Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 770: 001

Project ID: 001

Project Name: Genesis of Chaos

Project Containment Procedure: 001 cannot be contained. There is absolutely only one Project 001.

Description: 001 is not a physical entity. It is a part of a period of history a thousand years ago. A miserable period of history for us humans. May all members of the Foundation take this period in history as a lesson.

Statement: Interview logs of T2419, a survivor of Civilization's Fall.

Reporter Smith: "Hello, Major T2419. You are one of the few survivors of that disaster. As someone from that old era, can you tell us how it happened?"

T2419: "Why ask me? I'm not very good at expressing myself. You should ask Wild Wolf. He's a good speaker."

Reporter Smith: "Your comrade, Lieutenant Colonel Haka, passed away on the 29th of last month at New World City Central Hospital. Have you forgotten it?"

T2419: "Really? Sorry, I've gotten a bit too old. The elderly become quite dull when it comes to the passage of time. That disaster happened a long time ago, so I need some time to think about it carefully.."

T2419: "I remember it was the summer of 2034. I was just an elementary school student at the time. I accidentally came into contact with a cookie tin depicting a clown in its packaging. The tin was alive.

"To make a long story short, the tin was a dangerous project. The clown was capable of killing people. It killed my family, and I had to cut off my tongue as well. Since then, I could only communicate with others through writing.

"The predecessor to the Foundation—the Anomaly Surveillance Society—eventually took me in. I had a wonderful time there, and I met my beloved there as well. We had two lovely daughters.

"At first, I thought that would be my life. I thought my life would be an endless cycle of finding projects to contain or destroy. I thought I'd continue being the police of the Earth's dark side till the day I die.

"One day, however, everything changed. The number of projects on the surface world began to increase exponentially. Anything could become a project. When I say anything, I mean everything, including the graffiti on walls and even the sunlight. My two daughters also..."

Reporter Smith: "Please accept my condolences. It wasn't your fault."

T2419: "I digress. In the end, we could no longer hide the existence of projects. We had no choice but to announce their existence to the public through the United Nations.

"And just like that, the era of madness began. Humans began using the projects primitively just like how humans used fire upon first discovering it. They used the projects to commit crimes or uphold justice. The dangerous projects were popular; the more dangerous, the more popular.

"It was truly a crazy era. There was even this one project that instantly reduced the population of Africa by half. In the end, it was only through the joint efforts of several nuclear powers that the project was contained."

Reporter Smith: "That does sound crazy. What were you doing at that time?"

T2419: "My routine didn't really change. I was still doing my job of locating projects and either containing or destroying them. The only difference was that we no longer paid attention to projects with low risks. Our priority is to track and contain projects capable of destroying the world, and then we go down from there.

"My work in the Foundation was tiring but fulfilling. We were also slowly adapting to them the more contact we made with them.

"Humans are highly adaptable creatures. Despite the world population of 7.6 billion people getting reduced by nearly half, the order was eventually restored, and the world enjoyed its previous peace once again.

"There were many precedents of it, so I knew that we would eventually take control of the projects' power and use them to our own species' advantage so that we'd all become even stronger.

"However, all of that ended when They came."

Reporter Smith: "Who are They?"

T2419: "They're the gods under 002's lead. We don't know what They look like because those who had observed Them through telescopes, without exception, had either died or gone mad.

"We know almost nothing about Them. Except for the fact that we are aware of Their slow approach to Earth, the only thing we knew for sure was that every single project on Earth had come from Them.

"The news of Their existence was leaked, and the countries on the surface world began collapsing one after another. Laws, order, and human civilization began to disappear. Sounds of revelry were everywhere as everyone decided to enjoy their final moments.

"It seemed that humanity was about to meet its end back then."

Reporter Smith: "But it seems that humanity didn't meet its end back then. At the very least, a group of human beings did not perish in that calamity."

T2419: "You're right. Just as They entered the solar system, the Foundation discovered that there was a vast space below the Earth. It was enough space for mankind to live in. We had no idea what was down there, but it was a way out for the desperate humans.

"The people of the surface world split into two factions. One faction began frantically building spaceships, while the other side made preparations to migrate to the Subterranean Sea to prepare.

"You all know what happened afterward, so I don't think I need to say it here. Humans had decided to abandon the surface world to live in the Subterranean Sea. They surrendered the surface world to Them.

"Shortly after arriving in the Subterranean Sea, we discovered 003. The similarities that we found between 003, 002, and Them told us that They had most likely come here for Him—003. We humans were just unlucky collateral damage.

"The fate of the humans who decided to stay on the surface world and those who decided to seek refuge in space using spaceships are unknown to us, but I hope that they ended up surviving.

"I'm going to die soon. I've lived long enough. I often dream of my lawn in my backyard whenever I sleep these days. I'm missing my home. It'd be nice to see it again, even if it's just a glance.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Every exit to the surface world has been sealed. The GK Council is also going to alter the memories of the Foundation members."

"Haaa… A dying old man like me can't possibly do anything about it, so let's leave it at that. People like you who were born in the Subterranean Sea would never understand my feelings."

June 1, 2112, 15:29; interview over.

Charles stared blankly at the three-dimensional file bobbing up and down in midair. This was 001? That was the whole truth? So the Divinities from the depths of outer space were the reason behind the Earth's calamity a long time ago?

Charles' mind buzzed, and he felt like he had been struck by lightning. While he was trying his best to digest the stupefying information, he noticed that there were still more pages in the file.

Charles' spider's thin legs swiped on the table, flipping the file to the second page.

Project ID: 001

Project Name: The Subterranean Sea

Project Containment Procedure: The 001 species cannot be contained. There is absolutely only one Project 001.

Description: 001 is not a physical entity. It is a spherical, annular space in the depths of the Earth. We cannot ascertain its origin at the moment, but it is most likely related to the gods.

Statement: The surface world is a special and very unstable region. Its time, space, dimensions, and the many different things on it are all unstable.

The Subterranean Sea has a different time and dimensions compared to the surface world.

The direction of time, space, and dimensions in both places are moving in the exact opposite way; the rate of dilation is different as well.

A day spent here is ten years reversed on the surface world.

If calculations are made according to the passage of time in the Subterranean Sea since our arrival here until now, the surface world should no longer exist. However, it exists paradoxically, and special "existences" have appeared on the surface world as well. "Existences" that we cannot understand at the moment.

"After a prolonged period of observation and probing, we decided to call it 001."