The second day of the trip to Australia. It is early in the morning, when one can still see the faint image of the moon in the sky. And yet, someone is interrupting with my sleep. In precise terms, it is not even "someone".
- Wake up. We need to prepare for the expedition to Huntly Mine. Their people will arrive at the hotel to pick us on eight sharp. - Mirai is throwing a pillow at me, who is currently half-awake and tries to hold his ground on the bed.
For a freelancer whose life is always threatened by unexpected project invitation and weird customer demands, getting to sleep on the bed is nothing less than a brutal fight with time. And now, as a hero, there is no difference.
- No... Five more minutes... - I cover myself with the blanket.
- After drinking that big jar of draft beer and getting back to the hotel, you immediately pass out, and I have to bring you to bed. And it was only like nine o'clock. - Mirai complains and throws another pillow at me.
- You don't have to deliberately remove the most important part of the process like that to make me look like I did nothing. At least I get him to spit more information in a minute or two, compared to your inhumane tortures...
- Enough. Just wake up! Things do not crawl into your backpack automatically, at least in 2050.
- So? You have the whole arsenal in the tablet? Why do you need to do that?
- So you plan to open an encyclopedia and search hundreds, thousands of pages to pick out the thing you need, during a short expedition? Come on, I thought as a person of engineering and science, must you value efficiency?
- Yes, and I am very efficient now. I sleep efficiently to gain energy efficiently. What more do you want?
- That's it.
I hear Mirai pressing something with her built-in system. My vision suddenly turns white, like a flash grenade. I can feel the impact as vividly as a real flash grenade.
- Ah! My eyes! - I jump off the bed and fall down on the floor, covering my eyes. - What did you do to me?
- When you pass out, you did not take off your spectacles. Remember that your specs has synced vision with mine, right? I just play a short video of a flashbang with my "brain", and the signal transmits into your specs. With this new patch update, I can sync sensory information too.
That is an unnecessary update, and thanks to that I am awake. It is currently six in the morning, and standing next to me is a Mirai with a smug smile.
- Here. Drink this coffee. It will keep you awake at least until afternoon. - Mirai takes a cold can of coffee from the fridge and brings it towards my face. Now that cold temperature makes me completely awake.
It is six thirty and we are packing our stuff.
- Flashlight, check. Ultraviolet light, check. X-ray scanner, check. Gamma ray scanner, check...
- You realise that you are just listing the electromagnetic spectrum, right? Here, use this EM Headlight. In 2100, the production of high energy electromagnetic waves is simplified to one single device. You turn the knob here to switch between different frequencies, from radio waves to gamma rays. This small panel here is a receiver, which directly sends the signals to the tablet, in case you use the flashlight as a scanner. But, keep in mind that it only works in close range.
I remove all the kinky, piling scanning devices out of the backpack and put them back into the arsenal, speechless.
- We need to use drones to investigate the interior of the mine...
- Drones are too obvious to be detected. And we already retrieve information from the satellite yesterday. Scanners are way more than enough to detect further anomalies.
- See? That's why I want to sleep more. You know the stuff better than me.
- Then how can I unworriedly pass the responsibility of saving the world to an incompetent person who does not even want to learn?
- Then why do you even choose me?
- It must be fate when it is you who receive the package, with a chance of 1 out of 10 billion. And I would have chosen somebody else way long ago if I regard you as not good enough.
I try to cool down a bit. It must be fate when I beat that "one out of ten billion" odd to handle the future of the humanity and the Earth, in one single event.
- Now, that's a good boy. - Mirai shows a smug face again
- Hey, technically I am about fifty years older than you. - I decide not to cool down with this "person".
After the packing, we go to the second floor of the hotel to have breakfast. Even though it is not a luxurious hotel, they are good enough to provide a buffet-style breakfast like the luxurious ones. I am trying to grab a dish of fried instant noodle in the fast food section, when Mirai holds my arm.
- Nope. Once you live under the same roof as I, no reverting back to that sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle. I will quickly make you a healthy sandwich. - Mirai puts me down on the chair, while she swifts through the bread section, quickly and professionally taking all kinds of healthy filling available there, then coming back with a fully assembled sandwich that looks a million times healthier than my whole life before she appears.
I take the sandwich and take a bite. I am not sure whether it is because the food of this crappy hotel is actually its only spotlight, or it is because some certain person, I mean pseudo-human, makes it, but it actually tastes good. I finish the whole sandwich within a few minutes.
- Now, drink some water to smoothen your digestive system. It is a good habit to drink two litres of water everyday. - Mirai hands me a cup of water
- It's not like I am not aware of that. - I snatch the cup of water from her hand.
It is warm. According to science, yes, I agree that water is colourless, odourless and tasteless. But in real life, it is just way too obvious that cold water is more superior than warm water, although it is not good for your teeth and gums. I use all of my power to try to swallow the warm water, not complaining anything.
It is eight sharp in the morning. There is already a car waiting for us at the hotel entrance, and a man is waiting for us.
- Hi. You must be Mirai and Yuusha. I am Albert, a colleague of Issac, who will be in charge of bringing you guys to Huntly Mine. Issac is a bit busy today, but if you need, I can ask him to join you guys the following days. Of course, I will still be the main tour guide for you. - The man greets us.
I shake his hands, and he invites us to enter the car. He would drive us to the mine himself.
It is a half an hour ride, but the part that takes time is the clearance to make sure that we can enter the mine. While on the car, Albert talks to us a bit.
- So... Are you guys a couple?
- Nope, we are not. Just colleagues. - I reply.
- Oh, that's so bad. You two look great together.
- Is that a white lie to make the conversation smooth?
- Haha, you can think like that if you like. - Albert laughs. - By the way, what business do you have in this place in the opposite hemisphere of yours?
- Oh, my company just needs to import some materials, specifically aluminium. The boss makes us go inspect the ores at the mines, and not processes metals in factories. He is a bit unreasonable.
- Understood. Bosses sometimes feel like they have a screw loose. But there is a reason they get to the positions. Not like we can complain anyway.
- Yea...
We run out of topic. The next twenty minutes is the atmosphere of an awkward silence covering the whole car. It is better than spilling our secrets accidentally anyway.
The car finally arrives at a big gate with a sign saying "Welcome to Huntly Mine". Albert drives about five hundred metres further inside, into the car park. The car park is an area with a row of neatly arranged circles, each has sufficient area to fit a car. Albert drives the car to one of the circles.
- OK, let's get off the car. I will park it. - He talks to us.
After alight, he locks the car. He stands in front of the booth corresponding to the circle and scans his iris. After registering a user, the circle slowly descends into the ground, along with the car. The cars will be stored in a facility underground. After a minute, the circle ascends to the ground level again. That would signal that the vehicle has been parked successfully.
- Now, let's bring you two to the clearance area. - Albert brings us to a small building nearby.
Right when I am not noticing, I feel Mirai nudging my side.
- Yuusha, give me your backpack. Make sure that there are no metallic item on your body except your phone.
- That's hurt. You can just tell me normally. I am not deaf.
I hand her my backpack, which contains the tablet and other metallic items like trackers. I think I understand why.
In the building, Albert is applying for two passes for us to freely move in the mine. There are lots of part, such as filling in personal particulars and verifying whether our passports and identification cards are real. Luckily, Mirai manages to forge her identity by breaching the Japan's government system, so we make it through the identification inspection round.
- OK. Now, you two, please walk through this machine. It will detect if you two bring any dangerous items with you. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it is for the safety of everyone in the mine. - The officer at the counter tells us to step in front of a metal scanning machine.
We screw up. I mean, I can clear the test, but what about Mirai? I start sweating, though it would go unnoticed by them.
I step through the gate. It does not beep, so I am cleared. I look at Mirai. She is approaching the gate and preparing to pass through the gate.
Her very own existence is metallic, no doubt. Whatever she does, it is just impossible to make that gate not beeping. I quickly reach out to my backpack in the back to trigger the EMP system to disable the gate. And then I realise it is stored in the tablet, along with other suspicious tiems like tracker and drones, which are in the backpack. Now, without anything on me, I cannot do anything. I am just useless.
As expected, as Mirai passes through the gate, it beeps very furiously. It is just inevitable. The smiley face of the officer suddenly changes to a more serious and darkened version. The seriousness atmosphere fulfilled the clearance room. He walks towards Mirai.
- Now, miss. What kind of item are you bringing with you in that bag? - The officer asks, and he approaches the backpack.