Chapter 131 – Construction
A huge amount of heavy equipment is stored in the shelter vehicle hangar.
In fact, only about 15% of them are ours. The rest are vehicles belonging to external companies that have been leased.
If construction had been completed, it would have been sent back, but the world was cut off right before completion and the place was put into emergency lockdown.
“Life is a new thing.”
[What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
We are watching heavy machinery busy moving around.
“I was so annoyed when it was severely damaged due to construction delays, but in the end, it turned out to be good news. “You now have a lot of heavy equipment.”
Due to construction delays, additional costs were assessed and the rental period for heavy equipment was extended.
In that situation, an infection outbreak broke out and the shelter was sealed. The lease period has been extended indefinitely.
“Construction is easy now, and my life would have already been lost apart from Malchus.”
If it had been completed on time and sent back, the fleet of vehicles that escorted me during the recapture operation would have been shabby.
A facility this large would have its own heavy equipment for maintenance, but the amount we have is far beyond that.
“Thanks to this, construction can be done quickly and comfortably, so that’s a good thing.”
[What, are you still paying attention to that?]
Artemis said in surprise.
[At the time of the emergency lockdown, the rental mark was deleted from the property ledger. From then on, I was thinking, ‘It’s all ours!’ Back off! True.]
“It’s not soft, it’s ‘common sense.'”
Even as I protest, numerous construction machines are digging the ground, moving dirt, and preparing the floor.
We are in the process of expanding the shelter.
I plan to dig down, further down, and build a lot of test rooms.
The existing lab in the central region also has an experiment area, but it is too small.
It was only created for the purpose of conducting simple research in a situation of permanent closure.
There are clear limits to testing our ever-advancing technologies, robots, and equipment.
So, after much deliberation, we began expansion.
While I was leaving, a condition check was started throughout the shelter.
Artemis can detect quite a few facility defects, but there are some things that I have to see with my own eyes.
In particular, when something that was not originally planned, such as a heliport facility, is newly built, the self-sensing facility cannot fully detect it.
[Four water leaks found. It’s not that important.]
As the snow on the mountain above us melted, some water leaked from the ceiling of the helicopter hangar.
A dripping water droplet crashes into the helicopter rotor and breaks down.
The helicopter hangar, similar to a mechanical parking lot, is linked to an elevator system. You can launch from any of the four heliports installed at the top of the mountain.
It is an unplanned facility, has a complex structure, and is covered with a mountain. In this way, perfect construction is impossible.
However, it is not possible to park conspicuous equipment such as a helicopter outdoors.
Boom.
Several cargo drones busily came and went, scanning for leaks.
We take the heliport elevator and go up to the rooftop.
The moment the exit opened and closed, a chill came in. I had planned to come here from the beginning, so I came dressed thickly, but the cold that I couldn’t ignore was coming.
[It’s pleasant weather.]
“This?”
I lifted the zipper of my jumper, which had been unzipped to my chest, all the way up to my neck.
[Are there any computers that don’t like the cold? Your body is at most around 36 degrees, but when I give my all, I go up to that belly?]
“It’s because you don’t have this.”
He took off his gloves and showed his five fingers.
[Ah, our cute distal appendages.]
I repeatedly closed and closed her fingers, so she could see clearly.
Although only a few seconds have passed, the body temperature quickly drops due to the cold wind massage.
“Try guard duty in the middle of winter. Because there are times when I really want to cut it off. Especially the toes.”
Every time she took a breath, white breath spread out.
[Well, for me, I like winter better than spring, summer, and fall.]
Artemis’ voice sounds pleasant, like taking a walk in spring weather.
[The cooling efficiency is good because the temperature is low, dirty flying insects disappear, various pathogens lose their power, and when it snows like now, the whole world feels purified.]
“You’re saying you’re full because you’ve never swept the snow.”
[…
Artemis sent silence with the meaning of ‘Can’t you please accommodate my impressions?’
“Well, you and I have nothing to worry about anymore.”
Our destination was a little further from the heliport. It is a large pavilion standing tall among snow-covered trees.
Beyond that, the brilliant winter sea spreads out. The contrast between the white snow-covered beach and the deep blue sea created a fascinating sight.
Clucking seagulls and migratory birds are flying around. Some descend and fall into the sea! It can also penetrate. Most of them were in vain, but some came out with big fish in their mouths. Then all the birds she had beaten chased after him and let out her loud cries.
When I touch the pillars of the pavilion, I feel the unique, pleasant texture of wood. It is reliable enough to last for a thousand years. A neat floor that makes you want to step on it with bare feet even in the cold winter weather is also essential.
But the most impressive thing is the roof.
“Did you bake the tiles? “Good workmanship.”
The roof was covered with black tiles. The powerful and delicate pattern looks like a high-quality product.
[The robot exploration team dismantled and brought back the cultural assets discovered.]
“…”
[Don’t look at me like that. Because almost everything was destroyed during the war, it had virtually no cultural value. Even if I had left it alone, it would have collapsed on its own in a few years.]
The pavilion must have been maintained continuously, so the inside was clean despite the significant snowfall.
[Go up. Take off your shoes.]
“Oh!”
As I took off my shoes and stepped on the floor, I felt warmth. It seems that heating is provided under the floor.
Artemis smiled at my face, which suddenly brightened.
“Good sense. “I never even thought about this.”
There is heating in the open pavilion in the middle of winter.
In some ways, it can be said to be a waste of energy, but what we have left over when running a nuclear fusion power plant is electricity.
[Isn’t it warm?]
“Huh. And it feels like such a luxury. Would you say it feels like eating high-quality ice cream in a sauna? “Watching the warm sea from a pavilion in a snow-covered garden.”
Even if it doesn’t seem like much, if we come together it becomes a huge luxury in today’s world.
Shoot aaaaa.
Watch the waves crash with an open view. It feels like the worries accumulated over the issue of survivors in the southern region have been resolved at once.
[There is still one thing missing.]
A cargo drone brought warm honey water tea in a crystal cup. When I accepted it, I was speechless.
The warmth you can feel in your hands and the pavilion with this beautiful view. Because of the weight of consideration that prepared it all.
“…”
I took a sip. The taste was like honey harvested from the purest flowers in paradise and put into water blessed by a goddess.
[It is not synthetic honey. It’s 100% natural. I also built an apiary in the hydroponic cultivation room. Beginner farmers were assigned to harvest and were stung by bee stings, but they were generously compensated for this.]
Shoot aaaaa.
Seawater constantly pours into the white, snow-covered sandy beach.
“When this situation is over, I don’t know when.”
Several seabirds landed on the ground and searched for food on the sandy beach. Then, startled by the sudden influx of seawater, he jumps a few steps.
“I want to go to the warm sea. Leave footprints on the sand with bare feet, enjoy swimming in the sea, lie under an umbrella and feel the lukewarm sea breeze, then fall into a nap, and eat a watermelon while covering your eyes… Oh, isn’t that last one no longer fun?”
Now, even with your eyes closed, you can roughly perceive things with your improved senses and nerves.
See with your mind’s eye! It’s nothing grand, but walking without fumbling with a cane or opening and closing a door is no problem.
It would be too easy for me to blindfold myself and break a watermelon.
“Then, if the situation arises, I will find a yacht and go out. To a very distant place. That’s how you fish in the middle of the sea. “You’re sitting next to him with a parasol on your face and a bored look on your face.”
[That is a dream that will take a very long time.]
She must have thought of the giant monsters roaming under the sea.
“You said you like the cold, but that’s only in a practical sense, right? It’s not due to things like skin, touch, or feeling.”
[Does this mean it will be different once I have a body? What is my taste?]
“Maybe. “I think you really hate the cold.”
No matter how much Artemis you are, there will be some happenings since you are new to the senses.
I imagined her climbing onto the pavilion with her bare feet.
When you step on a cold, unheated place, wouldn’t you be startled and say, ‘Wow!’?
Put your white feet on top of each other and rub them until the cold goes away.
Then, they move on tiptoe, carefully stepping only in warm places.
What would it be like if we took a walk on the winter sea together?
Artemis came out wearing a rich fur coat that Cruella would wear.
It would also be nice if my face, which was triumphant at the thought of being fully armed, turned to an earthy color due to the winter wind blowing through the gaps in my clothes.
Unlike the body, which can be completely sealed and insulated, the human body is subject to wind from somewhere even if it is tightly wrapped.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I imagined something like that.
“Nerves, blood, muscles, is there anything else you need in the future?”
This is a question about Artemis’ body.
[There are a lot of things you need, but most of them can be replaced. Things like bones and organs…]
Bones and organs are also attached technologies to artificial muscles.
Common sense tells us, what happens if your muscles are strengthened, but your bones are ordinary? If you apply too much force, your bones may break.
The same goes for organs. If we have the technology to develop artificial muscles, we can of course create artificial organs.
From the beginning, Genoplan advertised artificial muscles as its theme, but its actual main product was artificial organs. The scale of sales is different.
[There is probably only one external technology that is absolutely necessary.]
“What is that?”
[Artificial brain technology. You’ve probably already seen it once. On the first expedition.]
A glass container large enough to fit an adult elephant, with the brain filling about 30% of the container.
The scene where countless cables extended from the spinal cord bundle below the brain and connected to the subjects on the operating table.
It was so bizarre that it is still vivid even though some time has passed since the expedition.
Before the development of artificial intelligence technology, as a first step, it was a technology developed with the idea of ’copying the brain of a living organism and making it into a computer.’
However, it was left behind in competition with rapidly developing late technologies.
After artificial intelligence technology was finally established, we changed direction and focused on researching and supplementing the brain itself.
[There is no need to rush. Because now your body takes priority over my body.]
The date for the artificial muscle transplant procedure has been set. Artemis has completed all simulations and technology transplant preparations.
[This is the largest procedure you have ever had. Once you start, there is no going back. Your muscles and bones will be permanently changed.]
“I replaced my nerves and blood, but can’t I say that my bones and flesh are also replaced? “I don’t want to be a commander who lags behind the soldiers.”
There is no fear. There is absolutely no doubt about her skill and sincerity.
However, one thing.
Shoot.
This feeling of being hit by the sea breeze.
I was a bit afraid that it would still be the same when the procedure was completed.
