vncnus Chapter 306 The Solution – The Mechanism of the Ultimate Truth
Chapter 306 The Solution – The Mechanism of the Ultimate Truth
Chapter 308 The Solution – The Mechanism of the Ultimate Truth
"Ladies and gentlemen, all the strange things that have happened in this Forest Mansion since yesterday, all the mysteries, all the secrets, and all the truths have now been completely solved."
In the half-ruined reception room of the Forest Mansion, the morning light struggled to filter through the hazy glass into the messy room.
Although the exterior walls of the Mori Mansion remained standing during the earthquake, the parts inside that had been renovated two years earlier—the furniture, cabinets, wooden tables and chairs, the chandeliers that used to hang above the hall, the staircase connecting the two floors, and the three bedrooms at the end of the staircase—were now all tragically reduced to a pile of dusty ruins.
The only exception is the first-floor reception room, which was protected by the Cynthia Champion Pokémon during the earthquake and is still relatively intact.
The long table, whose leg had been broken by falling rocks, was re-supported by a wooden frame. This solid wood plank, cut into a rectangular shape with a length, width, and height ratio of 1:4:9, became the only regular shape in this broken world, as if symbolizing some kind of stubborn and unyielding order.
Zhu Lan, Officer Jenny, Director Hayden, Professor Medan, Miss Venetian, Assistant Neil, Maid Zina, Steward Aying.
These eight individuals, each with different backgrounds, were finally reunited after surviving the ordeal.
"Before we begin the final answer, I'd like to confirm one more time: were any of you injured in the previous earthquake? If you were, please don't push yourself. This isn't some kind of deduction contest to catch the culprit. If you're feeling unwell, it would be best to ride your mount Pokémon to the nearby Eternal City Pokémon Center."
"Bamboo Orchid Champion, you don't need to worry about that. We've already confirmed it with each other."
Ah Ying, the manager of the Hayden board, bowed to Zhu Lan at the end of the long table and said.
"Thanks to your help, no one was injured in this tragic disaster. However, Professor Medan seems to be in poor spirits. His research was destroyed in the earthquake, and he remains depressed."
"Is that so?" The Sinnoh champion pondered for a moment.
"In that case, let's start by answering from this point." Mr. Medan looked up absently as his name was called one by one, and saw the golden-haired champion of the Sinnoh region placing the ancient book he had been holding onto the wooden table at the other end of the table.
The wooden cover made a crisp sound when it touched the tabletop.
Zhu Lan slowly opened the cover, but did not look at the contents. "'Faith and doubt complement each other; without doubt, there is no true faith'—those scholars who are well-versed in religious studies always like to say something like this as their usual opening line when dealing with scientists. However, for Professor Mei Dan, the reverse is also true."
Without faith, one cannot engage in genuine doubt.
Standing side by side with Orchid on the right, Officer Jenny gently shook her head. Using this sentence to summarize the root of the tragedy of Mei Dan is quite insightful.
Just as in physics theory, an object without direction cannot maintain its motion. Similarly, if a researcher has no object of study,
Naturally, research cannot be conducted.
Once the research begins, the questioning begins, and the experiment is designed, the research subject at the end of the doubt will transform into a persistent obsession like a faith, echoing again and again in Professor Medan's mind, like Darkrai in a nightmare world.
The more Mei Dan tried to conceptually disprove a supposedly omnipresent existence, the more real and tangible this supposedly omnipresent thing became to him, and the more painful and conflicted he became, the deeper he sank into the quagmire from which he could not extricate himself.
Does Miss Zhulan intend to expel the professor's inner demons here?
The Sinnoh champion stared at Medan for a few seconds, as if assessing his opponent's strength and looking for a weakness in his defenses, before calmly speaking, "Professor Medan, while I cannot fully empathize with the obsession that is choking you, I do have a general understanding of it."
"I think the reason you attach so much importance to that experiment of calculating the names of gods is not because you have much confidence in its success, but simply because you hope to use this experiment to bid a complete farewell to the atheistic theory you believe in."
Miss Winnie looked at her father in surprise, while Medan remained silent, though his body appeared increasingly hunched.
It seems that what was predicted was correct.
"The reason you are so dejected right now is not because the destruction from underground interrupted the experiment, nor because the current results have confirmed or refuted your theory. In fact, the reason you are in such a state of being, unable to even utter a word, has absolutely nothing to do with that experiment that proved the existence of God!"
Please stop talking—
Like a sea cucumber struggling to expel its entrails, the old man squeezed out words of pleading from his throat.
"No, I must say it. Otherwise, do you want to spend the rest of your life swallowing that death knell-like curse alone in every lonely night?"
"Champion, please speak properly."
Director Hayden, indignant on behalf of his friend, displayed the toughness of a businessman towards the rulers of the Sinnoh League.
"Either tell us directly what difficulties Meidan is facing and we can work together to find a solution; or respect his personal wishes and please don't press him further."
"It's a wonderful friendship." Zhu Lan shook her head almost imperceptibly. "But even so, there are parts of life we have to face alone."
She looked at the professor as if seeking his opinion.
The latter stared blankly at the empty space before him, as if immersed in a feeling of frustration.
Finally, Mei Dan nodded with a sigh.
Let me explain myself.
He slowly turned his head to look at Hayden across the long table, a wry smile on his face. "Ever since we were young, before we were even friends, I've felt this way. Hayden, I think I'm actually just like you, a liar who likes to spout lies and fabricate stories. It's just that my lies are always easily seen through, while yours are always easy to believe. So, I ended up becoming a socially awkward technician, while you became a successful businessman."
"Why bring this up now? Like you said, everyone knows your character."
Hayden looked at his old friend with disdain.
"As long as you have money, brains, power, and connections, even the most absurd and ridiculous lies can become reality."
Whether it was because the interrogation techniques used by a certain intelligence investigator were still effective, Hayden was completely different from his previous hypocritical evasiveness, and he no longer even pretended to be humble and elegant in front of others.
He glanced at Professor Mei Dan and continued shamelessly, "To put it bluntly, the concept of 'language' itself is ambiguous. Lies can be taken as truth, and heartfelt words can be fabricated. No one can guarantee that those grand truths won't ultimately turn into a colossal lie; it all depends on how we, the ones who utter those words, act."
"So, whether it's extremism or conservatism, God or science, this world is made up of one continuous series of lies. Just like the theoretical systems in the history of science that are constantly overturned and then reconstructed, when the previous lies are exposed, a more sophisticated new deception will naturally emerge to cover them up. And throughout this whole process, the world continues to operate as usual, no different from the past, or even better."
"People cheer when they discover new lies and rejoice when they create new conspiracies—that's how the world works."
"Those who understand this logic will naturally thrive in the world; those who don't understand its intricacies will live in ignorance amidst lies, like sea creatures that don't know what water is. Only a half-baked person like you, Meidan, would plunge headlong into the intricacies of deception and confine yourself to the laboratory for the rest of your life."
Is this a conspiracy theory or skepticism? Officer Jenny pondered silently.
Rather than describing Hayden as a conspiracy theorist who questions the truth of the world, or a skeptic who questions everything, it's more accurate to say that he simply views the whole world as a hoax and is a complete nihilist.
Doubt and questioning are pointless.
It is precisely because everything is a lie in his eyes that he can lie so freely to make a profit.
Even if you say that, to me, a lie is a lie.
However, Professor Medan seemed completely oblivious to Hayden's malice in his long speech, and sighed self-deprecatingly, "Even if you can fool others and the world, you can't fool yourself."
He shifted his gaze from his old classmate and turned back to Zhu Lan.
"Just as Miss Zhulan said, when faced with that white light coming from the basement, I finally understood the real contradiction in my heart, which was that I did not actually believe in my atheistic theory as I had thought in the past."
"Tch, there's no need to expose a lie of this magnitude."
Hayden muttered to himself, shaking his head in exasperation.
"Just like when you're stabbed by a sharp blade, wouldn't leaving the weapon in the wound temporarily prevent massive bleeding? Why rush to pull it out?"
"I think it's probably because only by cleaning the affected area can the wound be treated smoothly."
Standing next to the merchant, Aying unusually took the initiative to speak, quietly addressing her employer.
"Hmph, I don't think those two women are any good doctors," the former chairman of the medical device company snorted.
On the other side, Medan's confession continued: "After Hayden and the others heard about the purpose of my experiment, they really took the white light underground as a summoned god. It wasn't until the two of them pushed the unconscious naughty Thunderball out of the ground that everyone finally realized they had been mistaken."
"However, I reacted faster than them. After all, I had imagined that moment countless times in my mind, which is why I quickly noticed the anomaly of the white light."
"If it were a true god, there would be no need to cause such a continuous rumbling sound beneath the mansion. If it were a true god, it should have appeared the moment the white light appeared, without needing any preparatory actions as if it were accumulating energy. Finally, if it were a true god—it shouldn't have responded to such a farce."
"At that moment, I finally realized that it was not a sign of divine intervention, but an impending explosion, a cruel shadow cast by death."
"But Miss Zhulan had already stopped the 'big explosion' of the Mischievous Washing Rainbow before the explosion occurred, right? You weren't actually in any danger at the time."
Officer Jenny asked, puzzled.
"Yes, I am very grateful to Miss Champion for saving all of our lives. But before that, there was a fleeting moment, even if it was just a close call, when I had already faced death head-on."
"You mean, you faced the fear of death back then? And that's how you came to understand everything?"
"Yes. Although people often see aging as a sign of death, a sudden crisis is not the same as a slow, gradual death."
Mei Dan lowered her eyes sadly. "Standing before that mass of white energy that was about to devour everything, I realized that my trust in science was a lie as described above. I realized that I had never truly believed in the theories I defended. The reason I chased after the phantoms of gods was not to prove the perfection of truth, but simply to seek a kind of spiritual numbness that transcended reality."
"Standing before the inescapable reality of death, I realized for the first time that all my doubts were nothing more than the superstition of a fanatic. With my physical body about to give way and my thoughts about to vanish into nothingness, in this moment when only my own heart could question me, I discovered that I actually believed in the existence of a deity—otherwise, why would I have sincerely uttered a prayer in my heart?"
"Your wish back then wasn't to survive, was it?"
Champion Zhu Lan, who saved everyone before the explosion, slowly said, "Your wish to the gods was for the others in the mansion to survive the explosion. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why you, who saw the truth of the white light earlier than everyone else, still stood at the forefront like a stubborn nail."
"My legs just went weak with fear," the old man replied, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Thank you again, Champion Bamboo Orchid. I shouldn't have prayed to the gods; I should have prayed to you."
"I don't know why, but in this mansion, whenever I tried to offer a reasoning, someone would rush forward and reveal all the solutions I wanted to give. However, there is only one solution that I must tell Professor Meidan in person."
The mythologist tapped her knuckles on the long table in front of her, with an ancient document bound by the mansion owner a hundred years ago beside her.
"God exists."
The Sinnoh champion stated this with certainty.
As ancient poems and prose have said.
Let one's thoughts reach the highest heavens.
Such a wish spread among the people.
"Mr. Hayden just mentioned the question of how the world works. I don't want to refute him here, nor do I intend to question his worldview and attitude towards life, but in his world framework, the most basic unit that constitutes the world we live in is 'language'."
"What's the problem with that? Didn't we ultimately create the civilization of the entire world precisely because of something like 'language'?"
"Hayden raised an eyebrow.
"Pokémon also possess their own language, even older than ours. Yet, to this day, no civilization solely constructed by Pokémon has been discovered in the world. Therefore, in my view, the fundamental laws constituting the human world are not some kind of false 'language' that becomes spoken, but rather the uniquely human written language."
The pages were turned gently, and another short poem written in ancient script appeared before Zhu Lan's eyes.
You, at the ends of the earth, do you know that I understand your heart?
The person who once haunted my dreams has departed for a distant land; the person who was with me day and night has vanished into the past.
Even a plea to see him again is futile, leaving only a heart full of fruitless memories.
"Even words full of falsehoods become etched in history the moment they are written down. Just as verbal agreements may fade with time, but written contracts have binding force. As a scholar of mythology, I prefer to believe in the true aspects of this world."
Mei Dan spoke in a low voice. Even though he had once turned against the gods, he couldn't help but question them as he always had: "Even so, can you be so sure that gods exist? You should know that I'm not talking about inferior imitations created by humans, but the ultimate philosophical concept, the true creator god who creates the world and dominates the present moment."
"No, Medan, you're wrong. This is the only, and most fatal, mistake you made in the entire research."
The mythologist, like a trainer discovering the last weakness of an opponent on the battlefield, pursued relentlessly.
"Gods exist in this world."
She said, "Even the mountain gods and lake gods in rural legends, the fox spirits in remote villages, and the seasonal clouds that bring abundant rain and dew—even if the true identities of these Pokémon, which are mistaken for gods, have long been exposed by people, the legends they leave behind are still genuine myths."
The notions that "there is a distinction between true and false gods," "if one is not a creator god, one is not qualified to be an object of worship," and "gods must be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent" simply do not exist in mythological studies. For us, god is a concept; any being that exists according to this concept can and should be defined as a god.
The old professor was not satisfied with this answer and retorted irritably, "I'm not talking about this kind of folkloric concept. Whether something exists or not is a scientific question, and I'm just looking for the answer."
"Does a perfect circle exist in the world?" Zhu Lan asked.
"When you rotate a compass around a circle, the thickness of the pen tip is completely different at the beginning and end, so it's certainly not a perfect circle. When you print a computer-defined circle with a printer, you're actually just drawing a grid of dots, which is also far from a perfect circle. Even if you use the most precise instruments and the most perfect equipment to create a perfect circle, particles at the microscopic level are still constantly and aimlessly moving around, damaging the outer edge of this perfect circle. Under such circumstances, can we conclude that a perfect circle does not exist in the world?"
Mei Dan made a face showing his toothache. Although he was not convinced, the example of pursuing the perfect circle clearly reminded him of himself.
"God is a metaphysical thing, a conceptual existence above appearance. Therefore, the more you deny the existence of God as a substance, the more you affirm myth itself as a concept."
It's like constantly improving tools in an attempt to create the perfect circle.
"If you pursue ultimate perfection, then even if a perfect god stands in front of you, he will inevitably have imperfections—even if he once created the universe."
"In fact, you should have already realized that even the act of a god appearing in front of you can be used as evidence that he is not perfect. When you faced that white light, the reason you were sure that it was not a god must have been because you realized at that moment that a being with divine power should not have such a narrow mind."
"Oh, that's not how it is—"
The professor covered his head and face with his hands, truly unable to hide his unease.
In that instant, he negated his own experiment.
This step should have been thought of long ago. What kind of experiment is it if it leads to the same conclusion regardless of success or failure? Where in the world is there such a convenient method of proof by contradiction?
"Bamboo Orchid Champion"
At this point, Director Hayden spoke up.
"Since you stated earlier that any being that exists according to the concept of divinity should be called a god, is there any possibility that humans themselves could become gods?"
"Do you want to become a god yourself?" The mythologist brushed a strand of golden hair. "If you're referring to an illegal cult like the Society of Arceus that exploits its followers, then I don't think the leader of such an organization has anything to do with gods."
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
Hayden shook his head as if sensing danger. Standing in front of the rectangular table, he spread his hands and said, "Haven't there been similar concepts in science fiction? 'Any sufficiently advanced technology looks no different from magic.' Although superpowers and magic are nothing new these days, can't we also think that as human science and technology advance further, we ourselves can perform miracles on behalf of the gods and exist in accordance with the concept of the divine?"
The same goes for androids, and the topics they referenced—this entrepreneur really loves science fiction... Officer Jenny thought to herself.
"What an arrogant idea. However, even without modern technology, humanity's plunder of divine miracles has never ceased."
With a gentle touch of her fingertips, Zhu Lan turned a new page to the ancient book and read aloud in a chanting tone:
"—Once upon a time, there was a hero. The hero led ten Pokémon to challenge Sinnoh."
In that great war, humanity proved its resilience.
Sinnoh recognized humanity's strength and returned to a world that did not belong to humans.
"The 'Sinnoh' in this legend can't possibly refer to the land beneath my feet, it must refer to what we usually call Arceus, right?"
Hayden, unlike Medan, didn't mince words or have any reservations; he asked directly.
Mythologists nodded: "Based on the textual research and analysis of existing historical materials, as well as the murals and sculptures in mythological relics unearthed in various places, the two can indeed be identified as the same creature."
"However, as Medan said, the name Arceus was indeed a name chosen arbitrarily by humans. The origin of the name is actually full of coincidences. When a Pokémon professor determined that the true form of the Sinnoh Megatron was also a Pokémon, he settled on the scientific name 'Arceus' for this type of Pokémon. Later, as more and more circumstantial evidence supporting this theory emerged, 'Arceus' replaced 'Sinnoh' as the academic name for the deity. And the ancient name 'Sinnoh,' due to its magical and mysterious connotations, was later used as the name of the entire region."
"Thank you for your science lesson. But according to this myth, has Arceus really left this world?" Hayden pressed.
"During the Pillar of the Spear incident, the blazing sun summoned Dialga and Palkia simultaneously, and even attracted an even more ferocious dark being. Even under such extraordinary circumstances, Arceus still did not appear. From this perspective, it has indeed drawn a line between itself and the human world."
Zhu Lan, who had personally experienced that momentous event, replied.
"Our gods were long ago defeated by our own ancestors, who, carrying their blessings, gained a world of their own. Given this situation, Mr. Hayden, what privileges of the gods do you still wish to usurp?"
"Ha! That really sounds like a scam!"
The liar grinned with immense satisfaction, slamming his hand on the table in front of him. He looked at his old classmate, whose gloomy expression had unknowingly dissipated considerably.
"I haven't figured out how to seize power yet. Do you have any ideas, Medan?"
The elderly professor, with his graying hair, pondered seriously for a long time, as if he were truly calculating the feasibility, before finally saying, "Now that we've already created artificial humans, how about we start with immortality?"