Aegir Anthology

The notebook

After many years, the material from Iberia was finally delivered to me. From the remaining pages of this worn-out notebook you can vaguely see that the paper was originally of very good quality. According to my trustees in Iberia, the notebook was in its current state when they first found it. Its owner was nowhere to be found after the Great Silence, and his vacant residence was quickly looted. When the thief was sorting out the stolen goods, he didn't notice the notebook that he threw into his sack. He didn't even take it with him when he went to the pawn shop to sell the stolen goods. Therefore, half of this notebook, which records many Aegir stories, was used to cover the wall, and the other half was used to pad the corner of the table.

Stories of Aegir

#1 "Mind and Body"/ Abyssal Hunters Project

The metallic capsule glowed in red, and the worm sleeping there finally awakened. The scale-like structure on its body slowly pulled apart, revealing tiny gland holes. This routine procedure happened six times a day, but every time Oculatus watched the nursing robot transfer the pink liquid from insect's glands into his veins, causing dark blue traces to rush through his varicose blood vessels, he felt strange and weird. At this moment, he sometimes thought about a question that was unique to him: how should people face the slow death of their own bodies?

As Consul of the Institute of Social Planning of the Academy of Sciences, Oculatus rarely thought about issues from his own perspective. Since the sages stopped the war and formed an alliance of Aegir city-states, wisdom had replaced violence and become the recognized power. For the past thousand years, Aegir society has always strictly followed plans, and those plans were layed in the Institute of Social Planning, one of central institutions of the Academy of Sciences. After re-evaluations and reviews by all the consuls of both Academy of Science and Academy of Technology, the plan drawn up by Oculatus will eventually become the social rules of the entire nation. He must think from an absolutely objective perspective, and his thoughts cannot contain any subjective factors. To this end, he wanted to stop being a pawn on a chessboard, and become an abstract being, a player, calculating every move on that chessboard.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor interrupted his thoughts and Oculatus perked up his ears. The soft-soled shoes made of diatom composite material had a soft and draggy sound, but the steps themselves were unpleasant to hear. Why did she come, to protest again? But she had protested three times in last two days, and each time her thoughts were more or less the same. He thought that if it was to happen again, it would be more efficient to just send a robot to play the recordings of him making the same arguments as always.

He listened attentively to the approaching footsteps. Before the young woman spoke, he made his attitude clear: "The discussion of political affairs should wait until tomorrow's meeting. The Consuls of the central agencies of both academies will be there. As for the feasibility of proposals, the Institute of Scientific Development Planning and the Institute of Technology Development Planning will provide feedback respectively. As the Consul of the Social Administrative Supervision Office, if you find any unreasonableness of proposals at the social level, you should raise questions at that meeting."

A water capsule was placed in front of him and began to slide down the table. He had to put the terminal aside and reach out to grab the capsule. The icy water stimulated his senses, forcing him to become conscious of woman's presense.

"You misunderstood, Esteemed Consul. I'm here to just bring you water." Aurelia's clear voice made him feel dizzy. She always came up with these little tricks that could disrupt his thoughts. He didn't hate this overly talkative colleague, but he didn't like when his thoughts were interrupted, just like an engineer that sincerely hoped that every line he draws would be implemented in reality, but didn't want those lines to jump out of screen and bite him.

"I thought you would have a more decent reason. Not to mention that my own nursing robot will provide meals as planned. Even if you needed to deliver water, you could just choose to send a robot."

"Now you see?! You're agreeing with me! We both have a consensus on which things need to be done by humans and which things should be undertaken by machines. When I personally deliver water to you, you want to hear the reason for me to do so! However, not only do you want to return the work of the ecological control system to humans, but you also need to 'modify the human body' for this? Monitoring units of the ecological control system are deployed within the fifty kilometer diameter around each city. Unless the entire system is paralyzed, it should be able to handle the intrusion autonomously. It’s the seaborn themselves that's the problem.”

Oculatus could often feel his age when talking to others. In Aegir, all rigid, repetitive and imagination-destroying work is undertaken by machines, while all free and creative activities are in the hands of humans. How could he not understand this? It was he himself who, in his youth, introduced detailed rules for the division of labor between machines and people throughout Aegir several decades ago. But now, the younger generation seems to have forgotten these contributions he made.

But at this very moment, what made him anxious was not that his political achievements had been forgotten, but that his vocabulary was not enough. As the Concul of the Institute of Social Planning, he had been proud of his eloquence throughout his life, but now, he only hated the Language Design Institute for failing to create words that could clarify the current situation. Aurelia, who was also a Consul, regarded seaborn as ordinary invasive species, so how should he describe the terrifying prospects he sees in seaborn for the citizens of Aegir?

"I see, you still insist on talking about it. My answer will not change: I will elaborate on the threat of seaborn in tomorrow's meeting. Relevant materials cannot be displayed in advance, but I can say the conclusion first: First, seaborn are a brand new life form that cannot simply be classified as an invasive species; secondly, the disciplined behavior of the ecological control system not only failed to eliminate the seaborn, but also provoked the evolution of some traits in them that we do not want to see.

"Are you going to throw away centuries of taxonomic work and prove that common algae field pests are a completely new life form? You also want to convince all citizens that existing technology is powerless against it, so that we have to remove the taboo on 'body modification'?"

"I know exactly what I am doing. Since seaborn can achieve such an drastic evolution in just a few months, the citizens of Aegir must also achieve a subversive cognitive change in a limited time."

Oculatus deliberately emphasized the word "Aegir". After saying that, he narrowed his eyes and saw a slight trace of worry creeping onto the woman's face. In the Aegirian language, "Aegir" is the most powerful word, that carries the meaning of something great and majestic. For hundreds of years, no one has dared to say "there is something Aegir people can't do." So when Aurelia tried to argue that "the citizens of Aegir are unable to achieve this level of transformation immediately", she almost instinctively held back her words. Oculatus felt briefly relieved, as he finally saw someone beginning to understand how he felt. It took him a long time to accept that Aegir's speed of inventing new equipment might not be able to keep up with seaborn evolution rate, when he first realized that.

However, Aurelia quickly returned to her normal self, her attitude remained firm and her words were still sharp: "Even if the cognitive change you envisioned can be realized, it will be accompanied by uncontrollable social fluctuations."

"That's why there's the already predetermined tolerance range for social changes in my plan. Oppression is the foundation of unrest, and we have long since eradicated oppression. The remaining small-scale fluctuations are not enough to shake the social order."

"I don't know what you think of the idea of so-called 'human body modification', but I'm afraid its influence should not be described as 'small-scale'. How do you make the citizens believe that the subjects who have undergone modification are still humans?"

"If we can reach a consensus at tomorrow's meeting, the Institute of Scientific Development and Planning can immediately start setting up a research project, and there will soon be detailed theoretical data to support it. But I can state the purpose of the project in advance: the subject's consciousness will not will be affected in any way, and the genetic adjustment is just to adjust their physical strength to the level that meets the needs."

"Aegir people have always relied on spontaneous creative activities to solve problems. Since when do we need to transform our people to 'meet' someone's 'needs'?"

The sharp questioning made Oculatus speechless again, and the relief of being understood was fleeting. Maintaining the sitting position made him exhausted, and he sank backwards into his chair. The so-called "ergonomic structure" pressed against his waist and did not allow him to sink too deep. Aurelia's young figure was still upright, which made him feel jelous. He had lived too long, so long that even Aegir's medical technology could not perfectly eliminate his illness. He often felt that his consciousness and body were becoming separated: his thoughts became more complex, but his body became heavier. Most of the Aegir people of his age had accepted euthanasia and died. He was the only one left stranded at his post. He was afraid that his ideas were not fully understood, and he always wanted to say more and do more. He remained in office year after year as a highly respected scientific consul, but fewer and fewer people understood him.

At this moment, he once again dragged his tired body to explain himself: "Maybe I should paraphrase myself. The purpose of genetic adjustment is not to transform the subjects into a specific appearance, but to make up for their physical deficiencies and ensure that they are able to realize their own tactical ideas to the maximum extent... It is like providing treatment to the sick and attaching limbs to the disabled. If possible, I myself am willing to undergo transformation."

"I understand your condition, but I'm afraid your metaphor doesn't hold true. Sick and disabled people do need medical care, but what shortcomings does a healthy person's body have that need to be 'modified' to make up for? You don't seem to be talking about the human body, but you’re talking about machinery that needs repair. If you recognized the value of human beings, you wouldn’t want to change the human body into something else!”

Looking back at Oculatus' words, every sentence he spoke discussed consciousness and body separately, as if consciousness alone was the foundation of human nature, and it didn't matter how the body was dealt with. Oculatus realized with horror that his words could no longer faithfully reflect his own thoughts: he clearly longed for a healthy and beautiful body more than any other Aegir and valued the unity of mind and flesh more than anyone else. Human beings are not machines loaded with software. This was a concept ingrained into countless Aegir people for thousands of years. Thousands years ago, Aegir's ancestors came into the sea from various lakes and rivers. At that time, people's understanding of themselves was still vague. They listened to the noise coming from deep within their chests and thought that there was some kind of mysterious existence living there. Thus, people endowed themselves with meaning: they called themselves the creations of the God, masterpieces of nature, an incarnation of destiny or an extension of an idea. These meanings in turn gave rise to emotions: reverence or appreciation, pity or admiration. Later, people discovered the legacy buried under the sea: inexhaustible knowledge and technology of an era before. The development of science and technology made people quickly realize that the existence of human beings is not mysterious. The human body is just a collection of many cells. People fell into self-doubt: what is the significance of an amalgamation of cells? Why do we have emotions about it? The debate surrounding these questions lasted for a long time, until a sage raised a question that had influenced subsequent generations for thousands of years: Why can humans carry meaning and become the origin of emotions, but single cells cannot? What is so special about scientific terms and technical terms? Why should they be insulated from all meaning and emotion?

Since then, technology has lost its mysterious veil. People neither worship technological achievements as supreme gods, nor are they completely deconstructed by scientific achievements into meaningless collections of cells. The heart is just an organ that pumps blood, and consciousness is just the result of brain activity, but human beings do not become a biological machine because of this. This sophisticated system composed of organs, tissues, cells, molecules and elemental particl also carries a value. Visual art with the human body as its core motif emerged from this philosophy, and discovering the beauty of the human body became an important creative activity for Aegir people who deemed creative activity as the only mean to maintain human nature.

"No, I would never have such an idea! The value of human bodies..." At this moment, Oculatus could no longer stay calm. He desperately wanted to prevent the other party from misunderstanding. In panic, he caught a glimpse of the aquarium next to him. There was a bloated pink creature floating inside. Dozens of short feet were stirring up the water around to make it swim. This clumsy and ugly creature made him find his words: "...Maybe you know what this is?"

"Beta Subsquamata — a plankton-feeding myriapod, a fusion species for medical use. Its larvae can produce secretions with medicinal value."

"Yes. This is the only reason for the existence of its entire species, to help patients like me prolong their lives." At his hand, the recycling cabinet was filled with discarded medication capsules, each of which contained a shriveled larvae carcass. Because larval secretions are difficult to preserve and lose effectiveness soon after leaving the living organism, live larvae are packaged in a ready-to-use capsule and discarded after use. "In comparison, its adults are worthless, have no medicinal value, and are not used in artificial breeding procedures. Therefore, there should not be any adult worms in this world."

So this is what's in your tank?"

"I specially commissioned the Institute of Biology to breed it for me. I am afraid it is the only adult of this species. I only keep it as a reminder. The value of these bugs is entirely determined by us because we have the gene editing technology. It allows us to break the boundaries of species at will. Do you know what else has the ability to break the boundaries of species? Seaborn. To discuss the value of human beings, we must first ensure that humans can hold the power to determine value of things in their hands. Only we can recognize the value of our own heritage and everything we are proud of is worthless in the eyes of seaborn."

The long and impassioned speech almost left him breathless. Oculatus sank back into his chair and watched the woman's reaction. But Aurelia pitied him instead: "Even if I believe in your recognition of human value... I will never believe in the so-called 'human body modification'. The method you chose itself is contrary to your original intention. And, with all due respect, you can’t keep using your own illness and medications as examples... Aegir society needs a more formal reason.”

All rational arguments only made him firmer in his thoughts, but a small remonstrance with a hint of pity made him waver. As the director of the Institute of Social Planning of the Academy of Sciences, he must think from an absolutely objective point of view, and his thoughts cannot contain any subjective factors. But at this moment, Oculatus began to reflect: did he project his aversion to death and desire for health into his work? Did he really want to continue dragging this heavy body so much that he felt that Aegir also needed to be saved by body modification?

The planned meeting the next day could not be held as scheduled. Before the meeting, people learned about the resignation of Science Consul Oculatus. The idea of human body modification has not been openly discussed, and only a few people, including the Technology Consul Aurelia, were aware of the existence of this proposal.

Decades later, the situation in Aegir deteriorated, and the idea of human body modification was proposed by another consul. This time, it was accepted and became the prototype of the Abyssal Hunters Project.

#2 "Life and Death"

The metal box began to tremble slightly in the air, and the loading of the information search module was about to complete.

Your autopsy report and health management records are presented in front of me. You are floating in a vertical semi-enclosed glass bathtub, paler than all the dry plants in your room, like a piece of driftwood that have been floating in the ocean for centuries. The brightly colored Ctenophora longiflorum sprouts from your chest, using its tentacles studded with luminous sacs to spread a red starry night across the water. Its leaves floating on the water surface look like sentries, trembling to follow the photographer's lens. The painting you left behind is still alive. When I look at it, it also looks at me. If I hadn't known that I was at suicide scene, I would have almost thought I was looking at a painting. Your suicide note only had one line, and it wasn't even registered in your terminal. It was scrawled on the wall. "I have caused many lives to be stranded on the meaningless beach with me." — Why do you think so? Even if you have died, the plants you cultivated still have beautiful lives. Each flower is tall and graceful, as if they embodied the strive of beuty lodging in your blood.

"Search is completed. Florence, the deceased, had no serious illness that was difficult to cure in her lifetime. Therefore, the condition to undergo euthanasia was not met. According to the autopsy results, the deceased committed suicide."

Suicide — what a strange word that is. The reason why Aegir people can face death calmly and accept euthanasia when they are dying of age or serious illness is because we have created enough value during our lifetime. To walk peacefully into the night at the end is an affirmation of life. But in the past hundred years, no one has been willing to end their life early like you — suicide is a naked denial of life. You were an excellent child and an outstanding talent. What made you to deny your life? I can't guess what were you thinking, I can only reflect on myself.

"Search is completed. I am sorry."

No matter what it said, the Little Handy assistant robot seemed to add the words "Search is completed", even if it was a polite greeting. Ask yourself, have I ever felt dissapointed in you even for a moment? I am a caregiver in a public Spawning Chambers, and you are the child I have raised. But twenty years ago you left the Spawning Chambers and went to study and work at the Ecological Art Creation Institute of the Institute of Technology. If anyone can recognize your worth, it must be your colleagues there. They are your true relatives. After all, the bond that maintains family ties is neither blood nor family, but recognition of value.

Now you returned without warning and dared to destroy the value I produced! I have spent most of my life in public care, doing the job I love. Over the decades, I have taken over the custody of children from countless parents. Even if I close my eyes, I can see the relieved expressions of the parents and the curious eyes of the children. The existence of the Spawning Chambers liberated the Aegir from the shackles of family — I will stand by this until my death. You chose the fateful way of committing suicide and planted Ctenopharyngodon in your chest — why Ctenopharyngodon, the first plant I gave you? If it was my parenting that had brought you to such misery, then you should have filed a complaint and let me get a judgement I deserved!

"Search is completed. Florence, the deceased, suffered from frequent insomnia during her lifetime. She could not fall asleep for three consecutive nights."

Insomnia — another unfamiliar word. The assistant robot searched the database completely and found only one unpublished document, which briefly mentioned the phenomenon of insomnia. Its author was a wandering prospector. Fifty-three years ago, he set forth on his journey to uncivilized land, with a self-developed prototype of "Land Detector". He described the insomnia phenomenon of land dwellers as: "Mechanical labor has not yet become popular there, and the concept of family has not yet faded. A person's day is roughly divided into three parts, eight hours for work, eight hours of free time, and eight hours for sleep. However, their work and life are full of meaningless mechanical labor. They spend eight hours during the day doing monotonous work, and eight hours at night repeating the same greetings, cooking the same food, and handling the same chores. Therefore, they often need to sacrifice their sleeping time for activities that are truly meaningful.”

How sad, isn't it? Our work, life, value creation and self-realization are all unified, and will not be robbed of meaning by repetitive mechanical labor. We do not need to rely on boring family life for recognition. Our career is great enough and our life is fulfilling enough. What longings do you have that forces you to use your nights to make up for the lack of daytime?

"Search is completed". The deceased Florence used to create art at night. Her home is full of apoptotic or dying plants, most of which have undergone operations such as gene editing and shaping. They may have been her 'Ecological art' work. Since May of this year, she stopped recycling the discarded draft plants from her creations, and began leaving them to rot at home.”

Yes, you have been obsessed with flowers since you were a child. While other children in the Spawning Chambers were competing in video game terminals, playing with movable models and bionic pets, you were always taking care of the flowers and plants, posing them in interesting shapes. Later, you learned to make plants grow in specific directions and developed new ornamental varieties yourself — with golden spiral stems and star-like flowers. I could only have high hopes for the artistic talent you have displayed. Creative activity is the only means of sustaining humanity, and of all creative activities, art is the most inspiring. To bring stirring spirits and fresh ideas to all citizens, art is an indispensable and practical means. As I expected, you have become an outstanding creator and the backbone of the Institute of Technology. But what kind of bottleneck have you encountered, so that you have stopped publishing your works and let dozens or hundreds of drafts rot at home?

"Search is completed. The deceased Florence has undertaken many projects from other institutions in the past six months, filling the vacancies of the Institute of Biology and the Institute of Environmental Management. The last project she was responsible for during her lifetime was to cultivate a type of special neuron made of fusion plants to monitor and report on any environmental impacts of seaborn.”

Your image suddenly becomes unfamiliar. People generate value and realize themselves through creative labor, and few people are willing to leave the position they love. Among all the people I know, you are the most focused on the field you love. In order to see with your own eyes at what moment the seeds germinate and the plants grow, you squatted in the greenhouse for days and months, forgetting to eat and sleep. What kind of accident would force you to put aside your creative work and get involved in other matters?

"Search is completed. Florence originally applied for other projects on her own initiative, and the core idea of the project was also proposed by her. The Consul of the Technology Development Planning Institute highly appreciated her enthusiasm and creativity and approved her proposal. Since then, she was working two jobs: creating art and breeding new plant species.

Familiar figure resurfaced before my eyes. Yes, the world in your eyes is small, and you are indifferent to things outside of it, but you strive for excellence in everything within it. You want your little world to be perfect, and any leaves that dissatisfy you need to be trimmed off, even if it's just a slightly illegible, curled or yellowed edge. Your waterbed is often filled with detritus from branches and leaves, and no one knows how much time you spend playing with your plants.

The children in the Spawning Chambers are all brothers and sisters, and the caregivers are all parents and confidants. We should not distinguish between each other, but among all the caregivers, you seemed to be the most willing to be close to me — perhaps because I understood your need for perfection best. Even if there are thousands of ready-made paints available, outstanding painters still have to personally mix the colors in their minds — did you also have such a noble pursuit? Although it took a little more effort, I still applied for laboratory-level cultivation equipment for you.

Your horizons seem to have broadened a lot over the years. If you start striving for perfection in other areas, it’s probably because you’ve incorporated those into your world.

"Search is completed. The hybrid plants cultivated by Florence were quickly assimilated by seaborn after being put into use. The three technicians on duty at the monitoring station also died as a result. They were assimilated before they had time to take necessary data protection measures and rushed to the scene. Honor Exercitus had to clear them out. It caused the database of the Environmental Management Office to crash. Although most of the data could be restored from backup, the amount of data leaked is difficult to estimate. No consensus has been reached regarding the ability of seaborn to assimilate that data. The project itself has been cancelled, and Florence was questioned by the Institute of Technology."

Seaborn, seaborn, seaborn. Always seaborn. Since the Honor Exercitus fleet suffered its first loss in hundreds of years, these evil things have brought too many imperfections. But they are only temporary disasters after all, and we will surely achieve a glorious victory. Why couldn't you wait a little longer? Aegir may still have difficulties that are beyond their power, but Aegir can always solve all problems. Not all imperfections need to be eradicated by your own hands — why haven't I taught you such a basic truth? ...But come to think of it, I don't seem qualified to teach you this. Some things can be impure, but some things must be perfect in their existence — doesn't each of us carry this blind obsession? Had it not been so, had it not been to check whether the value of my life had been unknowingly tainted, I would not have bothered to investigate your death.

"Search is completed. According to the regular procedures, the person in charge of the Environmental Management Office should have been questioned. However, because the project has seriously affected Aegir's national defense security, the Consul had the right to question any person related to the project. Although the project was not curated by Environmental Management Office, Florence still played a central role in the implementation of the project, and she is obliged to cooperate with the corresponding thorough investigation and aftermath."

"Search is completed. The number of people engaged in art-related work has been decreasing over years, and the staffing of major creative institutions has been reduced many times. Ecological Art Creation Institute is no exception. The holding of various art activities, including exhibitions, has not been significantly affected, however, the number of participants has decreased, and the age composition of the participants has gradually tilted towards middle-aged and elderly people.”

"Seatch is completed. Florence's output frequency has been declining in recent years, and her works have received mixed reviews. As the deputy director of the Ecological Art Creation Institute, she has also shown a certain level of performance in administrative work recently. The results are abnormal. She has tried to cancel this year’s exhibition of the Ecological Art Creation Institute, or at least not to exhibit her own works.”

"Search is completed. When questioned, Florence used the word 'stranded' to describe her own life and the life of the plants she cultivated: 'My living cannot create value, and I cannot die properly. I am only allowed to live in a kind of basic way. I should not exist. I am stranded between life and death.’ Her speech sparked controversy and was considered to be ‘not in line with the spirit of society’.”

…

The old man stopped searching. He turned off the assistant robot and layed down on water bed. He paused his investigation before being overwhelmed by uneasiness. The old man noticed something strange: Aegir society seemed to be undergoing subtle changes, and Florence just was too fragile. She was the first to reflect this change. He didn't know whether to feel lucky or scared about this. Fortunately, Florence's suicide seemed to have nothing to do with him, but had a more complicated reason. What was scary to him was that he didn't know why the Consuls of the two Academies have started those changes in Aegir society.

At least his work still has value, he thought, and decided to go to sleep. Tomorrow he would welcome two new children, so he shouldn't waste too much energy in advance. But after a moment, he woke up the assistant robot again: "What do you think... Why did my girl do it? The pressure of questioning? Artist block? The lack of value? Mental illness?"

"Search is completed. Thank you for using the information search module of the 'Little Handy' assistant robot. The function of this machine is limited to searching for existing information, and does not include replacing human thinking. In order to prevent users from mistaking the information output by this machine as opinions, this machine will strictly follow the 'Search is completed' output format, please understand."

#3 "Light and Shadow"

08:00:00

"It is now 8 o'clock on July 29th. Good morning to all citizens of Herculaneum. Today, the flow rate of the air circulation system is set to: light breeze. The state of the photothermal control system is set to: clear. With excitement I wish to announce to all citizens: according to calculations by the Environmental Management Agency, Herculaneum will witness the first natural volcanic eruption of this century around 10 o'clock today."

"The Herculaneum volcano is one of the largest energy storages of the ocean. Although most Aegir cities use nuclear fusion as their main energy source, geothermal energy was the first energy source that Aegir people learned to harness. Our beautiful city — Herculaneum — was blessed by nature and nowadays it is one of the few cities that still use geothermal energy as main energy source.

"We have dug more than 300 energy wells within a five nautical mile radius around the volcano's crater. Each well is equipped with a booster pump. Even when the volcano is dormant, we can still artificially create an energy equivalent to a micro-volcanic eruption. There is a special liquid stored in energy wells. Under the pressure of 30 million pressure units, the liquid inside the energy transforms into a supercritical fluid with high temperature. The electricity generated by that supercritical fluid supplies seventy percents of Herculaneum’s energy consumption.”

09:00:00

"The official channel of the Environmental Management Agency will provide a multi-camera broadcast in real time. Citizens who are resting today can also choose to go outside and see the volcanic eruption with their own eyes. Protective glasses have been distributed to all residential nodes through optical cables, so that those who need these glasses can collect it at the terminal at home or work. The protective glasses support multiple control modes such as voice, gestures, and bioelectricity, and have multiple practical functions such as photography, video recording, modeling generation, and data calculation.

"During the volcanic eruption, the city's light and heat control systems will be temporarily shut down to ensure that the volcanic eruption can be displayed in the clearest manner. At that time, the Great Machinations Aegirian artificial sun and land environment simulation facility; It is relic #248 in IS3 and the official translation is retarded imo but I'll leave it will stop operating and will be temporarily closed to the public. Citizens who have made reservations can choose to change their reservations. Thank you for your understanding.

"While watching the volcano erupt, do not forget to pay your respects to the great Vulcanus. The insulated dome designed by him can fully withstand the volcanic eruption of magnitude 4 or less. The ground beneath our city has been baptized by hundreds of millions of cubic meters of volcanic magma. During the volcanic eruption, the color display unit of the dome will also be temporarily shut down. At that time, citizens will be able to see the original color of the insulation layer."

09:47:25

"Attention, dear citizens. Due to unknown interference in the data, the previously reported calculation results may be incorrect. The intensity index of this volcanic eruption may exceed level four, and is expected to reach the level of seven. Citizens must remain calm as the insulating dome can withstand magnitude seven eruptions for long periods of time. The nomadic mode of Herculaneum City will be activated within two hours, and by then, the entire city will safely evacuate from the range of the volcanic eruption.

"Herculaneum adopts a composite movement mode that combines both mechanical legs, as well as propeller thrust to achieve maximum stability at the expense of speed. Currently, about twenty percents of Aegir cities are capable to move using this mode. After mechanical legs lift the city's foundation, the thruster array located at its bottom will maintain the city in a floating state. The core power for urban travel will be provided by the main propeller, and complex actions such as speed changes, steering, and crossing terrain will be completed with the assistance of walking feet.

"Additionaly, the auxiliary thrusters on the urban wings will be used to maintain the balance of the residential layer. Due to time constraints, however, some of the auxiliary thrusters may be used to help main thrusters to lift the city off, causing shakings in the residential layer. The public shelter has been opened for use. Also, the quick-charging energy shield generators have been distributed to all nodes through optical cables. Citizens are requested to collect them at the nearest terminal as soon as possible. When using the quick-charging energy shields, you should take off your outer clothing layer and fix the energy shield generator on your chest. In order to prevent accidental contact of your body parts with shield, it is recommended that citizens adjust the control mode of the energy shield generator to automatic before using it."

10:02:37

"Attention. Attention. Monitoring system has noticed unidentified branch-like biological tissue grows in the lava, accompanied by a large number of seaborn larvae. Legs no. 3 and 4, as well as bottom thrusters were damaged to varying degrees, and the combustion chamber of the main thruster was clogged by nethersea brand. The seaborn don't seem to show signs of aggression at the moment and the repair work of the nomadic module is in progress. Relevant agencies are taking all necessary measures to eliminate the seaborn and restore the city's mobility capabilities."

"Attention. Attention. In order to ensure the overall safety of personnel, it is necessary to evacuate all citizens to a safe area outside the city. Citizens are requested to go to the designated evacuation location immediately, board the ship and evacuate in an orderly manner. The evacuation procedure will be carried out by the Honor Exercitus. The fleet will escort you all the way, please don’t panic and actively cooperate with our protectors."

"Attention. Attention. All city gates have been opened, and the evacuation fleet can set sail. Staff from relevant agencies will stick to their posts, and this channel will also keep broadcasting. Please take care of each other."

10:55:48

"The repair procedures of leg no. 3 foot are completed and the main thruster is back in operation."

"The seaborn numbers continue increasing and leg no. 1 has been completely destroyed by seaborn branch structures."

"The energy city shaft has collapsed. We shall start the nomadic program immediately and try to use the remaining legs to prop up the city."

"Citizens who have not yet evacuated, please go to the designated evacuation location immediately and evacuate immediately!"

12:03:46

"To all my compatriots who have not yet evacuated, I extend my highest respect to you."

"The repair work continues. Herculaneum has not yet been destroyed."

"The sage is with us, Aegir is with us."

"Aegirian Circus"

At the beginning of the eleventh century, nearly a hundred years had passed since the first Aegirs landed in Iberia. At that time, the Iberian Kingdom was at its peak of glory and people's pursuit of exotic things had surpassed their enthusiasm for exploration itself. Most of the Aegir people who fled ashore lived in isolation, but advanced achievements of underwater civilization continued to flow into Iberian society. However, for the Iberians of that era, the systematic knowledge and technology were too difficult to comprehend. They preferred to use newfound knowledge to create easy to use technologies instead of building their scientific base.

The owner of this notebook worked in a so-called "Aegirian Circus". In Iberia at that time, animal performances and exotic exhibitions were very popular, but people were becoming tired of seeing the burdenbeasts walking upside down and two-headed clawbeasts fighting. Performances were no longer popular, and the fascinating treasures of the abyss took their place.

#4 Anthology author's personal notes

After landing, we soon met the land dwellers. It was an Iberian fishing village. The village was not wealthy, and people made a living by fishing and trading the spoils of the sea. However, they still enthusiastically showed us their village and provided shelter. After we had meal, the old people and children surrounded us. Sometimes they would say a few words and sometimes they would just stare at us without saying anything at all. It was not until other Aegir migrant took out a gold-embedded pocket watch and gave it to them as a token of gratitude that the villagers stopped bothering us.

Within two days, someone came to our door, claiming to be a representative of the local nobility, hoping to take us on a trip. Most people cautiously refused, hoping to get in touch with the Aegir people who had come ashore before, rather than being guided by strangers. Only a small group of people like me boarded the landship without knowing where it would take us. The land dwellers are more lively than I imagined, but also more chaotic. As I walked through the market, the air was filled with the stench of rotting meat. A group of half-naked children emerged from behind the shed, from the crates, and from the eaves, shouting indistinctly and chasing us, like a group of hungry seaborn. They showed us local smoked ham, distilled liquor from far lands, and even handicrafts that looked like seaborn, as if they wanted to exchange some valuable things from us. A tall quadruped creature sniffed at our car, then turned and left a foul-smelling puddle of excrement on the wheels, while its owner staggered with laughter and belched wine. The "noble representative" leading the car drew his sword, shouted some profanities we couldn't understand, and walked away in despair.

Driving out of the maze of low-rise shacks, we came to a relatively tidy urban area. The air changed to another smell, the smell of burning tobacco and fresh wall paint. The car stopped in front of a magnificent mansion and we were asked to wait in front of the door. In all those days, we had not yet rested, and our group started showing signs of fatigue. Someone came to us and took out a bottle of viscous blue-green liquid. He proudly introduced it to us: "The treasured drink that Aegir Consuls drink every day. One bottle gives energy for a day, two bottles can make you as strong as burdenbeast, and three bottles will send you to heavens!" I waved my hand to refuse, but he insisted: "You came here all the way from the sea, so you must be tired from the long journey, do you really not want to give it a try?" I was surprised. Although he knew that I was from Aegir, he seemed completely unaware that Aegir did not have this weird so-called "drink". It looked more like the nutrient solution used on plants by biological research institutes...

Soon after that encounter, the buttler invited us inside. A woman who claimed to be an Iberian noble received us, and behind her was an old man from Aegir in rich clothes. During our visit, that woman was silently stroking a long-haired animal that kept baring its teeth, while the old Aegir beside her talked to us. After introducing the noblewoman and himself, old Aegir expressed his wish to talk to each of us individually.

After walking out of the magnificent mansion, the old man led me to chaotic slums again. Dozens of messy tents were set up in the open space, and wooden carts with animals tied to them were scattered among them. I saw a giant that was nearly three meters tall, with sharp black horns on its head, restrained in a small wooden shackle in a disgustingly twisted posture. I saw a human and an animal that were emaciated and curled up in a large glass tank. The dark crystals pierced the skin of the two, merging them into one body, as if they were conjoined creatures. They looked at me in a way I'd never seen before — lifeless gelatinous spheres of their eyes were staring at me without showing even a glimpse of sentience. I didn't even understand why did they rolled their eyes after I looked at them.

Here, the old man spoke a lot more straightforwardly. He said that if I wanted to live a stable and prosperous life in Iberia, he was willing to employ me, provided that I agreed to use my "knowledge and skills brought from the sea to help with some industries." As he spoke, he opened a set of finely carved ash wood display cabinets, that contained everything from daily necessities to decorative objects. The shape was somewhat similar to Aegir products, but they were painted with the most vulgar colors without any aesthetic. After rummaging for a while, he took out a strange carapace, which was wrapped in the skin of an unknown animal and painted with shiny gold paint. Judging from the outline, the carapace seems to come from a type of sea turtle that inhabits the seabed, but the spines on the carapace clearly belong to another type of sea turtle. I later learned that this carapace was indeed made up of the bones of several sea creatures. It seemed plain compared to other things I'd seen on land these days, but I still had a hard time understanding why it existed.

"Let's start with something simple first. Maybe you could hold seaborn exhibitions in the circus?"

But as a writer, all I knew about seaborn was limited to general education. Before I could finish expressing my doubts, the old man waved his hand impatiently: "You know, not everyone can listen to Aegir-style academic reports. What I need you to tell are some interesting anecdotes about seaborn. This one is to be sold as a collectible, and it must have an interesting story to fetch us good money.”

Aegir still has not formed a method of systematically classifying and naming seaborn. The variability of these creatures has made traditional taxonomy obsolete. I didn’t even know what to call the strange carapace in front of me. But the old man once again interrupted my doubts: "Forget the scientific classification. In Iberia, it should be called 'Glorious Spiny Beast'."

I almost began to doubt whether the old man was a real Aegir. I unconsciously checked if he had furry ears behind his hair, but couldn't see any. I just couldn't understand his thoughts. Aegir literature discusses the meaning of existence, the value of behavior, and the boundaries of human nature. Making up unpronounceable names and bizarre deeds in front of an obscure seaborn carapace could only be regarded as a waste of words and time. That afternoon, I found a "pawn shop" in the city that could exchange items for money. I used the water pulse meter I brought with me to exchange for some land currency and went to find the Aegir settlement. If the people on land are only willing to listen to nonsense that ruins the language, at least the Aegir people still needed stories from home.

It was not difficult to find fellow Aegir, as most caravans travelled to several Aegir settlements with great regularly. The people who fled ashore did not have time to bring enough equipment and tools, and both advanced and primitive lifestyles coexisted here. When I arrived, fiber optic cables were installed in the town, supposedly to reconnect with the ocean floor. They used animal power to pull the winch and wrapped the delicate optical cable around the rough tree stump. It was horrible. The town's guard, a young Aegir woman, looked at me from the back of a tall quadruped creature. The saddle she was sitting on seemed to be modified from a scrapped "Little Handy", and the pulleys of the field survival unit were used as stirrups. She shook her head and asked me to come. Her smile made me feel strange. It was not the precise and elegant smile I learned at home, but a simple and bold one, a smile that belonged to land dwellers. I then learned that this guard girl was an Aegir born on land.

At first, people here were willing to listen to my stories. After dinner, people would come to the beach, light bonfires and listen to my creations. Soon after, the children stopped coming. These Aegir youths who were born on land could not understand the meaning and value of humanity I tried to convey. They wanted to hear stories of golden fleets slaying ocean beasts. Old people were still willing to listen to me, but they couldn't solve my biggest problem — money. Even in towns where the Aegir people lived, writing couldn't become a stable source of income. Generous neighbors would sometimes give me some money to help me after hearing the stories, but life was always rough. Every day, I woke up with a hollow pain, as if a pump had emptied my stomach during the night. I had never had this feeling called "hunger" before. It was not enough to mess with my thinking, but it was enough to make thinking gradually become a luxury. The way most people in the town made a living was through farming or handicrafts — a repetitive mechanical labor. I heard that some Aegir people conducted scientific research with the support of the Iberian royal family, but they were a minority.

A month later, I returned to the circus run by the local nobles and took over the language-wasting job. I needed to feed myself. Outside of work, I am still sorting out the materials I brought from Aegir and adapting them into stories. I don't know who will read them, but I have to keep my value.