When faced with an unbelievable reality, the first thought that came to mind was disbelief. It couldn’t be. There’s no way. It was just my speculation after all.
But no matter how much I tried to deny it in my head, the answer derived from countless pieces of information I had gathered up until now did not disappear.
How could Luche speculate that the hyper-humans might have died? Even without knowing that experiments were being conducted on children who hadn’t gone through secondary sexual characteristics, she could still speculate about the disappearance of the hyper-humans.
The results that followed the information right before my eyes were within a plausible range for deduction. Therefore, Luche, thinking that I was investigating the hyper-humans due to problems related to the HunterKiller mission, would have completely left this investigation to me.
That’s why Luche could only speculate now that the hyper-humans might have died.
But what was most important was not that Luche speculated that the hyper-humans might have died, but that we both thought of it at the same time. The moment our thoughts aligned, it became impossible to deny my own thoughts.
It felt like believing that an accident in front of my eyes never happened.
“Impossible, there’s no way. So many people…”
Forcing out words of denial, I turned my gaze from Luche to the monitor.
Yes, speculating that the hyper-humans might have died was just a speculation. There was no clear information yet, and it was merely a conclusion based on the information up until now.
“Right? No matter what, it can’t be that so many people died.”
Death is an inevitable part of life for living beings. Life is finite and has an end. Death is also a natural part of human existence.
I have lived for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean I can avoid death. The same goes for those around me. Everyone is bound to face death eventually.
If the hyper-humans died, then their death would be completely different from a normal death. That the hyper-humans were created entities is common knowledge.
The fact that the hyper-humans, created through experiments, died implies that there was a problem with those experiments. If they continued to create hyper-humans despite knowing about these issues for 20 years, it would amount to murder.
I’ve seen countless times the image of planet inhabitants facing extinction as their planets were invaded. But this extreme behavior was something I encountered for the first time with Earth… No, the more I think about it, the more the conclusion seems to be that the hyper-humans have died.
For example, let’s consider this: just as life has a limited duration, perhaps the power of the hyper-humans is also limited and constantly depletes. And over time, the person who was originally a hyper-human loses that power.
And eventually, they return to being ordinary humans. This explains why they were discovered three years after the appearance of the hyper-humans and why the rotation of the hyper-humans continues to this day.
“…”
Even to myself, the idea seemed absurd. The story didn’t add up. First, there was no information about the replaced hyper-humans anywhere. Could it be missing from the database?
There’s no way. The Spacystro server database contains almost all information about events on Earth over the past 20 years. Although classified information is protected by a higher system than the database, it’s impossible that information about humans losing their hyper-human powers wouldn’t be in the database.
“Ah?”
Luche called out worriedly, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to the headache.
“!”
“Why are you like this? Are you okay?”
At the short sound from my mouth, Luche stood up from her chair and looked at me.
“Yes, I’m fine. My head hurts a bit.”
I gestured for her to sit down again and raised my face, which was covered in cold sweat. My eyes turned to the news article on the monitor.
Suddenly, I thought of Indigo. Did he know about this? Whether it was death or the loss of power, the hyper-humans have an end. Could that be why he’s acting so recklessly?
His actions are unforgivable and incomprehensible, but his behavior might be worth considering given the current situation. Perhaps something related to this is what made Indigo the way he is.
“…What happened to the hyper-humans?”
“What if… What if the power of the hyper-humans is consumable, and the Earthlings found a way to suppress that consumption or prolong their power?”
“If we knew how the power of the hyper-humans is generated, we could understand that too, right?”
The power of the hyper-humans. Despite having significantly inferior technology compared to Spacystro, Earth managed to create a new breed of humans capable of prolonged combat experience and training, enough to defeat Spacystro in physical combat.
This power remains a mystery even after 20 years, with no clues as to its source.
To truly understand the fundamental aspects of the hyper-humans, information about their power is essential.
‘Is it worth checking somehow?’
The only thing I can do now is ask the five girlfriends about the power of the hyper-humans. Since Yubini is keeping it a secret, I can only ask four of them, but even asking four might be sufficient. However, the key is how to bring up the topic.
After starting our relationship, I tried to avoid talking about the hyper-humans. Not only because of the stress it causes them, but also because I feared that saying the wrong thing might expose my identity.
Bringing up the topic again isn’t easy either. They were experimented on, some even before secondary sexual characteristics, since childhood. Just a moment…
If it was confirmed that the power of the hyper-humans is limited, and experiments were done on children before secondary sexual characteristics to minimize genetic impact, then…
It’s not entirely implausible. For instance, the HunterKiller members have had their hyper-human powers for over 15 years. They might have discovered this early on during the initial experiments, assuming that a typical adult has a three-year limit. This would align with the data if we start from that point.
Three years later, the first replacement of hyper-humans began, and periodically continued until the children who underwent experiments before secondary sexual characteristics grew up and were deployed.
While the current activities of replaced hyper-humans haven’t been discovered, if my theory is correct, it explains why experiments were conducted on young children. It suggests that the ultimate fate of the hyper-humans is not death.
The HunterKiller members might be able to return to normal humans instead of dying.
In that case, the information to be obtained is related to genetic experiments. Such information cannot be found in the Spacystro database, but Spacystro has been conducting genetic experiments for a long time, leading to the creation of biroids.
Spacystro was highly involved in genetic experiments, to the extent that only scientists specialized in various experiments existed for specific fleets. Given the need for genetic information when invading multiple planets, such experiments naturally occurred, and the existence of genetic experiments was something to be grateful for.
I searched the database for “genetic experiments” and “biroids,” and Luche watched me intently. Upon seeing the search results on the monitor, she sighed.
“Damn.”
An expletive slipped out involuntarily. The search results were nonexistent.
The general server database currently used by various soldiers and officers stores data from Earth over the past 20 years. To find earlier information, one would need to access the servers at the fleet command center.
With a hand on my forehead, I concluded that returning to the spaceship was necessary.
“Why?”
“I wanted to look into some experimental details.”
“It would be extremely difficult without knowing the experimental structure of the hyper-humans.”
Luche is right. Going to the command center and accessing the server won’t help much if we don’t know the experimental structure of the hyper-humans. Investigating such vast information could exhaust anyone before completion.
Luche, unaware that the Earth Defense Union conducted experiments on children before secondary sexual characteristics, wouldn’t assume that I know anything about the hyper-human experiments.
“Just trying in case.”
“Got it.”
Luche accepted my vague explanation.
Spacystro must have conducted experiments on children as part of their genetic experiments. Given Spacystro’s long history, it’s unlikely they didn’t conduct such experiments.
However, to confirm this and obtain reliable information, Luche needs to see proof that the Earth Defense Union conducted experiments on children.
But if she sees the evidence, she will undoubtedly ask about the source, and I have no plausible excuse. Reporting the truth would inevitably lead to negative consequences for the HunterKiller members in the future.
Maybe I’m overthinking this. Perhaps a simple report could grant permission to access the ship’s command center server, allowing quick retrieval of information.
…I was frustrated with my indecision and uncertain actions. My fist clenched and hit my head.
“Why are you like this?!”
Next to me, Luche was startled, but I didn’t hear her voice as I repeatedly hit my head in frustration.
“Don’t do that. Why are you upset? Is it your body?”
Luche held my hand, looking at me with concern. Only then did I regain my composure and lean against the chair, sighing deeply while looking at the ceiling.
“It’s because of a headache.”
“Do you want me to get you some medicine?”
“No, I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”
Smiling as if it wasn’t a big deal, I spoke, but Luche still looked worried.
“If you’re in pain, go rest inside. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“You don’t have to worry too much. I usually work hard, so I should.”
There’s no time for rest now. After feeling the shock of the answer that the hyper-humans died, the possibility that their power simply vanished offered a slight hope, necessitating further investigation.
“I’ll continue the investigation and then head home.”
“…Alright.”
I wanted to reassure her, but Luche was still concerned. She observed me as I fixed my gaze on the monitor and then returned to her office.
Back in her office, Luche leaned against the wall and sighed as soon as she closed the door.
Luche, the team leader of Team 3, heard the most frequent phrase from Team Leader Siera of Team 4: “Don’t make A do anything.” Although she answered that their relationship wasn’t very good when asked, she understood the intention behind Siera’s words.
Thus, Luche assigned small tasks to A while she was team leader and recently gave her the mission to monitor the HunterKiller members.
Although Luche entrusted the monitoring mission to A, she never expected to gain any significant information from it.
Monitoring from a distance and gathering information is not easy, especially with limited surveillance time and the meticulous nature of the HunterKiller members, making it obvious that the mission would take a long time.
Luche thought it would take a long time for A to find nothing significant, but unexpectedly, A started finding something quickly.
She couldn’t tell what A was searching for, nor could she figure out how to stop her effectively.
Today, as usual, A was hunched over her desk, and I intended to tell her to stop the hyper-human monitoring mission, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it, seeing her determined gaze on the monitor.
Though Luche agreed with Siera’s directive to not let A do anything, she also knew that A worked with great enthusiasm whenever she had a task.
Staring blankly into space, Luche tore herself away from her expectations and walked to her desk, sitting down. The image of A diligently checking various documents outside flashed in her mind.
When she regained her senses, she noticed her reflection on the dark monitor. Anyone could see the worry on her face.
“This worried expression… I’ve been beside you with this face.”
A felt particularly comforting when speaking gently, and anyone would feel the same if someone sat beside them with such a worried expression.
Straightening her slightly disheveled dark gray hair, she turned on the monitor to find a way to handle the situation. The screen lit up, but the image of A working despite her aching body brought her to a halt.
“Ah!”
She groaned in frustration, ruffling her neatly arranged hair with her hand and leaning back in her chair.
Her hand finally reached for the drawer, where she pulled out an old notebook.
As she flipped through the pages, an old photo appeared. In the photo, A, looking uncomfortable and holding a V sign with her hand, stood next to a girl with black shoulder-length hair, smiling brightly as she also held a V sign.
“…Senior, what should I do?”
Speaking to herself as she looked at the two people in the photo, Luche leaned back in her chair and sighed.
