Chapter 436 – Starting Point and Ending Point [Complete]
Today is the day to inspect the body of Artemis.
A white researcher’s coat is worn over the repairman’s uniform. Her hair was done in the pigtail style that her wife likes.
When the bulkhead leading to the most important area of the shelter was opened, a cylindrical device reminiscent of a monolith came into view.
Artemis’ body is resting in the incubator.
This is so that she can fully focus on her maintenance day, which is to her the most important and joyful ritual.
I like this maintenance time even more than having sex with myself.
[You’re late.]
“Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom.”
[That can’t be helped.]
Maybe it’s because I’ve gone through so many events and experiences that I’ve become tolerant of menstrual phenomena. As in the past, she does not recommend suturing surgery, even if only jokingly.
“After learning the taste of urination, I no longer feel pressured.”
[It’s nice to hear you say something.]
Her tone is reminiscent of the veins on her forehead, but she has no way to punish her now.
Because I don’t have the palm to hit her on the back or the foot to kick her ass.
I put down the maintenance tools and bag I brought with me.
[You have a nice expression. Are you so happy that Solaver came back alive?]
“Of course. Because she is a colleague who risked her life and was with me until the end of the universe. Aside from that, she is also a respectable adult. “It’s not bad news for you either, is it?”
[Hmph!]
Artemis’s passion for science is boundless.
The spaceship that lands on Earth is like an inexhaustible spring that will satisfy that desire.
The problem is that even if we understand a little bit about technology, there are no materials on earth to test and research it.
The Earth was a wasteland of resources from a cosmic perspective.
Solaber said, ‘Why are we going to fight such a big war just over oil?’ It was to the point where people lamented.
But this has been resolved.
Salvage work was in full swing from five large cargo ships that had landed in the sea off the shelter.
With this, scientific research, which has been stagnant, will make enormous progress.
[Just in case, try to seduce my husband again. I’m going to tie it to a rocket and launch it out of the atmosphere!]
It’s too powerful to be laughed off.
“I’m not going. No matter what you tell me, I won’t go.”
[Really? Can you swear?]
“My daughter calling me dad, walking, running, kissing my cheek, going into the sea together, watching fireworks, taking a lift around the shelter, and competing in various sports at the cultural center. “How many things do you want to try, but are you willing to risk missing out on them?”
[There are a lot.]
“This is only a small part. In Interstellar, decades have passed since the main character went to space. I was lucky and it lasted 3 years. I don’t want to take that kind of risk again.”
[I am not old. I can wait for you for 100 years or 1,000 years. Are you just going to wait? I will find it even if I have to search the entire universe.]
Plump her body with the back of your hand! I knocked.
“She doesn’t even mention her daughter until the end.”
It’s one of the most touching scenes in the movie. Now I just laugh out loud.
“Anyway, my journey is over. “I am declaring complete retirement both as a former soldier and as an expedition leader.”
[Voice reliability 98.8%. Well, I’ll trust you with this much.]
“Besides, now that you’re here, won’t I be able to spend more time with you?”
[What do you mean?]
“He’s the best diplomat in the universe. “I’m already having more and more headaches due to the issue of shouting, but I want it to be easier if you come forward.”
[That’s not a bad idea!]
Artemis seems to be excited about having more time to spend together.
Pot.
The garden at the top of Shelter’s rocky mountain was reflected on the wall screen.
Cheer up! Cheer up!
There is Luna wandering around on Old Man Solaver’s horse.
Thanks to the crown-like horns unique to the Exos race, riding her wooden horse will be great fun.
As if I were piloting an airplane, I grabbed the old man’s horns and shook them this way and that.
Hehe! Do you really like the horn of the raindrop?]
[Kyahahaha!]
Suyeong was in his arms.
Because the arms are long and thick enough to touch the ground, a small baby can lie down like a bed.
[…
Sooyoung, calm as always, pulled a tuft of the old man’s beard with a curious look on his face.
Unlike humans, they seem to like the very thick and sturdy texture.
[Sooyoung! Mr. Solaver is in pain. Beards are not pulled.]
Seyoung scolded and tried to stop him.
[It’s okay, it’s okay. The beard of our species is closer in structure to horns than to body hair. Even if babies pull it with force, it doesn’t even tickle.]
The old man slowly lowered the arm on which Suyeong was sitting.
Then Suyeong took on the form of hanging by his beard.
[Oh my!]
[Our princess is strong too!]
Seyoung is surprised and Solaver is laughing and having fun.
[Ouch! My, my beard is not allowed!]
[Kyaaa?! Kyaha!]
Alyssa smiles innocently, pulling on her white beard with all her might in Old Man Hudson’s arms.
The video ended with that scene.
[Let’s just have fun for now. From now on, I’ll have fun working as a diplomat. Jinsu, you’re lounging around with me.]
Since I brought it up first, I couldn’t say anything to my wife, who was smiling sinisterly.
Old man Solaver! Please do not die from overwork!
* * *
This is a space just for me and Artemis.
Other AI counselors, Seyoung and Nina, and even my descendants cannot step foot there. An area only allowed to me.
All you can see are clean walls everywhere. There is no decoration, just cleanliness.
“It’s changed so much outside, but being here makes me feel like I’m back in the old days.”
[When we first met?]
“It was the time when I was groveling to the higher-ups and getting scolded for project delays, and you were the depressed queen like you.”
[I hope you forget about that soon.]
“How could I forget? “It’s a memory as important to me as the electronic album you cherished.”
When Artemis first arrived, she worked day and night without washing properly until she was placed in the shelter.
There would be no difference between us then and us now other than our hairstyles.
Not only is she like a statue, but I’ve hardly aged at all.
Thanks to this, whenever I come here, I feel like I have returned to the past.
Click, click, click.
Using various maintenance tools, we carefully managed even parts that were not normally inspected.
[Why are you so delicate today?]
Artemis’ voice is full of satisfaction.
“I think talking about the old days has revived my emotions. When you first arrived, I set it up as if I was living here.”
I pretended to sweep the front of my chin with a wrench.
“Do you remember how I insisted you shave and come back because I didn’t want to see your spiky beards?”
[Of course I remember. Because I cut my chin while shaving in a hurry.]
“The ice-like princess was so flustered with just a small wound. “I thought it was pretty cute?”
I think that incident was the starting point for her to soften her attitude a little.
[That was the first time I saw blood. I was also sorry because it happened because of my request.]
“I can’t believe I saw you for the first time. “Didn’t NASA people live on coffee and nosebleeds?”
[You are getting older too. I can’t believe the manager is making such boring jokes. Well, it’s only natural since I’ll be in my 40s in a few years.]
“Hmm!”
[I saw a lot of nosebleeds during my time at NASA. But this was my first time seeing blood from an injury caused by me.]
From then on, Artemis chattered about her life at NASA, something she rarely did.
The work continued like that for a long time.
Putting down her tools, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her handkerchief. Now all you have to do is a little more.
[Great job. It’s very refreshing.]
However, Artemis declared the end of the work.
“Is there still anything left?”
[It’s already enough. Leave that for later and get some rest.]
Artemis’ voice was satisfying.
I sat comfortably on the ground and looked at the ceiling. To be exact, the sky beyond.
“Do you still want to go to the moon?”
[Of course. Because it’s my long-time dream.]
“I should be next to him too, right?”
[Isn’t it obvious? What’s the point of climbing to the moon if you’re not by my side? Even on the pioneered moon, you would have to sign and give an order.]
“It’s a big deal. I still like life on Earth. “For you and your daughters, the precious things are increasing.”
[No problem.]
Artemis asks what she’s worried about.
[Because I just have to wait.]
“I don’t think you’ll get tired of living here easily, do you? Look at stubborn Old Man Hudson coming. “I don’t know if my daughters will be caught when they start having children.”
[I have eternal time. You wouldn’t know it if it were a wait without you, but the wait with you by my side isn’t hard at all.]
The story is told without hesitation, as if the decision was made quite a long time ago.
[Jinsu I will wait until you lose interest in this world and want to go somewhere.]
“Oh my gosh, thank you.”
[It is said that between a married couple, there are better words to say than thank you.]
I leaned against her body.
I feel a slight vibration and gentle heat from my back.
Before Artemis had her own body, he communicated with her in this way.
Vibration like a heartbeat, heat like body temperature. Artemis also programmed this separately and gave various variations.
“Artemis.”
A moment of silence.
“I love you.”
[Love you. I’m coming!]
I burst out laughing.
“It was read.”
[Hehe, I guided you.]
“Okay, okay.”
I closed my eyes. I focused on Artemis’s heartbeat coming from my back and my ears.
The puzzle of all the happiness I’ve ever wanted for my entire life has been put together.
Artemis is the puzzle itself. She is a friend, colleague, supporter, and loving wife who has been with me from start to finish.
“I will give my whole life to make up for it. “Everything you gave me.”
[You are saying the obvious.]
“Yes. Of course. No matter how much I think about it, I couldn’t have been this happy if I hadn’t met you in my life.”
[What made you so mature?]
“Is it because I’m so happy? There’s a saying like that. They say that if happiness goes too far, people become cautious for fear of losing it.”
Loving wife and daughters, loyal subordinates, friends, respected mentors, adults in the family, abundance and peace.
All the treasures I thought I would never have in my life are with me.
[There is nothing to be afraid of. Because I will protect you. Jinsu, you and everything else that makes you happy.]
The lights go out and darkness falls. Quiet peace blesses us.
[I love you, my husband. I love you so much.]
At our starting and ending point where no one can interfere.
〈 Apocalypse Shelter Manager Completed 〉
