Helente began her account.
〈Long ago, my Masters chose this planet as their dwelling, but to do so, it was necessary to remodel the environment.〉
"I understand."
〈The concentration of free ether. It was lower than what the Masters required, so they manipulated the distribution of free ether to resolve this.〉
"Just as I thought..."
It was almost exactly as Jin had discussed with No. 700672.
〈And then, there was the matter of gravity. Originally, this planet was small; its gravity was only about half that of their home world. Thus, they compressed space dust and asteroids and packed them into the core.〉
Helente spoke as if it were a simple matter, but such a task was anything but easy. Even for Jin, it would have been a project of immense difficulty. Though, theoretically, he could do it.
〈And one more thing. The issue of climate.〉
"...The planetary orbit!"
This exclamation followed Jin's own thoughts; he had shouted the same thing aloud back on Hourai Island.
〈Precisely. From several options, the Masters chose to move it into the same orbit as their home planet.〉
That was a perfectly logical choice. An identical orbit meant the distance from the sun was the same. In other words, the planet would receive the same amount of light and heat. Consequently, the climate would closely resemble their original home.
〈They set its position exactly on the opposite side of the star, with Sun Celane between them. They believed this would be the most stable configuration.〉
She said it nonchalantly, but this was a feat beyond Jin's current capabilities, primarily due to the level of precision required for the orbital calculations. In that regard, he could truly appreciate the technical prowess of Helente’s Masters—the Progenitors.
"Just how did they move something with the mass of an entire planet?"
〈Hoh, so you at least grasp the magnitude of the challenge. Very well, I shall explain the basic concept.〉
Helente seemed to judge that Land 11 was capable of at least a partial understanding.
〈If you greatly reduce the inertial mass, you can move even the largest and heaviest of objects. Planets are no exception.〉
In other words, the Progenitors had done exactly what Jin did: reducing inertia as close to zero as possible. However, the challenge was not merely technical.
"I can imagine it being possible in theory. But the mana required on a planetary scale... to affect something the size of a world... it's beyond my imagination."
〈If you can grasp it theoretically, you have done well. As for the scale, it is simply a matter of effort. Given enough time and labor, it is possible.〉
"I see..."
She did not seem inclined to elaborate further, but even so, Jin was grateful to have these mysteries solved as he listened intently from Hourai Island.
"What kind of... Brain could possibly calculate such an orbit?"
〈Hmph, so you understand that difficulty as well. A Brain, is it? That is the very core of this facility. I can say no more than that.〉
"So, managing this facility, controlling Helente, projecting the images of space like you did earlier—the Brain performs all of these tasks?"
〈Well... yes. You truly are quick to understand.〉
Perhaps she had gained a measure of respect for him; Helente fixed her gaze directly on Land 11 as she spoke.
〈To begin with, on the home planet where the Masters lived, they provided for all their needs using the inexhaustible energy of free ether. However, they were unable to create matter itself. Forced to leave their home due to the depletion of resources, the Masters chose this planet, Ars, as their new home.〉
Helente continued to recount the history of the past.
＊ ＊ ＊
"It's just as No. 700672 said."
No. 700672 had told Jin that the guardians and their superiors would likely not be bellicose. The Masters—the Progenitors—were an ancient race that disliked conflict. Their creations had inherited that same philosophy.
From what he was hearing now, the gathered information and the details from No. 700672 matched the deductions Jin had made almost perfectly.
"But I didn't think they'd gone as far as changing the orbit of Ars... though I suppose if you're migrating, it makes sense that you'd want the climate to be familiar."
Jin honestly took his hat off to the technical skill required to actually execute such a plan. And so, he continued to listen to Helente’s story.
＊ ＊ ＊
〈The Masters feared that the indigenous lifeforms would go extinct, so they took all possible conservation measures. Those are the flora and fauna inhabiting the archipelago.〉
"So they endured not only the increase in gravity but the environmental changes as well? Surely there were species that could not adapt?"
〈You are perceptive. Regrettably, that is correct. We estimate that we protected and isolated about eighty percent of the original species of both plants and animals, but only half of those survived.〉
"I thought as much."
〈The remaining species could not adapt to the changes in the environment; they withered, failed, and perished.〉
"Only on the islands? What about the continents?"
〈Those were left to nature. We only looked after the flora and fauna in the archipelago. Protecting the entire world was simply beyond our capacity.〉
"And are you aware of the creatures we now call 'magical beasts'?"
〈Of course. They are original species that mutated due to the effects of gravitational fluctuations and the increase in free ether concentration, eventually becoming fixed as new species. Those are the magical beasts.〉
"I see. That also matches our hypothesis almost exactly."
〈Hoho, so you have reached the point where you can form hypotheses? How very interesting.〉
If anything, Helente’s tone seemed to take on a hint of amusement. This was likely because she was not a hostile entity, but rather a sort of planetary protector. The deduction that neutralizing the guardians would force the entity behind them to emerge had proven to be a direct hit.
〈The Masters said they had done a terrible thing to the existing lifeforms. They regarded it as their own sin.〉
"So they were aware of that..."
〈Indeed. The Masters did not like conflict. They wished only to live in peace....But I have digressed.〉
"By the way, are you aware of an incident about three hundred years ago where the free ether concentration in the Northern Hemisphere plummeted?"
〈I am aware. That was an event where free ether converted into secondary energy in a widespread chain reaction.〉
"What is secondary energy?"
〈That is the Masters' definition. They called the vibration of matter, including sound waves, primary vibrations. Electromagnetic waves, including light waves, were called secondary vibrations. Waves traveling through free ether are tertiary vibrations.〉
"I see, I understand."
〈The energy possessed by those secondary vibrations is what we call secondary energy....In short, it means the free ether turned into light, does it not?〉
"So it seems. We call it an Ether Stampede."
〈I see. An appropriate name.〉
"Since then, the free ether on the planet has decreased drastically and has yet to fully recover. Do you know the reason?"
〈Of course.〉
"And the reason is?"
〈I cannot tell you that.〉
It seemed she wasn't going to share everything. However, simply learning that the reason the free ether concentration hadn't recovered was because of something they were doing was a major revelation. For now, it wasn't as if the current situation was making things impossible for Jin and the others.
"Then, could you tell me something else? Based on the distribution of free ether on the planet, there should be a flow of free ether that pierces through the core from the South Pole toward the North Pole. How is that being accomplished?"
〈Fufufu, you have even investigated that? How very interesting....Your deduction is correct. I can tell you that much. Originally, the Northern Hemisphere was the land the Masters chose as their residence, so we increase the free ether concentration there.〉
"I understand that. But there seems to be nothing on the seafloor at the South Pole?"
〈You have investigated thoroughly. However, your search is in vain. The Magi Machine that creates the flow of free ether, sending it from the South Pole through the planetary core toward the North Pole, is not on the seafloor. We would not install it in such an unstable and uncertain location.〉
It stood to reason that no matter how much the Mermaid Squad Jin had dispatched searched, they couldn't find anything on the seabed; it hadn't been installed there in the first place.
"Then, where is it?"
〈I cannot speak of that either. It is an essential Magi Machine, after all.〉
That also made sense, and Land 11 gave up on pursuing the matter further.