Chapter 20 – Plant Operation
[Oh, are you here?]
Artemis greeted me at the factory complex. Because she got her offer to tour her reconstruction work site.
She always spoke clearly, but she had a chorus of all sorts of machine-driven notes, and it was only when she got close that she could hear her voice properly.
There are some difficulties because there are no workers, but it is a factory that has been largely automated.
Parts that require manpower are also being converted into automated processes under her leadership.
Materials were piled up all over the busy site, but a considerable amount of cars brought from below are also disassembled and blocking the road, presumably to be used as spare parts.
[Wait a moment.]
With her words, the crane machine removed the materials blocking my path.
“You look busy?”
[It has to be. I put off and put off the tasks I had to do since I woke up, and now I’ve started.]
The way into the factory was blocked with various materials and machines at work, so I had to go around like a maze.
[Didn’t you read the plans I sent you? All scheduled tasks should have been written there.]
“How many years do you have to read a 5,000-page business report? Unlike you, I have to roll my eyeballs and look at each one.”
[I’m sorry, but I compressed it to the maximum. According to the upper limit of what you can understand with your level of knowledge.]
You won’t be sarcastic at me. Considering the events that have happened so far, the things to be dealt with must be like a mountain. I really would have compressed it considering my level of knowledge.
[If it hadn’t been for the annihilation of the inhabitants, the report would have been reduced to 800 pages. We have no colonists, no guards, no technicians. There are enormous things to prepare to fill their void.]
It must be referring to the automated process work that is currently being carried out.
[Materials are also tight, so in the worst case, the buildings may have to be demolished and recycled.]
“Doesn’t it matter? There will be no tenants anyway.”
[You are the administrator of this place. Let’s have a little more affection for the facility. Don’t you think you want to preserve it as completely as possible?]
“Because I am an efficiency first.”
[Even that efficiency is not high. Even if you dismantle the structures that have already been built, you won’t be able to get much use.]
Passing by her site as she talked with her, she felt like a boss and a factory manager patrolling a construction site. Well, is there really not much difference?
[It was scrapped in the planning stage, but I’ve been thinking about suggesting using the biological tissue of infectious agents as a material.]
“Good job. I would have tore up the proposal as soon as I received it.”
[I expected that. However, even if it’s a living tissue, I’ll only use bones or some parts of the skin in a limited way. They are quite useful.]
“No way! It gives me goosebumps just to have their remains around me.”
[As you wish. Except for some research items, everything else was burned in the incinerator.]
“Are you keeping it safe so that it never escapes? It is absolutely unacceptable for the same thing to happen again.”
[To whom are you talking? You don’t have to worry.]
The voice was full of conviction.
Well, if she is, she won’t be making human mistakes like dozing off and missing a critical system glitch.
If the area near the entrance of the factory was a bustling mess, the inside of the factory had already changed considerably and was in the cleanup stage.
We arrived at the first production site.
I picked up a hot product freshly made there.
It consisted of a thick pipe tube about an arm’s length, a projectile stuck in it, a compressed gas cylinder, and a trigger, and had a crossbow-like appearance.
“How are you? They told me that I was a weapons smuggler, but you were making weapons yourself?”
It was a homemade firearm. Even so, it was made very elaborately and even the paint was neat, so I didn’t feel the ruggedness unique to homemade firearms at all.
[I don’t think there’s any more danger, but you always have to be prepared for an emergency. There might be an entity digging a tunnel and invading, right?]
Well, there won’t be any police who will come and confiscate them as illegal weapons, and there’s nothing wrong with having weapons in this day and age.
The weight was quite heavy. Compared to the weight of the stock rifles I’ve used before, this looks at least 6kg heavier.
[Do not shoot. Because the wall is pierced.]
It was a short spear with a projectile of almost 40 cm, and the gas cylinder was also an industrial model used to drill concrete. If you hit it right, it’s likely to shatter Juggernaut’s skull in one hit.
“However, with this structure, the range would be short.”
The basic of shooting is to keep your distance as much as possible. Especially if the opponent is a dangerous infection.
[No problem. I will tell the guard robots.]
As he put down his gun, a new weapon caught his eye.
“I’m sorry if this is left out when discussing priestly weapons.”
Next I picked up a flamethrower.
It is a weapon that is relatively difficult to make and has outstanding power.
It looked much better than the technicians had rushed out before the last stand.
It was heavier than the gas gun I had heard earlier, but since it was a weapon that shoots aiming fire in the first place and I didn’t have to carry it, there’s no problem.
[The basic outline is to deal with normal objects with fire and some powerful objects with projectiles. I plan to make more powerful weapons over time. For now, you should be able to secure the necessary defense.]
The next place she led me to was a conveyor belt that was installed on a factory line.
[This is the lift production facility.]
“Lift?”
[Okay. A lift that takes people up the mountain from a ski resort. However, what I’m trying to send here is my hand.]
A hologram appeared in front of me. It was a long mechanical arm and hand attached to a rail.
[There’s something I’ve become acutely aware of on this journey. That means hands and feet are really good tools. What you have and what I do not have.]
I saw my limbs.
“Exactly. I saw how the guys who lost a hand or a foot suffered during the adjustment period when they were on active duty.”
Although the state provides artificial bodies to disabled soldiers, they are still not as comfortable as real hands and feet.
[I can appear anywhere, so I don’t need feet, but I do need hands to enforce my will. So I’m thinking of making lift rails all over the ceiling of the shelter.]
On one side, I could see long cranes and mechanical arms that looked like they were going to be fitted into rails.
[If I put rails all over the place, I can reach out my hand anywhere. Doesn’t the goddess who speaks only with her mouth scare no one?]
Finally, where we headed, we could see our purpose at a glance.
[This is why I asked for your visit.]
“Wow, this.”
I marveled at the sight before my eyes.
Numerous drones and robots that were destroyed were all moved here.
Many were being renovated, and some were even built from scratch.
“Looks like it’s not just a repair facility, it’s also a production facility?”
[Right. There is a limit to the amount of production, but it also serves as a new creation. Unless there are residents, labor is too short. We need more workers.]
It was like being at a robot fair.
[However, the problem is that some parts are missing. Didn’t I mention that I was thinking about recycling the bones of the infected?]
“Do you remember when I said no?”
[Of course. If it was used, the bones would have been used here. If so, the result would be somewhat grotesque. It can be efficient, but it’s not a classy thing to do. I am against that idea.]
I imagined a security robot made up of the bones of infected objects.
I don’t know anything else, but the horror effect seems to be awesome. Thinking about it like this, it seems like a good idea, but after all, it’s not like using a corpse.
[Looking at your face, I think it was a little lumpy?]
It was hot.
[Haa, I know it’s a man’s taste, but I don’t know.]
After touring a few other places, we had a break in the central control room.
It was more pleasant than I thought to drink coffee and watch the factory going around through the status monitor.
Would it remind you of the days when you were active and full of vitality before the infection? There are no people anymore, but the energy felt hotter than before.
Slurp.
“I feel like I am energized by walking around the field like this.”
[Come to me whenever you want. Because the manager’s on-site supervision is the best.]
“I don’t think my presence is going to help.”
It’s fortunate that it doesn’t get in the way, as everything is being run precisely by the machines.
[It’s not like that. My body is equipped with various feedback systems. In terms of human nature, would it be called instinct? Your visit stimulates it.]
It is a system that assists outstanding artificial intelligence to focus its abilities on a specific field.
[That feedback includes a desire for supervision by human managers. It is not a desire in the sense of pleasure. A more troublesome kind of desire.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Pride.]
It was just one word, but her voice seemed to contain some shame.
[Because what those who made me wanted was the prosperity of mankind.]
“That’s nice.”
[I won’t deny it.]
After that we chatted.
The story of when she first woke up in the lab where she was created.
The twists and turns to come here.
The story of when I was first enshrined here.
Embarrassment when an infection situation broke out.
The story of dying to solve it.
A story of speeding along the road with numerous vehicles.
A story about the exhilaration of eradicating infectious agents by spraying acid and blowing air.
Expectations for the future.
Thanks to you, I found out one thing. She was quite talkative.
