Waking up, I opened my eyes and found myself sitting in a comfortable chair in a luxuriously furnished room. This time, I was in the body of a middle-aged man dressed in some kind of uniform. I didn't have time to look around as a voice from a Being appeared in my mind.
"So, the rules. Figures are forbidden from killing other figures. There are four of you in the game. The winner is determined by the Council of Wise Men. The rest will be explained on-site."
As soon as the voice fell silent, a door in the side wall opened, and a man in a strange suit emerged. If not for the details, it was a standard outfit: shirt, trousers, jacket.
"Mr. Samael Tamuz, please follow me." - The visitor bowed. - "Everything is ready for the presentation."
I decided to go with the flow and followed the guide, who glided quickly through the corridors. Judging by the lack of windows, we were in some kind of underground bunker. After a few minutes, we entered a hall where I was offered a seat in a large red chair surrounded by simpler black seats. There were four of these special chairs in the hall, so they were probably intended for the other game figures.
Ahead of us, a podium stood with a large screen currently displaying a logo with the mysterious acronym ICOCOS. Most of the small chairs were occupied by various intellectuals, while I was the only one in the red chair. A few minutes later, the other figures arrived. Nothing notable about them. People like people. Although one seemed a bit dazed. Perhaps he was here unexpectedly. Or maybe a savage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention." - I was so engrossed in examining the competitors that I didn't notice the people who had appeared on the podium. There was one person with a professorial look, who began speaking, and two bloated bureaucratic types. These are always easy to spot. - "For those who don’t know, my name is Adolf Rigerstein. We have gathered you here to entrust a matter of paramount importance. It concerns, dare I say, the salvation of all humanity. I will brief you on the matter, and then the esteemed Nikos Papadopoulos will address you on behalf of the Council of Wise Men."
What followed was a detailed four-hour lecture from which I understood what I would be dealing with.
This world was quite technologically advanced. Suffice it to say that interstellar travel was commonplace here. Another important factor was that the galaxy was home to many intelligent races. The amusing part was that these were not some incomprehensible chupacabras, but rather 'familiar' elves, orcs, centaurs, kitsune, and other creatures.
It could be said with certainty that all mythical beings ever mentioned in my world inhabited this one. And as if that weren't enough, all these races were also technologically advanced. In addition to this, they were magically advanced to the point where purely technological civilizations wept crocodile tears from envy.
As you might guess, in such a 'multinational' world, wars between different civilizations were constant. The situation could be described as 'everyone against everyone and each for themselves.' This carnage had been going on for several centuries, and gradually a very unpleasant fact became clear: humanity was losing.
Humans could not boast strong magic, god-like technologies, or even special combat talents. In each separate discipline, they were far from the worst, but in a comprehensive assessment, it turned out that the rating of human civilization fell into the bottom ten among nearly a thousand races in the galaxy. Only through the incredible efforts of the Council of Wise Men were we able to stay afloat. Looking at Papadopoulos's shiny face, I had an alternative opinion about the causes of this situation, but I did not express it.
At that moment, humans controlled twenty-three planets. However, seven of them were in the zones of interest of other civilizations and thus constantly subjected to attacks and siege attempts. According to analysts' forecasts, the complete extinction of humanity as a species would occur in 10-15 years. And there was even less time to turn the situation around.
Nikos Papadopoulos then spoke, declaring that within the next three years, we must find a way to save our race. We four were the best minds of humanity. Each of us was assigned a whole institute with thousands of scientists, engineers, mages, and other specialists. And in three years, we were to present our projects - fully completed research that would allow humanity to leap from the mire to greatness and defeat the entire galaxy.
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After the event, I, along with my escorts, was sent to a spaceship that was to take us to a research space station lost in the vastness of the galaxy. Only maintaining complete secrecy could allow us to complete our research and not be destroyed by enemy forces.
On the ship, I became acquainted with my entourage. These were leading scientists with whom I would be working for the next three years. After discussing global issues and the current political situation with them, I retreated to my cabin to ponder how I was supposed to save humanity.
To be frank, I didn't care much about the local humanity. How were they better than the kitsune? Personally, I liked girls with fox ears more. Well, what can I say? I'm that kind of fetishist. So saving a dying race was the least of my concerns. But I was interested in the local technology and magic. In the world of spiders, I sorely missed a decent computer on which I could calculate spell parameters.
Thus, it turned out that I needed to focus on my own elevation while simultaneously solving the local problem. The decision was to be made by the Council of Wise Men, adding an uncertain factor to the game. However, I had an interesting idea.
I got up from the bed and went to the communication room, where I requested a secure communication channel with Nikos Papadopoulos. According to my companions, he was one of the most important figures in the Council.
"Samael Tamuz? What prompted you to contact me?" - Judging by his displeased expression, I had dragged him out of bed. And he wasn't sleeping there.
"Mr. Nikos, I have an important question regarding the task you set before me. When you spoke about saving humanity, did you mean saving us as a species, or saving us as individual living beings? In other words, what is more important to you, the immortality of the race or the immortality of its most gifted representatives?" - The bureaucrat frowned and tried to read my thoughts. Unfortunately, he wasn't a mage, so the trick didn't work. But the glances he threw at me eloquently indicated that he understood my hint. - "Which option do you think the Council would prefer?"
"I think the Council, like you, cares about preserving the best representatives of society" - he finally responded with his expert assessment. A genuine interest appeared on Papadopoulos's face. - "Do you already have any ideas on this matter?"
It seemed the fish had taken the bait. Now I needed to implant the right idea in his head, which in three years would penetrate the minds of every member of the Council of Wise Men.
"Yes. I believe that achieving personal immortality will also solve the problem of societal immortality. As for specific solutions, I think it's worth discussing them when I have something to demonstrate to you."
"Many have tried to achieve immortality."
"Of course. But I think you understand perfectly well that success in this endeavor is as important to me as it is to you. Unfortunately, I have no hope for the other chosen ones. We can only rely on the wisdom of the Council and its best representatives, who can make use of the fruits of our labor."
Nikos nodded in agreement, then turned and looked at something off-screen. Judging by his suddenly bored expression, what he saw interested him more than our conversation.
"Do you have any more questions?" - he asked me.
"I won't take up any more of your time. I'll let you know when I have good news."
With that, I ended the communication and began to ponder our conversation. I think my cryptic language was clear enough for the bloated bureaucrat to realize that I was promising him personal control over the future method of achieving immortality. Therefore, there were real chances to influence the outcome of the vote in my favor. After all, the pursuit of personal gain in such people always overshadows all arguments of reason and conscience. Well, I did what I could here, and now it was time to solve the problem at hand.
When considering immortality, it's essential to distinguish between the immortality of the body and the immortality of the soul. The body is inherently mortal, and its destruction is merely a matter of applying sufficient force. The soul, however, is more complex. It can be destroyed, but in any case, the destruction will be partial at best. Most likely, it won't even be scratched. Affecting the soul requires energies far higher than a human can wield. Even I, when creating my tails, did so indirectly using Bahion, which had accumulated in the domain for millennia. And it was enough for only one person—me.
So, the immortality of the soul can be taken as an axiom. Therefore, to achieve immortality, three things are needed. First, organize memory continuity. Second, ensure the rebirth of souls in new bodies. And third, make these bodies much more resilient to external influences than human bodies.