The Martial Unity

The True World Shield Agreement created a framework of cooperation for creating a geological and seismic shield for all of human civilization. The protocols that each civilization and people would follow when the time came, and the terms and conditions that all of them agreed to. It wasn’t long before the leaders of the true world bid him farewell, exiting the virtual meeting as their hologram projections disappeared one by one.

“May you succeed, Emperor Rui.” The dwarven emperor nodded to Rui with wise eyes. “We shall closely coordinate with you over this matter,” the two Mothers of Nature told him. “A threat to nature is a threat to all of humankind.

“May you adaptively evolve to all threats that besiege you,” the Moridian leaders blessed him with a common utterance among evolutionary people.

“The future of civilization lies on your shoulders, Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria.” Lord Vakratunda remarked with a severe tone of voice. “May the great god of all beastkind, Lord Pasupati, bless you in your endeavors.”

“Beat the alien up,” Suneater nodded at him.

BZZZT

Their holograms disappeared as the meeting came to an end. Rui heaved a deep breath of relief. “We’ve managed to secure Gaia’s safety as much as possible. Let’s just hope that this civilizational shield holds up if and when the time comes.”

It was frustrating that he couldn’t be certain of what would happen upon each of his actions, forcing him to play an annoying, complex game of game theory. It was possible that doing nothing would be the best course of action; it was also possible that if they did nothing, they would doom all of civilization to death.

On the other hand, it was possible that engaging in hostilities with the alien threat was the best course of action, leading to a swift resolution. Or it might be the thing that doomed them all.

There were countless possibilities in between those two, and he had no way of evaluating what was likely and what wasn’t.

“You are doing everything in your power, Your Majesty,” Secretary Claris remarked as she opened the curtains. “I think you have taken all the precautions that one could reasonably take. Perhaps the only thing more precautionary is to attempt shifting all people off-world in space infrastructure for the duration that you fight this alien threat.”

Rui threw her a pointed glance.

There was no way that was happening. None of the other nations would ever agree to such drastic measures, even if it were within their power as a quasi-type-two civilization. It was too extreme and would disrupt their civilization too much.

It was also difficult to maintain the shield if all humans were not present.

He heaved a deep breath, shaking his head. He had indeed done everything he could when it came to mitigating the risks for civilization; he needed to mitigate another risk.

The risk of his death and incapacitation. It was something that weighed on him even when they first showed him the point of maximum fear deep underground, where they suspected the alien entity was.

In the past, he would have straightforwardly jumped headfirst into that point to confront the alien entity. But he was not that person anymore. Not since he became Emperor and certainly not since he became a father. The thought of Ria being left to grow up without a father made his heart ache tremendously. More than even the destruction of Gaia did. He definitely needed to do something about that.

And indeed, he had something rather extreme in mind.

“Would you like to see your daughter, Your Majesty?” Secretary Claris asked him in a softer tone. “Perhaps it would do your mood some good.”

“Yeah…” He clenched his fists. “Every cell in me wants to do just that, but first, I have something important to do.”

He got up, directing a deep gaze at her. “Look after things while I’m gone.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

WHOOSH

Rui disappeared in the blink of an eye, teleporting away to a specific spot in the depths of the Beast Domain. The bright light of the morning sun illuminated the dense, exotic forest as the scent of vegetation hung in the air. The place was silent, save for the chips and squeaks of critters, the occasional rustle in the bushes, and the ring of cicadas. In front of him was a large facility constructed from living wood, resembling a mutated tree that warped horribly wrong. He could tell that the botanical structure was alive.

Sentient and even conscious. In a way that someone, or something rather, like NOVA had not been. Within it was a large amount of cutting-edge medical and biotechnological infrastructure.

It was one of the personal labs of the Divine Doctor. STEP

Rui entered the giant biolab at the very epicenter of the facility, where the Divine Doctor sat at the terminal, clicking away on a keyboard. The man turned towards Rui with a nod.

“The preparations are ready. Are you sure you wish to go through with this?”

Rui nodded seriously before turning towards the giant empty pod at the very center of the facility. It was a pod meant to grow a lifeform from scratch.

Rui’s ethereal eyes sharpened. “And you’re certain this can help create a clone from scratch without disrupting the biochemical memory?”

“Perfectly. Its cutting-edge biotechnology that I developed with Julian’s help, integrating esoteric and non-esoteric technology,” the Divine Doctor replied. “It has perfect precision and accuracy in preserving DNA during accelerated cell replication. It’s not going to disrupt any of the biochemical memories stored in the cell. More importantly…”

He turned towards Rui with pointed eyes.

“Are you ready to prepare a soul genome?”

Rui’s expression grew even more serious.

A soul genome.

That was what they had come to call Anthea’s cells that were programmed to carry his memory stored in the form of pure biochemistry. To create a soul genome was to create DNA that led to cells that contained the sum totality of one’s memories.

To create a clone of oneself.

This was how far Rui was willing to go to ensure that Ria was not deprived of her father if he died.

Rui’s fists clenched as his ethereal eyes sharpened with determination.

“Yes.”