Bad Born Blood Chapter 273

273
Kashura was laid on the operating table. He delicately manipulated the surgical mechanical arm with a holographic interface.

The drug traveled through the needle stuck in my neck and into my blood vessels. Sometimes the drug was cold, and sometimes it was hot and stinging as if it was scratching my blood vessels.

My consciousness flickered on and off like a broken light.

Knock, knock.

Kashura used delicate surgical instruments to open my scalp and skull and remove the deeply embedded fragments. At that time, I was faintly conscious.

“… … You’ve been using your brain hard. Heavy stress and deep trauma cause physical changes in the brain, leaving scars. I’m glad we met before it got any worse.”

Kashura spoke with my head open. He stimulated my brain with an electric baton and checked my reaction.

Shudder, shudder.

The muscles in my body were twitching on their own. If I had prosthetic arms and legs now, I would have moved.

“We will continue to monitor the progress of recovery. Fortunately, there seems to be no problem with the main functions.”

Kashura, who had closed my head, stepped back and said.

Even after the surgery, Kashura took good care of me. He is a person who replaces brain parts. Naturally, there were advanced medical facilities inside the spaceship.

Wheeing.

A robotic arm descended from the ceiling and changed the bandage on my head at set times.

Woof, woof.

No matter where I was, there was a drone the size of a human head right next to me. The drone, which was like the eyes of Kashura, watched me with its red lenses flashing.

“Kashura, you said you could find Giselle Custoria. I don’t think that’s a lie.”

The drone stopped at my eye level. Then Kashura’s voice resonated from inside the drone.

-If you will cooperate, I promise to use all my intelligence resources to find Miss Giselle Custoria.

“That’s why I’m skeptical. I acknowledge your fighting prowess, but it’s hard to believe that your intelligence and intelligence capabilities are at the national level.”

-That’s a reasonable doubt. I’ll give you some guidance so you can believe it.

The drone turned around and guided the way. The wheelchair I was sitting in also followed the drone.

I was in a situation where I couldn’t even move by myself. How miserable, damn it.

Woohoo.

The drone flew through the hallway in near-silent flight.

Keying.

The drone stopped in front of the door.

The door opened and the lights turned on in sequence from the entrance to the inside.

-This is my information processing room. I am gathering information about the planet Novas.

The walls of the information processing room were covered with screens. Holograms and physical screens were mixed together, pouring out a huge amount of information to the outside.

– The hegemony of the planet Novas is clearly held by humanity. But the hegemony of the universe is not humanity’s. There are those who are watching us, hidden between the veil of darkness and the starlight. They are more cunning and cunning than Tajirun.

Kashura’s drone circled around and showed a picture. It was a picture of a desolate universe.

“Do you want to show me the scenery of space? I’ve already seen it enough while locked up.”

-If you look closely at this photo, there is a slight distortion of light. They have covered the entire spaceship with a cloak using some extraordinary technology. They have been observing the planet Novas for a long time. Probably since the time humans settled there or even before.

I squinted my eyes. I had no knowledge of space. But listening to Kashura, I could see the faint outline of a spaceship.

“Are you the ones responsible for humanity being pushed to the planet Novas?”

Kashura’s drone tilted at an angle as if questioning something.

-Oh, Luca. You have seen beyond the veil of history. The veil of history that was put up to avoid facing fear. It is one of the few social agreements of the Three Kingdoms. But your guess is wrong. The being I just spoke of is… …not a ‘transcendent external enemy’. It is a secretive, but intelligent being like us. They call themselves, um, in our language, ‘Regnators’, the rulers, and they think they are on a different level from other races.

I really wanted to dig into the ‘great’ secrets of the universe more, but the search for Giselle and the clues were the top priorities. So let’s change the subject.

“So those Regnators or whatever are involved in finding Giselle?”

-If I ‘consume’ my favorite equipment and friends, I can briefly glimpse the Regnator’s circuit. At that time, I can extract information using the keyword Giselle Custoria. Well, if there is no information about Giselle from Tajirun, Ordo, or Regnator… … then Giselle Custoria’s information would have completely evaporated from the network.

I didn’t answer right away and waited for the bastard to say something else.

– However, all these activities are after you became one with me. Your strong will to find and protect Giselle will definitely have an effect on me. Even without this separate suggestion, the search for Giselle Custeria will remain with me as a ‘wish form’.

“Haha, isn’t that resentment?”

I twisted my lips into a smile.

-Unification is not a one-sided absorption, but rather a mutual influence.

If I had limbs, Kashura’s drone would have crashed into the wall and been destroyed.

“You are so good at talking selfishly. To you, other people’s brains are just replacement parts for the performance of a single entity called ‘Mushir Al-Kashra.’ Forget about companions and all that.”

The drone came close to my eyes. Tiny parts moved in the red optical lens, zooming in and out like pupils.

– Really, you misunderstand me. Especially the existence of Mushir al-Kashra. I, we, Mushir al-Kashra are not monistic entities defined physically, but are phenomena recognized as a continuum of consciousness.

The more I realized what he meant, the more a chill ran down my spine. For a moment, I felt like I was going to throw up.

Gulp.

Rarely do I break out in a cold sweat.

If my guess is correct, Kashura is truly a madman. No, even the word madman is hard to describe, a terrible monster.

“That… …what does that mean?”

– I don’t know if you’ve heard the term ‘Ship of Theseus’. It’s an old thought experiment. If you replace each part one by one, the original will eventually disappear, so can you define it as ‘that ship’ from the beginning?

“… … You think you can define it.”

It’s so bizarre, so bizarre. Truly, so bizarre.

How can a human being maintain the continuity and consistency of his or her self in this way? I have never seen anything more monstrous than this.

– The starting point, ‘Human Mushir Al-Kashra’, is biologically dead. There is not even a single trace of it left in my brain now. Hmm, if we look at it that way, we should discuss whether it is appropriate to say that Barbara is biologically… …daughter, but let’s skip it since it’s not important. Anyway, I think of myself as an extension of the human Mushir Al-Kashra. In the end, isn’t faith important?

I was silent.

Wheein.

The center of the drone opened and a holographic screen appeared in the air. People’s names and brains were displayed like a relationship chart, intricately connected like a nervous system.

– This is the map of Mushir al-Kashra’s existence. Just as our brains are divided into frontal lobe, occipital lobe, midbrain, temporal lobe, and diencephalon… Mushir al-Kashra is also a collection of specialized brains. What defines us is the continuity of consciousness. The interaction of chemicals and electrical signals that began in the original Mushir al-Kashra brain has never been interrupted. I have never perceived myself as dead. Just as brain cells die, regenerate, and are replaced, everything is just a natural phenomenon.

A giant brain made of brains.

I thought that at the center of Mushir Al-Kashra was the main body, with the other brains being consumed as parts.

‘But that wasn’t it. Mushir Al-Kashra’s natural brain was already dead. Only the remnants of his consciousness were roaming around from brain to brain.’

I feel an intuitive sense of rejection.

Kashura’s words were difficult to accept as a living being. The ‘last wall as a living being’ that even the Empire of the Whole Body could not overcome.

Can we humans be sure that we are alive even after discarding our innate brain?

Mushir al-Kashra went beyond that wall.

Mushir al-Kashra’s consciousness was like a virus. Even if I resisted fiercely, I would be assimilated into Mushir al-Kashra while connected to the contaminated majority of brains. With only a slight individuality left.

‘Mushir Al-Kashra, who has united with me, will try to find Giselle Custoria.’

I also realized that maybe it’s not accurate to say that Zveli is dead.

Even if Zveli’s brain died, only the physical functions it was in charge of would disappear. The memories and afterimages of consciousness would be transferred to other connected brains and remain. The traces would be vague like old memories.

-I thought that rather than pursuing immortality by computerizing human consciousness and putting it into a machine, it would be more efficient to utilize the biological hardware that best suits our consciousness structure, namely the brain.

“No one but a lunatic like you can do that.”

-It hurts my heart a little to be looked down on like this. I think it is a much more humane way than giving up the biological brain and computerization of consciousness.

“You are just a ghost.”

-Haha, I believe that, unlike such superstitions, there is a physical entity. I believe that entity is Mushir Al-Kashra. As a living being, I am constantly moving forward. I am learning flexibly and experiencing various things. Eventually, you too will board the ship of Mushir Al-Kashra.

Yes, Mushir Al-Kashra is a great being. He has put fear into me.

I was afraid of Mushir al-Kashra.

* * *

I was lost in thought, immersed in darkness.

‘What happened to Ilay?’

‘What about Lant and the former guards?’

‘Did En and the Equians find Kinuan?’

‘Japa and Anguis Regina, Boyan.’

‘Get out of here… … .’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a way to escape Kashura’s clutches.

I have no arms or legs right now. And this is space.

Despair, which cannot be overcome by one’s own strength, is approaching us rapidly.

Akes Victima doesn’t create something out of nothing. If it can’t find the possibility itself, it’s meaningless.

Despair grew darkly within me. Anxiety and agitation were eating away at my cognitive functions.

… … I am falling apart, helpless and trapped in despair. The world is shrinking and becoming a prison for me. My breathing is suffocating and my heart is beating inappropriately.

This is what is commonly called ‘panic’.

Rattling.

The door opened. I lifted my drooping head. There was no light beyond the door, so the darkness rippled as if it had mass.