Chapter 180 – Dream (1)
Life in a shelter is a repetition of similar days.
In the morning, I receive a report on the city’s status from the four AI aides and talk with Artemis about some ongoing projects, and the fixed work is done.
The remaining time is spent freely doing sports, hobbies, training, and other things you want to do.
This is a repetitive daily routine, but as it is an underground city, the environment is constant, so the feeling of the date changing is very slight.
The boundaries between the day yesterday, the day today, and the day tomorrow are becoming blurred.
However, recently, I have become more aware of this repetitive daily life.
The cause is Artemis.
When her body returned to the incubator, I thought it was just maintenance work.
I thought she must have taken a lot of work since she was more beautiful and had a more brilliant body than any other woman I had ever seen.
But even after a day, two days, and three days passed, I could not see her again.
At that moment, I suddenly felt like time was passing very slowly. It’s like spending stagnant days.
Physical interaction with Artemis. It was the moment I realized how much I longed for it.
I listen to her voice every day as if I were talking on the phone. For work purposes and for small talk in everyday life.
If I call Artemis’ name right now, she will respond without a moment’s delay.
However, once people get used to it, they cannot go back to the past when it was lacking. Now I can’t be satisfied with just her voice.
I missed her in her body and the warmth she gave and received.
Small actions that are no more than holding hands or hugging each other. A voice whispering right in front of you through your vocal cords and lips. Even the body odor that faintly irritated the tip of my nose.
His feelings were so strong that he even saw Artemis in his dream, but surprisingly, it was not a romantic dream.
Would you say it was closer to a nightmare? Although she might be angry if she hears it.
In the dream, Artemis and I were underwater, so dark and deep that we couldn’t even tell how far the water was above us.
But I could breathe, and I wasn’t afraid.
Just like when I sank into the sea of unconsciousness while receiving muscle strengthening treatment.
A warm memory of being held by Artemis, who followed me down to my deep consciousness.
‘Jinsu.’
Artemis was in front of me, caressing my cheek and hugging me just like that time.
We communicated in the dark, touching each other and pressing our foreheads together.
But she couldn’t recognize her properly.
Because if she tried to look straight at her, she somehow felt like she was seeing things she wasn’t supposed to see. My focus became blurred against my will.
I just gave affection to the figure I saw in the dark water, believing it to be Artemis.
Then she wanted to see her face so much that she made up her mind and the moment she looked at it, she woke up.
Just before she woke up, she felt like she saw something, but she doesn’t remember anything.
[Hello, Jinsu. I guess you had trouble sleeping? My condition looks bad today.]
Ahead of the briefing that morning, Artemis recognized it right away.
“I had a strange dream.”
[A strange dream? Not a nightmare? The pulse and brain waves are strangely unstable.]
“You came out of my dream.”
[What, you saw me in your dream, but are you still in such bad condition?]
She pouted cutely.
“Maybe it’s not you. It was so dark I couldn’t see clearly. No, rather than darkness, would you say it was more of a veil obstructing my perception?”
[But why did you think it was me?]
As a machine, she does not dream.
That’s why I’m very interested in the dreams that humans dream, especially the dreams that I dream.
Even if it was a really insignificant dream, she would ask questions and write it down. Half for interest, half for mental health purposes.
“I don’t know. I just had a strong feeling that it was you. Should I say that I felt your presence the moment I touched your hand or touched your forehead in my dream? But as soon as I got a little further away, that feeling disappeared, so I held on to it to keep from falling.”
[Hum.]
Normally, she would have asked about her background, movements, and other things as if she was interested, but she didn’t do that today.
[You must be tired. Rest early today.]
It ended with just one word.
But the dark figure I saw in my dream kept lingering in my mind.
Even though I am already awake and active in reality, it feels like somehow a part of that dream still remains and is connected to my brain.
And when I came to my senses, before I knew it, I was heading to the incubator room.
“There’s no one.”
Today, the upper residential area is strangely quiet.
There weren’t many androids or even nymphs that I used to encounter when I was bored.
As if the mountain animals were hiding in the bushes one by one while looking at the dark clouds.
When I entered the hallway of the incubator room, the voice that greeted me was Artemis.
[Technician, what’s going on here?]
What reason would I have to come here other than to see her in the flesh? Artemis asked naturally, even though she knew it.
“Are you asking knowingly? “I came because I missed you.”
[You’re watching it now.]
Are you kidding? There was still a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Generally speaking, seeing means encountering each other’s bodies.”
I felt that the sensing devices installed at regular intervals in the hallway were observing me, or more precisely, my condition.
[This is not a joke. I guess I made you wait too long.]
Where laughter disappeared, joy took its place. But even that soon disappeared.
Even while we were talking, I didn’t stop walking, and we were already reaching the entrance.
[Stop, that’s it. Could you please go back?]
She spoke forcefully, as if with a straight face.
Is it because we’ve known each other for a long time? Or is it because my senses have become more sensitive?
I could feel her will hide in the voice that rang from the speaker.
That her rejection is not for any logical reason, but for emotional reasons.
[I told you to stop!]
The moment her voice contained anger, she stopped.
It’s about 10 steps to the entrance of the incubator room.
My instincts told me something was happening out there.
“I came because I missed you so much.”
[Know. But just wait until tomorrow. Then we will meet in perfect condition.]
“In perfect condition…”
[…
So does that mean it is not in a perfect state now?
There was even a bit of fear in her voice as she refused to enter my position.
“What about the two maids who served you?”
The people who normally guard the entrance to the incubator room are no longer visible.
[I sent it out. Because I don’t need your help this time. I will call you back when the time comes.]
Was he sent away simply because he didn’t need help? Or is a scene unfolding that they don’t even want to see?
I didn’t necessarily say it out loud.
“Will you let me in?”
[No.]
“I really want to go in?”
[I must send it back.]
There is tension between her and me.
We had a normal conversation just this morning, as always.
We laughed and chatted while exchanging business-related opinions, criticizing a movie we watched together the day before, and telling trivial jokes.
There were no fights or nerves.
Then, I came here not just because of the voice, but because I was drawn by the desire to see Artemis in the real world.
Tension was created between us in an instant over something so trivial.
In some ways, this may be the natural state of the relationship between men and women.
She may have been able to have the same stable interaction until now because she was a person without a body.
Artemis sighed as I stood at the entrance.
[At this point, you know that I really don’t want you, so why do you want to come in?]
“Sorry, I don’t know. “I suddenly felt like I wanted to see it, and I couldn’t control it.”
I put my hand on my chest. I feel my heart pounding as if it might explode.
“Can you see it too? My current state.”
[Yes.]
“It’s a strange feeling. A strong feeling that I have to see you right now. No, would you say it’s closer to the feeling that I have to be by your side right now?”
I feel like some instinct that I don’t even know about has awakened within me. Just like the homing instinct of salmon or migratory birds.
The camera lenses that have been watching me all this time, Artemis’ eyes expand and contract repeatedly.
She sighed.
[You might be disappointed.]
“No, that will never happen.”
[…
After a while, the tightly closed door opens.
[Okay, then feel free to watch it.]
A tone that seems to be a mixture of a bit of desperation and sarcasm.
That’s how the incubator room was revealed.
The appearance inside was very different from what I was used to.
This place always shined in blue-white tones as if seen through a bluish filter.
The incubator room, where only the two virtues of cleanliness and coolness seemed to be allowed, was no longer there.
The flesh color and orange color, reminiscent of internal organs, caught my eye.
Among those lumps of flesh was Artemis. If you were to describe her as she is now in one word…
It was pervert (Metamorphosis).
