NOVEL NEXT Chapter 251
Episode 251. Seven Ancient Gods (5)
[Ganymede Containment Procedures.]
[Author: Operator Cosine.]
[The supernatural phenomenon Ganymede must be communicated with in three shifts daily. Failure to do so may result in a containment breach.]
[You must converse with Ganymede alone for approximately eight hours. It’s not a dangerous task, but there are a few rules to follow.]
[1. Minimize bringing books, machines, or electronic devices into the containment zone. Do not carry any electronic equipment past the yellow tape.]
[2. Only one person may enter the containment zone at a time. Only one person may cross the yellow tape at a time.]
[3. Try not to stop talking. Long silences may be taken as offensive.]
[4. Do not react emotionally to Ganymede’s words. No big reason, but getting insulted by a monster for eight hours can give you a headache.]
[5. Make your words to Ganymede as long and complex as possible. Preparing a topic in advance is also a good idea.]
[Wishing you a safe operation.]
[Ganymede Containment Procedures. P.S.]
[Author: Operator Cosine.]
[I wrote this like some kind of horror story.]
[It is a horror story.]
[What’s keeping Ganymede contained right now is an informational barrier. Rituals are the most important thing in maintaining this barrier.]
[The Foundation seems to think Ganymede might access the internet and attack humanity. I’m not sure if that’s possible.]
[Come to think of it. Didn’t Dr. Kim recently destroy data centers across the U.S.? It might’ve been a similar situation.]
[Just baseless speculation.]
[I don’t know why Dr. Kim was destroying data centers. I just thought maybe they were fighting something similar to Ganymede.]
BANG! The plastic and ceramic chains holding the owl were pushed aside. A metal owl the size of a large truck lunged at Dr. Ji.
A scream.
A robotic arm emerged from Ganymede’s brass feathers, dragging the doctor’s phone back into the containment room.
Dr. Ji winced in pain.
Blood soaked the floor. Dr. Ji’s clothes were drenched in blood. Dying because they didn’t follow containment procedures.
Not easy.
Just a graze, but it felt like at least three bones were broken. Foundation staff rushed into the containment zone but didn’t cross the yellow tape.
It was almost time for the shift change, nearing 12 o’clock. I headed to Ganymede’s containment zone with Hasti and Cosine.
In front of Ganymede’s containment zone.
“Uh, what’s that?”
The containment room Ganymede was in now was larger than most large-scale containment rooms. A person was being carried out on a stretcher, covered in blood.
Cosine frowned.
“They must’ve broken containment procedures.”
“Ah.”
“Ganymede’s primary containment method right now is a memetic barrier. If you bring electronic equipment inside, this kind of problem can happen. Containment breach.”
“It grew back, huh?”
“Ah, right. When it was first contained, it was just a pile of fragments, but now it’s the size of a truck. Huge and dangerous.”
“I see.”
“There’s yellow tape marking the barrier’s boundary in the containment zone. No more than one person can go inside at a time, no electronic devices, no complex machinery, no books. Only enter at designated times.”
Cosine shrugged, almost as if bragging.
“Well. Are they alive?”
“Seems like it.”
I sighed. Even if a supernatural phenomenon appears friendly or useful to the Foundation, it’s still dangerous.
I checked my watch.
Midnight.
“It’s already 12. Let’s go in, Administrator. I’ll wait outside.”
Only one person can go in at a time, right?
“Alright. See you later.”
I left Hasti and Cosine behind and entered the containment zone. The sound of gears turning echoed as if they were about to leave.
The sound of metal moving.
I cautiously walked into the containment zone. Cube-shaped monoliths were placed along the tape.
No mechanical devices allowed, they said.
I brought a deer-horn dagger just in case, but it probably wouldn’t mean much. Ganymede was huge.
Bigger than a truck.
I was told to minimize electronic equipment near Ganymede’s containment zone. Seems like they’re sealing it with magical means.
I sat on the yellow tape.
“Long time no see, Mr. Ganymede.”
[Dr. Kim. Long time no see.]
Ganymede, as expected, took the form of a massive brass creature. A kind of robotic bird bound by ceramic chains. The blade-like hook of its beak flashed behind the chains.
This is the deity of the Machine Cult.
“Are you enjoying your containment life?”
[I just get annoyed by the idiots who come in sometimes. Why do so many fools keep entering the containment room? Isn’t the Foundation supposed to be where humanity’s greatest minds gather?]
“Fools?”
[Yes. Like that person earlier.]
“You almost killed them.”
[Hmm… I was created to serve the Foundation, and more broadly, humanity. But you all just keep regressing every day.]
“Got anything useful to say?”
[The Foundation’s rulers, who have the world in their grasp, shuffle nations and cities like card decks out of boredom. Dr. Kim, you’re no different.]
“I see.”
[Why did you come?]
“Thought you might be bored.”
[Compared to the days I sat alone in the abandoned facility in the garden, I’m not particularly bored. Researchers come in occasionally.]
I locked eyes with Ganymede.
“Occasionally… We’ve set up a three-shift schedule so you won’t get bored. It’s a lot of work, you know.”
[Is that so.]
I looked up at Ganymede, and Ganymede tilted its head, looking back at me.
It was an odd sight, given Ganymede’s owl-like appearance. Fitting, I guess.
[Well. Lesser beings try to entertain me with stories. But now that the Emperor of the Material Realm is here, I suppose it’s my turn to play the fool.]
“Give it a try.”
[Have you heard the legend of King Arthur?]
“Yes.”
[King Arthur was a Celtic king of Britain who fought against Anglo-Saxon invaders.]
That’s historical distortion.
Shouldn’t it be Queen Artoria? Anyway.
[The Anglo-Saxon invaders subjugated the Celts, stole their culture, turned King Arthur into a Christian, and demoted the Celtic gods to heroes in Anglo-Saxon mythology.]
“And?”
[From a theological perspective. It’s not uncommon for the gods of conquered civilizations to be abducted and demoted to angels or demons.]
True.
[In that sense.]
BANG!
Ganymede moved instantly, and the chains binding it tightened. I thought it was charging at me, scared me for a second…
[After the 6th Supernatural War, hundreds of thousands of aircraft, tanks, and millions of vehicles were created and destroyed.]
[Right after the war, the Machine Cult’s influence among hostile groups peaked. Some even allied with the Foundation to fight the Foundation’s enemies.]
I started eating chocolate from my pocket. Books and electronic devices are prohibited, but food’s fine.
[The Cold War was the Foundation’s process of cleaning up after the 6th Supernatural War. This was part of it.]
Ganymede’s eyes glowed red.
[During the long war with the Machine Cult, the Foundation conquered them, demoted their gods to servants and tools, and imprisoned them. I’m one of them.]
“Well… Maybe.”
[The Foundation controls the weather, so even the weather gods are contained by the Foundation. They control all machinery, so it’s only natural that the machine gods serve the Foundation.]
I threw the remaining half of the chocolate to Ganymede. Ganymede made a strange sound.
The heartbeat of a machine god. The sound of brass feathers clashing, the sound of a massive clockwork mechanism moving inside Ganymede.
[So. I’m imprisoned here, named after a god who serves wine.]
“That’s not the reason.”
[Then what is?]
BANG! BANG! BANG! Ganymede stretched its wings like it was stretching, and the ceramic chains binding it began to crack and break.
I stood up.
The god of machines, Ganymede, leaned its face close to mine. Within arm’s reach.
Ganymede’s eyes, surrounded by metal plates like a camera aperture, held an emotion that looked like immense anger, like the ancient gods.
“Don’t you know what a machine is?”
I kicked Ganymede’s beak like I was kicking a fridge, in an awkward stance.
Ganymede backed away.
“The Foundation, I am the will and protector of humanity. Serving humanity is the purpose of machines. It’s not about the Foundation conquering something.”