Ch.277Aftermath (2)

Humanity had won the war, but many challenges still remained.

How to restore planets contaminated by the Outsiders with limited time and money, and what to do with the Outsiders captured in traps were the central government’s main concerns.

Among these issues, I attended a meeting where representatives from various sectors debated how to handle the captured Outsiders.

“We should gather them all in rockets and send them beyond the galaxy.”

“If the traps were to break during transport, it would be disastrous.”

“I’ve heard our galaxy’s black hole is inactive. What about throwing them in there?”

“That’s practically giving the Outsiders a new home.”

“On the contrary, they could all be deactivated.”

“Putting Outsiders into our galaxy’s black hole is like placing humanity’s existence on a gambling table. We shouldn’t even attempt it if there’s even a 1% chance of extinction.”

Opinions weren’t easily reconciled.

Understandably so, as no humanity in any worldline had ever captured so many transcendent beings before. We caught them, but nobody knew how to dispose of them.

“What can we do? Without experts, there’s no one to consult…”

As people sighed and sipped bottled water, one official raised his hand.

“Why do you say we have no experts?”

“Do you have someone in mind?”

“There’s one right here.”

It was Deputy Minister Allos. At his words, everyone turned to look at me.

“Commander Rheinland, everyone here knows that despite ‘not having a doctoral degree,’ you possess innate talent for Outsider research. Perhaps you have some good ideas…”

This guy really knows how to get under my skin.

He doesn’t seem malicious though, so I can’t get angry.

I sighed and answered.

“Let’s start by discussing storage methods. Some of the stronger gods among Darwin-type Outsiders can escape the traps on their own. We need to wrap the equipment in double or triple layers to prepare for this.”

“You want to double trap production?”

Several officials shook their heads.

“Security is important, but we’re in the immediate aftermath of war. The central government’s budget is limited, so we need the most economical solution possible.”

That sounds reasonable at first glance.

An economical method, huh.

I smirked.

“I suggest we repurpose all traps for research.”

“Research?”

“Yes. Allocate the additional trap production costs to the R&D budget and make three times the current quantity. This way, we can safely contain all Outsiders in triple-layered traps and distribute one device to each academy across the planet.”

Government officials gaped.

“What if all those Outsiders somehow break free?”

“That’s why I suggested triple-layered traps. In the unlikely event they break through all three layers, we can simply recapture them with new traps. According to my calculations…”

I wrote a few lines on my tablet before continuing.

“…the probability of even one Outsider escaping is lower than winning the lottery jackpot ten times in a row.”

“That’s reassuring. But what research would use so many Outsiders?”

I twirled my pen and smiled.

“About your economic concerns. There’s one very profitable research area…”

***

When a Darwin-type avatar falls, it drops a crystal.

These crystals are solid materials from outer space that humans cannot produce directly but are essential for manufacturing various advanced equipment.

In other words, crystals have economic value.

“So I thought: what if humanity could extract crystals directly from Outsiders without defeating their avatars? Wouldn’t that be a technological revolution?”

Ireh exclaimed, “Ooh!”

“What do you think? Pretty good, right?”

“It’s amazing. But that means we’d have to keep torturing Outsiders even after development succeeds.”

“That’s right.”

“Doesn’t seem like something a human would think of.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Ireh and I returned to the Stellarium.

Several traps containing Outsiders had arrived at Stellarium Academy.

The College of Natural Sciences received three traps: one containing Queen Aurore and two containing ordinary Darwin-type Outsiders.

Two went to the Physics Department, and one to the Biology Department.

Mezulen will handle the Biology Department trap well. Cheers to her graduate school admission.

And the trap containing the Queen was placed in the common research lab thanks to my influence.

I connected the necessary wires, turned on the monitor, and typed a message.

[— ILOVEPHYSICS: Holy physics. Good morning.]

[— Aurolet (Respondent): “What now.”]

I briefly explained what the Queen would experience. As expected, she reacted strongly.

[— Aurolet (Respondent): “Stop this nonsense. I have not the slightest intention of helping your research.”]

[— ILOVEPHYSICS: I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but did you respect us humans when you killed, invaded, and even raped us? Certainly not. So we won’t respect your wishes either and will torment you thoroughly.]

This much is absolutely true.

If she were a neutral Outsider like Cartesia who evokes sympathy and affection, it might be different. But for a complete villain like Aurore, I plan to show not even a shred of mercy.

So.

[— ILOVEPHYSICS: Your Majesty, you are now public property of our university.]

I’ll use her until she begs and cries for mercy.

[— Aurolet (Respondent): “What nonsense is this? I am public property?”]

[— ILOVEPHYSICS: As I just mentioned, you must do useful work proportional to how many of us you’ve killed. Producing papers and training numerous graduate students. Come to think of it, it’s mutually beneficial. You’ll become the mother of scientists who write papers about you.]

[— Aurolet (Respondent): “Mind your absurdities. Who would want to be the mother of an insignificant species? Do you think I will cooperate with you?”]

[— ILOVEPHYSICS: I repeat, your wishes are irrelevant.]

“Heh, hehehe, hehihihi.”

Research topics are already sprouting like mushrooms.

But these won’t be papers I write.

“Ms. Ireh.”

Ireh’s shoulders jerked.

“Huh? What…?”

“Try completing your Outsider neural network research using the Queen. I’ll help you. And if you think of other topics, it would be good to make maximum use of Aurore. Though not directly related to graviton bombs, it will provide solid experience in studying Outsider physics.”

“O-okay. Got it.”

Nodding, Ireh immediately rushed into the office.

No matter how excited she is, there’s no need to run in like that. It’s not like the research topic will run away.

“…Hmm?”

Sensing a presence, I turned around.

“Professor Feynman?”

“Eidel, it’s been a while.”

“We had a meeting just the day before yesterday.”

“When an advisor and graduate student haven’t met for two days, that’s a long separation.”

What’s this? I thought the time for flirting between the professor and me had passed.

“Thank you for protecting the southern Federation and Stellarium Academy as head of the Rheinland family and research director. Anyway, I have two pieces of good news for hardworking Eidel—would you like to hear the better news or the less good news first?”

“The better news.”

“The Achaea Committee has decided to award you this year’s Achaea Peace Prize.”

“…What?”

“The Achaea Peace Prize. The most prestigious award given to heroes who risk their lives and dedicate themselves to society for the peace of humanity and the Federation.”

“How did you know about this, Professor…?”

“They said you weren’t answering calls or checking emails.”

Feynman scratched his head awkwardly with a smile.

“You must be busy with post-war matters? I understand. Still, you should check messages periodically. Isn’t it unfair when others know such good news before the recipient?”

“Yes, haha…”

The Achaea Peace Prize.

That means I’ll have to go to the award ceremony.

Plus, I’ll have to eat a full-course dinner and spend meaningless time laughing and chatting with people who aren’t physicists.

To be honest, it’s not particularly good news.

Rather, it’s annoying.

“By the way, how much is the prize money?”

“About 10 billion credits.”

That’s a lot for ordinary people, but not a significant amount for me.

“But isn’t it an unspoken rule that Peace Prize recipients donate to charity? I suppose it’s because the winners tend to be people who aren’t attached to capital…”

In summary, I’ll receive prize money, but the amount is paltry for major research, and it’s customary to donate it anyway.

Going to the award venue would be a big loss if I wanted to keep the money with a straight face. But sending a proxy would be highly improper.

No choice then. I’ll have to make up an excuse to decline later.

I smiled bitterly and asked.

“What’s the other good news?”

If receiving the Achaea Prize is the better news, I shouldn’t expect much from the next announcement. I waited for the answer with an easy mind.

Professor Feynman grinned and extended his hand that had been behind his back. In the professor’s hand was a sheet of paper.

“What’s this?”

“Your grades for this semester. They haven’t been uploaded to the academic system yet, so I asked other professors to grade them quickly and compiled the results.”

I took the grade report and nervously scanned each subject one by one.

Despite being too busy during the war to study properly, every subject was marked A+.

“Professor, this is…”

Feynman patted my shoulder with a smile.

“Congratulations on completing your coursework, student.”

“Oh, uh, wow.”

“Now you just need to write one thesis with me to graduate.”

“Oh, oh, ohhhh.”

“Eidel, would you finally consider discovering gravitons with me? It’s research I’ve always wanted to do before I die.”

***

That night, Ireh had to deal with a beast.

The beast’s howls reverberated through the flimsy walls of the College of Natural Sciences building and echoed into the corridor, giving rise to a ghost story among undergraduates.

The wailing, they said, was the sound of a physics graduate student who had died suddenly long ago without receiving their doctoral degree.

Unfortunately, Ireh, the only one who knew the truth behind the ghost story, chose to conceal the facts.

Thus was born the eighth mystery of Stellarium.