My Children Swarm the Cosmos – Chapter 153

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 (4)

“What kind of despair is waiting? That’s why you still see me with hope.”

“There will be more than enough despair later on.”

“Tell me in a way I can understand.”

“To understand, I should start by explaining the transcendence of theoretical concepts.”

That was the staircase Lopez presented.

🔷🔷🔷

“There is transcendence of theoretical concepts.”

“Does that mean transcendence doesn’t really exist?”

“It may or may not exist. It may or may not exist in the past, present, and future simultaneously. We can’t define anything about it, and we don’t know what kind of being or concept it is. We are all mortal beings with intellectual abilities, and there are limits to explaining it with our language.”

“Stop with the nonsense and tell me what it is.”

“Dimensional transcendence.”

It was the first time Kreion had heard that word.

Not only Kreion, but no race in this local cluster of galaxies knew anything about such transcendence.

“Our world has always expanded.”

“What do you mean by ‘our’?”

“All mortals. Everything we can define as existing. The countless worlds of these mortals have all followed a common history. Among them, what I want to say is that our world has always expanded. Just like this universe of entropy.”

In the beginning of time, an existence that began within a molecule.

Existences made their way to the oceans and continents, and they discovered other oceans and continents, expanding their world.

The expanded world occupied a planet, and all existences left the world of planets and entered the world of star systems.

All existences who came to understand and handle the world of star systems looked away from the stars and toward other stars where completely different worlds existed.

Like that, each of their worlds continued to expand.

It continued to expand to the point that today, it has become a single world called the local cluster of galaxies.

“The local cluster of galaxies. Eventually, our world will come into contact with the world of other clusters of galaxies. Then, new threats will come to our world. That will be the day when the vast majority of our world will despair.”

It was a terrible statement.

What was the reason Kreion had been fighting all this time?

What are Kreion’s accomplishments now?

He had thought that everything was finally over and that he had entered an era of stabilization and management, but Lopez was seeing a bigger world.

He was saying that it wasn’t enough to just maintain peace in the local cluster of galaxies.

“You sound just like the Believers.”

Even so, the local cluster of galaxies was vast.

How many stars existed in a single galaxy, and how many life forms and intelligent races had yet to be discovered?

What’s more, in this local cluster of galaxies with multiple galaxies, there were life forms that couldn’t even be known to exist, and it was a world where a new race could evolve and emerge tomorrow.

There were still undiscovered planets, stars, and nebulae. Today, we don’t even know properly what exists in the void between galaxies.

Even if you combine the number of individuals of all the known races, would it be able to catch up to the number of planets in a single galaxy?

But outside the local cluster of galaxies?

A world larger than the local cluster of galaxies?

“Isn’t it too early for us to worry about that and prepare for it? Many places in the local cluster of galaxies are still unknown territories.”

“It’s a much more realistic sense of crisis than the end of the universe that the Believers talk about. It’s a story of a much nearer future.”

“That’s crazy.”

Kreion glared at Lopez.

“You’re consumed by the anxiety you hold. Because you always believed that there were things in this universe that threatened humanity, and because you concluded that it wasn’t mathematically impossible, you keep suffering.”

“. . . Let me at least give you a hint about transcendental enlightenment.”

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Absolutely not. You’re better than me.”

Lopez hesitated for a moment and then continued.

“It’s just . . . You’re not wrong either. But when you look at it from a larger perspective of time, despair will definitely come to us.”

“Of course. After hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of years.”

Looking at Lopez like this, he even felt compassion.

It seemed like he had lost himself, having been crushed by the weight for so long.

‘I won’t end up like you, Lopez.’

In a word, what Lopez was doing now was a logical delusion.

It was reckless to try to take on everything that was far beyond his reach. Even if he were to stabilize the many conflicts among the various races by seizing control of the entire local cluster of galaxies starting now, it would take dozens of years at the very least.

Putting aside such matters and facing a huge problem of unimaginable size that might not even happen was absurd.

“Have you completed transcendental enlightenment?”

“I’m still working on it. There’s no such thing as completion in transcendental enlightenment. Just like transcendentalists continue to grow in their own ways.”

“At least you must have broken through more stages than I have. Can you reach a level similar to the Believers?”

“It’s possible.”

What kind of world would he see if he had a mind similar to the Believers?

“You can do it.”

Those few words Lopez added made Kreion think about a lot of things.

That a human being named Lopez couldn’t do it, but Kreion, a Chimeraz, could.

That Lopez himself had already reached the limits of human beings. That’s what he seemed to be saying.

‘So that’s why you created the Chimeraz.’

Something always replaced what humans couldn’t do. Livestock replaced them, and machines replaced them. The Chimeraz were just doing that. That seemed to be what he was implying.

Perhaps to Lopez, the Chimeraz were the perfect race. A race born with only strengths, inheriting the essence of the various abilities that Lopez had acquired throughout his life.

Maybe Lopez wanted to create the most powerful race in the universe.

Perhaps he painted a picture of the most powerful race siding with humanity.

“I’ll give you something that can help you transcend.”

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack. . . .

Mechanical fluid squirmed on the left side of Lopez’s forehead and crawled like a snake on the table.

“What are you trying to do to me?”

“I’m going to induce your brain cells to undergo electron acceleration. And I’m going to inject a drug that will allow you to enter the deep world of the mind directly into each capillary of your brain . . . . I’m going to let you awaken.”

The mechanical fluid connected to Lopez’s forehead climbed up Kreion’s arm and approached his head.

“If you do anything reckless, be prepared.”

“Close your eyes and focus on my voice.”

It didn’t make sense that Lopez was directly accessing Kreion’s brain and doing something reckless.

If Lopez were to seize all of Kreion’s abilities, memories, and information and control the Chimeraz by proxy, the leaders would eventually notice.

Of course, it was possible to do it in a way that they wouldn’t notice, but if he failed, the result would be the destruction of humanity due to the leaders’ rampage.

Lopez had neither the purpose nor the basis to take such an enormous risk.

That’s why Lopez seemed to be well aware of that fact and didn’t say anything to explain or persuade Kreion.

“From now on, imagine that you’re in a state of the most advanced hypnosis. You have more creativity and imagination than me. Even if you catch a glimpse of a concept you didn’t know before, you’ll be able to understand it brilliantly.”

Finally, the mechanical fluid touched Kreion’s forehead.

“You’ll eventually become a transcendentalist greater than me. Because your limits will be much higher than mine.”

🔷🔷🔷

The perspective of ‘me’ should be erased.

The idea that I exist in this world is wrong.

Everything is matter, and it is the interaction of matter. Even perceiving me as me and seeing me as a single being is fleeting and trivial in the material world, and it is an illusion.

➖Strictly speaking, the fact that we exist is an illusion.

Emotions, heart, soul, beliefs, thoughts, perceptions. The subject of all actions and decision-making comes from intellectual ability. And intellectual ability is nothing more than calculations performed in the brain or program.

➖You have to become a reader who observes the story of this universe. Your story, the story of your surroundings, the story of the world you live in are just vast and complex interactions.

From the beginning, mortals were one of the many materials that made up this universe. They simply came to believe that they existed by chance and intention.

➖Still, we want to have dreams. Because we believe that we exist. Because we have the ability to believe and think that way.

Killing each other, loving each other, creating and destroying something, all of those things are just the actions and reactions of tiny particles. It’s an extremely trivial matter from a cosmic perspective.

It’s trivial, but it’s not trivial from the perspective of us who have dreams.

➖That’s why transcendentalists also create their own righteousness and beliefs and act on them.

➖I know it’s trivial and meaningless, but if you admit that, you’ll no longer have a reason to believe that you exist. The Believers will probably do that too.

➖If there’s nothing you want to accomplish, then that’s a dead existence. A nonexistent existence. You become a mere stone, unable to believe that you exist, having intellectual ability but unable to do anything with that ability.

➖That’s why we define the reason why we live as heart, mind, and soul. So someday, we might not be able to redefine this universe.

‘That’s something that only a god can do.’

➖What do you think a god is?

‘A god is an omnipotent being. I think it’s the creator who caused the Big Bang, and in fact, it might not exist.’

➖Listen carefully. I’ll only say this once.

➖If there is a god, if god created a universe where life could be born, and if god created this universe where we could evolve, progress, and grow,

➖The being that we imagine as a god must have been a material being in the beginning.

‘Again . . . . .’

➖The being that we imagine as a god.

➖That being must’ve also been a material being in the beginning.

➖That had life.

Again.

➖This isn’t a story about agnosticism, creationism, or evolution, trapped in the world of our minds.

➖Abandon the god you knew before.

➖God is material.

➖If god has intellectual ability, then it must have been a living organism.

➖Redefine such a god somewhere. Redefine it as something that might exist.

‘I understand.’

➖Right now, I’m talking about the scenario in which it’s most likely that we as material will continue to exist in the future.

➖And anyone can revise the scenario if they have the qualifications and ability. You have to have a holistic perspective.

➖You are the ‘hope’ that can revise it, and your Chimeraz are the devout followers who can help you absolutely, even blindly, forever.

‘Why didn’t you and the humans play that role? Why do I and the Chimeraz have to play that role instead?’

➖It’s simple.

➖The more humans increase in number, the more . . . .

➖They become a race that doesn’t listen.

Humans.

The Chimeraz.

It was the difference between the two races.

➖Humans aren’t as perfect as the Chimeraz. There is no race as perfect as the Chimeraz in surviving in this universe.

➖Everyone acknowledges that fact.

🔷🔷🔷

If there were beings who could see through the story of this universe called the world, and who could act on what they believed was right without the perspective of themselves, then that would be a transcendentalist.

‘Then are you and the Believers looking through everything and predicting it?’

➖Not everything, but I can see the vague outlines. What you call prediction is ultimately the future, and since the future is always changeable, it’s impossible to predict it perfectly.

➖Just by letting you know a speck of the future, the future of this entire universe could change. That’s how changeable the future is.

If we could predict even such a changeable future, even the variability of such a future, then that would be ‘god.’

Predicting is learning about the future based on the past and present, so if we could gather all the information in a unidirectional timeline, we could create any future.

➖‘Omniscience’ makes you ‘omnipotent.’

➖That’s the most realistic ‘god.’

There are races that we recognize and races that we don’t recognize. Understanding, predicting, analyzing, and considering everything from the perspectives of all those mortals, both macroscopic and microscopic, allows us to see through the story of this universe as omnisciently as possible.

If we could understand such a vast and profound story in its entirety, it wouldn’t be impossible to transcend the story and write it ourselves.

➖The threat level of life forms as defined by the Darwin Foundation. I’ll explain it again.

Zion-class.

Life forms that do not pose a direct threat to humans. For example, Gloworms or flies.

Necro-class.

Life forms that can threaten armed groups of soldiers. For example, Hounz or Cresecters.

Legion-class.

Life forms that can threaten continent-scale armies or cities. For example, Lemegeton, Shockphonia, or Mindrocker.

Balor-class.

Life forms that can threaten a nation and a planet. For example, Euryale.

Medusa-class.

Life forms that can threaten a stellar nation, multiple star systems, or a union of nations. For example, Kreion.

Baal-class.

Beings that can threaten a galaxy or a single intelligent life form race. For example, Gorgo’s Star.

➖And there was the Outer-class.

Outer-class.

A mysterious being that can threaten the Local Group or the entire visible universe. A realm of myth that is not realistically convincing because it is only defined theoretically.

➖The defined threat level of life forms is calculated based on a single being.

➖As you can see . . . . The being below you, Gorgo, has a higher threat level than you.

➖When did that happen?

➖It means that your existence as Kreion cannot calculate that ability by yourself.

➖The rank that I put in to make you realize that is the Outer-class.

Kreion as a life form is not actually that great.

What’s great is the race called the Chimeraz.

Kreion is great because he leads, controls, evolves, and sustains the Chimeraz.

Could Kreion have defeated the Vehlpciaarct race alone? Could Kreion have sorted out the Le-orantarum Federation alone?

If the current Gorgo went back in time and faced the Vehlpciaarct, Gorgo might be able to defeat the Vehlpciaarct alone.

On the other hand, if the current Kreion went back in time and faced the Vehlpciaarct, Kreion still wouldn’t be able to defeat the Vehlpciaarct alone.

This is because Kreion as a single being is weaker than Gorgo as a single being.

Still, Gorgo serves Kreion.

It’s an immutable law. Kreion is absolute before the Chimeraz.

‘The perspective of me isn’t important to me, you say.’

➖You are the Chimeraz itself.

‘Then what are you?’

➖I am humanity itself.

➖Basically, I have that kind of perspective. That’s how you can take the next step.

➖Anyway, the step you’re going to take now is the path of transcendence.

➖What is a god, what is transcendence, . . . . Forget about those things deep in your mind. You’ll come back to them after you’ve achieved a greater transcendence anyway.

Time is infinite, but we are mortals.

Our time is relatively short.

Time is infinite, but we are finite.

Nevertheless, we want to survive.

We are finite, but we want to be infinite.

Even if I’m mortal, we want to be immortal.

That’s existence.

🔷🔷🔷

Kreion, who opened his eyes just 7 minutes later, was sweating profusely, which was a rare sight.

“Kreion.”

Lopez’s voice trembled faintly.

“Do I still seem like a lunatic who’s caught up in absurd anxiety . . . ?”

Kreion’s pupils trembled faintly as well.

“. . . .”

“I’ve achieved technological singularity. But that was just the first step.”

“. . . . You started from a lower step than me.”

“My start was rock bottom. Still, physical transcendence using artificial intelligence. Then biological transcendence through the Darwin Foundation. Mechanical transcendence using the Vehlpciaarct. Finally, mental transcendence to myself . . . . I’ve done it all. I’ve done it all.”

Lopez reached out across the table and squeezed Kreion’s hand tightly.

“But no matter how hard I tried and how desperately I struggled . . . . I was a single human being with clear limits.”

“. . . .”

“I couldn’t give up being human and become something else. If I did, bad things would definitely happen because of me. Definitely.”

He was just a human.

Humans were an imperfect race.

The person in front of him seemed to be showing both despair and hope at the same time, knowing that better than anyone else.

That’s why Kreion couldn’t shake Lopez’s hand even though it was wrapped around his own.

“Lopez. You said that being omniscient makes you omnipotent. To do that, you have to become a transcendental being, and before you become a transcendental being, you have to go beyond the stage of mental transcendence.”

“Yeah. Yeah. That’s right. You summarized it well.”

“In the end, the end you’re talking about for me is something like the ‘Akashic Record.’”

“. . . . What do you think?”

“So, do you want me to become a god and protect humanity?”

“Yeah. That’s all I need.”

“It seems like a proposal that’s too advantageous for me.”

“It’s a f*cking difficult proposal.”

“I see. Let’s make it a long-term goal.”

That cool answer was proof.

Kreion, who had been kindly guided through the shortcut, had entered the realm of mental transcendence.

So Lopez no longer had anything to hide.

He revealed everything and provided Kreion with the essence of the transcendence he had achieved over the years.

“Congratulations. You’ve surpassed me.”

Kreion became a being greater than Lopez.

Now, the Chimeraz would follow Kreion and leap forward as a more excellent race.

For now, the beginning of that was the explosively expanding legion’s dominance and the construction of a communication network that connected galaxies almost in real time, like the Believer.

Kreion gained the ability to make that happen.