Gravity fluctuation (6)
Sabeojak—
That was the sound I made when I first set foot on the Sea of Tranquility after disembarking from the shuttle. I thought the ground would be solid since it was the landing site, but that wasn't the case.
Still, I didn't feel like I was going to sink deeply. My shoes only sank in a little.
I pressed my palm against the sand on the ground to check the temperature, then scooped up a handful and let it slip through my fingers.
Perhaps because of the terraforming equipment said to be underground, it was a type of surface I had never seen before. It was extremely dry, and the surrounding temperature was also a bit higher than in other places. It was still cold, but less so.
'This feels more like a desert than a sea.'
The grains looked as if they'd been finely ground and re-ground from an icy terrain. From a distance, the name "Sea of Tranquility" had seemed fitting, but up close, "Desert of Tranquility" felt more apt.
The frozen land wasn't clumping together, but had crumbled into tiny grains, taking the form of sand. One might question how desertification could occur in a place covered with ice, but I had nothing to say to that, either.
"Ughhh..."
Nadia bravely jumped down from the shuttle after me. Swoosh. Her light weight shifted the sandy ground slightly beneath her.
She found the sensation from below quite unfamiliar, and every time she walked towards me, her ears and tail quivered. There were spots where your foot would sink in deep, so her walking looked a bit wobbly.
"Feels kind of weird, doesn't it?"
"It's not just weird. How can anything feel like this? Somehow, I hate it even more."
"Me too."
I agreed that I didn't like it either, and when Nadia came close, I picked her up. As she dangled there without resistance, I stayed like that, waiting for Carry to come over.
Nadia's furrowed brow relaxed when she sensed no strange vibrations from the ground.
"I thought you said you hated it?"
"I thought you said you hated it."
When I replied the same, Nadia understood the meaning and grinned bashfully.
「ヽ(•̀ω•́ )ゝ」
Carry zoomed over asking if we'd waited long. I handed Nadia over to Carry and headed toward Kanna and her team as they were surveying the area.
"Is there a problem?"
"Ah, um... Have you checked the ground?"
"Yes. Sinks like a desert, though I've never seen one myself."
"... Seems everyone has a similar impression. That's a bit odd. It's more fluid than usual, but it wasn't like this before. Looks like there's something wrong with the terraforming equipment."
Kanna let out a small sigh and continued.
"We might have even less time than we thought."
"Then let's get moving."
"Yes. Charlie! Hurry it up! If you're not done yet, what are you doing?!"
Kanna signaled her team to get ready, and each member gave the 'OK' after a final equipment check.
As I listened to the rattling of the military suits, I glanced at the horizon.
I could see a giant upside-down icicle reaching toward the sky in the distance, with a metallic base attached to that massive pillar. That must be the remains of military base Keter.
I never thought I would ever see, or enter, a military base in my life. I suppose that's how it goes—life rarely unfolds as you expect. I never imagined my first time would be sneaking in through a secret entrance.
If I told my past self what I was seeing now, he'd probably ask if it was real several times over.
Military base Keter. A place that fell from within, betrayed by an insider. It was now presumably occupied by mutants and pureblood supremacists. Any friendly forces inside would likely have been wiped out.
Kanna had tried countless times to establish encrypted comms through Griffin, but all attempts went unanswered.
'Pureblood supremacists......'
The thought of the people inside made me frown unconsciously—right then, Licorice calmly stepped forward, having handed over the Alpha Series control rights to us.
"Lee Hyun-woo, be careful—no, just come back alive, that's enough. I've got biocells, so we can handle pretty much any injury."
"Yes."
"But seriously, don't come back at death's door. Well, I know you'll manage, but..."
Licorice looked at Nadia and the others. Eventually, her gaze returned to me, but this alone was a big step forward.
She still had trust issues with others, but perhaps thanks to her recent experiences, I felt I was at least slightly inside her protective sphere now. I couldn't help but give her a proud look, and a smirk slipped out in the process.
"What? Are you worried?"
"... Worried? No! What I meant was, Alpha is all I'm sending, so don't break it and make sure you bring it back safe, okay?"
"Got it. You're always right, Licorice."
"As if you know! You don't understand a thing!"
"I said I got it."
Seeing me unphased, Licorice pursed her lips in silence. She must have realized the more she talked, the more she'd lose out.
For this mission, Licorice was to stay with Griffin and handle hacking the military base's defense systems. Celestia's Myosotis clearance would get us into the hangar easily, but military facilities were a different beast.
It was basically impossible to manage in a short time. If we'd had Myosotis's clearance prior to its downfall, maybe, but with her current rank, there was no way to freely operate military facilities.
So hacking was the only option. It would be Licorice's first time hacking a military facility—we had no idea how long it might take, or if it would even work.
With little chance of good timing and no guarantee of success, we decided to head out first.
While Licorice fussed around, I suddenly remembered something I wanted to ask.
"Oh, Licorice. Could you spare me some time later? I'd like it if we could talk just the two of us."
Nadia's past story. I had intended to talk while we traveled, but worried I might not be able to focus on my surroundings, I postponed it. And back at Griffin, Licorice had been too busy to make time.
"... Just the two of us?"
At being teased, the anger in Licorice's eyes faded away as if it had never been there—replaced by confusion, suspicion, and a hint of happiness.
"Yes. It's a serious talk."
"S-serious, even? ... Alright. I'll make time. That's unexpected. Didn't think you'd be the one to say that..."
Licorice looked oddly flustered, spinning a lock of hair around her finger. I didn't really understand why. At least I realized Licorice's thoughts differed from mine.
From experience, I knew to just leave it at that for now. I agreed that we'd talk later and turned away.
Aside from Kanna's team, the people heading for Keter military base remained unchanged.
'Where's Roxy?'
I knew Roxy was supposed to be part of the mission, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Nadia, where's Roxy? Did he go somewhere else?"
"Ah... Hyun-woo, you didn't hear? He's got a special assignment."
"Special assignment? Not piloting the Albatross?"
"No, the soldiers are doing that instead. Roxy will be holding position at high altitude—high enough not to trigger any defense systems. ... With a load full of explosives, too."
"....."
I hurriedly cut off comms with Roxy after hearing Nadia's answer. No wonder he had set a separate shuttle aside. I wasn't worried about Roxy even if he was given the dangerous job.
If anything, dopamine addict Roxy probably wanted a job like that more than anyone. Even before losing comms, I could already hear his excited "huhuhu" laughter, exuding anticipation.
It was a relief I'd hung up before he could really react. I didn't want to hear any more of his laughter—it gave me the chills.
Finally, the last of the preparations ended with the soldier who was hauling the energy relay on his back.
Kanna compared the terminal's coordinates to our current location, and started to dig into the ground. Like a treasure hunt, she dug away the sand-like grains until with a metallic 'thunk', a thick metal door was revealed.
"It would be wise to set your respirators to maximum. We don't know what's inside."
Everyone nodded at Kanna's words and adjusted their respirators and helmets. Even Carry fussed over her head section for no reason.
"Celestia."
"Yes."
Kanna powered up the relay, and when Celestia authenticated the door with Myosotis's clearance, the door—which looked like it would never open—began to creak heavily open.
The inside space was so deep that the rumbling echoed like a wave. What greeted us was a long passage filled with thick dust and the rusty, metallic tang of oxidized steel.
Using the Alpha Series control rights that Licorice had given me, I sent two robots in first. True to their programming, the Alpha Series fearlessly descended and lit up the dark corridor with their headlights.
Up to where the light reached, there was no danger, only a thick blanket of dust.
"Carry, let's go too!"
「٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و」
Nadia and Carry, armed with gear I'd never seen before, followed behind. The entrance was small, so as we waited our turn, Kanna gave Carry a look of interest.
"Carry is... quite—no, very active, compared to normal transport robots."
"That's one of Carry's traits. It's a strength."
"Did you modify her yourself?"
"Sorry? No! Only basic helper functions for mining, nothing else. Didn't want anything more, either."
"I see."
Kanna tilted her head. Her cat ears tilted as well. I was curious about her confusion and asked why, and she gave an unexpected answer.
"I know the same model. In fact, I've used one."
"Oh?"
So there was another model like Carry out there. That model was rare in the market, so it was surprising Kanna would have had one.
I wondered if I could set Carry up with a friend—wouldn't a robot of the same model make a good companion?
But Kanna still wore a subtle, ambiguous expression.
"I think I can guess what you're hoping, but unfortunately, the model I remember and Carry have completely different behavior patterns."
"They're different?"
"Yes. The other model didn't have a variety of emotions, like Carry does. Its actions were simple, transport-robot patterns."
If Carry was its own entity, then that transport robot of the same model—according to Kanna—fit the word 'robot' perfectly.
And that wasn't exactly a compliment. A robot is a lump of metal that will carry out orders even if its own chassis breaks, but without orders, it's restricted in its movements.
In fact, it was almost an insult to compare that type of robot with Carry. Carry is expressive and helpful, moving in ways that aid us even without explicit orders, building a positive image for herself.
"That can't be.... Oh, when I bought Carry at the market, the person told me the model was a test of new technology, with a learning AI included. I remember it clearly."
I could still vividly recall the seller's face, waxing lyrical about what a great buyer I was, how I had such discerning taste, and that Carry was the perfect purchase.
"Hmm.... Hyun-woo, please don't take this the wrong way, but transport robots don't come with high-end tech like that. Especially not anywhere near a blue crystal resonance area."
I figured out what Kanna was implying. It was related to why mining companies didn't use robots because of the cost of dimension coating.
The more complicated a device's circuitry, the higher the coating cost. Without it, the waves would trash even an expensive robot in no time. With SSTC unable to afford that, they used people as miners instead.
I, too, had struggled with the cost when I first brought Carry with me. Even thinly coating it was expensive.
"And learning AI is for military use only. Anyone else is strictly banned from using it. There was a case where letting a self-learning AI run a research facility ended up blowing it up."
"... So I got scammed? Tsk... No, but... Then it just doesn't add up..."
"I found that strange too. Whether Carry actually has a learning AI or not.... What's the model number for Carry? CR60N—how many?"
"Number seven."
"Then CR60N7T, I suppose."
She glanced to confirm and I nodded.
"That's right."
"Far as I know, the new technology for this model isn't the AI, but a detachable module system."
So not all the new transport robots were modular? Up to now, repairs had been easier thanks to modules, but if that was the 'new tech', that was shocking. No, it really was.
"When I got Carry, the guy said they couldn't mass produce it because of a defect—maybe that defect was related to Carry's AI?"
"That's false news. Actually, it was too high-performance, so they discontinued it."
"Huh?"
"Making everything modular drove costs up, but the model hardly ever broke, so once they had some bad excuses around defects, they just washed their hands of it."
The logic was, some breakdowns are needed for turnover and profit, but that model didn't break down enough, so they scrapped the production line. And since modules could work with non-genuine parts, the decision was easy.
"Well... But what about the talking? The seller told me that if I just swapped in a voice module, Carry would be able to talk, but I've replaced it during breakdowns and it's never worked."
"Transport robots aren't meant to talk. That would make the circuitry far more complex."
"..."
I felt confused. If Carry was never designed for voice, then almost half of what I thought I knew about it was wrong. No wonder I'd never fixed it—there was nothing to fix in the first place.
Kanna mentioned a recent robot from the same company. I knew the model.
A brand-new transport robot being sold for a ridiculous price of 10 million credits as a base model. According to Kanna, that was the successor to the successor of Carry's model.
A robot that breaks down at just the right rate, strong enough, sometimes even 'fixing' itself.
The more features the owner adds, the more expensive it gets, so it turns a profit.
A bland, ordinary transport robot without any special features.
"That's kind of shocking."
"That's how corporations work."
Her cynical tone left me speechless.
'Then what's with Carry's personality?'
Carry appeared at my loneliest moment. Thanks to it, I survived a hard time and was able to meet Nadia. She'd always been so energetic from the minute I switched it on.
So I thought all transport robots were like Carry. In all my time working as a miner, I'd seen others' robots, but since they looked more rugged, I just assumed those were old models.
"I don't think you need to worry. If you think about it, wouldn't you say Carry isn't 'strange', but rather, 'special'?"
"Of course. Strange? I'd never throw Carry away, never."
I replied firmly. Carry was a part of me now. Abandoning it would be like giving up my own life. That's how precious it was.
Still, I wanted to make a comparison, so I asked where that other model was, but the answer came back that it had already broken down and been scrapped. That was a real shame.
Before I knew it, everyone except me and Kanna had gone down. I guess we'd spent a lot of time talking.
「(๑ •̀ω•́)۶」
Carry swung her support arms impatiently, as if wondering why I hadn't come yet. Looks like it'd already gone down and dropped off Nadia, as no one was riding atop her.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
I told it there was no need to rush and lightly jumped down into the musty-smelling tunnel. Carry zoomed to my side and shone its light.
It looked ready to take charge of lighting the way. That made me laugh. I really didn't care if Carry had some secret.
Because from the start, Carry was Carry to me.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Who's thinking that Hyun-woo unknowingly used his Fairy(페어리) powers to give Carry intelligence and personality during his darkest days?
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】