Chapter 43

Episode 43. Recommendation for Disposal of Humanoid Supernatural Phenomenon (3)

***

Of course, the Foundation is a prison.

Something to think about… The guards who have protected this prison for hundreds of years are gradually becoming indistinguishable from the prisoners they manage.

The Foundation’s leadership is monitoring their employees more closely than the supernatural phenomena they are meant to manage.

Within the walls of this building, there are numerous supernatural phenomena. There are many peculiar humans.

Some are confined in isolation rooms, some in offices, some in barracks. But in the end, they are all under the Foundation’s control.

The Research Department Head is now under my command.

There are no second chances. The employees of the Research Department must understand what it means for the Department Head to have been taken to the isolation room and returned.

As long as Lee Se-ah sits in the Research Department Head’s seat, no one in the Research Department can act uncooperatively toward me. It’s a bit ironic, though.

***

There is still much unfinished business. I looked at Kairos sitting beyond the isolation room. Beside me stood Nanami and Bishop Oh.

“Mr. Kairos.”

“Hello, Director Kim.”

“Do you know why I’ve come?”

Kairos shook his head.

Well, even if he knew, he’d probably play dumb first. Unless he’s a fool.

“Tens of thousands died in a terrorist attack by hostile groups. Mr. Kairos and your affiliated group are among the prime suspects.”

Shock.

“What?”

“Of course, I know that’s not the case. But you need to tell me everything you know right now.”

Kairos sighed.

“What do you want to know?”

“Mr. Kairos, do you know anything about the process of summoning divine entities?”

“The Temple of Knowledge contains records of most knowledge known to humanity. Even extreme and occult practices like summoning divine entities are no exception… But summoning beings usually goes against our methods and principles.”

Perhaps he’s implying there’s another reason.

“So, do you know anything or not?”

“Yes. Only a few divine entities can be summoned, and each requires a different method. I only know that it’s possible.”

I noted Kairos’s words in my notebook.

Multiple cameras are recording this situation from all angles, but electronic devices are more vulnerable to cognitive disasters than paper.

“I’ll ask a few more things. Is the Mahogany Door a passageway to the Temple of Knowledge?”

“I’m not sure what that is.”

“It’s a door hidden in the library of the Forgotten City. It seems to have been created as a supernatural phenomenon using a real library as a medium.”

Kairos pondered a bit more this time.

“The Temple of Knowledge is not a place just anyone can enter. It would be best to give up.”

I haven’t mentioned or hinted at any plans.

“Give up on what?”

“The garden, other subspaces… I’ve seen it many times. Doesn’t the Foundation want to mobilize an army to occupy subspaces?”

I shook my head.

“I apologize if that sounded rude.”

“If the followers of the Temple of Knowledge were inside the Forgotten City, they would have been there to help civilians or preserve knowledge.”

I wish that were true.

But the likelihood is low. It would mean the followers knew about this situation in advance and didn’t inform the government or the Foundation.

I closed my notebook.

“Let’s stop here for today, Mr. Kairos. Is there anything you need or find uncomfortable?”

“Where is Miss Cosmos?”

I tucked my pen into my coat pocket.

“Don’t worry. Miss Cosmos will be brought here this afternoon. But… I hope you’ll be more cooperative next time we meet.”

Kairos nodded.

***

I plopped down into my office chair.

Kairos and his affiliated group didn’t cause this problem. That’s the conclusion I’ve reached.

Then, who did? I went through the list of supernatural phenomena recovered from the Forgotten City again. There must be an answer.

The Mahogany Door recovered from the library.

Several Black Altars.

A strange bag stained with divine blood.

Numerous corpses of humanoid supernatural phenomena.

Corpses?

This might be a clue.

Most of the corpses found at the Forgotten City site were incinerated. But some with research value were frozen and stored.

When in doubt, summon the Crystal Clock.

I pulled the Crystal Clock from my pocket.

“Doctor. Does the Foundation have any research methods, like psychometry, to see the past of an object?”

[I don’t know. But back when I worked, I never heard of such a thing at Facility 82.]

“I see…”

[It’s been five years since I worked there. The Foundation might have something new. But if you don’t know about it, it probably doesn’t exist.]

“What about external experts?”

[External experts? Humanoid supernatural phenomena outside the Foundation probably won’t help you. They’ve been hunted by the Foundation their whole lives.]

“You know, mediums, tarot readers, shamans.”

The Crystal Clock ticked.

[Humans not worth isolating? They’re probably useless. Though they might be under surveillance.]

“Gathering them might yield some results.”

[So your plan is to gather shamans and use psychometry to uncover the past of dead supernatural humans?]

“That’s the idea.”

[That’s foolish.]

Psychometry.

It’s generally the ability to perceive information about an object or person through touch.

But the fact that the Foundation doesn’t use it suggests it’s not highly regarded.

Though the results from the Precognition and Remote Viewing Departments aren’t always meaningful either.

[By the way, there’s something important you still don’t know about hostile groups.]

“What is it?”

[The most important hostile group, and the Foundation’s greatest enemy. The ‘Colorless Orchestra.’]

The Colorless Orchestra.

Where have I heard that before?

The Black Orchestra was a spy group resisting the Nazi regime, the Red Orchestra was a communist organization resisting the Nazis…

The Colorless Orchestra must be a group resisting the Foundation’s activities. Whatever the reason.

[This is my opinion. If there’s no one else to blame among the hostile groups, it’s probably them.]

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

I’ve been studying hostile groups almost every day since the museum incident.

The idea that a group exists to kill as many people as possible, using humans as materials to drive others insane, kept me awake at night.

But nowhere in the documents I could access without authorization was there any mention of an orchestra. Maybe information about them is classified?

[Most things about them are classified. There are even conspiracy theories within the Foundation about their existence.]

I blinked. The Foundation’s existence itself is a conspiracy theory to most people. This is a conspiracy within a conspiracy within a conspiracy.

[Some say it’s a lie fabricated by the Foundation’s upper echelons for purges, others say it’s a kind of outsourcing agency for tasks too problematic for the upper echelons to handle directly.]

That’s plausible.

The Foundation strives to maintain minimal ethical standards, but it’s not always possible to uphold ethics and protect humanity.

[Some say they’re hypothetical enemies for training scenarios, others say they’re scapegoats when there’s no one else to blame.]

I sighed.

“Doctor Lee, why do mysteries never get solved? It’s like peeling an onion made of onions. No matter how much you peel, you never reach a conclusion.”

[Remember the veil of ignorance the Foundation has cast over the world? The Foundation always prepares at least three solutions. There are probably at least two veils of ignorance to blind the employees.]

“Alright, I get it.”

An unfalsifiable proposition is unscientific.

It wasn’t a satisfying explanation. We failed to find an explanation and ended up blaming a group we know nothing about.

A clue will come.

***

[Remote Viewing Results]

[Author: Remote Viewing Department]

[Pain. Oblivion. Death.]

[Immortal reptiles. Omnipotent spiders. Dark slaughterers. Guardians of the garden. Black gods. Black altars. King of Darkness. They are the rulers of reality. They are fragments of omnipotence, they are the arbiters of providence.]

[There are too many gods in the world. Too many helmsmen on the ship of providence. We must cull them with human hands.]

[The Infinite Library, the Temple of Truth.]

[Virgin birth.]

[To prevent them from controlling reality, we must cull the gods. They are parasites. No matter the cost, we must exterminate all pests.]

[The world beyond the mirror.]

[Rebellion against those who control providence.]

[We are you. We are merely doing what you want to do but don’t want to take responsibility for. Don’t deceive yourselves.]

[The godslayers of the ivory tower.]

[The followers of truth who have lost their faces and pasts.]

[The followers of truth staring at shattered mirrors.]

[The knights of enlightenment who have forgotten themselves.]

[Are you not seeing this?]

***

[Remote Viewing Results. Reply.]

[Author: Kim Bari]

[Um. I get it… I know remote viewing is difficult. But this is completely incomprehensible.]

[Don’t just write down whatever comes to mind. Analyze who wrote it and what these phrases might mean, then bring it back.]

[Also. I’m considering replenishing the precognition team through new hires. New hires will be coordinated with the HR team.]