Chapter. 15. Can a person who has seen the end of the world plant an apple tree? (49)
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A drunken, dazed look spoke to the person on the other side of the camera.
[No matter what you do. No matter what technology we create or what means we use. Even if you try to prevent war, stop natural disasters, kill and save, search for all the causes and all the results, the ending will not change.]
[The only suicidal species on Earth eventually succeeded in erasing ‘humans’ from the Earth with their own hands. From a mild nuclear war to a large-scale sea level rise, plant bursts that flood plants due to saturation of nitrogen in the atmosphere, and there have been cases where temperate flora has died out due to sunlight being blocked by space exploration. When you press one, another one pops out. No matter what means we used, it was impossible to prevent all the cases leading to destruction.]
Old, wrinkled, tired eyes. The eyes beyond the screen were brightly shining with a terrifying will and stubbornness.
Those eyes were not those of a person crying against an inescapable wall. This was the look in the eyes of someone who had planted a flag in unexplored territory before anyone else and had solved problems with no solution and accomplished impossible tasks, when he finally met a wall worth risking his life on.
[….If breakthrough is impossible, we must take a detour.]
[If destruction cannot be avoided, we have decided to choose. Of all the possible cases, destruction is the most ideal and usable as a means.]
The reason why mankind ultimately committed suicide was because their minds were maturing too slowly. From a world where it is natural for nobles to cut off the heads of commoners, to a world without national and racial discrimination.
The development of the entire race in the name of civic consciousness clearly moved forward steadily, but the steps were too slow to keep up with the countdown and ended up strangling it with its own hands.
[I decided to prepare for after the destruction. I decided to look at the inevitable ‘destruction’ as a means. The population will decrease dramatically, and there will be an opportunity to reset all the past norms and customs that have been solidified over the 21st century in an instant! In a strategy game, when progress goes out of control, it’s like starting a ‘new game’, emptying the deck and starting over from the beginning!]
Quang!
I couldn’t listen any more. A table was thrown at the old TV, and Atlaheva’s touch caused it to bounce.
“….it’s crazy.”
“no. Not like that.”
“That’s not crazy! “As the world is falling apart, they say they will clean it out as if they were playing a ‘new game’ and manipulate the world so that we can become proper human beings!”
“It wasn’t crazy. “At least you didn’t go crazy until that moment, please!”
.
.
.
.
.
“…Sit down and listen. “There will be plenty of time for resentment even after you face the whole truth.”
…I wish I could get angry like a dragon.
The professor had no choice but to sit down, swallowing down the anger that had welled up in his eyes as Atlaheba’s eyes looked desperate and desperate.
Did Atlaheva anticipate this moment and assume the form of a middle-aged woman like her mother? If so, the professor thought it was a proper trap.
[….’Complete’. I want to know what kind of person you are. What comes to mind when you think of animals similar to ‘humans’?]
[Monkey? You are a wise person who thinks based on facts.]
[Pig? Be cynical. But it’s not wrong.]
[Wolf? Did you work in a financial district? That’s a good opinion too.]
[…. I think humans resemble clams.]
[As social creatures, they live in groups but hide their true feelings behind a hard shell. You can only find out what’s inside by opening the shell, and in order to open the shell, you have to get to know the person before even knowing their true nature. You always have to build contradictory relationships.]
[And above all… seashells contain pearls. It means that only by getting hurt can you take a step towards your true value.]
[All great people have overcome adversity and stood up. To be exact, adversity forged and sculpted them. Think about how different the perspectives of a child who grew up in the arms of his or her parents without ever experiencing a real crisis are different from a child who stands up on his own. Inner wounds. It is like the wound of a shell that allows the human soul to be reborn as a true being. A wound that is too big will kill the clam. If it’s too small, you’ll end up with insignificant pearl shavings. Growth requires injuries appropriate to that level.]
[If there are more people like that in the world… Many people with the potential to become great people who have disappeared in vain due to unexpected accidents and environmental factors will be safely tested in a virtual environment. If you can go through it. If we can allow such people to lead a purer world, wouldn’t we create a better world than the one we have now, which is facing an inevitable dead end?]
[Gedreutz’s game. My GG is a device that not only creates future great people, but also selects the ‘completers’ who are close to superhumans among them.] [
In order not to miss this golden opportunity, I needed a device. A device to control, observe and guide people. Educating them and making them better people. Among the countless people, it is not people like Andrey Gedreuts, who create failures if they try to lead people to the ‘right’ future, but people like Siddhartha Lincoln and Teresa Gandhi, who appeared in the world with perfect answers without any aftereffects. I had to make them lead the world by finding those who would disappear without being able to seize the opportunity among the countless choices of a world that is divided. That was the real answer that Andrey Gedroits found.]
Pop. Pop.
[That’s you. ‘Complete’. A person who, after running simulation after simulation, succeeded in saving seven worlds that are most similar to our world but also different from it. A career savior who did not give in to adversity, headed toward a better good, and ultimately saved the world. You, who are listening to my message now, are the solution and key to our world. Project ‘Key-finder’ is a project created to find people like you, give them strength, and help them lead the world.]
Gedreutz was crying. He spoke earnestly, caressing the camera as if he were touching the face of a living person.
[I can’t do it. If you look at my results, I was not the key to our world. So I just threw in the means and made everything happen by your own free will. So that it can be a world you created, not something I created with my own hands.] [
….So you have to do it. After this video, Gedreutz’s game will be officially distributed to the world. At this very moment, as I am filming the video, the Chinese president is leaking information about America’s major secrets and military bases observed through the ‘Big Brother system’ I provided to North Korea. Those idiots will think that their hackers have stolen a huge amount of information and will spread it around the neighborhood, and the United States will find out that there is a traitor among ‘Big Brother’ who exposed all of each other’s weaknesses, and the conflict will accelerate.]
[War will break out soon. A firestorm that will reduce nearly 90% of modern humans to ashes. Among the many futures, the destruction I chose.]
[The test for the mutant virus was successful. It showed enough violence and a bit too much contagiousness, but with a little tweaking, it will be fine. People who are cornered will become closer to innocence and reveal their bare skin. People will unite, fight, and kill under their own banners… and will be ‘refined.’]
[The address of this place is held by the dragon. I’ve probably told you by now.]
[Of course, it will happen a little further in the future when you clear it. According to predictions, there will be a sufficient number of ‘all clear’ players just before the outbreak of war. I won’t tell you about money, fame and power. By the time you stood before me as a ‘completer’, you had already proven to be a pioneer who had gone beyond that. What I promise is ‘salvation of the world’. Just a promise to leave the world, which will be purified amid the planned chaos, into the hands of the most upright people.]
[You will come. Because they are ‘completers’ who have been selected through the seven harshest worlds.]
[You must succeed. If even GG fails… no. This is bound to succeed. It must be successful… Yes, open. It’s time to open Gedreutz’s game…]
Crackling, crackling
, chiiiiiii-
The video ended with Gedreuts buried in the computer and the GG logo appearing on the screen.
The silence of the moment of facing shock filled me.
‘Andrey Gedroits planned all this.’
War too. Variant too. A world scorched by a nuclear attack and a wasteland. Dome. Raptor. A man from special forces who was going crazy in a small shelter.
Even people who died in front of me.
Everything was a process of moving toward the future that Gedreutz had foreseen.
‘And his plan failed.’
A virtual reality game that was played by nearly 70% of the world’s population before the war. At the time of recording, his plan was to select a sufficient number of ‘completers’ before the war broke out, invite them to the ‘server room’ of which there were many rumors, and then use them as guides to lead the world after destruction.
But what about reality? 11 years after release, let alone all-clearing, the only way to advance to the beginning of World 4 by inheriting the seed is the limit, and not a single ‘completer’, Gedreutz’s last hope, has been found.
Even though this record was written a few years ago, before the war broke out, Gedreutz’s mind seemed quite unstable. Making sudden movements, shaking hands, forgetting what you were saying, doing other things, etc. There was ample evidence that his condition was not perfect.
however. What if the highly anticipated plan completely fails? Will Gedreutz, who is looking at the wasteland that has become hell in a world where the beings he believed to be the only solution have disappeared, still remain the same person as the being in that video?
“What happened to him?”
The dragon shook his head.
“He did not pass away. Computers accessed using his code are often identified.”
“…I’m making observations.”
“well. The last time you visited was when you had finished interviewing all of the Data Souls to prevent the acceleration of errors. He didn’t say anything to us, but he said to himself something like, ‘Mutant virus… not yet… now we have no choice but to look outside for answers…’”
When Atlaheba snapped his fingers, Gedreutz appeared, looking haggard and incomparable to the previous video. He continued to talk about Jinju in a voice that was difficult to hear, then hugged the World Tree and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ After saying this, he disappeared.
“I don’t know what other answers he is searching for, but we are moving toward the answers he wanted in the past. “I modified the process somewhat, so it may deviate slightly from his results, but I would say it’s close to the next best option.”
Atlaheva stood up.
“…The conversation ends here. Perhaps you will come back here as a complete ‘completer’ sooner or later. “As the result is certain, deep down I want to open the path to His abode for you now, but I cannot break the stubbornness of the ‘system.’”
Atlaheba’s words. It means that I, who was aiming to clear purely to return to the body of reality, opened the way to Gedroitz’s ‘server room’ and, according to his plan, to the valuable warehouse of humanity’s strongest technician, who was fully prepared to guide the wasteland. did.
“So… you’re giving it to me the moment you come back here? “The address of Gedroitz’s server room?”
“Well. Wouldn’t it depend on your choice? Just like Cheonryuje and Levitt did before. ‘Professor’ also has to make a choice.”
Hahahaha!
As the ray of light extending from the dragon’s hand enveloped me, the same sensation as when it came in flowed through my whole body.
“…Oh, you didn’t tell me this.”
“…? ….! _! !!”
“Just listen. Contrary to what you think, the souls that make up this world. “Data Soul is not a kidnapped collaborator.”
“…?!”
“It was like that at first. However, in order to prevent the accelerating error, the Creator persuaded them one by one. He even showed the ‘original’, who still had memories of reality, a world in ashes of war and plans, and even a video of the person who planned it. And you earnestly asked me to do so. Please cooperate. So that this world can create a savior who might come as a resident of this world. “Please hold on to this world with your will.”
“Many people despaired of the harsh reality and became an ‘error.’ That’s how many people have pledged to be willing to sacrifice for the world. They remained in the world under the name of ‘Hero Unit’ and became instructors and supporters of you players.”
Hero unit. NPCs with stronger powers. stronger power. Stronger will. People who fall into a new world with their memories erased, face repeated destruction, die, and are erased again, and yet hope to be of help to the world, even if it is just a soul made of data who does not hesitate to become the player’s supporter.
“And… you probably know that there is actually no need for the distinction of being a ‘hero unit’. It’s just a standard set by the system, but the soul that is with the player and influenced by him…”
‘I’m rooting for him. As the player’s supporter, he wishes to save the world… and
is reborn as a hero unit. That’s how I managed to strike a balance. It was already tilted as it should, but someone. If it were the true savior that the Creator wanted, the balance would be maintained to the extent that it could open a tiny gap and wave the flag of victory.
Atlaheva smiled softly as she made eye contact with the disappearing professor.
“I see you understand. The distinction in front of the name has no meaning. Everyone here is ordinary people. Some are as strong as a stone, while others are as shaky as a reed. What you need to know are those who face your actions. Everyone who hears about you and puts your name in their hearts is your supporter. The deep psychology of data souls must have played a role in your becoming a saint. “Aren’t they calling you their savior, both inside and outside?”
“So, the long-awaited savior. Go. “Go and finish your story and come back.”
Atlaheva sent a message of encouragement to the disappearing professor with a long-standing wish.
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Atlaheva closed her eyes for a long time in the empty space where the professor had disappeared. It was a wait as long as a long life. How many souls have died who were willing to sacrifice themselves for those who may still be left in the world. In fact, even though they knew that the beings that were the reason they chose to sacrifice were also stored on the same server as them, how much they blamed themselves for hiding it so that they could voluntarily become the pillars of the world.
‘One step. There is only one step left.’
The end was approaching. Or the end that may be a new beginning.
“…Atlaheba.”
Aldarshax looked at her back and approached her cautiously.
Aldarshaks, who saw him in the reality he had obtained thanks to the permission of the extremely good professor and the World Tree, could not understand why his future had to be so harsh.
“…Atlaheba. “Do you really need to force me to make a choice like that?”
“why. “Do you think it’s too cruel?”
“….It’s harsh. He is the ‘completer’ that everyone has been waiting for so long and even Atlaheba has been desperately hoping for, but there is no need to go to such lengths-” “I am
doing it because I am so desperate. This is a world that has been barely sustained by the sacrifice and suffering of countless people. “It has to be perfect.”
“But…”
“You know this because you’ve seen examples of simulations. “How many heroes become corrupted and disorganized in the end.”
“…The professor is not the type of person to do that.”
In response to Aldarshax’s grumpy reply, Atlaheba stroked his head.
“okay. “I believe that too, so I’m pushing him to make a choice.”
Please do not waver until the last moment.
Atlaheva prayed, recalling the image of the player that remained like an afterimage on her retina. Eagerly, with hundreds of years of waiting ahead of her.
I hope that his steps as he heads towards the North and towards the end of the story called March will not waver like now.
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