Crossing the World

XXXIX - Earth (Karen)

The three people who were about three meters in front of me were not only unafraid when faced with the hundreds of weapons pointing at them, but were also impressed to not care.

The black haired girl carrying a suitcase filled with dangerous weapons did not even bother to open her suitcase, just standing still while carrying her suitcase in her right hand.

The white-robed girl with the typical antagonist face of a romantic drama was silent without showing any emotion. His two black eyeballs stared intently at me, as if watching every inch of my movement.

On the other hand, the brunette girl who was still sitting in her chair started devouring the salad she had just made. He chewed his food greedily while sipping a little bit of alcohol in his cup. He seemed to enjoy everything he consumed.

After about thirty seconds we were in a heated atmosphere and I was ready to teleport at any time, the brunette again spoke, probably intended to melt the atmosphere.

"Why not sit back and enjoy the food you have prepared yourself? To be honest, I was a vegetarian, but the type that did not care about anyone eating meat. So, don't hesitate and eat."

Do you expect me to answer kindly and just sit down?! Of course it's impossible for me to do that!

I think it's better for me to go to the shelter and go back to discussing with AI to decide our steps in the future. Yes, they have a very dangerous mysterious trick. Going to the shelter is the best option.

When I made contact with Aura and relayed my plan to return to the shelter, Aura suddenly explained something. He probably had a much better plan, so I decided to listen to him first.

In short, this was how Aura judged our current situation.

My habit has always been to leave as quickly as possible without ever wanting to make contact with the government even once. The reason was obvious, because if I did, my safety was not guaranteed. My choice to always run away does have a small risk. However, as a result, my progress on earth never moved in any direction. We cannot reach any agreement if I continue to escape.

Now, after all the preparations I made, I finally decided to talk to the government. While I already knew what kind of civilization the earth was, the earth itself only had a little information about my civilization. This is where the problems start to appear.

If the earth uses past references - where much more advanced civilizations tend to colonize backward civilizations - and assume that my race is generally the same as human, then they must show proof that they are comparable to my civilization as a precautionary measure. Simply put, they want to show that they are not prey, but are both predators. This is why they used an unfamiliar trick I didn't know - one that might be so secretive that I and Aura couldn't find any trace of data on the internet that was related to this - to assuring me that they are equal to us.

Why should they bother to do it? Aura's answer was to acquire equal rights when negotiations began and prevent future colonization.

Yes, all of that applies only if they negotiate with an advanced civilization. Unfortunately, the group they were negotiating with this time was just a civilization consisting of one careless person and two AIs who could not even teleport without my help. In other words, what they did from the beginning had actually been in vain. Their ignorance made the steps they took to be a little twisting and quite troublesome.

I secretly praised Aura for her ability in analyzing information based only on the current situation.

Well then, let's follow their game first and prepare to escape if the situation becomes beyond my prediction.

"I'll believe you for now." I stepped closer to the wooden table that became our group's separator. "However, if you betray my goodwill, I will attack with full force."

A little threat should be okay. It's not good if I show weakness when negotiating.

The brunette smiled, "yes! Glad to hear. To be honest, I was worried that you would teleport. Therefore I did not destroy them even though they all pointed guns at me."

He pointed at the hundreds of robots still holding long-barreled rifles at him with forks, smiling in a friendly manner.

The sentence he chose did sound friendly, especially supported by the look of his face that showed friendly. However, Aura managed to capture the intent of those words.

What's hidden in his sentence is, 'I can actually destroy those robots, but I didn't because I was afraid you'd run off by teleport' or something.

Yeah, he's bragging. However, I'm not sure if his words are just a joke or not. If he can forcibly remove my armor in a matter of seconds, then doing the same to all the robots that are here is not impossible.

The correct answer is ...

"... I'm sorry for my disrespect." My right hand raised, hinting to Aura to lower her shot. All the robots immediately lowered their shots, but did not move from where they were standing. "Even if I come in peace, of course the precautionary measure is necessary."

The girl kept her fork, then clapped both her hands once.

"I agree with that thought. Sorry for for forcibly dismantling your hostel as well. However, if I can be honest, I somehow feel embarrassed when I see you use it."

Oh, is that so? I think I read about this psychological effect. It's kind of a shame to see your friends doing embarrassing things in public.

Hey, hold on! Is my cool armor so old-fashioned that it embarrasses you?!

As if reading my mind, the girl continued with a question.

"Do you know about a disease called eighth-grade syndrome?"

Ah, I know that syndrome. It may not be suitable if it is referred to as a syndrome, but well .. who cares?

Eighth grade syndrome is a term that first appeared in 1999 in the eastern part of Asia. It is usually used to refer to children who have delusions about special abilities or such.

"I know that syndrome." I answered him with one simple sentence.

"Well, your hostel is like describing a child with eighth-grade syndrome. So, as I looked at it, the mix of emotions between shame and disgust just popped up and got stronger to the extent that I couldn't help it anymore. So, that's why I forcibly removed that embarrassing costume."

Well, let's ignore his scathing comments about my armor.

"Why don't you let them sit down and eat together?" Both balls of my eyes looked in two different directions, to the two people standing behind the left and right of the brunette girl.

The girl only raised one eyebrow, remained silent for a while, then spoke as if she had just remembered that she had brought someone here.

Seriously, have you forgotten that you didn't come here alone?

"Ah .. don't worry. They don't need to eat."

Eh? What does it mean to not need to eat? Are they photosynthesizing or something like that?

As if responding to his words, Aura again sent a voice transmission directly into my mind.

[There is something I have to say about both body anatomy]

[Do]

I gave Aura permission while starting to eat grilled fish in front of me.

[The person carrying the suitcase is a cyborg]

... huh?

I almost coughed when I heard what Aura said.

[Do you want to say that the figure is the same as Dina, Johan, and Renal?]

I looked at the three cyborgs I controlled, watching them sitting in silence like mannequins. Since I think they already knew about the true figure of these three cyborgs, I decided to just silence them. After all I have to focus on my opponent, dividing my focus into four will lower my concentration level.

[No. He is a real cyborg]

Oh? Isn't that amazing?

The meaning of cyborg itself is actually a living creature that receives robotic implants with the aim to facilitate the life of the creature. Cyborgs are half robots.

Yeah, like me.

I received robotic implants in both wrists and some of my neurons had been replaced by nanoscale implants to allow me to connect with quantum supercomputers in the shelter. This hole also serves as a link with various other technologies so that it allows me to give commands only through the mind. In the shelter itself only those who are interested and the soldiers who have it. However, instead of being referred to as cyborgs, the term we use to refer to people like us is more similar to the word ascendant.

If Aura says 'real cyborg', then it refers to an ascendant like me.

[His right arm and leg move with hydraulic concept. His right eye and thirty percent of his skull were replaced by foreign metal. His circulatory system is pumped by two centrifugal pumps. The energy needed to operate all comes from an embedded nuclear battery replacing the four spinal cord functions]

Isn't the implant he has much more complicated than my implant?! I'm not even sure AI can replicate such a complicated implant. A little mistake, then the recipient of the implant will be paralyzed or even die. Worst-case scenario, a nuclear battery could leak and cause an explosion that could turn a province into a giant lake.

By the time I fell into my own wild thoughts, Aura dropped another bomb into my mind.

[The next figure is experiencing contradictions]

Hold still. I thought they were cyborgs, but they didn't look like that. What does he mean by contradiction?

[Explain in more detail]

Behind the delights of the food in front of me, I continued to focus on listening to Aura's explanation of the people before me.

[My sensors, except vision, can't detect anything. There were no distorted waves, no heat difference, not even a pressure difference in the place where it stood]

I still don't understand. I hope Aura can explain it much more simply. So, I asked him to simplify his words.

[Simply put, I can see it, but I can't feel it. He was like an illusion, but real at the same time. It's like a hologram. However, I believe he is not a hologram because his existence can be confirmed by sight. All of the data I collect is contradictory. This is why I call it a contradiction]

It's free, I don't understand! Let's forget about that person and just think of him as a ghost.

We continued eating in silence. Actually I don't mind if the discussion starts along with eating the dishes on the table. However, I do know that in some places there is no need to speak at mealtime. Maybe he's one of the groups that enacted such an adab. So, I chose to keep waiting until he started the conversation first.

Well, let's enjoy what's in front of me for now. I can also use this short time to discuss with Aura. Yes, following the eating adab did not harm me at all.

Let's start a war of words after we finish eating the dish.