73. Countermeasures Meeting

The day after the banquet, they were taken on a tour through the inner ring of First Layer aboard a passenger airship retrofitted from a transport shuttle.

The airship flew in full-transparency mode, so the view of First Layer from within was unnervingly vivid. First Layer was essentially a recreation of Arsen’s home planet’s flora, yet from close up the differences from Earth’s vegetation were barely perceptible—so similar, in fact, that one might mistake it for Earth unless one looked carefully. There were no large terrestrial animals resembling those found in African savannas, so there was little to see. Still, it was a celestial body unlike Earth, and though they were inside a spacecraft, the natural setting seemed fresh and novel to the two. The massive shaft running through the layers also appeared pale blue from a distance, lending an otherworldly, dreamlike quality that seemed to impress them both.

That evening, as on the previous day, they held another banquet and sent the two back to Earth the following day.

Now, as usual, everyone had gathered in the operations briefing room of the Captain's Office, discussing how to deal with this latest massive group of Zeno.

Major Dora stood up and began her report.

"Then, I shall share the information we currently have.

The location of this large-scale Zeno cluster is approximately here."

The holographic three-dimensional map, centered on the Solar System, gradually zoomed in, revealing a large red symbol marking the Zeno group at a considerable distance.

"An ultra-large Zeno cluster detected about thirty light-years from the Solar System. Multiple massive groups, each exceeding one hundred million individuals, have congregated. The total confirmed count stands at two billion six hundred thirty-three million five hundred sixty-four thousand three hundred twenty-two individuals."

Major Dora's report was picked up by Rear Admiral Amanda of the Aerospace Force,

"The fundamental approach toward Zeno is destruction—nothing else. We ran numerous simulations of the Aerospace Force launching full-scale attacks against this group. Predictably, the results were all unsatisfactory. Furthermore, while deploying Agirakana into the operation would significantly increase the number of Zeno units eliminated, it still falls short of total annihilation—and in most simulations, Agirakana itself is lost."

"So, it's better not to engage actively in defense, then?"

"Under the assumption that Agirakana will not be deployed, we ran a simulation consuming all strategic resources—including this cycle’s surplus production—and allowing up to ninety percent personnel losses in the fleet, also including this cycle’s surplus strength. The probability of achieving total destruction before Zeno reaches the Sol system was less than fifty percent. At best, it’s a coin toss."

"Allowing ninety percent casualties? That’s not an option. We should abandon the interception plan, then."

"Your Excellency… does that mean abandoning the Sol system?"

"In essence, that’s what it comes down to. We’re under no obligation to risk lives just to save others. That said, emotionally, it’s hard to abandon Earth and everyone living there. So, I’m thinking we should evacuate them—over a period of two hundred years. If temporary relocation is what we call a ‘refugee settlement,’ then this time, since there’s no return destination, it’s more like permanent migration. Call it what you will, but the goal is to get as many people off Earth as possible."

"Does ‘evacuation’ mean we’re heading to Agirakana?"

"Any habitable planet would do, if we could find one. But such planets won’t be discovered overnight, and the evacuation itself will take considerable time. Whether it’s temporary or permanent remains uncertain—either way, we’ll likely have to stage the evacuation through Agirakana first."

"Captain, we've already identified several habitable planets, but excluding those within the Alze Empire's territory, they're all extremely distant."

"In that case, we have no choice but to make Agirakana our primary relocation point."

"Understood. How should we handle disclosure of this information to Earth's nations?"

"I suppose we ought to share our precise data, but the consequences of doing so are impossible to predict. Should we dismiss it as irrelevant two centuries from now? Or will it trigger widespread panic?

By the way, Maria—doesn’t our Embassy in Japan already have models like this, for assessing sociological impacts?"

"We continuously refine data accuracy, so I believe sociological impact models—predicting national and public behavior—have already been developed. However, given the lack of urgency in past cases, the precision hasn’t been particularly high. I’ll issue instructions to improve it further from our end."

"Leave it to you then. Assuming Agirakana accepts, how about allocating a portion of the Second Layer? A single large island, perhaps. We don’t have any estimates on the number of settlers, so the scale’s unclear, but broadly speaking, that seems acceptable."

"Since it’s the Second Layer, it’s already terraformed—there’s a decent amount of natural environment. Given time, we could replicate Earth’s ecosystems gradually. That should reduce settlers’ stress. Isn’t that fine?"

"Then there’s the matter I mentioned earlier—estimating the number of settlers. That’s going to be a challenge moving forward. Let’s observe the situation and, for now, propose immigration to the Japanese Government. Countries with skewed population pyramids tend to resist losing their working-age citizens, but nationality withdrawal is an individual right. With enough incentives, people should eventually come.

Speaking of which, I just realized—am I still technically Japanese? Do you know Maria?"

"Yes, Captain—unlike most, you remain legally eligible for dual nationality after adulthood, under a special exception granted to nationals of Japan. Therefore, you still hold Japanese citizenship."

"Completely forgot about that. So, I suppose I’ve been getting election notices, then?"

"No, I don’t believe the Embassy has received any such materials. Seems I was only a nominal citizen, in name only."

"If I were to vote, that would be problematic in its own right."

"Regardless, let’s treat this as a test case—prepare for immigrant settlement. Let’s build a Japanese town, say, from ten thousand to a hundred thousand people, and observe how it goes. We’ll inform the Japanese Government in advance that we’re declining immigration. Once we’ve established a smooth process, only then will we disclose the information to other governments. After that, it’s up to them to decide."

"Let’s say we manage initial immigration. But will the governments of Earth actually permit large-scale evacuation or relocation for their own citizens afterward?"

"Whether they will or won’t is beyond our control—and frankly, beyond our concern. I doubt even Japan and its allied nations would approve such moves. Most countries don’t believe in doom two centuries hence, to begin with."

"What then?"

"For now, we’ll just have to quietly recruit private settlers. Two hundred years should be enough to work something out. We’ll do what we can, step by step."

[Supplementary Note]

The strategic resource referred to here is antineutrinos.

May 30, 2020

High Fantasy: "Myself, a Servant of Darkness—Ascend the Ladder of Evolution"

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6512gg/ Please do check it out.

[Supplementary Note]

The strategic resource referred to here is antineutrinos.