Hesta fell into a long silence, her eyes looking forward, her eyebrows furrowed tightly.
"simple?"
"...It's over." Hesta replied in a low voice, "It is indeed...over."
"Aren't you happy?"
Hesta's body trembled slightly, and she looked at Rico, "But it... didn't disappear."
Rico tilted his head: "It didn't disappear, what do you mean?"
"It just jumps from one person to another," Hesta replied in a low voice, "The period that belongs to me is over, and it immediately... unfolds on another person, as if... I end it, I start it again...but it never has a complete end in itself.”
Hesta looked away again, as if whispering to the mirror.
"Can you understand?"
"Not very capable," Rico pressed the back of Hesta's hand tightly against his cheek, "Actually, I didn't understand much from beginning to end..."
After a moment of silence, the two people laughed at the same time.
"Sorry," Hesta smiled and bent down, "I don't know how to explain it..."
Rico leaned on the edge of the bed, holding his chin helplessly with his other hand, "You should talk to Miss Valenti and the others about this. They are good at solving these riddles with others."
"But I can't say a word to them, so what should I do?"
Rico changed his posture, "...Have I ever told you about a neighbor of mine in Sol Wasteland, a religious neighbor?"
Hesta shook her head, and she moved to the side, "Do you want to lie down and talk?"
Rico patted the dust underneath him and pulled a quilt corner to cover his stomach.
"This neighbor of mine talks about 'fate' every day. She wasn't that religious at first, but she had a daughter who suddenly fell ill and died when she was in her twenties, and then she believed in Uller - our place A god. When you talk about fate, I immediately thought of her. She was a good person, but suddenly she gave up everything and wanted to serve a god that didn’t exist at all. I don’t think this is a good word."
Hesta turned half over, "...I'm not talking about this kind of fate."
"Then do you believe God exists?"
"Do not believe."
"Then who weaves destiny?" Rico folded his hands on the back of his head, "When you doubt that there is some kind of 'fate' in the world, what are you doubting?"
"..." Hesta narrowed her eyes and was speechless for a moment.
"Anyway, I was very shocked by the change in that person," Rico resumed his story. "At that time, I had a friend who had been traveling around with the circus. One day she came back, and I told her story about this person. Going to her, I said, 'How did this person suddenly become like this? Did Urel choose her?'
"'There was no Ullal.' My friend said this. 'She was just too sad. No one could share her pain. She couldn't bear it anymore, so she confessed to a god. After she confessed, Ullal Taking over her pain, Ullal became responsible for her...that's what religion is for.'"
"Religion is not just for this..." Hesta whispered, looking at Rico, "Then what? Did she recover later?"
Rico shook his head, "She was still praying when the first chelate broke into our town."
"...Maybe she gained peace of mind."
"But I was the only one who survived in the end," Rico whispered, "so I will never believe these things in my life."
Hesta thought thoughtfully: "...me too."
"That may still be different. The premise of my not believing in God is based on empirical evidence. If there is empirical evidence that there is a God, I will believe it. Because I myself prefer to believe that there is a God, but the cold facts are hindering me."
Hesta raised her head: "...why?"
Li Ge said a long "Hmm": "For no reason, I just think a world with ghosts and gods is more interesting."
"There are ghosts and gods, but the world is still in this terrible state?"
"There is no contradiction. God can exist, but maybe He has no feelings for humans." Rico laughed, "I find it quite romantic to think about the ways a God can choose to live in this world."
"Then you don't necessarily have to rely on God?" Hesta said softly, "As a person from the Iron Age, if you bring her to this ship, she will probably think that this place is a miracle. You are living a life that is unimaginable at the moment. Law may just be a common life scene at some point in the future."
Li Ge raised his eyebrows slightly and agreed: "I agree - if I can become a brain in a vat in the future and gain eternal life in the virtual world, I can also leave these ghosts and ghosts behind. "
Hesta fell silent again.
Rico looked at her expression: "This choice also makes you feel pessimistic?"
"I'm just thinking that after the brain in the vat is realized, the things people will do to others may...will definitely be cruel beyond the imagination of our generation." Hesta said softly, "...wait until someone starts Who can protect the brain in the vat if you are acting recklessly?"
Rico took a deep breath and looked at Hesta with a smile.
"Why are you looking at me like this..."
"You are too strong."
"Being strong," Hestad was puzzled, "How can this be considered strong? I thought it was just people's most basic self-preservation instinct..."
"You see, there are actually only two ways for people to reach ultimate freedom," Rico clapped his fingers. "One relies on ghosts and gods, and the other relies on technology. In the end, you feel that neither path is feasible."
Hesta didn't answer immediately. She looked at the ceiling of the room.
"Yes... I don't believe in this. Maybe I just don't believe in any ultimate solution. Once some kind of blueprint coaxes people to stop fighting, I will suspect that all that is left is eternal slavery..."
Rico looked into Hesta's eyes and smiled.
"You know, that friend of mine told me that she thinks there are two kinds of atheists in the world. One is utilitarian atheism like me and her. We don't believe in God because we believe that everything is under the guise of People under the guise of religion have their own agenda, and there is no true God in this world. But if one day this fact is broken, we will immediately change, convert, or practice, and pursue what the secular world cannot give us.
"As for the other kind of atheist, even if a miracle comes to her, she will never believe it, because for them, atheism is a belief in survival, and it has nothing to do with whether God exists, even if there is a real existence in the world. She would rather turn her back if she was obsessed... She called this kind of person an atheist with absolute conviction.
"You're the latter, aren't you?"
"Really..." Hesta murmured in a low voice, making a vague whisper, "Yes, everything requires... constant struggle."
(End of chapter)
