CE71, February 1, 13:30 Standard Time
Seeing that the scheduled time had arrived and that the Supreme Council members from the various cities were seated, Siegel Clyne, representing April City and serving as the council's current chairman, announced the start of the meeting.
"Now, this special Supreme Council meeting on countermeasures against Celestial Being—convened in response to the 'collapse of Heliopolis,' the 'Celestial Being Formation Declaration,' and the latest 'fall of Artemis'—is hereby officially in session.
I believe everyone has already familiarized themselves with the relevant circumstances, so I won't repeat them here.
First, I'd like the council members responsible for particular matters to brief the rest of us on the latest developments since our last emergency Supreme Council meeting, as well as on several matters that were added afterward.
If no one objects, may I begin?"
The other members had no objections to Siegel Clyne's procedural remarks and politely nodded their assent.
Siegel Clyne began by reporting on "the policy explanation and adjustments following Celestial Being's disclosure of Coordinators' reproductive defects."
"After Celestial Being disclosed the difficulties and limitations Coordinators currently face in natural reproduction, we first surveyed public opinion.
Overall, thanks to our Coordinators' high level of education, the public has responded rationally.
Based on those findings, we then proactively explained the current problem and the council's proposed countermeasures to the public. The overall results have been good.
Dissatisfaction with the existing marriage regulations has declined, and a greater proportion of people are willing to cooperate with the council and undergo genetic compatibility testing.
In short, although Celestial Being's sudden disclosure caught us somewhat off guard, the overall outcome has been good, and may even have had some positive effects.
This includes people's hope that we'll achieve an early ceasefire with the Earth Alliance, so they can have children with Naturals."
Siegel Clyne considered the matter settled—no problem, all good—but clearly, not everyone shared his position.
Ted Elsman, a February City council member and member of the Administrative Committee—in other words, Dearka's father—was the first to leap in and challenge him.
As the city responsible for medicine and biology, including the "adjustment" of Coordinators themselves, February City was undoubtedly the vanguard of "Coordinator-first" thinking.
Accordingly, its position opposed any policy that might lead to the "degeneration" of Coordinators.
"I'm afraid I can't agree with Chairman Clyne's remarks.
We went to great lengths to complete the adjustment process, and intermarriage with Naturals will only cause rapid deterioration!
I therefore have to conclude that the initiative led by Chairman Clyne is fundamentally flawed and must be corrected."
Before Siegel Clyne could respond, Eileen Canaver, a September City council member and chair of the Diplomatic Committee, immediately countered Ted Elsman.
September City focused mainly on information technology, which gave it a pronounced left-leaning streak.
Furthermore, after PLANT declared independence, September City had taken on the task of reaching out to Earth's neutral nations to develop trade and diplomatic ties. As a result, its representatives often found themselves at odds with Ted Elsman and others.
"I'm afraid I can't agree with Councilman Elsman's position either.
We're already at a numerical disadvantage as it is. The situation has become so dire that even young people of fourteen or fifteen have to join the military to defend their home.
If your words get out, both first-generation Coordinators and the many Coordinators married to Naturals may turn against us. That would make the war even more unfavorable for our side."
Ted Elsman scoffed at Eileen Canaver's hard-nosed rebuttal, but refrained from making any more extreme remarks. After all, one of the fourteen- or fifteen-year-olds she had mentioned was his only son, Dearka.
Although this had become the first item on the agenda, it was relatively unimportant in substance.
Moreover, Ted Elsman and Eileen Canaver had already covered the most contentious points.
Some council members raised questions afterward, but most concerned only technical details.
When it became clear that no one else had anything to add, Siegel Clyne moved on to the next item.
"Next, Councilwoman Eileen Canaver will brief us on the investigation into Celestial Being and the results of our initial contact."
Eileen Canaver stood and greeted the other council members. After they politely returned her greeting, she began her report.
"First, regarding Celestial Being's origins, we've largely ruled out the possibility that they're connected to PLANT.
"Furthermore, based on several tentative diplomatic overtures and our analysis of the information we've gathered about Celestial Being, we've also largely ruled out the possibility that they're affiliated with any nation on Earth."
At her words, Herman Gould, a hardliner from a political science background and a member of October City's Defense Committee, couldn't help interrupting.
"Are you trying to tell us that Celestial Being consists of aliens who came down from space, or travelers from another world?!"
Eileen Canaver glanced at Herman Gould and replied with a mix of softness and firmness.
"As expected of Councilman Gould—such a wide-ranging reader.
"While we can't confirm that Celestial Being consists of aliens or people from another world, if the existence of Newtype abilities is ultimately confirmed, then they could be psychics."
Herman Gould was about to flare up at Eileen Canaver's jab, but Siegel Clyne intervened in time to smooth things over.
"Councilwoman Canaver, please respond seriously to Councilman Gould's question.
"Councilman Gould, if possible, please wait until Councilwoman Canaver has finished speaking before asking further questions."
In response to Siegel Clyne's fair remarks, the two apologized to each other and thanked him.
Eileen Canaver then gathered her thoughts before continuing.
"There's a saying in detective fiction: once you've eliminated all the impossible explanations, whatever remains, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth.
"In fact, our investigators also found it hard to believe that an organization like Celestial Being could appear out of nowhere, without any warning.
"But I'm sure each of you has conducted your own investigation to some degree. The fact is, we can't find a single trace of Celestial Being before CE70—not even of 'Zeon Zum Deikun,' who was mentioned in the 'Celestial Being Formation Declaration.'
"You have to understand that several decades ago, the situation wasn't chaotic, and the confidentiality level of personnel records wasn't high. If we have a real name to search for and still find no valid match, that can only prove that this person doesn't exist—not, at least, in our world.
"So, when investigators failed to uncover Celestial Being's origins, they simply proceeded on the assumption that the group had appeared suddenly. To their surprise, they found clues that could substantiate this theory."
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