Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Endymion Chapter5 (section)

===Part 2===

The brown-skinned, silver-haired woman named Ureapaddy Exica stood at the base of the “tower”.

Officially, it was known as a large-scale air traffic control tower. By the time the world learned it played the role of the earthport at the surface-side end of a space elevator, it would be too late. The elevator could cheaply, reliably, and quickly transport large amounts of materials into space. The age had come where regions across the world would need to fear explosives raining down from the heavens and where a minefield could be laid in space that had such high density that it could completely defend against the thousands or tens of thousands of ballistic missiles fired to destroy that demonic tower.

Academy City would have a monopoly on space.

And the risk seen in that fact was not limited to the science side that launched rockets and shuttles. In fields such as astrology, the magic side had made use of outer space for much longer than the science side had.

It had been a dangerous project from the beginning.

If Ureapaddy had not come, something else would likely have happened.

“The development has already reached the seventh stage. The construction of the wire for the initial work has been completed,” muttered Ureapaddy.

The most difficult aspect of constructing a space elevator was hanging a single wire down from space to connect the spaceport and earthport. From what she had heard, that alone had taken several years.

The construction of that single wire could only be done by relying on the old method of launching rocket after rocket. But once that was complete, the speed of the work would rise dramatically.

A tower reaching up into space.

Normally, even several decades would not have been enough to create something like that.

However, Academy City had given each individual block of the tower the ability to function as an unmanned mobile robot. Hundreds of million or even billions of such blocks would move along the elevator wire from both space and earth to quickly create the exterior of the tower.

No need for scaffolding.

No need for cranes.

No need for safety checks.

That method allowed a durable building to be constructed with overwhelming speed even in an Antarctic environment where room temperature water would freeze almost instantly.

And while the tower was given durability, the method also provided joints in the connections between each block so that it could “bend” a bit if needed.

Such a gigantic building would normally take over 100 years to complete, but this construction technique allowed it to be finished in only a few days.

That alone may have rivaled the military advantage of the space elevator itself.

It displayed just how much of a threat Academy City and science were.

“The inside of the tower will include more than a single wire. Ultimately, several carbon nanotube belts will be lined up within.”

But Ureapaddy did not need to wait for everything to be complete. She merely needed something that would carry her magic power from the surface up into space without attenuating. As long as that initial wire was connected, she could use the tens of thousands of shooting stars from Debris Storm to activate Brahma Astra.

“Now then. I was waiting for some information, but it is about time I ended this.”

Ureapaddy smiled thinly.

She had most feared something would interrupt in the middle of her spell while completing the delicate task of using Brahma Astra on an unprecedentedly large scale.

The simplest form that could take would be if the elevator’s wire snapped while the magic power was being sent through it.

Carbon nanotubes were stronger than steel and resistant to heat, so they were not easily destroyed. However, they were also extraordinarily weak to high voltage electric currents. If Academy City had built in a system to sever the wire, they might have activated it as soon as they detected what Ureapaddy was after.

And so she had waited.

She had given her enemy more than enough time to decide to use such a system.

But she had seen no sign of the space elevator’s wire spontaneously snapping. It was obvious what Academy City’s higher ups were thinking.

“They know the risk, but they must not want to lose the advantages the space elevator will earn them. If they cut the wire and the project is delayed, the rest of the world may detect the elevator and begin putting together countermeasures. If space is sealed off to them before it is complete, they may find it difficult to even construct the space elevator. And so they wish to quickly complete the elevator while it is still hidden.”

This was exactly what she had expected.

And despite knowing it was coming, she still felt scorn for them.

“Such a foolish decision. If the world is destroyed, any advantage will be worthless.”

Individuals made frequent mistakes, but they came to a decision quickly.

Organizations made few mistakes, but they came to a decision slowly.

Both sides had their advantages and disadvantages, but it worked to Ureapaddy’s favor this time. Her enemy may have been able to choose to stop her even at that very moment, but the situation was leading them to destruction.

And so Ureapaddy had no reason to hold back.

With nothing left to stop her, she merely had to continue as planned. As long as nothing stood in its way, a ball rolling down a hill would naturally reach its goal. And Academy City had taken all of the walls out of the way of the ball.

Or so she thought.

“Oh?”

Ureapaddy Exica frowned slightly.

She had caught sight of a small “wall”.

However, this was not a special defense system built into the space elevator that was humanities largest ever building.

It was something standing directly in front of her.

With the city’s various defensive networks compromised due to the wishes of the higher ups and the system interference from solar winds, the final “wall” to obstruct her took the form of a pitiful human being.

It was a boy.

A boy with spiky hair and a tightly clenched right fist.

“When I planned for this sort of obstacle, I assumed it would be my sister.”

“She’ll be here soon. I just got here a bit ahead of the others.”

“It does not matter. The number of my enemies is no longer an issue. I already have Brahma Astra in my hands.”

“Why do you need to go this far?” asked the boy calmly. “What is your goal here? With that level of destructive power, the damage will spread beyond Academy City. You should be able to target the entire science side…or the magic side if you want. You might be able to crush both sides with arrows to spare. What are you trying to destroy!?”

That put a slight smile on Ureapaddy’s lips.

Her long silver hair waved in the wind.

“That idea…”

“…?”

“…is what I must destroy. That is what I am fighting for.”

At first, her response made no sense. But she continued speaking. What motivated Ureapaddy grew apparent, little by little.

“Why do you think the science side has used such a cautious method to construct this giant building? A method of transportation cheaper and safer than rockets, a business sending out satellites and probes to other heavenly bodies, a starting point for acquiring resources from the moon, the beginning of production for orbital weapons that outdo ballistic missiles…They have many different ‘official’ objectives, but it all comes back to one thing: the conflict between science and magic. This is one step in the preparation to win that conflict.”

The positions and paths of the stars in the sky were used in magicians’ spells, so the giant space elevator was a threat. They had to think about the effect the tower itself would have on the “night sky” and, if large quantities of resources were carried up using the elevator to create space stations on a scale never before seen, the armillary sphere itself would need to be redrawn.

It was possible the elevator could cause the spells of countless magicians around the world to activate without warning.

“And the magicians like me that have been modified or constructed to be specialized towards a specific spell are more or less the same thing. It is blatantly obvious that making us so specialized leaves us with major disadvantages in most situations. The reason the magic cabals stubbornly insist to focus on a single piece of magic is quite simple: they desire large-scale military might with which to oppose the dangerous science side.”

“Is that why you are doing this? Because you were forced into these changes you did not wish for?”

“Admittedly, the Astra reorganization was not an enjoyable experience. I am no longer anything more than an existence created by taking around 15 people with the ‘proper’ ability, having only the ‘proper’ portions of their spirits removed and combined, and finally having that averaged artificial spirit reinserted. Technically, all 15 had that artificial spirit reinserted, but I am the only that remains. The spirit itself was optimized, but discrepancies with the physical body that received it caused the others’ spirits to be rejected by their physical body. I just happened to be a close enough match. But thanks to that optimization, it is hard to say if I am even Ureapaddy Exica anymore.”

Those easily spoken words caused the spiky-haired boy’s shoulders to jump.

It seemed to be quite a shock to him.

That had been nothing more than the entrance of the path leading to Brahma Astra. The cabal had been so twisted that something like that could be called nothing more than an entrance.

“However. I see that as only one of many gears. I am not so conceited as to think my tragedy is all that matters. The same sort of tragedy occurs all across the magic side and I am sure plenty of it can also be found on the science side as well. …Doesn’t it all seem so ridiculous?”

“You don’t mean…”

“Magic works to grow stronger so that it can defeat science. Science works to grow stronger so that it can defeat magic. And in the process, taboo after taboo is broken without end. What is this chain reaction? If someone had brought it to an end at some point, all of this tragedy might have been avoided. And yet the scale of violence continues to grow as people swing their swords into the darkness without even knowing who it is they are fighting. Once this arms race passes a certain point, a power will be born that is great enough to destroy the entire world.”

“So you want to destroy everything to bring that chain reaction to an end!?”

“No, that is not it. What matters is gathering attention.” Ureapaddy smiled thinly. “A great stimulus is needed to wipe away the darkness that both science and magic are spreading before themselves. After I am done, Brahma Astra will most likely become a symbol of fear for a great number of people. But that will wipe away the darkness whether they like it or not. They will want to know what happened, who is to blame, and how to stop it. And as they investigate, they will realize just what sort of a world exists beyond that darkness.”

The boy gritted his teeth. He had likely realized another fact.

It was for that reason that Ureapaddy had not simply relied on her own magic. With the space elevator and Debris Storm, she had included cutting edge technology in this plan she was risking her life for.

At first, the science side and magic side might try to force blame onto each other.

But as they investigated the incident that greatly involved both worlds, the people would realize something. They would realize just how much their enemy could accomplish. They would learn it in specific terms rather than as endlessly expanding fear and delusions.

Once they knew, the darkness could be swept away.

The incident with Brahma Astra might temporarily worsen the opposition between magic and science. But the “understanding” it would bring would also help to bring an end to the negative chain reaction that would otherwise spread infinitely.

“As I stood on the front lines of the fight with science, I truly experienced that pointless chain reaction. And I also grew to trust science at least enough to risk my life for it,” said Ureapaddy as her long silver hair blew in the wind. “If neither side is looking at the other, I just need to bring them close enough to see each other. Even if that means they must be at each other’s throats. It does not matter if it starts with hostility and animosity. As long as it ultimately leads to understanding, we can stop this conflict.”

It was all to stop that great conflict.

It was all to stop the unnecessary inflation of risk.

It was all so that the people of the world could continue to smile.

It was all for justice.

It was all for peace.

And Ureapaddy Exica would wield the full power at her disposal to accomplish it.

“…I see,” muttered the spiky-haired boy. “So you don’t even know what it really is that motivates you.”

“What?”

“I’ve come across people like this a few times before, so I have a fair understanding of it. People cannot fight for some great objective like that. Even if they claim it is for some great objective, they are truly thinking of some small thing that will be saved if it is achieved.”

Ureapaddy was confused by the boy’s words, but she did not care to question him.

Her silver hair shook slightly.

She had begun to shift her body weight.

That was all it took to change the surrounding atmosphere. What had been a gentle breeze now felt brutal and like it could cut into the skin.

Nevertheless, the boy tightly clenched his right fist and spoke.

“If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I’ll remind you. Then even you will understand. Even if your supposed goal is perfectly achieved, your methods will never save what you are trying to protect!!”