“Nice to meet you, President Barnes Bronzia. I’m Kaito”
“n1C3 70 M337 J00, Kaito Enek-ragif. 7h15 0n3 W4n73d 70 M337 J00”
“It’s an honor to meet you”
Maybe I should call Queenbee and escape right now.
The strong premonition of approaching trouble. While grasping the extended leg with a strained smile, Kaito seriously considered fleeing.
Barnes Bronzia. The Corporation’s president and, as acknowledged by Terapolapanecio, the rarest creature in the galaxy.
The movements like a broken tin toy had a strange charm to them. Probably intending it as a handshake, Kaito, holding the extended leg, cast his gaze at Barnes Bronzia’s body.
Besides the protruding legs, there was nothing else. No weaponry that could be used for attacks either. Something appeared to be inside the body. Something green.
“…A plant?”
“y32. 7h12 0N3 12 Barnes Bronzia. 1n 7eh REco9n171oN OF joO E4R7HL1N9s, 4 Cre47UrE s1m1L4R 7o MoSS”
“Moss?”
[Strictly speaking, it would be more accurate to say it’s a creature that combines elements of several other plants, but essentially yes. Barnes Bronzia is a plant with enough intelligence to think as an intelligent being. The only individual of the Barnes Bronzia species]
While surprised by the space jellyfish’s explanation, suddenly Barnes Bronzia delivered not mechanical sounds but flowing, graceful words.
“This body is the part of ‘me’ with the strongest empathic abilities. Is it somewhat easier to understand now?”
“Y-yes, much more so”
“This body’s empathic abilities are extremely weak compared to the Terapolapanecio, so I must approach closely like this, and it doesn’t reach those without aptitude in the first place. It’s quite limiting”
Apparently, through an application of telepathy, he had made it possible to hear flowing, graceful words instead of mechanical sounds. However, this was only possible with someone who could also utilize psychic powers.
Nodding in understanding, Kaito realized why Barnes Bronzia was serving as an external advisor to the dubious organization called the Psychic Powers Research Society.
[Did you figure it out, Kaito, Third-rank Citizen, Enek-Ragif? Barnes Bronzia is an intelligent being but, being a plant, cannot undergo normal physical modifications. Therefore, he supplements his actions with old-fashioned equipment]
“So this telepathy is…”
[His own natural ability. In that sense, though the evolutionary direction is different, you could say Barnes Bronzia is a creature similar to us Terapolapanecio]
“Compared to the Terapolapanecio, it’s incomparably weak power though”
The galaxy is vast. Kaito thought this deeply.
Just when he thought he’d met psychic space jellyfish, now it was a psychic space plant. His curiosity about the valuable experience of conversing with a plant began to outweigh his sense of crisis about troublesome matters.
“Would you listen to how I came to be picked up by the Federation?”
“Yes, by all means”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Barnes Bronzia’s home planet was, simply put, a planet where “plants were dominant.” In the earliest stages of animal development, some plants embedded spores in those animals and used them for their own reproduction, establishing a hierarchy.
Animals evolved with their intelligence development extremely suppressed, and the planet developed with plants as kings and animals as slaves.
In such circumstances, in a basin in the highlands isolated from the surrounding environment, the moss that would become Barnes Bronzia began to proliferate.
A completely isolated place with no natural enemies or slave interference. The moss continued growing over an extremely long time, occasionally preying on seeds and spores from other plants that flew in, piling up like layers of plants.
[During that time, it apparently acquired parts capable of intelligent thought. However, Barnes Bronzia’s intelligence, having no contact with others, had no purpose beyond survival]
The environment that was extremely advantageous for survival and expansion, yet lonely, made Barnes Bronzia’s evolution innocent. That said, if they had continued evolving, they might eventually have achieved evolution enabling self-powered movement.
The reason Barnes Bronzia became a singular species was, according to them, completely unrelated to themselves.
[The Federation discovered the planet where Barnes Bronzia lived during an era when colonizing undeveloped planets was still legal. Originally for migration purposes, the Federation began observing that planet]
“…So that led to their extinction?”
“No. That’s not what happened”
When Kaito fearfully asked the space jellyfish if the Federation’s sins were involved again, it was Barnes Bronzia himself who denied it.
“Mass extinction due to celestial collision. That was the cause of my star’s destruction”
“Collision… a meteorite?”
[Yes. Earth also had mass extinctions due to asteroid collisions, right? A much larger asteroid than that was calculated to collide]
“That’s…”
Before he could voice his question about whether they considered destroying it or deflecting its orbit, the space jellyfish answered.
[Of course, destroying that asteroid was also considered. But the Federation was still an immature organization at that time. Since it was before colonization, that proposal was rejected. The Federation of that time was not yet proactive about rescuing other planets]
Federation history before being permanently liberated from resource and lifespan constraints. Should he think of it as before they became noble?
Considering the current Federation’s policies, it felt incongruous, but perhaps they had to think that the current Federation came to be through such encounters and partings.
[When the collision was imminent, one of our individuals was flying around checking whether to collect samples of the planet’s life forms. Since it was a planet full of plants that enslaved animals by injecting spores into them, most were left alone without even being sampled]
Indeed, that might have been part of why the Federation of that time abandoned the planet. He felt like there was a classic sci-fi horror with such a theme.
But Terapolapanecio brought back only Barnes Bronzia. Having some idea of the reason, Kaito turned his gaze to Barnes Bronzia.
[No organisms to bring back as samples. Just when we thought to reach that conclusion and leave the planet, it happened. Weak but certainly, we sensed it. A plant’s voice]
“That was me. I had also noticed the ominous aura of death approaching from the edge of the sky. I don’t want to die, I still want to live. I think I was just repeating such thoughts”
[Receiving those thoughts, we discovered Barnes Bronzia in the mountain region and protected him without a moment’s hesitation. Some time later, that planet received the calculated asteroid collision, all life forms went extinct, and its orbital path changed, causing it to be swallowed by its star]
“I obtained federal citizenship and began living as the only plant citizen of the federation.”
As a result, Barnes Bronzia became the sole survivor of the lost planet and simultaneously the only sentient plant.
I could somewhat understand why Barnes Bronzia and the Space Jellyfish were so close. For the Space Jellyfish of that time, Barnes Bronzia, who had relatively many things in common, must have been quite a source of emotional support.
And the reason why Barnes Bronzia founded the corporation…
“I survived because I was protected by the people of Terrapolapanecio. This joy and emotion still remains unforgotten within me. That’s why I too want to save even one more life in the same circumstances. It was with that feeling that I founded the corporation.”
“I see, so that’s how it was.”
“Yes, Kaito, Third-rank Citizen, Enek-Ragif. You are also a subject of protection as a rare species, but do you wish for the corporation’s protection?”
“No. I find federal life suits my nature. I’ll just accept your feelings.”
“I see. There are quite a few intelligent beings who have lived in monetary economies who say the corporation is more comfortable than the federation…”
“Yes. I’m a special subset even among Earthlings.”
“No, with that much power, you might naturally adapt to the federation. Please forget my proposal. But I would like to become good friends with you if possible.”
“Yes, by all means.”
“I’m grateful.”
The connected legs separated.
He had thought it would return to mechanical sounds once separated, but Barnes Bronzia’s voice remained fluid. It seemed to have been adjusting its telepathy while talking. Despite appearances, it was quite dexterous.
“Well then, I’ve accomplished my first objective of meeting Kaito, Third-Rank Citizen Enek-Ragif.”
[Hmm?]
“Now for the second objective. The Planet-Eater… I too wish to dialogue with that giant creature.”
[What did you say?]
“It can’t be helped. Since dialogue is only possible through telepathic sensing, and I’m the only one in the corporation capable of telepathic dialogue, the necessity of coming here has increased.”
Oh, that was unexpected.
Who would have thought they had properly prepared official business to mix with the personal?
But seeing Barnes Bronzia’s somewhat happy demeanor, Kaito felt that perhaps it liked going out.
“Dialogue, you say. And why is that?”
“Protection, of course—protection. It’s free to become friendly with the Federation, but we haven’t asked yet whether it will accept protection!”
Ah, this might be more stubborn than he’d thought.
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