Story Reader / Main Story / 32 To the Galaxies / Story
32-25 After Departure
Nanami sits by the starship's window.
It has been ■■■■■■■ days since she left Earth.
Countless stars shed light on the glass. Here, the concept of "time" has gone. Each blink of the stars marks a second she's away from Earth.
While her main consciousness is imprisoned in the starship's core, she occasionally diverts a portion of her computing power to project herself here.
Nanami doesn't like it here...
Nanami wants to go back to Earth.
The window shows the reflection of a small blue-green planet, and she traces its outline on the glass with a finger, awash in sadness.
I really want to go back there...
What a shame...
Should she set foot on Earth again, she would only bring greater calamity.
Mechanoids were as good as deserted by Earth the moment they awoke.
Nanami.
Oh, Haicma, there you are!
Nanami hops down from the window and casually pulls down the shutter before walking away.
The starship has entered deep space. All systems are operating well, with all performance data within normal parameters.
Glad to hear that...
What about those plants we brought from Earth?
Some are still alive, and some have died because they weren't able to adapt to the low-oxygen environment of space.
...
I've uploaded their holographic data to the Gray Tower, though. They will be preserved forever as projections in this starship.
It's not the same thing, Haicma.
It's not the same...
She was hoping these tender vines and resilient plants would bloom as brilliantly in space as they once had on Earth.
Sorry, we tried to keep them alive as best we could, but nothing worked.
It's okay. Nanami doesn't blame any of you. I understand how difficult it is for them to survive in this environment.
Nanami was just holding onto some unrealistic fantasies, that's all.
She wishes she could preserve everything she cherishes on Earth. Had the starship been big enough, she would have taken all her friends aboard and sailed together into the sea of stars.
The starship experiences a slight tremor. Haicma connects to the Gray Tower to check on the situation.
...It's a wormhole. We just passed through a wormhole.
This is probably the first wormhole we've encountered in space.
A wormhole...
Countless intricate physics theories flow through Nanami's M.I.N.D., and she keenly grasps the key concept.
Wormholes... they connect different space-times...
Yes.
After billions of years of travel, they've come very far—so far that they've long since left their old solar system behind.
Is it possible for a wormhole to connect us to another Earth?!
...The possibility stands.
Says Haicma after a brief calculation.
Where's the next wormhole located?!
At our current speed, we'll run into the next wormhole in 54 hours and 12 minutes.
However, the probability of this wormhole connecting to an Earth is only 0.0245%.
As long as it's not zero percent, there's always hope!
Nanami withdraws her projection, returns her core consciousness to the starship's central hub, and begins checking the wormhole coordinates with complete focus.
She carefully searches through every wormhole exit, hoping to find that small blue-green planet, until—Discovery passes through the Gate.
In the starship's core, Nanami falls into dormancy, which is something she herself never saw coming.
Nanami...?
Hmm... Did I fall asleep again?
You've been falling into dormancy quite often lately.
I guess her cleanup progress is going pretty well, hehe.
...
Haicma's expression shows clear disapproval.
Actually... isn't this fine the way it is?
Nanami sits by the porthole—though her frame has long been confined to the starship's core, she still loves to "sit" here.
I don't think... this is a good thing.
What's so bad about living like this... as the administrator behind the Gate?
...It is bad.
It's so boring in here. No life, no hope, not even...
Even you, Haicma, are just a simulation created by Discovery's core.
She turns around, with a trace of sadness in her smile.
This is Discovery's standard AI voice bank. She would often set the managing AI to speak in voices she's familiar with.
...
Having no preset response for this kind of question, the AI falls into silence.
I already screwed up once, Haicma.
Discovery passes through the Gate.
She believed it would bring rebirth, but what awaited was death.
Only consciousness acknowledged by the "universe" may enter. No life can exist here—not even mechanical consciousness.
Panic sets in as Nanami races through every corner of the starship.
Haicma... Haicma!
Arcana... Spooner! Lazer...!
Nanami has preserved all these people's consciousness, and yet none of them is anywhere to be found at the moment.
A deathly silence fills the starship, with only Nanami's cries echoing through the empty halls.
No one answers her desperate calls.
Nanami, you have earned the ticket to a wider universe.
Shed your past and better yourself, Nanami.
Amidst the haze of chaos, these mysterious "guidance" flood into Nanami's mind, seemingly trying to guide her.
No... I don't want that...
Nanami wants to be with all of them...
This time, however, she hears nothing.
Then, she loses track of how long she sails alone.
A lonely starship drifts through lifeless space, witnessing countless worlds fall and endless universes being born.
She creates imaginary companions aboard her ship and pretends everyone is happily sailing with her on this ark in a joyful search for a new home together...
Until she feels the pull of gravity once more.
Is it... that time already?
Wow... "War of Steel Robots BX Invincible Feat.DK-Hyper α+++ Year Edition"!
And there is "Cardman Rider and the New World", too!
You are looking for Earth, aren't you?
Once again, she sees her "self."
Discovery itself is a magnificent body. I am it, it is me.
Of course, I'm not alone here.
She lowers her gaze to see scattered humanoid and non-humanoid mechanoids passing by.
Together we are looking for new possibilities in the universe.
AI-generated holograms dissolve and reform in chambers hidden from the girl's sight.
She remains imprisoned by the world in this closed loop of space.
It's time to say goodbye.
At last, she understands why that "Nanami" who bid her farewell was looking at her with such sorrow.
...Goodbye, Nanami.
Better to never meet again, better to never come at all.
But even so... she still wants to do something different.
Following fragments of memories and data, she locates the sealed File No. 2143.
Unlike the simulated ending, the reality went another path. After Bianca was injured, Chiko took over and headed to the bottom of the sea first.
In this file, there are unnoticeable signs of adjustments and amendments regarding the allocation of their duties.
What had happened to alter the inevitable disaster that took place in the simulation?
Deep in thought, she turns to a new page in the Earth observation diary.
If words cannot reach the humans in this space-time... perhaps there's another way.
She is the first to take this path, and perhaps she will be the last.
Perhaps... she can serve as a catalyst, igniting the entire endless cycle.
Such a life is too painful. Nanami really doesn't want to have to go through this again.
This is my gift to them... The "future."
...Nanami, Nanami?
Hmm... looks like I dozed off again, didn't I...
But as the starship's central system, you shouldn't need to sleep at all.
I'm just so tired, Haicma.
I'm so tired... I can't even hear the stars anymore.
But... this is really for the best.
When I wake up again someday, I should be able to see the real Haicma again, right...?
Right, Commandant?
