Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

Chapter 94 Possibilities

"Humans can evolve in many different directions." Char's voice returned to calm, but every word was more powerful. "Coordinators are humans who have been genetically engineered, Naturals are humans who have continued through natural evolution, and there are some people—like me—who have awakened through other means."

"I am not a Coordinator. I am not a pure Natural either. I am a New Human—a human form that awakens under special conditions. My brain structure, spatial cognition, and psychic abilities all exceed the scope of ordinary humans. But this is not because I have been modified, but because my potential has been unleashed."

The murmurs in the hall grew louder. Reporters' fingers flew across their keyboards, and camera lenses were fixed on Xia's face.

"What am I saying?" Char's voice was calm. "I'm saying—the possibilities for humanity are far greater than we think. Coordinators, Naturals, New Humans—and even other forms we haven't yet discovered are just different branches on the human evolutionary tree. It's not about right or wrong, superior or inferior, just different."

He paused for a moment, his deep red eyes sweeping over everyone in the hall.

"Therefore, I am here today to propose a concept—not faith in the religious sense, but faith in the human sense."

He turned around and wrote three lines on the whiteboard behind the podium: "Human beings are not divided by race."

"Evolution knows no path."

"The future will not be divided into camps."

"These three sentences are the answers I found on the battlefield." Xia put down his pen, turned around, and faced the people in the hall. "First, humanity is not divided into races. It's not that Naturals and Coordinators are equal, but that humanity is not divided into races."

Because the premise of "equality" is the acknowledgment of "difference," while the premise of "non-discrimination" is the acknowledgment of "sameness." We are all human beings, just on different paths toward the future.

The murmurs in the hall gradually subsided. Some nodded, some took notes, and some simply listened quietly.

"Secondly, evolution has no fixed path." Char continued, "Coordinators evolved through genetic engineering, Naturals evolved through natural selection, and New Humans evolved through spiritual awakening. Each path has its unique value, and each path should be respected. It's not about which one is better, but that each one is worthwhile."

"Third, the future will be without factions." This doesn't mean Orb will abandon neutrality, but rather that neutrality is not the goal; peace is. Orb's neutrality is not for self-preservation, but to provide all of humanity with a model of "unbiasedness." In this country, Naturals and Coordinators will coexist peacefully. In this country, people of different races and backgrounds can strive for the same goal. This world can hold many possibilities.

He put down his pen, his deep red eyes sweeping across the large theater.

"I know these words sound idealistic. I know some will say you're too naive, that wars don't end with slogans. But I want to ask: if we don't even dare to utter naive slogans, if we don't even dare to have ideals, then what are we fighting for? To kill more people? To create more hatred?"

The hall was deathly silent.

"No." Char's voice was low and firm. "We fight so that one day we won't have to fight anymore, so that future generations won't have to experience the suffering we went through. This isn't a contradiction; it's reality. In war, we have no choice. But when we emerge from war, we have a choice—to choose peace, to choose coexistence, to choose to transcend the trap of binary thinking."

He stood up straight, raised his right hand, and clenched it into a fist.

I believe humanity can transcend hatred, I believe humanity can move towards peace, and I believe humanity can find a better path than mutual destruction.

The speech lasted a full hour.

When Xia finished speaking, the hall was silent for a long time. So long that the reporters began to exchange uneasy glances, so long that the cameramen began to adjust their focus—and then, applause broke out.

It wasn't the kind of polite, formulaic applause, but a heartfelt, enthusiastic, even somewhat frenzied clapping. Some people stood up, some shed tears, and some simply clapped their hands so hard they turned red.

Uzumi sat in the front row, not clapping. He simply looked at Char on the podium, his eyes filled with a complex emotion—not pride, not emotion, but something deeper, more fundamental: relief. He could finally rest easy.

Mina sat next to Uzumi, her red eyes fixed on Char, a slight smile playing on her lips. She didn't clap—to her, applause was too soft. She simply said silently in her heart—"You said it. You finally said it."

Erica sat in the technician's seat, tears silently streaming down her face. She knew that from this day forward, everything would change.

Cagalli stood in the audience, tears welling in her eyes. She clapped her hands vigorously until they turned red. Then she lowered her head and wrote a few lines in her notebook—"My brother said that humanity knows no race. Evolution knows no path. The future knows no camp. I remember that."

Kanard stood beside her, his gray eyes holding a composure beyond his years. He didn't clap, but stood quietly, watching Char on the platform. Then, he whispered—"Brother, you really are the best."

On that day, all the major media outlets in Orb reported on the speech on their front pages.

The Orb Times headline read—"The Comet's Declaration: Humanity Knows No Race, Evolution Knows No Path." The article was carefully worded, yet it conveyed an excited, almost frenzied sentiment. The commentator wrote, "This is the first time since the founding of Orb that a leader has publicly proposed a concept that transcends the binary opposition of Coordinator vs. Natural. Whether you agree or disagree, you must acknowledge—this is a turning point."

The Dawn Newspaper's headline was even more radical—"A New Direction for Orb: From Passive Neutrality to Active Evolution." This newspaper was an internal publication of the Dawn Society, but its influence extended far beyond the society itself. The article stated: "Char Langlad Ashar's speech was not merely the personal opinion of Orb's Commander-in-Chief of Defense, but a declaration of Orb's future national policy. It was a philosophy of human evolution."

International media reactions were more complex. The *Washington Post*, part of the Atlantic Federation, ran the headline: "Ob's 'Beyond Race' Concept: Idealism or Political Calculation?" The article's tone was clearly skeptical, yet undeniably impactful. PLANT's official media outlet, the *PLANT Daily News*, ran the headline: "Ob Proposes 'Human Evolutionary Pluralism,' Coordinators Defined as 'One Evolutionary Path.'" The article's analysis was relatively mild, but a complex emotion permeated the text—not anger, not agreement, but a sense of bewilderment that "we have been redefined."

The propaganda machine of the Blue Universe immediately launched its attack. Murta Azrael, in his speech, publicly named Char: "The Commander-in-Chief of Orb said that humanity is not divided into races"? Then why do the Coordinators slaughter Naturals? Why does PLANT deploy neutron jammers on Earth? It's nothing but an excuse to betray Naturals!

But this time, the attack from the blue universe didn't cause the usual uproar. Because after the full video of Orb's speech was uploaded online, the comments section showed an unprecedented split—

"I am a Coordinator and have lived in Orb for ten years. Every word that Commander-in-Chief Asha said was something I felt in Orb. No one here discriminates against me because I am a Coordinator. I hope that one day, the whole world can be like this."

"I am a natural person, raised in the Atlantic Federation. I used to hate the Coordinators, hated that they were smarter than me, stronger than me, and lived longer than me. But what Commander-in-Chief Asha said made me start to think—maybe I don't hate them, I hate that I don't have their abilities. Maybe what we should do is make ourselves stronger, instead of dragging others down."

"I am a PLANT soldier. I've killed Naturals, many Naturals. I thought I was fighting for the survival of Coordinators. But after listening to Commander-in-Chief Asuka's speech, I started to wonder—what am I fighting for? To keep the Coordinators alive? Or to wipe out all the Naturals? I can't tell anymore."

That night, Char did not return to the Dawn Society.

He stood alone on the balcony of the Askha mansion, gazing at the distant elevator cables. Moonlight shimmered on the sea. He held a glass of sake in his hand, not drinking, just holding it.

"elder brother."

Cagalli's voice came from behind him. Char didn't turn around.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I can't sleep." Cagalli walked over to him and stood beside him on the balcony. "I took a lot of notes from today's speech."

"Um."

When you say that humanity transcends race, I think of the children of refugee campers, and the mothers who lost everything in the ruins. What would they think if they heard that?

Char paused for a moment. "Some people will cry, some will laugh, and some will think it's just a political slogan."

But at least they heard it. Before they heard it, they didn't even have the chance to be "treated as human beings."

Cagalli lowered her head, looking at the notebook in her hands. "Brother, you said there would be no factions in the future." Can Orb really do that? Not take sides, not be swallowed up by either side?

"I don't know," Xia said honestly, "but we'll never succeed if we don't try."

Cagalli looked up, her amber eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Brother, I believe you."

Char's lips curled into a slight smile. "Thank you."

Cagalli smiled, a smile that reminded Char of the woman in the old photograph in Uzumi's study—his mother. The same blonde hair, the same eyes, the same warm smile.

"Brother, I'm going to sleep. You should get some rest too."

"Um.

""

Cagalli turned and walked back into the room. She stopped at the door and glanced back at Char.

"Brother, your speech today made me feel that perhaps the war really will end one day."

She left. Xia stood alone on the balcony, gazing at the sea under the moonlight.

"Maybe," he whispered, "maybe it really will end."

The Obu Parliament Hall.

Char Langlad Ashar delivered a speech entitled "Humanity Without Race," and on that day, the people of Orb heard for the first time a possibility that transcended the binary opposition of "Coordinator vs. Natural."

On this day, for the first time, media outlets around the world linked the words "Orb" and "the future of humanity."

On this day, a seed was planted.

It will sprout, grow, bloom, and bear fruit. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, perhaps not in this era.

But once the seed has been planted, it will not disappear.