Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 115

'You did well, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). Thanks to you, we've managed to save face.'

"That's good to hear. How's the legal revision coming along?"

'It's progressing. I hope the day we can delete those clauses comes soon.'

The person on the other end of the transmission was the legislator Terapolapaneshio.

In recent transmissions, he had been talking with a different legislator, but apparently, he had been on vacation. His surface looked unusually lustrous—he must have gone to Earth.

"So the problem now is what to do about Aguares?"

'That's a major issue. It predates the founding of the Federation, so we can't interfere with time.'

"Time interference... Isn't that one of those forbidden technologies?"

'Exactly. And there's a reason it was made forbidden. This might be a good time to explain it.'

The space jellyfish adjusted its posture slightly.

The Earthlings, including Kait, were also victims of time interference. Perhaps they felt this wasn't a situation for jokes.

'The main reason time regression technology was researched was the desire to erase large-scale crimes that had already occurred.'

"So by eliminating the cause, you can prevent the event from happening?"

'Exactly. Rewriting confirmed results by altering the causes. There was once an incident known as the Great Destruction of the Kurabanf Star System.'

The phrasing was vague, but the story continued. It seemed questions would have to wait until later.

Allegedly, a scientist developed a weapon that maximized destructive power. It drew energy from a star to destroy an entire star system. The test site chosen was elsewhere, but the Kurabanf Star System lay in a direct line from there.

The experiment failed. The energy drawn from the star was too powerful and exploded uncontrollably. Not only the test site, but the Kurabanf Star System was also caught in it.

'There were three life-bearing planets in the Kurabanf Star System. Life was wiped out on all of them. The scientist wasn't a bad person. That's why he broke down mentally and began researching how to cancel the experiment via time regression.'

As a result, many supported his research. Those who wanted to change history out of goodwill, and those who wanted to change it out of malice, all helped him. After long years of research, time regression technology was completed.

'The theory was sound, and tests were conducted. The test was the restoration of the Kurabanf Star System—in other words, the cancellation of the experiment.'

"It worked?"

'Apparently. We couldn't observe it ourselves, but the scientist sent us a storage medium. It contained footage from a future where the experiment had failed and destroyed the Kurabanf Star System. Right after canceling the experiment, the footage disappeared from the medium.'

"So the Kurabanf Star System is...?"

'Still intact today. And because of that, the time regression technology was re-evaluated and ultimately forbidden by the current Federation.'

There were good outcomes and bad ones. This time, it served as atonement—the scientist's sins were erased, and the lives that would have been lost were saved.

However, there were consequences from rewriting causality.

'What we observed was the stress placed on spacetime by time regression. In that case, the backlash didn't occur in the scientist or the Kurabanf Star System, so no one noticed. The backlash occurred in the space region where the experiment should have taken place.'

"The space region where it should have taken place...?"

'Exactly. Have you heard of it? The region called the Mesarshe Gravity Zone. When the study of time regression was banned and cases were reviewed, it was discovered. The area around the Mesarshe Gravity Zone, where the experiment had been conducted, was originally outside the Federation's jurisdiction, so few people know this.'

Come to think of it, that was around the area where Kait and Tuna went to hunt a giant space eel. So that's the story behind it.

'The backlash was immense and merciless. The case of the Divin people who created you Earthlings is another example. Countless lives that should have been born if life hadn't been rewritten—all of them ceased to exist. The weight of those lives became a backlash that struck the Divin people. Billions of lives—their resurrection devices were damaged, and they themselves died. That's how heavy the backlash was.'

"I see. So if we tried to resolve this case the same way, the backlash would be enormous?"

The space tuna meteor swarm had been flying since before the Federation was founded. The lives it had carried for billions of years, and the ones lost when it crashed into a planet. And even on the impacted planet, many lives were lost, and new ones were born. Lost ecosystems, and newly born ones.

That's why the space tuna meteor swarm is called an astronomical phenomenon. If all of that were erased, even species currently existing in the Federation might be negated.

Kait felt he now understood another reason why resolving things through time regression was forbidden.

'Those who bear the burden are often closely related to time interference. The current hypothesis is that the burden converges on those who created the reasons leading to the interference. That scientist I mentioned earlier also died not long after. For someone who had undergone biological modification, he lived an unusually short life.'

"So he did bear some of the burden?"

'It seems so. That's why, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen, if you ever find yourself needing to consider time interference, please consult us first. We can at least help distribute the burden.'

"What do you mean? That sounds like you're saying we could actually do it."

In response to Kait's question, the legislator jellyfish gently swam in a circle.

It felt like he was saying, "You still don't understand, do you?"

'There's nothing we can't do, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen. Isn't that right? Anything conceivable can be managed with this power. As long as you have a strong enough will.'

"...I'll keep that in mind. Hopefully, that day never comes."

So this was a warning from the legislator. Even if Kait had no intention of doing so, he had the power to make it happen. Kait's ability rivaled that of Terapolapaneshio. In other words, they believed Kait could actually do it. In that case—

"You all... tried it too, didn't you?"

'...It's a bit embarrassing, but yes. We once tried to search for our origins.'

"Did you find them?"

'No, we stopped at preliminary experiments. The backlash was limited to a few tentacles of the participating individuals bursting. But we were able to perform time interference. Once we understand the theory, we can do it. That's why I told you all this.'

"So I don't accidentally think about it and make it happen?"

'Exactly.'

Kait appreciated the legislator's thoughtfulness. But more than that, he was terrified by the offer to help if Kait ever decided to go through with it. Please don't.

Maybe it showed on his face, because the jellyfish legislator floated gently around.

'If you ever truly feel it's necessary, you'll go through with it even if we try to stop you, won't you?'

"I don't plan on doing anything that outrageous..."

In truth, Kait had no intention of interfering with time. Even in the case of Aguares, he had never considered resolving it through time interference. Because—

"Well, I never planned to resolve things that way for the people of Aguares."

'Oh? Is that so?'

"Doing that would mean denying the people of Aguares who are desperately living in the present. They may have lost most of their intelligence and functionality, but they were doing their best to live for their purpose. I have no intention of denying that."

'Even if they've lost their intelligence?'

"Come on. Weren't you the ones who said it? That just because you need intelligence to survive doesn't mean it's inherently a happy thing."

'...You remembered that?'

I heard that space jellyfish share consciousness across all individuals. Kait had heard those words from the Zodogia representative space jellyfish and never forgot them.

Since the phrase was "you remembered," it must have been a significant event for the space jellyfish as well.

A voice called from outside the room. It was Emotion.

'Oops, this has gone on too long. That's all from me for now. You're still on vacation, right? Take it easy.'

"Thank you. I will."

The transmission ended.

Time regression. Or perhaps time interference. Would the day ever come when he seriously considered doing such a thing?

Right now, it all felt too abstract for Kait.

For now, he decided to file it away in a corner of his mind and responded to Emotion's call.

"What is it, Emotion? Is it time to eat?"