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

Chapter 122

After successfully defeating the contaminated core, Kait did not return to Eanipol but instead went back to the Federation. The pursuit team likewise annihilated the fleeing contaminated fleet, so it was likely safe to say that the machine intelligence of Aguares, which had been corrupted in thought, was mostly eliminated.

The reason Kait returned to the Federation was simply because Emotion wanted him to. He also needed to finish the report on Aguares. Back in the Central Star Cluster, Kait followed behind Emotion, who was uncharacteristically leading the way. Their destination was, for some reason, a government office. A familiar machine intelligence greeted them.

"Oh, welcome back, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). And Emotion, Sixth-Rank Citizen (Ab Rag). Did you enjoy your vacation?"

"I'm back, Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen. It was quite a stimulating vacation. But, it's not over just yet."

"Is that so? By the way, what brings you here today? Did you happen to rescue some Earthlings during your trip?"

"No, that's not it. Actually, I'm not the one with business today."

Kait yielded the conversation to Emotion, and she asked Lauperia in a confident tone.

"Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen. You are connected to the space tuna meteor swarm that's currently troubling the Federation, aren't you?"

"Oh my. What makes you say that?"

The words were blunt, but Lauperia showed no signs of being shaken. She deflected the question with another. Kait, listening beside her, also found it strange. But knowing Emotion, she must have had some solid basis for her claim.

"Because the majority of your core code registered with the Federation matches that of Dr. Fulgadonga, the mastermind behind the space tuna meteor swarm. You were once the machine intelligence that controlled Aguares's ship... Am I wrong?"

"W-Wait, Emotion. Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen, has been part of the Federation far longer than us. That means—"

"Yes, Captain. After hearing what you said, I searched the Federation's core code database just in case. And then—"

"Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen, matched."

Emotion nodded at Kait's stunned murmur. She had said that there might already be Aguares who had immigrated and joined the Federation. But if that were the case, then the intelligent being who joined the Federation alongside Lauperia would be—

Lauperia gave a slightly sorrowful smile and responded.

"Yes, I believe you're probably right. Though long ago, it decayed at the bottom of the planet Augeni, the design of that ship was very similar to the one I once governed."

"Augeni... So the people of Itae—"

"Yes. Aguares, was it? I believe they are a species that shares the same ancestors as those individuals."

The sea-dwelling species Itae, who live in decent numbers even in the Central Star Cluster of the Federation. A planet over 90% covered by oceans. Because their biology closely resembles aquatic life on Earth, they were exceptionally allowed to live on their birth planet Augeni even after gaining Federation citizenship.

Their appearance being relatively close to Earthlings is another characteristic. To Earthlings, the planet is known as the Mermaid Planet and is often ranked among the top destinations they'd like to visit outside Earth.

"So... what will you do? The people of Itae and I are unauthorized immigrants to another planet, which violates Federation law. I suppose I wouldn't blame you if you brought this to the Federation Congress."

"We have no intention of doing that."

"Eh?"

Emotion tilted her head. Perhaps she found Lauperia's surprise puzzling.

Actually, given how the conversation had gone, it was understandable that Lauperia would misunderstand. Kait made a mental note that some guidance on conversation flow might be needed in the future.

"If you migrated before becoming part of the Federation, then it's not a violation of Federation law, right? I just needed to confirm that for the report. Neither I nor the Captain have any intention of infringing on the rights of you, Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen, or the people of Itae."

"I-I see?"

"The copy of Dr. Fulgadonga will be assigned by the Corporation to observe the evolution of Aguares. It's unlikely they'll have any further dealings with the Federation, so the chances of someone making the connection with you, Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen, are low. But I thought that by disclosing this in advance, we could avoid any unnecessary scrutiny."

"I see."

Indeed, now that someone had coincidentally learned about Lauperia and the people of Itae's origins, it wouldn't be surprising if someone tried to exploit that with ill intent. But if it was confirmed that no Federation law was violated and the information was disclosed in advance, it would eliminate that risk.

This was Emotion's awkward way of showing kindness.

Kait gave a wry smile at his partner's clumsy compassion, but decided to ask Lauperia about her background. The report was one thing, but his curiosity was piqued.

"So then, Lauperia, Sixth-Rank Citizen. Could you tell us how you came to be among the people of Itae?"

***

The machine intelligence known as Lauperia seemed to be one of the errors that occurred during the personality duplication of Fulgadonga. Her origin was close to that of the contaminated core.

"As a machine intelligence, I apparently lost most of my ego due to an error during the copying process. After the original ship departed, I established my self-awareness. At that time, I believe I fused with the machine intelligence that had been managing the ship on the surface, presumably Fulgadonga."

"Fusion?"

"Yes. I've also read through your report, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen. Chibbahe... was it? When I became self-aware, there was no machine intelligence left that could be considered a partner like that. I believe both copies failed. To resolve the issue, the two incomplete machine intelligences chose fusion as a method of repair. As a result, they blended together, and the self that is me was born—or so I theorize."

It wasn't an unconvincing explanation for why most of their core code was identical.

Lauperia's explanation sounded somewhat detached, as if it were someone else's story.

"When you say 'theorize'..."

"When I became self-aware, I had completely lost both my memories and my role. All that remained was the ship and the generations of people living inside it. I referenced the data left on the ship and somehow came to understand that it was a migration vessel. I then added what seemed to be missing data. I remember how hectic everything was back then."

"Adding missing data... So that means—"

"Yes. Based on that premise, I acted to ensure that the journey of migration could be endured without reducing biological performance."

The memories of Fulgadonga were lost, and only the mission of Chibbahe and the others remained. That resulted in the creation of an ideal migration vessel.

What irony. The contaminated core and Lauperia—despite sharing the same origin, the difference in remaining data led the Aguares they carried to completely different fates. It could only be called sheer luck or misfortune.

And yet, both the contaminated core and Lauperia became involved with the Federation, and they would never cross paths again.

"The planet Augeni I found had an abundance of fluid. But for the people weakened by long-term life in a closed space, living in fluid might be less taxing on their bodies. With that judgment, I decided on migration to Augeni."

"And the settlement somehow succeeded... is that right?"

"Yes. And 593,421 cycles ago, the people of Itae adapted to life on land and expanded beyond the planet. After some time passed, we encountered the people of the Federation and became Federation citizens."

It was a rather abridged explanation, but Kait got a general sense of the history of the people of Itae.

How many tens or hundreds of millions of years had passed between completing the migration and joining the Federation? Lauperia didn't say, but it must have been a tremendous journey.

"I was in a position to guide the people of Itae, but with our entry into the Federation, I was finally able to step down. Since I was free after that, I took a job here. The various processing abilities I cultivated until then are now being put to use in this government office. It's a strange thing, isn't it?"

"It really is..."

It should have been a grand story, but it ended with her job search at a Federation government office.

What a twist. Kait chuckled to himself and finally let go of the last bit of caution in his heart. Lauperia and the people of Itae were completely trustworthy.