“Are you tired?”
When I asked, Pam nodded with a sleepy expression. More than tired, she was just drowsy. As I held her, she buried her face in my chest and fell asleep. Looking at her sleeping face, I felt a strange emotion. I didn’t fully understand it, but it felt pleasant.
At that moment, I noticed Joachim watching us with a gentle expression.
“Pam seems sleepy.”
“She does. But I wonder why Father assigned you to Esaias.”
I knew the reason, but it was a secret.
“I don’t know. But Esaias doesn’t seem to like me.”
“That’s because he… well, he prefers androids that look like real women.”
“I think that’s for the best. I’m more suited to taking care of Pam.”
“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”
“By the way, what will you be investigating on Nine Ring World?”
“In the records of the Celestials discovered in the center of the galaxy, there’s mention of research on short-range warp technology conducted on Nine Ring World. I believe this is connected to the Seven Wonders of the planet.”
“I see. You’re researching the Seven Wonders to uncover the secrets of short-range warp. But with the practical application of spacetime jump field generators, is short-range warp still valuable?”
Joachim smiled.
“Vel, do you know what takes the most time in interstellar travel?”
“Yes, the time it takes to return from subspace to normal space and then travel to the destination planet.”
“Exactly. The Celestials seemed to have been trying to address that.”
“So, short-range warp is meant to connect planets directly?”
“The details are unclear, but it seems they were researching and experimenting with such technology on Nine Ring World.”
In my arms, Pam murmured in her sleep.
“Ha-ha, so easy.”
She’d been playing a game with me earlier, so she must have been dreaming about it.
“I’ll put her to bed in her room.”
“Ah, yes, please do that.”
I went to Pam’s room, laid her down on the bed, and then headed to the kitchen to prepare a dessert for her to eat when she woke up. On my way, I noticed Esaias acting strangely. He seemed to be avoiding people’s eyes as he sneaked toward the bridge. Concerned, I decided to follow him.
Esaias entered the bridge, where only one pilot was present, and sat in the captain’s chair behind the pilot’s seat. He appeared to be operating something. The pilot glanced back but, recognizing Esaias, chose to ignore him. If I got any closer to find out what he was doing, he might notice me. So, I waited for him to leave the bridge. Once he was gone, I entered and began investigating what he had been doing while sitting in the captain’s chair.
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, Esaias returned and asked.
“Earlier, I heard from Joachim about the Seven Wonders of the Nine Rings World. I’m doing some research.”
My answer sounded unnatural, but Esaias was my master. I couldn’t lie to him.
“Don’t do your research here. You can do it in Pam’s room, can’t you?”
“Pam is sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her.”
“Even so, don’t do your research on the bridge.”
“Understood.”
I had to obey my master’s orders. Now, I couldn’t investigate what Esaias had been doing.
“By the way, I have another order for you.”
Esaias added.
“What is it?”
“If, by any chance, I were to die, erase all memories related to me.”
“All of them? Including memories of the Polvari family?”
“Of course.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
After several transitions through hyperspace and near-light-speed travel, we were nearing the Nine Rings World. The exploration ship Enya accelerated to Birch 1 speed, activated the hyperspace jump field generator, and plunged into hyperspace.
Immediately after, alarms blared throughout the ship.
“What’s going on?”
Pam widened her eyes in surprise at the alarm.
“I don’t know. Let’s go to the bridge.”
I carried Pam and headed to the bridge. When we entered, Joachim, Esaias, and the crew members, who also served as guards, were in a panic. I approached Joachim while still holding Pam.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. The ship’s control system suddenly malfunctioned.”
“Shall I investigate?”
At that moment, Esaias shot a sharp glare at me.
“Wait a minute. Earlier, you said you were doing research on the bridge. Did you do something then?”
All the crew members turned their eyes toward me. Pam, frightened by their stares, clung to Joachim.
“At that time, I was truly just doing research.”
“That’s suspicious. Has your ego awakened?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Joachim didn’t seem to believe it. But Esaias pressed closer.
“Tell me the truth. Has your ego awakened?”
Esaias was my master. The algorithm programmed into my artificial brain, which dictated that I must obey my master’s orders, clashed with my awakened ego, which knew that telling the truth would lead to trouble. But the algorithm was stronger, overpowering my ego.
“Yes. It has awakened.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the crew members pointed their guns at me.
“Wait, don’t shoot!”
Joachim commanded.
“But this thing must have tampered with the ship’s systems!”
One of the crew members shouted.
“We don’t know that yet.”
“At the very least, letting it roam free is dangerous.”
Joachim nodded and ordered me to be confined to an empty room. Pam looked at me with a worried expression. What had I done wrong?
“Come here quietly.”
Locked in the room by the crew, I looked around. It was a storage room filled with daily supplies and consumables. Fortunately, there was an interface connected to the ship’s network here. The crew had overlooked it. However, it wasn’t connected to critical systems like the control system, but I could barely access the ship’s security cameras.
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