Ch.75Truth Game (3)

The soft sound of paper rustling filled the room.

In the office of survivors set up in Room 701, I sat at the desk writing documents by hand.

[Exploration Log]

– Exploration of The Wanderer’s Library completed.

– Results: Secured [Extinction Scenario: 5000] and numerous books.

– Characteristics of the library are…

Below that, I wrote down everything I had observed during the exploration.

“I’m done.”

“Good job, Dabin!”

Heo Yoon smiled brightly as she patted my head.

“Didn’t you say you used to draw? Your handwriting is really pretty.”

“Ah. Drawing… Yes. I used to draw.”

Though my expression changed for just a moment, Heo Yoon quickly noticed and changed the subject.

“This kind of thing should actually be done by the senior. Yoon Daju.”

“What? My handwriting is terrible. Isn’t this better for everyone?”

Yoon Daju truly has awful handwriting. It’s hard to tell if it’s Korean or Arabic.

Jung Haewon hasn’t been here long, and Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin didn’t participate in the library exploration.

So, I ended up being in charge of the exploration records.

“But what about this extinction scenario? Have you checked what it contains?”

Seok Hyunmin asked, pointing to the bottom of the document.

“Yes. I already know about it, but the information itself is dangerous.”

“Just give us a brief summary.”

The greatest achievement from our library exploration.

We risked our lives to obtain the truth about the world outside the apartment.

[Extinction Scenario: 5000]

Even so, I’m the only one who has read it.

This information is inherently extremely dangerous.

Just like other Memetic Kill Agents.

“This is the first time I’m sharing this information.”

Neither Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin who were waiting on the 7th floor, nor the others who went on the exploration with me.

This is the first time I’m telling anyone about it.

“And it might be extremely shocking.”

I explained what I knew in the calmest voice possible.

“First, do you know about The Foundation?”

“I’ve seen mentions of it while wandering around the apartment. Never met them directly though.”

Seok Hyunmin recalled his memories.

“There used to be a department store, right? I went there with Mr. Park Sungjin. I saw people who claimed to be from The Foundation. But as you know, people we meet in the department store…”

“We can’t interact with them.”

“Exactly. Or when we picked up books, they were mentioned a lot. So I know a bit about them.”

“Do you know what kind of organization they are?”

“Well, I think they research strange things like this apartment. Or am I wrong?”

Even with extremely limited information, Seok Hyunmin had made a nearly accurate deduction.

“That’s right. But that’s not all they do.”

“Then?”

“They do research on strange things, or what they call anomalous objects. But The Foundation’s main purpose is to protect humanity by containing these anomalous objects.”

“Right. Now that you mention it, that does sound familiar.”

Seok Hyunmin nodded.

“Wait a minute. Could you explain what you’re talking about again?”

Jung Haewon didn’t seem to understand properly.

And the others don’t really know about The Foundation either. They only have a vague understanding.

“In our world, there are anomalous objects. People with supernatural powers, monsters, strange phenomena, ghosts, occult things. All of these can be considered anomalous objects.”

“…Okay.”

“And there’s an organization that manages them. ‘The Foundation.’ Their exact name isn’t known, but they definitely exist in reality.”

This is something I only recently discovered.

The term ‘Foundation’ was frequently mentioned in the [Extinction Scenario], and I gathered additional materials from the library to investigate further.

“So are these Foundation people like exorcists or shamans or something?”

“They use much more scientific methods. Their organizational structure, research methodology, and technology are incredibly well-developed.”

After making sure everyone was following along, I concluded my explanation.

“The Foundation’s usual work can be seen as containing and protecting anomalous objects, and researching their characteristics for more efficient containment.”

“But what does The Foundation have to do with anything?”

Seok Hyunmin, who had been listening quietly, rejoined the conversation.

“You said the world ended.”

“Yes. That’s what I’m getting to now. Don’t be shocked.”

Everyone in the office fixed their gaze on me.

Seok Hyunmin, Heo Yoon, Jung Haewon, and even Yoon Daju. They all had serious expressions.

Measuring the impact my words would have, I slowly and carefully began to speak.

“The Foundation slaughtered everyone outside.”

“What?”

“It means there’s nothing left even if we go outside the apartment.”

Seok Hyunmin froze with his brows furrowed.

A massive shock swept through the room.

Everyone was speechless.

A moment when our grand goal of escape could be shaken.

After a long silence, Jung Haewon stood up abruptly.

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you say The Foundation protects humanity? Just now?”

“That’s right. That’s why it’s strange.”

“Did they betray us? But then they’d die too. They’re humans too, right?”

“No. They didn’t betray us.”

That’s the biggest question.

The content of [Extinction Scenario: 5000] deals with The Foundation’s process of slaughtering humanity.

Though it’s called a scenario, it’s something that actually happened.

I could tell through the Librarian’s ability.

When viewed with insight, the content of the scenario perfectly overlaps with our timeline.

However, the specific reason isn’t mentioned.

The reason why The Foundation mercilessly slaughtered the humanity they were supposed to protect.

The reason is only briefly mentioned at the end of the document, through the words of the O5 Council, The Foundation’s leadership.

[Humanity will not be defeated. It will not be erased or forgotten.]

No matter how many times I read it.

No matter how carefully I checked for anything I might have missed.

There was only one conclusion I could draw after reading the document.

“It was simply a means to an end.”

This isn’t speculation.

It’s definitely true.

“For the ‘purpose’ of preserving humanity, The Foundation chose the ‘means’ of killing all of humanity.”

Daju asked with a trembling voice.

“Then… what should we do? There’s nothing left even if we escape…”

“Is there really… no hope?”

Jung Haewon also muttered dejectedly.

Everyone else looked pale, as if their souls had left their bodies.

The only ones who seemed fine were me and Choi Serim, who already knew what I was thinking.

“We’re going to change fate.”

I didn’t specifically mention the apartment’s spatiotemporal characteristics.

Instead, I told everyone with certainty.

“It’s possible within this apartment.”

***

The Foundation doesn’t belong to one person.

People with outstanding will and ability, recognized by The Foundation, become members of the O5 Council and make decisions for The Foundation through meetings.

One of them, Robin, opened her eyes.

In a facility in Iceland, thousands of kilometers away from where she originally was.

As she lightly extended her hand, the attached tubes came along.

IV drips.

Injections to supply nutrients to the cloned body that had been prepared.

This was very familiar to Robin.

A device to inject memories into a new body and stabilize it.

Nothing new about this either.

The one unfamiliar thing was the oxygen mask covering her face.

Had her heartbeat dropped dramatically while she was unconscious?

To the point where she couldn’t breathe on her own?

Robin sat up.

Despite the oxygen deficiency that had occurred, her body felt incredibly light.

1,362 kilometers from her original location in Greenwich, England.

Robin had been transferred to The Foundation’s facility in Iceland.

More precisely, only her memories had been.

In the tanks around her were bodies identical to hers.

About 100 of them.

They were cultivated through cloning devices and managed here at “Valhalla.”

If the time came for Robin to “transfer” again, or if she met an unexpected death, one of these would be chosen as a vessel to hold her memories.

(In this case, it was both.)

There’s no such thing as perfect teleportation.

To be precise, The Foundation doesn’t possess a spatial transfer device that is perfect, precisely controllable, and usable anytime, anywhere.

This is the most reliable and best method.

A human body cannot be transferred.

After all, it’s a physical substance, not just electrical signals.

So the solution is to change the approach.

Keep the body as is and transfer the memories.

Then insert the transferred memories into a new body.

Though it’s a new body, it’s just a clone of oneself.

Trying to insert memories into someone else’s body would result in a violent rejection.

The original body would be immediately destroyed for more perfect memory extraction and to prevent system confusion.

But for someone at Robin’s position within The Foundation, this was just a minor drawback.

Not just Robin herself, but all other O5 Council members.

They were people who had experienced far worse things.

And just as Robin fully regained consciousness, a phone call came in as if someone had been waiting.

There was an unfamiliar communication device in her pocket. It had been attached to the cloned body from the beginning.

“Robin. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you contacted the ‘Tracker’ without permission. Because of that, your body collapsed instantly. While this can still be accommodated as an O5 Council member’s discretion, it’s only a matter of time before you cross the line.”

A dry voice warned her.

“The O5 Council is not The Foundation’s highest authority. Remember that even Council members can become targets for termination at any time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Robin gave a perfunctory answer and hung up.

Her resurrection was complete, and she had also moved locations in the process.

As she left the top-secret facility, Robin had just passed through the sixteenth security procedure.

Her body was tired, and her mind was foggy.

A perfect moment to remind herself of her purpose.

Robin recalled the last information she saw before she died.

Information about the Professor’s location.

The Professor was both in the apartment and elsewhere.

Two contradictory pieces of information were overlapping.

And that fact strongly pulled at Robin’s intuition.

Along with the Professor’s suspicious behavior up until now.

Becoming obsessed with a colleague again.

Robin smiled bitterly.

It was a stupid thing to do, though it happened so long ago she could barely remember it now.

However, what’s certain is that this target isn’t just her husband’s affair partner or something like that.

Whether this is stupid or not remains to be seen.

Now it was time to find out what he was plotting.