Chapter 117

Episode 117. The Sixth Supernatural War (5)

***

The Support Department Head rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept a wink. Well, someone who gets motion sickness just from riding a bus had been staring at the dawn sea for hours.

On top of that, the Foundation staff wouldn’t even let him take motion sickness pills, claiming they could affect his mind.

These lunatics. They’re out here popping drugs, weed, or DMT to work, but I can’t even take a motion sickness pill? Sure, taking two or three might make you hallucinate, but still, it’s unfair.

“Well, it’s because you’re the highest-ranking official on-site until the Director returns. According to Foundation protocol,” said Dr. Kim.

“Do you think these people will listen to me? The bureaucrats, the captain… They probably don’t even know who I am. They won’t follow orders unless it’s from the Director.”

Bang!

While we were pointlessly bickering, an orange flare shot up from the sea. The Support Department Head fumbled through his bag and pulled out a megaphone.

“Special Forces, surface! Prepare for retrieval!”

The ship’s speakers blared with sirens. The medical team waiting on the Pine Man Ship moved to the deck to receive the Special Forces, and the rest of the crew also headed to their positions.

Where are they coming up from?

The crew scanned the sea with flashlights. The Director and five Special Forces members were approaching the ship, their heads bobbing above the water.

“They’re coming this way!”

“Lower the rubber boat!”

At least the Director and everyone made it back alive. The Support Department Head let out a sigh of relief.

“Is the Director really coming?”

“Confirmed, the Director has returned!”

***

The night sea was cold.

As soon as I stepped onto the deck of the Pine Man Ship, the medical team swarmed me with towels and blankets. Sirens blared from all directions, deafeningly loud.

“Do you have combat records?”

“The Director has arrived. Medical team!”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“What’s today’s date?”

“Let’s check your temperature.”

“We need to check for air embolisms!”

“Blankets! Bring all the blankets!”

“Uh… it’s not that bad.”

At least give me time to put down my gear. I tossed off my helmet and handed my bag, flippers, and oxygen tank to the people around me.

Only then could I wrap myself in blankets. I draped five blankets over myself and walked over to the Support Department Head. Somehow, he looked more haggard than me, even though I’d been swimming for six hours.

“Department Head, what’s the situation?”

“Just waiting for the Director’s return. Nothing unusual.”

“Any protests or apologies from the consulate?”

“There’s no evidence the Chinese government was behind this. Even if it were the PLA, the consulate wouldn’t respond. They’d deny everything outright.”

“Ah, I see. Let me know if anything comes through unofficial channels.”

The medical team was still swarming around me, but they weren’t listening. Something about my temperature, injuries, or decompression sickness.

I’ll deal with it later.

***

I originally planned to lie down somewhere inside the ship, but… there were too many people.

If I stayed inside, I’d start thinking about the hellish deep-sea labyrinth I’d just escaped from.

So I ended up back on the deck.

The sky was dark. Moonlight barely peeked through, but it was practically nonexistent. The stars were bright enough to see the Milky Way, though some clouds lingered.

[You went back to the deep sea?]

“Yes.”

The Crystal Clock ticked.

“Well, not exactly deep sea. The depth here is only about 100 meters. If it weren’t for the clouds and the time of day, sunlight would’ve reached us.”

[Still, the sea is the sea.]

“Do you know about World War II? Who did the Foundation fight, and why?”

[I don’t know. Most of the related history has been censored, but I think they fought a civil war to purge totalitarian elements within the Foundation.]

“Wouldn’t that mean killing everyone?”

[There are degrees to it.]

I pondered for a moment.

“Even so, if they mobilized supernatural phenomena on such a large scale for war, shouldn’t the world have been destroyed? How did they control that information?”

[I don’t know.]

Not a very helpful answer.

[It might’ve been erased slowly over decades. Or, if the Foundation really wanted to, they could’ve rewritten history or altered humanity’s collective unconscious.]

“I looked into some records. The Surcouf-class Submarine Cruisers were all reported missing during World War II, according to both the Foundation and historical records.”

[That’s not true, is it?]

“No. Just today, I saw a wreck that’s believed to have sunk in the 1950s. Probably during the Korean War.”

The Crystal Clock fell silent for a moment.

[So, what was inside the isolation room?]

“Just a box.”

I didn’t get to see what was inside. It was stored like a dangerous item, but given that the Foundation went through the trouble of preserving and transporting it, it’s probably not ordinary.

“I didn’t open it because it seemed risky. There were special ammunition in the ship’s turret magazine. Some kind of Information Erosion Ammunition.”

[…]

“It’s believed to be a weapon that erases the memory of its impact from the world. Sounds horrifying, doesn’t it?”

Whatever’s inside that box is probably even more dangerous. I had no choice but to bring it back, but opening it should wait until we’re in a safe environment. Probably?

[You’re not going to open it yourself, are you?]

“What’s the point of having subordinates if I don’t delegate? I deliberately didn’t open it and brought it all the way here.”

***

Meanwhile, inside the Pine Man Ship’s temporary research lab, scientists in protective suits were staring at the mysterious box. The heart of the Surcouf Submarine Cruiser.

The Support Department Head leaned against the lab door, arms crossed. Now that the Director was back, there was no need to guard the deck.

He had considered joining the research, but…

“Lead Researcher Dr. Kim, we’re starting the research.”

“……”

The other researchers kept their distance. Who knows what might come out of the box? Opening it could mean instant death.

“Uh… let’s check what we can first. Radiation and reality distortion levels are normal, right?”

“They were normal.”

“Let’s open it. It can’t be worse than death.”

It was meant to lighten the mood, but there are plenty of things worse than death.

Like paralysis, brain damage, or, given this is the Foundation, supernatural misfortunes like having your soul sealed away.

Click. The iron box opened with the sound of clockwork mechanisms. Despite years underwater, the inside of the box was dry.

The researchers and the Support Department Head peered over Dr. Kim’s shoulder. Dr. Kim wasn’t dead.

“What is it?”

“……”

An eyeball. A massive eyeball the size of an orange. It wasn’t made of organic tissue but of intricate clockwork mechanisms.

A camera-like iris, hydraulic systems forming the pupil, and multiple glass plates creating the lens. A faint ticking sound came from within the artifact.

“What is this thing?”

Dr. Kim turned his gaze.

“Department Head, use your brain. Am I some kind of sage? If I hold an artifact forgotten for over 70 years, am I suddenly going to be filled with the wisdom of the ancients? I don’t know. I don’t know, okay? I’m seeing this for the first time.”

“……”

A moment later, Dr. Kim removed his protective helmet.

“The basic premise of the Clockwork Device cult is that the god of a materialistic, mechanistic universe literally manifests as a ‘machine.’ It’s ironic in many ways.”

“Right.”

“I think this is an artifact of the Clockwork Devices. Maybe even a fragment of their god or an angel.”

The Support Department Head chuckled.

“Wow. You can answer so eloquently, yet you claim you don’t know anything.”

He took the artifact.

As the Support Department Head looked into the artifact’s pupil, the clockwork eyeball adjusted its focus, its iris contracting.

“It’s alive?”

“Seems like it.”

Dr. Kim scratched his head.

“Oh, right. We analyzed the equipment used by the enemy divers. It wasn’t PLA special forces gear.”

“Really?”

“It was Western-made equipment. Just had Chinese instructions.”

“……”

“We’ll need to closely examine the sales records and manufacturing dates, but it doesn’t seem like we can pinpoint who was here based on this.”

The Support Department Head nodded.

“Let’s ask the Foundation Headquarters. With a little thought, we can figure out where the salvage ship departed from and where it returned.”

The sea is vast, but sound waves can travel tens of thousands of kilometers. With the day’s acoustic records, tracking one ship should be possible. For the Foundation Headquarters, at least.