Editing KSGU:Volume 6 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 7===

On a normal working day, it would not be difficult to enter the parliament hall. Even without a prior appointment, one could visit as long as they asked for permission at the registration window of the Lower House. They would have to follow the guidance of the security personnel in the buildings, but the courtyard of the parliament hall was in fact an open place, and one could take as many photos as they wanted. They would also need to proceed through two checkpoints, one for luggage checking and one for metal detection, but one could say that entering that place was as easy as entering a park or a plaza.

In fact, there were surveillance cameras set up all over the place to watch the visitors, and if there were anyone who would cause the slightest suspicion, there would be security personnel rushing in to surround them with sub-machine guns. On this day, it seemed that there was a primary school attending this place for a social studies lesson, and there was a scene of students of around 7, 8 years old facing the front courtyard, led by a female security guard as they moved along. However, the armed guards who were standing around caused the atmosphere to feel rather weird. ''Had it always been like this? Or did the recent terrorist attacks caused them to strengthen their security?'' Banagher could not tell which was the correct, as he looked up at the central corridor that was 3 levels tall. He climbed up the stairs, and saw that there was a set of bronze doors on both sides of the First Prime Minister bronze statue. Each door weighed 5 tones, and it was said that these two doors would only be opened during a Senate election or when a newly elected senator entered for the first time. Normally, they would enter from the two corridors on both the left and right side of the Upper and Lower House. The security was tight as there were poles set up on the corridors with surveillance cameras on top of them, foldable barricades and guards on standby. The security personnel that were equipped with bulletproof vests and sub-machine guns looked as serious as Daguza and the other ECOAS members.

The surveillance cameras would turn randomly, quietly noting that it was not a mere decoration. ''Since I’m caught in such an uproar, maybe my appearance is recorded amongst those that needs to be watched.'' Banagher tried his best not to look at the cameras as he would mix around with the children or other visitors deliberately. At this moment, Zinnerman tapped him on the shoulder lightly and reminded,

“You’ll look even more suspicious like that. Walk properly.”

After whispering this, he immediately started to turn his head around to look while pretending to be like a country bumpkin. ''Since Zinnerman’s face was not exposed, I guess I should be fine.'' Banagher convinced himself with this illogical reasoning as tried his best to look natural. But at this moment, he started to be concerned with the sounds of the jet engines that would appear and disappear from time to time, and looked up at the blue sky lit by the afternoon sun quite a few times.

He could see two flying machines passing by above the central corridor, about 10 levels above the central building from where he was standing. They rose to about 1km in height, and these wingless machines that glided through the atmosphere with their round lifting boards, looked like alien hovercrafts that people imagined a long time ago. “Those aren’t fighter jets, they’re transformable mobile suits.” Zinnerman muttered softly, and Banagher felt a little frightened within as he chased after where the machines went. Those machines seemed to hover above parliament hall regularly, and they could not be seen after they went behind the silhouette of the building.

If those were transformable mobile suits, the reason why there were so many empty lands around the parliamentary hall would be self-explanatory. This showed that the security management did plan for them to land in front of the parliament hall and establish a defense line before anything happened. Of course, the forces deployed on the ground would immediately take action and respond according to the enemy’s attacks. Banagher did see a patrolling GM mobile suit on a hovercraft when he went down the road along the coastline. Most likely, there might be tank-shaped mobile suits hidden underneath.

“If we try to barge in here directly, we’ll be peppered with holes here. It is possible if we attack from above, but…”

“The “breaking horn” mobile suit can’t determine the situation in front of it if it can’t stand here.”

It seemed that Loni had known about the data. “That’s right.” Zinnerman sighed and admitted.

“Petty tricks can’t fool that “Gundam”. Maybe we have to cover it with some hood and drag it along with a trailer…?”

Banagher looked at the armored cars laid around the parliament hall, and even he could understand that this plan was not practical. The coordinates indicated by the Laplace Program was right at the point he was standing—the courtyard of the parliament hall’s middle corridor. “It seems that my father has his own thoughts regarding this.” Banagher heard Loni’s words from behind, walked away from the duo, and looked up at the sky.

''It’s hot. Even though it’s not as maddeningly hot as the desert, the hot air mixed with the sea breeze is dampening the skin, and it feels like I’m in a steamer, waiting to be cooked. I can't think of anything if I stand here. No, just standing here alone shows that my mind is not working properly. To think that I would be standing together with soldiers of Neo Zeon, looking up at the Federation’s parliamentary hall, planning an intrusion that’s no different from a terrorist attack…''

But that was not all he was thinking. He, who wanted to understand the situation, who wanted to understand how important he was to this situation, truly existed, and if there was a need to take action, he would probably be willing to do it. The mentality Banagher would not have a few moment ago was sprouting inside him. ''That’s because I want to know the answer,'' Banagher affirmed in his heart. He wanted to know what was hidden inside the “Laplace Box”, and he wanted to know Cardeas’ intent for opening it. Would it be just like what Alberto said, that he planned everything to create chaos of war? Or was there some other motive? As long as he could not get a clear answer to this doubt, Banagher would not know how to proceed.

That was why he was willing to help search for the “Box”. But if a battle was started because of it—It seemed that it was free time for the children, and their excited cries rang in his eyes as he suddenly felt dazed. He was surrounded by the hot air, gravity and the children running around. He put his hand on his dazed head, and as he arrived in front of the stairs of the central corridor, his eyes were caught by the stone tablet in front if it.

Below the feet of the first Prime Minister’s statue that overlooked the courtyard, there was a hexagonal flat surface that reflected the sunlight, a large object that was 1m in length on every side. There were small words carved on this surface, and on a step below it, there was an explanatory level. Banagher stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at the explanatory words, “That’s the Universal Century Charter” only to look back in shock after hearing this voice. Loni approached Banagher’s back and looked up at the stone tablet.

“This charter that was announced together with the Change of Eras speech is the basis of the Federation government. To you Spacenoids, it’s a curse that decided your fate for the latter 100 years.”

“Curse?”

[[Image:KSGU6 145.png|thumb]]

“Look at the 9th line there.” Loni pointed at the multiple lines on the stone tablet and continued “All space cities, as self-maintaining bodies of the Federation, are to fulfill their own functions, and their basic authority is to be given to the Central government…the other articles are only stated briefly. Don’t you find this one especially detailed? The space administrative plan the Federation set is all based around it. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that all the battles that started since the One Year War was based on this.”

On a closer look, there were numerous names on the clause, and all the representatives of each country, with the signature of Ricardo Marcenas, the First Prime Minister, being on top. A remote laser would sign the signatures on the stone tablet together with the handwriting on the writing pad, and it was signed on the night the change of eras would happen, in the prime minister’s residence of “Laplace”. Looking at the explanatory pad, this charter was established in the residence, and was planned to be released to the entire world during the change of eras. Banagher recalled the things he learned in primary school and glanced at Loni’s face.

“In the early ages, when the colony was completed, when it was proven that humans could live in space, everything was perfect. That’s because Spacenoids are seen as pioneers that created a new world, and never thought about what would happen afterwards. But after people were forced to move, when each Side was large enough to form a country, they finally realized that something was amiss. The Spacenoids did not have any rights to elect the chief of the Sides, let alone the Senate Council. No matter where they went, the sides were not deemed as countries, just self-governing bodies…everything was planned right from the beginning.”

The emerald eyes that were like Audrey’s gradually had a dull look on them. Banagher felt the intimate feeling disappear off her face, and could not help but look away from her.

“The Federation abandoned the extended population in space to allow Earth and humanity to live on. They not only killed humanity, but also our God. Because they said ‘say goodbye to the century of Gods’.”

“But the Federation never banned religion itself, right? There’re all sorts of cultures all over the world that’s maintained, and the First Prime Minister never denied the existence of Gods…”

''I believe that a healthy representation of the human spirit would be to ascend to a higher plane, to give laws to ourselves, as we set higher bars for ourselves.''—the words he heard from the ghost in the debris of “Laplace” overlapped with the bronze statue in front of him as he argued. “That’s true. Listening to the speech alone, I do believe that Prime Minister Ricardo was a person with liberal thinking.” Loni answered, but her expression showed no sign of relaxing.

“That’s why he was assassinated, probably by the people who belonged to the Federation government as well. This stone tablet is a copy, the original was blown up together with “Laplace”.”

Banagher recalled the tragic and silent devastated scene he saw inside the debris of “Laplace”, felt a chill in his stomach, and kept quiet without saying anything.

“Mosques and Churches do remain. If you go to the Southern islands, you’ll only see villages of thatched cottages, and there’re a lot of people who followed their old customs. But that’s just a remnant left behind to preserve the old flair, and it’s no different from an attraction in a theme park. Those who think that they could avoid the suffering of the migrants just by putting on exotic clothes can’t even brag about their tribe’s culture and pride. Just like the Spacenoids now.”

“What does that mean.”

“The souls of the people on Earth are bounded by gravity, and all of humanity should have moved to space…that was what Char Aznable said when he occupied this parliament hall 9 years ago. Do you have any activists around you who believe in these words even at this point and work hard for it?”

“Just some down and out activists…”

''But even amongst the children, those guys just look defeated.'' Loni looked towards the Banagher who mumbled vaguely, “There’re still cries for self-governance ever after the War, but after two Neo Zeon Wars, those cries should have faded completely, right?”, and added this vicious line.

“Everyone lost their drive, and felt numbed by the control of the Federation. That goes for the cities on Earth as well, but I feel that those living inside the colonies would become lazy. It’s like they’re broiling humans.”

These merciless words caused Banagher to sense an agitation of a Zeon follower. “Sorry, I didn’t have any intent on blaming you.” Loni added this line as she spoke to Banagher, who unknowingly frowned, and looked up at the stone tablet.

“The fact remains that without a powerful organization like the Federation, humanity would have been vanished from Earth a long time ago. However, it had been almost a 100 years since humanity accepted space as their living place. Spacenoids can’t stop caring and accept the Federation’s rule; those that needs to be changed must be changed.”

“Even if…people shed blood for it?”

Banagher did not get any response to his question. He stood beside Loni who gasped slightly, and turned his stare that had nowhere to go back to the stone tablet on the steps.

''In order to pass the boundaries of race, religion and country borders, this artificial god called the Federation gift its 10 commandments of the Universal Century to humanity—as a price, some felt like the Gods they believed in was killed, just like Loni; while some like Zinnerman turned to a God of a new era that was born amidst the population abandonment called Zeon. God, hopes, possibilities, anyone could call it however they want. Marida said before that without light, humanity would never live on. Did the Federation rob the light of many when they went through the process of creating a world government? Did they build this stone tablet out of guilt? This stone tablet sealed off the possibility of change humanity planned, restraining them in the name of a shackle. This stone tablet that could barely be lifted by a mobile suit actually created a cover over the world 12 billion people lived in. The owners of the voices showed the distant future, but they could only leave behind a stone tablet that regulated the world…''

''Gyah!'' There was a cry from Banagher’s feet, ending his time of deep thought. There was a girl who tripped on the way up the stairs, and though she did try to support herself with her hand, she landed hide on the steps. Her petite body froze, and she started bawling all over her face. As Banagher started to back away due to the crying, “Oh my, it hurts, doesn’t it?” Loni said as she immediately reached out to help the girl.

“Show me your knee…un, this should be fine. This big sister will clean up the stained area, okay?” Loni said this as she took out a handkerchief to press down on the girl’s wound and pat away the dirt on the girl’s clothes. Banagher saw her point at the bronze statue to attract the attention of the girl, took out an antiseptic spray from her bag, and quickly sprayed the wound, and he was mesmerized as he watched how she did all these so easily. “That’s okay, don’t fall down now!” She said as she patted the girl on the back. The girl nodded and scampered off like a rabbit, and Loni, who watched her leave, suddenly showed an intimate presence on her face again. Banagher felt that the chilly atmosphere was rinsed off, and he felt that Loni was dazzling, not because she was a female.

“You like children, don’t you?”

As he spoke, he suddenly thought that the girl should be about two years older than him. Loni however turned her unsuspecting look as she answered,

“Of course. Children are like blocks of possibilities. I want to have around 10 of them.”

“10…!”

“That’s considered a kind of resistance, I suppose. The greatest resistance a woman can do to prevent their race from being wiped out is to bear more children.”

Loni showed a slightly bold smile and left the scene. ''So she too has such a wonderful thought.'' Banagher felt a soft breeze enter his head as he saw the back of Loni walk off with a nice posture. Zinnerman, who had been standing beside unknowingly, pointed his bearded face that must have felt stuffy, “Try pursuing her!” and whispered to his ears.

“Those words aren’t something that can be said to anyone. I guess she must have an interest in you.”

Banagher knew that his face was blushing, and it was not because of the surrounding temperature. “Now’s not the time for this!” Banagher pouted as he said and chased after Loni, with Zinnerman snickering behind. It seemed like it was time for the children to return home as the teacher’s whistle rang from afar.