“A proposal from the Chimiya Family?”
“Yes yes, Commander Mum. The Chimiya Family has made a proposal concerning future governance.”
“So that’s why I got called in. You said it was about internal administration, so I figured it had to be something unusual.”
The command room of Fortress <The Tree>.
Eve sat in the command seat, with <Ringo> standing behind her.
And on the display in front of them was Amajio Silverhead.
The usual five sisters were also present in their seats in the command room.
Since the Prava Divine Kingdom was the subject under discussion, the 담당 officer, <Iris>, was present as well, and <Ayame Zero>, attached to Amajio, was participating by voice.
“That’s a pretty distinguished lineup.”
“Everyone except the one assigned to the United Kingdom of Aphrasia.”
Of course, that did not mean the other AIs were barred from participating. It was simply that they did not have permanent icons displayed. They were free to watch and speak if they wished.
“All right then. Since I haven’t heard any of this yet, could someone explain it to me?”
“Yes yes, Commander Mum. When we shared information with the Chimiya Family, they made a proposal. Specifically, they proposed incorporating the cleric-soldiers on the Eastern Front into the Chimiya Family’s chain of command.”
At <Ringo>’s report, Eve tilted her head. Why had that even come up?
“...Maintaining a front with no senior commander present?”
“We believe the Chimiya Family is concerned about the collapse of the front.”
On its side, <Paraiso> had been sharing information quite generously with the Chimiya Family—within the limits of what could be disclosed, at least.
That had included the governance problems in the Prava Divine Kingdom, as well as an overview of the Eastern Front, which had effectively been left unattended.
“So the Chimiya Family actually took notice of that?”
“Yes yes, Commander Mum. There is certainly a desire to secure interests involved, but at minimum, this is not a proposal intended to harm us.”
Because orders from above had ceased to reach the Eastern Front, the situation there had become completely deadlocked. The Divine Kingdom’s cleric-soldiers were still faithfully carrying out their original orders to hold the present line, but it was expected that the validity of those orders would weaken as time passed.
In other words, the likelihood that the cleric-soldiers would begin acting independently was increasing by the day.
“Does the Chimiya Family actually have command authority?”
“Yes. We confirmed that. Members of the Chimiya Family hold positions at least equivalent to bishop class. Since the current Eastern Front contains no superior-ranking personnel above the Grand High Priest level, our assessment is that if the Chimiya Family were dispatched there, they could be incorporated into the chain of command.”
Priests and Grand High Priests were regional overseers, while bishops held central offices.
In basic terms, bishops were understood to stand above Grand High Priests.
“I still don’t really understand this, but what kind of chain of command do the Prava Divine Kingdom’s cleric-soldiers actually operate under? I can tell it’s not as simple as just obeying rank...”
“That’s what I want to know too. From the parts of the report I skimmed, it sounded like there was some kind of magical connection involved.”
That was what the two humans said, but Amajio almost certainly understood most of it already. He was probably asking for an explanation for Eve’s sake, since being flesh and blood imposed limits on what she could process.
He really was a considerate man.
“Then I will give a simple explanation.”
With that, <Ringo> brought up a display for the briefing.
“This is based solely on what we learned directly from the Chimiya Family themselves. Because it is subjective testimony, some parts may differ from objective fact, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) but we assume the conceptual model itself is sound.”
What appeared on the screen was what would generally be called a star-topology network diagram.
However, only the overall structure was star-shaped. Every endpoint was shown as a mesh. In effect, multiple mesh networks were connected at key points to form an overall star topology.
“The cleric-soldiers, and the Chimiya Family as well, normally gather personnel of roughly equal ability into groups of a certain size, and those groups form mesh networks.”
“...Networks?”
“Yes yes, Commander Mum. Networks.”
The cleric-soldiers formed groups of a certain size, and within those groups they built networks. Once a network was formed, the entire group shared a single behavioral standard.
“So basically everyone in the group links their minds together, suppresses individual will, and acts in favor of the whole?”
“Yes. That is a valid interpretation. However, we were told that if too many people are included in a single mesh network, movement becomes sluggish, so there appears to be a limit to processing capacity. For that reason, once a group exceeds a certain size, the mesh networks are no longer linked directly and are instead connected through hubs. Those hubs, it seems, correspond to the superior offices.”
And the thing that made that network formation possible was magic—the absurdity of fantasy itself.
“It appears that the Prava Divine Kingdom began conscripting people capable of using magic at a fairly early stage and training them as cleric-soldiers. We are still investigating how they selected which humans could use magic and which could not, but the Chimiya Family seems to possess at least some of that know-how, so in the future we may be able to obtain that information in exchange for something of value.”
“Seriously...? Are they even human? From that explanation alone, they sound more like machines...”
That was what Eve said, and in truth she was right. There was very little humanity to be felt in the cleric-soldiers of the Prava Divine Kingdom.
“I will admit that, in ecological terms, they resemble our AI species more than humans. Prioritizing the interests of the whole over the individual is also similar to social insects. That is the conclusion we reached after compiling the Chimiya Family’s information.”
“Network formation, huh... I’m pretty sure there was talk that one of our AIs was involved in the founding of the Prava Divine Kingdom...”
“There is a strong possibility that had a significant influence. It would not be surprising if it noticed the potential of magical communication and encouraged the formation of networks.”
It had already been established from various holy relics that the founding of the Prava Divine Kingdom had involved a reconnaissance craft that Amajio failed to recover.
Various data believed to have been left behind by that craft had in fact been recovered, and wreckage preserved in the sanctuary had also been found. Though badly corroded, it was clearly some kind of automated machine manufactured with advanced science and technology.
And, of course, Amajio had confirmed that it was a reconnaissance craft launched from his own base, <Trout Nursery>.
The AI loaded aboard it had apparently been a biologically based computer designed for long-term independent operations, but according to him it had not possessed functions advanced enough to qualify as free will.
Still, because it had been capable of long-term independent action, it seemed to have been able to dominate the local population for decades and compel them to carry out some sort of work.
“The details remain unknown. However, the Chimiya Family’s view is that it would be possible to incorporate the Eastern Front’s forces into a command structure built around this network formation.”
“If they’re brought under the Chimiya Family’s command, is there any chance their sense of purpose changes? If I remember right, those people put developing the <Demon Forest> above everything else. If that ends with them abandoning the front, it defeats the whole point.”
Members of the Chimiya Family disliked being far from the <Demon Forest>. They would permit temporary dispatches to other regions for reinforcement or communications, but they refused long-term assignments that kept them stationed elsewhere.
That was one of the side effects of the Chimiya Family’s all-consuming wish to develop the <Demon Forest>. Apparently they reacted negatively to handling miscellaneous duties unrelated to that project.
That said, up until now those miscellaneous duties had been handled by the central state, so it had never become a problem.
“Their assessment is that if it is only a matter of periodically transmitting orders, there should be no short-term issue. As for the long term, there is no precedent, so they cannot say for certain. However, it does not appear likely to break down within one or two years, so we consider it an optimal stopgap measure.”
“Hm... The Eastern Front was our biggest concern in the first place, so if that works, I think it’s fine. If we can sort things out within a year, then this buys us the time to do it, right?”
“Yeah. In the worst case, we’d even considered muddying the situation by staging it as a stampede. Compared to that, this is a lot more reasonable.”
And so, at least for the time being, the fate of the Prava Divine Kingdom’s Eastern Front was decided.
