as I have finished. Excuse me."
Clyne strides off, leaving Ade and Uraki staring at each other in the garden. After a while, Uraki suddenly showed an enlightened expression, "Doctor, I'll check for you if there are any suspicious people outside the garden, please feel free to walk in the garden."
So do you have some serious misconceptions about the intelligence of a researcher? Isn't it too obvious? Even Uraki understands the hint!
Ade casually found a seat and began to think about the fossil. Although no clues, he hopes he can remember it one day. As expected, about ten minutes later he heard footsteps, and the light steps hinted at the identity of the visitor.
He raised his head to the sound of footsteps, and a young girl walked towards him fairily, as if she just walked out of a painting. A long, silky pink hair was playfully tied into two strands, and her delicate features were sculpted with an innocent smile; she was wearing a performance dress that she had not yet changed out of, and her moon-white dress complemented her aquamarine pupils; her exposed shoulders and collarbones still reflected the sheen of sweat, and her slightly heaving chest and slightly disturbed breath were proof that she had just been rehearsing hard.
"Hello, Miss Lacus." Ade stood up and nodded in greeting, "I am Adrien Lingus, invited by your esteemed father to be a guest in your house. Your father has just gone out on urgent business."
"Father-sama has told me about your visit." The elf showed a sweet smile that could melt any man's heart, "Nice to meet you. My name is Lacus Clyne, hope we learn from each other in the future~"
