My Children Swarm the Cosmos – Chapter 12

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 (2)

Darwin Foundation’s process to become a full-fledged mercenary?

“You mean I got private property? Like a human being?”

“Yes, you do.”

They really seemed to let me live as a human.

Anyways, this was my first time riding in a human’s vehicle. As I learned from my teacher, it had front and back seats, and it was a civilian vehicle capable of autonomous driving using AI if needed.

The secretary was in the driver’s seat while I was sitting in the back seat on the passenger side as we headed to the mansion I supposedly owned.

“I’ve been benefitting a lot from Young Master lately.”

Let’s hang out with Haber, who had a hard time. Humans seemed to like the word ‘dream’.

“Most humans said their dream is to succeed in life. Have you achieved your dream?”

“To some extent, I have. Haha. Serving Young Master is like winning the lottery.”

“It’s something much more realistic than winning the lottery with its lower probability than getting hit by lightning. These are two completely different stories.”

“That’s true. Haha.”

Suddenly, I noticed a small box placed right next to me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s Young Master’s mobile phone. It’s the latest model produced by Orbitalplanet.”

“Orbitalplanet?”

“It’s one of the leading conglomerates in the Solar System.”

“If it’s the Solar System where superpowers gather, it must be an expensive product.”

“It’s not that expensive of a model for you or me, Young Master. Now that we’re on the topic, would you like to try it out?”

I opened the box to find a silver-colored mobile phone that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.

“Is this really coated with silver?”

“Yes. It’s pure silver with a purity of 100%.”

“Can I use it as a resource? I want to analyze the new element.”

“You don’t have to go as far as disassembling the mobile phone. Starting now, you can directly purchase any resource you need.”

Now that I think about it, this was a society. I gained private property.

“Even if I have money, I don’t know how to use it.”

“Would you like to start by turning on the mobile phone first? Place your finger on the screen, and it’ll recognize the electrical current flowing through Young Master’s body. Then, you can have your fingerprint and irises recognized.”

It was even more amazing when I saw it in person. How were humans able to create such objects?

A long time ago, it was said that humans had rocks instead of these mobile phones in their hands, but after all, humans were a type of advanced civilization that was born early. It wasn’t for nothing that they became the dominant species in this galaxy.

“With just this item, Young Master can manage his identity, bank account, transportation, transactions, communication, etc.”

A hologram recognizing my irises on the mobile phone flickered a few times, and then the screen turned on, displaying some words.

「Login successful」

「Account: Kemet Agele Kreion」

After the words disappeared, the home screen appeared.

I used all the knowledge I had to tap on various icons on the home screen. I opened apps like the map, mailbox, internet browser, and even the contacts icon.

「(Me) Kemet Agele Kreion」

「(Secretary) Haber Heydrich」

“Who is this human named Haber Heydrich? Did my secretary change?”

“Young Master. . .”

My secretary looked upset for some reason.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

My memory is 100% perfect.

I control each and every one of the 108 billion neurons that make up my brain.

That’s why I remember clearly, but Haber has never told me his name. However, he had a hurt look on his face and kept saying that it was okay.

I couldn’t believe it.

I really didn’t do anything wrong, but I still apologized for the time being. I decided to be generous since Haber must be very busy with various things these days.

“You can also open and close the mansion’s entrance with your mobile phone. Please check it out since it has an auto-lock function.”

My mansion’s entrance was in a tall brick wall.

𝘡𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘯𝘨. . .

The thick steel entrance gate opened wide as if to welcome me. Beyond the entrance, I could see a garden and the mansion.

I wasn’t interested in a garden filled with life forms other than chimeraz. I passed through the entrance and walked straight to the mansion’s front door steps.

It was a very ordinary-looking modern mansion. It was two stories high with many arched windows facing southwest and northeast where the sun rose and set.

I went through the front door and saw a high ceiling and a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. Wherever I looked, framed pictures and furniture were already placed around. It felt natural, as if I had bought a house that someone else had been living in.

I found a suitably large space on the first floor and sat down on a sofa. Haber then chose the small sofa next to mine and sat down.

“First of all, Young Master has officially become a citizen of the Nemea star nation. There are 1.5 million Cret in Young Master’s bank account.”

“1.5 million Cret is not a typical amount for an 18-year-old human to have, is it?”

“That’s why I’d like to explain the social background we’ve set up for Young Master.”

“Does that mean I have to blend in with human society and pretend to be a human?”

“Yes. Young Master’s parents are foreign businesspeople, and Young Master had a big fight with them and became independent from the family. Since higher education is not mandatory under Nemea’s educational policy, Young Master dropped out of the school you were attending abroad and got a job at a company in this country.”

I heard that even minors can get jobs in the Nemea star nation.

“The assets Young Master currently has are from the allowance you received. Here, I’m set up as a secretary placed by Young Master’s parents.”

“1.5 million Cret from allowance. . .”

The fact that the Darwin Foundation provided me with this much money from the start meant that I was free to use this money to conduct any experiments I wanted.

“Haber. How much is your monthly salary now that you’ve been promoted?”

Haber scratched his head.

“It’s 180,000 Cret.”

“. . .?”

The average monthly salary for a new employee at a small or medium-sized company was around 200,000 Cret.

However, what did it mean that the monthly salary of a secretary at the Darwin Foundation, even one with experience, was 180,000? I thought Haber would get at least 400,000.

“That’s because I’m still an intern. Haha. . .”

“No, how long have you worked at the foundation and you’re still an intern? That’s too much.”

“The secretaries who agreed to participate in the chimeraz project are also competing.”

“Like us?”

“Yes. That’s why only one secretary can become a regular employee in the end. It’s like how there can only be one test subject who can become the ruler.”

“Why did a capable guy like you get involved in this ridiculous thing? Wouldn’t it be much better to be a secretary for a wealthy businessperson?”

“Because if I become a regular employee, I’ll become the secretary of a ruler who governs an entire race.”

“Ah.”

That made sense when he put it that way.

Haber, who had learned the job of a secretary, must have gone through some special process to enter the Darwin Foundation. And the Darwin Foundation was a group with a considerable position in human society.

From Haber’s point of view, even being an intern was an honor. It wasn’t just any organization, but the Darwin Foundation.

“I believed in Young Master’s potential and set my goals very high. I should expect this kind of treatment.”

Indeed, if I became the ruler of the chimeraz, Haber’s position in human society would be beyond evaluation.

Since Haber would be in charge of dealing with human society when I got busy later on, he could serve as a diplomat between me, the bridge between chimeraz and humans, and Haber, the chimeraz.

“You must be as desperate as I am.”

“I am. . . . I’m prepared to do anything.”

Even though there were no waves, I felt like I could sense Haber’s heart.

That’s right. I don’t care what happens to life forms other than chimeraz, but Haber was an exception.

Just as I was running toward becoming the ruler of the chimeraz, Haber was running toward me. And Haber was different from other humans in the way he faced me.

I couldn’t disappoint a loyal follower. As a ruler, I had to act, think, speak, and show the underlings myself.

“Haber.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I’ll make sure you achieve what you desire. So do your best to assist me.”

“Of course.”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

「First. You must not cause major chaos or controversy in society.」

「Second. You must not harm humans.」

「Third. You must not let humans find out that you are not human.」

「Fourth. You must not create chimeraz entities independent of your body. However, you are permitted to conduct secret, independent experiments for the purpose of pure research.」

「Fifth. You must kill all competitors and survive alone before the end of this year.」

「Sixth. You must not leave the Argos region.」

「Finally, those who break the rules of the coming-of-age ceremony will be disposed of by the Darwin Foundation, which will send out its operatives.」

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

My mansion had a large, empty basement. Haber explained that he had prepared this space for me to use as a secret experimental site.

I got the gist of it during the preliminary selection last time.

The more children I control, the more waves are connected to me, and the risk that those increasingly numerous waves could actually bother me.

That’s why I needed a commander entity that could interpret my orders and communicate them to the children.

𝘒𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘬. . .

The child squirming in the palm of my hand right now was the larva of that commander entity. It had a white, caterpillar-like body, a somewhat large, inverted triangular head, and a proboscis as long as a mosquito’s stinger. It also had tiny, cute horns.

𝘒𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘬. . .

It was sucking my wrist, drinking my warm blood.

‘𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘨. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.’

I created a brain.

It was a different kind of brain from the one combat entities like Hounz or Cust had. Inside Ludwig’s large head was a mass of neurons created by referencing my brain.

The performance of a brain varied greatly depending on the density of neurons, and it was also the organ that required the most energy.

Other children could get enough energy from the substances supplied by their tentacles in the colony, but Ludwig was different.

𝘒𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘬. . . 𝘒𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘬. . .

In an environment without a colony, I had to feed it and raise it like this in order to help it grow. Ludwig would develop its brain to the limit, according to the genetic blueprint, while still in its larval stage.

I continued to send waves to Ludwig to teach it human language. The blood and flesh I was giving it became part of its body and provided nutrients for its brain to function.

Even without this, chimeraz had an amazingly fast growth rate. Since I was directly involved in its growth as a life form like that, Ludwig was able to leave the larval stage in just three hours.

Ludwig, who had grown to be a meter long, hung from the ceiling with its heavy head facing the floor and became a reddish-brown pupa.

I continued to send waves to teach Ludwig language even while it was growing inside the pupa.

Ludwig’s consciousness became clearer as it did. It no longer just sent me emotions and sensations, but it also began to send its own thoughts and imaginations.

My beloved child, Ludwig, dreamt inside the pupa.

It was a dream where it assisted me by my side, relayed my orders to the leaders under it, and the leaders relayed Ludwig’s orders to their own groups, and in the meantime, Ludwig also thought of strategies on its own and gave me advice.

Within the systematic command structure, Ludwig would become the ‘adjutant,’ the second in command of the chimeraz race. That was the kind of imaginary future that unfolded in its dream.

That was the future Ludwig truly desired.

The reddish-brown pupa gradually turned black and formed a hard exoskeleton. Then it kept growing larger until it reached a similar size to mine, stretching downward.

My body didn’t need sleep or excretion. It was a body that could survive by replenishing nutrients in any way, without having to eat.

Thanks to that, I was able to stay by Ludwig’s side until late dawn.

Around 5 AM, Ludwig in the pupa in the basement sent ‘joy’ through waves.

I watched its beautiful form with my own two eyes.

𝘊𝘰𝘰-𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬. . .!

𝘒𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘬. . .! 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘬!!

The black exoskeleton of the pupa crumbled, and the reddish-brown organic tissue inside it was torn apart. Clear nutrients poured out onto the cold floor like amniotic fluid.

𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘬. . .! 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘢𝘯. . .!

Ludwig poured out along with the nutrients and fell to the floor.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!

It was 7 meters long, had scaly skin, and stood up straight like a cobra.

“Groooan. . . Grooooan. . .”

Its elongated skull was shaped like a sharp inverted triangle. Two horns that had grown in a spiral from the back of its head were bent flexibly to the left and right like an antelope’s horns. On what appeared to be its forehead was a large, vertically slit red eye that took up almost half of its face.

Like a venomous snake with no mouth, eight thin tentacles and one sharp stinger protruded from the lower part of its head’s snout and pointed toward the floor. And behind its back were three pairs of sickle-shaped claws spread out like tree branches.

Its vocal organ, which imitated a human mouth, could only be seen if you looked up at it from below. That’s why, if you looked at it from the front like this, it would seem like a creature with no mouth was speaking human language.

“Ludwig.”

“Ah. . . Uwaaaa. . .”

“I am your master.”

“Uwaaa. . .”

Ludwig slowly approached me.

Surprise. Ecstasy.

And something like a deep awe that couldn’t be described.

“. . .Master. My noble master. . . My great creator. . .”

It was like the whispers of several old women in a cave.

“Ludwig. You are my first commander entity and adjutant.”

The moment I uttered the word ‘first,’ Ludwig’s eyes widened and the tentacles on its snout quivered.

“I am honored to serve you. . . I will devote everything to you until my life ends. . .”

I had finally created a child who could communicate.