39. Review

I managed to secure a complete victory in my first battle against Zeno, but against the inevitable large-scale Zeno incursion that will surely come, the current fighting strategy will inevitably lead to gradual depletion and eventual collapse. Just because Agirakana isn’t located on the shortest path between stars doesn’t mean we’re safe if an army of over a billion Zeno converge on a nearby system. Something decisive is needed.

The Zeno extermination operation concluded safely, and the fleet had completed its withdrawal to Agirakana. I’m currently conducting a post-operation review in the tactical conference room.

Major Dora stands before the screen at the front of the tactical conference room, beginning her report on Zeno’s movements during this operation. The attendees are the same as those present at the emergency war council.

During this operation, we’ve confirmed Zeno favors materials resembling hull plating—high-density substances—but that alone isn’t decisive.

As the reconnaissance unit, I’ll begin with Zeno’s movements during the engagement. Please look at the screen. This is footage from an observation satellite above Epsilon Ia. You can clearly see Zeno swarming around the mine vessels, ramming directly into the hulls. At this point, Zeno’s speed was notably low, allowing the mine vessels to withstand the impacts quite well.

This next clip is from a scout craft launched from the flagship. Observe Zeno’s behavior when the special assault craft fired its specialized ordnance into the Zeno cluster. As the projectiles passed through the rear of the formation, the cluster constricted into a narrow, elongated shape—something we’ve observed before, of course.

What’s worth noting here is that the special projectiles, grouped in fours,叠加 their gravitational wells—created by the gravity thrusters—to generate a stronger thrust, allowing them to pierce through the Zeno cluster. But once formed, this large-scale gravitational well—essentially a pseudo-black hole—causes the Zeno to alter course, as you can see.

The final footage shows a Zeno that failed to escape the pseudo-black hole generated by the special projectiles. The gravitational well is designed to accelerate a high-speed craft to 35% of light speed—far beyond the Zeno’s maximum capability of only 15% of light speed—so once caught within its influence, escape becomes impossible.

In the footage, multiple Zeno units caught in a gravity well attempt to escape—spinning wildly, emitting intense neutron beams at random, colliding repeatedly until their activity ceases, then collapsing while still emitting high-intensity neutron radiation... Let’s rewind the recording slightly. Pay attention to this unit. The number displayed in the upper right indicates its mass. The current value is 270—units are in ten-thousand tons.

One Zeno unit expands on the screen. Its color is a faintly grayish hue, translucent, spinning erratically, emitting bright white light from all points along its spindle-shaped body—presumably neutron beams. The number above the screen decreases by five to ten every second. Eventually, it drops below one hundred, then below eighty—then the screen goes completely white.

"Zeno has collapsed. The footage we just showed was stretched to last about three seconds in real time. It appears to have been a case of attempting to escape from a deep gravitational well at full thrust—burning through its own body as propellant until it collapsed."

"One further point of critical importance. Two years ago, when Zeno first appeared in the Eridanus Epsilon I System, we compared its mass distribution at that time with its mass distribution after reproduction on Epsilon Ia. While both distributions had a lower bound of one million tons, the post-reproduction distribution showed a shift of approximately twenty-five percent toward lighter masses across all other segments.

Zeno seems to be getting lighter with each successive reproduction. It is theorized that if this reduction continues and Zeno’s mass falls below one million tons, it will collapse. Zeno does have a lifespan—it does not proliferate infinitely. At the very least, the large group of Zeno that destroyed Arsen eight thousand years ago is no longer extant.

“Thank you for the explanation, Major Dora.”

A powerful means of repelling Zeno had been discovered. Even better, it was now clear that Zeno did not grow without limit—it would eventually die.

After the meeting, as expected, everyone gathered at my Private Residence to prepare for the next battle, replenishing their spirits—no need to elaborate on the festivities.

Having refreshed myself at my Private Residence, I returned to Earth early the next morning and had just concluded my briefing to the team on the eighth floor of the Embassy regarding the results of this latest Zeno eradication operation. They’d already known the outcome, of course—but their smiles were still gratifying. Hearing it from me again, apparently, made a difference.

As usual, I sat at my desk, blowing on my instant coffee from a mug to cool it, when Ichijō burst into the Office. She stomped over to my desk, flustered as ever, but the staff from the Secretary's Office, accustomed to her antics, barely glanced up as they continued with their work.

"Woohoo! Senpai! Look, look—here, this magazine!" She spread the magazine open on my desk and shoved it in my face.

“Isn’t this Ichijō in the photo? What’s this… Farbis Japan? ‘Forty-seventh most influential person in the world, Japan, Ichijō Sae.’”

Ichijō beamed. The thought of battles fought light-years away was entirely beyond him.

Short Story Collection ‘Y-san’s SS Storage’

URL: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1755fy/ Please do check it out.

Short Story Collection ‘Yūsai Shiki’

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n0032fy/ Also please do check this one out.