Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 51: The War of the Worlds

< Chapter 51: The War of the Worlds – 1 >

“Is this the new novel you are planning to publish, my lord?”

“Yes.”

“The War of the Worlds… Is it a novel about war? Come to think of it, there hasn’t been a major war recently.”

“The Empire doesn’t need to expand its territory, and no other nation has the capability to invade the Empire.”

The ‘Empire’ itself was like a small continent. After the reigns of the two emperors known as the ‘Conquering King’ and the ‘Fortunate King,’ all the territories of the western continent fell under the Empire’s domain.

Beyond the mountains to the east lay the Harren Kingdom and a few small autonomous states like the Seidel Republic….

From the Empire’s perspective, there was no need to expand its territory further.

Because of this, ‘war’ in the Empire after the Fortunate King almost always meant ‘civil war.’

“Thinking about it, it really is a peaceful era.”

“Indeed.”

After exchanging some light banter about history and current affairs, Sion began to read the manuscript as usual. He seemed quite engrossed, letting out exclamations here and there.

After turning the final page of the manuscript, Sion nodded in admiration.

“Martians, huh… So there are ‘monsters’ like this in outer space. If the Martians were to invade, even the Empire’s army wouldn’t be able to withstand them easily.”

“Really?”

“Your insight is quite remarkable, my lord.”

Oh.

Come to think of it, this was a ‘sword and magic fantasy’ world.

There really wasn’t much difference between monsters and aliens here.

* * *

Herbert George Wells’ novel, ‘The War of the Worlds,’ is a story about an alien invasion.

One of the key features of Herbert George Wells’ novels is the frequent appearance of Darwinian, or evolutionary and biological, science fiction settings.

This was largely influenced by his mentor, the biologist ‘Thomas Henry Huxley.’

‘The War of the Worlds’ also dealt with the ecology and weaknesses of the ‘Martians’ from an evolutionary perspective.

I had been a bit worried that people in this world might find it difficult to accept.

“This novel is really fascinating! Are you planning to serialize it in ‘Herodotus’?”

“Yes.”

“Personally, I prefer the ‘Homer’ series a bit more. But still, this War of the Worlds novel is incredibly interesting. Nowadays, many people are curious about space because of adventure novels, so the timing seems perfect.”

“I see….”

The people in this world accepted the story of ‘The War of the Worlds’ more easily than I had expected.

Sion did, and so did Lady Es, who was standing before me.

In fact, the topic of ‘evolution’ itself wasn’t that unfamiliar to the people of this world.

“What do you think about evolution, Lady Es?”

“Evolution?”

There was no Darwin or ‘On the Origin of Species’ in this world, but there were statistical data and knowledge far beyond that.

Extremely advanced statistical methodologies had already been applied to animal husbandry, agriculture, and sociology. Of course, that didn’t mean Mendelian ‘genetics’ existed here either.

“A child resembles their parents due to the influence of magic, right? A child is conceived as a part of their parents, inheriting their potential completely, and since ‘the Lord’ created humans in His own image, according to these myths, the created beings resemble their creator. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s the general perception….”

“Are there any other reasons?”

“No, um.”

It seemed difficult to explain the concept of genetics in this world.

‘Origin of Species’ was also a book about the phenomenon of evolution, not about genetic principles.

Moreover, unlike my previous life, in this world, even the theory of use and disuse was convincing. In this world, magic actually influenced the development of children in a phenomenal way. The children of the emperor, who committed countless purges, inherited his oppressive charisma in the same context.

“Not much is known about the ecology of monsters! This Martian monster─ you said it’s not a monster but an alien, right? Anyway, this Martian is similar to monsters in that it preys on human blood. It’s kind of like a vampire.”

“Do vampires really exist?”

“Who knows! They say they existed in ancient myths. Even if dragons and vampires really existed, wouldn’t humans have hunted them all down?”

“That’s true.”

Speaking of dragons, I was reminded of the ‘Lazy King,’ who was once the king of the Harren Kingdom.

I wondered what he was up to now. He seemed like someone who would get along well with my father.

Anyway, the existence of aliens was perceived by the people of this world as a kind of monster from beyond the planet.

“The process of pioneering the Great Forest has caused severe mana contamination, increasing the number of mutant monsters─ maybe this book about interstellar war will raise awareness about mutant monsters.”

“Did something like that happen?”

“You don’t need to worry. Hehe. The Imperial Army is strong.”

Lady Es continued with a playful smile.

“Even if ‘Martians’ really invade, the Imperial Army will protect you, so don’t worry and focus on your writing. Author.”

“Yes. That’s reassuring.”

* * *

Amidst the great interest in the unknown beyond the lands where people lived,

‘War of the Worlds’ began to be serialized.

“Oh, this time it’s a novel about space!”

“If it’s a Herodotus novel, it’s trustworthy!”

Curiosity about the vast, new world of space quickly captivated people with the novel ‘War of the Worlds.’ The fact that Herodotus guaranteed the truthfulness of ‘The Adventures of the Bluster Duke,’ a travelogue, further fueled this trend.

People considered this ‘War of the Worlds’ novel to be a kind of hero novel set in space.

[“This is not a war.”]

[“Just as there was no war between humans and ants, you cannot call this a war.”]

Soon, they witnessed humans thoroughly kneeling before the overwhelming technology of the aliens.

Of course, this did not pose a significant problem.

Most people accepted it as just another war novel.

“Oh my, is the magic of the aliens really this powerful? What is this heat ray? Is it some kind of magic that controls light?”

“Eeeek!!!”

“Shouldn’t we send the army immediately to exterminate them? If these Martian monsters really invade our planet, it would be a disaster!”

However, some people became excessively immersed in the existence of these ‘Martians’, truly believing they existed out there in space.

They even argued that we should invade Mars first, fearing that Martians might invade someday.

“Stop talking nonsense! How can there possibly be something like Martians? It’s just a novel!”

“Then, do you know what’s on those planets in the night sky?”

“Well, no, but at least such monsters can’t really exist!”

“Isn’t that something we can’t be sure of! After all, isn’t the only person who has seen what’s up in the sky Duke Kapeter? What if writer Herodotus wrote this novel after hearing from him?”

“That can’t be, uh, maybe, could it?”

“The Martian invasion is imminent!”

As a result, numerous doomsayers predicted a Martian invasion, and serious columns or editorials about the possibility of an alien invasion started spreading through newspapers.

And the conclusion was simple.

“First, we need to find out what’s out there beyond our planet!”

“That’s right! If you think about it, we know too little about this world! Illuminating the darkness marked on the map is the sacred mission given to us by the Lord!”

“Let’s illuminate the darkness! Let’s light up the night sky!”

Just as adventure novels led to the exploration of many unknown lands, ‘The War of the Worlds’ sparked interest in another unknown land, ‘space’.

This led to massive investments in astronomy.

And the scholars at the forefront of astronomical research were─.

“Greetings. I am Plot Vherdin, the Tower Lord of the White Magic Tower. Please call me Plot.”

“Oh, yes.”

It was the White Magic Tower that made a profession of observing and recording ‘space’.

According to Grey Magic Tower’s Chief Mage Millie Cléang, they were irresponsible mages with a wandering spirit.

“It’s an honor to meet the author of ‘Principia’, writer Herodotus.”

* * *

“It was incredibly impressive how you defined the movements of celestial bodies using the tool of mathematics. While we also meticulously record the stars in the celestial sphere, your method allows us to predict the future positions of stars more accurately through calculations, rather than just relying on past records.”

“Yes.”

The Tower Lord of the White Magic Tower was very polite.

Despite that, his passionate talk about magic gave off the impression of a natural-born scholar.

“Our White Magic Tower possesses the most advanced observational technology and experience among all the magic towers. We also observe weather conditions through instruments and predict future weather, which is part of our role.”

“Oh.”

So that’s how the weather forecasts appeared in the newspapers despite the lack of a meteorological agency. It turned out to be the work of the White Magic Tower.

They were far more capable than I had imagined.

“In addition, we operate several observatories and consistently observe ‘Mars’. As we were also pondering over the traces of life observed on Mars, we wanted to hear writer Herodotus’ opinions, which is why we came to see you.”

“…Excuse me?”