Episode 17. Reunion

It was June 2123, and Marty had graduated from Noah Tech School a month ago. She had been assigned as an administrative officer to monitor the artificial intelligence inputting data in an office located just a bit away from the capital.

"Ughhh... I'm so tired."

Marty continued to yawn, wearing a bored expression. Living in the dormitories, each person in their own room, felt oddly like being in prison. And with the administrative tasks of inputting a set number of data entries being handled entirely by artificial intelligence, Marty's job was simply to watch over it. It was just a matter of killing time, and it was incredibly dull. While she did it because it was part of her assigned duties, she couldn't help but wonder if this was truly the kind of work Noah Tech School had deemed suitable for her talents.

But there was no choice. In this place, Marty had no freedom in her profession, no freedom in her movements, not even the choice to decide for herself. She wanted to see Tyra, but she had to wait since she only found out after graduation that Tyra was enrolled in a Specialized Program that required her to graduate later than the regular classes.

"And the fact that she's enrolled in a Specialized Program means she might even show up in front of me someday as an AG Security Agent."

Marty's mind became tangled with unexpected scenarios. She had promised Siu and Zena that she would bring Tyra back, but now it seemed impossible.

"Sigh..."

Marty sighed inwardly before returning to maintain her poker face. Now, her emotional shifts were more natural than before, but thinking about Tyra still made her feel gloomy.

- Ding!

In front of Marty's eyes, a notification window appeared through her brain chip. The message on the notification window instructed her to enter virtual reality, explore various areas, and report on the situation.

Is it time already?

Marty reached out her right palm to the notification window. The window automatically recognized Marty's biometric code. Marty's mind rapidly flashed multiple times, as if being sucked into the light.

"Biometric code 100% match. Welcome, Marty."

***

As Marty struggled to regain her composure, she blinked her eyes open to see the blue sky and swiftly passing clouds. And there she was, inside the virtual human within the bridge of a high-speed ship in virtual reality.

SAI had created virtual spaces based on the entire Earth, allowing access to places difficult to reach physically. These virtual spaces were divided into layers like dimensions, preventing intrusion into each other's areas.

Why not let SAI or other AIs do this if that's the case?

Marty grumbled inwardly with skepticism, but soon gave up on the thought. After all, there was nothing much to do in IDYPIA anyway. Experiencing virtual reality, even if only once a week, was far better than monotony in the stuffy office.

"Welcome, Marty."

"It's nice to see you again."

Marty turned towards the source of the voice. There stood two identical NPC avatars with short black hair, known as W (Double U). They looked like copies of each other, with identical reactions, and each entity was not given a separate name. The two entities were collectively referred to as W.

They were among the 26 AIs created directly by SAI Prime to serve as job guides and monitors for the citizens of IDYPIA.

"Today, we'll be heading to a relatively low-altitude tropical forest in the Andes Mountains."

"You'll arrive in 10 minutes, so please get ready immediately."

The tone sounded like it was simply regurgitating the entered keywords.

"Got it."

Marty responded in the same manner, but the twins faithfully briefed her on her role.

"Today's destination is a tropical forest, encompassing montane, tropical, and temperate plant groups."

"I presume you learned about the roles of these plants in the ecosystem at Noah Tech School."

"Your task today is to review how thoroughly the robots have surveyed the plant groups."

"You'll only need to report the data collected by the robots, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

W handed Marty a tablet for reporting.

First the Arctic, and now the Andes... Why do I always end up going to mountains or forests?

A while later, the rapid shuttle arrived in the ancient Andes Mountains region of Chile. Despite the fierce wind that scattered the leaves, it wasn't cold in virtual reality. In the distance stood the iconic Aconcagua of the Andes, once known for its perpetual snow, now barely retaining its snow-capped peak.

As Marty stepped off the shuttle, a robot observing the Aconcagua region approached her.

"Shall we get started?"

Marty wandered around the Aconcagua area, observing the plants and nature that the robot had surveyed. Each sight left her in awe. Beyond IDYPIA lay life forms she had never known, thriving and living vigorously.

The environmental destruction caused by global warming had spurred rapid regeneration once humanity's hands ceased their interference. Marty couldn't help but wonder if the perpetual snow of the Andes Mountains might return sooner than expected.

As Marty peacefully observed the forest, she suddenly felt as though a human-shaped shadow was staring at her from nearby.

Hmm? This is strange. It's a virtual world, so why is someone staring at me?

As Marty tried to examine the shadow more closely, it suddenly moved.

"Wait!"

Marty hurriedly ran to the spot where the shadow had been, but it had disappeared without a trace.

That wasn't the gaze of an animal for sure. Could it have been a person? But we learned at school that there are no people living outside of IDYPIA. How could this be?

With her suspicions and curiosity growing, Marty felt perplexed.

Later, after completing her tasks and returning to IDYPIA, she was eager to tell her friends about what had just happened. With excitement bubbling inside her, Marty quickly left the office to head home.

- Ding!

At the sound of the alert, Marty turned back with heavy steps and checked the monitor.

"Huh? This is…"

On the monitor, there was Tyra's name listed as a new appointee for the Siberian Farm.

***

On the day of the graduation ceremony for the specialized program at Noah Tech School, Tyra, unable to become an AG Security Agent due to discrepancies in her data, graduated as the top student overall. However, Tyra's expression was far from cheerful. She hadn't reached the information she had set out to obtain before graduating.

No, I was mistaken. Who would allow a mere student access to such information in the first place?

Feeling empty and heading towards the assigned location, Tyra was about to board a self-driving car at the school gate. That's when it happened.

"Wait!!"

Startled by someone suddenly emerging, Tyra quickly hit the brakes and came to an abrupt stop.

"You almost killed me!!"

"Haha, as expected!"

Approaching confidently with a smirk, it was Marty.

"So, it was really you! Right?"

It was indeed Marty.

***