Baccano! - Volume 1 - Chapter Pr1

PROLOGUE

1711 The Atlantic Ocean The Advena Avis

Alchemy.

Believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, it was an academic discipline, a skill, and at the same time, a culture.

Having sprung from Egyptian arts, it came to Western Europe via the Arab world during the Renaissance and deeply permeated the society there, fusing with Greek philosophy and—via Hermetic thought—religious concepts as it did so.

It sometimes sought, as its name in certain languages suggests, to transmute base metals into gold; at other times, it attempted to create artificial life divorced from the hand of God, and in the end, it pursued eternal life. …No, even that couldn’t be called the end: There was no end to the heights sought by the alchemists. They devoted themselves to daily study, endeavoring to make the impossible possible; if they managed it, the impossible would be possible. Their ultimate goal would fade and grow dull. They seemed likely to vanish into their own knowledge and desires, or possibly their sense of mission, as they pursued further impossibilities.

In early modern times, as alchemists were hampered by those around them and occasionally targeted by envious looks—a mundane whirl of small minds misunderstanding great ones—they continued to pursue various skills and to meet with failure. However, their actions were not in vain. They made a variety of contributions to modern science, beginning with the alchemist Newton’s discovery of universal gravitation. Alchemy was by no means a system of pseudoscience.

Still, from time to time, there were some who attempted to fuse it with fields apart from science. With magic and thaumaturgy.

Generally, alchemy and magic tend to be considered synonymous, but the two are completely different. Among alchemists, there was a tendency to discount magic and prayers, viewing them as unscientific things that relied upon external forces. However, some of them actively dabbled in these fields.

After all, if their existence were confirmed, even magic and demons would become possible. They would be no more than tools to break open the next impossibility.

The ship was enveloped in the dark of night.

In that darkness…all they heard was a voice.

The alchemists had left their homeland and were bound for the New World.

Onboard the ship, at long last, they had successfully summoned a demon.

“So you call me a demon, do you? Well, I suppose that will do. …But have any of you ever seen God or an angel? I’d imagine the word evil has meaning only when there’s an object for comparison. Well, never mind. It’s been 103 years since anyone took the trouble to summon me. If you’d been three years earlier, it would have made for a nicer number… Well, never mind. Ah, ‘Well, never mind’ is an idiomatic quirk of mine. Just ignore it. Although I suppose it’s odd to call it an ‘idiomatic quirk’ when I’m communicating directly with your minds. Well, never mind.”

In accordance with the oath by which it was bound, this unusually loquacious demon promised to bestow knowledge on the alchemist who had directly summoned him.

“I want to know everything regarding immortality,” the alchemist said.

“In other words… You’re hinting you’d like me to make you immortal? Well, never mind.”

On the deck of the ship, in the center of the group of alchemists, there was a vessel filled with liquid.

“If you drink that, you will become immortal. Decide what to do next on your own. I’m immortal myself, but impressions vary widely. …Wait, wait, calm down and listen to this next bit. I’m a generous soul. There’s enough of that elixir for everyone here. Share it. Don’t fight. …All right: if you tire of immortality and wish to die…”

The demon proceeded to teach them a method by which immortals could die.

“Go find someone else who drank the elixir. If someone asks you to, lay your right hand on their head and think, ‘I want to eat.’ You just have to think it forcefully. The one who wished to die will be absorbed into your right hand, and their life will end. Eating means you’ll inherit all the other person’s knowledge. That means the last of you will accumulate the knowledge of all thirty. If that last one tires of living, summon me again. When you do, I’ll ‘eat’ you. That means I make out well: I’ll gain the knowledge of thirty people… By the way, just so you’re aware…there is a risk. Once you drink that elixir, you’ll be unable to give a false name. That limitation will be set on your spirits. If you’re passingly giving your name to an ordinary human, you won’t have any trouble, but among immortals, you’ll only be able to use your real name, and your body will refuse to allow you to establish a false identity in society. …If it weren’t for that, you see, you’d never be able to find one another.”

The alchemists thought for a little while. Then they divided the elixir among themselves and drank it. The elixir tasted like liquor.

“Oh, that’s right… I promised to teach you everything, didn’t I? I’m not sure what ‘everything’ should consist of, but for now, I’ll tell you how to prepare more of the elixir. Mind you, I’m not telling everyone here. Only this man, the one who summoned me. If you want to know, ask him later.”

With that, the invisible demon gave the alchemist who’d summoned him “knowledge.” The man was still young, and he didn’t understand what had happened. He only knew that knowledge he hadn’t possessed before had been planted in his memory.

The demon’s voice went silent.

The man who had obtained the knowledge thought about it for a night.

His younger brother was with him on the ship, and he began telling his sibling the secret of the elixir of immortality. When he’d related about half of it, he had a sudden epiphany.

The next day, he made a statement:

“…I’ve decided to seal this knowledge forever.”

Voices of protest rose from among the alchemists, but his mind was made up.

And that night, it happened.

The man who’d acquired the knowledge was cautious. In the middle of the night, he felt someone’s presence, and when he opened his eyes… One of his companions stood in his cabin.

This companion’s hand rested on the head of the alchemist’s younger brother, who slept in the opposite bed…

In an instant, the man was fully awake, but it was too late: Like magic, everything his brother was disappeared into the right arm of their companion—or rather, the one who, up until that moment, had been a companion.

“…I didn’t think they’d start this soon,” the demon, who was watching from the darkness somewhere, murmured to himself. “Allowing that I did set them off, after a fashion… That’s the human race for you. Greedy things. Granted, this is entertaining to watch as well, but…”

The being they’d called a demon continued. It sounded a little lonely.

“…I did think that this time, perhaps…”

The demon’s voice was gone. Only darkness that gave the illusion of being infinite remained.

And time passed.