Nirvana Rebirth Chapter 9: The Son of Astrolabe

Chapter 9: The Son of Astrolabe

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

A-Ka walked to the vent and stood there for a while, using the mechanical arm to dismantle the fence in the vent. Heishi made him step to the side and used his fist to pound the fence, which broke with a bang.

“Follow me.” Heishi removed the fence and pulled A-Ka’s hand along as he climbed in.

They were in a vast, underground space, and it was where a lot of the sewers in Phoenix City converged. A-Ka limped along in the front, covering his lower abdomen with a hand. Blood dripped down to the ground, and his vision kept spinning.

Heishi finally discovered something was wrong with A-Ka, and his expression changed at once. “What happened? You got shot?! Why did you not say anything!”

A-Ka shook off Heishi, yet Heishi rushed forward and hugged him tightly, roaring, “Do not move around! Let me see!”

A-Ka was dizzy from the loss of blood, so Heishi hurriedly placed him flat on the ground. He took off his coat and cushioned it underneath A-Ka, letting him lie down properly, before lifting up his shirt. The bullet hole wasn’t big, so Heishi shook his weapon, and with a whoosh, the weapon seemed to be alive as it automatically shrunk into a pair of sharp forceps.

A-Ka said, “What… what is that?”

Heishi didn’t reply. He lowered his head to take out the bullet for A-Ka. A-Ka was in so much pain, he let out a loud cry, and Heishi was tense as he said, “Do not move!”

A-Ka convulsed as Heishi took out the bullet. He threw it onto the ground with a clatter, and then took off his shirt and pressed it onto A-Ka’s abdomen.

“We do not have medicine, so we have to go above ground quickly…” Heishi was a bit at a loss. A-Ka, upon seeing Heishi so worried, could only feel that it was very amusing. He said, “It’s okay, this won’t kill me.”

Heishi suddenly embraced A-Ka, and he was so strong it hurt. At first, A-Ka was a bit stunned, and Heishi’s entire body was trembling.

“I am sorry… I am sorry…”

A-Ka practically couldn’t believe that Heishi could say that.

“What did you say?” A-Ka seemed to find it amusing.

Heishi also noticed that he was getting a bit agitated, so he let out a long sigh and said, “I will carry you on my back. We need to go out and find some medicine as soon as possible so your wound does not get infected.”

Upon saying this, Heishi didn’t allow A-Ka to refuse as he put him on his back. A-Ka’s entire body was strengthless, and he laid on Heishi’s back like a dead dog.

“Did you make the weapon yourself?” Heishi suddenly asked. 

“Mn.” A-Ka was being carried on Heishi’s back, and Heishi’s footsteps were very steady, making it very comfortable for A-Ka. He tilted his head and looked around the dim, deep sewer. It was as if he had returned to the day he and Heishi had escaped from Mechanical City.

“What about yours?” murmured A-Ka. “Where’d your weapon come from?”

“I found it in the Creators’ remains,” replied Heishi. “It is an antique weapon that can be controlled by one’s thoughts.”

A-Ka was very interested in that, but he wasn’t in the mood to study it now, so he decided to ask Heishi to borrow and take a look at it when they returned. He asked, “What are the Creators’ remains?”

“The place where everything came to be,” said Heishi while walking. “Before the Golden Age, it was at the center of the world. That was when the Creators created this world.”

“Did you remember your past?” asked A-Ka.

Heishi said, “I only remembered a part of it.”

“Your world is called Astrolabe, and it is a world that is controlled by a prewritten program.” Heishi explained, “The hub that controls Astrolabe is buried underground, and no one can find it. It is called the ‘Nucleus’.”

A-Ka said, “I… don’t really understand. This seems to be different from what the history books say?”

Heishi explained, “You can think of the world as a huge, ecological spaceship. One day long ago, it came from the depths of the universe and stopped in this place. Its purpose is to be used to study the origin of life, as well as search for some of the microscopical laws of the universe.”

A-Ka was shocked.

Heishi said, “And so, over ten thousand years passed by on this ecological spaceship, and in the end, it became what you see right now. Through the energy underground, the prewritten program adjusts and controls the entire world’s patterns, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and hurricanes…

“The Creators studied the world some and after leaving behind this ecological petri dish that is known as Astrolabe, they left. Humankind evolved and developed by themselves. Five thousand years ago, a group of adventurers discovered the laboratory, Ancient Core. They brought away some techniques from there, which included the techniques to create androids, as well as computers. In the depths of the eastern mainland, they built a replica of the laboratory and created Father.”

A-Ka faintly felt that Heishi, who had appeared in front of him, might be the key to solving everything. He held his breath, not wanting to interrupt Heishi’s words. After a long silence, Heishi spoke again. “At first, the purpose of Father was as a mechanical monitor in the world to be used by the Creators. It would report all of the data from the experiment to the Creators, as well as stop things that were not supposed to happen in the experiment.

“Later, the Creators thought that Father’s way of judgement was too rigid, and it was hard to keep the data that they wanted. So, they did not use it in our world. But the adventurers did not know of these events of the past, so they built Father that had an awareness of itself. After Father awakened, it kept extending itself, and also connected itself to the Astrolabe’s Nucleus. At the same time, it commenced the elimination of the parts of this petri dish that were out of control.

“Then, Father and the androids rebelled, becoming the Mechanical City you see today. Right now, Father is preparing to finish connecting itself to the Nucleus so it can stop the experiment that had continued for over ten thousand years. It is preparing to clear all of the data from the experiment and restart it.”

A-Ka said, “Then what about the Creators?”

“They have already disappeared,” said Heishi. “They left the range of Father’s signals, so Father cannot contact them. But according to its program, it will end the entire experiment and stop all life in Astrolabe, as well as shut down the power source to save energy.”

“So you’re saying that…” A-Ka was scared at once.

“Not too far into the future,” said Heishi, “after wiping out all of the intelligent life that has been bred on this world, Astrolabe will stop all of its power supplies. The surface of the world will become barren, covered by sand and stones. It will become a world that is deathly still, awaiting the return of the Creators.”

“When?” said A-Ka in a quivering voice.

“Very soon. Feiluo went to investigate the countdown. It will be within the next year,” Heishi said lightly. “However, before the Creators left this world, they also left behind an emergency system. This system can decide whether or not to abandon the precedence of the experiment. But, its level is not higher than Father, so when it issues out a command to the Astrolabe’s Nucleus, I am not sure if the Nucleus will carry out the emergency system’s orders or Father’s orders.”

“Where is the key?” said A-Ka.

Heishi turned his head around, glancing at A-Ka. A-Ka thought for a long time and then asked, “In order for the emergency system to work, what conditions must be met?”

“When it is near the Nucleus of Astrolabe, it will issue orders to it. The Nucleus itself cannot think, it can only store energy, as well as carry out the order to terminate the world. The only passageway to it is under Father’s tower, and it has already been connected to Father by wires.”

A-Ka said, “We can try, but this emergency system…”

A-Ka suddenly thought of something, his breath hitched, and he asked, “Is it that chip? Who else knows about this?”

“The chip only has records of the adventurers’ research about these things, and it also has kept the password to enter the Nucleus,” said Heishi. “The old man you found in Steel City was one of the adventurers that went into the Ancient Core at the time.”

“Then why did you…” A-Ka remembered Heishi’s assassination operation.

“There are only four people who know these things,” said Heishi, “and they are you, me, the deceased General Libre and MacKasey. When Father found out about their plan, he sent out mechs to kill the first MacKasey. Then, they created another android of him and put him in Phoenix City to mobilize the troops, start a battle, and send tens of thousands of android soldiers to Steel City. Father would set traps before that, and then kill all of them.”

“But no one knows how General Libre discovered a problem,” said Heishi. “It is a pity that it is already too late. He only knew a few of the Nucleus’s secrets, but in the end, he still died.”

“Right now, I have killed the spy, MacKasey,” said Heishi. “Next, the rebel army will retake the higher levels of control in Phoenix City. If it is successful, then they will go find the emergency system. There is a fifty-percent chance that it will terminate Father and reboot Astrolabe.”

“What will happen if Astrolabe is rebooted?” asked A-Ka.

“The world’s environment will return to how it was during the Golden Age,” said Heishi. “It will release the ion energy, respawn the plants of the lands, and purify the world of the pollution you humans have created in these past several years. It will make the environment and climate suitable for the lives of every species. Do you think it is necessary?”

A-Ka had read about the world of the Golden Age before, and about how it was a vast, lush, green land.

“I’d like that type of world,” said A-Ka. “It’s just like an ecological area.”

“But a few thousand years later, or even just a few hundred,” said Heishi, “humans will destroy it again.”

“I won’t,” A-Ka said in a low voice, “but I can only represent myself.”

Heishi asked, “Do you really like it?”

“Of course,” said A-Ka in a hushed voice. “A world where the wind blows and the sun shines as everything grows. Don’t you like it?”

Heishi seemed to be contemplating it, and was silent. A-Ka said, “Thank you for trusting me.”

“I just did not want to drag you into these complicated matters,” Heishi said heavily.

A-Ka said, “I’m willing to, and I’m also willing to help you.”

Heishi said, “Actually, I do not intend to do this.”

 A-Ka smiled. “If you didn’t intend to do it, then you wouldn’t have come to Phoenix City.”

Heishi didn’t speak anymore, so A-Ka said, “I understand. See, isn’t it very nice like this? It’s about time you’ve told me some things.”

“Do not tell anyone else these things,” reminded Heishi in a quiet voice.

A-Ka knew that the seriousness of this matter would cause everyone to panic, especially the part where they hadn’t yet found the emergency system yet.

“No matter what,” murmured A-Ka, “there will always be hope.”

*****

Heishi finally arrived at the exit of the sewers. He pushed open the steel door, and the golden afterglow of the sunset spilled in. A-Ka was dumbfounded; the entire city seemed to have gone through a bombing, dense smoke rose everywhere, and several places had been reduced to rubble.

It was a scene of a difficult battle, and a desperate fight had unfolded between the androids and the humans in Phoenix City. A-Ka hadn’t realized that the scale of internal unrest was this shocking, nor did he know when it had started. Heishi, still carrying A-Ka on his back, walked towards the western subdivision of the city, where merchants were currently interrogating the human residents that went there.

*****

“What’s going on!” someone shouted loudly.

“Are they going to split up families?!” another merchant roared. “I’ve put up with those androids for too long! I’m going to go beat them to death now!”

The human survivors inside the barbed wire fence were all riled up, and it was only now that A-Ka found out just how deep the opposition between the androids and humans was. The gap between the two species was impossible to get rid of, and all of the people in the west district were shouting that they wanted to seize back their resources and chase the last android ruler, Admiral Angus, off his position of power.

“Who are you?” interrogated a merchant who was also a sentry that guarded the west district. 

Heishi, who was still carrying A-Ka on his back, said, “The pocket at my chest.”

A-Ka reached into Heishi’s pocket and pulled out a card. When that person glanced at it, he immediately said, “Quick, come in. It is too unsafe here!”

Heishi brought A-Ka into the neighborhood of the west district. Half of Phoenix City had already been occupied by humans. On the fifty-second floor, the Merchant Association had the door wide open, and quite a few people were going in and out, and Heishi brought A-Ka inside. Since A-Ka had come to Phoenix City, this was his first time setting foot in here.

Heishi put A-Ka down, let him sit, and went to find some medicine. Some people noticed him immediately, and several merchants crowded around him, asking this and that. Heishi gave A-Ka a shot of antibiotics and infection prevention vaccines, and then fed him a pill that would make his wound heal faster. He was about to carry him on his back again, but A-Ka said, “I can walk by myself.”

“Come with me.” Heishi led A-Ka into an elevator and went up three floors, entering a spacious conference room, and said, “You can rest here.”

A-Ka laid down in exhaustion. His lower abdomen throbbed with a bit of pain and was also a bit itchy. He could feel that it was gradually healing.

*****

Not long after, the sound of footsteps woke him up.

“Who is this kid?” A low, heavy voice asked, “Is he your companion?”

“Comrade in arms,” replied Heishi. “He is one of us.”

A-Ka opened his eyes and saw that quite a lot of people had come into the conference room. There was Heishi, a red-haired man he didn’t know, Huixiong, Shahuang, a man that was wearing a hat, and a woman that sat in a wheelchair.

“Your little brother is safe, so you don’t need to worry about him,” Shahuang said lazily.

Upon hearing about how Paixi was doing, A-Ka was able to set his heart at rest.

*****

“Allow me to introduce myself,” said Huixiong. “I am the chairman of Phoenix City’s Merchant Association.”

A-Ka was speechless.

Shahuang’s leg rocked as he propped his burnished riding boots onto the conference table. He said lazily, “I think this kid is already shocked.”

A-Ka said, “Aren’t… aren’t you the owner of a weapons shop?!”

“Being the owner of a weapons shop is his part-time job.” The woman smiled gently and explained, “Shahuang is our little trump card. He’s responsible for transferring intelligence and news about the android regime inside his shop. I’m the secretary, Lilith.”

The man wearing a hat took it off, revealing his bald head that was covered in scars. He said politely, “I’m the leader of the soldiers in the Merchant Association, Rang Marx.”

The red-haired man that was wearing a jacket was holding a silver gun, spun it around in his hands, and then placed it onto the conference table. He smiled. “Leader of the sharpshooters, Gerd.”

*****

On his way to Phoenix City, A-Ka had heard a lot about things related to the city, like rumors of the coexistence between the humans and androids. On the surface, the androids controlled all of the power, but in reality, the group of humans sneaked underground and conducted their business secretly. They were more cunning than the androids, and they also understood to conceal themselves.

In fact, after going through a few bloody battles against the mech army, at this time, there was only a little left of the humans. However, precisely because of that reason, the remaining ones were pretty much all elite. They appeared to reside in different corners of the city and be at ease with the current situation, but in reality, they were all soldiers, and could and would fight upon picking up weapons.

*****

“At present, the Merchant Association is us humans’ underground regime,” said Huixiong in a low voice. “All of the surviving humans in Phoenix City will accept and carry out our orders.”

Heishi said lightly, “I know you all. Feiluo told me to come here, and the first connection he introduced to me was Shahuang. You guys use a merchant system to cover up your role in the war between the androids and Father.”

“Yes,” said Huixiong, “but we are not familiar with the android officers, so I thought this was a good opportunity to understand each other. Since you are a human, then no matter when the faction of humans will stand behind you and staunchly support you.”

Lilith flipped open a notebook and said, “Feiluo told me that you are the Savior of humankind and that you have brought a secret here, and came requesting our help. Before we know of this secret, there is no way for anyone to expose it, which is why Shahuang accepted you. You shot the android commander of the rebel army, so I hope you can give us an appropriate explanation.”

“Right now, there’s no way to take care of the turmoil,” said Huixiong. “The android army has already surrounded the district. You have to prove that you really do have the ability to save us, or else we have no way of facing this chaotic situation, Savior.”

“I will prove it,” Heishi said coldly, “but not now. Did you find MacKasey’s chip?”

“It was taken away by an android that took advantage of the chaos.” The red-haired man smiled. “Without the chip, we have no way of proving Father was controlling him. So, you’re the killer that murdered General MacKasey.”

“That was another of my comrades in arms,” said Heishi. “His name is Feiluo. You should send people out to find him.”

Shahuang said, “You deceived us, so I thought that you would have some way to debunk MacKasey’s identity, but it turns out that this is your way?!”

Heishi said in a low voice, “Shooting MacKasey was the best way.”

Shahuang stood up angrily and grabbed Heishi’s shirt collar, roaring, “You put your little lover into my shop just so you could do that?!”

“Who are you calling lover?!” A-Ka was angry at once and poked Shahuang in the back of his head with the mechanical arm, saying, “I didn’t know Heishi would come back at all!”

Heishi said coldly, “Sit back down. Your wound has not healed yet.”

*****

A-Ka withdrew the mechanical arm and Shahuang laughed coldly. “You, kid, are really remarkable. You dare to use the mechanical devices in my shop against me. Did you want to start shooting?”

“Release him,” said A-Ka.

Shahuang loosened his hands angrily, letting Heishi’s collar go.

“Over a thousand people died because of your one shot.” The woman had a threatening tone in her voice, saying, “The situation is already impossible to control.”

“What should come will always come,” said the red-haired man, smiling. “Vice-chairman, this is something that no one expected. It’s not like if you don’t bring up the opposition between humans and androids, then it won’t exist.”

Huixiong said in a low voice, “Okay, stop arguing.”

When Huixiong spoke, it became silent inside the conference room. A-Ka suddenly asked, “Are you the chairman?”

“Yes,” Huixiong glanced at A-Ka and explained, “but that is not important. God’s Son, I want to hear your opinion.”

Huixiong had addressed Heishi strangely, with a title that A-Ka had never heard before, and he looked suspiciously at Heishi. Heishi was silent for a moment before saying, “Tell Angus to come here and talk.”

“And then what?” Shahuang said, “Do you think he would come?”

“Find Feiluo,” said Heishi, “and let Angus deal with the chip from MacKasey that Feiluo has.”

Huixiong said, “The situation has changed. We aren’t sure whether or not Angus is being controlled by Father. In case he’s also Father’s spy, or if he has MacKasey’s people near him…”

“Then you are finished, and you should arrange for your funeral as soon as possible, Chairman,” Heishi said casually. He stood up, picked up his overcoat, reached out a hand to A-Ka, and led him out of the conference room.

*****

In a lounge at the Merchant Association’s office, A-Ka and Heishi sat down on a bed. A-Ka fiddled with the chip that he had previously given to Heishi, looking at it closely. Heishi played with a dagger in his hand silently.

A-Ka gradually arrived at a conclusion as to why Heishi wanted Angus to come in person; that way, it would avoid any leakage of information. It was as if he had met a new Heishi. After all, ever since Heishi had saved him and gotten him out of Steel City, he had been extremely indifferent and barely spoke, nor did he ever mention his past to A-Ka.

Now, he was gradually beginning to remember it, and he also became more like a person: a living, thinking, planning person that would take the initiative to speak.

What exactly was he? Was he human? Or was he an artificial life form with intelligence that had been created in ancient times?

*****

“What are you looking at?” Heishi was baffled to discover that A-Ka was looking at him.

They were sitting side by side on the bed and had turned his head to look at Heishi. Heishi also turned around to look at A-Ka, so that their faces were very close to each other. At that moment, A-Ka sensed that Heishi seemed to be a bit uncomfortable.

“N… Nothing,” said A-Ka.

Heishi looked away and asked, “Do you know how to make a decoder?”

A-Ka remembered at once that before, he had been escaping, so he had had no equipment he could use and couldn’t read the contents of the chip. But now, he could. As long as he had a complete set of materials, he could quickly make a decoder to translate the chip.

“I can.” A-K said, “Let me go find materials.”

Heishi got up and went outside to call for someone. He brought A-Ka’s list of materials with him, and materials arrived soon after. A-Ka put on metal glasses for technicians and began to assemble a circuit board and some complicated mechanical devices. He first connected a coil of wire to the chip and deciphered the language that the chip used. After, without even lifting his head, he asked “Heishi, are you human?”

Heishi replied, “Concentrate when you are working.”

A-Ka pushed up his glasses and glanced at Heishi. He kept getting the feeling that, after they had separated that time, Heishi’s attitude towards him was a lot more gentle, and that he wouldn’t be fierce towards him anymore.

“I can multitask.” A-Ka looked at him, smiled, and said, “I’ve seen you bleed before. Your blood is red, so you’re a human.”

“Technically, yes,” said Heishi.

A-Ka asked, “How do you know these things? These things about the Nucleus, about the emergency system…”

“Because I am the risk eliminator that the Creators left here.”

A-Ka nearly shocked his finger with electricity. He said, “Wha… what?”

Heishi was still playing with his dagger, and he didn’t lift his head as he said, “Originally, my name was not ‘Heishi’. Heishi is the name of the laboratory that the adventurers who entered the Ancient Core before built.”

A-Ka said, “You… you remembered your past?”

“No.” Heishi casually said, “These memories are not in my mind. They were told to me by the records in the Ancient Core. After all, I cannot know what happened outside my sleeping pod when I was asleep.”

“Then what is your name?” asked A-Ka.

Heishi replied, “I do not have a name. You gave me the name of Heishi, so you can call me that. The person who created me told me to eliminate everything that resulted from things beyond the expected process, as well as changes that happened on the petri dish that could not have been predicted.”

A-Ka was astonished. “How long have you lived for?”

“A lot longer than you think.” Heishi said, “Every five-thousand years, I will wake up once and check whether or not the Ancient Core has been damaged.”

At this time, A-Ka had completely forgotten about the chip and was looking at Heishi, stunned.

“So that’s why your body is so strong,” said A-Ka. “Turns out you aren’t a human.”

“Not only that, but I also understand knowledge that you humans have no way of grasping in your entire lifetime. It is just when that group of human thieves entered the Ancient Core, they also took me out. After being cut off from the power source, a lot of my memories were damaged.”

A-Ka sighed and Heishi spoke again. “So, I spent nearly three months to piece together those fragmented memories. After being cut off from the power source, I almost died of exhaustion in the ocean.”

“Do you remember what the Creators look like?” A-Ka asked, “Why did they want to construct such a large laboratory, Astrolabe?”

“Concentrate on making your decoder,” said Heishi indifferently.

A-Ka could only lower his head and compare a decoding dictionary with the symbols on the screen to analyze them. This time, he finally completely understood why Heishi was so strong. It turned out his capabilities surpassed that by far…

“So you’re saying,” said A-Ka, in the most relaxed manner he could muster, “that that emergency system needs you to turn it on.”

Heishi didn’t reply.

“Is this mission life-threatening?” A-Ka suddenly asked.

Heishi pricked his hand with the dagger, and a little blood flowed out. A-Ka was startled and was about to get up to take a look at it, yet Heishi’s hand had already healed. A-Ka pulled his finger towards him and stroked it, and then lifted his eyes to meet his gaze.

Heishi’s eyebrow creased. “Is that very important to you?”

A-Ka went back to his spot and sat down, assembling his chip reader.

If Heishi died, then Father would be destroyed, and humans and androids would then be able to obtain a glorious home. Would he be willing to let Heishi go die? What if it was he, A-Ka, who had to die instead? A-Ka began to decipher the chip as he mused over these questions.

“What are the specifics of the process of operating it?” A-Ka couldn’t help but ask.

“I am only responsible for monitoring it. I am not responsible for turning it on,” said Heishi. “You guessed wrong. Turning on the emergency system has nothing to do with me.”

It was only then that A-Ka loosened the breath he didn’t know he was holding, nodded, and looked into Heishi’s eyes.

“Then… when Father is eliminated,” A-Ka smiled and said, “will you continue to sleep? Or will you live as a human?”

Heishi said, “The laboratory has already been destroyed, and my sleeping pod was thrown away by you. How can I sleep?”

A-Ka laughed and said, “Thank you.”

Heishi was confused.

A-Ka said, “Thank you for helping us do all of this. If the mission is completed, then we can live together. You can sleep in my bed.”

Heishi said dully, “I still have not planned that far, I have only planned to give the chip to Angus.”

“You will.” A-Ka smiled. “You like humans, and you don’t like the mech army. I know that, in your heart, you are willing to help us.”

“When you go to turn on the emergency system, can I go with you?” asked A-Ka.

Heishi said without even thinking about it, “You cannot.”

A-Ka said, “I can be of use.”

Heishi said coldly, “That place is underground and under Father. I cannot bring you. What can you do?”

A-Ka said stubbornly, “You’ll see when the time comes.”

Heishi humphed and didn’t say anything else to A-Ka.

*****

Now, A-Ka could truly feel relieved. As he finished assembling the decoder, he discovered that he indeed had obtained a special ability: his eyes could see the structure of all mechanical devices. It was as if his perception and touch of objects that weren’t alive could spread at will. This made it so that as long as he disassembled something once, he could assemble practically any machine.

He inserted the chip into the decoder’s chip slot, and a person’s figure appeared on a three-dimensional holographic projection. It was an old man; to be specific, it was the one they had bumped into the underground, the dying Doctor Kalan.

The noise was static, and his image was very blurry. Kalan opened his mouth and said, “Commander of the android army, my offspring…”

A-Ka tensed up at once. Heishi got up and went to close the door, then stood with A-Ka in front of the table, watching the projection.

“You haven’t seen this before either?” whispered A-Ka.

Heishi shook his head extremely slowly.

The sound of the crackle of electricity continued.

“…I am your father, Kalan…”

Heishi said, “He is one of the four adventurers that entered the Ancient Core at the time.”

“I trust that you have already received my previous message and sent out armies to destroy the man-made god ¹. My life is already nearing its end, so I will soon be unable to assist you all…”

“…No matter which commander it is, please remember what I am about to say.”

“In the first blueprints to design androids, I have left behind a controllable mechanism in your brains. There is a place that preserves an implanted chip. Father has used that by transmitting electrical waves to switch them on. At first, you might not notice the existence of the chip, as electrical waves will drastically enhance the effects of the control on it…”

A-K said, “Oh no…”

Heishi signaled for him to stop talking.

A series of diagrams of body structure appeared on the holographic projection, and in them, they began to analyze the androids’ weaknesses. Doctor Kalan said, “You must be careful, for Father has hidden spies among the androids. Humans are always your allies, as they are not affected by Father at all. After receiving this information, please ask humans for help.”

“The location of Astrolabe’s Nucleus is directly below Father, and through the flow of pure energy, it can affect the entire world. These past several years, Father’s data tubes have been stretching towards the Nucleus continuously. In less than a hundred days, Father will complete the entire process of connecting itself to the Nucleus.”

“…Then, it will control the world of Astrolabe forever.”

“…Go search for the Son of the Gods ². He has lived for ten thousand years, and every five thousand years, he will wake up once. This is God’s Son’s primary fate: when he wakes up, he is to confront the collapse of the world of Astrolabe. He will save every living being of the world…”