Blondie! Bring me my Blazing Blade! Blondie … Do you mean me? … What do you mean by “Blazing Blade”? Miss Valkyrie … she probably wants you to pass her the welding gun … Ah, ah, welding gun is it … Welding gun … Welding gun … Here, welding gun. Ah … That's the one. Ta. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this idiot of ours, once she gets a bit twitchy, she'll stop speaking in a human language. OI! MOPHEAD! WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT?! Who else is there, other than the most esteemed and distinguished Lady Tesla? … EAT MY BLAZING BLADE! … Danger! … Hey, why are you waving it in my face!?

How did the situation come to this … Welt can't help but sigh.

The two guests who have come to Lab 42 tonight are Reanna Brigantia and Joachim Nokianvirtanen.The former is a high-level Valkyrie from Headquarters, while the latter is the son of the frivolous Finn.

Why have these two come here together …

This is probably so-called “fate” at work.

Of course, we have no way of knowing, as the ultimate stepping stone to this fate, what the remotely-controlled robot, who had been cursed with rotten luck for several generations, was thinking at the time of its demise.


… If it could even think at all.

Joachim had been to his father's workplace many times before; every time, the Sister with the Mophead, and the Sister with the Twintails, would always give him a variety of things to play with that other children could never get: making various brightly-coloured chemical solutions, playing music with electrical discharge coils in a dark room, and rehearsing stage shows with Miss Computer … Stories and social capital he could use to brag to other children.

“I love my big sisters the most!”


— at least in Welt's opinion, the young boy is probably thinking like this.

So, a few days ago, when the communicator the Twintailed sister gave him during his summer vacation suddenly sounded, the young boy instinctively felt that something interesting was going to happen.

“Hey, kiddo! You wanna play Halloween tricks together? ”

It's just that the Twintail Sister couldn't predict that the robot she had prepared in the cemetery, would coincidentally be treated it as an “Unidentified Flying Object” and smashed to pieces, by a Valkyrie Sister who was just passing by to sweep a grave.

“Ah … um … this … I really didn't know! I'm so terribly sorry! I will recompensate you as you ask! ”

Recalling the deeply apologetic demeanour and repeated bowing of the Valkyrie Sister, Joachim also felt embarrassed and a little bit apologetic to her.


— At least, he seemed to be the case in Welt's opinion.

Confronted by the other party being so insistent on claiming compensation, the boy had an idea —


“Miss Reanna, I want your autograph! ”

Of course, now that we talk about it …


It was impossible for the Redhaired Tyrant to pretend that “nothing had happened”.

Really … What is this thing you call the “Abyss Flower”? How did you disintegrate every wire from the inside? The “Abyss Flower” is a “Divine Key” that integrates the powers of decomposition and creation into one. When its destructive powers are activated, the target will be automatically deconstructed from the inside-out into a more-or-less chaotic and disordered state If used at maximum power — Slowly, slowly now. “Integrate decomposition and creation into one”? That is — it also has the ability to repair? … Yes. Then why didn't you say so earlier! Let's work together then, and repair this pile of scrap metal, wouldn't that be it? … Sorry, but I can't do that. If I could, I would have fixed it on the spot. Oh? Why is that? Although the Abyss Flower can decompose everything, its “creative” powers are only suitable for repairing damage to living organisms. Ah, is that so. Wait … that doesn't make sense. There is no absolute boundary between the organic and inorganic. After all, from a different perspective, isn't the so-called “human being” just a machine with self-awareness? That's … … The first time you heard of such an argument Think of our organs. Think of your cells. Think of our mitochondria. Think of our neurotransmitters. Which of these do not execute commands mechanically based on external stimuli? Humans are soft and squishy, while machines are hard and rigid — that is just a difference in construction materials. We may seem clever, and the machines may seem clumsy, but that's just because we don't yet have the ability to design a machine as good as ourselves. Those who stubbornly believe that people have so-called “souls” are either unwilling to delve into the true nature of this world — Or, it is because they have been befuddled by the concept of the “self” or “ego”, and they have to search desperately for their own “Emperor's new clothes” to prove their “legitimacy”. Do you understand? These people simply can't believe they're just a product of nature, and they can't believe that they're just a by-product of the natural evolution of everything. They would rather that we be great and powerful “heroes” in our own fiction, than to accept a down-to-earth understanding of ourselves. Because they are so afraid to die, they are willing to look down on everything around them — they are no different from those kings and queens who cry that they have a “divine right” or “God's mandate” to rule. Ah ha ha … That's … The reasoning you have given is very interesting … but any repair job needs reference to a blueprint. Blueprint? I can give that to you. There should be no problem! No … For the Abyss Flower, it can only analyse blueprints written in the genetic code. Tsk … DNA?

Note:

In early 1953, James Dewey Watson and Francis Harry Compton Crick proposed an accurate model of DNA, with a double helix deconstruction based on X-ray diffraction patterns taken by Rosalind Elsie Franklin, and published it in “Nature” (Vol. 171, Issue 4356, p. 737, MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF NUCLEIC ACIDS: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid).


P.S. This paper is only one page long — apart from the attribution and references which are listed on page 738.

Mm-hmm … it can only recognise “blueprints” in “DNA” format. … Tsk, boring. Since it is lauded as a “Divine Key” from God … I thought it'll also come with some “Philosopher's Stone”.

Note:

The concept of the Philosopher's stone is generally believed to be from the guiding essay of Hermeticism, the “Emerald Tablet” written around the 1st century AD.

The “Philosopher's stone” symbolises the apex of alchemy, and arcanists believe that it can not only turn stone to gold, but also make one immortal.

Ah ha ha ha ha … what is this “Philosopher's stone” … Sorry, our resident “idiot” has studied to the level of a doctorate, yet she still believes in alchemy. … What's wrong, is there any problem? … … If there's no problem, shall we continue to repair it? … … … Welt. Present!? If I don't use any dangerous weapons … may I still hit people? Um … if you don't beat me, I guess? As long as you don't hurt any innocent people, it doesn't matter even if you demolish a house. … “AH! ” That hurt! Why did it have to be me!? Of course, it's because hitting you is more fun. Besides, this is also an action that “does not hurt any innocent people”. Wait, wait a sec? “Um … if you don't beat me, I guess?” Ha! Dr Einstein, you say, for such a person who sits on the fence so irresponsibly, how should we punish him? The death penalty should suffice. … W-w-w-wait? … Ha ha ha ha. … You are indeed a most “profoundly sinful” man. Just accept it, just accept it. … W-w-w-w-w-wait? That's … Hey l-little kiddo … y-you've got to help me! On behalf of all men! … My condolences? “C-condolences”? ! You little brat, is your surname “Brutus”! ?

Note:

In Shakespeare's historical play `Julius Caesar', ``Et tu, Brute?'' (And you, Brutus?) is the last sentence Caesar says to his adopted son Brutus before he dies.

You are not his adoptive father, how could he be your “Brutus”? Well, perhaps we could use this opportunity to get on with the formalities? But no one would ever want to be his heir. Hahahaha. … That's enough! All of you! — Stop! New York, the Consolidated Edison Building, Underground Laboratory Harry, don't add the reflection module yet! … Yes, you see, the potential scale of the reaction is already very dangerous. Schrödinger instinctively moves to wipe the sweat from her head, but as she is wearing heavy protective clothing, it is virtually impossible for her to do so. … Louis, hold your screwdriver tight! These metal pieces are just as unstable as Jenga. … Yes. Remove it slowly. Slowly now … … Good. Now the device will be in a subcritical steady-state … If everything goes well — — Harry, what is the temperature of the “core” now? … 45.7 degrees Celsius! … It has risen rapidly by 20.7 degrees! Conversion into ordinary internal energy is very efficient!

Note:

This is probably the most saddening side-story in our entire story..

In our world, Harry K. Daghlian, Jr (1921.4--1945.9) and Louis Alexander Slotin (1910.12--1946.5) were employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States. The two unfortunate scientists, on August 21, 1945 and May 21, 1946 respectively, suffered fatal doses of nuclear radiation due to inadvertent mishandling of the same plutonium core, and passed away as a result.

Among them, Louis Alexander Slotin was famous for his great act of “disarming the atomic bomb with both hands”.

… Excellent. This will become the greatest “civil” invention ever known in the history of humanity! We must give it a loud and resounding project name! Otherwise, that woman Planck will definitely laugh at us for being uncultured. … Civil invention? Do you mean power generation? Oh ha ha ha ha! What are you on about? Once this invention is successful, whether it is my own wishes, or the Schicksal's wishes: everybody's wishes can be successfully attained. No, it should be said … By that time, Schicksal will have neither value nor capital to continue existing. Wha … “Neither value nor capital to exist”? Of course. You still don't yet realise it? Now that we finally have the chance, in a controlled and universal circumstance, to complete the conversion from Honkai energy to ordinary energy — This technology can then be extended to absorb and convert Honkai energy from every corner of the earth — Then isn't that equivalent to Honkai itself being non-existent? As for Schicksal … it's just an organisation that fights against Honkai. Once there is no Honkai, naturally it no longer serves any purpose. Just like the vigorous and energetic people of this New World, we will no longer needed the old and decaying kings of a twilight world! “Arise, fair moon! ” “Kill the envious sun, Whose eyes are already flushed with redness, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she! ”

Note:

“Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.” — “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare.

Ah. Moon … Moonlight … … “Moonlight Throne”? “The Moonlight Throne Project”! What do you think of us using this name?