Ch.81Chapter 81. Ares

“Holy shit. What the hell.”

“Hey, watch your language.”

“No, just look at this.”

“Oh fuck…”

Darry also glanced at the monitor and cursed.

Even with the mosaic, it was quite explicit.

-Mass shooting at The Ohio State High School, 3 dead, 8 injured…

“That’s terrifying.”

“I know, right?”

That was the frightening thing about countries where guns were legal.

You never know when some mentally ill person might shoot you.

Even with expensive bodyguards, countless people died each year from unfortunate .22 caliber bullets.

Of course, there was the clear advantage of being able to protect yourself with a gun, but as an ex-convict like me, that didn’t apply since I couldn’t legally possess firearms.

“Ohio…”

“What is it?”

“Nothing. I just know some people living in Ohio. I’m worried one of them might be affected…”

“…”

I thought it must be exhausting to have such a wide network of acquaintances.

The breaking news about the mass shooting continued for about three more minutes before moving on.

They said they’d gather more information and report back later.

“Huh? That’s making the news?”

Darry, who was about to leave, glanced at the monitor and came back.

The headline read:

-Ares returning to Earth. Currently entering the solar system. Slowly decelerating…

“What’s Ares?”

“What do you mean? Haven’t you been watching the news?”

“I have been, regularly. When was it launched?”

“About 8 or 9 years ago… Ah.”

That explained it.

It was launched when I was disconnected from the world.

“So what exactly is this thing?”

“It’s a manned spacecraft, but they sent it unmanned with AI to verify data first. It has food and water generation systems that can sustain 10 people for 20 years.”

“Why carry 20 years worth of food? Don’t they have hibernation systems?”

“Because they’re not going for 20 years. The food is for consumption during periods when they wake up. It’s a massive project aiming for a 10,000-year journey.”

“…”

10,000 years.

It was an incredible project.

I realized technology had advanced to the point where migration to exoplanets was within reach.

“When that thing comes to Earth, it’ll be chaos. We need to move quickly before that happens.”

“Why? Our company isn’t even involved in this project.”

“That’s exactly why we need to be desperate. It’s a spacecraft that’s been traveling in space for nearly 10 years. If we could just examine one engine, we’d get several times more data than all our computer simulations combined. We might even find traces of extraterrestrial intelligence. We must participate in the maintenance inspection by any means necessary. That’s how our company can catch up to competitors after our recent failure.”

Darry’s eyes were literally shining.

I realized this person genuinely enjoyed working.

An employee who seeks out work even before the company asks for it.

It was truly absurd that someone like this had been demoted.

“Specifically, what do we need to do?”

“We need to prove to the Space Agency that we’re the best at engine maintenance. We need to gradually demonstrate that we can provide the most excellent data analysis.”

“Ah, yes. Good luck with that.”

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s business? You’ll be participating too.”

“What? Participating in what?”

“If they form an Ares maintenance team, you need to be on it. Is there any other elite here who’s handled engines directly in space besides you?”

“Sigh…”

Elite? What a joke.

All we ever did was slap duct tape on holes—that level of maintenance.

He seemed to be overvaluing space experience.

“I’m not doing such troublesome work.”

“I heard the higher-ups are looking for an excuse to fire you. Wouldn’t it be better to show some results?”

“I’ll work hard! Just leave it to me!”

“That’s more like it.”

Suddenly I felt motivated.

I didn’t want to get fired.

Of course, I’d love to quit and become a housewife, but I couldn’t just leave the company without any marriage plans.

By the way, 10,000 years?

Could a spacecraft withstand such a long journey?

If it were possible, I thought I might want to go to space someday.

I wanted to see with my own eyes what an exoplanet looked like.

Assuming I could return to Earth, of course.

***

“Hmm… hmmm…”

Julien, looking at the test paper, picked up his pen while sweating.

The number of correct answers was increasing.

That was certainly a good thing.

A student showing excellent academic achievement.

But the problem was that it was too excellent.

“What the…”

These problems were typically solved by 5th graders, but the streak of correct answers showed no signs of stopping.

She had asked what division operators meant and what natural numbers were, so he thought she definitely couldn’t solve anything beyond 3rd grade level.

But this girl who had just learned the definitions of operators and terms had solved all the advanced problems.

“Heh…”

Julien put down his pen and let out a hollow laugh.

All the answers were correct.

Even problems meant for 12th graders.

At this point, he wondered if she had been deliberately hiding her abilities.

But recalling Cuss’s innocent expression when asking questions, that didn’t seem to be the case.

A once-in-a-generation genius.

There was no other way to describe her.

“Is our school finally going to produce a Nobel Prize winner?”

Julien’s imagination was already running wild.

He could envision Cuss entering Harvard within three years, completing her doctoral program, and becoming an authority in a specific field.

While the school had produced many politicians and businesspeople, it had never produced a Nobel Prize winner.

Julien desperately wanted to nurture such a genius during his time as vice principal.

“In terms of math skills alone, she could actually graduate right now…”

Her math was already beyond high school level.

But the problem was everything else.

In English, her reading comprehension wasn’t bad, but she seemed to lack vocabulary.

Cuss immediately needed to read books and develop social skills.

That’s why they couldn’t just advance her all the way to 12th grade right away.

“Maybe 6th grade would be appropriate.”

Even being conservative, she needed to be moved up to at least 6th grade.

But he anticipated resistance from the teachers.

They would say he was crazy to advance a student by five grades.

Even with explanations, they would insist that there was no precedent for a five-grade advancement.

“Sigh…”

Just imagining it gave him a headache.

This school was truly full of narrow-minded people.

Whenever he tried to change something, the older teachers would interfere even in matters that should be decided by the vice principal and principal.

“I won’t compromise on this one.”

It was an issue that affected not only a student’s future but also the school’s reputation.

He was determined to advance Cuss by at least five grades.

Just as Julien made this resolution, he heard some commotion from the corridor outside.

“Mr. Weiss! Please! If you give me an F, I’ll have to repeat the year again!”

“Then you should have studied harder. Besides, who didn’t show up for the makeup exam?”

“I told you I had circumstances then!”

“We can’t all accommodate your circumstances.”

“You stubborn jerk! Do you know how hard I worked? You’re trampling on my efforts! Damn it!”

Julien sighed.

This was a student who had been stuck in 12th grade for three years without graduating.

From the conversation, it seemed he was begging because of his poor chemistry grades again.

That was fine, but the problem was that he would quickly lose his temper whenever things didn’t go his way.

Soon the boy stomped down the corridor, glared at Julien once, and passed by.

“Tired, Mr. Weiss?”

“Oh my. Don’t even mention it. I have such a headache.”

“Haha. Why not just let him graduate then?”

“I can’t do that. We have school rules, don’t we?”

“According to those rules, he should have been expelled last year when he was caught doing drugs.”

“Well, that’s true… But he has potential for rehabilitation. We should give him a chance.”

Yes, there were teachers like this too.

Rigid, but consistently thinking only of their students.

This was Julien’s idea of a true teacher.

“But that guy seems suspicious lately.”

“When has he ever not been suspicious? Hahaha.”

“No, I mean… Ah, never mind. Maybe I’m just being irritable because of stress.”

Suspicious, huh?

A guy who always skipped classes and hung around the slums and brothel district was always suspicious.

If not for Mr. Weiss’s declaration to stick with him until the end, he should have been expelled long ago with a barrage of penalty points.

Still, compared to when he used to miss entire semesters, maybe he had improved somewhat.

.

.

.

“Fuck. That bastard. How long do I have to be stuck in this shithole?”

Saint Catalina parking lot.

Every time Peter kicked the steering wheel while lying down, the horn blared.

“Just! Fucking! Let me graduate already!”

He couldn’t understand why he had to be stuck here for three years without graduating.

The option to drop out had been blocked because his father had told the school not to allow it.

So his first idea was to get expelled.

But no matter how many penalty points he accumulated, they never exceeded a certain threshold.

For two years, no matter what he did, suspension was the harshest punishment he received.

So this year, he really tried.

He made an effort to graduate properly.

But Weiss ignored even that effort.

“Weiss, you fucking bastard. I wish you’d die. I wish you’d die. I should kill you…”

As he muttered in anger, he recalled the face of the vice principal he had passed in the corridor.

That face looking at him with contempt.

He would kill him someday too.

And…

“That bastard too. I’ll fucking kill him.”

Jake.

Jake Prime.

Just a middle schooler acting all high and mighty, offering to teach me chemistry.

What? You’ll help me not repeat the year?

Bullshit.

Arrogant punk. Do I look so incompetent that I need to learn from someone much younger?

“I’ll make sure no one can look down on me. No one…”

Gritting his teeth, Peter repeated the same words.