16. What on Earth Is Happening?!

“Civilizations are guided not by knowledge, but by dreams passed down through generations.”

“Why did the words spoken on a deathbed lead to a spacecraft forty-one years in the past?”

The place where Elma, having realized her end was near, summoned me was the planet Ios. (Galactic Calendar 10109)

A cold world starved of light. Beyond its thin atmosphere, a red sun pulsed faintly in the distance.

Lying in bed, Elma looked at my face and smiled softly.

“You look just like your grandmother…”

Her voice trembled slightly in the freezing air.

“You’ve heard the story about Grandmother Dora throwing ten men aside in an instant to protect Lambda, haven’t you? It wasn’t exaggerated. She really was as powerful as the wind.”

I nodded silently. Elma continued.

“On the other hand, your mother, Risel… I heard she was beautiful and kind. I wish I could have met my younger sister…”

Her gaze drifted into the depths of distant memories.

“And those four flowers… actually—”

She stopped herself and gently shook her head.

“Don’t be sad. Even after I’m gone, my dream won’t disappear. I want to entrust its continuation to you.”

The whisper brushed softly against my right ear, leaving behind a trace of warmth.

Just before her final breath, I thought I saw two figures standing in the shadows of the room. One of them seemed to be quietly sobbing.

But before I could make certain, Elma’s chest rose and fell for the last time.

And then—

Her consciousness faded away.

Galactic Calendar 10068.

Aboard the ancient vessel Ark of the Archive, secretly launched from the planet Lillinas by the Anti-Quantum Law Group, Hugh Donack opened his eyes.

“…Where am I? Where’s Mr. Homogemy? Where’s Professor Griss?”

The moment I awoke, I found myself shouting.

An unfamiliar ceiling. The smell of metal. The low hum of engines.

“Finally awake, Hugh?”

Turning around, I saw a short-haired girl standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes were sharp, yet somehow friendly.

“I thought you’d be skinnier. You’re packed tighter than a credit bag.”

“…Who are you?”

“I’m Elma. Mr. Homojemy asked me to bring you here. I’m the granddaughter of Lambda Griss. This is the Ark of the Archive. We’re heading for Planet Eart—Earth. It’ll be just the two of us… so, nice to meet you.”

“Planet Eart—Earth?! Not Neo-Aether?! What on earth is happening …?! “

My voice echoed through the narrow cabin and faded away.

“It’s our homeworld.”

Elma shrugged and slowly stepped closer, looking as though she were about to explain everything.

Could the future Elma saw and the ‘heart’ carried by Earth be one and the same?

To be continued…

Previous Episode Summary
“The Four-Leaf Clover”

After being released from confinement, Hugh Donack travels with Elma Griss, a girl who can see memories of the future, aboard the ancient vessel Ark of the Archive toward a forbidden region of space.

The four-leaf clover Elma carries is a relic from Ealt, humanity’s lost homeworld.

Meanwhile, temporal distortions and rebellions spread throughout the galaxy, and Chess Homojemy senses the beginning of humanity’s “Second Bloom.”

Hugh eventually learns that the four-leaf clover is the key to the greatest legacy ever left to galactic civilization.

Summary

After witnessing Elma’s death, the narrator is entrusted with carrying on her dream. In the next moment, however, time shifts back to Galactic Calendar 10068, where Hugh Donack awakens aboard the Ark of Archive. There he meets a young Elma, and together they begin a journey toward humanity’s homeworld, Earth. As death and beginnings intertwine, Hugh takes his first steps toward his destiny.

Next Episode Preview

Episode 17: “Earth Is a Living Being”

As the spacecraft crosses the darkness of space, Elma Griss follows a request from Chess Homojemy and heads toward Planet Ealt (Earth). Hugh is torn between anxiety and curiosity.

According to Elma, Chess Homojemy sensed a “mind” within streams of light itself, and afterward water, islands, and forests began to appear on Planet Eart.

Breaking the silence aboard the ship, the words of James Lovelock echo through Hugh’s thoughts:

“The Eart itself is alive.”

To experience something that only humans can perceive through empathy, the two continue their journey toward Planet Eart.

Though Hugh’s confusion deepens, the ship presses onward through the black sea of stars.

Question
If a planet itself possessed will and emotions, do you think humanity would be capable of hearing its voice?

Hashtags

DoraDonack

SFNovel

ElmaGriss

HughDonack

EartIsAlive

GaiaTheory

SpaceOpera

FutureCivilization

TemporalAlteration

TheSecondBloom

Glossary
□ Archive Ark
A specialized spacecraft secretly built by the Anti-Quantum Law Group. It possesses the capability to infiltrate regions of space inaccessible through normal routes.

□ Eart (Earth)
The birthplace of humanity. Over the course of history, it has become legendary, almost mythological, to most citizens of the galaxy.

□ Empath
An individual capable of resonating with the “heart” of life, civilization, or even entire planets.

□ Gaia Theory＝Panbios
The concept that Earth functions as a single vast living system. In the story, it serves as a key to understanding the mysteries of Planet Eart.

□ The Second Bloom
A new stage of human evolution foreseen by Chess Homojemy. It represents a turning point that may transform the values and destiny of galactic civilization.

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