章 262: Chapter 262: The Inescapable "Curse"
Finelli "escaped" from Dock's house, looking at the fresh blood on himself and feeling a bit dizzy.
He had actually killed Dock, and it was so easy.
"It's funny, I actually like this feeling."
"Why is the Quark machine not responding? I've become so abnormal!"
Finelli leaned against the wall, shaking his head continuously, feeling a voice speaking inside his mind.
—Go and kill, watch as their lives slip away in your hands.
—You feel good, don't you? At that moment, you became the master of your own fate.
—Don't worry, no one will blame you. After all, you can say that you were influenced by the asteroid.
...
The deep voice was like a demon whispering.
The asteroid is a weapon that targets the mind, stirring up the innate evil in humans. This is not a disease that the Quark machine can cure; it's more like a clash between the subconscious and the conscious mind.
As a person grows up, when their parents scold or beat them, they may want to fight back, or even kill their parents; when a teacher punishes them, they may feel deep hatred towards the teacher; when they see a scantily clad beauty on the street, their minds are filled with even more obscene thoughts...
And so on and so forth. These thoughts run through their minds, but they are not their true intentions; they are desires hidden in their subconscious.
This is the most fundamental evil in human nature.
It is hidden, and this hiding is not a disguise, but because human nature is more about goodness than evil.
The human mind is a battlefield, with armies of good and evil. Most of the time, good prevails, but the occasional evil thoughts that surface are like evil laying siege to the city. The goodness of human nature and the order established by civilization guard the inner gates, preventing the disorderly expansion of evil.
Good and evil are originally like yin and yang; without evil, there would be no good, and without good, there would be no evil. The olive branch civilization understands the good and evil in human nature, and the asteroid's ability to create panic stirs up the evil in people's hearts, causing evil to prevail while suppressing goodness.
If you want to put it bluntly, it's more like a subtle form of hypnosis, with the asteroid as the medium and the hypnotist's watch in their hands. But who is the hypnotist?
Themselves!
Humans put shackles on themselves and allow their evil to be revealed. Just as humans can trust each other in times of peace, in times of war, this trust can even extend to the closest friends, the most beloved lovers, and even family members, all of whom may eventually lose trust in each other over time.
Finelli was in great pain.
Because he still retained his goodness.
It's like having certain evil thoughts in your mind during normal times, and these thoughts make you feel sick.
"Hey, everyone gather! I don't care what you're doing or what you've done, get into the virtual meeting room right now!" Finelli sent out the message and sat on a metal chair by the road. The chair had automatic heating and cooling functions, but they weren't working, so Finelli's body was cold, but his head was hot, a contrast of fire and ice within him.
When the chair cooled down, Finelli jumped up, feeling a deep chill enveloping him, like the moment of entering hibernation.
After about five minutes, everyone had arrived in the virtual meeting room.
Finelli went in directly and looked around: "It's obvious that you've all done something that violates federal law over the years. There's no denying it; officials and scholars are ordinary people, and even psychologists can't resist this subtle mind control. You're no exception."
"And I'm no exception."
He didn't want to dwell on this issue, so he stated it as a fact and continued, "Now, let's evacuate all the citizens from the city. We can't stay here anymore; the sense of crisis has driven us all mad."
After Finelli finished speaking, the virtual meeting room fell silent, and no one responded; everyone stared at him intently.
"Hey!"
"There's no choice, Officer Finelli. Do you remember 38 years ago when I left the city to discuss matters elsewhere? At that time, I realized something was wrong with me, but leaving the city didn't reduce the evil in my heart. I went to see a psychologist, the best one on the Silk Road, and then I killed..."
"At that time, I realized I couldn't escape this influence. It had already taken root in my heart. Good could easily be turned into evil, but it's hard for evil to return to good. It's like order and chaos; chaos is the essence of human nature, and evil represents desire. How can humans free themselves from desire?"
"As you can see, I've returned because there are so many like me here. Over there, I felt like I didn't belong."
"Officer Finelli, join us."
A calm voice spoke, and Finelli couldn't believe his ears.
"Sigsuro Mo, do you know what you're saying?"
Sigsuro Mo smiled. "Of course."
"I know that my previous life was so dull, but now I've found my true joy. Isn't that great?"
"And when that asteroid arrives to destroy us, all our sins will disappear, including ours."
Madman.
All the other officials and scholars echoed this sentiment.
"Yes, I used to want to live for tens of thousands of years, but now I realize I'm not suited for it. Instead of living a dull life for tens of thousands of years, it's better to cherish the fleeting present, even if it's only ten years, no, even one year. If it's happy, it's better than tens of thousands of years."
"Officer Finelli, when you heard about your son's death, you cried so sadly. This is the pain of longevity. You're just like us. Life here is joyless. In the beginning, we shouldn't have come here; we should have stayed home with our families."
"What was our purpose in coming here? The city has been quiet for thousands of years, and we've been waiting here meaninglessly. It's ridiculous. I even feel like someone is mocking us. Ha, we can't even gain any honor here; we've lost everything and gained nothing. It's ridiculous. It's better to indulge in this brief pleasure."
Madness.
Every official and scholar was under pressure. For a human, thousands of years is a long time, and the pressure of not achieving anything in such a long time, societal pressure, self-pressure, the pain of a broken family—all these things surrounded them, along with the threat of death from the asteroid belt. They had all collapsed!
Or perhaps, they had longed for death in their hearts...
Only now did Finelli understand that this curse was too heavy for them to escape.
But as the highest-ranking officer here, he had even more pressure than the others, and this pressure was called responsibility.
"You can't escape, but the citizens can. After we leave, they may not be able to return to normal, but the Federation will find a way."
"This isn't an excuse. No human can harm others for their own happiness; this is a bottom line that cannot be crossed."
"Since you're beyond saving..."
"Then... destroy!"
Finelli sent a message to the Machine God, instructing it to put all the citizens into hibernation pods and send them to the Federation. He also wanted the Machine God to execute all the officials and scholars, including himself.
Because he knew he couldn't escape this influence; he was in too much pain, especially seeing his colleagues of thousands of years turn out this way. As the highest-ranking officer, he had made unforgivable mistakes, so let this mistake be contained within him.
Perhaps... death was the best outcome for him and them.
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