Red Sea

It was good to have driven out the native life forms and taken over the jungle where there were at least some edible plants and animals, but the resources necessary for humanity’s continued development were woefully insufficient. In particular, there was a lack of water. The large lake in the middle of the jungle was all the water humanity could use, and outside the jungle lay a wasteland. After sending scientists and soldiers to investigate various regions, it was confirmed that while they had settled on a planet with water, most of it was frozen in the form of eternal snow at the planet’s northernmost point, with only a portion melting and flowing toward the equator to form the jungle. It was also confirmed through photographs taken from outside the planet that a large waterway passed beneath the wasteland canyon, but it was impossible for humanity to go there and fetch water. It was presumed that another species of native life forms existed there, and due to the current lack of resources sufficient for war, it had to remain an area that humanity could not approach.

After years of rummaging through the jungle, the soldiers lost morale upon realizing that the outcome was despair rather than hope. However, Jake did not complain and quietly carried out his orders. Initially, he had enlisted because he needed money, because he needed a place to eat and sleep, but as he continued to work in the military, a spirit of sacrifice for the greater good of humanity and loyalty began to sprout within him. Even if he had to work hard in a hot and unsanitary place, even if he had to walk through ominous areas where the native life forms might appear at any moment, Jake faithfully performed his duties.

As time went on, he gradually aged and was promoted. It was nearly impossible for someone from a slum background to be promoted. Overcoming that adversity, Jake slowly rose through the ranks, enduring unfair treatment with his characteristic diligence, loyalty, and stubbornness. As a result, the young recruit with black hair and blue eyes had now become a major with graying hair, sitting properly in an office. In a resource-scarce situation, he could smoke cigars, which were considered luxury items, and unlike the drinks made by roughly mixing alcohol with water, he could also enjoy real liquor. However, Jake turned down such privileges and tirelessly pursued traces of the native life forms and water.

During his recruit days, Jake clearly saw the back of a skull that had been shattered. It was obviously a gunshot wound.

At that moment, Jake began to cultivate a very strange sense of unease.

Could the native life forms eat humans and wear their skins, and still be able to use guns?

According to interstellar law, invading another planet was a strictly punishable offense. Humanity had abandoned Earth and migrated to a new planet. On the migrated planet, there were terrifying monsters known as native life forms, and humanity had swept them away to build a city in the heart of the jungle.

The native life forms were not advanced enough to join the interstellar federation, nor were they highly intelligent monsters, so conquering them and claiming the land posed no problem. Humanity had simply intruded into the ecosystem, pushing out the animals known as native life forms and taking their place. However, since they had clearly exhibited threatening behavior, there were rumors that humanity had offered one of its technological capabilities in the peace treaty to express that it had no intention of turning the interstellar federation into an enemy.

Could such primitive creatures really know how to shoot guns? Or could they skillfully assassinate humans?

If they could gain intelligence equivalent to that of humans by eating them. Looking at the remains that were nothing but bones, Jake had reasonable doubts. Thus, he raised his voice, insisting that the native life forms should be identified as far more dangerous than humanity thought, and that any potential threats should be thoroughly investigated and eliminated.

However, the higher-ups responded coldly. They even regarded Jake’s claims with disfavor. Since there had been no life signs, including those of the native life forms, appearing around the jungle, and it had been confirmed that there was no water to the west of the jungle, there was no longer a need to continue sending troops. Instead, opinions gained traction suggesting that they should migrate north to study ways to melt the ice or strengthen trade with other planets in the galactic federation for resource exchange. Although they had handed over key technologies to the federation, they had not given everything, and the scientists believed that humanity’s technology, which had survived nuclear contamination, was great, merely struggling due to a lack of resources.

To support his views on strengthening security, Jake read various tactical books whenever he had the chance. He thought that if a native life form capable of handling a gun entered the city pretending to be human, it would surely lead to a major incident.

“You’re really working hard.”

Hearing his superior’s voice, Jake immediately stood up and saluted. It was Colonel Mars, whom he respected greatly. Although Jake himself was not short, Mars had a truly impressive physique. Colonel Mars glanced at the book Jake was reading and spoke in a definitive tone.

“I heard you proposed again about strengthening security. What is it that you are so afraid of?”

“There may be native life forms.”

“There are none.”

“How can you be so sure, Colonel?”

It was a pure question. If others said there were none, they would be seen as cowards turning a blind eye to the truth out of fear, or as desk administrators, but since Mars said so, Jake was genuinely curious about the reason. Mars smiled gently and looked down at Jake as if he were a child.

“Because our predecessors shot them all dead?”

“Still, there could be some left.”

“Not a chance…. Humanity truly succeeded in hunting them down without leaving a single seed. Do you know why there are so few animals in the jungle? Because humans, unable to distinguish between the animals they hunted and the native life forms disguised as them, caught all the animals indiscriminately. Thus, in the jungle surrounding the city, apart from a few that humans artificially raised, there are hardly any animals left.”

“That’s….”

“You need to realize that you are no longer a chick. You should be aware that countless recruits are swayed by your every command.”

“The bones found in the jungle had gunshot wounds and even signs of being bound. What if the native life forms eat humans and gain that level of intelligence?”

“How naive you are.”

Colonel Mars chuckled as he sipped his coffee. Seeing the wrinkles around his mouth appear and disappear, Jake felt even more bewildered.

“Is it really possible for the native life forms to be that intelligent?”

“Then, what about those gunshot wounds…?”

“Of course, that was done by humans. There were those with subversive thoughts…. They were a group that claimed they could coexist with the native life forms. They were the ones who laid the groundwork for the missing persons report law. If you tied them up in the jungle for a few days and then released them, they would crawl back into town, and people would think they were eaten by the native life forms and easily kill them.”

“Were they politically dissenting individuals…?”

“Quick to understand. It’s a history humanity wants to hide. But listen. If their opinions had been taken into account, humanity would not only have failed to build cities but would still be living in huts, defending themselves from the native life forms with knives or spears instead of guns! It was an unavoidable sacrifice, you see.”

“…Colonel, when did you first know about this?”

“I’ve known since I was very young. Ah, I forgot you’re a major. I was lucky to rise from the lower class. Most residents of the core area know this fact, and if you go out and blab about it, you’ll only get yourself in trouble…. It would be best to stop preaching about security.”

As Mars placed his empty coffee cup on the table, Jake felt for the first time that there was a barrier between him and Mars that went beyond military rank. The high-ranking officials were generally from the upper class, born and raised in the core area, and were always upright. The city humanity had built in the jungle was the exact opposite of a typical city. Generally, cities have their commercial and economic centers in the core area, with residential areas densely packed on the outskirts. However, humanity, wary of external threats, had made the innermost part luxurious and placed the poor, who had no money and were indifferent to security threats, on the outermost edge. Jake had secretly believed that the upper-class people, having grown up without hardship and with less practical experience, could not possess the unique qualities that only someone who had risen through the ranks from the bottom could have.

That was a vain arrogance.

The feeling of suddenly becoming a fool was bitter. The bitterness was so intense that he could not even taste the coffee he was drinking. Mars, still wearing a gentle smile, patted Jake on the shoulder and said,

“I’m saying this all for your sake. I want to see you for a long time.”

Words that sounded sharper and more cruel than a blade. From that day on, Jake cut off his interest in the native life forms. He realized that they were nothing more than illusions, fundamentally no different from the planet Earth, which was said to have existed in ancient times. Whether they had once existed or not was irrelevant. What mattered was that they could have no influence on the present.

In an instant, Jake lost his sense of purpose and fell into depression. He had been so focused on his promotion that he had no family, nor did he have any concrete plans for the future. Although he was very loyal, he was also quite stubborn, which made his relationships with others rather strained.

Having believed that he was contributing to a just cause for the benefit of humanity, he felt a sense of betrayal. Knowing the dark past of humanity, which had brutally massacred fellow humans and shamelessly built a city as if nothing had happened, countless questions arose within him about whether it was right to continue to align himself with that group and preach its main ideology.

The emergence of subversive thoughts was a red flag for a soldier. The military was an organization ostensibly formed to protect humanity from external threats, including the native life forms, and it was most ideal when operating solely on orders. Unnecessary thoughts or doubts were serious risk factors that could severely tarnish a soldier’s qualifications.

Knowing that he could not be promoted any further due to his background, Jake completed his term as a major and was discharged. Although he knew it was the most rational path, he could not shake the feeling of being pushed out. After his discharge, all that remained was a healthy body and a very small pension.

Afterward, instead of exploring the planet, Jake sought a position requesting resource negotiations with the closest planet among those that had joined the federation. It was a new job favored by retired soldiers who needed to be physically fit, as it required a long flight to reach the respective planet. If he succeeded in the trade, he could earn more money from the commission alone than his meager military pension or even settle on a new planet.

Of course, he could not go to just any planet that was part of the federation; he selected only Earth-like planets that were as suitable for human habitation as possible for trade attempts. Due to language barriers and differences in communication methods, humanity was resorting to the most primitive trading method of direct visits, mobilizing all advanced means. It would have been nice if all the planets and alien races in the interstellar federation had a unified language and technology, but reality was not that easy.

“Having been through the jungle and tried all sorts of things, going to space should be a piece of cake,” Jake tried to convince himself that there was nothing to fear. Since leaving the military, he had been living like a stray dog, lost and abandoned. Even when he tried to think positively, questions like “Is it really okay to do this job?” kept creeping up, continuously draining his energy.