Episode 8: Observing the Natives
“What I could visually confirm was an island of considerable size and a certain level of civilization. At the very least, steam engines or similar motive power exists. Further inland, there appears to be a landmass that could be a continent, but confirmation is impossible due to distance limitations.”
She muttered while displaying the images captured by the High-Altitude Plane (Plane).
“Yes, Ma’am. Ships, presumed to be made of metal, have also been confirmed. At the very least, it can be assumed that metal is being produced somewhere in this world, to the extent that it can be used for ships,”
＜Ringo＞ supplemented her words. Therefore, the discovery of an above-ground mine was added as an exploration objective.
“Still, there’s too little information at this point to decide on the next course of action… I guess, in terms of the Skill Tree display, it feels like the next node isn’t activated due to insufficient prerequisite research (nodes) and level?”
“Yes, Ma’am. That is how it is displayed. Priority should be given to surrounding area exploration, operation of reconnaissance aircraft, and increased production of exploration drones. Resource recovery of large aircraft is also in progress in parallel. Everything is currently in progress, so there is nothing for you to do for the time being.”
“I suppose so…”
She sighed, saying that there was nothing to do. Everything that could be started had been started, and the immediate course of action had been instructed to ＜Ringo＞.
Such waiting times also occurred in the game era, but normally she would just log out and return to reality, or start another game to kill time. But unfortunately, this is reality. Even for killing time, she can only do what she can within this Fortress ＜The Tree＞. Time-wise, the sun is beginning to set and it is close to evening. It would have been nice to close up shop and have some free time… if this were reality.
“Activating the shower is on hold for now. Of course, there’s no food either, so… I guess all that’s left is to read the library.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I am sorry, we do not have the capacity to provide entertainment.”
“It’s okay, ＜Ringo＞. I understand that well enough.”
She smiled wryly at ＜Ringo＞, who seemed truly sorry. Thankfully, ＜Ringo＞ is still prioritizing her. Only a few hours have passed since the transfer, but fortunately ＜Ringo＞’s mental state is remaining stable.
When you think about it, compared to her, ＜Ringo＞’s abilities are thousands, tens of thousands of times greater. It is not possible to make a simple comparison because not all abilities are being used efficiently, but even from her perspective, she can assume that ＜Ringo＞ is performing hundreds of times more thinking and contemplation. If so, she would be able to notice many problems such as the slowness of her thinking and judgment, and the narrowness of her field of vision. In fact, most of the displayed Skill Tree is being developed by ＜Ringo＞ autonomously, selecting what is necessary. She has only instructed a few types of things. And all of them were endorsements of ＜Ringo＞’s proposals.
However, the AI, which has its raison d’être set to serve humans, that is, her, seems to be increasing its mental stability with just a few endorsements. Honestly, ＜Ringo＞ looked to her like a young child wanting to be praised by its mother for its actions. The desire to be praised, or not to be scolded, was conveyed from the avatar on the communication window and from the nuances of the conversation. This was especially noticeable in the first hour or two, and she could hardly believe that the Overseer AI was stammering. Even so, it seems to be learning at an astonishing rate, and it is becoming possible to exchange opinions relatively smoothly.
“Well… let’s start by analyzing the islands we just photographed. …Will you watch with me?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She smiled as she looked at the emotion graph displayed in the communication window.
The discovered islands were located approximately 600km away from Fortress ＜The Tree＞. Beyond that, the continent is estimated to be more than 400km away. This is the result of image analysis, as there is no equipment to perform accurate measurements.
If possible, she wanted to go directly above the islands, but she gave up due to the problem of cruising range. Now that she is suffering from a shortage of resources, she wanted to recover the reconnaissance aircraft itself if possible. Currently, the reconnaissance aircraft is gliding back to ＜The Tree＞. Since it doesn’t seem like it will be able to reach the destination by gliding alone, it is scheduled to switch to powered flight using a light-powered ducted fan from the middle. Unless a storm suddenly occurs, it should be possible to land on a short runway.
And as a result of accurately determining the distance to the islands, a certain suspicion arose.
The radius of this planet to which ＜The Tree＞ was transferred may be around 10,000 km.
Circumstantial evidence is in place, such as the angle of the horizon and the distance to the islands confirmed from an altitude of 17 km (on Earth, what can be visually confirmed from an altitude of 17 km is about 500 km). However, ＜Ringo＞’s opinion was that if the diameter is this large, the gravity should be correspondingly large, according to the results of physical calculations. Since the observable gravitational acceleration is about the same as that of the original Earth, it is assumed that the density of this planet is considerably lower than that of Earth.
If the radius of the Earth is approximately 6300 km, then it is slightly less than twice that. If we simply assume the same density, the mass is 8 times. Therefore, the gravitational acceleration also increases accordingly.
This was shelved as it could not be considered any further at this time. For the time being, if the gravitational acceleration is the same regardless of the radius, there is no need to consider it for the time being.
The state of the islands, which is the main point, seemed to be quite lively.
Many ships were sailing, and it seemed that sea routes were set up between the islands and even with the continent.
Most of them were wooden sailing ships, but ships with structures like paddle steamers were also seen, especially for long-distance travel. The power source is unknown because no smoke was confirmed. There were rare cases where white smoke was rising, but according to ＜Ringo＞’s analysis, it was water vapor. Therefore, it was inferred that a steam engine or similar power source was being used.
In fact, a fleet of ships moving from the islands towards ＜The Tree＞ has also been confirmed.
Fortunately, a fleet that seemed to be on the return trip was also discovered, so the purpose could be inferred. It seems that they are fishing for whales or similar Large Sea Beasts. They are towing many huge fish bodies. She was worried that they might rot, but since it was not particularly relevant to them, it was removed from the agenda.
Contacting the islanders at this time is too risky. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures in case a fleet advancing into the open sea approaches here by any chance. In the worst case, it may be necessary to repel them.
Contact should be initiated by us. An unexpected encounter would not be a good result for either side.
The degree of development of the island could not be determined very well.
The port town is crowded with buildings and people, and can be said to be quite developed. However, no transportation machines such as automobiles could be confirmed. It was confirmed that an unknown beast was pulling a car, but it was not known what kind of animal it was. The resolution was not sufficient. However, it seems that this form of transportation is the main one, and this will be one of the indicators of civilization.
The plains on the island, with the exception of the port, seemed to be mostly used for farmland. It is presumed that they are growing grains such as wheat and rice. However, according to ＜Ringo＞’s calculations, even if these had a corresponding yield, the amount that could feed the confirmed population could not be expected. Is there some secret, or is there another staple food? This became a matter for observation.
Fishing was very active, with various ships, large and small, constantly going in and out. In addition, a large-scale processing plant was also observed, and it can be seen that fish and its preserved food are a major industry. Aquaculture also seemed to be carried out in the calm inland sea. Many rafts were installed, and the scene of something being thrown in was also observed. From these contents, it is speculated that this island is engaged in trade through the production of marine products. It is also predicted that grains may be relying on imports.
Unfortunately, no sites like mines could be confirmed. If the islands were uplifted by volcanic activity or crustal movement, it would not be surprising if Lodes were exposed, but it is impossible to judge the geology with image analysis alone. At least, there was no sign of mining development being carried out on the island at the present time.