87. Domestic Information Disclosure 2

The conference room lights dimmed slightly, and on the front screen—where the flags of the two nations? had briefly appeared—footage of Zeno was projected.

"This spindle-shaped object, with a faint bluish-gray hue, we refer to as the interstellar lifeform Zeno. Whether it qualifies strictly as a biological entity is debatable, but we consider it a living being. At maturity, Zeno measures approximately forty meters in length and ten meters in maximum diameter—modest in size, but its mass ranges between two and four million tons."

"Four million tons," a voice murmured, followed by the audible swallow of saliva.

"Yes, four million tons. This four-million-ton Zeno travels through interstellar space at fifteen percent the speed of light, without decelerating, and directly impacts a rocky planet. In our solar system, that would be Earth or Mars—inner planets, the intended targets."

“If a Zeno with a mass of four million tons enters a planet inhabited by advanced life at fifteen percent the speed of light—just one of them—it will wipe out all advanced life on that planet.”

“Does ‘just one’ imply there are multiple Zeno units?”

“Precisely.”

“The next footage we’ll show you is of such a Zeno striking a rocky planet. This event occurred some dozen years ago, in a star system approximately ten light-years from our solar system.”

“Here, seventy-five thousand Zeno units struck a single planet, causing it to undergo full whiteballification.”

The displayed footage shows the inner planet of the Eridanus Epsilon I System. It depicts the planet disintegrating under the bombardment of Zeno units, flashing brilliantly before collapsing into a white sphere. Debris scattered across the surrounding space forms a ring, illuminated in stark white by the now-spherical planet. The two viewers, witnessing this image for the first time, are utterly silent.

“This is the threat posed by Zeno. After entering a planet, this Zeno reproduces over several years, then sets off toward its next target.”

At that moment, another audible swallow echoed.

“Fortunately, we of Agirakana possess the means to destroy the Zeno we showed you earlier. So, several years after this tragedy—after reproduction concluded and all Zeno had departed the planet—we destroyed them. The number of Zeno eliminated at that time was three million, one hundred and twenty thousand.”

This time, a quiet exhale.

“Given that you’ve shown us such footage, what exactly are you implying?”

—Prime Minister Takaichi. If this were to end here, it would merely be Agirakana boasting.

“From this point onward, I’d like to ask you to keep this matter only within your own memories.”

Having confirmed their nods,

“In fact, our probe fleet detected that this Zeno is approaching the Solar System. After analyzing distance and trajectory, we estimate it will take over two centuries to arrive.”

Both of them seemed to exhale in relief, yet clearly understood the conversation wasn’t over— their lips tightened as they listened to my next words.

“The real issue lies in the number of Zeno approaching the Solar System. Our current observations record just over two point six billion.

We ran simulations of a two-hundred-and-forty-year-long campaign against these two point six billion Zeno, using all the technology we currently possess. Even with unrelenting, devastating attacks—no regard for collateral damage—we found it impossible to completely eradicate them.”

In truth, it was a fifty-fifty chance. But stretching the facts just a little wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“So, does that mean Earth will eventually be destroyed by the Zeno?”

“It’s difficult to say, but yes—that’s the implication.”

“Couldn’t we, as Earth’s people, do everything possible to counter the Zeno?”

At this point, Maria interjected:

“You may already know, but recently, the continental China submarine fleet clashed militarily with the United States submarine fleet in the North Pacific. As a result, all nine of continental China’s submarine vessels were destroyed.”

“A military clash—between submarines, no less? I’ll verify this with the Defense Ministry later, but we had absolutely no knowledge of it here.”

"Please verify this. To be candid, we are doubtful as to whether humanity on Earth can unite effectively against Zeno. Furthermore, the combat effectiveness difference between manned warships crewed by average Earthlings and unmanned vessels is negligible; thus, offers to provide such assets in a Zeno confrontation are largely meaningless."

Frankly, they don’t seem the type to take offense—but still, no need to say it quite so bluntly.

"In short, we appreciate the offer. However, should no more effective means of attacking Zeno be found in the future, there will be no way to save Earth itself—(……)."

"I understand. ……Ah! That’s why the sudden Agirakana immigration drive?"

"That’s precisely it. After estimating the impact of publicly disclosing the matters we’ve discussed with both of you across the entire globe, the results were—unfavorable, to put it mildly. Consequently, we’ve decided to withhold the announcement and instead focus on guiding humanity’s evacuation from Earth with as little disruption as possible, particularly for the people of Japan. That’s why we recently approached the previous administration to request their cooperation. Unfortunately, the meeting concluded in such a manner that we withdrew our request without securing their support."

"I see. My deepest apologies once more. Is there still a chance for my country to contribute, even now?"

"If you’d say that, we’d be truly grateful."

"Um… may I speak for a moment?" said Prime Minister Takaiichi.

"Of course."

"I understand that Agirakana is a spacecraft comparable to a planet, but is it feasible to evacuate not all of humanity, at least all Japanese nationals, to Agirakana?"

"From the standpoint of relocation from Japan, or even in terms of spatial concepts like living space or workplaces—there is absolutely no issue. The location we’re currently considering opening exclusively for Japanese immigrants, or rather, an island? Let me show you."

"Maria, please play the footage from your previous inspection."

"Yes, Captain."

"Captain?"

"Ah, Agirakana is called a spaceship, but in fact it’s a battlecruiser. I may refer to myself as Agirakana’s representative, but really, I’m the captain of the planet-class spaceship Agirakana."

Almost no one here would grasp the concept of a nation composed entirely of military personnel.

As we spoke, the screen ahead suddenly displayed the island of sweet potatoes—surrounded by sea, recently inspected.

“Is this a planet?”

“This is inside the Agirakana. Within the Agirakana, we maintain such planetary environments. The surface lies several kilometers above, illuminated by glowing ceiling panels. The night sky shows no stars, but day and night are still distinguishable. The island now visible on screen is what I call the Sweet Potato Island. For the time being, I intend to open it for immigrants from Japan.

The island spans approximately five hundred thousand square kilometers—slightly more than double the area of Honshu, Japan’s main island, which measures about two hundred twenty-eight thousand square kilometers. In terms of flat land area, it’s roughly four times the size of Japan as a whole, so I don’t anticipate any land shortages in the near future. Even if this island becomes full, there’s still plenty of space available. No problem there.”

I never imagined a spaceship capable of matching a planet that was satisfied merely on the level of words. I must insist on assisting with the colonization project.

Up until now, I’d been rather indifferent about colonization. But after meeting with two high-ranking officials from the new Japanese Government, I’ve decided to take the matter a bit more seriously. Human emotions are curious things.