We Were Only Tools

Since He-El became His Majesty the Emperor, the entire world had undergone earth-shaking changes.

First, the world adopted a unified language, establishing Chinese as Earth's language.

Whenever English created a new word, its dictionary had to add another entry. In the end, dictionaries would grow taller than people, and later generations might spend their entire lives memorizing new words.

Even now, different new English words were added to dictionaries every year, making them thicker still.

Chinese, however, could form new words by combining several of roughly three thousand characters. It was convenient and practical, with clearly greater linguistic efficiency.

After Chinese was designated the official language, Dawn's method of promoting it was quite interesting.

Across the world, everyone who learned, memorized, and understood the meaning of a Chinese character received 10 He-El Coins. The first character earned 10, the second 11, the third 12, the fourth 13... The more one learned, the better the rewards became.

There were nearly three thousand characters in total. What an enticing sum that was—practically free money.

There were also official language proficiency ratings. Sentence construction, memorizing idioms and their meanings, essays—each category offered rewards ranging from hundreds to thousands.

It was not limited to Chinese.

Dawn had dragged the entire world into an age of study.

Mathematics, chemistry, physics, and more—so long as one could memorize the multiplication table, chemical formulas, and material from other subjects, one could receive considerable monetary rewards.

When someone reached a certain level in a specialized field, or achieved a sufficiently high overall standard—a level Dawn's calculations determined an ordinary person could attain after five years of hard work—they would receive a superpower gene serum as a reward and gain superpowers.

Within the month after these educational benefits were announced, more than seventy million people became Ability users.

The world was swept up in a fervent craze for learning.

No one failed to desire superpowers. They were something one could obtain through effort, a real and tangible hope within reach.

As long as hope could be seen, humanity would display terrifying diligence and charge toward its goal.

On streets throughout the world, people walked while listening to lessons through earphones, using clumsy Chinese and animated gestures to communicate.

At every moment, countless people scratched their heads in impatience, studied until they were hot with frustration, hurled away their books in fury, then obediently picked them back up and continued studying after calming down.

After capitalism and socialism, the entire Earth fell into Knowledgeism. Only knowledge could grant one more; only greater knowledge could grant powerful superpowers, an admired status, honor, and wealth.

Four years later, even now, millions of people passed the assessments every day, received superpower gene serums, and became admired Ability users.

Jupiter had a graceful figure. Dressed in a professional skirt suit that revealed her long calves clad in black stockings, she stood with her arms folded as the cold wind sent her hair flying.

She tucked her hair behind her delicate ear with slender fingers, narrowed her bright eyes slightly, and stood on the top balcony of He-El Palace. Below her lay the majestic palace stretching across half of Washington, D.C., intertwined with towering redwoods, forming a magnificent sight.

As she looked upon the peace of humanity she had worked to preserve over the past four years, the vast unified human enterprise she had helped build, and the new age of Knowledgeism she had led them into, heartfelt satisfaction welled up in her chest.

She felt proud in silence.

After four years beneath He-El's command, tempered by the power of standing below one person and above all others, she was no longer the young woman who had been determined to kill He-El.

Her thoughts were now more mature. She understood more clearly that no one could replace He-El.

No one could replace an emperor who was nearly selfless.

Everything was taken from the people, and everything was truly used for the people.

He was practically a saint.

Even when he had diverted more than 40 percent of humanity's resources a year ago to create the Crystal Core Energy Source, humanity's foundations had remained unharmed. Human scientists had even successfully created cold nuclear fusion from the technological concepts He-El provided, propelling humanity into an era of nearly limitless clean energy.

There was no longer any need to kill our beloved Emperor. Let him become a symbol while I lead humanity peacefully into a broader age.

As long as he behaved himself, I would not kill him.

Facing the cool wind, her hair fluttering and a smile on her lips, Jupiter asked, "Dawn, what will our Majesty do next?"

Over her long association with Dawn, Jupiter had already discovered that He-El never hid anything from them, and Dawn never concealed anything for her master either.

Through Dawn, she could learn of He-El's itinerary. Almost every day, the answer was that her master had nothing he wanted to do next.

Thus, after discovering this, Jupiter began asking eagerly every morning.

Even though she had received the same answer every day for four and a half years, she never grew tired of it.

Maintaining the status quo was the best outcome for her.

"Master is packing the Crystal Core Energy Source. He is waiting for Dr. Ciri to return before leaving Earth." Dawn's voice unexpectedly carried a sour note of regret.

Jupiter's smile froze in the cool wind. The fingers that had tucked her hair behind her ear curled into a fist, pulling at her hair until her scalp stung.

She had received a fact she could not accept, entirely without warning.

Why was He-El leaving?

Was it because he had never belonged to Earth?

But he possessed everything here!

And why was he taking Ciri with him?

Why Ciri?

"Why Ciri?" Danger flickered in Jupiter's bright eyes, and her frozen smile curved into an even wider arc.

Beside her ear, she slowly lowered the fist wrapped around her hair despite the stabbing pain. A lock of hair had been torn out, and tiny beads of blood seeped from her scalp.

I was the one who maintained and led the great enterprise of the He-El Empire.

I was the one who preserved the peace between him and humanity. I was the one who restrained the conflict between the Humanity Self-Rescue Heroes Association and him. I was the one who possessed the power to kill him, yet never acted. All of it was for humanity's peace, so that he could sit securely upon the imperial throne.

Why should he be allowed to leave so easily?

He-El could not leave!

Nor could he take anyone with him!

Why take that foolish, big-breasted, empty-headed idiot of a woman who only knew how to stay in her laboratory?

"Doesn't Jupe know? Dr. Ciri is Master's subordinate. Jupe, I, and the entire Earth are merely tools," Dawn said.

"I see. Thank you, Dawn. Where is Dr. Ciri?"

"Based on her travel time, she will appear on Anchorage's coast at around 11:34 tomorrow morning."