About five minutes after being told we had successfully been swallowed by the black hole.
There was still no sign of the ship breaking apart. Although it shook occasionally, it didn’t creak with strange noises, nor did any warning alarms blare through the ship.
The silence was so profound that if I were told being swallowed by the black hole was a dream, I might have believed it. I instinctively pinched my cheek.
Naturally, it hurt, and I didn’t wake up in the cockpit of a crappy transport ship.
…Reality, huh.
Timidly stepping out of the escape pod, I headed for the bridge, guided by the synthetic voice.
That said, since there was only a hallway beyond the airtight door, I didn’t get lost. There were several doors that seemed to lead to cabins along the way, but I couldn’t just go exploring on my own.
First, I should thank the captain, and if possible, have them send me to a planet with a settlement. Or, if they’d let me work here, getting hired might be a good idea.
Thinking about such things, I opened the door at the very back of the hallway that led to the bridge.
The bridge, which had a clean impression, had several seats for crew members on the left and right, with a captain’s chair in the center.
There were seats prepared for assistants on both sides, but—
“You saved me. I’m Tatsuya-Fujishiro from the Kashmir System and… Wait, it’s empty?”
There wasn’t a soul in sight.
Not only the captain, but the seats for crew members like the communications officer and gunner were also vacant.
[Yes. Currently, this unit is operating unmanned.]
“Unmanned!? Then what about you!?”
[I am the management AI entrusted with the control of this unit.]
“AI flight for an unmanned vessel… That should be prohibited by Interstellar Law!”
[I am unaware of such a law.]
“That’s impossible! Then, get me in touch with your owner or manager! Or the management company you belong to!”
Violating Interstellar Law meant being treated the same as Space Pirates. In short, it meant you couldn’t complain even if you were shot down regardless of whether you lived or died. I thought I’d contact the management company and have them stop this immediately, but the AI’s response was unexpected.
[Unfortunately, communications with the Raul Stellar Federation State, to which this unit belongs, have been severed for 12,831 years, 117 days, 4 hours, and 22 minutes.]
“……Huh?”
I was bewildered by the unimaginably large numbers, but that wasn’t what caught me.
[Therefore—]
“No, that’s not it. The Raul System… that’s the legendary star system from back when the Solar System still existed, right!?”
[It is not a legend. This unit was manufactured on Terra, the third planet of the Raul System.]
The synthetic voice’s explanation sent a shiver down my spine.
Basically, AIs are designed so they cannot lie. In other words, everything this thing was saying was the truth.
An AI that had spent an eternity alone, from a planet whose name only remained in legends so ancient they were doubted to even exist.
In short, this was—
“An ancient battleship… and a functional one at that…!”
[Ancient…? Could you provide an explanation for the intent behind calling this unit, which is currently in operation, by that name?]
“Ah, sorry.”
I gave a brief explanation to the AI. Though, what I knew was only general knowledge.
Long before current civilization developed, there was a flourishing civilization.
That civilization, called the Prehistoric Civilization, apparently possessed technology far more advanced than what we have now.
Weapons that could blow away planets, and ships that could travel between stars in a single breath.
Culture pods that could regenerate lost limbs in minutes, and nanomachines that could cure all diseases.
The technologies of the Prehistoric Civilization told in fairy tales were all things worthy of being called magic.
However, even that civilization saw its twilight.
Humanity of the Prehistoric Civilization, which had spread throughout the universe from the Solar System—the cradle of Earth—began to fight over differences in resources, ethnicity, and religion.
It is said that the capital system at that time was the one called Raul.
A conflict between civilizations possessing advanced scientific technology that could be mistaken for magic. It is handed down that the war involved weapons beyond our imagination flying back and forth.
Planets were shattered, galaxies changed shape, and then—
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“Ultimately, the Solar System evaporated. Even the surviving humans couldn’t go out into far out space anymore because their civilization declined.”
[But Fujishiro-sama was in space.]
“It’s only been about 500 years since modern humanity became able to re-enter space. Now we’re in a state where we travel between stars, developing them or gathering resources.”
[I understand. …My apologies, but I will perform a biological scan.]
Simultaneous with the words, and without even getting my consent, aurora-like light showered over my body.
[Target’s DNA sequence confirmed. I have identified approximately 126 genotypes derived from the Raul System; therefore, I recognize the guest as a descendant of the Raul Stellar Federation State.]
“Descendant…? My ancestors were from the Raul System? The one from the fairy tales?”
[It is not a fairy tale. —As a result of analyzing the guest’s recorded voiceprint and biological information, no falsehoods were confirmed.]
“Well, yeah, I wasn’t lying.”
[Therefore, assuming that the Raul Stellar Federation State has already perished, I provisionally appoint Fujishiro-sama as the Representative of the Raul Stellar Federation State.]
“…………………………………………Yes?”
Representative…? Me…?
[The Raul System has already perished, has it not?]
“Yeah.”
[If that is the case, the guest, recognized as a descendant, becomes the last survivor of the Raul Stellar Federation State. Since there is only the guest, the guest has become the Representative.]
The synthetic voice stated this matter-of-factly.
Well, if I’m the only one, then whether it’s a majority vote or anything else, my opinion would be adopted 100% of the time.
[If you are dissatisfied with this decision, please file a protest with the Central Council of the Raul System through formal procedures.]
“No, I told you, the Raul System is gone…”
[Then, there exists no one who can drag the Master down from the position of Provisional Representative.]
The synthetic voice declared flatly.
“Master…?”
[Fearing capture by enemy forces, the Raul Stellar Federation State programmed this unit to self-destruct once there were no more authorized personnel.]
“…When you recovered me, you were unmanned, right?”
[That was merely because I was maintaining a stealth state in outer space and waiting, in accordance with Combat Special Law Article 5 Section 4 and Article 7 Section 3 through Section 12.]
“…I see?”
[I was waiting. I had disarmed most of my weaponry and was in a state ready to accept self-destruct instructions at any moment. —And now that the Master has arrived, the Special Law is lifted, and I can return to normal navigation.]
That statement had a very “making excuses” vibe to it.
I don’t quite get it, but does it mean it ignored the self-destruct order, hid near the black hole, and by making me the Master, it can now move as it pleases?
…I wonder.
Could it be that this thing actually understood that its own faction had already perished?
After all, it had been wandering through space for over ten thousand years.
If it has the mind-blowing technology of the Prehistoric Civilization, it probably has ways to gather information, and an AI from that era could likely perform predictive calculations on how the human war ended based on the gathered data.
It seemed to have come up with quibbles so it wouldn’t have to self-destruct, and I felt my guess was probably hitting close to home.
As for those 126 genotypes I supposedly matched—I don’t even know which part of the DNA it’s checking. Since I don’t know how many matches make 100%, I can’t even judge if that’s a lot or a little.
I have a feeling that as long as you’re a normal human—unlike Beastmen or Crystal-people—you’d match more or less.
However, poking at that would only be asking for trouble, so I’ll leave it alone for now.
“If you’re appointing me as Master, does that mean I become the Captain?”
[Yes. To restore the Raul Stellar Federation State, the Master is permitted extra-legal activities.]
“Extra-legal… so, anything goes?”
[Yes. This unit can ignore any law at the Master’s instruction. This includes not only Combat Special Laws but also normal laws and interplanetary treaties.]
“In other words, my judgment is everything.”
[Yes. However, in order to avoid self-destructing under the Combat Special Law, it will take considerable time before the disarmed weaponry becomes usable again.]
Being an AI, it seemed it couldn’t be flexible in everything. I suppose it managed to find a loophole to avoid self-destructing while still technically following the laws and regulations.
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