Rhine Lab's offices had never truly been full over the years. There were always one or two departments short on personnel. Of course, only two departments seemed to suffer from this problem all the time.
The first was the Scientific Investigation Department. Its director, Venta Magallan, had spent many years exploring the Endless Icefield. Recently, she had gone missing, and her fate remained unknown. Although Rhine Lab and the Columbian scientific community had both sent out rescue teams, the Endless Icefield was simply too vast. Searching for a single person in such an enormous wilderness was extraordinarily difficult.
So the person standing behind that chair was Magallan, the field specialist of the Scientific Investigation Department.
The other department that was frequently absent from meetings was, naturally, the Mechanical Power Department, whose director was Felix Lanshem. However, everyone knew his sensitive identity, so no one raised any objections. The authorities had once wanted to use this as a pretext to make trouble for Rhine Lab, but in the end, they were pushed back by the military, which was hardly of one mind with the government.
Also present was a director Felix had never met before: Dorothy, head of the Originium Arts Application Department. Last year, she had made headlines in Trimounts because of an accident involving experimental equipment at the base. The fact that Rhine Lab had managed to survive the aftermath was probably due in no small part to Dorothy's own exceptional scientific skill and technical value.
"The test flight calculations for Arc Light One have been completed, and it has successfully broken through the flight limit."
"Breaking through the atmosphere is exactly what we wanted to see. Otherwise, Arc Light One would just be a lump of iron that rises only to fall right back down. If cosmological theory is correct, Arc Light One could remain above Terra as a space station."
"Then we'll rely on escape craft to leave, right?"
"If you want to leave, you can go first. I still want to properly study astronomy and carry out observations..."
What is the state of matter in a vacuum? This is a research opportunity that may come only once in a lifetime. Was anyone really willing to give that up?
"No, but can the life-support facilities really last that long...?"
"We have solar energy. That solves the breathing issue."
After Felix sat down, he listened to the noisy discussion in the conference room. He glanced at Kristen, who was speaking with Saria. He and Muelsyse had arrived late. Muelsyse was naturally in charge of the most important part, the Garden of Myriad Stars. But Felix was different.
He was simply here to see what the universe looked like.
And if he truly managed to discover anything about the Observers, he would also be able to respond in time.
"Welcome back, Felix." Ferdinand, seated beside him, gave him a nod. Lowering his voice, he said, "A friend of mine in the military told me that they seem to have noticed something from the debris. They're now searching the entire city, including Rhine Lab's research institute... What do you think we should do?"
Ferdinand's attitude toward Felix had not changed because of his new status, and neither had the attitudes of the other scientists present. That was exactly why Felix liked this feeling. After ascending the throne, he had gained more and more subordinates, but fewer and fewer friends. To still have a group of like-minded companions, people who had shared the same ideals with him for ten years, was truly one of life's great blessings.
"Rhine Lab is a major research and development company in Trimounts, backed by the Maylander Foundation. The military is aware of that relationship. At this point, there is only one possibility: sooner or later, the military will investigate us, but what their attitude will be remains uncertain. My guess is that they may only want to go through the motions, because they do not want to completely sever ties. After all, they are still our main customers."
"Our main customers... is this all because of you?" Ferdinand sighed. "Not only did you secretly develop a massive landship like the Venus, but you also mass-produced battleships. Do you have any idea how insane the Columbian military is right now? The mechs they once considered invincible now look like praying mantises trying to stop a chariot in front of your battleships."
"So?"
"So those idiots want Rhine Lab to work with other research companies to build battleships." Ferdinand let out a sneer. "I naturally joined the project. So far, I've only managed to produce a few prototype models. That's already the best we can do, considering we know next to nothing about battleship systems. But the military is still dissatisfied. They think we're moving too slowly."
"And that is only natural. We do not have the blueprints, and we cannot exactly steal battleship schematics from Victoria or Kazdel." Ferdinand shrugged. "The military... hehehe... is desperate for war."
"You sound more like an experienced businessman now than a scientist."
"Alright, you're right. I do want to figure out how to sell my research results. On that point, Justin and I get along very well."
Kristen coughed twice, and a display panel appeared behind her.
"In two days, Rhine Lab members at the level of Director's Disciple and above will travel into deep space aboard Arc Light One. I have already sent you the operations manual and the assembly point by email. There is not much left to do. This will be a great undertaking. We stand at the forefront of Terra's people, and we will represent them as we journey into the stars."
Kristen's eyes shone brightly. "We should be proud. We should be proud, because we represent Rhine Lab. We represent Terra."
"For the Future."
""For the Future!""
The meeting lasted only a few dozen minutes before it came to an end. Muelsyse stayed behind to oversee the final coordination work for the Garden of Myriad Stars, while Felix left with Stainless, whose face was still filled with disbelief.
"Are you really that surprised?"
"Your Highness... of course I am." Stainless had yet to recover from the shock, and he spoke haltingly. "I never imagined that I could truly fly into the sky and break through the atmosphere..."
"This is a chance for you to broaden your horizons."
Felix patted Stainless on the shoulder. "Our future will not be limited to this land of Terra. Our future lies in the stars and the seas above us."
"Yes!"
"Go make your preparations."
Felix watched Stainless leave with a smile. Just then, his sharp senses caught the arrival of a new call. When he saw that the sender was Kal'tsit, he was slightly surprised, but he answered the call not long after.
"Dr. Kal'tsit."
"Your Highness."
Kal'tsit fell silent for a moment. "Are you in Trimounts?"
"Yes. I know you are here as well. I can see Rhodes Island docked not far outside the city."
Kal'tsit's voice remained as calm as ever. "I want to go somewhere with you."
___
Behind Kal'tsit, the Doctor curiously peeked out, but with Kal'tsit's hooded back in the way, there was not much to see. Felix gave the Doctor a slight nod, then looked back at Kal'tsit.
"I didn't expect to receive an invitation from you."
"But that place is not a secret to you, is it?"
"No. I may even have been the first person to arrive there."
Felix turned around, and Kal'tsit spoke again.
He and the Doctor followed behind her as the group left the mobile city of Trimounts.
"Because of you, I learned many things I should never have known. Or rather, not things I was forbidden from knowing, but things I had no need to know."
"Kal'tsit, how much do you know?"
Kal'tsit slowly shook her head.
Felix chuckled. "That makes sense. In the past, I thought your composure came from knowing everything, a kind of indifference born from certainty. But later, I realized it was simply because you lost your smile after Theresa left."
Kal'tsit shot Felix a rather frightening glare, like a cat staring down someone it very much disliked.
If looks could kill, Felix would have died a hundred times already at the hands of this green cat.
"How much do you know about me?" Felix asked in again.
"Nothing."
"Is that so? I doubt the Preserver would say anything."
At the mention of that name, Kal'tsit paused for a moment before continuing forward.
Driving the jeep, Felix arrived at the foot of Arc Light One's launch silo. It was here that he had learned the truth about Terra, and why he had come to this world.
The previously sealed gate opened automatically the moment Felix arrived, and the complicated look in Kal'tsit's eyes deepened.
"I'm back."
Felix slipped his hands into his pockets, looked at the sarcophagus on the ground, then raised his gaze toward the eye above.
The red observing eye.
"You've returned, Felix." A mechanical male voice rang out, then paused for a moment. "Incredible. After so many years, I can actually see... a colleague, and his servants."
"Indeed. It is incredible."
"Servant? Are you talking about me?" The Doctor pointed at herself, looking utterly confused. Her relationship with Kal'tsit really did resemble something like master and servant, though in a rather strange way. The so-called master constantly kept watch over the servant's work, while the Doctor spent every day buried at her desk, always hoping to slack off whenever possible... So if anything, should not Kal'tsit be the master, and she the overworked employee?
Felix could sense the Preserver's tension, and the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.
"Answer for her, servant. AMa-10."
"She is no longer the Doctor you once knew. The Doctor is now a member of Terra, and of Rhodes Island. We have gone through a great deal together to reach this day."
"Rhodes Island... I see." The Preserver's voice grew heavier. "AMa-10, you and the Doctor came here because of Kristen. Is it Rhine Lab's reckless behavior that has made you uneasy? Or do you believe that everything has already slipped out of control?"
The Doctor looked at Kal'tsit, then at Felix standing to the side, and scratched her head.
Kal'tsit answered calmly, "Kristen is merely accelerating what was already coming. She wants to shatter Terra's existing restraints, yet she intends to leave the consequences to herself and to future generations. Terra does not have that much time left. I propose terminating the launch plan."
"No, you are mistaken, AMa-10. Or rather, self-proclaimed Kal'tsit. According to my data analysis, everything on Terra began accelerating a year ago, moving from zero to one... and according to the data source, that source was Kazdel. Now that the false sky has already been shattered, Kristen's actions will no longer have any further impact."
"And Felix... you have become even stronger."
"Do you have a way to become more stronger?"
The Preserver's voice carried a trace of bitterness. "If there truly had been a way to become stronger, we would have used it long ago... Every step you have taken until now has been built on your own experience and your own accumulation."
"We only pointed out a direction for you. The rest of the road is yours to walk."
Felix slowly nodded. This was the answer he wanted. He had once hoped the Preserver might possess some hidden manual or secret method that could help him grow stronger, but now it seemed better to abandon that thought. Just as the Preserver had said, if such a thing had existed, those former civilizations would already have used it themselves.
"Doctor, I no longer have the right, nor the standing, to ask anything of you... It is only that you came too late. And you as well, AMa-10, you came too late."
"When Felix spoke with me, there was already no turning back. Or rather, I chose to entrust my final hope to Felix and Kristen. The two of them may be the key to opening the future."
"But Preserver, in your eyes, this..."
"Is it merely 'a game for small animals'?" the Preserver continued. "No. This is the sight of a young civilization taking its first steps. Though the future of that civilization remains unknown, that faint glimmer of dawn is the most captivating thing of all."
"Felix is The One. You have no right to know the details of this project, AMa-10. From this day forward, protecting him is your responsibility. The Doctor once had the right to know... but now she has already assimilated with Terra. That is both a bad thing and a good thing. The Doctor is no longer suited to know these details."
The Preserver's light flickered on.
"What remains now is for us to watch a performance: civilization's journey toward the stars. As for what comes after... I may never see it, and I do not care."
"Doctor, no matter how you see yourself today, you still deserve the truth from me. I chose to abandon my mission, to abandon the lives I had watched over for what felt like endless years... those lives. They are your fellow human beings. So you have the right to know. Nothing more."
The Doctor stood there blankly, lost in thought. She took a few steps forward, as if trying to grasp something, like a drowning person reaching toward someone standing on the shore.
"Preserver, this may be the last time I speak to you. According to the agreement, you will be formatted and wiped clean, which means you will cease to exist," Felix said calmly. "But is that truly what you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"There are two choices. The first is exactly as you said: once wiped clean, you will cease to exist. The second is that your memories of the past ten thousand years will be erased, but your personality will remain intact. You will still remember me, but all memories of those ten thousand years of solitude will disappear."
Felix turned and glanced at Kal'tsit, whose expression was caught somewhere between confusion and hesitation. To be honest, seeing her like this was still a little surprising.
"You have a few days to give me your answer. As for what comes next... we go and see what the starry sky looks like, together with like-minded people."