Elegy from Another World

Several days passed in tense preparation. Mia Reilly kept her promise and flew back to the dilapidated church in the T-917 world, conveying to the various forms of data worm life as much as she could think of the simplest and most direct way possible the "truth" she knew—the virtual nature of the world, the potential "upper-level observers," and the unknown risks that we might face by following us.

To be honest, watching those worms acting on instinct and simple logic, I found it hard to judge how much they actually understood. They buzzed around Mia Leili, their meanings unclear; some seemed agitated, while others remained calm. But in any case, Mia Leili had fulfilled her obligation to inform them.

Ultimately, after a series of "communications" or "choices" that defy description, approximately 80 percent of the worms, including the highly intelligent, stick figure-like L-7C1F, chose to leave with us to embrace that uncertain "reality." They gathered around Mia Reilly, expressing their will through their actions.

We naturally kept our promise and decided to find them a relatively safe and stable world, free from powerful predators or harsh environments, as their new home. However, a practical problem arose: the Dreil, due to a damaged pleasure converter, lacked sustainable energy and was unable to carry out large-scale transport. The only vessel available was the Ring, with its relatively independent energy reserves.

Thus began a long and tedious "relocation". The Ring-belt became a small truck of an interplanetary moving company, carrying batches of data worms between the T-917 world and a gentle, data-smooth "garden world" that we had carefully selected.

This process was extremely time-consuming. The Ring's cargo hold had limited capacity, allowing it to transport only a few dozen to a hundred worms at a time (depending on their size). To ensure their safe release and initial acclimatization in the new environment, we also needed to stay at the destination for observation for a period of time. Thus, loading, sailing, unloading, observation, return... the cycle repeated itself.

For a whole week, we were practically repeating this process. Norrelljohn complained incessantly about this "babysitting" work, but I managed to silence him by saying, "This is also for the final showdown with R-Muthko." M-Tini Guquela was quite quiet, spending most of her time learning Professor Edseys' driving techniques. As for me, I, along with Mia Reilly, was responsible for coordinating and calming down the worms that might become uneasy during the transport.

As the last flight ended and the Ring slowly departed from the world we had named "New Nursery," we all breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Finally... it's over." I leaned back in my seat, feeling more exhausted than if I had fought a battle.

Mia Leili flew over and projected the final statistics list onto me, her small face showing a hint of pride mixed with a touch of apology: "Lisma, the statistics are complete. We successfully transferred a total of 1,540 'children'."

"Five hundred and forty?!" I looked at the number and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mia, you... you saved way too many! How did that little chapel fit so many 'people' inside?"

Mia Leili rubbed her hands together shyly, her cheeks flushing. "Well... we should save as many as we can, it's...it's a doctor's duty. And..." her voice trailed off, almost inaudibly, "some...some of them I personally...gave birth to..."

I was stunned for a moment, then it dawned on me: "Uh...so, your...children are in here too?"

"Hmm..." Mia Leili's head was almost buried in her wings, and her ears were bright red.

Looking at this little fairy, whose appearance resembled an exquisite doll, I felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, I was amazed by her "productivity," but on the other hand, a hint of worry arose. I carefully chose my words and cautiously asked, "Then... are you sure they won't complain later about you 'only giving birth but not raising' them? After all, you brought them into this world, and then you're going to 'abandon' them in a strange place."

Mia Leili looked up and quickly waved her hands to explain, "No, no! The vast majority of them don't possess that kind of advanced, complex autonomy and emotional needs. Their thought process is closer to... well... closer to the maintenance tentacles on the Dreil, acting on instinct and pre-set simple commands. Individuals like L-7C1F are extremely rare exceptions. My feelings for them are more of a responsibility as a creator and protector than a traditional parent-child relationship."

Hearing this explanation, I breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Oh, I see... alright then." At least it didn't sound like such a heavy moral burden anymore. I also didn't want to delve into how and why Mia Reilly, in her long life, in that dangerous virus world, "gave birth" to various forms of data life. That was probably a complex and possibly even painful past.

"Let's leave it at that," I patted her, ending the conversation. "The new home is ready for them; the rest is up to fate. We must now focus all our energy back on R-Muthko."

Mia Reilly nodded gratefully and carefully put away the list containing the lives of 1,540 people. The Ringbelt adjusted its course and accelerated back towards the Drew.