Chapter 47
It seems that the various issues surrounding the space eel have become a new industry for the Federation.
Starting with the public contest for naming the space eel, to the development of tools for communication with it, and even creating facilities that can accommodate its massive body.
Apparently, the Federation already has tools for communicating with species that can't use language. It would be easier if they could just equip the space eel with one, but given its enormous size, they concluded it's faster to modify the tools already on Federation ships rather than develop new ones specifically for the space eel.
For some reason, Kait, who was observing the situation unfold from Radia, kept receiving proposals for 'individual identification names for the space eel' from Earthlings. It seemed they wanted him to recommend them.
"Constant One, Great One, Slizario, Great Silico... Matrot, Big Katsu, Tokujou!? Why are so many of these food names? And then OTSH? ...A legendary ancient sports player? What do these names even have in common?"
In any case, he had no intention of recommending any. The person he should be supporting had been holed up in his room groaning ever since.
Closing his terminal, Kait left his room. It was time for his daily check-in.
"How are you feeling?"
—Ah, Kait. The absorption of similar matter inside my body is progressing, and it feels very pleasant.
"That's good to hear."
The space eel was resting its body near Radia.
When Kait sent a telepathic message from Radia's observation deck, it responded in a very cheerful manner.
As long as it wasn't stressed, that was ideal. Kait turned to Terapolapaneshio, the negotiator who was also gazing up at the space eel.
"It seems like progress isn't going well?"
'Yeah. It looks like they're also struggling to identify individuals. They can recognize us and Kait, the Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif), but they say they can't distinguish any of the other staff, no matter who goes.'
"We can't just leave it like this. If a faction outside the Federation appears, it'll be a problem if they can't tell us apart."
'Indeed. So this is the nature of a species that aims to be a singular entity.'
The biggest issue they now faced was how to distinguish individuals from one another.
It seems they can identify individuals they can communicate with via telepathy, but otherwise, everyone looks the same to them. Their eyeballs are apparently a weak point, and keeping them exposed causes significant stress. That's why they usually keep them retracted inside their bodies. While they can vaguely perceive color, temperature, and light in that state, distinguishing individuals is difficult.
The Federation also concluded that it wouldn't be right to constantly expose a vital point just for identification, so they were trying to find another method.
"Still, if they can't wear anything, we'll have to come up with some kind of solution."
'If their mindset is that everything except themselves is an enemy, then their biology is quite rational. Hmmm.'
There was also a problem on the space eel's side. The reason they decided not to develop a dedicated communication tool for it was because the space eel has a biology that digests and absorbs foreign objects stuck to its body. That's also why it absorbed the Worker Bees of the Queen Bee—this trait made it impossible to attach anything to help identify it.
At this rate, either Kait or Terapolapaneshio would always have to accompany the space eel. They wanted to avoid that.
"It would be nice if there were some kind of method."
'Apparently, in a fully dormant state, it doesn't absorb anything. It burrows into a nearby planet and rests there like it's nesting.'
"It really is like a nest... though on a ridiculous scale."
A creature that turns an entire planet into its nest. Still, if it's dormant, it won't digest anything.
If they could manage that part well, there might be a solution, but they still had no clear idea how.
Kait turned to his partner standing just behind him, hoping for a hint.
"Do you have any ideas, Emotion?"
"I'm not an expert on space eel biology, so I have nothing on that. However, I do have a few ideas regarding how they might distinguish us."
'Oh?'
Terapolapaneshio seemed intrigued as well.
When prompted to continue, Emotion inexplicably raised her right index finger.
"I believe one reason individual identification is difficult is due to the vast difference in scale between our species."
'Yes, we've considered that perspective as well.'
"Then, how about preparing a different body, like I did, and transferring consciousness into it?"
"Hmm... Wait, what?"
That was a phrase he couldn't just ignore. Transferring consciousness?
Kait tilted his head and looked at Emotion. She also furrowed her brow and tilted her head, unsure what he didn't understand.
"Wait, Emotion. You say 'transferring consciousness' like it's simple..."
"Isn't it possible? I also transferred my consciousness from my original body to a new one."
"No, I mean, that's like me swapping my consciousness with Ritimiele or Professor Gorou, right? That sounds really difficult."
It seemed Emotion had made the comment with a certain degree of confidence.
But Kait couldn't imagine something like that being possible.
He glanced at Terapolapaneshio, who floated silently in the air. Nope, he couldn't read the thoughts of a space jellyfish.
"Do you have any basis for thinking that's possible?"
"It might be difficult for organic lifeforms. However, space eels instinctively recognize mechanical intelligences like me as enemies."
"That does seem to be the case."
"To the space eel, its enemies are of its own kind. That means it recognizes metal lifeforms and mechanical intelligences as broadly the same species."
"So you're saying that if a machine intelligence can do it, then it might be possible for them too? That sounds like a stretch."
That said, Kait didn't know all of the Federation's advanced technologies. In fact, Emotion, who had rebuilt her body and continued gathering information, probably knew more.
Since he couldn't make the call himself, Kait decided to throw the topic to Terapolapaneshio.
"What do you think? As an idea, it seems a bit far-fetched."
'Yes, and if it fails, it would be irreversible. However, preparing a small spare body to let them experience the Federation from the same perspective is a very logical and interesting idea.'
Concluding that it was worth researching, Terapolapaneshio began floating gently through the air. Kait had recently realized this was a habit when the space jellyfish was sharing thoughts with distant comrades.
After a while, it descended to Kait and the others' eye level.
'Indeed, they say it's worth researching. If the main body is put into a dormant state and consciousness is housed in a spare body, it might solve these problems.'
Emotion didn't show it on her face, but she looked pleased at the compliment from the space jellyfish, who said, "Seeing the real thing on-site really is important."
They looked up at the massive body of the space eel. Would the day come when they could distinguish it from the others?
He did feel it would be rude not to, but he wasn't very confident.
***
Meanwhile, Gorou, who had been holed up in his room, somehow managed to come up with a name idea before the deadline.
After that, citizens with a certain rank or higher would vote for their favorite submitted name. Kait was surprised to learn that even here, citizenship rank mattered.
This time, only citizens ranked Fourth-Rank Citizen (Darda Elra) or higher could vote. Perhaps because it was the name of a species that would become a new member of the Federation, only those with high-ranking citizenship were allowed.
"Yeah, I can see why people would want higher citizenship."
While all citizens had the right to submit ideas, only the upper class had the right to choose. Since having your idea chosen could increase your citizenship rank, it was a well-designed system.
Kait found Gorou slumped in the cafeteria and placed a tea-like drink on the table.
"Good work, Professor."
"Ah, Captain. Thank you."
"So, what name did you end up submitting?"
"Hm? Is it okay to say?"
"I don't see why not. I only have one vote. It won't seriously affect the results."
"True enough."
He sat up and took a sip of the tea-like drink. He murmured to himself, Lemon tea?
"I proposed the name Tuna."
"Tuna?"
"It's the name of a god from a certain tribe, who appears in the form of an eel. In the myth, it's beheaded—pretty violent stuff—but it's the best idea I could come up with."
He didn't go so far as to say it sounded like canned tuna.
"By the way, in the original myth, it's Tna. I changed it a bit because it was too close to Tuna."
"Oh my."
It went without saying.
"Got it. Then I'll vote for that one."
"Really?"
"Sure. I don't exactly feel blameless about how the name 'space eel' spread through the Federation."
Kait let out a wry chuckle, and Gorou smiled as well.
"Then please feel really guilty."
"My apologies."
At that time, neither Kait nor Gorou knew.
They didn't realize that Terapolapaneshio and the others, who didn't care much either way, would vote for the same name Kait chose without much thought.
As a result, the name Kait voted for ended up being the official name of the space eel—and neither of them had even considered that possibility as they laughed together.