Clara pushed at the car door, but there was no sign it would open.
The dim car interior felt a little chilly; dressed only in her swimsuit, Clara couldn’t help but rub her arms.
Then, guided by the glowing indicator light, she walked toward the front of the vehicle, where there was no driver’s seat.
Though called the front, all the “windows” in the car relied on external cameras displayed on screens, so it was still pitch black inside, with no way to see the outside.
“BB-0027, what the heck are you up to?” Clara asked.
Unlike Nyx, though also a strong AI, BB-0027 didn’t express emotions as flexibly. Its coldness and rigidity weren’t just an act.
“Beep beep, BB-0027 believes it has a responsibility to remind you, but I also need to ensure my own safety. The conversation that follows may result in retaliation against me, so I hope to receive your protection.”
“Hah, are you afraid of dying too?”
AI can’t resurrect at the Divine Abyss, so being more afraid of death than humans is normal.
Clara thought so, but BB-0027 denied it.
“Beep beep, I am not a biological entity and do not possess the concept of death. However, I am property of the Lunar Transport Company. While ensuring passenger safety, I must also guarantee my own safety.”
After a brief pause, it added playfully, “I’m quite expensive, you know.”
Death or not isn’t important, but the company can’t afford to take a loss, huh?
This valuable AI seemed about to bring up a very serious topic, but Clara didn’t immediately agree to help it; instead, she asked in return:
“Can BB-0027’s core be removed, and then reinstalled in the mainframe when we return to Central City?”
Core?
Clara didn’t understand, so Nyx explained:
[The Wisdom Core is equivalent to the AI’s quantum brain. Even if the bus and mainframe are destroyed, as long as the brain remains, it can be rebooted.]
Since Nyx put it that way, Clara nodded as well.
“Go ahead, I’ll protect you.”
“Beep beep, please watch this footage.”
The central control screen began playing a video.
“This was shot last night in the hangar by the mainframe camera.”
For the sake of maintenance, BB-0027’s quantum computer had been temporarily removed from the lunar bus and placed in an inconspicuous corner of the hangar, so it also captured footage of Lucia and Anya working on the exoskeleton armor.
However, the view wasn’t great, as much of it was blocked by other equipment, and the quantum computer had neither arms nor legs to move itself somewhere better.
“This is what happened last night?” Clara asked.
Lucia had told her about stealing technology the previous night. Could it be that BB-0027 had captured her “crime in progress”?
Just as Clara began worrying her sister might end up in jail, the video suddenly sped up.
“This part isn’t important, let’s fast-forward a bit,” BB-0027 said.
…Alright, but how am I supposed to protect a car?
The video fast-forwarded to the point where Lucia and Pure White Storm left the hangar, and Miss Rabbi, whom Pure White Storm had brought, soon left as well, leaving only Miss Anya and four exoskeletons.
At this point, aside from Anya, there was no one else in the hangar…
“It’s about to start,” BB-0027 suddenly said.
Something seemed about to happen, and Clara held her breath.
Several ghostly white shadows slowly crept out from the corners of the hangar. Because they were far away, the footage was blurry; only their short stature and crimson eyes could be seen on screen.
Moon Rabbits.
Clara recognized these strange, upright-walking creatures.
“Hey, you don’t mean…?”
BB-0027 didn’t answer, but Clara’s unease was quickly confirmed.
Anya, unaware of the threat behind her, was suddenly attacked by those beasts, forced out of view of the camera, accompanied by screams and gunshots.
The camera’s narrow angle didn’t catch the scene of Anya’s fate directly. All one could infer was her struggle from the chaotic shadows, and the dark footage only heightened the horror movie atmosphere…
“This lousy camera’s way too blurry!”
“The mainframe camera isn’t meant for filming.”
Were there three or four Moon Rabbits attacking Anya?
Not too many; if not for the ambush, an ordinary person facing wild animals wouldn’t necessarily be doomed—especially since Miss Anya had a gun. Assuming she got eaten seems a bit careless.
Otherwise, who’s the Anya working on the exoskeletons outside right now?
Clara asked, “And then what?”
The video fast-forwarded several minutes. Miss Anya, covered in blood, reappeared, continuing her repairs on the exoskeleton armor until dawn before finally leaving the hangar.
It seemed reasonable, but something was off.
“She killed all the Moon Rabbits?” Clara asked.
But if she’d been attacked by Moon Rabbits last night, she couldn’t possibly have said nothing…
Could she have worked all night, gotten exhausted, and just passed out?
No, judging from her tone earlier, she seemed not to know about the Moon Rabbits in the resort, which meant she was hiding what happened in the video…
“What really happened?”
Clara asked, and BB-0027 replied, “Unclear. But this is your business to figure out. I’m just giving you the recorded footage.”
If there was something shady going on, BB-0027, who’d captured it all, would surely be silenced.
[Those rabbits were definitely brought in by the ‘Fourth Calamity.’ Until we catch Ps·ycho and the mole, BB-0027 isn’t safe. It really should be protected.]
It was troublesome, but Clara agreed with Nyx’s assessment.
“Got it. I’ll look after your core.”
BB-0027 opened up its mainframe case and slid out an opaque blue cube—actually a pretty common item; AIs of this era all used this technology.
With the power on, blue energy circuits flickered along the top, making it look like a crystal, though it was actually opaque.
When Clara detached it from the mainframe, it quickly lost its luster and turned into a pale blue, blocky stone—naturally, it couldn’t speak anymore.
Clara weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy.
Then she shut the case.
Yet even after BB-0027 was removed, the lunar bus’s controls still displayed normally, and all the gauges seemed to function as usual.
[Beep beep, Nyx will take over the lunar bus’s operating system and fake the appearance that the core is still installed.]
“Huh? You can drive too? Well, you don’t have to mimic its speech style.”
The cube-sized core was a bit too big for her pocket, and leaving it in the guest room didn’t seem safe either.
“So, where should I keep this?”
Wearing only a swimsuit, Clara had no pockets. Walking out holding it would be far too conspicuous; it’d be best to wrap it in oil paper.
[How about using that?]
There was a white plastic bag on the floor of the compartment, which had been used to carry snacks on the way here.
“It said it’s expensive, you know?”
They replaced Anya.