Solar Ascension-Chapter 150: Unnamed

Ethan closed the case with a soft click. "A volunteer."

The room went still.

"A bold one," he added. "Someone currently infected, someone whose condition you can verify independently."

The French president scoffed. "You want one of us to gamble their life on your word?"

"Well, that would be too much to ask," Ethan shook his head, "so instead, why not gamble someone else’s?"

Several leaders stiffened.

Before anyone could object, Ethan turned slightly, eyes settling on the aides and translators seated behind the leaders.

"Statistically speaking," he said evenly, "at least one of your immediate staff has already begun early-stage symptoms. Mild disorientation, fatigue, headaches?"

A bead of sweat rolled down the Swiss representative’s temple.

The Chinese president turned quickly toward his translator, a man in his late fifties who had been with him for years.

The translator hesitated, remained frozen for a short while before shaking his head, informing that he wasn’t sick.

"You," the Russian president said abruptly, pointing toward his own interpreter, an elderly man with thinning gray hair. "Step forward."

The man froze. "Sir?"

"You’ve been unwell since yesterday," the president said flatly. "You said it was nothing."

The translator swallowed. Slowly, he nodded.

"I felt dizzy this morning," he admitted. "And my hands... they wouldn’t stop shaking."

Ethan looked at the man for a short while as Athena confirmed that he really was infected.

How?

Well, mostly based on the fact that Athena had already gotten feedback from the pathogens the moment everyone stepped into the room.

After all, the cause was basically just nanobots, but different and more watered down. Now he could spread the nanobots this way, but where was the fun in that?

They had to feel powerful first before he allowed reality to set in and for that, he needed them to willingly accept the nanobots.

"Perfect," he said softly.

Lillian’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tightened briefly around the tablet she was holding.

Medical staff stationed discreetly at the edges of the room moved quickly, scanning the translator...though this was all just for show since Ethan already knew what the results would be.

Vital signs appeared on the screen behind Ethan showing that his neurological irregularity confirmed.

This was a sign of an early-stage match.

The German chancellor looked towards the man with a small frown on his face as he stated, "he’s infected."

"Yes," Ethan agreed, "and if untreated, he has roughly three weeks."

The translator’s face drained of color as he looked at the results presented to him, fear slowly creeping in as he realized just how little of a time he had.

Ethan didn’t rush him. He let the silence work and work it did, as he watched fear finish what data had started.

Then he opened the case again.

The soft hiss of the seals disengaging sounded a bit too loud in the silent room.

Inside lay a single syringe with black liquid that seemed to be moving even though he hadn’t touched it yet.

Several leaders instinctively leaned back.

"This," Ethan said calmly, lifting it between two fingers, "will neutralize the active vector in under a minute."

The French president’s voice cut in sharply, "that’s impossible."

"So was mapping a selective pathogen in days," Ethan replied without looking at him. "Yet here we are."

The Japanese prime minister leaned towards his translator who quickly relayed his words, "and if you’re wrong?"

Ethan looked at the Russian translator, then at the other faces in the room before letting out a sigh.

"Then," he said slowly, "you lose a translator."

His words were so casual that one wouldn’t suspect he was talking about someone losing their life.

The Russian president’s jaw tightened. He stared at the man who had stood beside him for over a decade, translated his threats, softened his diplomacy, saved him from saying the wrong thing more times than he could count.

"You will be compensated," he said in Russian, gruffly, as if that made it better. "Your family as well."

The translator’s hands trembled, of course he wasn’t ready to die yet, he had a life with his family to live.

"Sir," he whispered, then stopped.

Then again, he couldn’t exactly deny a command from the Vladimir himself could he?

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he stepped forward and a doctor ushered him up the platform where a slightly inclined bed was waiting.

Ethan approached him with the syringe in hand before passing it to the few medical personnel around before stepping back and letting the procedure commence.

"You’ll feel a bit of pressure," the lead doctor said quietly, meeting the man’s eyes, "which would be followed by heat, but do not panic."

The translator nodded and he lay on the bed, prepared for the worst. If he was sure of one thing, then it would be the fact that his family would be taken care of, if anything went wrong during this.

He winced a bit as he felt a sting to the side of his arm and he braced himself for pain but after a few seconds of nothing happening, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Is that—" before his words could fully form, he suddenly felt a sudden pressure fall on his shoulders, and like the doctor had told him, that pressure was soon followed by a heat.

The translator let out a groan, only to realize that the wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, so he just tried his hardest to stay relaxed as the nanobots worked their way into his cells.

The leaders and representatives of different countries looked at the data rapidly changing, showing that whatever had infected the man was dealt with, but not only that.

Every bit of damaged cell within him was being repaired or replaced and before the unconvinced could deny the data, physical changes started appearing on the translator’s face.

The change was subtle at first.

The deep lines around the translator’s eyes softened before they faded entirely. The faint tremor in his fingers vanished as his hands relaxed against the bed.

Color returned to his face, replacing the ashen pallor with rich in blood flow and vitality.

"Cellular regeneration rate just spiked," one of the doctors muttered, eyes glued to the screen as the monitors continued showing the data.

The translator was in a state of surprised shock as he felt the strength flow within him.

"I feel..." he paused, flexing his hands again, astonished. "I feel light."

Murmurs immediately filled the room.

"This is impossible," the French president whispered as if they were watching a miracle rather than science.

The translator’s wrinkles vanished completely and his skin looked a lot healthier.

Even his posture was straight as if years had been peeled off his spine.

The gray in the translator’s hair receded, replaced by healthy black strands.

The man sat up abruptly, staring at his own hands as though they belonged to someone else.

"I... I haven’t felt this way since my thirties," he said hoarsely.

There was absolute silence in the room as everyone looked ahead in awe.

The American president, Obama, broke the silence first as he slowly questioned, "You said that was a prototype."

"Yes," Ethan replied easily.

"And you can replicate this?" the Japanese prime minister asked.

"At scale," Ethan affirmed again. "With consistency."

The Russian president leaned forward slowly, eyes sharp, calculating. "Name your price."

Ethan smiled faintly, as if he’d been waiting for those exact words.

"I don’t want money," he said.

That alone unsettled them.

"I want freedom."

He raised a finger.

"First—OmniTech will be allowed to establish unrestricted corporate branches in each of your countries. There should be no delays, nor bureaucratic obstruction."

Then he lifted a second finger.

"Second, no government interference in any OmniTech or subsidiary projects. Medical, technological, military, or otherwise."

The room grew colder with every word.

He lifted a third finger.

"And finally," Ethan said calmly, "I want a continent."

Several leaders stiffened.

"Antarctica," he clarified. "A large, permanent allotment of land. I want all International objections waived with no oversight, nor any inspection rights."

"That’s—" the French president began.

"Non-negotiable," Ethan cut in, still smiling.

The Chinese president exhaled slowly. "And if we refuse?"

Ethan’s smile didn’t fade.

"Then," he said softly, "this remains a miracle you experienced once."

He gestured toward the translator, who now looked decades younger.

"And the rest of you," Ethan continued, "will die knowing exactly what you turned down."

No one spoke.

Seconds passed.

Then the Swiss representative nodded. "We accept."

One by one, the others followed.

None wanted to miss out on such an opportunity, especially after seeing the results.

Ethan clasped his hands behind his back as the system’s voice echoed quietly in his mind.

{Quest Update: Global Expansion 99% complete.}

He looked around the room, at the most powerful people on the planet, all bound by invisible chains they had just willingly wrapped around their own throats.

"Excellent," Ethan said pleasantly, "welcome to the future."