Oh, sorry.
A cat...?
Oh, you know about cats? Do you like cats?
Er, yeah, I don't dislike them...
I see.
See? Everyone knows what cats are.
I know what they are, too.
But they're considered a luxury on my planet, so I've never really seen one before.
Um... Your neck...
Don't be so freaked out about it.
Body modifications are pretty common these days.
Yeah, but you don't see ones like yours very often.
I see. Well, this isn't exactly how I want to be, either. It's more of a halfway point.
You're Yuri, right?
- I'm Chipie. - I'm Comet!
Nice to meet ya.
New people keep showing up as I loop.
I wonder how many there'll end up being.
All right, let's start the meeting.
A total of eight people have escaped onto this ship.
Two of them are Gnosia infectees. That's correct, right?
Yes, that is indeed correct.
And we have to find them?
I mean, how are we supposed to do that?
First, shouldn't we confirm if there's an Engineer or not?
Their ability to choose one person and determine if they're Gnosia
would be of great help in finding said Gnosia.
One person has been appointed as Engineer.
Is anyone going to come forward?
The Engineer is akin to a shrine maiden, able to issue commands to the ship's core.
I shall find the Gnosia for all of your sakes.
Yuriko's the Engineer?
I should be the only Engineer aboard this ship.
Why is this happening?
What?! So there's two Engineers?!
No. Only one has been appointed, which means one of them is lying.
Lying? Why would they lie?
Well, the Gnosia want to confuse the humans.
If an unopposed Engineer finds them, they won't have a leg to stand on.
Which means... One of them is the real Engineer,
and the other is a Gnosia.
Have faith in me.
Though I'm sure you fools wouldn't believe me even if I said that.
I am not infected by the Gnosia.
One of them is the real Engineer, and one of them is a fake.
If we can gather all the votes toward one...
We have a 50% chance of putting the Gnosia into cold sleep...
That's probably what you're thinking.
Huh?
Looks like I hit the nail on the head.
Am I wrong?
You are quite correct.
But the problem is
that we also have a 50% chance of losing the real Engineer.
There is but one Engineer among the eight of us.
Should we lose them, our ability to identify the Gnosia will suffer a great loss.
Not to mention, we'll never know if the one remaining is a Gnosia or not.
There will be some who believe what they say and some who don't,
leading to unavoidable conflict.
That's exactly what the Gnosia want.
Basically, putting one of them into cold sleep would be a double-edged sword.
So you're saying that we shouldn't vote for either of them?
I wouldn't, at least.
We'll have an opportunity to figure out which one is the fake eventually.
You can count on it.
But if we waste too much time,
wouldn't the Gnosia just attack the real Engineer during the warp?
Right.
After all, the Gnosia know which one is the real Engineer, right?
Try using your heads a little.
The one thing we know right now for sure
is that those who the Gnosia attack are 100% human.
The Gnosia will never attack their own.
Meaning?
The Engineer being attacked by the Gnosia would confirm them 100% as human—
in other words, the real Engineer.
Which also means...
The other Engineer would also be 100% confirmed as Gnosia.
That's why they won't decide to attack the real one lightly.
So you finally put the pieces together.
It's honestly so tiring,
having to deal with your inferior intellects.
What do you think, Jina?
I don't know.
But I understand the logic, at least.
It is time.
We will now change over to the voting process.
There were no contradictions in what Racio said.
Up until now, I figured they just always found me suspicious from first impressions,
but they've always logically chosen whoever has the highest probability
of being a Gnosia given the current situation and information we have.
Then it is time for the verdict.
Who is the Gnosia?
Jina will be put into cold sleep.
I think... I'll dream of you all.
I can't say this sits right with me.
Rules are rules.
Someone has to be sent into cold sleep each time.
I know that, but why Jina?
It wasn't like she was doing anything suspicious.
I thought that, too.
I... can sort of understand why everyone chose Jina.
Huh?
Why?
The Gnosia, by nature, are always lying.
They're always pretending to be human.
And?
What they fear most is someone seeing through their lies.
Of being caught in a contradiction, or taking the opposite position to everyone else.
So whoever's keeping quiet is suspicious?
Of course, there's no guarantee.
But if you don't talk much,
it'll seem like you're trying to monitor the others while staying out of their sight.
That's what those around you are likely to think.
Talking too much is dangerous...
but not talking enough is also dangerous.
Man, this sucks.
I'm gonna go run for a bit to clear my mind.
There's a gym here, right?
Huh?!
Whoa, this is the real deal!
It's a far cry from the one on the cargo ship!
Cargo ship?
Yeah. Didn't I tell you?
I work on a cargo ship
and got mixed up in all this when I stopped by Liu-An.
Also, Comet's a stowaway.
Stowaway?
Hey! You said you'd keep quiet about that!
Oh, you're here? I mean, it's fine. It's just Yuri.
I guess. I don't have to worry about being caught here, anyway.
Did you come here to exercise, too?
I was just taking a shower.
I figured I might run into you two here.
I see you're as sharp as ever.
Sorry, could you hold this for me?
I-I guess the cat's running, too...
Huh?
Whoa!
Hm? What?
Those... patterns on you...
Oh, this?
It's not a tattoo or anything.
It's a kind of microorganism—
a symbiotic slime mold.
"Symbiotic slime mold"?
Let me just warn you... Be careful when you touch it.
It won't cause any trouble when it's on her body,
but if it swallows you up, you'll die.
What?!
Yeah. So, on my planet...
normal people can basically die within seconds.
That's why we're left alone for the first few years after we're born
while we and the mold get used to each other.
It serves as a test of who gets to continue living,
but it's also because of this mold that we can't usually travel off our planet.
That's why I helped smuggle her off the planet as a stowaway.
Don't act like you're the sole benefactor here!
It's thanks to my contacts that you were able to get that surgery with the cat!
Well, yeah. I'm crossing a dangerous bridge myself.
I had to get something from you in return.
How are you feeling?
Not bad, but now that we're stuck in this mess,
I'll have to stay like this for a while.
And I was so close, too.
Chipie's trying to become a cat.
A cat?
Yup. Apparently, that's his dream. Isn't that weird?
It's not that weird, is it?
What do you think, Yuri?
Huh? What do I think...?
I don't think it's a bad idea, I guess?
Right?
Ever since I was little, I've been surrounded by cats,
so that might be why I always felt so awkward being a human.
That's why I'm currently trying to get myself accustomed to this cat's body.
I see...
But isn't it amazing?
He saved up money for this and really committed to it.
Isn't that what you're supposed to do with your dreams?
You ran away from home because you wanted to be the captain of a spaceship one day, right?
A spaceship captain?
Yup. Oh, but keep this a secret from everyone else. It's embarrassing.
Ten minutes until warp.
I guess there really isn't that much time.
Later. Hopefully, we'll all see each other again.
Yeah.
Comet, isn't your room that way?
Yeah, but, Yuri...
You're... so fuzzy.
Fuzzy?
It's hard to get a read on you.
You sorta seem like a lie.
What? So you're suspecting me?
Hm... I'm not really sure.
Yeah, this stuff is beyond me, so whatever.
See ya!
It's filled a little.
Yuri...
So Racio was...
Yes. I cannot sense Racio's presence.
Wasn't it obvious that this would happen?
They said entirely too much yesterday,
meaning they made themselves the prime target for the Gnosia.
Would you like to start the meeting?
Yes, please.
First, I have something to tell all of you.
I kept quiet about this yesterday,
but I have Doctor credentials.
"Doctor"?
It does appear that one person has been issued Doctor credentials.
Does anyone else also claim to be a Doctor?
It seems not. Okay, I'll continue.
Yesterday, I checked Jina for a Gnosia response after she was put into cold sleep.
The result was that she was clear. Jina was human.
Wait... What's this Doctor thing?
Right. I guess I didn't explain that.
The Doctor is able to tell if the person
who was put into cold sleep the day before is human or Gnosia.
The Engineer can check one living person,
and the Doctor can check one person who was put into cold sleep.
If we use the information available from both, it should help us figure out the situation.
I see...
But is there anything useful in finding out that Jina was human?
I'm not sure if it's useful, but it means we can confirm both Jina and Racio were human.
Which would mean that there are two Gnosia among the six of us.
And of those two,
we know that one of them is among the two claiming Engineer—myself and Stella.
Which means the other must be among the remaining four.
That's everything we currently know.
That's not all.
Stella and Yuriko each have a 50% chance of being Gnosia,
while the rest of us each have a 25% chance.
The odds are different.
So which should we prioritize in this case?
Didn't Racio mention yesterday
that it'd be foolish to eliminate the ones claiming Engineer?
Does that mean we shouldn't vote for those two today, either?
No, if we rule them out again today...
Someone's going to end up in cold sleep,
and someone's going to be attacked by the Gnosia during the warp.
If that happens, there'll only be four left.
Then there'll be an equal amount of crew and Gnosia, and the ship will be taken over.
Um...
I'd like to make my report before we go any further, but is that all right?
Oh, right. We forgot about that.
When I conducted my check as Engineer,
I detected irregularities in Chipie's dimensional waves.
Unfortunately, Chipie is infected by the Gnosia.
Seriously?
Then I shall make my report, as well.
There were no traces of Gnosia in Setsu.
They are a truly insignificant existence.
I can't say I'm surprised.
What do you think?
This means one of them is lying and one of them is telling the truth, right?
Yeah, it does.
But this also confirms that Setsu is the real Doctor.
And why's that?
Let's assume Yuriko is the real Engineer and take her result as the truth.
In that scenario, Setsu is human.
Well, I get that, but...
And if we assume Stella is the real Engineer and take her result as the truth,
that means Chipie is a Gnosia—
and that the other Engineer, Yuriko, is the other Gnosia.
In which case, everyone other than those two is human.
So in either scenario, Setsu is human.
I see...
So, Yuriko or Stella... Which one is the Gnosia?
Think...
Why did Yuriko check Setsu?
Stella checked Chipie.
There has to be a reason...
Some kind of hint...
Unfortunately, Chipie is infected by the Gnosia.
Seriously?
That's it.
I...
think Yuriko is suspicious.
Oho... Continue.
I've been thinking.
If Yuriko and Stella were Gnosia, how would they try to trick us?
Yuriko reported that Setsu was human.
But that was only after Setsu announced that they were the Doctor.
We can't rule out the possibility
that she used that situation to her advantage to make us believe her.
Meanwhile, Stella reported that Chipie was a Gnosia.
Know your place.
She's clearly trying to send a human into cold sleep so she can take over the ship.
Her intentions are crystal clear.
- Stella. - Yes?
What made you decide to investigate Chipie?
Could you tell us the reason?
Yes.
First, I decided against investigating Yuriko.
Because even if she is a Gnosia,
from my position, it would simply be confirming the obvious.
Why's that?
They've both come out and claimed to be the real Engineer,
so of course they'd know the other is fake.
So, why did you check me?
Well... No particular reason...
See? She has no coherent answer.
No.
I actually think that's the proper reaction to have.
We humans don't have that much information to work with.
I guess you're no mere lamb after all.
I'd like to ask you the same question.
Why did you decide to check Setsu?
It's simple.
They are the narrator who has been directing the meetings on this ship.
I believe that's a sufficient reason to investigate them first.
It's true that the meetings could greatly change depending
on whether Setsu is a human or a Gnosia.
Well? Where did all your spirit go?
Are you going to raise the white flag and surrender already?
Your reasoning is indeed sound.
But it's exactly as I thought.
Your explanation was too complete.
To me, it sounded like you had prepared to use it from the start,
so that you could avoid the risk of singling yourself out as a Gnosia.
Risk?
Yeah. Just think about it.
If Stella happened to be a Gnosia,
saying that Chipie was a Gnosia would put her at risk, as well.
I see.
Huh? I don't understand at all.
Declaring a Gnosia result means making that person your enemy.
Exactly.
Since Stella said she was the Engineer,
she's already made the other supposed Engineer, Yuriko, her enemy.
She's now made Chipie her enemy on top of that.
There's only six of us left,
and she's done something that guarantees two votes against her.
If Stella were a Gnosia,
I can't imagine she'd take that much of a risk when she could just lie all she wanted to.
Yuri...
You fool.
You've averted your eyes from the truth that's right in front of you
and blindly accepted an assumption.
That doesn't sound like an argument. It just sounds like you're panicking.
If we send a human into cold sleep right now,
we'll have two Gnosia and two humans tomorrow.
At that point, it's game over.
Voting has completed. Six valid votes.
The voting rate is 100%.
The votes will now be tallied.
It has been decided.
Yuriko will be put into cold sleep.
You insignificant humans...
There's no other way around it. I shall be frozen.
Don't you think you might as well tell us?
Whether we made the right decision or not.
You can find that out for yourselves.
You there.
Huh? Me?
They say that in this vast universe,
there are endless worlds and endless possibilities.
Perhaps another version of you and another version of myself will meet again.
I have a feeling that may just happen.
Hey.
Chipie...
I guess this is checkmate?
You're a sharp one, Setsu. It is.
Tomorrow, when I check Yuriko and determine that she was a Gnosia,
it will confirm that Stella is the real Engineer.
Which means...
Stella's report that I'm a Gnosia
will also be confirmed.
I figured that I could just eliminate Setsu tonight and it'd work out somehow,
but that would ultimately just lead to the same resolution.
As long as Yuri is here.
Well, see ya.
Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to drag you into this mess.
Chipie...
It's honestly pretty strange.
Eating, sleeping, and surviving was all I needed to be happy.
At least, that's what I thought.
But even after becoming a Gnosia, my desire to be a cat didn't suddenly change.
You guys win. You survived.
Make sure you don't have any regrets.
Chipie!
I'm sorry.
There's no reason for you to apologize.
No. Unlike you, I... Um...
It's not the end for me! Even if I mess up...
And yet...
What are you talking about?
Uh, er... I...
"Do your best," he says.
I will.
The Gnosia presence has disappeared.
We both still have a long way to go.
Yeah.
Wait...
Everyone's not gathered in the main control room?
Hm?