Discovery #46

[saikyocivrobo]

[Late at night, Werter watches the stars in the clear sky. He actually has a real telescope now! Prometheus, on the other hand, only has binoculars, but doesn't seem to mind.]

As I suspected, no signs of the seal of despair remain. Just normal, serene sky, if the Auryn star and the ring of Rinne flowers count as normal.

Doctor Bian... Thank you. You won't be forgotten.

Comments

[fermionprincess]

Truly. A victory of human determination and spirit.

[saikyocivrobo]

That's two things we'll never run out of, it seems.

Thanks for the support out there, Alessandra. I have no idea what those things Perfectio summoned were.

[fermionprincess]

What is science, if not humanity's desire for a better tomorrow made physical? I am sure Doctor Bian of Divine Crusaders understood that as well.

[saikyocivrobo]

The alliance will undoubtedly be shaken without him. Which means that yet another challenging task awaits is.

We need to keep it from falling apart.

[fermionprincess]

I wish not to look at the predicament with a cynical gaze, but one thing remains for a fact.

The number of organisations and otherworldly entities that the alliance was made to fight is growing smaller with every passing day. Mixed blessing may it be, for the number of internal threats of the Earth Sphere seems only to grow.

[saikyocivrobo]

Mixed blessing indeed, considering that I started piloting to fight giant monsters, not humans. Stop squabbling and work together against outside threats for at least a few minutes, people!

However... Is that really the case? How many normal human factions are still at war? Because if we discount those that use giant monsters or magic... Not that many, I would say.

[fermionprincess]

Well... there is Kairos Aspida of course! Dare I say, quantity bows down to quality this time.

[saikyocivrobo]

The old aphorism that our battles prove over and over again, hmm?

[Prometheus pretends to flex his non-existant muscles, to show he's the embodiment of that aphorism.]

In a way, fighting Kairos Aspida lets you put things in perspective.

[fermionprincess]

Could it be...

Kairos Aspida is the White Chalice society's evil twin, the shadow of one's soul?

If they are such polar opposites of us, that would explain why they seem so nice and benevolent on the surface!

[saikyocivrobo]

Ouch, that's harsh. Accurate, but harsh.

What I meant is that usually our opponents have the advantage in quantity, but quality is on our side. But when fighting Kairos Aspida, it turns around. Fighting them lets you experience how does it feel to fight us.

[fermionprincess]

Ah.

There is also that, yes.

[hobo_lantern]

You have a telescope, rival? May I borrow it? I want to see the cat in the sky!

[saikyocivrobo]

Sure, if you don't break it, but... Cat? What?

[hobo_lantern]

The constellation Felis! Sure it's been obsolete, but it's not like the stars suddenly disappear from the sky.

[saikyocivrobo]

You...

You are knowledgable about something! Something that's not booze!

[hobo_lantern]

I spend a lot of time in the wilderness. Knowledge about the constellations is important for my survival.

[saikyocivrobo]

So, what direction does the Felis constellation indicate?

[hobo_lantern]

You don't ask cats for directions, man.

[saikyocivrobo]

So it's a useless constellation you remembered because you like cats.

[foreheadboy]

[A potentially familiar figure walks in... taller, a lot taller in fact, but his forehead is as recognisable as ever.]

I'm glad. I would have been sorely disappointed if, after so many years, I wasn't able to gaze up at the sky that had inspired me so long ago.

[saikyocivrobo]

Ten years on your side, was it?

...You've changed.

[foreheadboy]

Something like that, though the disparity between our worlds seems to have lessened.

I'm a statesman now. Oh, and space ship Captain I suppose.

[saikyocivrobo]

I heard. I could never imagine kid you giving commands in that way.

So, you've achieved your goal of running a country. How is it going? The place is prospering nicely? I bet building a civilization from the ground up isn't easy.

[foreheadboy]

Well, we had some of the resources from the start... Teppelin made quite the good foundations. Beastmen and humans live together reasonably enough. Not easy day to day, but I've... learned to cope, especially after all the advice I received here on the Chalice. Otherwise I'd probably be a bit more upstrung about my duties.

[saikyocivrobo]

Glad to hear that you learned some stuff here. It's like they say; traveling broadens the mind.

Even more glad to hear that humans and beastmen live in peace. So many non-human races just want to kill us no matter what that those willing to make peace shine even brighter.

[foreheadboy]

Well, we'd technically conquered their king, so...

Honestly, the difficulty - socially - has been on humanity's side of the integration. Only the really young have grown up without some kind of scars from what used to be done to us...

...But that we've reached a point where that's even possible says something, I feel.

[saikyocivrobo]

Forgiveness is hard, but it's required for peaceful coexistence. The alternative is a neverending cycle of vengeance.

Well, a lot less time passed here than in your world while you were gone, but some stuff still changed rapidly. I'm sure you will see soon.

[sexygodofscienceandwar]

You know, back before the second impact, this sort of stuff wasn't a monthly occurrence.

[saikyocivrobo]

I imagine it was a lot calmer.

Bimonthly, at most.

[sexygodofscienceandwar]

Yearly at the most!

At this rate any children I have are gonna have more badass in their little fingers than my entire generation!

[saikyocivrobo]

Your half-book children?