Chapter 141 – 140 – The Beginning Of Everything (3)

Fzzzt.
The connected wires fell, emitting intense currents around them. Despite being struck by the terrifying current, the Cardinal merely blinked his emotionless, clear eyes slowly, as if unaffected.

Even the act of blinking seemed alien, as if he were just performing a ‘task’ that needed to be done.

“Cardinal Urian. This way.”
“…I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. You’re not going to eat me, are you?”
“Ingestion is unnecessary. Cannibalism is prohibited. Please follow me without worry.”

Ah, yes. How nicely put. I grumbled inwardly, knowing he wouldn’t even bat an eye, and followed behind him.

The pale light of the mercury lamps reflected off the metal walls, creating an even more alien-looking passage. The passage, which must have been clean originally, was now covered in moss and weeds, as if it couldn’t withstand the weight of time.

It doesn’t look like it’s being properly maintained. I wonder if the electronics will even work properly. It’s so random to have sci-fi in a world where magic is the norm. Is this Star Wars or something?

I had many questions and things I wanted to ask, but I just followed the Cardinal’s indifferent back. Since he invited me here, he must be willing to talk.

The air grew heavier.
The typical underground feeling. The stagnant air moved slowly, carrying a musty smell.

I continued down the endless stairs. It felt like we had already gone quite deep underground, but I still couldn’t see the bottom.

How much further down are we going? What the hell are they hiding deep beneath the Grand Temple?

After descending for a long time, I finally saw a massive door blocking our path. It looked like something out of a spaceship in a sci-fi movie.

The door opened naturally as the Cardinal approached. Inside was a vast cavern.

The floor and walls were covered in metal, with wires sticking out everywhere, and mechanical devices with blinking lights. And at the center was a huge cylinder.

Numerous wires extended from the periphery, all connected to the cylinder in the center. The sheer number of wires densely packed around the cylinder was almost grotesque.

The cylinder, filled with a green liquid, bubbled with rising air pockets. Inside the liquid was a large brain with a spinal cord and nerve bundles attached like a tail.

“Holy shit… It really was a brain floating around. That brain isn’t… mine, is it?”
“No. That is the brain of the original user. You have no need to worry.”
“…Original user? Who is that?”

The Cardinal, who casually ignored my question, walked towards the bubbling cylinder and stopped abruptly.

That’s when letters began to appear on the panel in front of him, which had been emitting only a pale light.

[Personality Adjustment in Progress]
[Personality Injection will begin for smooth information transfer]

What the hell is this… Just as I thought that, the Cardinal’s mouth opened wide.

“Hah! …Haa. Ah, a visitor after so long. Hmm… This body is too old now. It’s a shame.”
“……What? Who are you?”
“Me? Haven’t you been watching? I’m the owner of the brain in that cylinder.”
“……That floating brain is you?”
“Floating brain… Well… I guess it is, but the way it sounds… Anyway, to be precise, you should see me as a copy of the personality of the floating brain, right?”

The cyborg-like appearance disappeared, and he became more human-like. Only then did I understand the meaning of the letters on the panel.

They said it was for smooth information transfer, but they really injected a person’s personality. It was definitely easier to talk to him now than when he was like a robot, but… it was still a pain to see the personality of someone I’d known for 16 years change so drastically.

That gentle Cardinal became a cyborg, and now he’s all friendly. It’s unsettling.

“Haa. The air after so long is so sweet. Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that… Ah, right. You weren’t educated. No, no. It wasn’t about education. You are… yes, you’re not from this world.”
“Right. So, it was you who dragged me here when I was living my life?”
“Hmm… It wasn’t me. I feel a bit wronged. It’s like you’re seeing me as a villain… It’s a misunderstanding.”

The old man’s face broke into a smile. With an uncharacteristic mischievous expression, he plopped down on the spot and gestured to me.

“Why don’t you sit down? This old body has trouble standing for too long.”
“……Fine. Go on, ramble.”
“You’re a harsh friend. Hmm… Where should I start? Starting from the beginning seems a bit long. But if I cut off the beginning, it’ll be hard to understand. ……Ah. Considering the level of development in your dimension, it might be easier to understand than I thought.”
“Stop mumbling to yourself and explain, will you? It can be long, so it’d be better if you started from the beginning.”
“Alright. It’s my first time explaining from the beginning, so I’m quite excited. To see your reaction.”

He reached out his wrinkled hand, and a wire wriggled out of his wrist like a bug… It was truly disgusting.

“What are you doing? Grab it.”
“……What’s with the wire on your wrist?”

It’s disgusting how it’s wiggling left and right, as if it’s greeting me. A wire coming out of a person’s wrist and moving on its own. Seriously… Is this a sci-fi version of Alien?

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t be scared. It’s not dangerous. It’s just that information transfer through language is limited and inefficient, so it’s to give you information more directly.”
“……Can’t you just tell me?”
“You’re quite timid. Hmm… Okay. Think of it like watching a movie. It’s like we’re watching a movie together, and I’ll explain things in between. Just grab it, okay?”
“……That’s a bit… Just tell me…”
“How were you even made in the first place? Why are you scared of this? You don’t want an explanation?”
“………Shit!”

Ah, whatever. I grabbed his hand. The wire that had been wriggling out of his wrist instantly burrowed into my wrist. The disgusting sensation of something crawling up my veins and reaching my head made the world go dark.

The world was destroyed.

The memories were naturally etched into my mind.

At the same time, the world unfolded before my eyes. In the dark expanse of space, the Earth shone blue. The blue planet in the dark space was definitely Earth.

Even though I knew it wasn’t the place I lived, I couldn’t help but call the beautiful blue star Earth as it withered.

The great civilization crumbled, and people sang of the end. The prosperity of humanity, which seemed eternal, was coming to an end every moment, and the brilliantly shining blue star was covered in a dull gray.

Earth was heading towards its end.
The South Pole was already covered in nuclear storms, and radioactive fallout had long since spread across the continents.

Crops and livestock were dying or contaminated by the abnormal climate and the radiation-filled atmosphere, and people were starving. The ongoing wars were trampling even the faintest hope.

“Before contacting you, I examined the dimension you lived in. The direction of development was similar to our dimension. It was impressive. Of course, our historical paths weren’t exactly the same. But the beginning was almost the same. There was no significant difference between the two dimensions at the level of primitive humans.”

The Earth split. No, another Earth appeared next to the existing Earth.
Is this… the Earth I lived on and the Earth this guy lived on?

On the magnified surface of the Earth, primitive humans could be seen. The developing civilization. The stones in the hands of humans turned into bronze, then iron.

“But as time passed, differences began to emerge. It’s not that one was superior to the other. That’s useless. However, from a certain point, the history that was slightly twisted began to show significant differences over time.”

One Earth was flowing according to the history I knew, and the other Earth was unfolding with a history I didn’t know.

“In our dimension, Christianity didn’t dominate the continent… or Europe, as you call it? The conflicts continued, divided into traditional religions and Christian factions. In the East… yes, in Asia, Buddhism and Confucianism failed to become dominant religions and ideologies.”

He said that the beginning was similar, but as time passed, the history of my world and his world diverged.

“The decisive point where our history and yours changed was the Industrial Revolution. In your history, the Industrial Revolution, which was triggered in England, led to rapid development of civilization. Our history was gradual. Development began little by little in various parts of the world, and no single civilization established absolute dominance.”

In our history, the Industrial Revolution that started in England established the overwhelming hegemony of the West. On the other hand, in his world, industrialization progressed slowly over a long period of time in various parts of the world, both East and West, and it was impossible for one civilization, one continent, or one race to have absolute hegemony.

“Conflicts always exist. But if there are shared religions and ideologies, reconciliation and cooperation are possible. Unfortunately, our world had too many small spheres of influence. Unlike you, who formed huge religious and ideological spheres of influence.”

Western civilization created a huge sphere of influence that shared a Christian identity rooted in Greece and Rome. The Middle East was based on Islam, and Asia was based on Buddhism and Confucianism, forming huge spheres of influence that shared ideologies and religions.

On the other hand, in his world, religion and ideology failed to form huge spheres of influence. They failed to form a single civilization like ‘Europe,’ and ‘Middle East’ and ‘Asia’ did not exist either.

The absence of conceptual civilizations in our world in his world was ultimately because they failed to form a widespread force of something non-physical and shareable, such as religion or ideology…

“In our world, which failed to share the spiritual values necessary to form a huge civilization or sphere of influence, primitive alliances and separations were eventually made. Based on race.”

In the era when transportation and communication were poor, conflicts arose with people within the range of transportation and communication at the time. But as civilization developed and global transportation and communication became possible.

People divided their spheres of influence in a more primitive and direct way.
Based on skin color, race.

“No civilization was dominant. Nor was there any spiritual bond to unite them. In the end, it was mutual destruction.”

In our world, rapid development through the Industrial Revolution took place in a short period of time, less than a century… In his world, intermittent progress was made in various parts of the world, slowly over hundreds of years.

Of course, there was no rapid development that could be called a ‘revolution.’ Civilizations that had developed gradually over a long period of time, regardless of East or West, could not overwhelm each other, and in the end, civilization met its end due to extreme racial conflicts.

“Okay. I understand your world’s history. So, what does that history have to do with the current situation?”
“It’s simple. Our world, our planet, our Earth… Before our civilization was destroyed. The traces of our last struggle are us.”