People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

It's not yet time for the Secret Order to personally venture out. Before that, if they can accumulate wealth by selling desserts in Laterano and use that wealth to support a group with similar ideals, they can proceed cautiously when they finally do venture out.

Patia nodded:

"An infected guerrilla group? Although Ursus is a bit far away, I'll go and find out."

PS:

Chapter 336 Even if everything is destroyed, the glory of humanity will live on forever.

Lateran is a large city with a population of six million.

When Ernst last visited Lateran, he also briefly strolled around here, and to be honest, that experience left a particularly deep impression on him.

Compared to the somewhat ostentatious prosperity of Siesta, Laterano's prosperity seemed to have more depth. Without exaggeration, every Laterano person Ernst saw had exceptionally clear eyes, like a lake reflecting the sky, making it hard to imagine what kind of wonderful ideas they held.

But this is also the strangest thing about Laterano.

As the creator of Terra's current Gregorian calendar, Lateran possesses unprecedented cohesion. The Papal government, led by the Pope, holds undisputed absolute authority in Lateran, and their jurisdiction permeates every aspect of life. Even something as mundane as bombing, which would undoubtedly be classified as a terrorist attack in other countries, can be carried out in Lateran simply by submitting a report. This is enough to demonstrate the absolute freedom under Lateran's constraints.

People only relentlessly grant what they can confidently control and reclaim, and power is no exception. It was precisely because of their confidence in the strength of their shackles that Pope Ivangelist XI and previous popes were able to grant the Laterans so many "unthinkable" privileges.

But where does their confidence come from? A person's ability to govern is always limited, which is why a whole administrative system is needed to assist them. Autocracy concentrates power, but advisors, cabinets, and staff have never left the stage of history. This has always been the case, without exception.

Even so, administrative capacity has its limits. A city of six million people, where everyone carries a gun and fires cannons, is not so easy to manage in Terra. Not to mention, it has developed so well that it hasn't experienced a single disturbance in over a thousand years.

Previously, Ernst had not understood this point until he met Andorn in the central garden of Saint Marso and then met with Ivangelista XI and the Law, at which point he suddenly realized it.

Goodness, I thought you guys with the halo were real angelic philosophers who had all ascended to psychic powers, but I didn't expect that you guys with thick eyebrows and big eyes also believed in the Mech God Cult?

Bro, when are you going to can it?

Strictly speaking, after that incident, the mystery surrounding Lateran didn't diminish for Ernst. Rather, the existence of that supercomputer, suspected to be a relic of a pre-existing civilization, actually increased its mystique.

However, Ernst's admiration for Laterano diminished, while his worries and doubts increased.

After all, it's well known that in science fiction, the most problematic element is the machine. People tend to overestimate the stability of programs and underestimate the loyalty of the human heart, because most people believe that programs are rigid and infallible, while the human heart is always unpredictable and elusive.

Ernst couldn't give a specific evaluation of that statement, but if he were in Ernst's shoes, he wouldn't place his hopes on pure mechanics. Leaving aside the fact that machines, without maintenance, are prone to bugs after prolonged operation, even without bugs, the ever-changing human heart and the unchanging machine are inherently contradictory.

If development continues, one day the person who created the machines will realize that the machines they placed all their hopes on have become runaway servants that stifle their last hope. In other words, they might inadvertently turn into useless individuals.

By this logic, have the Sarkaz been turned into useless people?

Ernst could only say that there wasn't any yet.

But some signs have already emerged.

After all, Lateran had not changed at all for over a thousand years.

The city may be expanding, and the original holy city has been moved from the ground to a mobile city, but Lateran's essence remains unchanged. A nation that enjoys ten years of peace can be considered to be in its golden age; a nation that enjoys a hundred years of peace can be said to have produced many wise rulers and enjoy national prosperity; but a nation that enjoys a thousand years of peace without even a single internal strife or uprising...

Ernst could only call it stagnation, an abnormal stagnation, a stagnation that violated the laws of social development.

Judging from Ivangelista XI's almost unconditional obedience to the law, it is likely that sooner or later, it will no longer be the Sakotas who believe in the law, but rather the Sakotas who obey the law.

But overall, this is just Ernst's conjecture based on the current situation. The situation in Sarkaz may not be as bad as he imagines. Under the shackles of the [Law], Ernst has seen people like Andorn who are determined to change things and are determined to bring about a revolution.

Perhaps he's worrying unnecessarily; it's best if he is.

Otherwise, if something were to happen to the Holy City, with its six million inhabitants, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.

【please confirm. 】

You have three chances to confirm.

Your only options are yes or no.

【please confirm. 】

【............】

Gazing at the three lines of text, "Law," displayed on the screen suspended in mid-air, Ernst took a deep breath, his breathing heavy, and uttered the word:

[no].

His judgment was correct.

This supercomputer does indeed possess a certain degree of translation capability and has already localized the operating language of Terra.

Otherwise, how could popes like Ivangelist XI and the ten popes before him have managed to govern Lateran so well by guesswork and in accordance with the law?

What supports Ernst's conjecture, besides logical reasoning, is solid evidence.

As he walked through the familiar passageway, down the long, dark staircase, past the saints' cemetery, the ancient battlefield of the Sarkaz and Sarkaz, and finally arrived at this magnificent hall, the supercomputer inside was slightly different from the one he had seen on his last visit.

To be precise, its main interface has undergone some changes; more accurately, a line of instructions has appeared on it.

[A crisis has been detected... New privilege holders have been added to the list...]

It was written in Lateran. Fortunately, Ernst had taken the time to learn a little after his last visit to Lateran, so he could barely guess what it said.

Ernst will not discuss for the time being what kind of crisis was detected as mentioned in the law, but the addition of a new authorized user is enough to explain a lot.

Ernst recognized the name of the newly granted access user—No. 5301233 Andorn.

If Ernst is not mistaken, the "authority holder" should refer to someone who has the right to perform simple operations on the "law," that is, an administrator. And in present-day Lateran, this administrator, if nothing unexpected happens, should only be one person, and that person is currently in his hometown—Pope Ivangelista XI of Lateran.

Upon seeing this line, Ernst couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed. Logically, this should have been a very serious, solemn, and confidential matter.

The law directly added it to the list of authorized powers. Does this count as receiving the "recognition of the law" as Ivangelista XI mentioned?

If Ernst remembers correctly, Andorn is currently in exile. Although no one in the notary office, except Federico, and in Laterano, except Fiameta, is willing to pursue him, he is still a criminal in the legal sense.

Your laws are really hungry, aren't they? They're calling people out by name right away.

Andorn is probably still snuggling under a bridge somewhere, and then he turns around and hears that he's been appointed by the Law as the Uncrowned Pope. Doesn't that feel a bit like being officially appointed?

Of course, if you ask Ernst whether he supports it, then Ernst definitely will. This is Lateran's internal affair; he came to borrow the translation software. The legal naming is none of his business, so why should he express any objections?

I silently noted this down and planned to tell King Ivangelista XI when I returned to Kherag. I'd see how he reacted then.

If he wanted to keep it a secret, Ernst wouldn't have such high principles; this was an accident after all, and he would definitely pretend he didn't see anything. But Ernst figured that, given the Pope's adherence to the law, this... might actually actually work out.

Whether Andorn is willing to accept this label is another matter.

After composing himself, Ernst took out his communicator, glanced at the [Law] app, and pressed play.

[Didi - (Unknown language)]

As the sound rang out, the main screen of the Law suddenly went black, as if the power had been cut off.

[Didi - (Unknown language)]

The sound rang out again, and a red pop-up appeared on the Law's main screen. Large, yellow-on-black exclamation marks—readable by both Little Carter and Mandela—filled the entire pop-up, making the small line of red text within it stand out prominently.

[Didi - (Unknown language)]

The sound rang out for the last time.

Ernst's cold sweat slowly slid down his temples, and the fur on his tail stood up instinctively.

He looked up at the warning pop-up that almost filled the entire screen, and the blood-red text in the center, some of which had turned into gibberish but added to the oppressive atmosphere. He suddenly felt a sense of suffocation and shock.

That wasn't suffocating for Laterano.

He was suffocating for the Terran civilization.

Because the content of that line of blood-red text was so clear, indirect, and obvious, even if there were a few garbled characters, it did not affect the reading of the whole sentence, nor did it prevent Ernst from guessing the content of the unknown language being shouted in the walkie-talkie based on the phrase "response to the law".

Because the host's answers seemed to be stained with indelible blood:

[T*&S? Ground control has received orders. The final weapon is ready. Target: star, planet, moon, and warship in this system.]

Please confirm.

But at the same time, he was also deeply shocked, not because he had finally managed to glimpse a corner of that ancient civilization, but because of the only line of clear text in the pop-up window that seemed to be stained with blood.

Do not blame yourself, my compatriot. The decision you made standing here will be respected by all of humanity.

Even if everything is destroyed, humanity's glory will endure.

Chapter 337 Terra Pinduoduo, So Many Surprises!

Lateran, Papal Palace.

Mostima rubbed his chin, carefully examining Ernst from head to toe with a suspicious look on his face:

Ernst, you look terrible.

"What happened down there?"

Ernst turned his head, glanced at Mostima, opened his mouth, but all the words he wanted to say ultimately turned into a sigh:

"Don't ask, don't ask."

To be honest, he really wanted to share such a big thing with others.

But when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn't know where to begin or how to start.

What was he supposed to say? Should he tell Mostima that Terra might not have originally been called Terra, but had another name, like [Ta*s]? Or should he tell Mostima that the greatest achievement of Project Star Reach was receiving a signal from outer space, and that this signal was very likely an execution request for some kind of extinction order? If it weren't for the powerful ionizing interference from the isolation layer blocking communication between Terra and the outside world, Terra, along with the star, other planets, and moons of this system, might already be at +8 mineral levels?

That would be really interesting. Who knows, maybe some spacefaring civilization's research ship will sail over here in the future and discover a grave on this planet. After they send scientists to excavate it, it could trigger a chain of events, which could then unlock a second grave, and a third grave.

One Terran people, from the First Men civilization, one Tikkaz civilization, plus one even older human civilization.

Perhaps after exploring, you might unlock an unknown new star system on the star map, which may contain an ocean planet or Gaia planet—sol-3.

It should be Gaia, right? If this human is indeed the one Ernst knows, and has developed to the point of interstellar exploration, then it's entirely possible for them to modify their home planet.

Of course, these are things that happen on another, less pleasant timeline of the stars.

On this timeline, let alone whether Ernst would be willing to share this with Mostima, he dares to say whether Mostima would even believe it? Even if she did believe it, would she be able to understand it?

For a civilization whose astronomy is still at the astrological stage, and for the nation within that civilization that may be most deeply influenced by previous civilizations, the discovery of such a shocking event by others may not bring enlightenment or unity, but rather questioning and division.

In a cesspool like Terra, the tendency to avoid seeking medical help is far more likely than to blame each other when problems arise than to unite and overcome difficulties together.

Let's hide it for now.

Ernst felt somewhat relieved. Fortunately, he was the one who received the recording, fortunately, he was the one who remembered the existence of the Lateran host, and fortunately, he was the one who faced the choice.

If someone like the Duke of Kester got their hands on this recording, Ernst suspects she might even use it to blackmail the entire Terra.

Ernst did not regret or feel remorse for choosing the option "NO".

If the choice given by the host didn't affect him, but only involved outsiders, he might think about it before pressing no. But the host's answer clearly meant that he wanted to drag the entire Terra into chaos. Ernst wasn't so crazy as to set himself off like fireworks.

Back when he was setting off fireworks on the snowy mountain, he was shooting off his own brother's fireworks too!

Mostima was indeed curious. Meeting the Law was considered an incredibly sacred and solemn event in Lateran. In the Lateran texts Mostima had read, each pope underwent a grand ceremony before meeting the Law after his coronation, and to this day, without exception, all those who had been able to meet the Law were Sakortas.

Ernst, however, was neither Sakota nor did the process of meeting with the "Law" appear suspiciously brief. He practically rushed to Lateran, handed over a handwritten letter and tokens, testified himself, and then entered the Papal Palace, emerging less than two hours later.

That's way too short a time!

Are you going to greet the [Law]? It's noon, have you eaten yet?

Ernst, in particular, looked terrible, his face was pale. Those who knew him would think something had happened to him in the face of the law, while those who didn't would think he needed to take Liuwei Dihuang Pills (a traditional Chinese medicine).

Ernst kept a straight face, clearly unwilling to say anything more about what had happened in the Papal Palace, so Mostima could only regretfully choose not to ask any more questions.

Although she is also a Sarkaz and has a strong sense of curiosity, Mostima's greatest characteristic compared to Remuel is that she can take things on and let them go.

She knew this matter was probably extremely sensitive, so sensitive that Ernst, who would even share embarrassing photos from his childhood, had chosen to keep it a secret this time. Since that was the case, she decided not to pry.

"Alright, then I won't ask any more questions."

She smiled and shrugged, then suddenly added,

"Mr. Ernst, will you tell the old man about 'this'?"

The old man, of course, refers to Ivangelista XI.

Ernst glanced at Mostima, then shook his head:

"will not."

No, that's already a very clear statement of stance.