WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 329: Return (12)

──────

The Brigadier General’s call changed hands several times. Each time, the rank on the other end seemed to climb higher. At first, the Brigadier General had spoken casually a few times, but later the tone grew formal. The other side sometimes fell silent, but for people whose secret work had been exposed, their reactions were almost absurdly concise. Gyeoul guessed that the people involved in this matter might already have had a scenario prepared for a situation like this.

‘Right. I should assume there’s a response manual. Considering what this is...’

At first, he had thought it strange that the Full Gospel Saints had remained at Fort Roberts. If biological experiments were being conducted under government supervision, then once Gyeoul had been designated as the next base commander, shouldn’t they have changed the experimental site? The best option would have been to assign Gyeoul to a different post entirely.

There was a chance it was a simple administrative mistake. Coordination between different agencies was often inefficient. In that case, though, the natural fallback would have been to delay the unit’s relocation and his appointment. Even a sudden training order would have worked as a stopgap. One way or another, keeping him away from the experiment site should have been the top priority. Yet the authorities had taken no action at all. It might not be impossible, but it was exactly the kind of inefficiency that should have raised alarms.

Dragging Gyeoul into it was even more unreasonable. It made no sense that the agencies involved would not know Gyeoul’s disposition. Countless reports must have gone up by now, including the FBI Supervisory Special Agent’s report on his activities in San Francisco. Recruiting someone who had suffered because of biological experiments into the people involved in biological experiments? That was nonsense.

Besides, Gyeoul had plenty of other uses. Even leaving aside his own influence, it meant he would be difficult to dispose of if something went wrong. You did not put all your eggs in one basket.

So Gyeoul assumed the worst.

‘If the ones conducting the experiment didn’t know about my appointment in advance...’

In other words, if remnants of the True Patriots, or some organization on their level, had been conducting secret experiments without the government’s knowledge. In that case, Brigadier General Laughlin would be one of them. Maybe the conversation just exchanged over the phone had included some prearranged signal, and instead of the officer in charge of the Medical Service Corps, a heavily armed mobile strike force would soon arrive. Killing Gyeoul would be a heavy burden, but they could detain him until countermeasures were in place. What came after that could be dealt with later.

That was why Gyeoul had arranged a few safeguards before coming here. Deliberately provoking the Brigadier General was part of the same thinking. As if Laughlin had reached the same conclusion through his own reasoning, the Brigadier General gave a deep, bitter smile.

“What a cautious attitude. From your position, I suppose the existence of a private organization inside the military would look suspicious... Well, there have been some ugly concerns raised within the Army lately. The organization has grown so large that, paradoxically, useful people are becoming rare, and even the officer sponsorship customs they say existed back in World War II are showing signs of revival...”

Laughlin shook his head in disgust.

“Good grief. I’m under a truly absurd suspicion myself. I understand, but I’m a little hurt... Wait a moment. Major Campbell said he would arrive within twenty minutes.”

That was an odd amount of time if Campbell was flying in. Gyeoul asked,

“Is Major Campbell inside the base?”

“Hasn’t left in nearly a month. Same for the Department of Homeland Security person coming along. In fact, quite a few people are stationed there. I don’t know the exact number, but I can make a rough guess from the supplies going in. At least forty, maybe? Their tastes must be refined, because they won’t eat heat-and-serve meals.”

The meaning under Laughlin’s words was that the Brigadier General had paid enough attention to know even minor details like their diet, but only as part of the responsibility of base command. Deeper involvement had been avoided.

Gyeoul asked again.

“Sir. Have you never once thought you should check what was going on in there? It must have weighed on you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the Brigadier General sighed.

“As I said before, I wanted to put on a star. I had just put one on, and I didn’t want to take off the uniform over pointless trouble. In any case, this was outside my duties. I was asked to cooperate through proper procedure... You can probably guess why I’m telling you this much.”

As Laughlin said, a general’s position was political, and from that perspective, Gyeoul’s political value would seem greater than that of an ordinary Lieutenant Colonel.

At the same time, it was also an explanation that Laughlin had not used improper connections to make general.

During the break in the conversation, a new track began to play from the audio system. Song Ye-kyung’s guitar playing showed no particular technical flourishes, but the warm tone unique to classical guitar blended softly with Song Ye-kyung’s singing. The simply plucked nylon strings created a lonely mood.

While they waited, Brigadier General Laughlin listened with chin propped on one hand, then spoke as if something had just occurred to Laughlin.

“Did you know? They say the summit of Mount Everest is full of all kinds of trash. Food, tents, and all sorts of other mountaineering gear abandoned over decades by climbers from around the world. Ah, and excrement too, apparently. It’s too cold up there for anything to rot away.”

Gyeoul tilted his head inwardly and answered,

“Yes. I remember hearing that.”

“When someone says they’re climbing the highest peak in the world, it sounds to other people like an extremely noble, magnificent challenge... But in reality, aren’t they climbing toward that filthy heap? Once they get up there, they throw away the burdens and things they no longer need. Yet when they come down, they all act noble, and the world treats them like heroes. Says they overcame the limits of humanity.”

“...I see.”

“Thanks to that, the peak not only gets dirtier every time people climb it, it even grows a little higher. Perpetual snow piles on top of trash, and more trash piles on top of that. When they started charging a fee to clean it up, more people began trying to climb in secret... and many of them die on the way up. The thought just struck me. Isn’t the world people live in exactly like that?”

“...”

“People still want to climb.”

“Sir. There are also people who carry trash down from the summit.”

“Of course. The problem is that they’re relatively rare.”

The Brigadier General gave an unpracticed smile.

After several more tracks from the album played, the exhaust note of an engine stopped nearby. Gyeoul soon heard overlapping bootsteps. Once those steps reached the corridor, Brigadier General Laughlin looked even more uncomfortable. The staff officer connected through the internal line reported who they were.

After a polite knock, two people entered the room. Two military police waited outside the door.

‘A face I don’t know, as expected.’

He remembered Campbell, but the Department of Homeland Security official was unfamiliar to Gyeoul. If it had been Brock Hunt, whom he had met before at Calpine 5, the identity would have been certain.

After they exchanged salutes, the official showed an ID and introduced themself.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul. I am Ashton C. West, Branch Chief West of the DHS Quarantine Security Office, California Central military government office branch.”

Brigadier General Laughlin had called Campbell the person in charge, but from the feel of it, Branch Chief West seemed to hold authority over security issues. Campbell only glanced at West and had yet to speak.

West sat diagonally to Gyeoul’s left and got straight to the point.

“I hear you suspect biological experiments inside the residence district?”

“...I judged that there was a possibility. There is the precedent of the 「True Patriots」.”

“That is reasonable. We also came this far while tracking those bastards.”

West nodded in a businesslike manner and took several forms out of the bag. Looking them over, Gyeoul saw they were nondisclosure agreements, and there was more than one. Brigadier General Laughlin cleared his throat.

“Branch Chief. Would it be better if I stepped out now?”

“No. In any case, this was a signature we needed to receive before you left, General. This is a matter where knowing vaguely that something happened here is more dangerous than knowing nothing at all.”

“...Are you saying it’s less dangerous if I know the details? That you have that much confidence?”

“Yes. We only finished the investigation two days ago, but at least our side is not at fault.”

Branch Chief West fell silent for a moment. West’s gaze stayed on the agreements. Before receiving signatures, and in order to receive them, West seemed to be gauging how much to say.

At last, West added an explanation.

“If we insist on assigning ultimate responsibility, the government does bear responsibility for the actions of the True Patriots. It failed to manage its own organization. But even those lunatics were only indirect collaborators in this matter. They helped fanatics spread both their faith and their disease, and they studied them. Of course, the research itself was extremely unethical.”

“Spread both their faith and disease? What, did Morgellons run through them or something?”

“Something similar.”

A simple affirmation. Only after a few seconds did Brigadier General Laughlin’s face twist.

“Even this much is already more than I am authorized to disclose. I assume you would be uncomfortable signing first while knowing nothing. Now, both of you, please agree to confidentiality. Since this is a top-secret matter related to national security, anyone who refuses to sign may face consequences.”

As West said this, Branch Chief West tapped the forms on the table with an index finger. A calm gaze behind the glasses turned toward Gyeoul.

“You expected at least this much too, did you not, Lieutenant Colonel?”

It was meaningless to ask whether West could guarantee everything said so far. If they had something truly serious to hide, there would have been an attempt to detain him by force by now.

‘I’ll have to watch longer to know for sure... But I should assume they’re confident they can persuade me. With truth, or with lies.’

Receiving an agreement did not make everything perfectly safe, did it? Gyeoul took out a pen and signed the document. Brigadier General Laughlin, who had been narrowing his eyes at the scratching of the pen tip, finally filled in a copy as well. West collected the forms, checked the signatures, photographed them, and tucked them into the bag. Then, without even looking over, West said,

“Dr. Campbell. You may speak now. A detailed explanation would be better coming from you, the expert.”

Campbell, flushed, declared as if waiting for the moment.

“Please do not be shocked. We have discovered a person with partial immunity to Morgellons.”

After saying this, Campbell watched Brigadier General Laughlin’s and Gyeoul’s expressions, like a child unwrapping a present. But neither the Brigadier General nor Gyeoul gave the reaction Campbell wanted. The nuance of “partial” made the shock feel incomplete. Their perspective could not help differing from that of an expert.

Branch Chief West pointed it out.

“Do not drag this out. Including you, there is nobody here who isn’t busy.”

“...Ah, yes.”

As Campbell frowned, Gyeoul asked,

“Is that person with partial immunity Pastor Park Tae-sun, by any chance?”

“That is correct. Pastor Park, that man. How did you know?”

“He had seemed suspicious for a while.”

Since Brigadier General Laughlin had not relayed everything Gyeoul had said over the phone, Campbell looked curious about what had seemed suspicious. But for now, Campbell’s explanation came first. Gyeoul asked again.

“What exactly does partial immunity mean?”

“Mm... First, could you look at this? Please understand that it is somewhat repulsive.”

After asking for understanding, Campbell took out a tablet and opened a photo album from a specific directory. It was filled with images of people whose skin had rotted in various ways. They were categorized by number, not name. By coincidence, Hwangbo Esther was among them. Only two-thirds of her once youthful face remained.

“When we found these patients in an isolated environment while following the trail of the True Patriots, the Medical Service Corps judged these symptoms to be a form of necrotizing fasciitis. To put it simply, it is a disease where the soft tissue at the infected area... meaning biological tissue other than muscle, begins rotting like a corpse. The fatality rate is extremely high, while contagiousness is generally low. The cause is bacterial infection. It usually appears as a complication of streptococcal infection.”

Campbell swiped through the tablet screen. New photographs kept flashing past.

“But once we secured the research records left by the True Patriots and examined the patients’ tissue samples, we realized that was not it. As it turned out, these symptoms were an immune rejection reaction caused by Morgellons. The patients had maintained their reason, and the progression pattern was different as well, so it was difficult to notice.”

For an instant, Gyeoul wondered if this was the same type of case he had seen aboard the April Pacific, but if so, they would not have used the phrase partial immunity. As Campbell had said, even the visible symptoms were different.

Brigadier General Laughlin frowned.

“Are you certain? No matter how I look at them, they have nothing in common with mutants...”

Campbell nodded.

“That is because what infected them was not normal Morgellons.”

“Not normal Morgellons?”

“Yes. These people were indirectly infected because they drank water diluted with the blood of an infected person with partial immunity... the pseudo-religious leader Lieutenant Colonel Han mentioned earlier, Pastor Park. They drank it as so-called holy water. Pastor Park has antibodies against one of the pathogens that make up the Morgellons complex.”

“...”

“After taking this man’s statement, I found he was quite a pitiful fool. He was bitten by a mutant while leaving his homeland. But the wound healed with astonishing speed, and instead of turning into a monster, he grew more energetic as time passed. In the end, he came to believe he had been chosen by God. Then, after his flesh belatedly began to rot and his body started hurting, he became terrified and came to his senses...”

Campbell clicked his tongue.

“...Now he is terrified that the believers will realize the truth too. He is fated to die anyway, but he does not want to be beaten to death, so he is busily pretending to be the Second Coming of Jesus. What was it again? His rotting flesh is stigmata and proof of suffering? Pathetic.”

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried