As of 2102, the most distant celestial body known to mankind is named MACS0647-JD. It is 32.2 billion light years away from the Earth, and even with space telescopes, we can barely catch a glimpse of it.
　Beyond that, in a galaxy 128 billion light years away from the earth, there is a star with a similar environment to the earth, and indeed, intelligent life exists. Eighty-two billion years after the birth of carbon-based organisms, which we will call "Adam" for convenience, Adam and his people stepped out into the "outer universe" through a process of trial and error.
　They discovered new materials and new celestial bodies, and continued to search for "intelligent life forms" like themselves while fighting against unknown threats. Their goal was to preserve their species and give life to a civilization that had begun to decline.
　Then, 2800 years after they began their search, Adam and his people discovered the possibility of an intelligent life form being born on a third planet in a stellar system 128 billion light years away from their planet. When they visited the planet, no intelligent life had yet been born on that planet, but believing that it would be born soon, they decided to leave a structure on the back side of the planet's satellite to prove their existence. I also showed them how to open the entrance to the building with a picture instead of a letter, so that when they reached the satellite on their own, they would be able to easily understand it.


You are not alone. You are not alone, you have friends in a galaxy far, far away.


　That's what Adam and his people tried to tell him.......maybe they were 'alone' themselves. They hadn't been able to find a creature of the same level for nearly three thousand years after their departure. After the structure was completed, Adam and his people wondered further.

This system has just been formed and is full of asteroids and rocky bodies. If one of them were to hit the third planet...

　Feeling as if they were protecting their unseen child, they decided to change the satellite's orbit. They "moved" the satellite to shield the third planet and then stabilized its orbit, thickening the crust on its backside to withstand a direct hit from a meteorite.
　In order to stop asteroids and meteorites from flying towards the stars, they built a control base on the sixth planet, the second largest satellite of what would later be named Saturn, and manipulated gravity so that meteorites flying around the sixth planet would form a ring. And finally, Adam and his friends left, leaving behind an "administrator" of the artificial life forms in the building.



----Viewpoint ---- Kouki Arakawa

　I listen to the woman in front of me who called herself 'Eve' and I think. I can understand why the moon is taking a convenient orbit for the earth, and I can understand why the moon never shows its back side. There's no doubt that Eve is the 'administrator' from what I've heard so far, but then, will Adam and his friends come back to communicate with the earth one day?　Then we need to let the Earth know and think about how to respond. Of course, the United Nations and others will probably take the initiative in communicating with them, but I'll ask them about it.　

'No, that's not going to happen.'

　What's the point, if you've set up the planet so well, why don't you interact with it?　Eve continues with a sad look on her face.........

'The Adam people perished about 600 million years ago.

　Seriously I don't understand how a species capable of traveling over 100 billion light years can be destroyed. What the hell happened?　Has there been a major war?

Why did it perish?

I'll explain it all to you now. But when you've said all that, there are two things I need you to do for me.

　I urged him to continue, promising to grant his wish if it was something I could do. Then Eve tells us the history of the Adamites, which we can't believe.

On their way back to Adam's planet from Earth, the outer space exploration fleet received a transmission sent by Adam hundreds of years ago. 'The star is showing signs of a supernova explosion. The message instructed them to abort their return to their home planet and rejoin the migration fleet at the appointed point, and so they altered their course to that point.

　It was a tremendous scientific feat to be able to deploy an immigrant ship capable of interstellar navigation. Moreover, from what I've heard, it's a ship with urban capabilities that can operate for a thousand years.

When the exploration fleet arrived at the point, they searched for a ship that belonged to a compatriot that was supposed to be waiting for them at the location. But in the place where tens of thousands of ships were supposed to be assembled, there was only one battered immigrant ship. Inside that ship, there were few survivors. The barely surviving space log recorded that the star had caused a supernova explosion earlier than predicted and they were unable to escape in time.
　Luckily, there seemed to be other immigrant ships that escaped the impact of the explosion, but because of their rapid construction, they were able to "navigate through another dimension" ... to explain it in simple terms to the people of Earth, it's called "short-distance warp". It is said that the ship could not survive during that other-dimensional navigation and fell off and became lost.

　How did the crew of the exploration fleet feel after losing their home and their people?　A tragedy that happened just as I was about to proudly tell you about the Earth I finally discovered. I can't imagine.

The research fleet that harbored the survivors of the immigrant ship decided to turn back to Earth, and after being reduced to about 40,000 people, the Adam people chose to make Earth their new home. In order to coexist with the earthlings who might be born in the future, they decided to build a base on Mars, which was close to Earth.
　In the past, when you've surveyed Mars with drones, you've found evidence of water, right?　That's the remnants of the water that Adam and his people carried from Earth. The terraforming plan for Mars looked like it would work, but here's when trouble strikes again for Adam and his people.

　They should have just taken over the Earth as it is, but they went to the trouble of terraforming Mars to try to live on it?

"Adam and his people have confirmed that a 'high-dimensional passage' has occurred in the outer reaches of the solar system. To put it simply, this high-dimensional passage is like a 'moving black hole'. We had already confirmed its existence, but the probability of actually encountering it was supposed to be extremely small. And when it occurs so close to a planet where there is a possibility of life, the odds of it happening are almost incalculable.
　Adam and the others desperately tried to find a breakthrough, and if their calculations were correct, it was possible to blow up the interstellar ship they were using by making it run out of power near the corridor and blow itself up. But where should they go?　Mars can't be lived on because it hasn't finished terraforming, and if it settles on Earth, it could destroy the ecosystem and prevent the birth of life. We had to make the ultimate two choices.

　After being taught this much, anyone can predict the cause of their demise.

I'm sure you'll find that the number of our species is decreasing and civilization itself continues to decline. And a new species that has not yet been born, but has a high probability of being born. When the two were weighed in the balance, they chose the 'future' of the new species. And they left me, the administrator, a message for the life forms that would eventually come here, and they followed their compatriots.
　But please don't look at me in such a gloomy way. Rather, I think they were proud of being able to protect the earth, and you, the people of the earth, arrived here. Their deaths were meaningful.

　It's only because of their help that we're living on Earth now, right? I think they were a truly admirable race, it is impossible for human beings to choose the future of another species instead of us.
　And what would be the content of the "message" from such great predecessors?　I checked with both my mom and the old man in my eyes to see if I was allowed to take it, and they nodded at me. I open my mouth for the first time since we started talking.

「伝言を教えてもらえませんか？」

「分かりました。地球人の代表にアダム人の代表として、伝言をお伝えします。これから流す映像と同時に私が通訳しますね」

　イヴは椅子から立ち上がると、手元の空間を操作している素振りを見せた。そしてイブの前に青い髪の男性が映る画面が突然表示され映像が流れ出す。



『初めまして、我々の事はそこに居るイヴから説明を受けた筈だ。この映像を見ているという事は自力でその衛星まで辿りつけるほど文明が発達したという事だね、本当に嬉しく思っている。
　キミ達がこの映像を見ているのは何万年・何億年後かは分からないが、忘れないで欲しい……我々は確かに存在していた。我々は終に見つける事が出来なかったが、この広い宇宙には必ず他の種族が存在している。キミ達は孤独ではないんだ。そして出来る事なら時間が掛かっても我々の夢を継いで欲しい……どこかに存在している別の種族との平和的な交流を実現してくれ。そしてそれこそが必ず訪れる衰退への唯一の防衛策でもある。
　我々が記録した航宙記録も渡しておくから役立ててくれたら幸いだ。もう時間がないな、最後に1つだけ伝えておきたい。いつか外宇宙に足を踏み出す後輩達に栄光あれ』



　凄いな、もう全てが人類とレベルが違いすぎる。『高等種族』っていうのはアダム人のような種族の事を指すのだろう、オッサンに至っては感動して泣いている。俺もちょっと目が熱くなっているのが分かる。これはなんとしてでもイヴのお願いを聞いてあげたい……。

「それでイヴさんのお願いとはなんですか？」

　俺が問いかけると母さんに似た微笑を浮かべながら、イヴは自分の願いを伝えてきた。

「1つは『アダム人の願いを可能な限り引き継いで欲しい』という事です。もう1つは、所有者である荒川功樹君に対してお願いです。私の『管理者としての権限を停止して欲しい』のです」

　1つ目は理解できるが、権限の停止とはどういう事だ？　なぜそんな事をする必要があるんだ。人類もある程度発達したし地球に来れば良いじゃないか。

「私は帰りたいのです。アダム人が暮らしていたあの星に」

　でももう、その星は無いのだろう。なぜ今更帰る必要がある？　俺が考えていると母さんがイヴに質問をしていた。

「イヴさん、でも貴女の故郷はもう……」

「はい理解しています。それにココにある船で辿り着けるかも分かりませんし、いつ着くかも分かりません。それでも少しでも故郷に近づきたいのですよ」

　人工生命体とはいえ、最後のアダム人である彼女が故郷に帰りたいと言うなら俺は止めることが出来ない。『権限を停止する』と伝えたらイヴはとても嬉しそうな顔でお礼を言ってきた。
　６億年以上もたった1人でこの場所を守ってきたのだ……これから自由に生きても誰も責めたりはしないだろ。俺が感傷に浸っていると、イヴは帰る支度をしながら俺に問いかけてきた。

「それで、この場所なんですけどどうします？　ぶっちゃけもう要らないと思うんですよー」

　おい！　さっきまでの薄幸美人的な雰囲気は何処いったんだよ！？　なんで髪の毛を手でクルクルしながら聞いて来るんだ……地球にいるちょっとアレな女の子と変わらんぞ。

「僕も要りませんけど」

「ですよねー、こんな辺鄙な所貰っても困るーってやつ？　どうせなら気前良く恒星間航行船を置いてけば良かったのにね」

　ああ、どうしよう。テンションの変化についていけない、助けを求めるようにオッサンを見るが俺と同じで混乱しているようだ。母さんの方をみると……居ない。　おい！　どこいった？

「イヴちゃん、コレなに？」

「それー？　それは別次元を覗ける装置で、地球でいうところの潜望鏡とかそんなやつ。そういえばミキちゃん前に『アラカワ粒子』だっけ？　そんなん開発したよねー、それの凄い版」

「貰っていい？」

「良いよ良いよ、それ私からしたら骨董品だし使わないもん。あ、でも一応ココにある物の起動コマンドは功樹君の権限に変わってるからー使うときは彼の許可が必要だよ」

　なんで女子っぽく会話しながらお土産漁ってるんだよ！？　しかもなにがミキちゃんだよ……イヴとか６億歳のオバ

「それ以上考えたら、真空にほうりだすからねー」

　考えを読むのを止めろ！　俺は頭が痛くなってきたので警備隊の人と一緒に、部屋の隅のほうに座りながら母さんが満足するのをひたすら待つ。この場所をどうするかが問題だよな、イヴが言うように『辺鄙だから困る』というわけではなく、『人類には早すぎる』と言う面で困る。
　同じ種族の枠組みの中で国毎でいがみ合っている俺達にはこの月面基地を知らせるには時期尚早すぎる。もっと、『地球人』としての自覚を持ってからの方がいいんじゃないか？　そんな事を考えているとイヴが話しかけてくる。

「そうだねー、私もそう思うよ。ここからずっと人類を見守ってきたけど、まだ私達の技術は渡すべきじゃない。きっと戦争が起きて滅んじゃうよ？　ココを破棄してもまだ『タイタン』や冥王星の奥の方には、建設した基地が残っているからそっちでいいと思うなー」

「じゃそうします。イヴさんが帰る時にココを破棄してください。皆さんもそれで良いですね」

「うん、どうせ俺達が見たことを報告したって信用はされないしね。それにコウキ君や女史と違って頭が悪い俺達でも、この場所の危険性は理解できる。いつか受け取る技術に見合うレベルになるまではそっとしておいた方がいい」

　その後、オッサン達とスーツに着いている記録装置のデータの消去方法を相談しながら母さんを待っていると、やっと満足したようだ。つまりはイヴが故郷に向けて帰る時間だ……、1人乗りシャトルのような物に乗り込む前にイヴが振り返り俺に言葉を掛けてきた。

「ココに来た地球人が功樹君で良かったよー。もっとガメツイ人だったら大変な事になったかもね」

　そんな事はない買いかぶり過ぎだ。俺だってそれなりに欲はある……だが楽をしてまで過分な力を欲しようとは思わない。そう伝えると最初見たときと同じ表情でクスクスと笑っていた。

「でもね功樹君。勘違いしてるかもしれないけど功樹君が今まで作ってきた物は、今の文明レベルでは十分にオーバースペックだよ？　私知ってるんだ、この前なんて人工のブラックホールを作ったでしょ？　あれは私達の技術では『虚数爆弾』って言って最終兵器扱いだったんだよ」

　へっ！？　そんなモンつくった覚えは……あれか？　心当たりといえば、信吾と2人で弁当を暖める時に『粒子衝突させたら熱出るらしいぜ！　弁当暖まるんじゃね？』っていうノリだけでやった時にそんな物騒なモンが出来上がっていたのか？

「だからー、ちゃんと自重しながらこれからも文明の発展を頑張ってね。いつかまた会えるといいね！」

そうしてイヴは俺の唇に軽く『キス』をしてからシャトルに乗り込んだ。なにしやがるアイツは！？　嬉しいけど！

「それは私の権限を解いてくれたお礼だよー。じゃバイバイ♪」

　文句を付ける暇もなくシャトルは目の前から加速して消えて行った。俺達も帰るか……、俺がココから出ると同時にこの遺跡は崩壊して地下深くに埋まるので掘り返すのは実質不可能になるとの事だ。再びスーツを装着して入ってきた道を戻っていると、母さんが俺に通信を送ってくる。

「こうちゃん、後から『虚数爆弾』について詳しく教えてね」

　正直かなり面倒なので適当に誤魔化そうと思っていたら、ボソッと『アリスちゃん……』と脅しの言葉を囁いてきたので諦めて教える事を約束する。　そういえばアリスは兎も角として相川さんに今回の話をしたら、参加できなかった悔しさで倒れるんじゃないだろうか？　俺はその姿を想像しながらスーツのカメラ越しに無限に広がる宇宙を眺めた。