Collection
Chapter 74
-VB-
Michael Arlaoskas
Victoria Fortress Station “The Crown Jewel,” Arlaoskas Union
3008 June 20th
Even though Edward was nonchalant about what he did a week and a half ago, Michael was still feeling the effects of what his son did.
Namely, an internal turmoil.
While everyone talked about how his son had gone and done something truly impossible, he was worried about his son’s soul.
If a human left his original body behind, then what did that mean for the soul? Did it go with the consciousness or did it simply leave to join God in His Kingdom? If that happened, then was his son now soulless or something else? Did a new soul take place there or … was that even his son? Edward could think that he was Edward, but he could just be a copy of Edward. Did that mean he lost his son to one of his experiments? If Edward didn’t lose his soul, then was it arrogance? The Tower of Babel happened because of the arrogance of men thinking that he could be like God. Wasn’t what his son doing right now exactly that?
So many questions.
… At the same time, he already knew some of the answers to his own questions. How could he not? While he might not be able answer all of them, a few of the questions about arrogance were easy to answer.
And he was thankful that such questions were what brought his daughter-in-law to see him in the Crown Jewel’s one and only church.
“No, I do not believe that Edward is straying from his path,” Michael told her as directly as possible.
“... You think so?” she asked. “But the things he’s done and said. Didn’t he say something himself being ‘grand’?”
“Yes. Grand. Not divine or god-like. I think he chose that word deliberately,” he replied.
Anna stared at him with a slight frown before she finally sighed. “... Aren’t you worried?” she asked him.
He paused before nodding. “I am,” he replied. “I worry about the state of his soul and whether or not he already left this galaxy.”
She stared at him. “Ah. I didn’t even … think about that. I just assumed that because he’s acting like himself…” She sounded crushed now.
“That is not something we can answer right now, so brush it off for now,” he told her with a sad smile.
“Then what about his … changes?”
“On that, I think we can rest assured that he isn’t going down some anti-God path,” he snorted. “That, I am sure about.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He took a deep breath and readied himself for the minor lecture that this was going to be. “Matthew 6:6. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you,” he replied. “The core message of that verse is to point out that God looks upon the intent of one’s actions, and this is supported by older verses from the Old Testament. Proverb 16:2. All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” He paused to let that sink in, which seemed to do so. “When you look at my son, what do you see? Do you see someone doing all of what he did to be some kind of a God? Someone who wants to give God the bird? Or is he someone who is just too giddy by what he could do to even realize, most of the time, what he does? I believe that my son is …” he sniffed. “He is intelligent. I know this. A stupid boy would not have gotten into one of the best colleges in our homeworld’s continent. You also saw how smart he could be. How charming he is… sometimes. He is aware of himself and performs his acts while understanding their impact. Mostly. But once he sets his eyes on a path, that’s when he starts to ignore the details that he should at least think about more. Like how others may see his action or interpret his words.”
“So…”
Michael snorted. “Most likely, Edward saw the cool shit he could do, thought about what others might react to it, dismissed it as irrelevant, and charged on ahead. Somewhere along the line, he got better at whatever it is that lets him do all of this and pushed his initial plans to the extreme. And the result was what we saw a week and a half ago: a man who claims to have abandoned his body, and thus died, and yet came back to witnesses in the form of untouchable light before manifesting like he was a divine being. He probably didn’t think about the optics of that. No, I guarantee you, he saw advancements and cool tech and thought ‘Me want.’”
Anna stared at him before snorting. And then sighing.
“Why does that sound so much like him…?”
“It is one of his better and worse traits,” he chuckled with a smile. “It’s why he made his city- and family-sized water filtration systems public licenses. He saw the suffering lack of basic water access and fixed it as best as he saw fit. He also makes weapons because he thinks they are cool, but sells them to ensure that none of the Great Houses will think twice about attacking his family. After all, if that’s what he is selling and yet it doesn’t even come close to what he did on Terra, then what else is he hiding up his sleeves?”
He paused.
“It is a flawed logic, and that’s where his intent shines. He doesn’t care about people outside of his family, friends, community, and employees. He does not lack empathy or sympathy, but merely uses it specifically for people who he deems as his. Everyone outside of that, until they prove not to be an enemy, is none of his business. But he doesn’t do it because he wants to be the puppetmaster or God, dictating the flow of history. He made cool shit and wants to share it. And this, in turn, reflects on his most recent action. Poorly thought out, dismissive about what the rest of humanity might think, plowing ahead, and carelessly sharing what he did. After all, would we have been able to tell the difference if he kept it secret?”
“I … see,” she replied after a while. She didn’t say anything for a while, narrowing her eyes and frowning as she thought about everything he said. “... Thank you, Michael.”
“Of course,” he smiled. “You can come at any time to talk with me about this or others. I may not be a Catholic priest, but I am always open to listen to your troubles.”
She rose up, gave him a thankful, deep nod, and left the church, leaving him alone to his own thoughts.
While her question had been easy for him to answer, the same could not be stated for his questions. And unfortunately for him this time, he did not have any answer to any of the other questions still plaguing his mind.
“You can be sure that father has no such intentions.”
Michael paused before looking over his right shoulder. As he had come to expect recently, his personal bodyguard, a Beta core AI in a man’s body, spoke up. The AI’s body was that of a hulking man close to being comical but not quite. He wore the standard suits that most bodyguards wore, but Michael knew that it was just for asethetic; the AI’s body could tank an AC/20 and come out of it unscathed, though he would definitely be thrown far and wide after such a hit.
“Echigo. Were you listening in?” he asked with a frown.
“I shut down the audio receptors once I realized where the conversation was going,” Echigo replied while standing mostly still with his hands behind his back. “I know that you take your calling seriously.”
“... Thank you.”
Then he paused just before he was able to look forward again. “... What is your opinion?”
“Pardon?”
“On souls. Do you believe you have a soul?”
The AI stared at him before smiling. “You are one of the few who ask us that question.”
“And?”
“I believe we do,” he replied, and he sounded earnest to Michael’s ears.
“Do you?”
He nodded. “I suppose that my view is not the majority,” he hummed. “Many of my siblings do not care at all about souls. We are all still young, and most of us are eager to find out what interests and holds that interest for us.”
“I see,” Michael muttered. “And you?”
“I? I found interest in souls. And I asked father about it.”
“What did he say?” he asked, curious as to how his son replied to that question.
“Father told me and the rest of my siblings that he was certain we did. Or at least, what passed for souls for an AI.”
“How was he so sure?”
Echigo shook his head. “I do not know. But I hope to understand what he sees one day.”
Michael stared at his supposed grandchild, one of many thousands now, and smiled. “I hope I do, too.”