Ch.280Work Record #039 – A Pointless Dinner Appointment (6)

“His condition is clearly terrible. It’s amazing that it’s still functioning even though its insides were completely burned by radiation. Were those nationalists trying to use Prometheus to fix a generator accident?”

‘Quite the opposite. After gaining self-awareness and starting to call the researchers her parents, Mila trusted her radiation-resistant body and went down to contain the accident, preventing everyone from being killed instantly.’

I had things to say, but nothing I wanted to say, so I swallowed my voice. I formed my words unhurriedly. I was the one who had come here and ruthlessly killed Prometheus.

“They might have determined that the generator needed to function for the operation to continue. Even high-performance drones need maintenance, after all.”

“I’m glad Prometheus failed. Otherwise… I would have had to witness another unpleasant death after so long. No, I probably wouldn’t have even seen it.”

Günter clicked his tongue as if the thought was unbearable. And then, as if he had exhausted all the kindness in his previous words… his voice took on a chill that sent shivers down my spine.

“I don’t think you’re lying, Arthur. You certainly killed Prometheus here, and destroyed Prometheus’s fire. The story about your collaborator is probably true too. Most of what you’ve said is.”

If starting with harsh words is a way to avoid being swayed by the good words that follow, then starting with kind words is a way to alleviate guilt about the harsh words to come.

“But you’re not telling the whole truth. There’s not a single suspicious aspect to your story. While I believe in your abilities to avoid mistakes, it’s impossible that there were no coincidences or miracles.”

He spoke with such conviction, as if with my luck, it would be natural for a miracle or two to happen, causing inconsistencies in the sequence of events. I wasn’t dumbfounded. His words carried that much confidence.

“Still, it doesn’t matter much. Trying to change the truth without lying… you can only add or omit a handful of people from the story. Instead, promise me one thing.”

It was the absolute truth. I only wanted to omit Mila’s name from this story. Günter hadn’t figured out which name I was trying to omit, but he had noticed that I was trying to omit something.

I saw regret in Günter’s eyes. In the midst of the beast’s howling, I again saw that frail old man. Despite being surrounded by a storm of bizarre vitality, what showed inside was a gaunt old man.

Following what I could see, I began to read what he was about to say, what promise he wanted from me. I spoke first.

In an age where souls were collections of electrical signals in the brain, and death was either momentary to the point of meaninglessness or eternal… our souls might be similar.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be because of love. Whatever the consequences, what I’m trying to do is for the people I love and care about. I’m not some extraordinary person who can empathize with the entire world.”

That frail old man had acted for his loved ones far too late. He did so after losing them all. That’s why he is Ahab. He’s simply chasing Moby Dick for something that cannot be undone.

The Pequod cuts through the ocean waters at the forefront under his eerie command, but ultimately its destination converges only on hatred. That’s how it had to be. But he wasn’t an ordinary person.

Günter had accomplished one thing that an ordinary person couldn’t do. Even in such a situation, he had created something that wouldn’t converge on hatred. What he had created was efficiency.

The only god Bellwether served, the one principle that those who work hard and have ability are rewarded, originally started from Günter’s words… but now it had grown beyond him.

I loved that beautiful efficiency Günter had created. I loved that efficiency that kept me alive, allowed my Eve with nowhere to go to settle in Los Angeles, and fought against all misfortune and unhappiness.

So I won’t deny efficiency. I won’t deny Bellwether. It’s just that the shadow of that war, hanging like fog, is hindering efficiency from finding its way. The love hasn’t changed at all.

Günter’s hand approached and rested on my head. His voice sounded as if he were giving a baptism or anointing me. Not a voice. The howling of a beast.

“Enjoy becoming like someone you don’t want to resemble, Arthur. Laugh off taboos, fears, whether they have reasons or not. Even if these words can’t become yours, you may reject them. Try to live that way.”

It felt as if Günter was declaring that he could somewhat enjoy what I was going to do. Throwing away the half-broken head of the Prometheus drone he had been holding, he looked straight at me with blazing eyes and said:

“And, I permit it. Next time, you won’t be speaking to me privately over dinner, but in front of the shareholders. Make them intoxicated, make them enthusiastic. Become me.”

I didn’t feel burdened. If the words couldn’t become mine, I could simply refuse. But these words were pleasant. I could enjoy resembling the most admirable aspect of someone I respected.

“I should tell Panacea Meditech first. After the vacation from headquarters, things will get busier, Günter.”

“Spend more time with your loved one before you get busy. Headquarters is a beautiful place. You know this isn’t a demand, but this one thing is—understand?”

I answered his somewhat joking words with a smile. Only after our personal conversation ended did the chairman’s security team enter the room where Prometheus was. They began a simple investigation, but they won’t find anything.

The artificial brain inside Prometheus’s head was completely burned and physically severely damaged, making it impossible to recover—I had deliberately chosen such components.

Günter ordered that the study and remains not be touched, then headed toward the surface. After boarding the helicopter waiting outside, the silent helicopter returned to headquarters.

A few meters above the hotel’s helipad, I opened the helicopter door, waved to Günter, and lightly jumped down. I landed gently, barely bending my knees, without even using a breakfall technique.

There was no need to search for which room he had reserved. It would obviously be the top-floor suite connected to the helipad. Entering the suite, I saw my Eve.

She looked rather undignified sitting on the sofa in the middle of the vast suite with her knees pulled up, but I naturally approached her and embraced her from behind, wrapping my arms around her neck.

My footsteps would have been completely silent, and not even the rustle of my clothes would have been audible… but my Eve recognized me just by my body temperature and touch.

“Isn’t it a bit of a waste to just sit hugging your knees when we got this huge place for free?”

“I can’t help it. I wanted to say ‘It’s really not great being here alone’ after you arrived… but the room is just too nice. I didn’t want to enjoy it alone. And, could you make some noise when you move around?”

My Eve, who had unfolded her tightly closed knees and lifted her head to lightly press her lips against my cheek, reached out and grabbed my shock-absorbing skin and cheek, pulling me close. Though she hadn’t said anything, she seemed quite startled.

After she kneaded my face as she pleased and let go, I made her lift her head and kissed her once more in reverse, then jumped lightly on my toes over the sofa to sit beside her. There were more than enough topics for conversation.

“So… if I understand correctly, I’ve gained the most reliable father-in-law in the world?”

“I’m not sure myself… but I think so? He’s like a father figure.”

My Eve naturally rose from the sofa and straddled my thighs. With a rather playful expression, she stroked my thighs, then buried her face in my chest.

It was when playful teasing that appropriately heated the atmosphere should have continued, but she noticed the smell from my jacket. Her voice returned, sounding somewhat petulant.

“You smell like wasteland dust, Arthur.”

“Ah… You know I may be skilled at lying, but I don’t make a habit of it with you. Yes, I went there. Definitely for work.”

“So, does this mean that when we return from here, you’ll be so busy that I’ll only see your face and hear your voice through communication channels for weeks?”

There was hope in her words, but it was quite shallow. She had accepted that it would inevitably be that way, but it wasn’t a situation where she could hold back her complaints.

“Well… we’ll have to see. I think I’ll need to visit Panacea Meditech, where I was born, a few times… but I don’t plan to take on security maintenance requests. Right now, I have personal matters to attend to.”

“And you’re still not going to tell me what surprise gift you’re preparing for me?”

The reason I’ve kept the chair-stealing operation secret until now is… because it’s an act of rebellion against Bellwether. But now I had Günter’s permission. It should be fine to tell her.

“I think I can tell you now. I’m going to kill Hollow Creek. I’m going to kill the guru and uproot the false beliefs he planted. Since they took one of my Eve’s lives…”

“You’ll repay them by taking one life, Arthur.”

My Eve could now naturally continue what I was about to say. She lifted her face, which had grown warm from being buried in my chest, and held my cheeks with both hands, looking at me.

“I don’t think that’s revenge, Arthur.”

I seemed to know what she meant. And naturally, exactly what I expected followed.

“From my perspective… the greatest revenge is that you showed me I have a life of my own. Making me your Eve instead of the guru’s Eve is the ultimate revenge. You accomplished what the guru tried and failed to do his entire life.”

As if hoping her thoughts would connect with mine, she pressed her forehead against mine like establishing a near-field communication link. My Eve appeared at a distance close enough for our breaths to touch.

“I don’t think you don’t know this… but still, if you’re doing this because the revenge isn’t enough, you don’t have to. I can talk about Creek easily now, can’t I?”

She wasn’t worried about Hollow Creek. She was simply concerned that I might become something resembling the guru.

“You’re still worried I might become like the Hollow Creek guru?”

“Yes. You’re a good guy, but… you’re just a bit creepy sometimes. I don’t want you to become someone other than who I see before me now. I also hate the fact that you might resemble such a person.”

I smiled naturally as if making a joke. Grinning and giggling, I spoke to her at a distance where our eyebrows nearly touched rather than our gazes. My breath touched her lips as I spoke.

“I might resemble him. I resemble Günter, and all mega-corporation chairmen resemble each other. But don’t worry. I’m better than the guru in every way, aren’t I?”

As if that wasn’t what she meant, my Eve pressed her forehead against mine, making me let out a slight groan of exaggerated pain. After removing her forehead and sighing deeply, my Eve nestled back into my arms.

“Don’t get drunk on power.”

“Why would I get drunk on power when there’s something much more intoxicating right in front of me?”

“Either way, you have to come home.”

“Home is where you return to, that’s what it means. I wonder if that’s not a tautology…”

My Eve glared at me fiercely for a moment as if it were a very serious matter, so I raised both palms in a gesture of surrender. I gave her the answer she wanted.

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

After stroking my head a couple of times, Eve lightly stood up and grabbed my collar, pulling me toward the double bed. The hotel suite, beyond the reach of external surveillance, wasn’t given to us for nothing.

The next day, I carried my Eve, who complained her waist was killing her, around San Francisco Island, surrounded by the black sea. While the Pacific side was still black, the San Francisco Bay side was not.

By completely isolating the waters from the Pacific and releasing plenty of marine purification plankton that were still dying in the black sea to gradually purify it, they had succeeded in cleaning this area.

It had been a long time since I’d seen a blue sea with my own eyes. Being able to see a sea like those in the Atlantic, where biological weapons hadn’t been used, on the black sea side was nothing short of a great fortune.

Around lunchtime that day, the people at Pier 39—or rather, the restored Pier 39—where we were, began to thin out, and when lunch hour started, only Günter and the two of us remained.

It was still incredible, but no longer to the point of making me laugh in disbelief. I could even see genuine seafood caught in the restored San Francisco Bay, prepared with all the expertise of Farmers Corporation.

The world was improving bit by bit. Lobsters were being caught in San Francisco Bay, and Changcheon Robotics had begun purifying the unmanned port west of their headquarters through the surviving subway network to make it habitable.

I decided to think that my work connecting Panacea Meditech and Bellwether was part of making the world a little better. Working for the people I love also contributes to the world.

We enjoyed this city of efficiency a little more. I briefly imagined Nadia bringing Tina to tour this city where only those who have proven their efficiency gather.

Imagination isn’t enough. It must be achieved. The process of achieving it is what I can enjoy. What I’ve gained is permission, not ability. My abilities were still lacking.

Although it would make my Eve sad… I felt I needed to do more work. I should meddle as usual and tackle everything I can and cannot do—something will come up.

And my Eve had clearly said that Hollow Creek’s guru was peddling miracles with technology from the war era. If so, it would be worth investigating more facilities related to the nationalists and that war.

Phaethon was a demigod who inexpertly drove the sun chariot and scorched the earth. If I consider what the startup code for Phaethon Station might be… Phaethon Station is certainly a strategic weapon from the extinction war era.

If I use it to wipe Hollow Creek off the map, the whale who believed himself to be a god will die thinking he received divine judgment. That opportunity… also felt somewhat sweet.