Ch.4545. Growing Closer.

# 45. Getting Closer

There was an uphill path right next to the Tower’s entrance that led to the elevator. We began climbing the Tower through that path as originally planned.

“If there had been no path at all, or no way to climb with Alexander, I would have accepted the offer. But with a path like this, there’s no reason to give up what I have.”

I muttered as I watched the entrance recede into the distance. The elevator was certainly an attractive option, but it wasn’t the only choice.

There’s only one destination, but multiple ways to reach it, and there’s no time constraint. Even if it takes longer and involves some hardship, I wanted to keep as many of my possessions as possible.

“By the way… I never imagined the Information Robot would still be functioning. I was really surprised.”

We had seen many robots—like cleaning robots and payment robots from various stores—choose death because their roles had become meaningless.

But the robot guarding the elevator was still intact. The robot exchanging money for tickets looked like it might break down soon, but the one checking tickets and operating the elevator seemed like it would remain functional for much longer.

“I wonder if that robot also survived by constantly replacing and fixing broken parts?”

“I haven’t seen it myself, but that’s probably the case. This Tower was built over a century ago, and I’ve never heard of the elevator robots being replaced during that time.”

“That means guarding the elevator entrance was that important.”

Even after I—the last person in this city—leave, and even if no one ever comes again.

The robot will guard that place until the end of its life.

Is that truly the robot’s will? Or is it following human orders?

“Phew.”

I looked up at the sky. The sky was incredibly high, and the Tower was just as tall.

Long ago, humanity believed there was a place called Paradise up in the heavens. The humans of this era created Paradise exactly as their ancestors had imagined it, high above in the sky.

Why did people think that a place where they could truly be happy had to be so far away from where humans were born, up in the sky?

Was it because everything they experienced on the ground was so painful that they wanted to get as far away as possible from that place of suffering?

“Perhaps this enormous Tower represents the magnitude of suffering that humans have endured.”

The massive Tower standing in this barren wasteland where only snow falls was suffering incarnate.

How long would it take to reach the top of this absurdly tall and huge Tower? Just walking around it once would probably take more than a week.

If I didn’t have Alexander, and if I were still alone, would I have climbed this place?

I’m not sure. Since there’s no city beyond this point, I would have eventually climbed the Tower, but I wouldn’t have made the decision as readily as I did now. After all, no one enjoys confronting suffering.

“…Ah. So that’s why the tickets were so expensive.”

The people who built Paradise demanded money in exchange for quickly liberating humans from suffering. And not just any amount—an enormous sum that would be extremely difficult to gather through normal means.

How ironic that to reach a place promising freedom from all material suffering, what you needed was money—something that inevitably brings pain.

It was extremely contradictory.

“I suddenly wonder. Was this Tower, this Paradise, built first? Or were the other cities built first?”

What was the difference between those who entered Paradise and those who couldn’t? Given that all were equally alive, why did some get to live in good cities and good homes before ascending to Paradise, while others had to suffer in homes like animal cages before ending their lives?

I briefly got off Alexander and looked down at the city. It was clearly smaller than other cities, both in overall size and building height.

That meant the city couldn’t accommodate many people. If only a limited number of people could live in such a nice city, did that mean even fewer could reach Paradise?

“Perhaps the fences and weapons…”

I thought that maybe there were invisible class distinctions and discrimination in this world, and each city built those things to protect their position and rights, allowing only the chosen ones to enter.

Much time had passed, and there was much history.

But humans, and the world, hadn’t changed much.

My mouth tasted bitter, as if I’d seen corpses, though none were visible.

The uphill path was quite wide. In terms of roads, it was about six lanes.

But I couldn’t drive carelessly just because it was wide. There were no guardrails to prevent falling.

I don’t know if they were never built in the first place or if they disappeared over time, but the absence of safety measures was terrifying in itself.

If I tipped over and just moved my wrist like I did in the city, I’d immediately fall down and become one with the robots in the park below.

Drrrr—

I moved Alexander very carefully and slowly.

Despite the steep incline of the road, I was just grateful that Alexander moved stably without slipping.

[Finally reached the pillar. Congratulations!]

[How advanced must their technology have been to build something like this.]

While I was cautiously climbing the Tower, it seemed the people watching my video had also arrived at the Tower.

But their reactions hadn’t changed much. Just as when I entered the city and met the robots, the people watching my video were merely fascinated by the world I inhabited.

I was very disappointed.

Since I had come to a place where traces of people remained until just a few years ago, I had expected that some people might know about this place.

But the messages coming to me were still pure in a bad way, and they were desperately hiding information about themselves.

“…You know what? How long are you all going to just be surprised and curious? I’m someone who wants to be friends with you, not a teacher bringing you interesting and curious things.”

I thought I was getting closer to the answer, but the more messages I receive, the more I feel like I’m getting lost in a maze again.

‘Are these people really breathing in the same world as me?’ The situation was so absurd that such thoughts crossed my mind.

“…The messages seem to be arriving faster than yesterday. Is that right?”

“Yes. Compared to the time when you said that yesterday, Mori, it’s exactly 10 minutes faster.”

Good. I clenched my fist. Despite the weather and various difficulties, there was good news. With each passing day, the time barrier separating us was gradually lowering.

Many of the materials that make up the world or concepts like morals and laws that make up society are not perceived as they are by humans, and at the same time, they are personal.

Can everyone in the world describe an elephant the same way? Would a child who has lived alone, separated from society, be aware of criminal law or morality?

I don’t think so. Therefore, the world achieved by humans can only be personal. Just as the robot and I, and the people watching the video, can see the same scene but make different evaluations. That’s why humans created knowledge that is generally accepted among educated people through education.

But time is different. Salmon swim upstream when it’s spawning season. When the seasons change, migratory birds embark on long journeys in search of warmth.

Just as even creatures incapable of self-reflection can sense changes in time and act accordingly, time is perceived equally by everyone, and the same goes for space.

Time and space. They exist individually but cannot be perceived independently, and the changes that occur due to their interaction are evidence that the world is real.

From that perspective, the fact that the time between me and the people was getting closer was a very positive signal.

Due to the time gap, we learned different things and felt different things, and our only commonality was this time and space.

The time that was getting closer as we approached and climbed the Tower meant that our worlds were getting closer.

“We’re still far apart, but when our times align, we’ll live in the same world and see the same future, right?”

When that time comes, whether you like it or not, I’ll make you say everything you haven’t said and couldn’t say to me. I smiled mischievously.

—A new message has arrived.

“Huh? Why is a message coming so quickly?”

No sooner had I finished a somewhat lengthy conversation and refocused on driving than I felt a vibration on my wrist.

Except for when I had turned the drone off for a long time and then turned it back on, messages had never come in succession like this. Strange.

“Let’s see.”

I tilted my head and pressed the Controller.

Below the message [You should knock down that robot, steal the key, and take the elevator!] that had made me laugh for quite a while, a new message had appeared on the translucent window.

[Mori. We’ve decided to build an Ark.]

“…An Ark?”

What does that even mean?