Chapter 10
The origin of the Federation predates the birth of Earth as a planet.
It began as a gathering place for those who abandoned their own planets to escape the inevitable destruction caused by the death of their stars. That was how it originally started.
They built artificial celestial bodies in regions unaffected by stellar influence and adjusted each assigned body to suit their own living conditions.
Over a time span measured in hundreds of millions of years by Earth's standards, they developed their civilization. Even so, it was only tens of millions of years ago—again by Earth's standards—that they finally freed themselves from issues of resources and environment.
From there until relatively recently—though even that means one or two hundred thousand years ago—it seems the Federation citizens were quite reckless, according to the 'congress member jellyfish'.
'That was likely a backlash from the restraint they had shown until then. There were many actions that severely violated ethics. The reason we summoned you this time was because we had to explain our sins and shame regarding interference with civilizations and planetary colonization.'
It reminds me of myths on Earth about 'gods who came from the ends of the sky'. If I asked Emotion, she could probably pick out a few for me, but this isn't the place to confirm what the Federation refers to as sins and shame.
'Interference with civilizations refers to descending from the ends of the sky and bestowing intelligence or civilization upon primitive lifeforms. Many desired to be worshiped by acting like what you would consider gods. But those who grew tired of being worshiped mostly left, giving various excuses. It was selfish.'
Just as I thought. Perhaps humanity too owes its current state to interference from some such beings. The idea that gods were actually aliens is hardly an original twist.
Now that I think about it, I recall seeing legends of gods who came from the sky in some old nation's or tribe's records.
'As for colonization, it refers to settling on a planet without obtaining permission from the native lifeforms—or pretending to have obtained it. The primitive lifestyle we led and the lifestyle of the actual native lifeforms were entirely different things.'
"Is that really such a bad thing?"
Neither seems all that terrible to me.
In response to Kait's question, the 'congress member' gently swayed their tendrils.
'Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't be much of an issue. In fact, there was even debate over whether the residents of colonized planets should be granted Federation citizenship.'
"Then..."
'The problem is that nearly all native lifeforms on those planets went extinct before they could qualify for Federation membership.'
"Extinct!?"
'Yes. Because of that, the Federation Congress at the time enacted a principle ban on interference and colonization of undeveloped planets. But there were always those who used their intelligence in the worst ways.'
Hearing that much, Kait could begin to grasp the circumstances they had faced.
The reason Earth was under surveillance, the meaning behind being welcomed as qualified for citizenship. And why, despite Earth's civilization nearing collapse, they had not offered aid.
"So we're basically... the descendants of illegal colonizers?"
'That interpretation is a difficult one, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). After the law banned colonization, Earth was discovered. And someone did what should never have been done.'
It wasn't colonization. And the way they phrased it seemed deliberately vague.
What could be worse than illegal colonization that leads to extinction?
The fact that there's debate over whether they should be viewed as descendants of illegal colonizers shows this wasn't a simple case of colonization or interference.
'Time travel and replacement of life.'
The congress member's words, spoken dispassionately, were both an answer to Kait's question and chilling enough to send a shiver down his spine.
***
Even with Federation technology, time travel is difficult. Experiments have shown that any organism with a mass exceeding a certain threshold cannot travel through time, even for a moment. Conversely, it was possible for those below that mass.
As far as the Federation government knows, life replacement was carried out on fifteen planets.
The number was small simply because every single person who attempted it died without exception. Even the biological data that should have been backed up was completely destroyed and couldn't be restored.
Though baseless, there were even rumors at the time that it was a curse from the replaced lifeforms. Since there was no need to verify or reproduce it, no investigation was conducted, and the act was simply declared taboo.
Life replacement. It's the act of sending primitive lifeforms—akin to seeds of life containing their own biological data—into a planet's timeline before life had emerged. With time travel and biological technology, it was possible.
Life replacement through time travel is the rewriting of history itself. As an extremely difficult-to-detect crime, it is now strictly sealed and monitored along with time travel technology.
***
'Altering history is, in our view, an indescribable genocide that annihilates billions of years of life. What made them truly vile was that they targeted undiscovered planets with no Federation involvement. Since there was no direct impact on Federation citizens, it took time for their crimes to come to light.'
He recalled the planet where he had lived from birth until exile.
The animals, the plants, even himself. None of them were originally meant to be born, sprout, or grow on that planet. While forever depriving countless beings who should have been there, they devoured the planet. It felt like a cold illusion—like being silently watched by an unseen stranger.
'Earth is one of the fifteen planets where life replacement was carried out. Twelve of those planets have already perished, and Earth will likely follow soon. The Federation cannot atone for its sins by the death of all these planets, and can do no more than record its mistakes. But you made it in time.'
"Made it in time...?"
'An opportunity for atonement. Now that you've become a Federation citizen, Earth is part of the Federation, and we have a justification to intervene. Zodogia will be relieved from Earth's surveillance and assigned to its environmental recovery and preservation.'
Environmental recovery and preservation of Earth. Is that really okay? Not just humans, but even animals and plants are foreign to Earth.
At that moment, a voice that wasn't the congress member's cut in. It was feminine, though the source on the screen was unclear.
'All Earth lifeforms, including Earthlings, have evolved differently from the species that implanted the seeds of life. Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif), you are not perpetrators. We have concluded that Earth's lifeforms, too, are victims who were born having been denied the chance for normal evolution.'
"Even if you say that..."
'This is our sin, not yours. Even if you had evolved in the same way they did, it would still be wrong to apply their crimes to you. Please understand that this is merely an explanation of why you were being observed, and why we could not intervene as your home planet faced extinction.'
It was a heavy burden to bear. Even if they told him to accept it, it wasn't something easily accepted. Even if Kait was the only one able to contact them, it didn't change the fact that Earthlings had driven their planet toward destruction.
The only difference from the twelve already extinct planets was whether or not someone reckless like Kait existed.
But there was no point in dwelling on self-blame. He tried to shift his mindset, thinking he was lucky not to be held accountable for his ancestors' actions—when the 'congress member' spoke again.
'Now then, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). This is where the main topic begins.'
So everything until now wasn't the main topic?
Slightly tense, he nodded.
'Would you be willing to sell Earth to us, Terapolapaneshio?'
'Hold on! No jumping ahead, that's not allowed!?'
An utterly unexpected statement burst forth.