Chapter 208 – Fleet Beacon (1)
Room in an external laboratory.
“Oh, welcome back.”
Solaver, who was doing something with a neat attitude, greeted me.
“Should you have come a little later? I think it was a distraction.”
“I just finished praying. It must be God’s guidance. “Sit down here.”
Solaver led me to my seat.
He regained his physical strength to a significant degree. This was thanks to sufficient rest, walking aids provided by Artemis, and environmental conditions.
His race, Senior, or Exos in their language, weighs a lot for his height.
The well-developed arms are much thicker than those of humans and are long enough to reach the knees.
Exoskeletons all over the body, including the face, and even mechanical devices inserted to cut out infected parts.
This may not be a problem on a host planet with somewhat low gravity, but walking aids were desperately needed on Earth.
“I’m glad you look healthier than when I first met you. Even the gait is different.”
“It’s all thanks to Artemis. “We didn’t have much direct conversation, but he was very considerate in many ways.”
Careful consideration also includes the atmosphere of the room where we are currently meeting.
I was wearing a portable breathing apparatus because the atmosphere in the room where we were talking had been altered to suit Solaver’s breathing.
“My lungs, which seem to be shriveled, are much more painful than the gravity pressing down on my entire body. You always have to lose the preciousness of air to know it. Please convey my thanks.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself? They will be very curious about you. I know our relationship is bleak, but I would like to see what it would be like to have a deep conversation at this time.”
Surprisingly, the two barely talked. We mainly talked through writing, data devices, or through me.
“It seems like the ugly hairs are firmly entrenched in it. Wouldn’t anyone feel bad for encouraging someone to send their man to a distant and dangerous place? “I also sympathize with the feeling of not wanting to get involved.”
“I expected her to beat you up and try to rip off all of her skills. “I didn’t expect there to be this much distance.”
Solaver’s gaze glanced at cameras throughout the facility.
“Even though she has great intelligence that transcends the limitations of her body, she is also a being with a heart. “Sometimes she can make ineffective choices.”
“The Artemis I know has always been rational and focused on efficiency, right?”
“It seems like the agenda you heard about her wasn’t that important to her. “It comes out emotionally when it comes to the one thing that really cannot be compromised.”
To my sensitive hearing, I could hear the sound of the lenses rotating along with the whirring sound of the machine.
Not one or two, but several were running simultaneously.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable with having your every move monitored? In any case, I came here as a rescued guest, not as a prisoner.”
“There is nothing we can do because the situation is what it is. Whether it’s because they can’t completely trust me or because of the value of the information I have. Your generosity in treating me favorably is admirable. Besides, I haven’t experienced anything like this just once or twice. “I’m used to it.”
“It seems like you’ve had quite a dynamic diplomatic life.”
“Are you the only one who wandered around foreign battlefields?”
He took out a small cylinder and inhaled the gas inside.
Since similar atmospheric composition alone cannot fully handle his breathing, auxiliary tools are used.
“For us Exos, it is more important than anything to live a shameless life under God’s watch. “It takes a camera to endure even the gaze of God, which cannot be avoided even for a single moment.”
“It seems surprising that under the guidance of a superior editor, it would actually become non-religious.”
Solaver smiled slightly instead of answering. It seemed like he didn’t want to discuss topics about God and religion in depth. Well, since I have lived as a diplomat, it is not surprising.
“For me, yours is more interesting. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to not be able to escape her eyes for the rest of your life when it comes to eating, drinking, sleeping, and all other potentially private activities? “I know that humans are sensitive to such privacy.”
“Not really. Artemis doesn’t steal everything. I am considerate of things that need to be considered. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“It means showing everything about myself to someone I can trust. Surprisingly, it is not that bad to live a life completely surrendering your daily life and personal details. Would you say that you are enjoying it now?”
“There are countless lifestyles in the world, wouldn’t it be a good thing if you find something that suits you both and be happy?”
Solaver chuckled.
A being with supreme nobility, wisdom, and beauty.
There is a strange joy in living a life where I reveal everything about myself to such a being.
The stability of religious life and the pleasure of pornography. It feels like two completely incompatible things coexist.
Of course, it wasn’t like this from the beginning.
In the past, I also felt uncomfortable about privacy.
I think it was especially severe during regular health checkups.
I had to give up my entire body, inside and out, to her, and it was a great shame to face her female counterpart, Artemis.
So, they refused to undergo some medical examinations and got into a fight.
[Good. You can lower your arms. Now, take off all your clothes and come up to the treatment chair.]
‘…’
[What are you doing? Take it off quickly.]
‘It won’t work either. I’m just going to reinstate this prosecutor.’
[What nonsense are you talking about? The fire extinguisher system is said to be a highly efficient measurement target with low test difficulty compared to its importance. Don’t you know how many diseases can be prevented with this?]
‘No, but this is a bit much.’
[Uh! Stand!]
‘…’
Her face was so hot that Artemis turned the air conditioner on to maximum throughout the examination.
During her examination, her shame quickly eased as she approached it thoroughly as a doctor.
Now that she has her own body, how do we proceed with her health checkup?
Should we do it in cyberspace like we did before? Or should I touch my body myself, looking beautiful in a doctor’s gown?
Mate!
I got goosebumps as I imagined her approaching me, putting her pink latex gloves on her white hands.
“So what did you call me for? To say thank you to Artemis on my behalf?”
“If my impression is correct, she has no interest in verbal greetings. I think she would prefer to present something material. Ah! I’m not saying you’re going to be snobbish. It means it’s practical.”
It is accurate.
‘I like receiving gifts more than words.’
This is what she said to me one day.
“So I prepared a gift that would make Artemis happy. Isn’t there a saying on Earth that says, “If you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat?” “I have to pay for food soon.”
When Solaver manipulated Toshi, an image of the Earth appeared as a hologram. It is a set, including the moon that orbits next to it.
With a beeping electronic sound, the magnification of the holographic map increased, and the view expanded to Mars.
An alien ship stationary nearby steals attention.
“No way…”
“That’s ridiculous. The culmination of technology achieved by those who walk the stars. I formally inherit to you the last legacy of our civilization. Rather than drying up as a ghost ship for thousands of years, carrying only corpses and monsters on board, it would be happier for the ship to be in the hands of those who will put it to good use.”
The brilliant and majestic appearance of the huge ship was not faded at all even by the hologram. However, there was a problem.
“We are very good at making weapons, but we are lacking in other technologies. Even going to and from the moon is difficult, so how can we even build such a large ship…”
The human investigation team also limited itself to photographing the interior of the ship and bringing back samples.
“What are you making complicated? All we have to do is bring the ship in Mars orbit back to Earth. I know the coordinates and encryption code for communication. All we need to make is a dedicated device to remotely access the ship.”
A holographic map created a route from the ship to Earth. A huge ship moved along it, and it didn’t take long before it arrived in Earth’s orbit.
“The fleet signal station was originally a device used when a large-scale planetary evacuation was required for sudden reasons. For the purpose of bringing in ships from various civilizations. In the current quiet universe, no one will respond if you use this.”
Even though it was an exoskeleton whose expression was difficult to see, it was easy to see that it had a bitter expression.
“Anyway, we’re going to need a spaceship and a spacesuit. “To go up to orbit.”
“Similarly, there is no need for that either.”
The holographic ship began to break through the atmosphere. A ship descending, engulfed in flames and gray smoke.
“Was it this easy and convenient?”
It felt unfair to think too complicatedly, such as sending a detachment team to Mars or sending researchers to a ship docked in orbit.
“There is nothing worse than diplomacy that goes empty-handed. I hope you like Artemis.”
“Needless to say, it will be the best gift she has ever received.”
No matter how much Artemis harbors ill feelings towards Solaver, she will never be able to stand in front of this tribute.
“Then all we have to do is make a device that sends that signal.”
“Leave the production to me.”
“Do you know how? Being a diplomat would be a job that is far from technical by Earth’s standards.”
“It’s not an interstellar signal, it’s a communication within the same solar system, right? By my standards, it’s nowhere near the level of amateur ham radio on Earth. Living as a diplomat in the Space Federation is impossible if you live purely by writing.”
Perhaps because he talked a lot, he coughed slightly. He took a sip of gas from the cylinder and smiled at me.
“You said earlier that you have experienced being watched more than once in your life, right?”
“It was like that.”
“Not all space civilizations are cultured. In some barbaric civilizations, the breakdown of negotiations means kidnapping and confinement.”
Come to think of it, the difficulty of this man’s escape must be on a completely different level from what prisoners on Earth attempt.
“How do you think I escaped then? Considering the situation, even if you defeat the guard, you will have to swim tens of thousands of light years across absolute zero to get to your home country. It’s not like the Earth movie.”
“… That happened multiple times? You are still alive and well. “If it were me, I would have hit him long ago.”
No, is it because he had this much grit that he survived? There was a reason he was the last survivor.
As he said, it seems that being a diplomat for the Space Federation is not something that just anyone can do.
“I’ve made a lot of things under much worse circumstances. Collecting chunks of scrap metal while being tormented by huge wild beasts and chasers trying to eat me alive. In fact, the production conditions here are the best so far. “It’s been a while since I thought about making it again, and my hands are itching.”
Is it true that a veteran is someone who smiles in difficult situations? The nobleman in front of me was truly a veteran of battle.
“Onboard that ship is valuable technology and knowledge, as well as a simple warp gate leading to our various planets.”
“It’s not just a gift.”
The man in front of me was, as expected, a diplomat to his core.
