"… What?"
Annan looked shocked.
The answer really surprised him.
He fell into a deep confusion.
How on earth did Nicholas do it? An artificial human who does not need a parent...
"Before answering this question," Bishop Darryl whispered, taking a book from the shelf, "Have you ever heard of the 'Gift of the Cup' ceremony?"
"Sounds like a ceremony for the cup-bearer."
"Indeed."
Darryl said, sitting back on the sofa.
Maybe it's because he's getting old, or because he's put on weight again, but just walking a few steps makes him a little tired.
After the fat bald bishop sat down, he put the thick book on the table and let out a long breath. He gulped down the slightly cold black tea in his cup.
Afterwards, he flipped the pages of the book and explained in a low voice: "Although the girl holding the cup is a righteous god, desire is also the cornerstone of human beings. However, in many places, publicly acknowledging the belief in the girl holding the cup will still be considered frivolous and frivolous by the public. Even despicable behavior.
"However, even so, many noble families still openly believe in cup-bearers. But this does not necessarily mean that they are indulging in sensuality... but to practice the ritual of 'the gift of the cup'.
"If you want to perform this ceremony, you must publicly believe in the cup girl for at least nine years, and hold a formal and public worship ceremony every September. Then prepare a pure gold cup, which is filled with the caster's cup. A portion of uncorrupted blood is preserved each month for nine months.
"Afterwards, the caster needs to add a tube... of liquid with its own genetic information, and then cover it. After that, every month, the liquid level in the cup will drop by one-ninth, gradually revealing the embryos in the cup; And after nine months, a newborn baby will appear in the cup.
"—that is, the so-called 'child in the cup'."
Darryl replied.
... clones
This should be an emergency measure when the bloodline cannot be inherited... For example, infertility
Annan was taken aback for a moment, and asked, "Then this cup... is it exactly the same as the caster
"It's roughly the same. And on this basis, their bloodlines will be optimized, their appearance will become more beautiful, and their intelligence and physical strength will be more outstanding. Although they can't be called the children of the cup-holding girl, they will also get some of his characteristics. …
"Therefore, when some families completely cut off their bloodlines due to certain reasons."
Speaking, Darryl took a deep look at Annan, and then slowly replied: "They will hold the 'Gift of the Cup' ceremony.
"The Cupwoman does not require them to maintain faith in themselves. So after the baby is born, it is possible to renounce the belief in the Cupwoman... But as long as this ritual is used, it will leave traces of the Cupwoman—that is, Eyes turn red.
"And the family with red eyes will still get a child if they perform the 'Gift of Cup' again, but the bloodline will not continue to be optimized. It will only get a child with similar talent to the caster.
"That's why there will be some merchant families who can buy gold cups, or noble families who rarely have a 'genius' born in their families. When they hope to continue the glory of a generation of families, this ceremony will also be held. But in more cases, it is still When the bloodline is about to be cut off, the 'last resort' is used when leaving seeds.
"—And this is a typical 'artificial human that needs a sample of the father or mother'. Although it borrows the power of the righteous god, it is not operated by the cup girl, nor is it the magic of the cup girl .
"'Ritual' is a power that belongs to humans, not gods. This kind of artificial human is still an unnaturally born life in essence."
When Bishop Darryl said this, he paused: "I think you have guessed it."
"... For example, Noah's royal family?"
Annan asked softly.
If he wanted to talk about the red-eyed family, he could only think of this...
Bishop Darryl nodded slowly.
… I see.
This statement answers one of Annan's doubts.
That's why Philip dared to openly believe in the cup-bearer as the heir to the royal family in a country that widely believed in silver knights. It wouldn't even be considered bad conduct by others.
This is rather a tradition.
Because Noah's royal family has actually cut off their blood once. Now it's renewed...
When exactly was it cut off
Thinking about it carefully, Annan seems to have never heard of any brothers and sisters that His Majesty the King has.
Perhaps in the generation of Henry VIII's father, the natural blood has been completely cut off.
Suddenly, an idea came to Annan's mind:
—Could it be that Nicholas appears in Noah and not elsewhere simply because Henry VIII is an artificial man
"What about Nicholas?"
After understanding that artificial humans do exist in this world, Annan immediately noticed the problem: "Is his technology for creating artificial humans better than that of the cup-wielding girl?"
Hearing what Annan said, Darryl sighed.
"You are really smart, Your Highness Annan. And you are very sharp...
"You may have been right about what you said earlier—what Nicholas created could indeed be called a monster.
"But it's not because they're ugly, or because they're not intelligent. It's just the opposite...
"The androids Nicholas built were handsome and beautiful even by the strictest standards of beauty. You could call them synthetics—made with the Hermetic Philosopher's Stone and some cheap materials, in a flask A synthetic human that can be easily synthesized in .
"Their bodies are strong and healthy, they are free from disease, they are even very intelligent, and they are very united with each other-considering the convenience of implanting common sense and life, Nicholas tied their minds together and shared a soul from the very beginning. Therefore, there will be no conflicts between his creations, and the efficiency of work and study is also very high. It would be better to say "they", or "it", or even "he".
"I have to admit that this is indeed a better species than humans. Nicholas did create new life and a new race... just like a god.
"However, there is a fatal problem in his creation. The person who discovered the problem is the moth mother who is in charge of the principle of 'breeding'."
"Although these creations can be born only by relying on the Philosopher's Stone, without the need for human flesh and blood. But after birth... they can reproduce normally through the relationship between men and women, just like humans. However, with humans, But no offspring can be born."
Annan's pupils dilated slightly.
What does he realize: "So they... ended up getting out of hand?"
"No."
Darryl said bluntly: "If there are twelve righteous gods watching, the situation will get out of control, then this will be the disaster of the era.
"But it's actually not too far from the Calamity of the Ages—they didn't get out of control, not because they couldn't, but because we found out in time.
"A race that serves as an all-round superior replacement for human beings, has been instilled into the entire human society, has the same appearance and appearance as humans, but is reproductively isolated from humans, and can reproduce as quickly as humans... For humans, they are more powerful than elves and horses. Many people are scary.
"That's how Nicholas died, and that's what he was charged with.
"In the end, after his death, all his research results and writings were completely destroyed, all the produced Hermetic Philosopher's Stones were completely destroyed, all synthetic humans were captured, executed and burned, and the corpses were destroyed. It was completely destroyed. The memories of the transcendent who knew about this incident have been cleaned. Therefore, even in nightmares, there will be no traces of this incident.
"From the point of view of an alchemist, Nicholas is indeed the greatest alchemist in the world, the second Hermes. He truly accomplished the great deeds of a god in a human body...
"But he betrayed all mankind for his great cause."
Darryl said slowly: "That's why I said, if that person is really Nicholas. Even if it's just related to him...
"Then we will be in big trouble, Your Highness Annan."