Chapter 15: The Virgin Conception (３)

****

This is the specimen room of the Humanoid Containment Division.

A researcher bowed to me.

“You’ve arrived, Chief Researcher. Thank you for participating in today’s research. I am Dr. Shin Jwaseop, a resident physician at the Foundation.”

“Hello.”

“Please, have a seat.”

Dr. Shin handed me a tablet.

“To explain, opinions on anomaly P-3030 are divided even among ourselves. Its appearance is extremely repulsive, but there is no evidence that this anomaly harms its host.”

“It hijacks someone’s body to create a monster. Can you really say that isn’t harm?”

“This may sound callous, but I’m speaking from a medical standpoint. And from a theological one… You must understand what it means to borrow a virgin’s body to create God’s child. The form may be somewhat grotesque, but.”

“…”

What the hell is this man talking about?

“I believe this is an attempt at blessing. An attempt to create God’s child, to create a new Messiah. If we could just once, under the Foundation’s control, allow a birth—”

“Stop the nonsense and let’s get to work.”

I hesitated for a moment.

“Ah, yes.”

“Let’s do this, Doctor. I’ve read the report on this anomaly. They say the creature is five months old. If you truly want to study this anomaly, why not thaw it and put it in an incubator?”

“Ah.”

“I can authorize the incubator experiment, but I cannot allow you to torture innocent civilians without a clear purpose or basis.”

“I see.”

“Dr. Shin. You’re not under the anomaly’s influence right now, are you? That specimen isn’t affecting your judgment, is it?”

“No.”

I don’t actually think this doctor is being controlled by the anomaly. I’ve heard crazier things than this on a daily basis.

Still. He can’t be trying to experiment on civilians.

“Understood. Honestly, I’m curious too—what would happen if we thawed that monster and raised it. Let’s give it a try.”

****

Humanoid Division, emergency meeting convened.

Everyone in the Humanoid Division without urgent business gathered in the conference room. Most of those seated at the table were team leaders or professor-level. All eyes were on me.

I put on a businesslike smile.

“The plan I’m proposing is this. We don’t know what anomaly P-3030 is. Let’s raise it in an incubator and see. We can’t know what the outcome will be.”

“What kind of insane nonsense is this?”

Dr. Lee Minsik slammed the table the moment he heard my words. I expected as much. Dr. Lee Minsik was the surgeon who had performed the operation earlier. He must have a strong aversion to that anomaly.

“Exactly what I said.”

“How can you do this? Are you saying we should raise a demon in a Foundation facility? I performed that surgery—I know it best. I brought that monster into this world.”

I nodded.

“I understand your opinion, Dr. Lee. Does anyone else think differently?”

A hand went up.

“Kang Cheon, Section Chief of the Humanoid Division. Let’s try it. If something goes wrong, we can just incinerate it.”

“Section Chief, please—”

Again, Dr. Lee Minsik’s protest.

I raised a hand briefly.

“Section Chief. Are you confident you can handle it if the results of this experiment go wrong?”

“Yes. I might need to make a few calls to other departments, but. A single apple-sized lump of cancer isn’t a problem.”

Good to hear.

“I’m relieved you’re confident in the experiment. Is there any expert who can explain more about anomaly P-3030?”

“I’ve handled it the most.”

Good to hear that too.

I quickly checked the employee badge of the person who had just spoken. Bishop Oh. Not currently a bishop, though. Specialties: theology and thaumatology.

“Bishop Oh. Please, speak.”

“I was in charge of researching it. When the patient carrying this anomaly came in last time, I wrote the report as the lead.”

“Yes. Do we have any clues as to how dangerous it is, or how much power it could exert if the adult form were to appear?”

Bishop Oh scratched his head.

“As you know. It looks disgusting, and it does hijack other people’s bodies in order to be born, but there’s no proven evidence that the anomaly possesses any malice or poses any specific danger.”

“So you’re saying you know nothing?”

If you do know something, go ahead and show off.

Bishop Oh hesitated.

“I could elaborate a bit more from a theological and symbolic standpoint… but you’re all scientists, aren’t you? I’m not sure you’d care for it.”

“Go ahead.”

“First of all. When the Son came to Earth as part of the Holy Trinity, He also borrowed a woman’s body. It’s hard not to draw a connection. However, according to some belief systems, the easiest way to open a dimensional gateway to hell is also through the womb of a young woman. The age at which teratomas most commonly develop lines up with that, too.”

It was uncomfortable to hear. But I couldn’t exactly not listen. Bishop Oh continued.

“What’s certain is that this is an entity from another world attempting to cross into reality by using a woman’s body as a medium. Whether it’s good, evil, or has some other purpose, I personally cannot say.”

“Yes. Then—”

BANG!

Someone kicked open the door to the Humanoid Division conference room. Everyone in the room turned their heads.

“Who the hell do you think you are, bursting in—”

“Who is it?”

A young-looking female researcher strode into the conference room with confidence. I checked the name on the lab coat’s name tag and the employee badge.

Lee Seah.

The Head of Research.

Ah, that one.

The Head of Research turned to one of the staff members.

“Who’s in here? Section chiefs? The Director? There’s no one higher than me.”

Quite the character, isn’t she. I let out a sigh and pressed my fingers against my temples.

The Head of Research leaned against my chair at the center of the room, surveying the people gathered there.

“What were you all doing without me?”

“We were discussing whether it would be permissible to proceed with an experiment on a certain anomaly. There were some opinions that it might be dangerous.”

The Head of Research turned her head toward me.

“Ah. So you’re the new Chief Researcher?”

“That’s correct.”

“This is the Research Department, and I am the Head of Research. Even if the Director herself came here in person, she would have demanded that her opinion be respected. I’m making the same demand of Dr. Geum right now.”

The Head of Research met my eyes.

A challenge to my authority. Starting with the way she’s leaning against my chair, all crooked.

Ah… I turned my head back toward the meeting. The people gathered in the room were staring at me as if watching a duel.

“State your opinion, Head of Research.”

“Let’s run the experiment. When did we ever say we wouldn’t?”

“But if something goes wrong—”

The Head of Research laughed.

“The experiment proceeds as planned, under my responsibility. Your role isn’t to debate whether we should run it or not—it’s to think about what safety measures to put in place.”

The room buzzed with murmurs. Some people were dissatisfied, and some probably didn’t like the Head’s attitude. But no one challenged the authority of the Head of Research.

“It’s all decided. Dismissed.”

The Head of Research declared flatly.

“…”

“Dismissed!”

The people gathered in the conference room got up from their seats, grumbling. Judging by their reactions, this kind of thing happened fairly often around here.

“Let’s have a word, Head of Research.”

****

I sat the Head of Research down first, then closed the door to the conference room. It wouldn’t do for people outside to hear this conversation.

Let’s get one thing straight.

“Head of Research. Honestly, I don’t understand. Would you care to explain what’s going on?”

“What?”

This woman has been mixing casual speech into her words since she walked in. I’m not sure why she’s doing it.

“Is there any need to act like this?”

“The experiment Dr. Geum wanted will proceed right away. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Head of Research.”

The Head of Research let out a sigh.

“Dr. Geum. You’re a good person, I’ve heard a lot about you. Dr. Geum is kind, competent, cute, and liked by everyone in this facility. But Head of Research is not that kind of position.”

“Yes.”

“The Research Department is a living hell. Especially the Humanoid Division—they’re truly disgusting people. They cut up and incinerate things that look like humans every single day, and when you proposed that experiment, they dug in their heels saying they couldn’t run it because their own lives were too precious.”

“That must be hard on you.”

“The lot you call researchers are people who’ve spent all day holed up in their rooms doing nothing but research, so there’s not a single one of them you can talk to, and when it comes to anomalies, there’s no clear answer in most cases.”

“So what exactly are you asking of me?”

“It’s like this. Dr. Geum is the carrot. I’m the Head of Research, and what the Research Department needs is a whip. Or maybe a club.”

Earlier I’d found the Head of Research insufferable, but sure enough, she had her own position to maintain. Come to think of it… there’s probably a reason the Head of Research is the Head of Research. Despite her personality.

The Head of Research’s seat isn’t one you can survive in while being liked by everyone.

The researchers in the department know it too. That for the Foundation’s Research Department to push things forward by any means necessary, the Head of Research has to be like this.

Lee Seah wore a faint smile.

“Then let’s go run the experiment. Since it’s an important one, I’ll participate directly. It’s not for nothing that I’m the Head of Research, you know?”

Is she a humanoid anomaly too?