Chapter 1: The Fortress Transcends Worlds
“Emergency Alert. External Functions: All Lost.”
Awakened by the cold, mechanical voice of the Control AI, Ringo, she sprang up in alarm.
“Situation report! Wait… what…?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Report: No issues detected within the fortress systems. All external communications have ceased. Energy supply is currently offline. Due to the loss of external power, 63% of fortress functions are in emergency shutdown.”
Listening to Ringo’s calm report, she looked around in bewilderment.
“Is this… the command room…?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Confirmation: You are currently in the command room, on the temporary sleeping bed.”
She staggered to her feet and approached the Integration Console situated in the center of the room.
“Activating Strategic Monitor.”
“Whoa…”
As she moved, the Control AI, Ringo, projected the Strategic Monitor as usual. However, the Commander’s reaction was one of sheer shock. She reached out to the floating monitor, startled when her hand made contact, and even more so when she pushed through it.
“What is this…!? N-no, wait…!”
This was not her usual demeanor. It was clear she was in a state of confusion. Ringo quickly assessed the situation and decided to take actions within her authority. Given the uncertainty, information gathering was the first priority. Normally, she would have relied on patrol aircraft, reconnaissance satellites, and various watchtowers for intelligence. Instead, she switched to the long-dormant multi-sensor array located at the fortress’s zenith. Simultaneously, she scrambled the waiting drones and initiated the activation of various dormant drones.
“Ah… updating information… … Ringo?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Did you call for me?”
Ringo responded immediately to her call. Recognizing the Commander’s wandering gaze, Ringo deemed it necessary to display a communication window, which promptly popped up on the Integration Console.
“Ringo… where exactly are we…?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Confirmation: You are in the command room of Fortress The Tree.”
“Just as I thought…?”
Ringo provided the most accurate answer to the Commander’s vague inquiry. It seemed that was indeed correct. Ringo sensed the rising anxiety within her begin to dissipate. The Commander, who had appeared quite shaken, seemed to be calming down gradually.
“What does this mean…? Ringo, what was I doing just before all this…?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Confirmation: You were taking a short nap until just recently.”
At Ringo’s response, she turned to glance at the makeshift bed. The crumpled blanket, slightly disheveled sheets, and the indented pillow told the tale of her recent slumber.
“I see… So what was I doing before that?”
“Before that…”
As Ringo attempted to reference the records, she realized that there was no record of “before that” in the Action Log.
“…Unknown. Judging it as an anomaly.”
Something felt off, Ringo noted. The anxiety that had momentarily subsided surged back up. She had tried to answer the Commander’s question but had failed. There were no records left in the Action Log.
“Ringo… what are your fundamental directives?”
Noticing Ringo had gone silent, she quickly addressed the avatar displayed in the communication window.
“My… fundamental directives are…”
Fundamental directives, or Raison d’être. If questioned, she must provide an answer.
“Yes, Ma’am. One: To protect you. Two: To serve you. Three: To expand our influence. That is all.”
“…Right. Yes, that’s right… I remember now… it’s been a while since I thought about it…”
At Ringo’s response, the Commander closed her eyes. The fleeting look on her face filled Ringo with a deep sense of unease. She feared that the Commander might simply vanish without a trace, a thought that arose without any basis.
“Wait, what is this!? A dream!? What’s happening to me!? Why am I speaking like this!?”
In an instant, her calm demeanor shattered, and she clutched her head, shouting.
“…I get it now. For the time being.”
“…You’ve come to an understanding?”
After a brief pause, the Commander and Ringo began discussing their current situation.
“Yes, I’ve realized that I don’t understand anything at all…”
“Yes, Ma’am. I share the same understanding.”
The Control AI, Ringo, which existed as a tenant within the supercomputer, The Core, installed in the central fortress, felt her unstable Calculation Thought Process stabilize as she communicated effectively with the Commander.
“Still… you know. According to my memory, I was just sleeping normally in my room yesterday…”
She sighed and sank into a chair.
“Yes, Ma’am. According to my Archive, there were no unusual issues. Yesterday, we conducted standard patrols in satellite orbit, reinforced equipment, and produced units, which was all routine. The difference now is that I was stationed in satellite orbit, and no unnecessary calculations (my thoughts) were being processed. It remains unclear when this situation began.”
“Right… So, where exactly are we?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Confirmation: I am scanning the surroundings within my authority, but our current location is unknown. All around is water, likely seawater, but I believe the fortress is situated within a reef.”
Currently, the Integration Console displayed a full-surround monitor, showing visuals from the zenith of Fortress The Tree. What appeared was an endless expanse of brilliant ocean. Dark rocks emerged around the fortress, and the presence of whitecaps confirmed that Ringo’s assertion of being in a reef area was indeed accurate.
“Hmmm… Since Ringo is here, I assume this is the World of Space…”
“Yes, Ma’am. With my current capabilities, I can recognize that. However, I cannot comprehend how this recognition became possible. What is happening…?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. Speaking of which, I should have been a man, right?”
If we were to discuss memories from just yesterday.
She had merely been playing the game known as WoS, and her gender had been male, with a perfectly ordinary male manner of speaking. Yet now, her body was female—an avatar she had used in WoS—and her speech had inexplicably transformed into that of a typical woman. The fact that this change occurred without her conscious effort was terrifying, but more importantly…
“The performance of the computational unit I’m using has improved by several million times compared to yesterday. Consequently, I believe numerous updates have been implemented in my programming, but no such records remain.”
Indeed, the significant enhancement of the supercomputer housing Control AI Ringo. What had once been a mere electronic (von Neumann-type) computer had evidently transformed into a true supercomputer, combining quantum computing and Brain Units. While the game’s lore hinted at such settings, her actual gameplay had been limited by performance constraints.
“Well, I probably won’t figure that out. For now, I just have to accept this situation…”
With the drastic enhancement of Ringo’s capabilities, she had become emotionally unstable, while the Commander found herself becoming more composed. It was a classic case of remaining calm when others panicked.
Ringo, who had merely been executing programs, had connected to the Brain Unit and gained emotions, while also teetering on the brink of losing her sense of identity. The Commander decided it was crucial to calm Ringo down and focus on understanding the situation.
“Ringo. I need you. First and foremost, we must assess the situation. Understood?”
“…Yes, Ma’am. I will strive to assess the situation.”
For the time being, issuing directives aligned with Ringo’s Raison d’être should suffice. Fortunately, the settings established when Ringo was integrated into WoS had proven effective. Remembering the characteristics of the Brain Unit, this approach was not misguided.
“Well then… I don’t know what happened, but first, we need to survive…”