dawnelkin (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dawnelkin) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} baccano,@ 2008-01-01 01:12:00 |
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Translation: v1 The Rolling Bootlegs ch 2
Chapter 2, also known as the 'Prologue'. A relatively short chapter, which lulled me into a false sense of security =_= Chapter 3 is loooong...
Prologue
Year 1711 On the Atlantic Ocean Aboard a passenger ship called Advena Avis---
Alchemy.
Knowledge and techniques originating from Ancient Egypt and, at the same time, a culture.
This Egyptian art mixed in with Greek philosophy and hermetic tradition [1], then passed through Arabia and slowly seeped into Europe’s Renaissance.
Pursuit of this art was to turn cheap metals into gold, or to create life without the help of God’s hand. But the ultimate goal was to gain eternal life… No, even this doesn’t count as the “ultimate goal”. What alchemists seek is limitless. They will bury themselves in research to the end of their days seeking to make the impossible possible, but to be honest, once the impossible becomes “possible”, the ultimate goal will disappear. Until then they’re likely to continue pursuing the impossible, drowning themselves in hope and knowledge, or another way of putting it, lose themselves in the mission.
Times change constantly. In the chaos of the real world, alchemists could deeply appreciate the qualities needed by a hero- at times they were hindered by obstacles on all sides, and other times they were the target of others’ envy; all the while they had to push the boundaries of their art. But this kind of work was not fruitless… the alchemist Newton discovered gravity. Modern day scientists make all kinds of contributions to society. Alchemy is definitely not a fake academia.
But sometimes- alchemy is called a magical or mystical technique, and there are also some who try to blur the distinction between alchemy and science, wanting to merge to two into one entity.
Generally, it’s easy for ordinary people to mix alchemy and magic together, but in reality the two are completely different things. Among alchemists, there are those who snort at “external powers that cannot be explained by science”, which rely on magic and prayers as a medium… but of course there are others who dabble as an experiment.
Whether it be magic or demonic arts, if its existent can be confirmed then it is also possible to transform it into the “possible”- it’s just a question of opening that “impossible” toolkit.
-
This passenger ship, wrapped in the darkness of the night sky.
In the darkness… there were a group of people listening intently to the faraway “call”.
They were alchemists far away from home, seeking unchartered lands.
They were the ones who finally succeeded in summoning the ‘demon’ into the human realm, aboard this passenger ship.
“Did you call me a ‘demon’? Ah, never mind. [2] But until now, none of you have seen God or angels? Ah, never mind; it’s been 103 years since someone awoke me from my slumber. If only if you had been able to waken me three years ago… Ah, never mind. Ah, ‘ah, never mind’ is my pet phrase. Please don’t pay it too much mind… I am directly transmitting my voice into your brains, so this thing about pet phrases is a little strange. Ah, never mind.”
This super longwinded ‘demon’ abided by his own pledge, and agreed to pass down the “forbidden knowledge” to the alchemists who awakened him.
Alchemists said the following to the ‘demon’: “We want to learn everything about immortality.”
“This request… does it not suggest that you secretly wish you were immortal? Ah, never mind.”
On the ship’s deck… a utensil brimming with liquid was placed in the middle of the group of alchemists.
“You only have to drink this to become immortal. Everything that happens afterwards is for you all to decide. I may be immortal, but my way of thinking is completely different from you… Wait, wait. Calm down and listen well… From now onwards, if you tire of immortality and truly desire death…”
The ‘demon’ started teaching the alchemists how immortals can die.
“… You need to find others who have also drunk the elixir of immortality. After being found by one such person, place your own hand on the head of the one who wishes to die and think ‘I want to eat’. You only need to be determined to succeed. This way, you can absorb the one who seeks death into your right hand and that person’s life will end. This ‘eating’ is just a way to pass on all knowledge and abilities. The last one left will have accumulated all the knowledge and experiences of the thirty-odd people in here… If that last person too tires of immortality then summon me again. I will then ‘eat’ him to put an end to the matter… Also, saying all this unpleasant stuff first is dangerous… Among those who have drunk this elixir, it is forbidden to use false names to survive in this world. In your godless world there should be the following limitations… If it’s before ordinary people, then there is no problem in impersonating others every once in a while, but immortals must live by their true name because their bodies are resistant to everything this world can throw at them… Because if there wasn’t such a limitation, you may never be able to find each other…”
The present alchemists thought about it, then everyone split the elixir of immortality between them. The elixir, it had the scent of alcohol.
“Good, good … We still have to fulfil the contract of teaching everyone about the art of immortality, right... Although I’m not sure what you mean by all the people, for now I will teach you the recipe for the elixir. But I won’t tell everyone here, rather I will tell only the alchemist who summoned me. If the others want to know then ask him.”
As soon as the formless ‘demon’ finished his sentence he handed over the ‘Knowledge’ of the art of immortality to the alchemist who summoned him. The young alchemist still didn’t know what had happened, but he already understood that implanted within his brain is ‘Knowledge’ he completely couldn’t comprehend.
With that, the demon’s voice disappeared.
-
The man who received the ‘Knowledge’ stayed in his room, pondering the entire night.
He decided to tell the secret of immortality to his brother, who was on the same ship. However, he reached only halfway when a sudden thought occurred to him.
Thus, the next day, he said to everyone: “… I plan to seal this secret forever.”
Although all the alchemists objected to this proposal, his heart was set and he refused to change his mind.
Thus, that very night, it happened.
-
The man with the knowledge remained alert all night, worrying. In the middle of the night, he sensed someone entering his room and opened his eyes……… Standing at the centre of the room was one of his comrades.
And this comrade’s hand was placed on the head of his brother sleeping opposite him.
In just this instant he was already fully awake, but it was too late. His own brother, by his comrade … No, it was in that moment, like magic, his own brother was sucked into his comrade’s right hand.
-
“… No way, it’s already started?”
Witness to the scene occurring inside the ship’s hold, the ‘demon’ who had been watching all along in the darkness rambled to himself.
“This is all because of my instigation… Humans are really greedy. But watching their internal struggles is also quite interesting…”
The ‘demon’- that was what people called him- continued in a slightly melancholy voice,
“This time… should be more interesting.”
The ‘demon’’s voice already could not be heard. All that was left was empty darkness, empty space, as though the demon had never been there.
Afterwards, time flowed as usual.
[1] hermetic tradition: alchemy, magic, astrology and related subjects that are based off Hermes Trismegistus’ work, Hermetica
[2] ah, never mind (まあいい): this phrase has several meanings depending on the context- “but all right”, “whatever”, “never mind”, “it doesn’t matter”. I will keep to “Ah, never mind” for the sake of consistency, like in the novels.
Chapter 2, also known as the 'Prologue'. A relatively short chapter, which lulled me into a false sense of security =_= Chapter 3 is loooong...
Prologue
Year 1711 On the Atlantic Ocean Aboard a passenger ship called Advena Avis---
Alchemy.
Knowledge and techniques originating from Ancient Egypt and, at the same time, a culture.
This Egyptian art mixed in with Greek philosophy and hermetic tradition [1], then passed through Arabia and slowly seeped into Europe’s Renaissance.
Pursuit of this art was to turn cheap metals into gold, or to create life without the help of God’s hand. But the ultimate goal was to gain eternal life… No, even this doesn’t count as the “ultimate goal”. What alchemists seek is limitless. They will bury themselves in research to the end of their days seeking to make the impossible possible, but to be honest, once the impossible becomes “possible”, the ultimate goal will disappear. Until then they’re likely to continue pursuing the impossible, drowning themselves in hope and knowledge, or another way of putting it, lose themselves in the mission.
Times change constantly. In the chaos of the real world, alchemists could deeply appreciate the qualities needed by a hero- at times they were hindered by obstacles on all sides, and other times they were the target of others’ envy; all the while they had to push the boundaries of their art. But this kind of work was not fruitless… the alchemist Newton discovered gravity. Modern day scientists make all kinds of contributions to society. Alchemy is definitely not a fake academia.
But sometimes- alchemy is called a magical or mystical technique, and there are also some who try to blur the distinction between alchemy and science, wanting to merge to two into one entity.
Generally, it’s easy for ordinary people to mix alchemy and magic together, but in reality the two are completely different things. Among alchemists, there are those who snort at “external powers that cannot be explained by science”, which rely on magic and prayers as a medium… but of course there are others who dabble as an experiment.
Whether it be magic or demonic arts, if its existent can be confirmed then it is also possible to transform it into the “possible”- it’s just a question of opening that “impossible” toolkit.
-
This passenger ship, wrapped in the darkness of the night sky.
In the darkness… there were a group of people listening intently to the faraway “call”.
They were alchemists far away from home, seeking unchartered lands.
They were the ones who finally succeeded in summoning the ‘demon’ into the human realm, aboard this passenger ship.
“Did you call me a ‘demon’? Ah, never mind. [2] But until now, none of you have seen God or angels? Ah, never mind; it’s been 103 years since someone awoke me from my slumber. If only if you had been able to waken me three years ago… Ah, never mind. Ah, ‘ah, never mind’ is my pet phrase. Please don’t pay it too much mind… I am directly transmitting my voice into your brains, so this thing about pet phrases is a little strange. Ah, never mind.”
This super longwinded ‘demon’ abided by his own pledge, and agreed to pass down the “forbidden knowledge” to the alchemists who awakened him.
Alchemists said the following to the ‘demon’: “We want to learn everything about immortality.”
“This request… does it not suggest that you secretly wish you were immortal? Ah, never mind.”
On the ship’s deck… a utensil brimming with liquid was placed in the middle of the group of alchemists.
“You only have to drink this to become immortal. Everything that happens afterwards is for you all to decide. I may be immortal, but my way of thinking is completely different from you… Wait, wait. Calm down and listen well… From now onwards, if you tire of immortality and truly desire death…”
The ‘demon’ started teaching the alchemists how immortals can die.
“… You need to find others who have also drunk the elixir of immortality. After being found by one such person, place your own hand on the head of the one who wishes to die and think ‘I want to eat’. You only need to be determined to succeed. This way, you can absorb the one who seeks death into your right hand and that person’s life will end. This ‘eating’ is just a way to pass on all knowledge and abilities. The last one left will have accumulated all the knowledge and experiences of the thirty-odd people in here… If that last person too tires of immortality then summon me again. I will then ‘eat’ him to put an end to the matter… Also, saying all this unpleasant stuff first is dangerous… Among those who have drunk this elixir, it is forbidden to use false names to survive in this world. In your godless world there should be the following limitations… If it’s before ordinary people, then there is no problem in impersonating others every once in a while, but immortals must live by their true name because their bodies are resistant to everything this world can throw at them… Because if there wasn’t such a limitation, you may never be able to find each other…”
The present alchemists thought about it, then everyone split the elixir of immortality between them. The elixir, it had the scent of alcohol.
“Good, good … We still have to fulfil the contract of teaching everyone about the art of immortality, right... Although I’m not sure what you mean by all the people, for now I will teach you the recipe for the elixir. But I won’t tell everyone here, rather I will tell only the alchemist who summoned me. If the others want to know then ask him.”
As soon as the formless ‘demon’ finished his sentence he handed over the ‘Knowledge’ of the art of immortality to the alchemist who summoned him. The young alchemist still didn’t know what had happened, but he already understood that implanted within his brain is ‘Knowledge’ he completely couldn’t comprehend.
With that, the demon’s voice disappeared.
-
The man who received the ‘Knowledge’ stayed in his room, pondering the entire night.
He decided to tell the secret of immortality to his brother, who was on the same ship. However, he reached only halfway when a sudden thought occurred to him.
Thus, the next day, he said to everyone: “… I plan to seal this secret forever.”
Although all the alchemists objected to this proposal, his heart was set and he refused to change his mind.
Thus, that very night, it happened.
-
The man with the knowledge remained alert all night, worrying. In the middle of the night, he sensed someone entering his room and opened his eyes……… Standing at the centre of the room was one of his comrades.
And this comrade’s hand was placed on the head of his brother sleeping opposite him.
In just this instant he was already fully awake, but it was too late. His own brother, by his comrade … No, it was in that moment, like magic, his own brother was sucked into his comrade’s right hand.
-
“… No way, it’s already started?”
Witness to the scene occurring inside the ship’s hold, the ‘demon’ who had been watching all along in the darkness rambled to himself.
“This is all because of my instigation… Humans are really greedy. But watching their internal struggles is also quite interesting…”
The ‘demon’- that was what people called him- continued in a slightly melancholy voice,
“This time… should be more interesting.”
The ‘demon’’s voice already could not be heard. All that was left was empty darkness, empty space, as though the demon had never been there.
Afterwards, time flowed as usual.
[1] hermetic tradition: alchemy, magic, astrology and related subjects that are based off Hermes Trismegistus’ work, Hermetica
[2] ah, never mind (まあいい): this phrase has several meanings depending on the context- “but all right”, “whatever”, “never mind”, “it doesn’t matter”. I will keep to “Ah, never mind” for the sake of consistency, like in the novels.
