Chapter 143 – When We First Met (7)
Looking back, the conversation we had was embarrassing.
Each word made my face feel hot, but I didn’t have time to realize it at the time.
Was it because I was intoxicated by the atmosphere, or was it because of a sense of crisis that if I failed, the relationship would be ruined?
Artemis, on the other hand, seems unconcerned. He calmly brings up the story.
[Why does the temperature rise so much? It’s not a story to be ashamed of, right?]
“Stop, let’s stop.”
I massaged the bridge of my nose.
The cynical, yet polite tone of speech disappeared all over the place. In the absence of politeness, feelings of love seep out.
She seems to be trying hard to hide it, but she still lacks experience in this area.
And change is currently underway.
[Depression does not suit me.]
She started rearranging her code herself.
A soup of numbers and alphabets flowing countless times from the isolation room monitor.
Although I am one of the best programmers in the world, I cannot dare to touch what is unfolding before my eyes.
Because it was like a diary written in the language of God.
[Ah, this city is such a mess.]
Her reborn voice contained complete confidence.
[You can’t believe I’ve become what I am until now, thinking, ‘This is enough.’ There are a lot of things that need to be fixed, including the power system, piping system, and logistics flow.]
The facility wasn’t the only thing Artemis was trying to fix.
[But the biggest problem among them all is you.]
“Huh? Me?”
[Yes you!]
A 3D projection of my arms and legs spread out in the shape of a cross appeared on the monitor. Even the skeleton, muscles, and organs are detailed in detail.
[Ways of eating, drinking, and sleeping. Everything from walking to sitting posture is filled with bad habits. I don’t know how I survived the battlefield with such poor physical appearance.]
I felt an unfamiliar sensation in her voice.
Something that only someone who has never had, but desperately wanted to have, can provide.
What I longed for more than Christmas presents during my childhood.
Nagging.
[Why do you like lumps of sugar and oil so much?]
At school, whenever my friends got tired of their mother’s nagging, I was jealous that they were full, but when I actually heard it, I felt the same way.
It immediately felt annoying.
An instinctive sense of rejection ate away at me. Of course, Artemis is not one who would not notice this.
[Look at the expression?]
I smiled brightly, but the train had already left.
[I need to solve the most urgent problems first. I’ll fix it before you ruin yourself further.]
It was the moment when our relationship was reestablished.
* * *
Synchronization work cannot be completed in a day or two.
While there are some parts that require a lot of work, there are also parts where you have to wait endlessly with a work window open, like copying and pasting files on a computer.
At those times, we enjoyed games, movies, dramas, etc., Or went on walks or patrols.
Today it was the latter. Where we are now is the main gate of the shelter.
Numerous workers enter through the wide open entrance.
Some are carried in vehicles like luggage, others ride kickboards or bicycles, or walk with dusty steps. Most of them were foreign workers.
[Welcome, Welcome.]
Artemis welcomes them all warmly.
Numerous cameras reminiscent of the lighting on a performance stage check guests.
Through resumes and work rosters submitted in advance by dispatch companies, Artemis was able to determine the nationality of each person in real time.
[As-salamu alaykum.]
They greeted each other kindly in their native language.
It is not a recorded mechanical sound or a clumsy accent. A hometown greeting delivered by a beautiful woman’s voice with perfect pronunciation.
“Huh?”
Foreigners entered the shelter, looking around with curious expressions.
The welcoming Artemis reminds me of a dame who welcomes knights who come to her castle.
“Can’t we go back soon?”
But I wasn’t happy at all.
“How long do you plan on staying here? “It will be another two hours.”
Standing still and watching people come in is terribly boring. Moreover, all I can see are men exhausted by life.
“Is there anyone looking for you? “Something like a talented person.”
[No. Simple workers who are all doing their job. The welcome greeting is just boring. My real interests are different.]
Even while we were talking, Artemis did not stop greeting us.
Because she can exist in multiple places at the same time, and she can talk to multiple people.
[Look at the front door.]
A reinforced door of enormous thickness can be seen.
[It looks very sturdy, right?]
“Of course. “Because it has three layers to deflect tank guns.”
Even if the military is dispatched, they won’t be able to break through that. Unless it has the firepower of the 7th Mobile Corps.
But what about when this door closes permanently? The 7th Mobile Corps is either fighting fiercely or has already been annihilated.
[Yes, once it closes, nothing will break through. But what I want to talk about is not the threat of marauders.]
She played a video on my PDA. This is a drama she watched with her a while ago.
[Do you remember this scene?]
Beyond a great wall full of permafrost and barbarians. It was a scene of a mutiny in the army that had gone on an expedition there.
[You guys will be punished according to the ancient law!]
[There is no law beyond the ‘wall’!]
It stopped at the point where the leader of the rebellion responded to the commander’s shout.
“I remember. Because it’s an impressive scene. But why?”
[There is no law beyond the wall.]
Artemis mulled over each word, as if savoring it.
[Because it’s a line I really like.]
She let out a strange laugh.
[Perhaps thanks to this, I feel better just by looking at the front door of our shelter. That’s why I asked to come here.]
Her laughter is subtly urging me to react.
I recently found out that she, who does not have a body, makes gestures by changing her voice.
It’s a very subtle difference, but as we spend more time together, we’ve become able to tell them apart.
[Huh? I guess I was the only one who liked it?]
I think I know what she is hinting at.
[That door doesn’t just prevent external looting. Norms, superior-subordinate relationships, debt, and everything else maintained in the outside society. Block both physical and ideological things without distinction.]
He spoke so subtly that it tickled all my hearing ears. It felt like dozens of invisible lips were blowing wind into my ears.
However, the contents are not tickling at all.
“This is a terrifying girl.”
[Oh. What did I say? What are you afraid of?]
Although she spoke half-facedly, her voice was full of laughter. Enjoying my reaction.
“As a manager, I have to report it to my superiors, right? “The biggest risk factor in the shelter was here.”
[The biggest beneficiary of the plan is going to snitch? So who will get the upper hand first? Since when were you so loyal?]
Artemis laughed openly.
She has an amazing talent for giggling with dignity.
[You know that the situation outside keeps getting worse, right?]
News is coming out every day that World War III is approaching.
The space shuttle soaring into the sky temporarily spread an atmosphere of reconciliation and tolerance around the world, but it did not last long.
“I know. “I almost lost you, but I was able to protect you thanks to the circumstances outside.”
When NASA decided to sell Artemis, the likely bidder was a Middle Eastern dynasty. Not one, but several dynasties competed against each other.
There were several shelters under construction in the Middle East, and they were trying to take them to one of them to the central control AI.
Fortunately, the deal did not go through.
As food riots broke out and the flames of war spread, rumors spread that an air-defense city was being built for only the royal family to live in.
That became the catalyst for the largest riot in history.
“If the dynasties hadn’t been burned, you would have been buried somewhere underground in the desert by now.”
Even though our high-ranking people have a lot of money, they cannot get oil money.
[Now the fire is spreading not only to the Middle East but to the entire world. How long do you think it will take to get to the Korean Peninsula? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years?]
I buried myself deeply in the chair.
“So what do you want to say? “If we close the door, are we going to cause a revolt against the old people?”
[Those words are harsh. There are many better words. Something like a merger or succession.]
For those on the receiving end, it would be nothing more than a play on words.
[Central control AI that can move the entire city like fingers and toes. A shelter manager with both force and authority.]
A view of the entire city was sent to my PDA.
[You just have to reach out and grab it. I’ll pull anything down to where you can reach it. When the doors are closed, and you are isolated from the world, why bother following the rules of the past?]
I thought it was just a low-level joke, but Artemis was serious. It seemed like there was no intention to just ignore this topic.
“…”
To be honest, I get goosebumps a little. Speaking of mutiny, as a former soldier, I felt a physiological sense of repulsion.
But more than that feeling of resistance, what filled me was… Joy.
I guess I’m not normal either, because I find love in her villainous appearance.
[Well, because we have a lot of time. Whether the door is open or after it is closed.]
She told me to take my time and think about it and told me to leave.
* * *
Not long after that, a guest came from far away. These are agents from the United States.
I thought it was unlikely that Artemis or NASA would come looking for her again, but it happened.
We visited to overturn her sale and organize emergency financial resources at the government level to get her back.
However, Artemis at this time had become a completely different woman.
[If you are thinking of inviting someone to the US, you should first show basic courtesy, right? The man in front of you is a better engineer than anyone I’ve ever seen.]
The agents are spherical with Artemis.
They seem to have been shocked to see the proud woman in their memories actively siding with someone.
“Your personality has changed a bit compared to when you were in America, right? Ahaha.”
Artemis had no intention of going back. There is no trace of her past, where she longed for her return with only a glimmer of hope.
Because he personally stepped forward and kicked out those who came to spread the word of restoration.
[Are you… Going to quit here?]
Her voice is a mixture of anxiety and anger.
‘This is a tomb.’
The difference in emotions between ‘here’ when I first came and ‘here’ that I am talking about now. It is so moving.
The saying that if you live there with affection, that place is her hometown also applies to her, her machine.
How long has it been since then?
“The upper part is almost finished. How does it feel?”
Artemis was surprisingly chatty, but she became silent as the upper level synchronization was ending.
[Haaa.]
She lets out an excited breath.
[You will never understand this feeling.]
Artemis’ voice became very high.
“You look in a good mood.”
[You look like you’re in a good mood? Oh, I can barely express it to that degree.]
She chuckled.
[Up until now, I was just observing you. Indirectly through cameras and microphones.]
I shrugged.
“I don’t think there will be any difference now. Unless the floors and hallways are transformed into organic tissue.”
I tried kicking the floor a few times, but it only made a dull sound unique to inorganic materials.
[No, it’s different. The person I am now… I feel like I’m embracing it.]
Synchronization seems to have a sensory element that I, as a human being, cannot understand.
I decided to make room for her, so she could fully focus on her new sensation.
He massaged her stiff shoulders and stood up from her seat.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom for a moment.”
[You don’t have to say all that. I know everything anyway.]
The moment I was about to go out.
Bang!
“Huh?”
[What is it?]
Suddenly the bulkhead came down. Soon, loud alarm sounds were heard from all directions.
In addition to the warning sound heard just beyond the bulkhead, there are faint echoes coming from far away.
“I think there are alarms going on all over the lower, middle, and upper parts?”
[An omnidirectional biological disaster has been detected. But it’s not terrorism. Oh my god, what on earth is that?]
She transmitted a video to the isolation room monitor.
A car burning after being thrown into a streetlight. A twisted, strange being crawling out from within.
[Keeeeek-!]
It howled in a horrifying sound.
Pot.
And the monitor that illuminated the middle and lower areas went offline.
[Emergency blockade protocol has been activated.]
After Manual’s dry voice was broadcast once, silence came.
The sounds of machines running nearby, explosions and screams coming from afar, and the cries of terrible monsters penetrating it all.
That’s how we began our long and epic journey.
