After the PLANT reporters were utterly crushed by the facts, the questions from the other reporters became increasingly bizarre.
A reporter from the Eurasian Federation stood up, blinked her big, beautiful eyes, and puffed out her chest as she asked, "Chairman Isaac, I've heard that Newtypes are physically far superior to Coordinators. May I experience it for myself? Also, the paper says Newtypes have the ability to sense others' thoughts. Is this a form of mind-reading? Can you read what I'm thinking right now?"
To be honest, this reporter's intentions were a bit too obvious; she was just short of undoing a few buttons on her collar. Several reporters around her were muttering that she was a slut.
Reid had to remember that many people back home were watching this press conference, so he could only answer with some awkwardness.
"Miss Reporter, the paper states that Newtypes have a higher degree of psychic sensitivity, allowing them to perceive the presence of brainwaves to a certain extent."
"As for sensing others' thoughts, the paper specifies that two Newtypes can communicate mentally within a certain distance. If the other person is an ordinary person, the most one could sense is their general emotional state, like whether they're happy or angry. A psychological expert who understands micro-expressions could do the same."
"Normally, for an ordinary person to achieve direct mental communication, special conditions are required. But anything more than that is a military secret."
Since many people had already experienced the Mental Chat Room during the battle at the Junius Seven Remains, this Eurasian Federation reporter must have had someone prepare her questions in advance. Thus, Reid shut down this line of questioning decisively.
The rest of what Reid said was the truth. Normal Newtypes really only possessed a higher degree of psychic perception, allowing them to roughly judge another person's emotional state by reading their brainwaves.
After dealing with the Eurasian Federation reporter, a reporter from North Africa asked if Newtypes were necessarily smarter than unevolved ordinary people and could learn anything.
To this question, Reid clearly stated that Newtypes were not necessarily smarter than ordinary people, nor could they learn everything.
Reid used himself as an example again, explaining that he was extremely untalented in music. While not completely tone-deaf, he was the kind of person who couldn't find the right tune when singing.
However, after Reid finished his explanation, he could clearly feel that not a single reporter in the room took what he had just said seriously. They all thought Reid was just being modest, aiming to prevent ordinary people from feeling that Newtypes were too distant from them.
Next was the Equatorial Union. That reporter directly asked if the New Misurugi Kingdom was planning to grant special privileges to other evolved Newtypes in the future, such as being allowed to marry multiple wives or receiving special government subsidies.
Reid could only evade this question. Answering that there would be privileges would create a situation where Newtypes were a tier above Naturals. In all things, it is not scarcity that is the problem, but inequality.
Reid knew that even if other countries granted Newtypes real privileges, few would actually codify them into law.
So, Reid stated that this issue required government discussion and that he could not answer it here.
After that came trivial questions, like whether Newtypes had cosmetic effects similar to Coordinators, and unanswerable ones, like whether Newtypes could make a Mobile Suit perform beyond its capabilities.
In short, even though Reid had already cut down the number of reporters, after a press conference that lasted several hours, he felt mentally and physically exhausted, despite his psychic power being exceptionally strong even among Newtypes.
Of course, someone else who felt mentally and physically exhausted when the press conference ended was Durandal, who had already returned to PLANT.
Reid's explicit statement at the press conference that it was more difficult for Coordinators to evolve into Newtypes than for Naturals quickly began to ferment within the Coordinator community.
Some of PLANT's citizens were resentful, while others refused to accept reality and cursed Reid for spouting nonsense. But it was undeniable that Reid's words had cast a shadow over the entire Coordinator race.
Durandal actually knew that what Reid said was likely just the unmalicious truth.
But as the Chairman of PLANT, he could only step forward at this time to say something uplifting. He stated that Newtype research was still in a very preliminary stage, and since one Newtype had already appeared among Coordinators, the door to evolution was not closed. Therefore, there was absolutely no need to lose faith.
Then, Durandal also started making empty promises, stating that he had already come up with some ideas to solve the problem after this comparative experiment, and that the PLANT genetic research institute would resolve the difficulties Coordinators faced during evolution as soon as possible.
It could only be said that Durandal's status as a top-tier genetic researcher lent great credibility to his words.
So, the people of PLANT did not truly feel that the future was bleak and fall into despair.
However, Durandal already felt that the social problems brought about by the Genetic Adjustment Boomerang were about to erupt among Coordinators. He had to divert the conflict externally to create some breathing room.
Thus, Durandal secretly notified his partners in the Junk Guild. The spark that had been temporarily extinguished by the public announcement of Newtypes had to be rekindled.
In the following days, the Earth Alliance's secret investigation into the Junk Guild's participants in the colony drop incident made a huge breakthrough.
The Junk Guild Association was rife with internal factions that checked and balanced each other. Even if one faction made a mistake, it was difficult to eliminate them all in one fell swoop. Furthermore, it would involve many important corporations within the three major powers of the Earth Alliance and PLANT, which was why it was so hard to eradicate them completely.
However, this was all based on the premise that these four powers did not share a common goal.
Under Durandal's secret instructions, a high-ranking member of the Junk Guild Association who was secretly cooperating with him was backstabbed and silenced in his home before the joint investigation team from the three Earth Alliance nations could reach him.
Then, his subordinates just so happened to witness the secret joint investigation team from the three Earth Alliance nations storming into this high-ranking member's home.
A gunfight immediately broke out between the two sides, and the high-ranking member's home was consumed by the flames of battle. Only one member of the Earth Alliance's secret joint investigation team survived with injuries and escaped.
However, this survivor successfully brought out a document that was one-third burned. It showed that a shell company from PLANT had secretly ordered the filling of the Junius Seven Remains, the Boaz Fortress Remains, the Jachin Due Fortress Remains, and the Yggdrasil Remains with large amounts of metal. Moreover, this plan had been in motion since May of C.E. 73. PLANT's actions were completely premeditated.
However, the most crucial area of the document, the client's official seal, was burned away. If presented, it couldn't be used as evidence at all, as it was far too easy to forge.
But the Atlantic Federation declared that with things as they were, who needed evidence?
The East Asian Republic had originally planned to lie low for a while longer, observe PLANT's reaction, and gather more conclusive evidence in the meantime.
According to the East Asian Republic, as long as there was solid evidence proving PLANT had orchestrated the colony satellite remains drop, the New Misurugi Kingdom would be forced to enter the war against PLANT, and they could then achieve a swift victory.
Unfortunately, the Atlantic Federation government, under pressure from LOGOS, declared that they had tolerated these Coordinators, who had mortgaged their future to get ahead of them, for long enough. They acted first and reported later, publicly releasing the information from the document.
In a public address, the leader of the Atlantic Federation vehemently condemned the Coordinators, who had already lost their future, for planning to directly eliminate the Naturals who still had a future, just to ensure their own significance.
Of course, the Atlantic Federation leader didn't immediately declare war. Instead, speaking as a representative of the Earth Alliance, he publicly stated that the Earth Alliance needed PLANT to agree to a few "small conditions" to prove they had no connection to the terrorists, and then peace could continue.
Of course, these so-called conditions for continued peace were no different from demanding PLANT's immediate demise. The Atlantic Federation leader demanded that PLANT pay a massive amount of compensation that they couldn't afford even if they sold themselves, demanded the disarmament of all their forces, and demanded the direct dissolution of their government, with a new government to be formed by observers from the long-defunct United Nations' member states.
One could tell with their feet that the Atlantic Federation had no sincerity whatsoever. In the eyes of the PLANT Supreme Council, the document was also a deliberate forgery. Naturally, they resolutely rejected these unreasonable conditions and denied the authenticity of the document.
Of course, just as in the original story, Durandal acted as a pacifist should. He did not immediately mobilize the military and adopt a posture of being ready for war at any moment. Instead, he secretly prepared supplies while outwardly maintaining an attitude of wanting to resolve the issue through dialogue, constantly requesting talks.
But any discerning person could see that the Atlantic Federation genuinely wanted to fight. They wanted to start the battle, forcing the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation to follow suit.
As for the New Misurugi Kingdom, the Atlantic Federation believed that as long as they started the fight well and there were sufficient benefits, they could come up with as many justifications as needed later on. The New Misurugi Kingdom would surely join in.
Of course, the atmosphere throughout the Earth Sphere had already grown tense because of this public address.
On the afternoon after the Atlantic Federation leader's speech, Reid received a meeting request from Athrun and Lacus.
Since Reid had nothing much to do, he went to meet the two of them.
However, this time the meeting place was the underground hangar where Reid had handed over the Hong Long to Athrun.
At that same spot, Athrun looked at the Hong Long, which he had piloted for over a year, and then said resolutely to Reid, "Mr. Reid, I'm here to return the Hong Long. I've decided to go back to PLANT."
Reid had known about Athrun's decision to return to PLANT while he was playing dead, as he hadn't forced Salya and the others away when he was talking to Saito.
However, after returning, Athrun had been secretly investigating the mastermind behind the satellite drop incident and hadn't mentioned returning to PLANT.
At that time, Reid was also "imprisoned" in the hospital, so naturally, he hadn't asked.
Now that Athrun had said it, Reid knew he had made up his mind. Reid didn't plan to object, because he had always felt that if Athrun could take the position of PLANT Chairman, it would be a great help in resolving the conflict between Coordinators and Naturals later on.
So Reid nodded and also looked at the Hong Long, asking, "Mm, I've received the Mobile Suit. But, Athrun, have you thought about what you're going to do when you go back this time?"
In Reid's perception, Athrun was quite forthright. He answered directly, "I'm almost certain that someone inside PLANT helped with this satellite drop. Although I don't know who it is and all the clues have gone cold, I must go back and find this person."
"At the same time, I will rebuild the Zala Faction, turning those who use the Zala Faction's name into the 'Old Zala Faction' and completely disavowing their identity."
"So, this time I need to go back and make use of the political legacy my father left me. I estimate I can recover my status as a Red Uniform Captain. But how things develop from there will depend on my own performance."
Hearing this, Reid nodded. It seemed Athrun's thinking was on the right track. Having the Zala Faction's political legacy and not inheriting it, instead going to work for Durandal, was the stupidest choice. In the original story, it ended with him having no ability to fight back when Durandal wanted to eliminate him, forcing him to steal a Mobile Suit and flee.
So, Reid glanced at Lacus beside them and asked, "What about you, Lacus? Are you planning to go back and rebuild the Clyne Faction?"
Upon hearing this, Lacus's face immediately puffed up in a pout, and she said unhappily, "Reid, you're still saying that at a time like this. I told you before, my father believed you were the future of the Coordinators. Now, facts have proven him right, and I believe so too. So, unless you tie me up and throw me out, you won't be able to shake me off in the future."
"Besides, I've decided to continue operating my international rescue team, because war is about to come again."
This time, Reid could feel Lacus's sincerity. He sighed silently in his heart. It seemed this siren had her sights set on him. If he didn't want problems in the future, it looked like he had no choice but to accept her.
So Reid could only nod and say no more, then walked forward.
"Alright, in that case, Athrun, Lacus, follow me."
"When Athrun suggested meeting here, I pretty much guessed his intentions. So, I've already had the Justice Gundam transferred over."
Soon, Reid led the two to the next hangar, where the Justice Gundam stood quietly.
Reid looked at the Justice Gundam and said to Athrun, "This Justice was originally the one you piloted when you left ZAFT, so it's only natural that you pilot it back when you return. Even if you're just a Red Uniform Captain, you can't go onto the battlefield in a Mirage Zaku. You should have the ability to hold onto this one Mobile Suit, right?"
"Of course, although this Mobile Suit has been sealed underground for over a year, I received news that you might be returning to PLANT while I was still lying in the hospital. So I had someone give it a slight modernization refit."
"The armaments and everything are untouched, and the Anti-Neutron Jammer is still there. But I've had the cockpit replaced with a Panoramic Cockpit for you, and the relevant electronic detection equipment has been updated to the latest models."
"PLANT's Panoramic Cockpit technology has actually already made a breakthrough, so you don't need to keep it a secret. You can let anyone maintain it. Consider it my gift to the future leader of PLANT's Zala Faction."
Athrun didn't act coy this time. After thanking him, he immediately boarded the Mobile Suit to perform system diagnostics. After all, the OS hadn't been adjusted for a year, and with the new detectors, it needed to be recalibrated.
Meanwhile, Lacus was looking at Reid with a strange expression.
In fact, Lacus had always felt that Reid seemed particularly good to Athrun, so good that it reminded her of some of the BL manga Ange had shown her.
Reid keenly sensed Lacus's gaze and thought, Why does this girl look like she's shipping a couple? Has she been reading too much weird stuff?
So Reid quickly diverted Lacus's attention, "Alright, Lacus, you have a gift too. In my opinion, this war between the Earth Alliance and PLANT is indeed inevitable. So, you can't be using a transport ship for your activities later on. I've prepared a follow-up ship of the Argama-class for you. You should go and claim your ship as well."
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