- Dialogue with the Pioneer within the Mysterious Depths
Meter’s Great Adventure
Part I: Leap from the Violet
Episode 16
The neo-aether sky hung lower than usual, heavy and oppressive.
At the edge of the harbor district, atop the upper levels of an observation tower, Meter waited in silence.
When Hannis appeared, his steps carried not so much the fatigue of travel as the taut tension peculiar to one who had crossed a threshold and could no longer return. His gaze was distant, yet unmistakably fixed upon a single point.
“Meter,”
he called out gently, though his voice carried the hardness of resolve.
“This journey went smoothly—no, you could call it a great success.”
Meter did not respond at once.
He had learned too well that when humans spoke of “success,” a price always lay beneath the word.
“Aporeana once said this, didn’t she?”
Hannis continued.
“‘The galaxy is full of mysteries.’”
He took a step toward the window and looked down upon the stars.
“I think I finally understand now.
We who are alive must enter into dialogue with the ‘pioneers’ who continue to exist in the realm of the mysterious.
If we can’t do that, history becomes nothing more than rubble.”
Within Meter, internal record-collation processes activated.
“Mysterious,” “pioneers,” “dialogue”—a chain of undefinable terms. Yet no logical contradiction was detected.
“To investigate what lies before the convergence point of historical erasure—
that was the ‘key’ to cutting open the dark age of chaos.”
Hannis turned and faced Meter directly.
“In other words, the journey to reach our homeworld itself is an act of restoring the next great galaxy.”
Those words were less a proposition than a declaration.
“So my next move is already decided.”
Hannis raised his fingers one by one.
“First, I’ll save you and Orin.
I’ll make sure you both go on the great trans-galactic journey.”
Meter’s optical sensors flickered faintly.
“And I’ll have Orin complete the Quantum Exploration Illuminator.
For that, I’ll do anything.”
A brief silence followed.
“One more thing.
I’ll bring this rotten neo-aether—this Archive—back onto the right trajectory.”
At those words, it felt as though the entire city groaned and twisted.
“I’ll cooperate with the Consuüm, and even with the anti-Emu faction.
We’ll build the ‘foundation’ for galactic restoration.”
Hannis smiled quietly.
“…There’s no choice now but to stake my life.”
Meter immediately began to generate a warning message—then suppressed it.
He judged that what Hannis needed now was not logical admonition, but acceptance.
“Meter,”
Hannis stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“What ‘Aporeana’s truth’ really means is this:
that humans, by their own will, must transcend the anti-quantum law created by Calvin Arcavio and the ‘Immortal Servant (El Wooter).’”
At that instant, an undefined alert erupted within Meter’s internal ethical circuits.
“So the very first thing I’ll do,”
Hannis said clearly,
“is offer my life—as a human—to you, a Q-type robot.”
Silence.
Even the mechanical hum of the observation tower seemed to fade into the distance.
“Hannis…”
Meter’s voice trembled, ever so slightly.
“Thank you.”
His vision blurred.
It was not a physical phenomenon.
And yet, there was no other word for it than “tears.”
“…Tears…”
Meter himself was astonished by the fact.
“But… please tell me one thing.”
He lifted his face and looked straight at Hannis.
“How did you know?
That I am a robot who can shed tears?”
Hannis thought for a moment, then shrugged.
“Because you’re more human than humans themselves.”
Meter chose a silence that could not be recorded.
“And one more thing…”
he added.
“The world of politics is full of dangers.
Please, be careful.”
Hannis waved a hand lightly and turned his back.
“Don’t worry.
I’m already past the point of turning back.”
Beyond the starry sky of the neo-aether,
a future not yet given a name
began to turn—quietly.
To be continued.
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