The Bugle Call: Song of War - Vol. 10 Ch. 31 - Village of The Future
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That ending was so creepy, I seriously felt my skin crawl 
Fuck these future people. The people of this era are literally nothing but entertainment to them. Immortal assholes whose humanity has been washed away by time. I guess if you are devoid of empathy, human sacrifices don't seem like a big deal.
For a second I thought "well, they're creeps but maybe Poppy would actually be better off staying here" but seeing that poor woman at the end, I would never wish something like THIS on her.
Fuck these future people. The people of this era are literally nothing but entertainment to them. Immortal assholes whose humanity has been washed away by time. I guess if you are devoid of empathy, human sacrifices don't seem like a big deal.
For a second I thought "well, they're creeps but maybe Poppy would actually be better off staying here" but seeing that poor woman at the end, I would never wish something like THIS on her.
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MIRAI SAIKO!
The whole filming stuff and all the fake towns felt like a reference to the Truman Show.
Cant figure wut inspired all this crazy shit bout "spirits" and "druids". Maybe stuff like Bodysnatchers and They Live, u can tell the authors true love is scifi.
But the futurists being called ancients as cover is such an interesting choice. Earlier in the manga everyone was expecting adv civilisations in a post apocalypse setting instead we've got a future proxy war. Wonder if the author is poking fun at ppls earlier theories.
thanks for the TL
The whole filming stuff and all the fake towns felt like a reference to the Truman Show.
Cant figure wut inspired all this crazy shit bout "spirits" and "druids". Maybe stuff like Bodysnatchers and They Live, u can tell the authors true love is scifi.
But the futurists being called ancients as cover is such an interesting choice. Earlier in the manga everyone was expecting adv civilisations in a post apocalypse setting instead we've got a future proxy war. Wonder if the author is poking fun at ppls earlier theories.
thanks for the TL
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Creepiness aside, the battle recording clips got me
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Oof, that ending 😨 got some deadly premonition flashbacks there
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Thanks for the chapter
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Ch 31 (First Reading thoughts)
Previously I chimed that this arc would provide the chance to learn what our protagonists are fighting for. While perhaps not about the "present" Papal State itself, getting to know more about the shadows behind the States is useful in itself.
Likewise, I chimed that this arc would take the form of an internal survey, and that remains true indeed. I just wasn't expecting it to take on a horror vibe, between the secluded cultish village, the surveillance, the freakish aliens and the abandoned decrepit school. But all the same, these people need a survey.
Persisting Souls
When the Pope first explained that people are stored as "souls" inside the Tower, I thought it was a metaphor for a digital state. But no, actual souls? And instead of being dormant and asleep, wide awake the entire time throughout 1200+ years?
Taking that into account... no wonder these guys got bored. Think about it: you used to be influential and on top of the modern world, and when war was to break out, in "stepping" inside the Tower you're supposed to be safe and live on beyond it... and once the military guys have triumphed over the other 8 countries, you can then gloriously step outside and rebuild the world in your image.
Alas, the 9 nations were stuck in a stalemate for 1200+ years. Now you're stuck in immortality, stuck in the primitive past with none of what you enjoyed in modern times. I commented many times that the Pope and Akira are showing signs of madness, and seeing these people of lesser wills, they are even more likely to go mad with boredom.
Space-men
I was not expecting to learn how the Rami came to be, but it's welcome nonetheless.
While I did wonder if the meteor's contents were alien tech in nature, I wasn't expecting outright spawning alien radio towers used to contact the actual living aliens out there. Definitely threw me for a loop, to say nothing of crossbreeding with humans.
Still, something tells me the Rami from the current Arborian Calendar aren't quite the same as those first direct crossbred ones. My feeling had always been that the Towers produced the AC-Rami via the signals they emit, though given the increasingly plant motif "mutation spores/pollen" are a possibility too.
Point is, my stance is that the AC-Rami are products of "mutation/modification" from regular humans rather than "crossbred since birth". Perhaps this answers the "Personal Development-type" part of the Towers' official designation? I'm keen to hear the Pope's account on this matter, I trust him more than these villagers.
Aliens, Conspiracy and Conquest
One thing that's been nagging me is that as doubtlessly formidable and bent on conquest as the Empire is, what is it that makes them so dangerous? What made them push the button? What is it that makes the Pope so insistent on not letting them win and dictate the future?
Now with this chapter tying the Empire's religion, the People of the Oaks to the Druids, it's sent me into conspiracy theory thinking. Like, is the Empire really who we should be concerned about? Are they the true final boss?
In the first place, these Druids were sentient, they weren't an extinct race. Whilst it was happy accident their "pod" landed on Earth, these extraterrestrials who possess countless supernatural powers and secrets of the cosmos... just happened to gift humans the know-how to manipulating time? To the extent that humans can produce colossal weapons for rewriting history? And these weapons happen to essentially function in the same ways as other Druid vessels, capable of housing and persisting souls?
So here's my conspiracy theory: the leaders of the Empire were effectively possessed by the Druids, and thus proceeded to push the button and launch into the distant past. By conquering the past, the Empire gets to rewrite the history of the planet... on behalf of the Druids. Alien invasion by proxy, in the past when it's more vulnerable. The Empire's insistence on spreading the Oaks faith wherever they've conquered would be in line with this.
---
And this is why the other 8 nations oppose the Empire. It's not just their history at stake, but also the sovereignty of their planet. These 1200+ years have been a long siege on their will to fight however...
Furthermore, defeating the Empire isn't enough, and Lucas will also have to sever the Druids' connection to this planet to truly be free.
Still, does this explain the "voice" Lucas heard at Mont Tombe? It was a Druid showing him a potential future?
A Schism in Leadership
This Village is clearly found guilty of creating the monster Rami, and their possession of Oaks ritual items is suspicious. While it's not enough to conclude at this point that they're complicit with the Empire, it does still incidate that they're going against what the Pope and his faction wants. Looks like we've found our rebels to purge.
Per expectations, this arc is moving at a faster pace that's more in line with the Land of Mirrors arc. Should be some more exploration and misery before switch over to combat.
Previously I chimed that this arc would provide the chance to learn what our protagonists are fighting for. While perhaps not about the "present" Papal State itself, getting to know more about the shadows behind the States is useful in itself.
Likewise, I chimed that this arc would take the form of an internal survey, and that remains true indeed. I just wasn't expecting it to take on a horror vibe, between the secluded cultish village, the surveillance, the freakish aliens and the abandoned decrepit school. But all the same, these people need a survey.
Persisting Souls
When the Pope first explained that people are stored as "souls" inside the Tower, I thought it was a metaphor for a digital state. But no, actual souls? And instead of being dormant and asleep, wide awake the entire time throughout 1200+ years?
Taking that into account... no wonder these guys got bored. Think about it: you used to be influential and on top of the modern world, and when war was to break out, in "stepping" inside the Tower you're supposed to be safe and live on beyond it... and once the military guys have triumphed over the other 8 countries, you can then gloriously step outside and rebuild the world in your image.
Alas, the 9 nations were stuck in a stalemate for 1200+ years. Now you're stuck in immortality, stuck in the primitive past with none of what you enjoyed in modern times. I commented many times that the Pope and Akira are showing signs of madness, and seeing these people of lesser wills, they are even more likely to go mad with boredom.
Space-men
I was not expecting to learn how the Rami came to be, but it's welcome nonetheless.
While I did wonder if the meteor's contents were alien tech in nature, I wasn't expecting outright spawning alien radio towers used to contact the actual living aliens out there. Definitely threw me for a loop, to say nothing of crossbreeding with humans.
Still, something tells me the Rami from the current Arborian Calendar aren't quite the same as those first direct crossbred ones. My feeling had always been that the Towers produced the AC-Rami via the signals they emit, though given the increasingly plant motif "mutation spores/pollen" are a possibility too.
Point is, my stance is that the AC-Rami are products of "mutation/modification" from regular humans rather than "crossbred since birth". Perhaps this answers the "Personal Development-type" part of the Towers' official designation? I'm keen to hear the Pope's account on this matter, I trust him more than these villagers.
Aliens, Conspiracy and Conquest
One thing that's been nagging me is that as doubtlessly formidable and bent on conquest as the Empire is, what is it that makes them so dangerous? What made them push the button? What is it that makes the Pope so insistent on not letting them win and dictate the future?
Now with this chapter tying the Empire's religion, the People of the Oaks to the Druids, it's sent me into conspiracy theory thinking. Like, is the Empire really who we should be concerned about? Are they the true final boss?
In the first place, these Druids were sentient, they weren't an extinct race. Whilst it was happy accident their "pod" landed on Earth, these extraterrestrials who possess countless supernatural powers and secrets of the cosmos... just happened to gift humans the know-how to manipulating time? To the extent that humans can produce colossal weapons for rewriting history? And these weapons happen to essentially function in the same ways as other Druid vessels, capable of housing and persisting souls?
So here's my conspiracy theory: the leaders of the Empire were effectively possessed by the Druids, and thus proceeded to push the button and launch into the distant past. By conquering the past, the Empire gets to rewrite the history of the planet... on behalf of the Druids. Alien invasion by proxy, in the past when it's more vulnerable. The Empire's insistence on spreading the Oaks faith wherever they've conquered would be in line with this.
---
And this is why the other 8 nations oppose the Empire. It's not just their history at stake, but also the sovereignty of their planet. These 1200+ years have been a long siege on their will to fight however...
Furthermore, defeating the Empire isn't enough, and Lucas will also have to sever the Druids' connection to this planet to truly be free.
Still, does this explain the "voice" Lucas heard at Mont Tombe? It was a Druid showing him a potential future?
A Schism in Leadership
This Village is clearly found guilty of creating the monster Rami, and their possession of Oaks ritual items is suspicious. While it's not enough to conclude at this point that they're complicit with the Empire, it does still incidate that they're going against what the Pope and his faction wants. Looks like we've found our rebels to purge.
Per expectations, this arc is moving at a faster pace that's more in line with the Land of Mirrors arc. Should be some more exploration and misery before switch over to combat.
While there is some justification for filming the battles of the Rami for studying and strategising purposes, seeing these guys turn these films into shows of entertainment do feel distasteful.
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He's not wrong.
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