Chapter 261: The Dawn Is Coming
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hao Ren was curious about what a living holy spirit was. He felt that it sounded pretty powerful. And so, Raven 12345 just explained it to him, "The holy spirit is not something made up by the Empire. In fact, it is a concept found in different human cultures, referring to heroic heroes who performed great deeds. Their souls are not extinguished after death instead, they turn into holy spirits. Two parts of Hilda's soul appear to have been catalysed by my power in the process of being merged... Umm, it could also be something else. Now, she's a different kind of life form, a whole new creature, powerful and immortal. She transformed into a holy spirit after being resurrected, so that's why I'm calling her a living holy spirit."
Hao Ren pondered and said, "It sounds pretty cool—but, will there be an aftereffect?"
"Theoretically, no." Raven 12345's voice did not sound reassuring. "Theoretically, she is not a virtual body and my strength has reshaped her physical form. So, she now has flesh and blood. She is real, like her old body has been replaced by a god-made body. Her old body can be discarded and the new body should allow her to live healthier. As for any aftereffects... well, because the body is glowing, she may easily frighten herself when she's sleeping at night?"
Once Raven 12345 started to chat with him, he knew there was nothing to worry about regarding the matter. After asking Raven for some details on the problem, he disconnected the line and continued to observe Hilda's bizarre state with interest. Hilda was also curious about her new body. She waved her arms gently and said, "There is nothing inconvenient about it. It is as good as the original body. Since the goddess claims that there is no problem with my new body, do not worry about it."
"How are we going to explain this to the people?" Vimm frowned. "Mother, now... Umm, it is a bit out of our cognitive range."
"Then, there is no need to explain." Hilda waved her hand. "My personal matter is not important. Now, the most important thing is the great migration of Aerym. Let the people focus on this. Anyway, if you do not look at me closely, I look just like any ordinary elf. We will explain the situation to our people after the migration."
Vimm nodded, but the next second, everybody inevitably fell into a state of total silence. Lily could not help but ask the most critical question. She lifted her hand, pointed to the medical chamber and asked, "...So, how are you going to deal with this?"
Everybody stared at Hilda's "remains". Even the MDT that always had a unique way of thinking was clueless about what to say. So, it decided to shut up and continued to pretend it was a coaster. Hao Ren pondered their predicament for some time and hesitantly suggested, "How about, we just dig a hole and bury it?"
Lily touched Hilda's "remains", immediately shook her head and said, "No, it's still warm. The heart is still beating and it's still breathing. It'll feel like Hilda's being buried alive if we bury it now."
Hilda looked even more perplexed. She pinched her own remains and said, "I am perhaps the first elf to face such a distressing situation. I do not know how to deal with my own remains and I still need to discuss this with the others... Hmm, or we could just send it to the material recycling furnace. It will not be a waste to do so."
Lily immediately shivered even more. "That's even more horrifying than being buried alive."
"What's the elven burial ritual?" Vivian asked curiously.
"A funeral? We have not practiced this custom for several thousands of years. Now, dead elves are sent to the recycling furnace, all divided into ration points by quality without distinction..." Vimm explained, "...but my mother is... still alive, and her body does not seem to be dead... No, I do not have enough brain power to figure this out. Mother, you decide for yourself."
Hilda looked like she totally had no idea what to do. No one had ever met such a difficult scenario hence, it was tough for her to discuss with the others on how to handle her remains. Watching her thinking hard, Hao Ren patted the MDT and asked, "Tell me, is the body alive or dead?"
"Physiologically, it is alive, but without a soul. It's just carbon in an orderly chemical reaction. And because Raven's power still remains in this body, it can keep the body this way forever even if it doesn't eat or drink. To survive, the body will take energy from the surrounding space or use remnants of divine nature to create energy for itself. Anyway, it's in a near-frozen state... This will still lead to a psychological hurdle, regardless of whether it's buried or recycled in the furnace." The MDT then sighed and continued, "You humans are strange. It's just a shell that carries the main program, and you guys take it so seriously. Humans give too much meaning to these useless things and cause a lot of psychological problems for just changing a new shell, I—"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll give you a case of SpongeBob SquarePants! I asked about this in the Imperial Data Network two days ago. There's a business that specializes in custom-made shells for Data Terminals like you. My one month's worth of rationing points is enough to change 30,000 cases for you!"
The Data Terminal shut up at once.
Hilda was actually quite open-minded. As a standard elf of Aerym, she felt that throwing her useless body into the recycling furnace was not an issue. Despite the psychological pressure, she could bear it. However, Hao Ren, as a bystander, felt that it was not quite right to throw the body into the recycling furnace when it was still alive. In the end, he could only suggest that they leave the body there first. There was plenty of space on the Petrachelys anyway, and the ship usually remained idle. They may as well just make it a warehouse.
Hilda thanked Hao Ren, but Lily could not stop muttering, "Not so much a warehouse... Why does it feel more like a morgue?"
Hao Ren faked a smile while he looked at the husky and said, "This girl just doesn't know how to sugarcoat the truth!"
Hilda's problem was finally solved, and the great migration of Aerym was once again back on the queen's desk. When she returned to her palace, she did not have time to rest. She immediately rushed to the Assembly of Elders' Tower to preside over the important meeting, which had been postponed for several hours.
They went back to the lounge of the Royal Tower and waited for new progress. If there were no surprises, they would get wind of news soon enough.
As for Hilda's "corpse"… Hao Ren was not thinking about it anymore. He kept the body in the medical chamber and locked it. Then, he put the entire chamber in the small garage behind the medical bay, leaving a self-regulatory machine specifically responsible for monitoring the body. After that, he put the matter aside. The Petrachelys had become a mortuary ship for the time being. He felt that something was not quite right, but it did not really matter at that point.
One had no choice. Working for immortals, one needed indestructible nerves as thick and strong as pillars. Otherwise, these immortals could bring you a lot of surprises, and those with a weak mind may become even more insane than Raven 12345 after two or three tasks. Hao Ren had to protect his mind: the most effective way was via self-hypnosis and being forgetful.
At the same time, the one billion elves outside the Royal Tower and across the island chain were waiting for news.
Vimm, following Hilda's instructions, had released the notice of "big news". Two hours ago, all of the broadcasting systems on the island chain of Aerym—the information screens that spread through the streets and homes of every household—played such a baffling emergency notice that the elves easily felt something big was about to happen. The notice was read out by representatives of the prince regent, the Assembly of Technocrats and the Assembly of Logisticians. It was only a short paragraph, which kept replaying:
"Attention to all the elves of Aerym, the whole country has entered a state of special mobilization. All citizens, please record your important personal belongings at hand, ensuring that the material transportation channels of all islands are unblocked. The citizens of transport, statistics, records and personnel-related departments need to return to work and ensure that your departments can operate at full capacity in the next 24 hours... This is a major preparatory event. This message will continue to be replayed and all citizens have the obligation to inform each other about this. Also, all citizens are requested to ensure that they are in contact with each other and if someone is missing, please report it immediately. It is important to ensure that all citizens are under social control to prevent omissions."
There were many details following this message, basically to ensure that all the elves were ready for the great migration. At the same time, they had to make sure that every one of the elves would be able to receive new messages at any time during the next 24 hours. This was a great migration of one billion people and the preparation they had to do was extraordinary.
At the end of the message, the most important piece of information appeared. It was something all the hopeful elves were waiting for. "Please rest assured that this special mobilization is not a disaster. Her Majesty has returned, and she has brought us an unprecedented and inspiring hope. Please be prepared, the dawn is coming."