Chapter 109: The Angel (１)

****

My office was quiet today, for once.

The only movement was a few Popos huffing and puffing as they climbed the cat tower. I tossed dog chews to the Popos staring at me.

The Popos just ate the chews.

Dogs usually bite and lick at them first — weak teeth, or some other reason. The Popos just tore into the chews and swallowed.

Well, they do tear apart monsters, so… I guess a dog chew is nothing. They chew through cans of cat tuna like grapes and spit out the tin.

At least they don’t bite people.

I stroked the Popo that had jumped onto my lap. Looking at it like this, it’s just a ball of fluff — what makes these things so strong?

“Friend.”

The Popo muttered softly.

Animal eyes and human eyes are different. Almost nothing besides humans has whites and free-moving pupils. And the Popo’s eyes…

The Popo’s eyes are slightly squinted. They’re human eyes, but the lids are kept low, covering the whites. To give the impression that it isn’t human.

The closer you look, the more human it seems. At the genetic level, it’s probably identical to a human.

Knock, knock. Someone rapped on the Director’s Office door while I was playing, and I looked up. I opened my laptop to look busy, and the Popo climbed down.

“Come in.”

Nanami walked in with her arms crossed.

“Dr. Geum. Sorry, but can you do something about your pets? They’re poking around everywhere, and I can’t shoo them away since they’re the Director’s guests.”

It’s not like there are just one or two pets.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Professor Meyer.”

“Ah. Keep him contained as needed. I was planning to head to the Humanoid Division anyway.”

Nanami nodded.

“Is that a dog chew? Why is it cut up?”

“It’s not cut. The Popos don’t play with the chews — they just bite chunks off and eat them.”

“Oh my… I guess they’re not hunting dogs for nothing, hunting gods and all. Anyway, see you later, Dr. Geum.”

****

Professor Meyer had agreed to cooperate fully with our work. He must be dying of curiosity. This is why scholars are easy to handle — show them something truly strange and they come running like moths to a flame.

The angel, Arccosine — Dr. Ahn, who’d examined her up close, Professor Meyer, and me. Three researchers assigned to the angel, all gathered in one place.

“Anything new you’ve found?”

Dr. Ahn was a physician too, so she’d likely run several tests on the angel. But Dr. Ahn shook her head for now.

“Nothing definitive. The angel’s body temperature matches room temperature, so metabolism doesn’t appear to occur, but she does go through the motions of eating.”

“Oh, what did she eat?”

“The candy and cookies I brought her. But she seemed to spit them out a few minutes later. I don’t think she can actually consume anything.”

Strange.

“Have you done imaging studies?”

Dr. Ahn nodded. The tablet she was holding turned to face me.

“First, we ran a CT scan to examine the wing structure. The wings have bones like an ordinary bird’s, but the way they connect to the spine is unusual. The wing’s scapula sits behind the scapula of the arm. So the angel effectively has four scapulae.”

Fascinating. Truly fascinating, but I’m not sure it’s useful for containment.

“Right. The X-ray shows some shadowing in that area — anything on that? Like the blood being water, for instance.”

“Ah, yes. Our working theory is that these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons act as a kind of ectoplasm. It’s the chemical mechanism by which a spirit body manifests.”

I nodded.

“I’ve heard polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons proposed as a solution to the chicken-and-egg problem of proteins and nucleic acids in abiogenesis.”

“Yes.”

“We call this the PAH-world hypothesis. PAHs are common enough in the universe that they’re found in Martian meteorites and comets, and as organic polymers they have the complexity to maintain a dynamic equilibrium similar to life activity—”

I cleared my throat briefly.

Dr. Ahn is a psychiatrist, and Professor Meyer is a linguist. Neither of them has the faintest idea what I’m talking about.

“Sorry. That’s just me talking to myself.”

“Not at all. It sounds like a rap battle, and I like it.”

I should mention this to the Head of Research.

****

I turned my gaze toward Professor Meyer.

“Professor Meyer, did you find out anything more? Regarding the angel-related symbolism?”

“Why is the angel’s name Arccosine?”

“We just named it that.”

There was no particular reason. Professor Meyer thought for a moment, then pulled out a clipboard and showed me something written there.

“Ah, good.”

“It was rather startling, though. My initial analysis seems to have been roughly correct. The angel kept referencing World War II.”

“Did you determine what kind of angel it is?”

“After conversing with it a bit, I was able to confirm fire-related symbolism.”

Fire — which angel would that be?

“According to the Abrahamic worldview, its form most closely resembles a Seraph. The war symbolism also seems most consistent with the Seraphim.”

“So the angel’s true name is Seraph?”

“Seraph is a species name. As for its true name — well, it refused any related mention, so there’s no way to know. Unless we plan to torture or dissect the angel.”

I looked at Professor Meyer.

“Professor, you belong at the Foundation.”

I doubt anyone else would adapt this quickly.

****

The most important work at the Foundation is, when all is said and done, the management of humanoid anomalies. They’re the alpha and omega of anomalies, the flower of the Research Department.

I’m only saying this because I need to see Hasti.

“Director. I heard a new containment subject came in. It looks absolutely adorable.”

“How’s the Returnee?”

“Seems fine.”

She is not fine.

“She keeps submitting request notes that just say ‘freedom.’ Think of a few gifts we could give Miss An Yuri.”

Hasti nodded.

“Understood.”

“Have you seen the angel at all? Has the Tower Master, by any chance, ever encountered a similar anomaly?”

A look that said no. Hasti shook her head.

“I only learned yesterday that angels even exist. I thought it might just be a white harpy, but seeing its face, that doesn’t seem right either.”

“Is that so?”

Hasti thought a bit more.

“Now that I think about it, there was a rare race called the Heavenly Tribe every now and then. They have halos above their heads, and when you look with the mind’s eye, they have wings.”

“Ah.”

“The Heavenly Tribe can’t do anything once you cover their eyes. They emit light themselves, so darkness or the like won’t work — you have to physically block them.”

I nodded.

“How’s the dimensional exploration machine?”

“They say it’s more than half complete.”

A blessing in disguise. I’d been worried it might never be fixed, but there’s progress after all.

“Next time, I’ll show you the world outside the Foundation facility. Anyway, how’s your body?”

“All the aches and pains are gone! The headache that felt like my head was splitting disappeared as of yesterday too.”

It wasn’t a headache that *felt* like her head was splitting — her head was actually split. Not figuratively; someone actually hit her with a monkey wrench and cracked her skull.

Thinking about it, I felt sorry all over again.

****

[Re: Arccosine research and interview]

[Filed by: Bishop Oh, Humanoid Division]

[Seven Seraphim, seven planets. Of course, it’s hard to believe one of the seven Seraphim is imprisoned here, but I don’t fully understand how these lesser deities operate.]

[When you consider that belief in aliens, combined with something else, could create something like an alien youkai, it’s not impossible that incarnations of Christian belief would manifest in this way.]

[However. Whether this is truly the Archangel Zerachiel requires some thought on the definition of the term. Let’s say it’s one aspect of the Archangel Zerachiel.]

****

[This document was written by an external expert, not a Foundation staff member. Please take this into consideration when accessing and utilizing this document.]

[Arccosine Research and Interview]

[Filed by: Professor Meyer]

[Supervised by: Bishop Oh, Humanoid Division]

[First of all, I would like to express my

sincere gratitude for the opportunity to

participate in the research of this

anomaly. Thank you very much.]

[I had to study up on angels.

Assuming this being is a named angel

that appears in the Bible, or

Bible-related literature.]

[Seraphim are the fifth order in the

Jewish angelic hierarchy. In the

Christian angelic hierarchy, they are

the highest beings. Usually, they guard

the throne of heaven.]

****

[Professor Meyer Containment Case]

[Filed by: Cognitohazard Management Division]

[Professor Meyer is currently in containment, undergoing cognitive contamination testing due to suspected Type-3 or higher language patterns.]

[Until cognitohazard specialists confirm Professor Meyer’s mental health, no one is to contact him without cognitohazard protection.]

[For now, he appears to be in good health.]

[Let this serve as a warning to Foundation staff. Never lower your guard near an anomaly. Regardless of what kind of anomaly it is.]