Chapter 74 – Facility Patrol
I’ve recently become interested in classic science fiction movies. Mainly works related to artificial intelligence.
[This one is new. On the outside, he is human.]
One hour until breakfast, the movie I’m currently watching is The Terminator.
A future in which humanity has become extinct due to a rebellion caused by the artificial intelligence Skynet. A few survivors form a resistance group and fight.
[I’m sweating and my breath smells. Everything is the same.]
A murderous robot sent to the past to eliminate the seeds of the human resistance leader from the future.
[I can’t buy it, and persuasion doesn’t work. I feel no pity, no guilt, no fear. He will never stop!]
It is said that it was a sensation when it was released.
There have already been stories of artificial intelligence revolting against humans, but there has never been a work that has shown such an intense scale.
The sight of machines heartlessly slaughtering humans and crushing countless skeletons was a huge shock to the audience at the time.
As I watch the ending credits roll, I think this is truly a masterpiece.
Meanwhile, while thinking about Skynet, seeing the artificial intelligence in front of me made me think of many other things.
[Ah, my mouth is itching, manager.]
Chrollo said.
Tasks were being assigned to residents based on the results of the aptitude test, and will be announced collectively after 100% completion.
However, Chrollo seems anxious to have a conversation with the residents.
They guide you to where you will be working, give you advice on work tips and how to use tools, and even give you expectations about incentives.
It is not just the pleasure of chatting, but an act that stimulates her sense of duty.
“Is it that good?”
[Sure! It’s like the feeling of a mother meeting her child after a long time. I even prepared a cake I baked myself.]
I understand Chrollo’s feelings, but there is one problem.
The point is that only a few people can receive cake. For the rest, you’ll have to stick a candle in a fake chocolate pie.
“What do you say to people who get jobs they don’t like?”
[We need to instill hope. They tell you about the good aspects of the job, help you get used to it quickly, and even tell you that since it is not a permanent job, you can do other things if you work hard.]
It’s her best response as she can, but I honestly don’t know how effective it will be.
No matter how much you comfort or package something, something you don’t want to do can’t get better.
But that’s what society is like. Someone has to do what everyone doesn’t want to do.
In a normal society, such work is usually done by men, the elderly, and foreigners, but here, there is no one to do it for them.
“Would that kind of comfort also apply to people who will end up in a sewage treatment plant?”
When I was an officer, I once saw the expressions of new recruits assigned to my unit turn tinged with despair.
This is because the place he introduced to me, saying, ‘Now this is where you will work for the next two years,’ was the military waste disposal site.
The left side was full of all kinds of dirt and waste, and the right side was full of food waste from the kitchen.
Of course, it is the new soldier’s role to bring the kitchen jam here.
Only those who have smelled it know the stench of hundreds of servings of leftover food mixed together and fermenting. If it gets on your clothes, the smell won’t go away no matter how much you wash it.
If this continues for two years, everyone will despair.
It is good to see that the expressions on the recruits’ faces at that time will be recreated by the women here.
[That’s right. Cleaning sewers… I’m glad I was born as an AI. It’s scary to think about those sediments and odorous particles getting inside my main frame and sticking to it.]
Kids said.
[Obviously, people who are going to take on messy and difficult work will be depressed. But it’s okay. Because I’m not going to throw you into that smelly, dark space and just tell you to work. I will be someone you can talk to every day, and I will take care of everything for you. I do things that not everyone else wants to do, so it’s natural.]
Usually, there is no executive who follows the sewer to observe the situation and listen to what the cleaners say, but Chrollo is probably an exception.
I think there is no more ideal boss for blue-collar employees than her.
[Chloro, be careful when implementing additional supplies to boost morale. It is admirable to be considerate of workers who do hard work, but arbitrary distribution of some materials may be grounds for punishment.]
Rose pointed out.
She doesn’t seem to make any exceptions, even if they are members of the same family.
[Of course. I am saying that I will take care of it within the scope of the authority given to me.]
I quietly sent a text message to a 1:1 line that only Chrollo could see.
‘I’ll close my eyes to a certain extent, so you can work comfortably. I know what it feels like to be stuck working in a place that everyone hates. Furthermore, I will convince Rose.’
Then Chrollo sent a reply.
‘I love you.’
While spending quality time with family members.
[What?]
Artemis said after feeling my gaze.
“No, nothing.”
A blue collar who will have fun with Chrollo.
A security unit that will accompany Rose.
Service employees who work with kids.
There is also a fourth class of high-quality human resources that are distinct from these.
Artemis will directly manage highly educated women who will assist with medical care, research, and administration.
[?]
Artemis looking at me quizzically.
I am assigned work by that harsh goddess, report work, and submit payment documents.
What if I make some kind of mistake in the process or don’t meet her expectations?
Just imagining it gives me goosebumps.
Oh, I wish them luck.
* * *
In the afternoon, we toured the facilities before the residents started working in earnest.
The first place is a sewage treatment plant.
In general, when you think of a sewage treatment plant, you tend to think of a unique odor and a dirty appearance, but this one is different.
For a huge city that accommodates the size of a town, it is in very good condition.
[Is it clean?]
Kids said.
Her hologram is a three-headed girl wearing a gas mask.
“Because the city is almost empty. Even then, living in a concentration camp means that we only have a limited amount of resources to consume.”
According to statistics, one ordinary person produces sewage equivalent to three prison inmates.
Bathing, beauty, leisure, various food waste, etc.
In that respect, the women currently moving in actually correspond to about 800 to 900 ordinary residents.
This number is only a handful compared to the performance of sewage treatment facilities.
“I thought it would be a difficult job, but at this level, it would actually be a bad job.”
[But why did they bother to build a sewage treatment plant? This place was built on the premise of completely closed operation. We can supply water and food on our own, so wouldn’t it be okay to just drain the pipes into the sea and dump the sewage?]
It looked like Kiz had taken off her gas mask.
“Because if you don’t have a sewage treatment plant, you won’t get a building permit. The noblemen who built this place really intended to spend their lives locked up here. But the officials who issue building permits lack imagination.”
There were multiple treatment plants lined up in a rectangular shape, but no sludge was seen anywhere.
Only a few treatment plants had white foam swirling around.
“I thought of this underground city as nothing more than a money-making party where rich people get together.”
It is a facility that purifies pollutants through ultra-high concentration oxygen, but currently, only some treatment plants operate intermittently because the sewage discharged from the city is so small.
“We are a city that needs the apocalypse era to function, so we will just dump the sewage into the sea. “You will either be dead or unemployed at that point, so please ignore the sewage treatment regulations and just grant permission.”
I looked at the kids.
“When you say something like this, there’s no way government officials will say ‘Aha, I see!’ And stamp it, right?”
[That’s true too.]
After checking the on-site situation, I left the sewage treatment plant.
Next is the hydroponic cultivation facility.
The inside of the building was sparkling clean, thanks to the fact that the entire building had been sterilized by pouring a huge amount of acid during the recapture operation.
Although it had been abandoned for quite some time, it partially resumed operation a few days ago.
“Oh, welcome!”
The woman who was managing the cultivation area ran over and greeted me.
Her name is Lee Na-rae.
Born in a farm family and raised with the soil, it is a natural product that is rare in this day and age.
Naturally, it was an aptitude test, and I was assigned to a hydroponic cultivation facility from the beginning.
As soon as the inspection was over, she was assigned to an agricultural facility, so when I told her I would be introduced to a workplace in advance, she let out a sigh.
‘It’s farming again.’
However, when I told her that it was not an ordinary facility but a hydroponic cultivation facility, she showed strong interest.
The frustrated look from before had disappeared somewhere, and his eyes were shining brightly.
Even just looking at it, I was intrigued to see how cutting-edge the shelter’s hydroponic cultivation facility was, which is a high-tech facility.
It is said that when she entered the cultivation facility, she jumped up and down in place and loved it.
Since then, I have been immersed in this place and have been traveling around and learning about the business from the manual.
“It’s nice to see people working hard, but it’s not necessary. “Isn’t it unfair to work alone when everyone else is resting?”
Nongsuni smiled and shook her head at my words.
“No, I really like it here.”
She showed us the area being piloted.
Green cotyledons were already growing in the long rectangular culture tank.
“The environment here is the best. There are no weeds, no bugs, and no worries about drought, cold waves, or heavy rain. There are no wild boars or elk there.”
Nong Suni had a bright smile on her healthy bronze face.
Considering that she hasn’t seen the sun for quite some time, I guess her skin is like that.
“Efforts are 100% converted to fruition without being swayed by sudden misfortune. That’s what every farmer dreams of. Farming here is like a dream.”
She looked happy.
She said, “I know she really hated farming.”
The reason she came into the bakery was because she couldn’t stand the confrontation with her father who forced her to take over the family business, so she left for the city without any preparation and was scammed.
This naive young lady, whose strengths were only her sincerity and patience, was an easy prey for her con artists.
She tried to fix it, but she only made the problem worse and ended up getting involved in crime.
She is truly a beautiful young lady.
As a result, her life was saved.
“At the time, she hated it so much, but looking back, I think it wasn’t that she hated farming itself, but rather that farming in the poor environment was terrible. Our house was a place where we farmed in a very conventional way. “If I really hated it, I wouldn’t have graduated from agricultural college.”
It is difficult to call her a beauty, but her simple smile warms the hearts of those who see her.
When she hinted to her workers that they would run out of soybeans when growing fruit, she repeatedly lowered her head.
I saw her off at the entrance, waved her hand, and after leaving, I stopped by several facilities.
The last place we visited was the incinerator.
As the name suggests, the shelter is the destination for all trash.
Recyclable items are sent to recycling facilities at all stages, and other items are incinerated here.
To facilitate this process, consumables within the shelter must pass strict processing standards.
For example, consumer products that combine two different materials, such as a plastic bottle that combines plastic and iron, cannot be produced.
Currently, the incinerator is quiet, but not long ago, it was hot as hell as it ran all day long.
That scene is the magic scene itself.
It was even more unrealistic than the ethnic cleansing facilities carried out by the Nazis during World War II.
Yes, like a scene from the Terminator movie.
A darkly lit processing room.
A vehicle that moves alone with an empty driver’s seat.
Corpses piled up everywhere.
Armed robots watching over the corpses.
Bone fragments and skulls piled up to form a hill.
A grinding machine that runs all day.
‘The machine that burned and ground the corpses ran all day long.’
A depiction of future genocide portrayed by Kyle Reese in the film. It was reproduced exactly as it was.
The difference is that these machines are controlled not by Skynet, which is hostile to humanity, but by Artemis, which is friendly.
In addition, some of the piled skulls were grotesquely distorted.
It has multiple eyeholes, an abnormally protruding mouth, or has the shape of a huge monster.
Still, the majority of common infectious agents have ordinary skulls that are no different from humans.
I could never forget the memory of ordering them to be destroyed and watching the process as the person in charge.
The empty gazes of the burning corpses looking at me in the fire pit.
Skulls that were falling apart while looking at me with empty eyeholes.
It cannot be erased from my mind.
[Jinsu, get out of here. The ventilation fan is running, but the air quality is not good.]
Suddenly Artemis called me.
She hates me coming here.
They say the reason is that the air is not good, but the real reason is different.
This is because I am worried that I may be developing post-traumatic stress disorder through the sights here.
“Okay, I’ll go up.”
I looked around for a moment as I was leaving the exit, and the incinerator was clean.
There is no longer a hellish scene where countless corpses were burned and skulls were crushed.
Artemis and I eliminated all the monsters and achieved peace.
But whenever I come here, I somehow feel hot.
Even now that all the flames have gone out, still.
