Chapter 141
Chapter 141
I Told You I Was Full
First came an appetizer to stimulate the appetite, then a soup to warm the body, followed by main dishes made from fish and meat—one lavish course after another was placed on the table, yet Ga-on did not lift his knife even once.
Rouge hesitated for a moment after noticing him, but apparently unable to endure it any longer, he lowered his head and focused on eating.
Instinct had triumphed over reason.
There was no point in reprimanding Rouge. Everyone else was devouring the food just as ravenously. It was enough to make one wonder whether these were really the same people who had been holding a dignified discussion only moments ago.
However, their unsightly appearances could not be seen directly. A pure white cloth concealed their sins. Ga-on had thought it was unusually long for some reason; apparently, this was its intended purpose.
“...Ha.”
In a way, it was absurd.
In other words, they were aware of their own shame.
And yet they committed such acts without the slightest hesitation.
It was truly a den of beasts who had abandoned their humanity.
The most spectacular case was the one seated at the head of the table.
“Unbelievable.”
The expression was intense and exaggerated. Listening carefully, it even sounded as though he were sobbing. Hidden behind the white cloth, he could not be seen, but he was probably shedding tears as well.
Perhaps that was why the situation felt even more disgusting.
With abundant resources and progressive technology at their disposal, the best they could do was indulge desires that should never be forgiven.
Ga-on did not deny human emotions.
If anything, he acknowledged them.
But if even conduct worse than that of animals was to be accepted, then how was one supposed to comfort the young man who had shivered through the bitter cold, crying out while convincing himself that the future would be better?
Surely he had not lived through all those years merely to witness people like these running rampant.
As if reacting to the thoughts bubbling up like droplets of water, Gabriel suddenly raised his head and tilted it.
“Does the meal not suit Guest Number 27's taste? It doesn't seem to be decreasing at all.”
As he pointed out, while everyone else's plates contained nothing but bare bones, the dish before Ga-on had not even cooled yet.
Naturally, all eyes turned toward him.
“You haven't taken a single bite?”
“Surely you're not saying you can't eat it?”
“Did Number 26 not explain anything to you?”
One urging question followed another.
Eating against his will just to avoid immediate trouble would have been the worst possible choice. If he stood on the same level as them, he would lose even the right to punish them.
So he decided to answer honestly.
“I'm full.”
“You're full?”
It was such an unexpected reason that it was difficult to view it as a rejection of goodwill. Only then did Gabriel realize that Ga-on had been opposing him merely for the sake of opposing him, and he let out a hollow laugh.
“My, are you a light eater? But if a guest is dissatisfied, then I, as the host who invited you, would lose face. Is there any food you prefer? Since it's today, I'll make special arrangements.”
“The 21st Century Delicacy Series, Fire-Flavored Bulgogi Rice Bowl. I happen to like that one.”
“That is...”
It was a product Gabriel knew as well.
One of the inexpensive goods Trian produced for ordinary citizens.
Food processed into a gelatinous form.
A patch was attached to the tongue to artificially induce flavor sensations.
Naturally, compared to the feast laid out on this table, it was no better than garbage.
And yet, seeing him request it so confidently—
“I should take that as an insult, shouldn't I?”
“It's a joke. I wasn't seriously hoping for a lunchbox to be brought out. It's just that I've been wondering whether this Gathering can really continue. Maybe all these distracting thoughts have killed my appetite.”
“It will continue. For all eternity to come. For as long as I permit it.”
“Then why choose such an unstable theme?”
Now that he thought about it, that was what Ga-on had been trying to say all along.
Come to think of it, Number 5 had once asked a similar question.
Back in the early days of the Gathering, when nothing could be guaranteed.
The memory brought back a sense of nostalgia, and Gabriel's voice softened somewhat.
“Didn't you come here already knowing everything?”
“I'm saying it because I do know everything.”
“I see. So our newest member is quite the prankster.”
Clap.
Gabriel brought everyone's attention to himself with a clap of his hands.
Then he extended an arm toward Ga-on.
“Gourmet appreciation is not a shameful theme. On the contrary, it is precisely because of such exploration that we have advanced this far. Indeed, even the patch used in the 21st Century Delicacy Series you mentioned is one example.”
Investment could only be realized when there was profit to justify it.
Exploration, however, required nothing more than the desire to pursue it.
A value purer and more innocent than anything else.
And above all—
“It is the experience of tasting a side of someone whom you admire and respect, a side that no one else ever gets to see. This is perfect understanding. No, it is the ultimate form of love.”
Everyone nodded as though they agreed.
Support without the slightest hesitation.
Grasping a single beam of light spilling from the chandelier, Gabriel launched into a grand speech.
“More importantly, can there be any problem with people like us, who stand above all others, cherishing and empathizing with those beneath us more than anyone else?”
The remarks came one after another, statements too vile to even discard.
The more one dwelled on them, the more foul their stench became, and Ga-on's expression only grew colder.
“No matter how much you decorate it with pretty words, the essence doesn't change.”
“The ingredients used in this meal are nothing more than protein composites. Born in laboratories and cultivated in research facilities.”
“But their origin lies elsewhere. What about the responsibility that comes with that?”
“Responsibility?”
“It violates both the Genetic Protection Act and the Clone Human Control Act. Don't tell me you're going to justify that as ultimate love too.”
They had violated two of the Four Fundamental Laws.
If word of this reached the public, even Trian would be unable to avoid disaster.
Everyone flinched at the razor-sharp rebuttal.
It was a subject each of them had wrestled with at least once.
“Guest Number 27 is truly multifaceted. First a light eater, then a prankster, and now a provocateur?”
Though Gabriel spoke with the gentle manner of someone wrapping others in warmth, his eyes were not on Ga-on.
Instead, they were fixed on the seat beside him.
On Rouge, the man who had invited him.
Perhaps sensing that gaze as well, Rouge repeatedly cleared his throat.
Gabriel was not someone who vented his anger recklessly.
He knew that doing so changed nothing except his own mood.
Better to use this as an opportunity to strengthen the Gathering's unity.
Faced with a dissenter, Gabriel arrived at the most orthodox conclusion possible and slowly organized his thoughts.
“It may be a little early, but I think it's time to announce it. After all, there may be others like Number 27 who still have many questions.”
Embarrassed reactions surfaced and disappeared around the round table.
“Thanks to everyone's active cooperation, the Genetic Protection Act will soon be amended. As long as no private profit is generated, it will be permitted on a limited basis.”
Of course, the scope of the provision would be so narrow that it would create virtually no public impact.
“The Clone Human Control Act will be amended as well. Any entity that disappears within one hour will be presumed not to have been cloned.”
Very few people would notice those few altered lines.
In practice, it was a special exception clause that might as well not exist.
But what if it were applied to the Gathering?
“Then...”
“Yes. Even if we're discovered afterward, there will be no ‘legal’ liability.”
That meant complete liberation.
The amendments had been tailored solely to suit the Gathering's intentions and objectives.
Watching a conspiracy capable of shaking the foundations of society unfold right before his eyes, Ga-on pressed a hand against his forehead.
There were undoubtedly countless flaws in the legal reasoning.
But wasn't that precisely why humans sought power in the first place—to force such contradictions into existence?
The Gathering itself was a fitting example.
Once they had seized the current of the times, their success was practically guaranteed.
He had said it jokingly to Rouge before, but it truly seemed that a movement within Trian to exploit clone humans in earnest had already begun.
The fact that they had cloned Hudson without hesitation was one example.
There was no way they had ignored the aftermath, meaning they must have completed all the necessary preparations.
The two amendments Gabriel had just discussed were proof of that.
Even the phrase “does not generate private profit” was hopelessly ambiguous.
What exactly was public, and what was private?
Ga-on had grown sick of seeing boundaries like that stretch and bend like taffy whenever circumstances demanded it.
The clause regarding entities that disappeared within one hour was an extension of the same logic.
The others seemed to think it was merely legislation meant to accommodate the “meat.”
To Ga-on, however, that felt like only a secondary consequence.
What if clone humans were produced every hour and continuously rotated?
What if it appeared as though a single individual remained active the entire time?
One could arrive at the miraculous conclusion that, despite cultivating clone humans, no crime had technically been committed.
In a sense, rapid cultivation technology itself seemed designed to align with those standards.
A technology prepared specifically to exploit loopholes in the amended laws.
An assumption upon an assumption upon another assumption.
Even with the information currently available, there were so many possible combinations that it felt as though steam was rising from his head.
The most frightening part was that almost nobody would notice even if the laws were changed that way.
Their actions were malicious and deserved condemnation, yet they laughed and chatted without the slightest trace of guilt.
That was why he had to ask.
“Why go that far?”
In an instant, the festive atmosphere around the round table collapsed as though cold water had been poured over it.
Only Gabriel remained unaffected.
Smiling brightly, he answered.
“Because we can.”
“Because you can. Because you can, huh. Right. Thinking something so simple was complicated... I still have a long way to go.”
A hollow burst of laughter echoed through the hall.
The volume was so great it nearly reached the ceiling, causing Gabriel to furrow his brow.
“Did I say something amusing?”
“You've got quite a talent for spewing bullshit.”
Ga-on rose from his seat and threw aside the white cloth.
“I watched just in case, but as expected, there's no hope for any of you. Disappearing here would be the best thing you could do for everyone.”
Murderous aura swirled within Ga-on's eyes, yet not a single person was shaken.
“You're saying you'll punish us?”
“By yourself?”
“Number 26, make sure to stop by and see us afterward.”
Everyone merely sneered and listened to Ga-on's warning with amusement.
Units, firearms, and even bladed weapons had all been confiscated upon entry.
They had even conducted body searches.
There was no way anyone could have smuggled something through.
It was safe to say there was nothing present capable of harming anyone—
“Are you planning to beat all twenty of us to death with your bare hands?”
Mockery was only natural.
“Urgh.”
When Ga-on, who had remained silent, suddenly retched, the room erupted in laughter.
Driven by ridiculous ambition.
Swayed by a laughable sense of justice.
He had ruined everything.
They raised their voices, insisting he had finally realized the hopelessness of his overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
That he had at last learned his place.
But they were mistaken.
Ga-on was not trembling with fear in the slightest.
The retching had been the deliberate result of stimulating his diaphragm.
Yes.
Everything had been done for the sake of retrieving a single object from his stomach.
Clack.
Only after the hilt of a sword fell from Ga-on's mouth did the others realize that something was wrong.
“You...?”
Rouge's shocked words and the moment his head fell happened almost simultaneously.
Drawing Polar Night, Ga-on calmly leapt onto the round table.
“I told you I was full.”