Chapter 51
“Is this the new novel you’re planning to publish, my lord?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The War of the Worlds… So, it’s a novel about war? Come to think of it, there hasn’t been a significant war lately.”
“The Empire doesn’t need to expand its territory, and no other nation has the capability to invade the Empire.”
The ‘Empire’ was practically a small continent all on its own. Ever since the two emperors known as the ‘Conquering King’ and the ‘Fortunate King’ took the throne, all the territories of the western continent fell under the Empire’s domain.
To the east, beyond the mountains, lay the Harren Kingdom and a few small autonomous states like the Seidel Republic, but…
From the Empire’s perspective, there wasn’t really a need to expand its territory any further.
As a result, since the time of the Fortunate King, ‘war’ in the Empire had almost always meant ‘civil war.’
“Thinking about it, it really seems like a peaceful era.”
“Indeed.”
After a lighthearted conversation about history and current events, Sion began reading the manuscript as he usually did. He seemed quite engrossed, letting out exclamations here and there as if thoroughly entertained.
Finally flipping to the last page of the manuscript, Sion nodded and exclaimed in admiration.
“Martians, huh… So there are ‘monsters’ like this out in outer space. If Martians were to invade, I doubt even the Empire’s army could hold them off easily.”
“Really?”
“Your insights are quite remarkable, my lord.”
Oh.
Now that I think about it, this is a ‘sword and magic fantasy’ world.
Monsters and aliens aren’t really much different around here.
…
Herbert George Wells’ novel, ‘The War of the Worlds,’ is about an alien invasion.
One of the notable features of Herbert George Wells’ works is the frequent use of Darwinian, evolutionary, and biological science fiction settings.
This seems to have been heavily influenced by his mentor, the biologist ‘Thomas Henry Huxley.’
‘The War of the Worlds’ also tackled the ecology and weaknesses of the ‘Martians’ from an evolutionary perspective. I did think about whether the people of this world might struggle with accepting this notion—
“This novel is really fascinating! So, you plan to serialize it in ‘Herodotus’?”
“Yes.”
“Personally, I find the ‘Homer’ series a bit more to my taste. But still, this War of the Worlds novel is exceptionally interesting. Nowadays, many people seem curious about space thanks to adventure novels, so the timing feels just right.”
“I see…”
The people in this world embraced the story of ‘The War of the Worlds’ more easily than I expected.
Sion was on board, and so was Lady Es, standing right in front of me.
Truth be told, the concept of ‘evolution’ wasn’t that foreign to these folks.
“What do you think about evolution, Lady Es?”
“Evolution?”
There were no Darwins or ‘On the Origin of Species’ in this realm, but there was knowledge and statistical evidence far beyond that.
Advanced statistical methodologies had already been applied in agriculture, animal husbandry, and sociology. Of course, that didn’t mean they had a proper understanding of Mendelian genetics either.
“Children resemble their parents due to the influence of magic, right? A child is conceived as a part of their parents, inheriting all their potential, and as ‘the Lord’ created humans in His own image, according to these myths, things created resemble their creators. Am I right?”
“That’s the general understanding…”
“Any other reasons to add?”
“Nope, uh…”
It seemed quite difficult to explain the concept of genetics here.
‘On the Origin of Species’ was more about the phenomenon of evolution rather than genetic principles.
Plus, unlike my previous life, even the theory of use and disuse found some traction in this world. Magic actually impacted the development of children in a very real, physical way! Just look at the many purges committed by the emperor and how his oppressive charisma passed down to his children!
“Not much is known regarding the ecology of monsters! This Martian monster—oh, you said it’s an alien, right? Anyway, this Martian has a thing for feeding on human blood, which makes it kinda similar to monsters. A bit vampire-like!”
“Do vampires even exist?”
“Who knows! They claim to have existed in ancient myths. But come on, if dragons and vampires were real, humans would’ve hunted them all down, right?”
“Good point.”
Speaking of dragons, the ‘Lazy King’ of the Harren Kingdom came to mind.
I wondered what he was up to now. He seemed like someone who’d get along swimmingly with my father.
Anyway, aliens were viewed as a form of monster from beyond the planet by the people of this world.
“The process of clearing the Great Forest has caused severe mana pollution, leading to a rise in mutant monsters—who knows, maybe this book about interstellar war will raise awareness about mutant monsters.”
“Did something like that happen?”
“Don’t worry about it! Haha! The Imperial Army is strong.”
Lady Es said this with a teasing smile.
“Even if ‘Martians’ actually invade, the Imperial Army will protect you, so don’t stress and just focus on your writing, Author.”
“Yes. I find that reassuring.”
…
Amid the overwhelming curiosity about the unknown beyond where people lived,
‘The War of the Worlds’ began serialization.
“Oh wow, this time it’s a novel about space!”
“If it’s a Herodotus novel, it’s gotta be trustworthy!”
The vast and brand-new world of space caught people’s imagination right away with the novel ‘The War of the Worlds.’ The fact that Herodotus vouched for the authenticity of ‘The Adventures of the Bluster Duke,’ another travelogue, only added to the buzz.
People saw this ‘The War of the Worlds’ novel as a heroic tale set in space.
[“This is not a war.”]
[“Just as there was no war between humans and ants, you can’t really call it a war.”]
Before long, they witnessed humans thoroughly bowing before the overwhelming technology of the aliens.
Of course, it wasn’t the end of the world.
Most people saw it simply as just another war novel.
“Oh my, so alien magic is this powerful? What’s this heat ray? Is it some kind of light-controlling magic?”
“Eeeek!!!”
“Shouldn’t we send the army right away to take care of them?! If these Martian monsters really invade our planet, it would be a disaster!”
But then, a few folks got so swept up by the notion of ‘Martians’ that they genuinely believed in their existence out there in space.
Some even proposed that we should invade Mars first, fearing a Martian invasion somewhere down the line.
“Stop spouting nonsense! There can’t possibly be Martians! It’s just a novel!”
“Well, do you know what’s on those planets in the night sky?”
“Well, no, but surely there can’t be monsters like that!”
“We don’t know that for sure! After all, isn’t Duke Kapeter the only one who has actually seen what’s up there? What if writer Herodotus got his ideas from him?”
“That can’t be… um, can it?”
“The Martian invasion is imminent!”
And as you’d expect, plenty of doomsayers started predicting a Martian invasion, with serious articles and editorials about the possibility of alien invasions spreading through newspapers.
And the conclusion was simple.
“First, we need to find out what’s out there beyond our planet!”
“Absolutely! If you think about it, we know so little about this world! Illuminating the darkness on the map is truly the sacred mission bestowed upon us by the Lord!”
“Let’s light up the darkness! Let’s brighten the night sky!”
Just like how adventure novels inspired the exploration of countless unknown lands,
‘The War of the Worlds’ sparked a new interest in another unknown territory: ‘space.’
This wildly led to massive investments in astronomy.
And the scholars at the forefront of astronomical research are—
“Greetings! I am Plot Vherdin, the Tower Lord of the White Magic Tower. Feel free to call me Plot!”
“Oh, yes.”
It’s the White Magic Tower that specializes in observing and recording ‘space.’
As Chief Mage Millie Cléang from the Grey Magic Tower puts it, they’re a bunch of irresponsible mages with a flair for wandering.
“It’s an honor to meet you, the author of ‘Principia,’ writer Herodotus.”
…
“It was quite impressive how you defined the movements of celestial bodies using mathematical tools. While we carefully document the stars in the celestial sphere, your method elevates us beyond merely predicting future star locations based on past records; it lets us forecast with better precision.”
“Yes.”
The Tower Lord of the White Magic Tower was incredibly polite.
At the same time, his passionate talk about magic screamed hardworking scholar vibes.
“Our White Magic Tower holds the most advanced observational technology and experience among all magic towers. We also observe weather patterns through instruments to predict future weather; such duties are part of our role.”
“Oh.”
So that’s how the newspapers manage to print ‘Today’s Weather’ without a meteorological agency! Turns out it’s the White Magic Tower all along.
They were far more capable than I imagined!
“Additionally, we operate numerous observatories and maintain ongoing observations of ‘Mars.’ Since we, too, have been contemplating the traces of life observed on Mars, we sought to hear your insights, writer Herodotus, hence our visit.”
“…Excuse me?”
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