Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 251 Will You Regret Becoming a Human?
Sitting in the cabin, looking through the transparent porthole, one can closely witness the magnificent and majestic scenes happening in the universe: the spiral nebula is pulled by the invisible gravity, and a tide covering the entire star field surges up, and the stars sway in it, like sand on the fingertips of a giant; the dark matter flow erupting from the black hole and the ether particle flow erupting under the moon ring collide with each other in the pursuit of thousands of years, and the energy storm triggered instantly reverses the magnetic poles of the planet, causing hundreds of affected stars to start irregular circular motions, as if they are dancing on this dark blue stage; a planet that has reached the end of its life is ruthlessly pierced by the concentrated electromagnetic rays, but the fallen fragments are not involved in the interstellar tides that circulate like ocean currents, but are restrained by the powerful gravitational field, forming a broken star ring that surrounds the star field for hundreds of thousands of kilometers, turning the steel fortress in it into a tiny swimming fish...

The vast universe breeds infinite possibilities, magnifying all tiny probabilities to the point where they can be captured with the naked eye. Here, the "miracle" pursued by mortals is one of countless possibilities, but because of the huge cardinality of the universe, it becomes something that is certain to happen. Therefore, it may be concluded that for the universe, "miracle" and "reality" actually mean the same thing.

Carabosse watched all this silently, his eyes as dark as the night were so deep that they seemed to be able to contain countless stars and create another vast universe.

Even though I have been watching for a long time, the scene between the stars in the universe is still so shocking, and I deeply realize how stupid people are who are limited to the tiny continent under their feet and only fight for power and show off their power. They have lived a mediocre life, without the courage to explore the unknown in the fog, nor the lofty belief to pursue their ideals. As a result, their vision is limited to a narrow area in front of them, focusing on the mundane changes of regime or power, but they have never known that the real great cause should be farther than the starry sky above their heads, and naturally more profound than the earth under their feet.

Sacrifice, pain, choice, mourning, sadness, emotion, sigh, tears, memory, impulse... are all unreal and unbelievable. Only the hard work to achieve the ideal is what these eyes have actually witnessed. So, there is no need to hesitate or be confused. Going along this path is the right answer.

But why, why exactly...

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Carabosse." A voice suddenly came, and then Floyd walked into the cabin and said to the Night Witch who had been waiting for a long time in an apologetic tone: "Before leaving the office, I suddenly remembered that there was a document that I had not yet processed. If I put it aside temporarily, I would have to wait until the end of the meeting. So I took some time to process it and didn't have time to tell you."

"kindness."

Caraboss was still looking at the universe outside the porthole, and said calmly: "This is a poor arrangement of work, and it is your dereliction of duty. After returning to Reglagios, I will ask the Special Assessment Bureau to deduct your evaluation score for this quarter. Do you have any objection to this?"

"No." Floyd accepted the punishment very readily. Although other members would be surprised if they heard it, in their opinion, this punishment was too severe. Directly deducting a quarter's evaluation score was in accordance with the rules, but it was somewhat inhumane.

However, Freud, or rather, the members of the Alien Philosopher, chose to follow this seemingly inhuman witch precisely because they agreed with this efficient and strict style of work. Because they knew that Lady Carabosse not only had strict requirements on others, she was even stricter on herself.

Floyd sighed inwardly.

"kindness."

Not everyone can endure loneliness and perform long-term observation missions in the desolate and vast universe. Basically, all members of the Alien Philosopher must return to the ground every once in a while to receive psychological counseling to avoid accumulating stress during the mission and developing serious psychological problems.

He looked up and saw that his boss was still staring at the cosmic scene outside the porthole, as if the scenery that she had witnessed thousands of times up close still had an attraction to her like meeting for the first time. If he had not accidentally glimpsed a trace of melancholy from the side of her face, Freud would probably have thought that she was simply appreciating the scenery.

Floyd took a seat behind Carabosse. Although it was a long voyage from the Earth to the Moon, there was no need to take any protective measures because the strength of the spacecraft itself was enough to withstand the terrifying interstellar tides.

Floyd didn't need it, but as the chief ship's officer, he often needed to travel back and forth between space and the ground to deliver new news and instructions from the headquarters. In a year, he didn't spend much time on the Alien Philosopher.

Only those who are familiar with her can see through her softness and emotions from under the cold and rational disguise. Freud felt that as an adjutant and friend, he barely had that qualification.

Lady Carabosse was the only member who could stay on the Alien Philosopher permanently. This was certainly because this huge steel fortress could not function without her support, but it was also due to her own wishes. She always had the most stringent requirements for the tasks she performed. For a long time, except for a few special reasons, such as the upcoming witch meeting, she never returned to the ground.

Lord Carabosse was thinking about that incident again.

If it were the Chief Inquisitor of the Feiyemente, he would have probably been unable to endure this boring task.

It was precisely because she was too emotional, always thinking about others, and always considering other people's difficulties, that she took the initiative to take on this lonely observation mission. Because in that way, others would not have to feel embarrassed about it. In addition, the system that the members of the Alien Philosopher returned to the ground for psychological counseling at regular intervals was first established by Lady Carabosse. Before she proposed it, no one had ever considered whether long-term loneliness would turn stress into illness.

"Get ready, Floyd." Carabosse looked out the window and saw a huge, cold steel fortress passing through the edge of the shattered star ring. Blue flames erupted from every dark hole, devouring the remains of the stars, demonstrating the glorious power of human creation. There was also a faint low roar, accompanied by the violent vibration of some strong metal, so he reminded his adjutant: "It's time to set off."

Members who had just been transferred to the alien philosopher often talked behind her back, whether the Night Witch had an extremely calm and cold personality? If not, how could she endure the loneliness for such a long time in the desolate and boundless universe, but never return to the ground a few times, as if she had never missed her relatives and friends. Was she unintentional? Could there really be other expressions on her face? Are those calm and composed expressions actually based on the most rational considerations?
Every time this happened, Freud would tell them that this was totally wrong. Lady Carabosse not only had emotions, but she probably had the most emotions of anyone. It was just that she was used to showing these emotions through actions rather than expressing them verbally.

Then, naturally, you should also speak to comfort her when she is sad.

"That's not your fault, Lord Carabosse." He suddenly said, "We couldn't have predicted that this would happen. Besides, she was just fulfilling the mission you left behind. Maybe she felt that this was the meaning of her birth. To live for this, to die for this, was the only ending."

Karabosse heard this and smiled deeply: "Are you comforting me, Floyd?" "From a friend's perspective, it should be considered comforting; but from the perspective of an adjutant, you can think of me comforting you. After all, your current mood may affect the subsequent meetings and work arrangements."

Freud knew very well that the best way to convince your boss was to use work.

"No matter what you say, it makes sense. You are worthy of being Freud. You are very accurate in judging people and persuading them. The only advice I can give you is to not be so blunt next time." Carabosse raised her head slightly and smiled silently. "It's better to use comforting words. I'm not so entangled that I need you to comfort me. I just have some doubts."

"What is it, Lord Carabosse?"

"I wondered why she didn't ask me for help... Although she was created to fulfill the curse, it wouldn't be shameful to ask her creator for help when she encountered an invincible enemy. But at that time, she never asked me for help. It seemed that she deliberately concealed it from me, so that I didn't realize until the moment she disappeared that she was already... dead."

"Is it because she feels that she is not qualified to ask me for help?" Carabosse said, with a trace of confusion in her eyes. "Or is it that in her mind, I, the creator, am such a cruel existence that as long as she encounters failure, I will rebuke her without hesitation, or even abandon her? Such a possibility really makes people feel uncomfortable."

Because, the cold and rational Night Witch in the eyes of outsiders did not really lose all her emotions. She only abandoned the indecisiveness and excessive kindness that had caused her pain. In fact, the emotions she retained were more abundant than anyone else, but she always hid them and would not express them in words, so that even her other personality could not be seen, and she classified herself as an abandoned existence.

Floyd thought for a moment, then replied, "This is a difficult matter to determine, Lord Carabosse. However, although I cannot judge the original intention of this behavior, since she already has her own emotions, she can be called a human life. Everyone has their own choices, that's all."

"Then, what was the reason that made her choose to hide it from me and go to extinction?"

"..."

Even Freud would have found it difficult to answer this question, but Karaboss had never thought of getting an answer from him, so he asked the next question: "Do people always have no regrets about the choices they make?"

"No." This time, Freud answered quickly, because choices without regrets and guilt do not exist for people, but -

"But," he added, "it is not true for those who were originally human beings, but it is true for her who became a human being later."

Because we became human beings later, there are many emotions that we need to experience, but regret is not the top priority.

"Is it."

Carabosse murmured, "That's a pretty good consolation, Floyd."

Then, her voice became very soft and thin, so that only she could hear it clearly: "I hope..."

"You've never regretted becoming a human."

and.

I'm very sorry.

……

A few minutes later.

The dark blue tail flame gushed out, pushing the silver-white spaceship forward, passing through the open steel gate of the fortress, suddenly accelerating, and flying towards the distant land almost like a flickering light track, passing a burning trail under the night sky.

That night, all living beings on the ground saw a meteor falling.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)