322 – EP.12 Does Android make plans for tomorrow?-2
***
Dark cloths fell everywhere, like a stage with the lights turned off. I could see dots of stars twinkling in the night sky as if glass powder had been scattered.
In the pitch-black darkness, the fire in the stove lit by NB was spreading out a soft light like hope to the surroundings.
“Are you going to sleep?”
“…I want to stay awake a little longer.”
It was the first night after the dimensional shift.
Not only did I not fall asleep easily, but the words NB had mentioned about dimensional movement kept ringing in my ears.
“Then would you like to walk for a while?”
NB, who was looking at Inho quietly, stood up.
“Where?”
“It’s not far.”
When he asked as he stood up holding his outstretched hand, NB looked down and said.
NB led him down to the base.
They walked while relying on a very small glow-in-the-dark light, and In-ho tripped dangerously several times on the natural stairs made of uneven stones.
In the end, NB carried him down. Contrary to NB’s statement that it wasn’t far, they had to walk for quite a long time.
“You said dimension shift earlier. Please explain more.”
Every time NB took a step, his body bobbed up and down.
“After the development of superconductors, technologies began to develop rapidly. Among them, research on this world progressed the fastest.”
“Study about this world?”
“Yes, mankind has always been curious. What is this universe, what is this world? That’s why we invented the car, the airplane, and even the spaceship that leaves this planet.”
NB Explained the development of vehicles.
“What’s next for the spaceship?”
“Spaceships from each country launched into the sky. One of those spaceships, which started out unmanned and ended up being manned, discovered the end of the world.”
“The end of the world?”
“I ask Kang In-ho. Is the universe infinite or finite?”
“It’s infinite. It’s constantly expanding.”
“Everyone thought so.”
“But the spaceship found the end?”
“That’s right.”
“What happened next?”
The world is not infinite. The discovery that the world is finite must have had a huge impact.
“According to records, there was confusion at first. Many people could not accept that humans were the only intelligent beings in this vast universe.”
NB came down from the base and walked to a corner.
“But then people began to see beyond the end of the world, and humanity began to study other things.”
“Beyond the end of the world?”
When NB removed the tree branch, a hidden wooden plank came out. NB lifted it up, and a huge passageway leading down appeared.
“According to the records of the spaceship that reached the end of the world, it was unable to proceed further as if it was blocked by a transparent membrane. There was some space beyond it.”
“It feels like a game map.”
You can see it with your eyes, but you can’t actually go there.
“That’s right. Research to go beyond that has been actively conducted, and one theory has emerged.”
NB started going down the stairs carrying Kang In-ho on his back.
“Is that dimensional travel?”
The coolness of the underground ran down his back.
From Noble mtl dot com
“The theory calls this finite universe a ‘dimension,’ and the movement between dimensions is named ‘dimensional movement.'”
“So, was the dimension shift successful?”
“It was successful. However, it failed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s open a dimension to send an unmanned spacecraft to another dimension. Huge cracks have appeared all over the world.”
“Crack?”
“Yes. It distorted as if there was a crack in the air, and undefined things began to invade from there.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a disease.”
“Disease?”
“Yes. Disease began to spread throughout the world, bringing humanity one step closer to destruction.”
“Is disease the cause of mankind’s extinction?”
Every time NB continued to move his feet, he felt something warm coming closer.
“It is one of the causes. The biggest cause of humanity’s extinction was the depletion of the planet’s energy due to the continuation of dimensional research. The depletion of energy caused the global market to fluctuate, and endless conflicts broke out in various parts of the world….”
“It means that you self-destructed.”
“That’s right. In addition, environmental pollution has become so severe that all areas except Aaru have become wastelands.”
“I see. Then where are you going now?”
As the stairs gradually became gentler, NB bent down and put Kang In-ho down.
NB grabbed his hand and dragged him forward.
The passageway was elaborately carved out of stone, and was lined with wood.
It felt like a dungeon from a fantasy comic.
As he passed through the passage, a warm feeling came to Kang In-ho.
And when he left the passage, what appeared before his eyes was a huge cavity.
“Wow….”
While squinting at the countless lights pouring in, he quietly exclaimed at the huge spectacle coming through the gap.
A huge spaceship that was difficult to see at a glance stood tall in the middle of space.
“Dimensional sailing ship, CLBS-1283.”
NB’s finger pointed to the end of the huge spaceship.
***
“I found this place 12 years after it was launched. A spaceship for dimensional travel was hidden here.”
“So you’re saying I can use this to travel through dimensions?”
“It is possible if we fix all of this spaceship.”
“Is it broken?”
“Because I do not have an engineering module, I am still unable to diagnose the condition of this spaceship. However, I was maintaining the spaceship based on the research data left here.”
“Then I guess the junk brought from Aaru is also used to fix this.”
“99% Of the goods we bring are useless, but 1% is used to repair the spaceship.”
“But why are you fixing the spaceship? To travel through dimensions?”
“I haven’t decided on that yet. I just wanted to see this ship in action when I first saw it.”
NB put his hand on the railing.
“It was created for a purpose, so if it achieves that purpose, wouldn’t this spaceship also have meaning?”
NB muttered as he looked emotionlessly at the body of the spaceship with the lights off.
Kang In-ho felt like NB’s words were being spoken to himself.