Having completed the basic theory of magic, humanity began researching applications of that theory in various fields without a break. Each country, in pursuit of their own interests, invested heavily in this research and recruited top scientists in rapid succession. These scientists, too, were striving to develop new technologies in this new field in a favorable environment. At the forefront of applied legal research was a semi-state-run research institute in the United States of America where three up-and-coming young minds were gathered.
“Oh my god! He's smoking in the lab again!”
Aria, who had shoulder-length red hair and a folder tucked under her arm, opened the door and slid into the lab. She was the only woman in the group and was undeniably talented, having obtained a doctorate in information engineering in her teens. Her mature behavior made her seem older than her actual age, but the occasional gesture or mannerism still showed the face of an innocent young woman.
“Zip it. This ain't a cigarette.”
A man who was sitting by a window, looking listless, responded. Frederick was a tall man with a toned physique more like an athlete than a researcher. Two years older than Aria, he held a degree in particle physics and was a leading researcher in the recently established field of force of law energy physics.
“...Oh! You noticed then?”
“...No, not really... Sure, I noticed.”
“Aw, come on! Aren't you usually like, '“'You look good today, man,' or whatever? Ah, as expected. It gives me chills imagining you saying something sensible...”
With a sniff, Frederick looked away.
“Haha, that's quite dramatic...”
A slender man who served as the head of the laboratory appeared quietly, holding a steaming cup of coffee in both hands. He was also a young genius scientist who studied life science at a young age and played a role in the completion of the basic theory of the force of law and its mechanics. He had since shifted his major to bioinformatics, and as the head of the laboratory, he was leading the research on applied forensic mechanics.
“Oh, good morning! It's getting warmer, and the long hours are getting in the way of my work..."
"Mm, you're looking a lot brighter today.”
"Wow! Really?”
"Hmph, looks like you're finally getting out of your schoolboy mood...” Frederick said, bitterly.
"Haha... Here, Frederick. Be careful, it's hot.”
He handed him the cup of freshly brewed black coffee. Frederick took the cup silently and sipped it.
“...So, were you two up all night again?”
“Yeah, well, I must admit I wasn't working. We got into a little bit of a conversation...”
“I wouldn't call five hours 'little'..."
Frederick looked disinterested, and then he said venomously, "Ugh, five hours. I don't know how you two don't get bored... So, what were you talking about?”
“We were talking about events that still remain controversial in our time.”
"What a disappointment. That's not much different than talking about your job...”
Aria sighed. Frederick, ignoring her, continued, “We and science are not all-powerful. There are things we can't understand or solve.”
“I don't deny that, of course. What I am saying is that there is a difference between 'events we cannot unravel due to our lack of understanding' and 'events we cannot perceive in the first place.'”
“What do you mean by 'imperceptible events?'"
“For example... Yes, the existence of God. Let's put aside religious belief for the moment, but we can understand the concept of God. But we have not scientifically proven the actual existence of God.”
“God is God, and that's it. Apparently whoever believes in Him will be saved.”
“I used a bad metaphor. Let's talk about something more familiar. Our bodies are composed of about 60 trillion cells, whose roles are determined by DNA. In the 20th century, we finally figured out how this worked.”
“You're the one with the expertise..."
Frederick nodded arrogantly then sipped his coffee.
“But we don't truly know by whom or even how this mechanism was constructed. ”
“Who said that..? It was the result of trial and error woven by nature, wasn't it? If you fail, you start over. If you succeed, you move on to the next step. Of course, there must have been mutations.”
"Aria... Do you think that all of this, including the mutations, is an accident of nature?"
“I don't see how it could be any other way...”
“That's far too stochastic. Though, probability theory is your area of expertise.”
"Probabilistically, you're right. But what else is there?”
An impatient Frederick urged him on.
“Sorry, Frederick. Let's jump to a conclusion. What kind of being has the power to direct the course of events in a single direction? A being that defines in detail the course of every event in the world.”
“Alright, so that would be a god, then?”
“It is close to that concept. Let's call it 'God'. And if 'God' is something we cannot perceive fundamentally..."
“Even if it did exist, what's there to be worried about..?“
“Do you know what a 'missing link' is? It's a term used to describe a significant gap in the expected continuity of an event when a discontinuity is observed. To use a simple biological analogy, it's a situation in which the existence of Species B, which should have occurred during the evolutionary process from Species A to Species C, is completely missing. So, how does the missing link occur? I believe that this phenomenon is a control error by 'God'. In other words, 'God's' definition of events does not always work as it should. So... why then does a control error occur? Is the mechanism itself flawed, or is it encouraged to mutate by a third party..? I believe it is the latter. That is to say, a "third party" intervenes in the evolution from Species A to Species B, which was determined by 'God' as the natural course of events, and suggests evolution to Species C... or eliminates the possibility of evolution to Species B. In any case, the original evolution was to evolve to Species C via Species B, but the "third party" rewrites the program to evolve directly to Species C. I call this third party 'divine revelation.'”
“W-wait a minute! That's not easy to understand at all...”
Aria pouted. Frederick saw this and followed by folding his arms.
“It isn't necessary to increase the length of a 1-meter giraffe's neck from 2 meters to 3 meters to 4 meters to make it 10 meters long. Make it 10 meters all at once. Rewrite its DNA. However, he's saying that this rewriting of DNA is not the work of a god but some kind of 'revelation.'”
“I get the logic, but it's a bit far-fetched. Besides, if it's a being that encourages successful evolution, then what's the problem?”
“No, that's not always the case. There are a small number of extinct species among those for which the missing link has been identified. The ultimate goal of biological evolution is the perpetuation of a species. Therefore, extinct species cannot be considered an evolutionary success story. This is also true for us humans. If 'divine revelation' intervenes and forces us to evolve in the wrong direction while we are trying to evolve properly, we are doomed.”
The tone grew more serious and the color drained from Aria's face.
"...Aria, it's all bullshit. Don't take it seriously.”
“Haha, that's a heartless thing to say, Frederick. Call it a hypothesis.”
“Ok, so what do you really think, Fred?”
"It's best if you find your own way. I couldn't stand it being decided for me... That's all."
“I'm glad. We're on the same page, then...”
