Rust - Chapter 971



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Rust [RUST] – Episode 971

The news that half a million troops had been annihilated sent the empire into a panic. This was just two weeks before the presidential elections in mid-September.

“I need to get a pheromone translator from the Holy Kingdom.”

“If only I had that, I could have known what the ants were going to do.”

“Over 500,000. The number of troops who were unable to escape and were defeated exceeded 500,000.”

“The Penal Corps can be refilled, but the Elite and Clone Troops have suffered greatly.”

“The number of dead is important right now, but the ants that feed on the victims and multiply are a bigger problem.”

“If it comes up from Panama, there’s no way to stop it.”

“It won’t work, Mexico is in the middle of a civil war.”

“If the ant colony comes, they will breach the border like last time.”

Should we use nukes again?

Instead of strategic nuclear weapons, how about tactical nuclear weapons?

There’s no way to stop it without nuclear weapons?

If it’s a tactical nuke, it won’t cause an earthquake, so it’ll be okay, right?

“It’s mid-September. Even if the ants push their way up, it will take a month.”

“Yes, by mid-October, temperatures in the southern regions will drop below zero.”

It was winter. That terrible winter was now a natural barrier to the ants’ northward advance. So there was a chance.

“It is important to know what the ants are talking about and what their plans are.”

“Even if you don’t know what they’re thinking, you just need to know the direction they’re going.”

The story culminated in the need for a pheromone translator from the Holy Kingdom, but the Holy Kingdom’s response was cold. They said they could not provide a pheromone translator.

“If Central and South America are penetrated and we are penetrated, won’t they be next?”

“Huh- Don’t they have a monster king?”

Vladimir Kalin. They will be safe if that inhuman seed blocks their way.

Or maybe the floating city of the Holy Kingdom is big enough to support all of the people of the Holy Kingdom, so they just have to stay in the floating city until the ants leave.

“There were no other conditions?”

“I will sell you a weapon, but I cannot give you something I don’t know how it will be used.”

The pheromone translator was a device that allowed us to communicate with ants. If we could take that and figure out how it works, we could confuse the ants.

If you can wipe out an entire colony with just one disturbance, then that’s fine, but if not, the ant queen, who has already become rational, will ‘respond’ to it.

As a result, the pheromone translator of the Holy Kingdom could become useless, or at worst, it could become hostile to the ants.

In the war between ant kingdoms, the ants were the ones who sought out and tore apart the enemy queen ant. How could the enemy queen ant have used pheromones to say, ‘Please save me’?

The universal pheromone developed by the Holy Kingdom did not always work. What if the Empire took the pheromone translator and used it to not only find the direction of the ants, but also do something else?

Who is responsible for the results?

“How is it used? What do we do with it?”

“What do you think we are!”

The Imperial Council was furious. With over half a million casualties, they weren’t even asking for military support, let alone a pheromone translator?

The imperial press furiously attacked and tore at the Holy Kingdom. Even the imperial people, who were already fed up with the Holy Kingdom’s non-interference policy, were furious.

‘The Holy Kingdom is a place of unbelievers.’

‘You say you don’t interfere while selling goods in the empire and making a profit?’

Naturally, the first thing that started was a boycott of Holy Kingdom products.

‘Coexisting with killer ants? You crazy bastards.’

‘Over 500,000 people died. 500,000 people were sacrificed, and you can’t even give me a single translator?’

‘Isn’t this a situation where everyone needs to join forces to stop the ants?’

‘Are you saying that they only care about eating well and living well?’

Beginning with the challenge of living without Holy Kingdom products, trade with the Holy Kingdom should be reduced. Public opinion has grown stronger, such as the Empire achieving military independence.

‘We must achieve military independence.’

‘You must be armed with Imperial weapons to avoid being dragged around by the Holy Kingdom.’

‘The empire must produce and consume special ammunition for monsters and infantry equipment that require a lot of usage.’

‘Isn’t exosuit technology now known?’

The imperial arms manufacturers, riding on such public sentiment, actively lobbied to supply imperial weapons to the imperial military, including subsidies to the armament factories. The traditional military-industrial complex of the United States began to show signs of a revival in the empire.

Regardless, the Holy Kingdom’s attitude remained unchanged. If the Empire were to run out of supplies, they could simply turn to Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

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As the imperial presidential election approached in late September, public opinion in the empire turned extremely polarized.

It was partly due to the instigation of the media and the hard-line rhetoric of politicians, but essentially it was a matter of pride.

The empire that succeeded the United States. The empire that fought the ants to the point of detonating a hydrogen bomb in New York lost 500,000 troops in the Panama War.

But I didn’t know that the Holy Kingdom, which had been my ally until now, would uphold the principle of non-interference until the end.

There was no negotiation or conditions. It seemed as if they didn’t care what happened to the Empire. That attitude scratched the pride of the Empire people.

Presidential candidates raced to promise to make the empire that inherited the great United States of America great again and to rise above the arrogant Holy Monarchy.

The Holy Kingdom and the Empire were thus divided.

[Did you really have to go that far? Couldn’t you have sent a pheromone translator? You could have sent a professional as well.]

Dan Brown contacted us via a personal communicator he owned.

“Why are you doing this again? If you fool around and say you’re going to eat the pheromone translator, you know it’s really over. Can you guarantee that the Empire won’t do that?”

What if the Imperial Military or Intelligence Service eats the pheromone translator, rips it off, and reports it as lost or missing? How long can they hide that?

Will Maru just ignore this fact after learning it? Even if Maru just ignores it, the entire AI will demand punishment.

Dan Brown’s expression hardened for a moment at Ki-sun’s story. If he could tell that he was joking around, it meant that the Holy Kingdom could obtain information about the Empire.

How much do they know? What if there was an AI that was trained only in hacking? What if that AI used the computational power of a quantum computer to hack the imperial information network?

“Why are you so stiff? Don’t you know that hacking leaves traces? We don’t do that.”

Ki-sun said that he doesn’t do hacking that leaves traces, and he didn’t say that he doesn’t seek information. In any case, he didn’t lie.

[Did you know this would happen?]

“As I said, the Holy Kingdom only adheres to the principle of non-interference.”

Although I didn’t know, Ki-sun said calmly.

[Huh- Yeah. That must be true. But if the Empire and the Holy Kingdom become estranged like this, it won’t be good for preparing for the end.]

Ki-sun was also bitter. The only person he could communicate with was Dan Brown.

“What can we do? This is the reality. So what are your plans for the future? If you have nothing else to do, why don’t you just come over here?”

If it was someone like Dan Brown, he would be able to run the entire region except for the floating city well.

[Thank you for your words, but that’s not where I belong.]

‘It’s a monarchy, isn’t it? I don’t like having someone above me. It doesn’t suit me to have someone under me,’ said Dan Brown, smirking.

“You’ve gone too far. In a dangerous world like today, a trustworthy king isn’t bad, right? But… why did you just give in? You must have had a plan or two hidden away.”

[A hidden trick. Well. You never know.]

Dan Brown was tight-lipped.

However, his stubborn gaze did not change. The Imperial Council had voted him out. He was accepting that.

What is the obsession?

Ki-sun suddenly looked back to see if she had such stubbornness. To her who had lost her affirmation of humanity and the value of her existence as a human being, what remained was stubbornness or belief…

Dan Brown opened his mouth after seeing Gi-sun’s face like that.

[I’ve heard this prophecy before.]

Even if the waters turn sour and the forests and cities burn, it will not be the end.

Even if the earth shakes and volcanoes erupt and block out the sun, it won’t be the end.

however

When people lose faith and love for each other,

If humans lose their human values, that day will be the beginning of the end.

“······.”

[Faith. Yes. I thought that democracy was something that could be achieved by having faith in people. Of course, I know that it might sound foolish.]

Joseph Meyer and Dan Brown always fought over faith in humanity. He believed that we should unite around a strong leader, and I believed that we could overcome crises by trusting each other.

Ki-sun’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you know a crisis was coming?”

[I think you probably know this. Everyone knew that a crisis would soon come to humanity. But we didn’t know it would come like this.]

Ki-soon nodded silently, as it was something Joseph Meyer and the rest of them had said.

[There were those who wanted to reduce the population. They thought that technology would develop and simple human labor would be replaced by machines, so what value would there be for humans who only eat and excrete? They hated democracy. Because worthless things had the right to vote.]

“So you caused a massive viral outbreak? To turn humans into mutant production factories?”

[You already knew that, so don’t make that face. There were forces like that, and there were forces opposing them.]

Both sides recognized that the future was dangerous. Some people used this as an opportunity to reduce the population, while others thought that a small number of humans should evolve to manage the majority.

Some said that not just a few, but all of humanity needed to be reborn, while others wanted to use their newly discovered powers.

Even in the most advanced modern times, there were still fights over ancient relics. Large-scale witchcraft and human sacrifice were more common than you might think.

Dan Brown frowned for a moment as some memory came to mind, then spoke with a bitter look in his eyes.

[I’m telling you this story just… That’s right. I hope you don’t see humans as worthless.]

The soldier who was eaten by ants might have been someone’s child, someone’s lover, and someone who might have fathered a child in the future.

“And is it human politics, human power, to ignore all such relationships and possibilities and drive them into battle?”

[okay.]

That’s why we need democracy. It’s the only system where citizens can come together and protect themselves.

That’s why we need a divine king. A proper king would protect his people.

Has there ever been a king in history who properly protected his people?

Unfortunately, isn’t the current state of the empire the result of democracy?

The empire will surely rise again in the democratic era.

Then how about we talk again after you’ve recovered? It looks like we’ll be floundering around for quite some time from the way you’re turning.

[Unexpected. I thought you would understand.]

“I understand.”

What is the human value that Dan Brown talks about?

Somehow, those words didn’t resonate with Ki-sun.

Someone’s sibling and child?

Is a family that you try to kill still considered family?

So, it didn’t make sense to say that I was someone’s child, father, or mother.

love?

The same goes for love.

The beginning of love is influenced by hormones, and after it leaves the influence of physiological chemistry?

What happened to Naru was a huge blow.

Isn’t it just a one-sided relationship?

What next?

The moment love becomes hostage, it ultimately becomes meaningless.

At least I could understand the belief.

Faith in Maru. Trust. I nodded my head. Maru was a trustworthy guy.

[Is that so? But I hope you remember the prophecy about the end of the world.]

What if human value disappears?

A world without faith and love. What kind of country will the Holy Kingdom be in such a world?

Suddenly, Ki-sun had that thought.

“Do you really think humans are valuable? We were dragged down by them.”

[Isn’t political power originally given to wield power? It’s a position chosen for the future of all. Isn’t it? And isn’t it a healthy political system because it can bring down politicians?]

That’s the beauty of democracy.

Look at me.

Ki-soon chuckled at Dan Brown’s not-so-joking joke.

It’s romantic.

“But if the empire falls, we won’t accept refugees. We won’t help you even if you beg us to do so. As you know, we are a country that does whatever the king wants.”

[this···.]

[Still, that won’t happen, though···.]

“······.”

[If something like that were to happen… Don’t you think it’s a bit much to not accept refugees?]

“······.”

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The ants that took over the Panama Canal stopped advancing northward. They stopped after eating only the Panama Canal area.

The empire, which had been worried about using tactical nuclear weapons and a large-scale missile bombardment when they came up, was momentarily confused.

This was because the ants’ movements were unexpected.

“So what about the giant ants that are said to be appearing in New York?”

“They are just wandering around the ruined surroundings and don’t seem to be trying to expand their territory.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“We can reorganize the army again this winter.”

If you use the cold as a shield, you have plenty of time.

“What about the spiders that took over Philadelphia?”

“You don’t seem to be making any significant movements either.”

“Still, it’s dangerous to leave them alone. By next spring, their numbers will have increased thousands of times.”

“Is there really a need to touch it first? If it’s Philadelphia, you have to go up through New York.”

There was a split between those who said they should just leave them alone and focus on defense, and those who said they should be subdued during the winter before their numbers grow any further.

The military and insect experts came up with various scenarios, and the vote decided on a winter-based suppression.

“A motion to exterminate the giant spiders of New York and the ones in Philadelphia has passed.”

And a new president was elected.

Late autumn. The empire began to burn with the heat of war.