Jorgen-6

The day after his conversation with Tusha, Jorgen finally had the opportunity to meet Lawrence. The man, over sixty years old, showed no attempt to hide his vigilance upon entering the room. He scrutinized Jorgen before walking towards the center of the room. After introductions by Galin, the three sat around a round table.

"Mr. Jorgen," Lawrence began, "forgive me if this may sound offensive, but initially, I assumed Lord Shawl or Master Mardias would personally come. For better communication and to make your visit worthwhile, I am curious if Lord Shawl gave you any specific instructions or, in other words, to what extent can you represent his stance?"

"Don't worry. I am not here to make the final decision on this research, but rather to observe and objectively document what I see, to take back to the MI7."

"But that still implies Lord Shawl trusts your report entirely and doesn't need a third party to supervise."

"Yes," Jorgen replied, "if you insist on thinking so."

"I understand. Please don't misunderstand; I have no disrespect towards you. I'm just surprised that you've gained such trust from Lord Shawl, presumably due to remarkable contributions over these years. When you were in Booty Bay, perhaps you didn't anticipate..."

"Booty Bay?" Galin interjected. "Mr. Jorgen has stayed there too?"

"For work reasons, I spent some time in Booty Bay."

Jorgen looked at Lawrence, trying to gauge whether he intentionally brought up this location. Jorgen had concealed his past encounter with Tusha in front of Galin, and Lawrence had some knowledge of Jorgen's previous interactions with Tusha. If Lawrence immediately pointed out Jorgen's concealment in front of Galin, it could complicate the mission. Fortunately, Lawrence didn't press further—perhaps due to a lack of interest in the topic. Jorgen believed his earlier assessment of Lawrence, that no one completely subdued Lawrence, was accurate. Lawrence's current attitude not only served as a warning to Jorgen but also conveyed contempt and neglect towards Galin.

"Well then," Lawrence continued, "do you want to observe our research results now? That should be the key focus of your inspection."

"I certainly hope to see him as soon as possible, but not right now. Before that, I'd like to understand your views on the completion of the individuals."

"Wouldn't it be better to confirm that with your own eyes?" Lawrence said.

That was pushing it. Lawrence tapped the table with the middle three fingers of his left hand in sequence, and Jorgen noticed they were prosthetic. Without a doubt, the current Lawrence had no trust whatsoever in him. It wasn't surprising, as even Galin and Tusha, who had collaborated for many years, hadn't expressed trust. Jorgen had even less reason to be an exception.

"You need to understand, Lord Shawl ordered me to inspect the overall plan, including your views and attitude. It's like investigating a murder; even with ironclad evidence, it doesn't mean you can disregard testimony. So, don't interfere with my chosen working method. If you insist on doing so, Lord Shawl will be aware of such behavior. In other words, from now on, you should only consider how to cooperate with my work and not pick at it with casual opinions. Lawrence, remember: my actions are in line with Lord Shawl's wishes."

Lawrence leaned back slightly, and his left thumb flipped up and then down. "I understand. I apologize, Mr. Jorgen."

"We need to discuss a serious and significant matter," Prince Galin said. "But before we start, the two of you are already in such strong opposition. In such emotional circumstances, clear thinking is impossible. So, for my sake and for the smooth progress of this matter, please try to calm down."

Prince Galin's words had an effect, although the effect came more from his status. For Jorgen, having Lawrence as the sole adversary was enough, so he apologized to the prince and urged Lawrence to express his views on the individuals in a calm tone.

In Lawrence's lengthy exposition, Jorgen felt a sense of unreality—he tried hard to connect "individuals" with "Renner Marvin," but repeatedly failed. Drug resistance. Dosage. Adverse reactions. Surgical results. Data, data, data. Medical knowledge was not his strong suit, making it a bit challenging to digest. He noticed that Prince Galin faced similar difficulties. However, Galin was much more excited, and each time Lawrence mentioned the results of combat tests, the characters seemed to glide over him like cool droplets of water, exhilarating him.

"So, what is the state of his self-awareness?" Jorgen asked.

"It seems you are particularly concerned about this issue," Lawrence remarked.

"This has always been the core issue everyone is focusing on."

"I must admit, it may not be the same for me. I am concerned about the maximum potential that can be achieved with this research. The boundaries of this possibility must be explored endlessly. So, at this stage, it's challenging to say I have any specific requirements for the individual's consciousness."

"No specific requirements?" Galin said. "You didn't say that to me before, Lawrence."

"Prince Galin, I believe as a scholar, updating one's thinking with the progress of actual research is a basic quality..."

"I provided you with a location, corpses, and herbs not for you to pursue some scholar's basic qualities, Lawrence. Since the day this matter was involved, I made my attitude clear: I need a powerful, death-defying, loyal, and courteous warrior, which you promised to provide." Galin turned to Jorgen. "Mr. Jorgen, the initial agreement with the MI7 was that I would receive the first batch of results after the experiment succeeded. Now, your scholars are muddling the definition of 'success.' Under these circumstances, I cannot endlessly support your efforts."

Jorgen was somewhat surprised by Galin's sudden reaction but understood that such a display was reasonable. Lawrence seemed too focused on the struggle between himself and Jorgen, neglecting Galin. In fact, Galin was the most qualified person to define "experimental success" now, as the researchers, all data, and the individual were within his domain.

"Please calm down, Prince Galin," Jorgen said. "While Lawrence has his considerations as a researcher, I can represent Lord Shawl in saying: your views on the product align more closely with the ideals we pursue. Regarding your reward, rest assured, we will not go back on our word on such an important matter. Moreover, providing you with the first batch of results not only benefits the revival of the Kingdom of Arathor but also the overall strategic situation in the Eastern Kingdoms."

"You need to make this guy understand what he should do." Galin looked at Jorgen but pointed at Lawrence. Jorgen could see that Lawrence was trying hard to restrain himself.

"In any case, let's get back to the issue we were discussing earlier, about the individual's self-awareness. Please continue."

Lawrence opened his mouth for a while, as if waiting for the right words to float onto his tongue with the air particles. "If I must use one word to summarize," he said, "that word would be 'regeneration.' The individual lost consciousness, was on the brink of death, but he regenerated—not in the form of an infant but with the intelligence and understanding of an adult, reborn in a world he knew nothing about. He has some memories of the past, but it's elusive to him, like events in another world. He instinctively recalls some names of relatives but hasn't manifested emotional connections with them."

"So, can we say he has emotions?" Jorgen asked.

"He at least possesses the emotion of 'fear.' As for others, it's currently uncertain. Because, as I mentioned earlier, he is relearning this world, similar to how a baby doesn't immediately grasp feelings of family and love."

"Loyalty to the kingdom, a sense of honor, can he learn these things?" Galin asked.

"Of course, but I believe we shouldn't instill these higher-level emotions too early. Prince Galin, you can rest assured. He learns quickly, given that his intelligence even surpasses that of an average person."

"If we want him to be absolutely loyal to specific individuals, like the undertakers of the past..."

Lawrence interrupted Jorgen. "It can be achieved at this stage, of course, with some modifications to the relevant medical procedures. This is also one of my focuses along with Tusha."

Having adult self-awareness but relearning the world—Jorgen had no fondness for this concept. He asked the question he cared about the most, even if the approach was not very cautious:

"Is there a possibility for him to restore to the way he was before losing consciousness?"

"In theory, yes," Lawrence said, "but it's meaningless. If we let the individual keep learning without controlling what he absorbs, then it's possible for him to infinitely approach his pre-unconscious self. We should do our best to prevent this situation."

"Exactly," Jorgen said, "or all efforts will be in vain."

In the end, Jorgen decided to meet Renner tomorrow because he had other things to attend to today. Galin left first, claiming to inspect the progress of castle reconstruction, while Lawrence caught up with Jorgen in the corridor.

"What's the matter?" Jorgen said.

"I was really indiscreet," Lawrence said, "letting you see the discord between Prince Galin and me."

"No need to worry. After all, he has been working for us for so long; a bit of complaint is understandable."

"You said 'us'?"

"Is there a problem?"

"In the meeting just now, your 'us' seemed to only include you and Prince Galin. Jorgen, whose side are you really on?"

"I represent the MI7. And you?"

"I work for Lord Shawl."

"Then there's no difference between us. Lord Shawl is the MI7."

"But my researcher's instinct belongs to me alone."

Jorgen, who had intended to leave, stopped in his tracks. "What are you trying to say?"

"I need support. I have my goals. If you're not interested in my goals, maybe others are."

"At least I'm interested in what you're saying now."

"I mean, before coming here, I worked for Ravenholt. Now, you may not believe it, but it was a very pleasant and short-term collaboration..."

"Don't get yourself into trouble, Lawrence."

"I've said it, I just want to get support. I hope you can understand my enthusiasm."

After Lawrence finished speaking, he immediately turned and walked away. For a moment, Jorgen felt tempted to commend Lawrence's boldness—apparently, this scholar had enough backing to keep this boldness from degenerating into recklessness.