Chapter 133 – Upgrade – Artificial Muscle (2)
Led by a woman in a halo of light, I landed on the moon’s surface.
Memories are still vague. It feels like the last few years have completely evaporated.
Am I even dreaming? If you see someone breathing with their bare body in outer space, it probably isn’t reality.
[Don’t think about anything.]
She said as if she sensed my feelings.
I could feel the tension in her delicate hands as she held them together.
Beyond pleasant grip strength, consideration, connection, and trust. I felt all kinds of things that shouldn’t be felt through touch.
It’s as if the other person’s heart, transformed into an electric signal, passes through the skin. Is this mystical experience possible because it is a dream?
It was dark everywhere. On Earth, the moon shines even when the sun sets, but here, once the sun disappears, there is nothing to replace it.
At least the stars that were densely packed, as if they were about to fall, created a sparkle similar to that of fireflies.
Because the sky is free of pollution and clouds, the starlight pours down on us without any obstruction.
[It’s much clearer than what you see from Earth, right? I’d like to introduce you to the constellations seen from the moon, but I’m afraid. The only simulator I have is the lunar surface data released by NASA.]
She was truly sorry.
[But the moon won’t disappear somewhere. One day, the two of us can go up together and see the real thing.]
The rugged hills rising here and there were painted with dark shadows like spilled ink.
We walked among them. However, for the first time, the image I created was far from a walk between a man and a woman.
A walk is a walk, but it was closer to a walk between the dog owner and the dog.
This is because walking in a place with only one-sixth of the Earth’s gravity was not easy.
The physical abilities and sense of balance I had honed as a soldier held me back.
The habit of quickly regaining balance when the body suddenly loses balance, such as during an explosion, shooting, or driving on rough terrain.
The habit that saved my life countless times on the battlefield turned me into a dog.
Even when you think you’re walking properly, your feet are already kicking the air, and you tend to flounder awkwardly.
Every time, she smiled gracefully and admired my obscene behavior.
[Don’t try to walk, and don’t try to run.]
Unlike me, she moves forward skillfully. With her balance slightly tilted behind her, she moved forward, sometimes bouncing on the tips of her toes, sometimes on the heels of her heels. Her legs did not move back and forth as vigorously as on Earth.
Long legs extended and retrieved with the grace of a ballet dancer. The movement was leisurely, and it was more appropriate to describe it as swinging rather than walking.
[Do you remember the feeling of being pushed against the wind on a very windy day? Imagine that the wind becomes much stronger and blows on your legs all the time. Just worry about maintaining balance. Walking here is not ‘kicking.’ It’s about striking a balance.]
Another characteristic I have as a former soldier is that I faithfully learn what the instructor says.
Her tone was dignified yet strict, and that severity somehow resembled that of an instructor.
I quickly adapted to her movements and was soon able to walk shoulder to shoulder with her.
[You suddenly learn quickly. Do you think you prefer to teach things strictly?]
Tong~ Tong~.
When I started walking properly, she walked with a slightly higher bounce than before.
It seemed like a gait to make up for the fact that he was shorter than I. It’s a strangely cute part.
I followed her and looked around her as if she was enjoying her sightseeing, but as time went by, I realized that this was not just her picnic.
[It’s flat, but the floor is too hard. Resources are far away.]
As she led me by the hand, she often reviewed the land we walked on.
[The ground here is suitable, but there are too many stone fragments and dust.]
She was meticulously looking at her conditions. After rejecting her one after another, the place she arrived at was a huge crater.
[Oh, the construction method of raising the base by filling it inside this crater was also discussed. It would have been perfect if the crater had been 30% bigger.]
At some point, the walk became house hunting.
She looked around meticulously, hoping to find a place to build her future home.
When I found a location I liked best, I asked for my opinion.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything.”
My head felt too heavy and my memory and knowledge were incomplete. It’s so overwhelming to think about anything other than feeling and talking about your feelings.
“I want to tell you something that will help you.”
Was I this stupid? Why can’t my head turn like this? I wasn’t this stupid person.
I want to tell her how I feel, I want to be helpful, but I can’t think of anything. This is not me.
[Ah!]
She was embarrassed to see me like that. Her ripples rippled through the cluster of light that surrounded her.
Two slender, shining hands reached out and cupped my cheek.
Light scatters from my face with a pleasant warmth. Everything in front of me seemed like a blur.
[Don’t think about it! Don’t think about anything! I will cancel what I asked you.]
But my head has already started spinning furiously.
While enjoying the moon picnic with her, the questions that had been buried in her mind surfaced again.
“Who the hell are you?”
Her body, all white, is shaking.
“Is that your true self?”
Every time I say a word, the light surrounding her body flutters greatly. I saw something beyond the shimmer.
It’s human skin.
As the halo of light wavered, what emerged from within was human skin.
The breathtakingly white skin showed sweet curves.
Her breasts, swollen like a full moon, lifted her head proudly, and her dizzying curved belly button flowed like a valley.
The waist was small, with voluptuous hips and flowing thighs.
Her body was full of beautiful curves. It was swollen in the front, dug in at the sides, raised at the back, and carved at the bottom.
It was too perfect to be called human flesh. And somehow it looked familiar.
“I think I saw it somewhere. Obviously.”
The only thing that wasn’t white was visible at her fingertips. It was a nail like the quiet night sky. A mysterious luster that is black but filled with light.
I’ve seen this too. From beyond the cold screen.
When you smile elegantly and cover your mouth.
When you get angry and point at me.
When you cover your face as if you’re embarrassed.
When explaining something while putting your left hand on your cheek.
When I brush the hair away from my ear.
When rotating a pen between the index and middle fingers.
When you twirl your brilliant hair around your fingers.
I have seen countless times that sheen that no one can digest plays on her fingertips.
“Artemis.”
My God, how could I forget Artemis?
The moment I shouted her name, I remembered everything.
I heard a detailed explanation about artificial muscle surgery.
Heading into the glass tube with my feet.
I shuddered at the cold feel of her feet.
The transparent preservative fluid filled up, and he fell into a deep sleep under her guidance.
[Good night, Jinsu.]
Even the last greeting I heard while submerged in the water.
The moment I thought of her voice, the space surrounding me disappeared.
To be precise, everything was sucked into the hole that suddenly appeared. It’s the same for me too.
My consciousness reached the real world after passing through a passage where all kinds of colors, including white, blue, green, black, and yellow, flashed like lightning.
Flashing.
I opened my eyes.
“…!”
My body was still preserved in a glass tube.
The limbs are normal. Visually, I couldn’t see any difference from my original limbs. At least it doesn’t look like boiled chicken that I saw when I woke up in the middle of the procedure.
[Stay still.]
Artemis said.
This is Artemis in reality, not in a memory or dream.
Strangely, rather than hearing it in my ears, it feels like the voice comes up from my back and resonates in my brain.
[Don’t be surprised if your body doesn’t move. Most of the nerves involved in movement were turned off. If you struggle with your current four limbs, the glass tube will shatter. The risk of involuntary movement is a disadvantage of a strengthened body.]
Ah, I briefly heard about it in the military.
It is said that a soldier who underwent muscle strengthening surgery dreamed of playing soccer.
The story goes that the moment he shot in the dream, his real leg extended forward, and his wife, who was sleeping with her, was struck by it, breaking her spine and killing her instantly. I don’t know if it’s true or a made-up ghost story.
[Right now I’m talking to you through a cable plugged into your spinal cord. You, too, can talk to me the same way.]
I felt like there was a switch somewhere along my spinal cord.
[It feels familiar, right?]
As she said, when she underwent accelerated implant surgery, she felt like she had already experienced it.
The new conversation switch was located near the acceleration on and off switch.
When I focused my attention on the conversation switch, I was able to figure out the method right away. It is similar to handling an imaginary walkie-talkie without using your fingers.
‘Artemis!’
[You adapt quickly. I didn’t know I would succeed all at once.]
She was impressed.
[How do you feel?]
‘It’s not bad, Artemis. Is that really you?’
Artemis snorted, ‘Hmph!’
[Yes, it is me. You troublemaker! Do you know how many times you’ve made it difficult for me?]
Her voice was displeased.
[If you bring it closer to consciousness, you’ll wake up in reality while you’re at it! If you feel like you barely made it to sleep, stir it up~ It sinks to the bottom!]
There was no anger or discomfort in her voice. There is only relief.
[In the meantime, the procedure must proceed as per procedure! Do you know how difficult it is to perform top-notch procedures while taking care of both your body and mind? It was possible because I was a human doctor. She probably would have fallen out a long time ago.]
To be honest, she feels that this is unfair. That’s because she carries out the work in too much detail.
I’ve never heard of a doctor performing the procedure while paying attention to the patient’s unconsciousness during general anesthesia.
[And you! I guess you’ve forgotten me?!]
There was no room for excuses or resentment about this. So I decided to change her words.
‘You shouldn’t have proceeded with the procedure without worrying about my unconsciousness. Anyway, I won’t even remember when I wake up.’
That’s actually true.
I think I saw some bad memories from my childhood, but I can’t remember anything now.
Floating beneath a dark lake and looking down at the Earth and the Moon from space. That’s the only thing that comes to mind vaguely.
[… How can you do that?]
Artemis’ excited voice calmed down in an instant.
‘Is it all over now?’
I rolled my eyes hard and scanned my body with my limited vision, but it looked fine.
[There must be more. I need to revive my immune system, which has been shut down. Until then, I’ll have to stay here. If you go outside now, you will be no different from an immune deficiency patient. It’s like offering your body as a feast for all kinds of pathogens.]
It is said that the work is to make my artificial muscles that have completed mutations compatible with each other so that the immune system does not attack them.
[If you’re bored, just tell me anytime. I’ll let you sleep. Because I would like to recommend it more.]
‘I can sleep now. Because I slept until I got sick of it.’
It seemed like she had already anticipated my reaction.
[Then, from now on, follow the movements I tell you. I will check the basic condition of my newly acquired body.]
Originally, the test was scheduled to be conducted outside the glass tube after all procedures were completed.
‘But I can’t move a single finger?’
[I guess so. Even now, I can see your brain sending out nerve signals eagerly telling you to move your body. Since I’ve turned off my motor skills, I’ll probably buy a car from Hamheung anyway.]
She showed me the scan screen of my body.
An endless stream of white wave-like signals was leaving my brain. All of that twinkling light is blocked around the neck.
‘If you see a dragon being used, don’t just watch, but release it. Even in my dreams, I can’t move as if I’m being held down by scissors, and even when I wake up, I can’t move, so I’m so frustrated that I’m dying.’
[I will solve it now. As I said before, don’t move too quickly. Because the glass tube may break. Don’t you want to have to pick out a shard of glass stuck in your butt before you even get to try out your new body? Now you can kill quite a few infectious agents by tearing them apart with your bare hands.]
I really wanted to refuse that.
By the time she finished speaking, the white light that had started in my brain had disappeared.
[Good. Are you mentally prepared?]
‘No problem.’
Afterward, Artemis started the countdown.
Starting from 5, the number gradually decreased, and the moment it reached 0, I felt a tingling sensation in the nerves of my entire body.
[Spread out all 10 fingers.]
My body as light as a feather moved according to my will.
[Squeeze them one by one, starting with your thumbs.]
Two seconds later I was showing her both her hands clenched into fists.
From then on, she was instructed to simply move around in the glass tube and checked for details such as dizziness, numbness, pain, nausea, headache, pupils, and external auditory canal reactions.
It took a long time because there were more things to test than expected, but as someone who was a bit nervous, it was a welcome relief.
[It’s late, but I’ll say it again.]
My full body scan screen disappeared from the monitor and Artemis’ face appeared.
[I’ll welcome you. Returning to reality and being reborn in a new body.]
The sight of her smiling through the monitor was full of satisfaction and happiness.
It didn’t seem like it was just a congratulation on the day or a sense of accomplishment for completing a difficult procedure.
