Chapter 199 – Contact (1)
Chwiiiii.
It’s a sound I’ve become familiar with after hearing it many times.
This is the noise of some gases being emitted during the process of adjusting the incubator pressure.
The closed transparent cover was opened and the senior alien’s skin was exposed to the air.
But he doesn’t move. He just slowly rolls his eyes and looks around.
The expression of joy he showed when we made eye contact for the first time disappeared in an instant.
However, it was not due to negative emotions, but due to extreme maturity.
A father heading to the battlefield smiles for a moment when he sees his young child in the yard for the last time.
An afterimage of strength that is darker than anything in the world, but disappears the moment you turn around.
“I trust you understand our language. “I sent a rescue request in Korean.”
Is it because of the weight he feels all over his body? Honorific words came out naturally.
“Do you need support?”
Although the structure of the human body is different, we can only tell that his body is dry due to lack of nutrition.
Senior tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was a cough.
He got up and sat down in the incubator. I coughed a few more times and took a painful breath.
“If you want, we can change the composition of the atmosphere. “Just tell me the concentration.”
The senior couldn’t answer, perhaps because he didn’t have the energy to speak yet.
He lowered his upper body for a while to catch his breath and eventually stood up on his own.
He puffs out his chest and takes a deep breath. His ribs were exposed as his upper body expanded and contracted repeatedly, like a human taking deep breaths.
It wasn’t a good look as the parts that had been replaced by ugly machines were revealed.
“You will get used to it.”
He said to himself.
Korean is neither fluent nor awkward. The voice is dull. What would it feel like if whales could speak human language?
“It will take time, but you will get used to it.”
He mumbled and smoothed the mechanical device buried in his neck.
“You mean getting used to the Earth’s atmosphere? Or do you mean getting used to those mechanical devices?”
I whispered to Artemis, but how would I know that it was her?
[Anyway, I don’t think there is a need to supply other gases. Her breathing has stabilized and there is no sign of suffocation.]
Silence fell. Senior and I just looked at each other through the glass wall. However, there was no uncomfortable or awkward atmosphere.
When I looked into his green eyes full of wisdom, everything became clear.
Even if there were very troubling problems, or if two incompatible forces were fighting, everything seemed to get better as long as he was by my side.
It seems like everyone will come up with an answer that will make them laugh. When I caught his gaze, I was caught up in that kind of atmosphere.
A being that combines the best of both mother and teacher. It was giving off that feeling.
“I should first say thank you. “The one that saved me.”
The senior looked around.
“And for surviving until now.”
He bowed his head to me.
Is there a gesture of bowing the head in their culture as well? Or are they just copying our culture?
“What is your name?”
“Solavert.”
He spoke clearly. As if asking to be called.
“Solaber. “Can I call you by this name?”
“Please. Now, it is a name that will no longer be called by anyone but you.”
He walked slowly towards me.
Wet footprints were recorded, which resembled hoofs, unlike those of humans, which were arched.
Robots that moved reflexively were stopped.
“Artemis, bite the soldiers.”
[Okay.]
Although he seemed displeased, he obeyed my orders. She does not criticize my words in actual combat situations, whether military operations or diplomacy.
Solaver wrinkled his nose several times as he watched the robots leaving.
“It’s a bold technique. “You mix their flesh with creation.”
He immediately realized that infectious tissue technology was applied to the Stalker series.
Is it pure admiration? Or is it a mix of other emotions? His tone is subtle.
Since a large part of the face was made up of an exoskeleton, it was difficult to recognize emotions.
This is because, unlike humans whose entire facial muscles move, his facial expressions were made locally.
Perhaps the wrinkling of the nose just now was closer to a frowning expression.
“You have a very good sense of smell. We were in a situation where we had to use everything we could to survive. As you can see, it’s a messed up situation.”
“I will take full responsibility for all incidents that occurred on the spaceship we boarded. “I express deep regret for the tragedy that has befallen this planet.”
He seems to have sensed some emotion in my voice.
“But coming here was an inevitable choice. It was to prevent damage to this area and preserve its future.”
“As a result, this is what happened when we received a distress signal from your spaceship and went to investigate?”
“We didn’t send that signal.”
“Then who sent it?”
“A little monster that fuses with machines. Looking at the state of this planet, I guess you’ve already encountered it at least once.”
[Are you saying this by any chance?]
As expected, Artemis had no hesitation in speaking informally to whoever the other person was.
A hologram image is created between Solaver and me.
A cephalopod-type infectious agent with five tentacles. It is a mutant species that can gain control by fusing with machines.
There is a history of encroaching on security robots in the shelter and Terracorp helicopters outside.
“The form is somewhat different.”
Sola Ber nodded her head.
“No one in this great war has killed as many lives as that little monster. “They intercepted the no-access warning we were originally trying to send and turned it into a distress signal.”
For the first time, I felt clear emotion in his voice. It was anger like lava.
When Solaver adjusted the toshi he was wearing, a hologram was created in front of him.
Unlike what Artemis created, there is no flickering of light at all. It is a clean image, as if an invisible panel appears in the air and outputs a video.
[Interesting.]
Artemis seems to be interested in technology that is superior to his reactions or videos.
The hologram visually depicted a spacecraft in Mars orbit and the radio waves it emits.
Below the radio waves, unknown alien characters were listed. It appears to be subtitles for the broadcast content.
“It may have been interpreted as a distress signal to a civilization in its leapfrog stage, but in reality, it was a more complex message.”
“What was it about?”
“Children trembling in fear inside the wrecked spaceship, the captain who bravely sacrificed himself to send a distress signal, and the hope and gratitude of the survivors to those who would receive the signal.”
The senior closed his eyes.
“They are all evil lies filled with malice. That’s what we call that creature.”
The words he spoke had an echo that was difficult to understand in Earth’s language.
“What does it mean?”
“Devil.”
He spoke briefly.
It was a grandiose name to give to a single mutant, but it seems to have been such a terrible creature outside of Earth.
* * *
I wanted to continue the conversation, but decided to give him a break.
This was because it was a great burden on him as he had just woken up from a long hibernation and his body was still not intact.
Solaver is being cared for by medical robots behind the glass wall.
“Send back the standby personnel.”
[Okay.]
Human nursing staff were also on standby in case he refused the robot’s touch for cultural reasons.
They returned to the shelter, feeling relieved. One curious woman ate her food, as if she was disappointed that she had missed her long-awaited opportunity.
“Did you say that the creature that kills the most humans is the mosquito?”
[What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
“The reason the Earth looks like this is because of a variant that sent a false distress signal from an alien ship, right? “That guy that looks like an octopus.”
[Right.]
“Not the most numerous walkers, not the most powerful juggernaut, not the colossal monster that rules the sea. Because the lies spread by that little monster ultimately turned the Earth into hell. For some reason, it reminded me of a mosquito.”
In the international situation ahead of World War III, the appearance of an alien ship that seemed to be asking for help was a perfect relief.
Because right before they shot each other, they cooled their heads and held hands.
Unfortunately, the result was a disaster worse than World War II.
Solaver was receiving purified water prepared by a medical robot. Grabbing it with her trembling hands, she slowly brings it to her mouth.
“I prepared everything I could, but I don’t know if it will fit his body.”
Water, food, and nutritional supplements of all types were provided.
In addition, measures have been taken to deal with possible rejection of the ingestion of unfamiliar organic matter from the Earth.
“I don’t need to explain how to use toilet paper, right?”
[… Be quiet.]
Artemis growled as if to stop talking nonsense.
There is also a shower room and toilet on one side of the room where the solar ver is located.
You may feel a bit awakened during your first encounter with an alien, but this is important.
They are also living creatures that eat and drink, so if the environment changes on a planetary basis, wouldn’t they be in trouble?
“Solaber. If you need a break, we will make room for you. There is plenty of time and it is safe here. If you’re going to talk about it, I want to hear the details when you’re in your best condition.”
“I am grateful, but I do not need any more rest. The very existence of who I am now is a blasphemy against God. “Only the noble mission I have undertaken can neutralize this.”
Solaver looked at his mechanized body with sad eyes.
A cyborg body filled with machines so hideous that it is more appropriate to describe it as ‘devouring his body.’
It appears to be an act that goes against his beliefs, possibly religious beliefs.
“Think of it as a candle made of sin and a sacred flame that forgives those sins. “Even if I work until the last minute, I don’t want to rest even for a single moment.”
Mysterious eyes shining green are turned towards me.
“Ask me anything. That is your right and duty.”
