Chapter 5: The View at 20km Altitude
“Ma’am, regarding food procurement…”
“Oh, yes.”
As Ringo spoke, she straightened her back with a hint of anticipation.
“I have collected several samples. After conducting blood tests and other examinations, would it be acceptable for you to perform a small consumption test, and ultimately determine if they are safe for consumption?”
“Ah, yes, that sounds right. We have no guinea pigs here, after all…”
The blood samples were likely already collected by the Medical Pod. It would be relatively quick to check for any toxic substances that could react with body tissues or blood, as well as any potential allergic reactions.
“While we will need to observe the microorganisms over time, we can ensure safety for now by performing radiation sterilization.”
“Ah, I see… I’ll leave that to you.”
“However, the investigation will take about eight hours, so I apologize, but we won’t be able to prepare any meals today.”
Ringo reported this with a genuinely apologetic tone, prompting a wry smile from her. As time passed, her emotions seemed to intensify. Whether that was a good or bad thing was debatable, but she found a certain thrill in witnessing the change. She resolved to be cautious, determined not to let things spiral out of control.
“I’m prepared for that. Well, as long as I can drink water, I can manage to hold out.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We can secure drinking water. The Fresh Water Purification Plant is currently operational, and we expect to have potable water ready within 30 minutes. We will perform radiation sterilization just to be safe, but so far, no impurities have been detected in the purified water.”
“That’s reassuring. Well, please bring it to me when it’s ready.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
For now, they had a plan for food. With nutritional IV solutions and water, she could survive for the time being. They just needed to find something that could provide at least minimal calories before their supplies ran out. No matter how long it took, she estimated they would have a lead within a week. Fortunately, they had confirmed an abundance of fish in the surrounding waters.
“Now then… Is the high-altitude plane ready yet?”
“Yes, Ma’am, it will be ready in about five minutes. In the meantime, I have launched the High-altitude Drone. Displaying footage now.”
The monitor before her displayed the video captured by the drone. Perhaps due to its purpose for distant surveillance, the field of view was not very wide, but the image was clear and free of distortion.
“…The ocean, huh.”
The monitor revealed a vast expanse of blue sky and sea, with a nearly straight horizon dividing them. There was no land in sight, not even a hint of a reef.
“Yes, Ma’am. The drone is currently performing a horizontal rotation, but we cannot confirm any land or man-made structures.”
A sea of blue sky and blue ocean. Unfortunately, it seemed that there were no islands or anything else visible at this altitude.
“Hmm… Should I be happy that there are no threats nearby, or should I be sad?”
“From a strategic standpoint, the absence of hostile forces in the vicinity is something to be welcomed.”
“Well, that’s true…”
The drone continued to ascend slowly, yet no land was found even after a while.
“…How far can we see from our current position?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Assuming the diameter of this planet is the same as Earth, at our current altitude of 200m, we can see approximately 50km. If there were a mountain around 200m high, we could potentially see something about 100km away.”
“So, at least there are no mountains of that height within a 100km radius.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She pondered whether to consider the reduction of things to think about as a positive. If there had been a nearby civilization, negotiations would have been necessary. Ringo was an exceptionally capable AI, but her lack of experience was a concern. It was clear that the burden of decision-making would fall heavily on her shoulders, and she would likely face dire consequences.
“For now, I suppose we will have to wait for the results from the high-altitude plane?”
“Yes, Ma’am. At an altitude of 20km, we can secure a visibility radius of about 500km. If we can confirm land, we can move toward it and gather some information. If there is no land, we will need to deploy additional planes for further reconnaissance.”
“Right… Is it ready for launch yet?”
Noticing that the readiness status of the high-altitude plane had reached 100%, she turned her gaze toward it. The plane was in launch position, and the footage displayed that.
“Yes, Ma’am. Initiating launch sequence. Ten seconds to launch. 9, 8, … Booster ignition!”
“5, …”
Flames erupted from the rocket motors attached to the underside of the aircraft, accompanied by a plume of white smoke.
“Thrust at nominal levels. …2, 1, launch!”
“…2, 3, …”
The high-altitude plane shot forth with great force from the rocket exhaust. The external camera tracked the aircraft, raising its angle as it ascended.
“Thrust and attitude stable. Ascending smoothly.”
“…That’s a relief.”
She had launched this aircraft a couple of times during the game, and seeing it ascend just as it had before brought her a sense of comfort. If it had behaved differently from the game, she would have had to start her investigations all over again. In that case, she would have been in dire straits due to resource shortages.
“…Reached an altitude of 5km.”
The aircraft was being tracked normally on radar. The distance measuring systems appeared to be functioning correctly. If they could capture footage after reaching the planned altitude, they would be able to observe a considerable distance. Ideally, there would be no hostile forces nearby, but having nothing but ocean was also problematic. They needed to gather resources before they could even think about moving. She anxiously stared at the increasing altitude numbers.
“Ma’am. There are no abnormalities detected in the aircraft, but the altitude is not increasing as expected. The planned speed is also below target.”
“…Huh? Is everything alright?”
Ringo delivered a report that she would rather not hear. A chill ran down her spine, fearing that something terrible had occurred.
“The observed thrust and combustion temperatures are all within normal ranges. Everything is functioning properly. However, the measured acceleration is below expectations, which is why we have not reached the planned altitude.”
As Ringo explained, she displayed a graph comparing the planned altitude and speed with the actual measurements. Initially, the values had been rising as expected, but around the 5km mark, the ascent began to slow, and now at 10km, there was already a 1km discrepancy.
“This means… there are no observable abnormalities?”
“Yes. Based on this curve, we estimate the maximum altitude will be around 17km. I apologize for the vague explanation, but it seems that as the altitude increases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascend.”
“Increasingly difficult to ascend, huh…”
That suggested some external force was creating resistance to their ascent. The thrust displayed was measured by the aircraft’s internal sensors. While sensor failure was a possibility, it was certainly not the only explanation.
“If it were a sensor failure, we would expect to see discrepancies among the various sensors, but there are no issues with the acceleration sensor, temperature gauges, combustion temperatures, or infrared thermometers. The likelihood of all sensors failing simultaneously is virtually zero.”
“Hmm… I can’t say for sure at this point…”
“Yes… The booster will soon stop burning. Separation in 5 seconds. 4, 3, 2, 1… Now. Separation complete. Booster on a safe trajectory… Deploying gliding wings.”
In the center of the zoomed-in footage, the booster rapidly separated from the high-altitude plane. Though small and hard to see, the reconnaissance aircraft unfolded its previously stowed wings and transitioned to horizontal flight.
“All systems normal. Entering level flight. Activating nose camera. Displaying footage now.”
A monitor unfolded before her, showing the view from the reconnaissance aircraft flying at approximately 17km altitude. The first image displayed was a pitch-black sky—outer space. As the camera slowly turned upward, the bright blue horizon came into view.
“…So blue.”
Indeed, as the camera leveled out, it revealed a vast expanse of blue horizon. Unfortunately, there was still no land in sight.
“Yes. Due to the narrow field of view, we will now enter a turning flight.”
The footage began to rotate slowly. For a while, all that was visible was the black sky, blue ocean, and white clouds. Fortunately, there were few clouds, providing a clear view, but…
“Hmm…”
With no land in sight, she let out a disappointed sigh. However, just then…
“Identified a landform that appears to be a mountain peak on the horizon.”
“Huh!? Where!?”
“Displaying a replay.”
As she leaned forward at that report, Ringo kindly displayed an enlarged replay.