Chapter 12: A quest for answers(3).

Having heard almost all the available recordings, Salvatoris struggled to assimilate everything he'd learned. But paradoxically, he had even more questions than before his visit. In the beginning, he'd searched for another ruin just to find out whether what he'd seen was real or not, and to learn about the unification war he'd heard about. Now he was questioning the very foundation of his world. What's more, there was only one video left that he hadn't seen, to quench even a little of the curiosity and desire to know that consumed him. It was the video whose title he said in a deceptively calm voice, even though he couldn't stop a slight tremor in his legs.

"Unification War."

The images changed again on the screen, now displaying an army radiating prestige, outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, before displaying an immense battlefield.

"As you all know, the Unification War, sometimes referred to as World War 3, refers to the largest armed conflict ever to take place in this world. Initially sparked by the annexation of small countries by larger powers, the conflict quickly became globalized. While it was originally motivated by the enormous advantages of holding larger territories and greater wealth in a world where human density was constantly increasing due to the resolution of the birth crisis, and the lack of resources on Earth caused by the great scarcity before the life-saving invention of molecular transmutation."

The images changed again, becoming more violent, more intense. Leaving Salvatoris shocked by the number of people clashing, and the disconcerting violence of ranged weapons he'd never seen before, except for a few brief seconds at the end of his vision.

"This conflict quickly used technology not intended for military purposes, such as cloning, to turn them into cheap, expendable troops, perfectly suited to a time when resources were scarce. However, in addition to the notable difference in power on the multitude of battlefields, the rapid use of nuclear weapons on a massive scale by the powers that be soon had the better of the smaller countries, who were quickly annexed by their neighbors. This led to the destruction of a large number of cultures, countries and exploitable lands, which had to be cleansed of the radiation left behind for decades by androids, before humans could ever set foot on them again.

The human death toll during this war reached over 1.5 billion, not counting the countless dead clones. The material losses were also considerable, and among them, the androids destroyed during this war have never been counted."

The screen then changed again, showing a high-tech landscape with varying infrastructures, no doubt due to the different parts of the world shown.

"Despite its end, this war also led to rivalry between the surviving countries. Unfortunately, all technological innovation aimed at civilians was cut off or halted, with all research going into the field of weaponry. This gap is still visible today, as our weaponry is far more advanced than our infrastructure."

The screen again saw what it had been showing evolve, now displaying vast scientific complexes, as well as their contents, which greatly intrigued Salvatoris as he approached the screen. He had the impression that some of the test subjects displayed on the screen bore a slight resemblance to the semi-humans populating his world. However, he had little time to observe them, as imposing humanoid machines took their place on the screen, quickly followed by evolving versions of the plasma-firing tanks that had been seen on the old recording.

"Each power definitively set ethics aside, silencing all forms of social opposition, with some countries even annihilating them in their ascension to totalitarian rule. Experiments carried out on humans became more and more common, before being rapidly abandoned due to the lack of human longevity, rarely exceeding two hundred years. All the budget invested in these projects was then redirected into the field of robotics, creating weapons each more terrifying than the last, such as the titans, the pride of the Republic of Athena, or the now obsolete tanks of the Slavic Union.

This conflict left its mark on future generations, as well as our own, as the most violent conflict ever. And although molecular transmutation succeeded in easing tensions due to the lack of resources, this almost infinite supply of raw material propelled the countries into an even more intense arms race. As a result, diplomatic relations between them were falsely appeased, leading citizens to believe in a lasting peace. Other programs, such as the colonization of Mars, saw the light of day. But the rapid restrictions imposed on the use of molecular transmutation, in order to avoid destroying the economy and the profits generated by shortages, led to the demise of the Martian colony. It was subsequently abandoned to become the mining colony you know today, far less voracious in terms of resources. International trade was revived by the restriction on the use of transmutation. This put a definitive end to mankind's darkest episode, after more than a hundred years of Cold War following the official end of the conflicts."

The video was short, yet concise. Everything Salvatoris had seen before seemed to complete the information missing from this recording. Which left him thinking he'd done well to watch these recordings in their order of placement as he nodded, pondering what to do next.

Unfortunately for Salvatoris, instead of answering his questions, the discovery of these ruins only added to them. Salvatoris then quickly searched the room with the help of his puppets, but nothing else of use lurked there. The android named Smith didn't even react to the intruders' actions, simply cleaning up the mess Salvatoris had caused shortly before he left the room. While he checked the ruin one last time, he couldn't help biting his nails. He had too many questions, and he was enormously frustrated by the knowledge that he'd never get any answers...unless... A thought he'd had in the past resurfaced in his mind.

[If I go back to Alice, she might show me the rest of the vision I didn't see. I want to know how we got here. Who gives us our magic, and if the people who lived in these ruins are really dead, and haven't gone somewhere else like the place he'd mentioned... Mars. ]

However, he stopped as he left the ruins, remembering a crucial detail. Alice was deactivated, and night had fallen long ago. Besides, he didn't want to worry his mother any more than necessary, and he had to find a way to reactivate Alice. Just then, a vague word came to mind: "Bio-generator". He didn't know what the term meant, but he remembered Reiner's conversation with Alice. If he gave her food, it would give her energy, and maybe he could reactivate her! Surprisingly, he no longer mistrusted Alice at all. After what he'd seen, he knew she wasn't lying - at least, that was the impression he couldn't shake off despite his reason screaming at him to the contrary. However, his hunger cut short all his thoughts, he hadn't eaten all day, and although he wanted answers as soon as possible, he now had a plan of action, and eating at home wouldn't slow him down.

* * *

Salvatoris quickly surveyed the plains, careful not to awaken the danger it contained. However, as he reached the gates of his sleeping village, where only the guards seemed to be awake, another question came to mind.

[If I was able to find this information so quickly, and the heroes' home world is the one I saw... How can we still be so ignorant of ancient times?]

However, just as he had finished thinking about his question, a shiver ran down his spine.

What if the problem wasn't the cruel lack of research carried out by his people or heroes, but rather the work of kings and emperors hiding the truth?However, Salvatoris quickly shook his head at the thought.If the nobles had known about such things, they would have used the heroes at all costs to rebuild the destructive weapons of ancient civilization, so as to establish their authority over the people in a secure manner, and no longer depend on the powers granted to them by the gods.The nobles could give all their wealth to become the strongest, both socially and martially.This left only two targets for burying the past: the gods, or the demons.However, the gods had always helped mankind and entrusted them with magic, perhaps even being the ones who had prevented the annihilation of mankind's downfall after the end of the ancient world.Salvatoris was therefore convinced of one thing.

[The only ones capable of hiding this truth are the demons.]

However, the total absence of the gods in his vision, or the videos he'd seen, left a bitter taste in his mouth, as if there was a piece missing from the puzzle he was trying to solve.His last hope of finding that piece was Alice.

However, he had to put that thought aside as he approached the door of his home, taking on a falsely cheerful expression so as not to worry his mother, who was impatiently awaiting his return.

"Welcome back Salvatoris!"

She said, a huge smile of relief crossing her face.Almost immediately, however, she added in a strict voice.

"You said you wouldn't be long, but Compline has already rung!We should already be in bed, yet you haven't even eaten yet!"

"Sorry...I didn't see the time go by, without the church to remind us of the time it's really hard to know how long I've been out..."

Salvatoris replied shyly, embarrassed.His mother, however, looked at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"The time?"

It was then that Salvatoris realized he had changed.In this village with no sundial, time was punctuated by the church, the sound of the bells, and the position of the sun.People didn't care what time it was.Time wasn't even used by these people, who could only keep track of the sun, the weather and significant events.Now, Salvatoris had started referring to "hours", something he'd never experienced personally.His eyes were just as confused as his mother's, so he spoke in an uncertain voice.

"Huh?...I don't know, did I say that?"

"Yes, are you sure you're okay Salvatoris?You seem a little off to me, like you're not feeling well, you're pale."

His mother muttered, worried.

"Yes I'm fine, I'm just a bit hungry, sorry."

Salvatoris replied, smelling supper emanating from her kitchen. She smiled back at him, creating a little draught with her magic in a mischievous gesture, so Salvatoris could get a better whiff of the meal.All this to make him even hungrier as punishment for his late return, and for having caused him a multitude of worries. 

However, the gods had always helped mankind and entrusted them with magic; perhaps they were even the ones who had prevented mankind's annihilation after the end of the ancient world. Seeing this, his mother smiled in satisfaction as she returned to the kitchen.

The house was simple, rustic, but very charming, which made Salvatoris realize something else. He may have lived in a small place, but it was charming, beautiful, and much bigger than Reiner's apartment. This left him appreciating one of the things he'd taken for granted for so long, as he ate with his mother, talking about frivolous things as he explained his day to her, while taking care to ohmmeter everything connected with the ruins.

However, the changes he now felt in himself terrified him; he felt he was no longer the same, that going back to Alice would be a bad idea. But despite this, he wanted to know the answers to his questions, he wanted to know the story. He wanted to know if the Reiner hero he'd worshipped since childhood was the one he'd seen, or if this was just a coincidence.