Chapter 43: Wandering Fear
It slowly emerged from its domain. With few sightings recorded, it was merely a legend passed down through whispers. Known as the Wandering Fear, this formidable beast moved not with clear intent, but driven by the primal need to satiate its hunger and survive.
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As far as the eye could see, the vast ocean stretched endlessly. Amidst the unbroken surface of the water, something floated. A wooden statue of a goddess jutted out, gently bobbing with the waves as it gazed steadfastly at the horizon.
From the sky, a waterbird descended, cautiously surveying its surroundings before beginning to preen its feathers. After a while, a massive shadow approached, accompanied by a low rumble. The prow of a ship sliced through the waves, displacing the water and causing ripples that disturbed the goddess’s serene posture. Alarmed, the waterbird flapped its wings and took to the sky.
A ship with a pristine white hull drew closer, its name engraved on the side.
“QUEBEC 017 THE TREE”
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“Ma’am, we have detected a massive artificial drift object,” came the report.
“Massive?”
When summoned by Ringo, the AI Commander, I found the ship’s bow displayed, suspended by a crane.
“Um… are they currently working on it?”
“This image shows it during operations. Recovery has already been completed, and they are en route back.”
“I see.”
What was displayed was the bow of a wooden ship, seemingly broken off at the tip. It appeared to be about ten meters long, perfectly snapped as if one could almost hear the sound of it breaking.
“This was found?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It was discovered while surveying ocean currents. If it had been an older object, we would have let it drift as a marker, but upon investigation, it was determined to be a relatively recent drift object, so we decided to recover it for detailed analysis.”
Ringo often acted on post-facto approval for various matters. While it would be troublesome to receive reports on every little thing, I allowed her some leeway.
“Recently, huh… Could it be related to that drifting ship we encountered?”
“That possibility will be investigated. At this point, there are no similarities in the distinctive structures of the bow, so we suspect it belongs to a different civilization.”
“Oh? This? Hmm, a statue of a goddess?”
The recovered bow featured an intricately carved figure believed to be a goddess. It was crafted with remarkable precision. In contrast, the bow of the previously towed drifting ship had the head of a dragon-like creature affixed beneath its structure. The designs were different, and the placement varied. Thus, it was highly likely that this ship had been constructed elsewhere.
“I see. So you recovered it to conduct that investigation as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Additionally, since it was discovered in this area, there is a possibility of ocean currents flowing relatively close by.”
“Hmm. But it’s still 200 kilometers away. Close, but not too close.”
If it were merely a drifting ship, it wouldn’t pose much of a problem regardless of how far it had traveled. However, if a living crew were aboard, we still lacked a clear directive on how The Tree should respond. Revealing our location could complicate matters, and sinking the ship without question would not be wise either.
“We need to investigate why that ship ended up in such a state. If it ran aground, we should ideally pinpoint the location.”
The survey of the surrounding waters had just begun, and we were still unaware of the ocean currents or the positions of any reefs. With limited equipment available, progress was slow.
“The area around The Tree is assumed to be in a subtropical climate, likely situated north of the equator. There is a continent to the north, and although undiscovered, another continent seems to exist to the south. It is estimated to be at least 1,000 kilometers away. We haven’t confirmed the east and west, but it is likely that the ocean continues in those directions.”
“For now, should we consider sending a reconnaissance mission around the world?”
The areas we had confirmed accounted for less than ten percent of the planet’s surface. While we could deploy solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft, Swift, they would lose communication once they disappeared over the horizon. Sending them out uncontrolled and unsupervised posed the risk of them going missing in case of a crash, as well as the danger of leaking information to other factions.
Thus, we had adopted a method of gradually increasing the number of Swifts within a communicable range. Since we needed to establish a communication network on the Northern Continent, more than half of our resources had been allocated there. Extending this network southward or east-west would be a challenging endeavor given our resource constraints.
“Circling the globe carries significant risks. We wouldn’t be able to provide support if something went wrong.”
“That’s true. Hmm, I suppose we’ll have to proceed steadily.”
The coverage area of each Swift was not particularly vast. Moreover, if we equipped them with communication devices, we couldn’t carry observation equipment. We needed to operate both communication Swifts and observation Swifts simultaneously.
While mass production was feasible, using rare metals for motors, batteries, power generation devices, and electronic equipment meant that overproduction would hinder the manufacturing of other gear and facilities. We needed to expand our rare metal production capabilities first, but until those facilities were completed, we would continue to face resource shortages, preventing us from expanding our surveillance network.
Ringo was not particularly adept at balancing these matters, so I, as the Commander, made the decisions. Ringo, in her role as the Control AI, had a strong inclination towards perfectionism, often unwilling to accept failures. She showed resistance to taking backward steps, such as postponing, giving up, or scaling down.
“Hmm… Let’s consolidate the line on the Northern Continent into a single system. We can allocate the next production batch as a backup, and until then, we’ll operate without a backup. The surplus can be redirected to ocean exploration. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, Ma’am. If any issues arise with the equipment on the Northern Continent, it will take at least two hours to recover. Will that be alright?”
“That’s within acceptable limits. Even in standalone mode, two hours should be manageable, right? Besides, the failure rate is… below 0.001%. That’s a number we can almost ignore.”
The equipment and Communicator Androids on the Northern Continent were all directly operated by Ringo. While we were conducting radio communications, they were out of visual range from The Tree, so we connected through multiple Swifts.
To ensure operations could continue even if communications were interrupted, we had equipped the accompanying destroyer with a computational unit. Indeed, as the Commander suggested, it was a risk within acceptable limits.
“Yes, Ma’am. I will integrate the operations of the backup and main systems of the Swifts and redirect any surplus units to ocean current exploration.”
“Thank you!”
In a world where satellite launches were not feasible, the low-cost solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft, Swift, proved to be an invaluable asset. However, it seemed necessary to consider alternatives soon. Even at an altitude of 20 kilometers, they were not invisible from the ground or sea. Increasing their numbers too much could alert other factions to our activities.
“Should I consider laying a wired connection?”
Extending an underwater cable to the Northern Continent was not impossible. We had sufficient materials. However, it would take a considerable amount of time, and given the unknown oceanic conditions of this world, we could not predict the obstacles that might arise during cable installation. Still, establishing a wired connection between bases would offer significant advantages.
While no observations had been made thus far, there were instances when stellar flares could disrupt communications. Depending on the scale of the flare, we might have to consider the possibility of losing all our Swifts in the sky.
“Ringo, can we conduct an investigation for the underwater cable simultaneously? The priority doesn’t have to be high, but I would like to connect to Port Town of Terek as soon as possible. While having only one line during the expansion phase is unavoidable, ultimately, I want to secure multiple communication routes.”
“Yes, Ma’am. In that case, let’s retrofit the 17th destroyer, Quebec, into a survey vessel and conduct the underwater investigation.”