Rust - Chapter 950



Only Krnovel

RUST -950

The Garden of Death, which rises through a hole that was opened a while later.

Death, which had eaten all the ants in the wide cavity, spread out in all directions and even went back to the hole it had first entered.

“Up to there.”

The garden made of vines and grass rippled like waves, wanting more death, more life, but Maru did not allow it.

“stop.”

Shake shake.

Jangle jangle.

The wave of death created by the vines, blades of grass, and shadow mice gradually disappeared into black particles. As the pseudo-EMP effect disappeared, the drone that had been waiting for a long time quickly approached.

It was a somewhat brazen drone maneuver.

[Already finished? There’s only one left around here. I guess the ant bitches are scared.]

The operator went somewhere and Kim Yang’s voice was heard.

[Uh- I kept trying to induce conversation with the pheromone device, but the ants’ reactions were strange.]

The sound of a nurse speaking next to me.

“Change the nurse. What’s wrong with it?”

[Eh- Also- The pheromone function is broken? It’s like it’s fixed? Other pheromones aren’t coming out.]

“What does that mean?”

[If they get hurt or die, pheromones should be released and the ants around the injured or dead ants should react, but there is no such thing. And if they are hungry, they should exchange nutrients with pheromones, but there is no such thing.]

It was definitely an abnormal phenomenon. They should have responded to the bombing, including nuclear grenades and tactical nuclear weapons, but they didn’t respond and were just getting beaten up on the spot.

The surviving ants had to run away in all directions, but the ants at the edge of the circular explosion trace just stayed there.

“Since when?”

[Eh- Oh? Now that I think about it, it’s the same after chasing the fleeing ant.]

[The ant bitches are playing with pheromones. It’s clear that they’re using it like medicine.]

The story goes that when Maru started chasing and blowing up the ant colony, the ants he sent out did not return.

It was strange.

Just let them die without attacking them actively like the first time.

[It seems like it’s been like this since the Supreme Dignity appeared.]

[I think so.]

Typically, when colonies start fighting, they fight until one of them is destroyed. After mutations occur, they seem to adjust, but not all colonies are like that.

For example, the ant kingdom that had taken refuge in the Divine Kingdom was also like that. They did not attack the Divine Kingdom, but if there was a conflict with a nearby ant colony, they did not hesitate to go to war.

Most of the queen ants in the small ant kingdom came from fallen ant empires, so it was not impossible for them to communicate with each other, but there were times when they fought to the end.

The more similar the difference in power and military power, the more intense the fight. In a human nation, the more similar the difference in power, the more likely it is to avoid fighting. But ants were different.

“You’re going to gather them all together and try it once, but it doesn’t seem to work. Are you going to end it by controlling the population?”

[Huh- These are some bitches whose hearts are so transparent.]

The problem is that Maru started to move contrary to the ants’ expectations. When the surviving ants ran away, he started to chase them and destroy the ant colony.

[Hmph – You fucking idiots. You may have started it, but didn’t you know I’ll be the one finishing it?]

[Ah- Also- Isn’t that why he offered such a generous sacrifice? He made him die on the spot to show that he really had no intention of fighting until the end.]

Considering that the pheromone command was fixed and he died on the spot, it was possible that it was as the nurse suggested.

“It didn’t matter whether it was because of population control or because they had no intention of ending things with us.”

Maru had no intention of leaving the ants in northern Canada alone. Who gets to poke at them as they please and who gets to throw a sacrifice and end it all?

Would it have been the same even if the wing attack had been effective? Would it have been the same even if Maru’s death had not been enough to push back hundreds of thousands of units in an instant?

Maru didn’t care about the ants’ reactions.

“Where to next?”

[There is only one colony left after chasing the ants that ran away in the beginning. We have to find the rest ourselves, so we have sent out a search party of crows.]

The drone began to lead the way.

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Empire. Provisional capital Boston. There was a lot of shouting in the Congress.

“How long will Boston remain the temporary capital?”

“For the future of the empire, we must establish Boston as our capital and develop a development plan centered around Boston.”

“We need to rebuild New York City, which is adjacent to the maritime city.”

“Yes, rebuilding New York will be a rebuilding of the symbol of the United States and a history that shows that the empire will not give up.”

The political landscape of the empire was complex, but broadly speaking, there were two opposing factions: one centered around Chancellor Dan Brown, made up of a small group of Homeland Security officials, police officers, and the military, and the other comprised of a large group of established businessmen, politicians, influential families, journalists, and the military.

“Let’s take a vote.”

“Are you saying we should vote on this when there are so many people from New York?”

“You’re voting after the outcome has already been decided? That’s the tyranny of the majority.”

“What is democracy? Isn’t it majority rule? Are you saying that you are denying the principle of majority rule?”

“Let’s talk sense. How is this different from voting with the outcome already decided?”

“Is politics by the majority and politics for the majority wrong?”

“Isn’t that what you’re saying? I’m talking about the budget to rebuild New York from ruins.”

“Don’t you think that the construction industry will be revitalized through the reconstruction project? Don’t you think that it will lower the unemployment rate and get the economy going?”

“Is it a problem to revive the construction industry now? When it is not enough to foster future industries centered around Boston, you are trying to revive the construction industry by rebuilding New York? Are you serious?”

“The industries that New York used to be a part of are gone. Realistically, what else is there for people who used to work in New York to do?”

Most of them were working in finance, distribution, and service industries. Let’s create future industries in Boston? Sounds good, but what about the people who lived in New York?

How much room will there be for New York refugees in Boston’s new businesses?

Will more than ten million people be needed in future industries?

The Holy Kingdom is turning to AI, and the Empire is also pushing forward with plans to have AI replace most white-collar jobs?

Shouldn’t we provide a way for over 10 million citizens to make a living? The most realistic industry among them was the construction industry.

The reconstruction of New York and the development of Boston collided.

The problem of making a living in future industries and reality has collided.

Those with stable housing and jobs and those who lost their jobs and homes and became refugees were at odds.

And the ones with the largest numbers were New York refugees.

The outcome of the election is a foregone conclusion.

Bostonians thought their future was being ruined by elections and voting.

New York refugees claimed that they were being denied immediate opportunities to feed themselves under the pretext of the future.

“Your Majesty, what do you plan to do?”

“Conflict is natural. We should not be afraid of conflict.”

Even if it was difficult to understand the other party, we had to collide and see each other’s true colors. That’s how we could check and balance each other.

In line with Dan Brown’s belief in preserving the traditional values ​​of the United States, which were centered on the principles of checks and balances, he did not purge opposing factions even though he had several opportunities to do so.

“Your Majesty, we still need to purge at least once.”

“Haven’t you done it once?”

I purged the powerful family that had become cannibals. At the time, Dan Brown risked his life to get rid of them. And now you want to do it again?

“They were cannibals.”

“Yes. I did. And now I’m the same human being.”

Because purging meant leaving no checks and balances. Dan Brown believed that power without checks and balances inevitably leads to dictatorship and power without checks and balances inevitably leads to corruption.

“What makes us different from cannibals? Cannibals rule vertically through dominance. It’s practically dictatorship. They achieve maximum efficiency through control? Is that really efficient?”

“······.”

The history of mankind has been full of unproductive and illogical events. At the end of that history of many wounds and confusions, democracy emerged. It was the meaning of human existence.

If individuals or groups control it in the name of determination and efficiency, how are they any different from cannibals?

And their determination was ultimately to have a small ruling class prey on the majority of humans. That was why Dan Brown was not shaken by the Holy Kingdom’s declaration of non-intervention.

“It may seem like we are confused and moving slowly now, but history shows that things that seem slow are often the ones that last until the end.”

“Your Majesty- but···.”

“I believe that the reason the United States was great was not just because of its economic strength, but because it was able to preserve democracy. I also believe that is the path that an empire should take.”

“······.”

Checks and balances were harder than I thought. Even when I was in New York, there were conflicts between New York and the rest of the country. And even in New York, there were conflicts between the new and old forces.

And now. The old capital New York forces and the new Boston forces were clashing. Add to this the forces supporting and opposing Dan Brown, and the conflict was literally exploding.

“I hope people don’t view conflict as a bad thing. Because conflict means we have the space to think about things other than survival.”

“······.”

If you look at it positively, it meant that the empire was able to survive, but if you look at it negatively, it meant that the national power was being eaten away, so the secretary kept his mouth shut.

There was no way to change the mind of General Dan Brown. His mind was a belief. Since the cannibals infiltrated the parliament, they had been using diagnostic kits to detect cannibals before every meeting.

In major government offices, mental blocking equipment was installed to eliminate mental interference. However, the result was the same conflict and conflict of interest that we have now.

‘Have we really escaped the apocalypse?’

‘Can the Empire remain a historical victor, as the Führer says?’

The secretary chose silence.

‧

‧

‧

Joseph Meyer’s psychic powers penetrated Ki-sun’s mind.

[So, if we are to speak of the nature of the Holy Kingdom, it is the same as us, whom you hate so much.]

Think about it.

Aren’t the absolute power and the very small number of people who support him saving the majority of the lambs?

Same goes for us.

They think that a small number of new humans should save the majority of humanity.

If in exchange for a little flesh and blood, humanity is promised safety and survival, is that really such a bad thing? In a world where the end of the world is near. Humanity may go extinct. Is gaining flesh and blood really such a big deal?

Who do you think will have more people killed in wars, civil wars, and armed conflicts before the end, or who has been killed by the new humans so far?

Yes. Even apart from that, the Holy Kingdom and we are very similar. Especially when you look at the social structure and political system.

Don’t say no. If you look at it, it’s the same.

Then ask.

I am a citizen of the Holy Kingdom and I want to vote, but what have I voted on so far?

Did you vote on your exchange with the Empire?

Did you vote on the East Asia expedition?

Did they even vote to attack the Confederacy first?

Or did they vote to unite Canada and separate the two countries?

The Holy Kingdom has never voted, has it?

There’s something even more interesting. In fact, it’s more accurate to say that this is a contradiction of human society rather than a problem of the Holy Kingdom.

Think about it.

Wasn’t there a technology that could enable humanity to directly realize democracy?

It wasn’t impossible to choose direct democracy, was it? Isn’t that true?

Can every individual conduct financial transactions using their smartphone?

No technology? Is that really true?

Financial transactions can be secured, but is voting security impossible?

You’re also doing financial transactions, so can’t you call it voting?

But what is the result?

Even though we have the technology to implement direct democracy, we haven’t done so. Even though we already have the technology to abolish indirect democracy and implement direct democracy, we haven’t done so.

Even though the democracy we had is no longer democracy.

Yes. Humanity has chosen to be ruled by a minority.

It’s a story about humans choosing to become full pigs even if it means being ruled by a minority.

It means handing over your choices to a proxy and putting your fate in the hands of others.

[You don’t think so? Really?]

‘Let’s shut up.’

[So, don’t you think the reason your close friend Vladimiru hates the new humans is because of xenophobia?]

‘Ah. Shit- let’s get some sleep.’

The psychic waves began to mix with Gi-sun’s emotions. Joseph Meyer’s dregs sensed the slight change.

[Oh- That’s what I mean. You’re the one who tried to negotiate with us.]

‘Ah …

“Ahhhhh- F**k!”

Ki-soon jumped out of bed and called Na-ju-yeon.

“Can you block the mental waves here?”

Na Ju-yeon checked the monitor and said with a serious face.

[Hmm- Can’t you hold on a little longer?]

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Maru erased and erased the ant colony that the crow search party had found.

“What about the movements of other ant colonies?”

[Uh. There hasn’t been any movement yet.]

Even though I’m unilaterally deleting things like this, there’s no response?

Could this colony, which is now being erased, be a satellite kingdom of a gigantic ant empire?

Maybe that’s what it might be.

“Let’s expand the scope of the crow search party.”

[Huh? Yes. I will do that.]

As far as I can tell, this ant empire is even worse than the one I dealt with last time.