The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

Chapter 180

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The Existence II

3

While it was common to discover anomalies that already existed in the world, it was rare to witness the moment when an anomaly was “created.”

To be honest, it was extremely rare, perhaps even less likely than pulling an SSR in a gacha game.

In other words, the moment when Patient A’s brain transformed from natural to artificial fell into one of those rare SSSR-level cases.

“It’s an anomaly called [Theseus’ Ship].”

“Theseus’ Ship? What’s that...?”

Noh Doha, whose knowledge in certain fields was rather lacking, asked.

The reason was simple. Philosophy was not a subject on the Korean civil service exam. This could be seen as a reactionary measure compared to the Joseon Dynasty, which only tested philosophy.

“There was a ship that the hero Theseus sailed on. They would\'ve preserved it since it was as precious as the Geobukseon, right?”

“Hmm...”

“But as time passed, the planks of the ship rotted and were replaced with new wood. If you continue replacing the parts, eventually, all the original planks would be gone and replaced with new ones—.”

“Aha. And the question is, can we still call it ‘Theseus’ Ship’? If we only consider the materials, hasn’t the content completely changed? Is that the idea...?”

“Exactly.”

When does it stop being ‘Theseus’ Ship,’ and when does it start being something else?

In the first place, what is Theseus’ Ship?

This is a dilemma related to identity.

Why did it have to be Theseus’ ship?

It doesn’t really matter. He was simply the most famous hero in Athens.

It’s similar to how one would be more eager to repair ‘Yi Sun-sin’s Ship’ rather than ‘Won Gyun’s Ship,’ even though they’re both under the same command.

There were many such dilemmas with different names but similar content.

In every era, hungry scholars needed a clever way to make a living, often by repackaging the same product.

The scientist’s brain ended up in a vat, and Schrödinger’s cat was put in a box, all in the name of feeding their masters.

“Well, fine...”

Noh Doha glanced away.

There, the anomaly that had once been Patient A was strapped down to an operating table.

If Noh Doha had been a mad scientist or a member of an evil organization, this would have looked like the prelude to something catastrophic.

“So, I get that it’s an anomaly that gets confused about its identity, causing all sorts of chaotic ‘Who am I? Where am I?’ episodes, right...?”

“Hmm, probably?”

“Why does our regressor lord always end his statements with a question mark, making people nervous...?”

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve witnessed such a phenomenon myself. We often talk about identity, more precisely, identity... But explaining it to you would be pointless, so let’s move on.”

“Oh, are you looking to die...?”

“Anyway, it’s certain that this is an anomaly where the identity becomes unstable.”

Patient A, now isolated in the lab, was still mumbling incessantly.

—Even if a single speck of dust falls on a table, from the perspective of atoms, the object has changed. How much more so for humans? Am I Ah Reum? What is Ah Reum? What defines Ah Reum-ness, Ah Reum-someness, Ah Reum-beauty?

Noh Doha rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“This is a headache...”

“Hmm. Perhaps the fact that the patient’s name was ‘Ah Reum’ might have been a trigger point. If you remove one dot, it becomes ‘name,’ right? And names are most closely tied to identity.”

“Why remove the dot...?”

“Who knows? It’s something anomalies often do.”

Noh Doha cursed under his breath. You can fill in the blanks with the strongest curse words you can imagine.

“Ha. Aside from the nonsense, it seems like nothing else is wrong, so that’s a relief. Let’s just keep it locked up in a cell forever...”

“I agree.”

~And so, the newly born anomaly was locked up in Impel Down at the National Road Management Bureau headquarters, where it lived out a happy life. THE END.

—If that were the end, this episode wouldn’t have been mentioned in the first place.

From the moment an anomaly is born, it begins to “grow” and inevitably impacts the world.

The purpose of this episode is to give you a taste of that aftermath.

[Doctor Jang.]

The strange phenomena began right from that day, the day when Patient A became an anomaly and was isolated.

“Yes, Saintess. What is it?”

[Some of the Awakened who are exploring the Void in Korea have started showing signs of mental derangement.]

“What?”

[The affected individuals began asking themselves questions about their own existence and then fainted within five minutes. Their fellow guild members are currently moving them to the rear.]

“...”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Please give me the coordinates of the nearest affected individual.”

[Yes, near Gimhae...]

I immediately rushed to the location I was given.

The guild members were already transporting the injured to the hospital. I helped them and followed them to the hospital.

The building was more like a clinic or pharmacy than a hospital, but that’s how most hospitals were these days. Even the apocalypse couldn’t withstand the separation of medicine and pharmacy.

“This person suddenly lost consciousness. We didn’t do anything wrong!”

An Awakened from the same guild as the affected person testified.

They seemed slightly scared because someone as significant as me had suddenly shown up.

“We were following the protocol for mental contamination prevention, really. We prepared thoroughly. There was no warning, really, and then suddenly, when they first boarded the boat, they just lost it and...”

“Boat?”

I suddenly became alert.

“Wait. Did you board a boat in the Void?”

“Yes? Oh, yes... It’s much faster to use the waterways near the Joman River. But we didn’t take any really dangerous paths! We were on the route we always use, really!”

While the other Awakened desperately tried to justify themselves, fearing they might get blamed, I lamented deeply in my heart.

‘It’s only been a short time since it was born, and it’s already devouring the concept of [ship]!’

This was no time to be idle.

I immediately left the hospital and contacted the control tower in Yongsan.

“Saintess. Are you watching me right now?”

[Yes.]

“Please check if the common factor among those with mental derangement is that they first boarded or witnessed a ‘ship’ in the Void.”

[...It’s difficult to confirm completely, but that seems to be the case. All the affected groups were near bodies of water.]

“Sigh.”

A brief moment of hesitation.

The face of an Awakened who had lost everything yet ventured into the Void to fight anomalies. Their smile. Their words of thanks.

The decision always stronger than the hesitation.

“Saintess.”

[Yes.]

“Please contact Director Noh Doha and tell him to eliminate Containment-239-430-1-A. Just call it Ah Reum; he’ll know who you mean.”

[Got it.]

Silence ensued.

Two minutes.

[It’s done.]

I immediately asked.

“Was there physical destruction?”

[It’s in progress. So far, there’s no sign of resistance to the aura. It’s presumed that physical destruction is possible.]

“Thank you for your hard work.”

[It’s nothing.]

“Tell Director Noh Doha that it’s not his fault. I also agreed to it, and anomalies can occur at any time.”

[...I’ll let him know.]

My mind was racing.

‘Is this the end? Or is it already too late to stop the contamination?’

There are various ways in which anomalies can strengthen themselves.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity to introduce you to one of the most common methods.

It’s when an anomaly contaminates a specific “concept.”

For example, let’s say an anomaly contaminated “the lily growing in my backyard.”

This wouldn’t be very dangerous. I could simply stop growing lilies.

But what if the entire concept of “lilies” became contaminated?

This would be somewhat dangerous. Still, it wouldn’t be something to be excessively worried about.

Not growing lilies won\'t kill anyone (though there is some room for debate), and if it really seemed dangerous, I could just post on SGNet saying, “Everyone, be careful of lilies.”

But what if it’s not just about "lilies," but "plants"? Or even beyond plants, what if "life" itself becomes contaminated?

Exactly.

Astute readers might have already understood, but as you move from a "small concept" to a "broader concept," the danger posed by anomalies increases proportionally.

To illustrate, let’s draw a simple diagram.

――――――――――

[Existence]

│

[Living] [Non-living]

│

[Cellular life] [Acellular life] …….

――――――――――

It’s something like this.

In other words, imagine that the world is made up not of space but of concepts.

The anomalies precisely spread their cells by climbing the ladders of that conceptual map.

Sometimes upward. Sometimes sideways. Sometimes downward. Steadily, or leaping in bounds. Sometimes with rationality, but mostly with irrationality.

The detestable viral-dialectic of the anomalies, aimed at corrupting the pyramid of our world and existence.

Therefore.

If you aspire to become an excellent "anomaly virus containment specialist," above all, you must quickly discern from which point the anomaly began its contamination, and on which ladder the contamination is spreading.

What I, a regressor, was doing was essentially no different.

At that moment, I was deeply engrossed in the following thoughts.

‘The ship was contaminated. What’s next? The entire vessel? Bicycles or trains? It’d be a headache if it spreads in that direction. Or does it expand towards water because it’s a ship? Or has it been completely eradicated since it was physically destroyed?’

Then, it happened.

-Huh, huh? Hey, what\'s wrong with you?!

-Hold on! Hey! Stop! I said stop!

The hospital room door suddenly burst open amidst the commotion.

When I turned around, the mentally disturbed person who had just been transported to the hospital was standing there, mouth agape.

Words began to leak from his mouth.

“Ship…”

“Hey, hey! Lee Geumseon! What are you doing?!”

His colleagues hurriedly ran out into the hallway, following the mentally disturbed person.

“He opened his eyes and suddenly started babbling! Ah, um. Sorry, Doctor Jang. Fortunately, he regained consciousness, but then suddenly got up from the bed!”

“We have to fix the ship…”

Mumbling.

The mentally disturbed person staggered forward.

“We must fix the ship. The existence is crumbling, and only those who fix the ship will be saved, for it is the Ark for all of us…”

Though his colleagues yelled “Hey! Hey!” and tried to hold him back, it was in vain.

The mentally disturbed person, somehow drawing on some hidden strength, moved forward effortlessly. His colleagues, despite their best efforts, were dragged along behind him.

But that wasn’t all.

[Doctor Jang!]

The urgency in the saintess’s voice shook the edges of my heart.

[Something serious has happened. Right now, many of the awakened who were logged into SGNet are showing symptoms of ‘Theseus’s Ship’!]

“On SGNet? All of a sudden, why?”

As I responded, my mind immediately deduced the worst-case scenario.

Could it be...

“…Did someone upload a picture of a boat or any image related to ships?”

[I, I don’t know. I had the same hypothesis, so I’m intentionally avoiding using clairvoyance on the infected.]

“That was wise. It would be a disaster if you got infected. For now, ask Seo Gyu to suspend the board…”

[I’m sorry.]

My breath hitched.

[Seo Gyu is infected. Probably the first one.]

“...”

My breath seemed to spin in my mouth for a moment.

Just before a sigh could escape, I cut off the breath with my teeth and tongue.

“Activate the emergency protocol.”

[Yes. It’s activated. I’ve just sent out a ‘SGNet access restriction warning’ to all the awakened in the name of the Constellations.]

That was indeed true.

The awakened, who their colleague’s brute strength had dragged along, suddenly looked up and said, “Huh?”

“What’s this? Just now, the Constellation…”

“Did you get the message too?”

“Yeah. But, [Beware of the ship]? What does this mean?”

“Wait. Hold on. We’re still receiving messages, right? [Beware of the ship], [Do not approach water], [Do not observe any images or drawings similar to a ship]...”

The awakened\'s voices gradually grew quieter.

“Damn it. What’s going on? Why suddenly all this? It’s creepy.”

“Wait. Come to think of it, when we went there today... Hey! Hey! Stop! Why is this guy so strong?”

Thud.

I first rushed over to the mentally disturbed person and subdued him. Fortunately, those infected by this anomaly could be knocked out.

“Ah, Doctor Jang! Th-thank you!”

“...”

I noticed something strange on the mentally disturbed person’s body.

His fingers were cut off. The index and middle fingers. And scissors were embedded diagonally into the severed finger stubs.

I looked at his colleagues.

“What is this?”

“We-we didn’t do this! Geumseon, he...”

“Did he cut off his own fingers and then stab them with scissors?”

“Yes, yes! It’s true! Doctor Jang! It’s hard to believe, but we really didn’t do this!”

There was no need for the awakened to plead with such desperate eyes. I believed them.

And I thought.

About the awakened who had just been logged into SGNet.

Including Seo Gyu, the admin, and the other awakened in Korea who had nothing better to do but hang around on internet boards, and what might have happened to them after seeing the ‘ship images.’

About what kind of aftermath could befall us just one day after the anomaly outbreak.

About the kind of world we are living in.

“Saintess. Connect me to Yoo Jiwon.”

[Yes. Connecting.]

“Relay my words exactly. Ask Tang Seorin and Cheon Yohwa for their cooperation. Assemble all the National Road Management Team members under the Operations Control Room. Prepare for containment procedures.”

Right.

It’s nothing new, but we humans live in a world that hates us.