If you missed the start of this light novel, here's Chapter 1: http://narumo.livejournal.com/22274.html
Chapter 4
“How do you feel?”
“Not bad.”
“Is there anything bothering you?”
“Not really. What about you?”
“I am having a great time. Unlike you, I have a body that can move.”
“I can hear you, but not see you. What should I do?”
“There is a web camera installed. Instead of your eyes, use that.”
“I see, I should boot this up. But… how do I boot it up?”
“You act as the brain of that computer, so you just need to think about doing it. Even for the real body, it works like that, right? If you wish to look at something, you just need to open your eyes. It is as simple as that.”
“It looks like it will take me some time to get used to this… Hmm… like this?”
“Ah, it seems you did it just fine. How does it feel?”
“Hmm… What? What happened to the color of your eyes and hair? Why are they like that?”
“I decided to make them more colorful, since it takes so much effort. From here on after, being here underwater, we will not be able to see any vibrant colors. After all, it takes a lot of natural resources to accomplish this sort of thing. For a little while, traveling between the surface and the bottom of the seas is still possible, so I can secure enough materials for it… but it is getting more difficult.”
“It’s not just a question of how to manage that. I wonder how much the people here can endure, being so used to luxury.”
“As for solar energy, it will be mainly used for the growing of important vegetables, cereals and such for human consumption. For cow meat and such, there is cloning. However, there is no choice but to cut down on more trivial activities, in order to preserve energy for the maintenance of the underwater metropolis; it is impossible for comfort here to be similar to the conditions available in the surface. For example, consider whether the hours of sunshine match the hours of the day. Of course, the amount of sun light is at its lowest level, so the environment is regularly shrouded in a faint darkness. Obviously, there are no seasons to speak of. In order to serve a support role in the production of oxygen, some plants have been distributed along the city, but to be frank I do not know how far they will grow.”
“By the way, where are we?”
“I take you did not see the written report, then? These are the facilities exactly opposite to the site where the twelve apostles sleep. In paper, it was meant to be reserve cryogenics facilities. We are under that. Not even the highest ranked members of the new government know about this place.”
“What about maintenance?”
“It utilizes a self-restore program. When the mother computer of the underwater metropolis is given an upgrade, the computer over here automatically gets the latest software version, system back-ups and re-organization as well.”
“What if the mother computer needs maintenance, won’t people outside will figure out these places exist?”
“The installations function independently. No one should found out about the sleepers if proper care is taken. Even if they find out about the twelve apostles asleep in the eastern facilities, they shouldn’t suspect that there are sleepers here. When everything is complete here, the door to the facility will be completely sealed with a special password, and I will move to a house close to the entrance. Through the network, you can move as you please through all the computers of the metropolis. My house will have a computer too. This body needs maintenance too, after all. Besides, I am sure that for a while they will have too many on their plate to worry about this place.”
“That’s probably true. They have to concern themselves with the upheaval of their living environment. And since they are now living underwater, there is a chance of new threats arising. The question of whether this is a safe haven or not… that’s for the next generations to discover, perhaps.”
“Now that I think about it, we might have chosen a pretty good way to escape it all. Released form despair, knowing nothing of hunger, we are quietly observing the route the world will take.”
“I can’t judge whether that’s a good thing or not.”
“Well, it is not something to be judged right now.”
--
Luka brushed her long hair with a brush, and then covered it with her hood as usual. She pushed the strands spilling form the confines of the hood inside, and to keep her hair form being seen, she wrapped herself with a shawl. Just as she was done checking herself in a full-length mirror, a voice commented from behind.
“You are being very thorough today.”
“Good morning. Isn’t it early for you to be up?”
“Did you forget? Today the hours of sunlight have been shifted.”
“Oh… that’s right. It slipped my mind, sorry.”
“Hehe… so even you can be absent-minded sometimes.”
“It’s true. Even I’m surprised. But I might be more careless than you think.” Luka gave an embarrassed smile to the one that had spoken to her, and in order to meet his gaze, she bent slightly.
“Indeed.” The man smiled a little at her, and then shoot back her own question at her. “Where do you want to start?”
“Oh, you are using my same words. So I guess they work well enough now, despite the lack of clarity.”
“Hum, you don’t have any specific questions then?”
“I was just trying to put you at ease with some levity. Short-tempered people don’t do humor, do they?”
“I did tell you before, did I not? I have no talent for word games.”
“So you did. Ok then, this time I will ask you in all seriousness. Who are you?”
“I am…” The man started to answer, but Luka waved her hand, stopping him.
“Ah, I don’t want to hear answers like ‘I am myself’ or anything like that. I already know you are yourself. What I want to know is for what purpose you are built, why aren’t you registered in the files of the central assembly, and why do you know state secrets.”
“Relax. I know better than that by now.” He gave a wry smile in response to Luka’s words.
“All the better, then. I’m sorry I interrupted you, please continue.”
“I was the first to sidestep the issue all. It is perchance unavoidable that you would draw attention towards the issue.
Who I am…that is the question, indeed. I am a representative assistant of the WEMC, the organization that existed before the central assembly.”
“When you say WEMC, you mean the organization affiliated to the research team that built me, right?”
“Correct. WEMC…It started as a special team dedicated to researching countermeasures for environmental issues. At that time, humans lived in the surface. But due to several issues originated from the damage to the planet, it become difficult to continue existing above. The end result of the joint efforts of the governments that consciously looked at the problem was the WEMC.”
“Isn’t that …ancient story, from more than a thousand years ago?”
“Of course. It is a tale from before the city at the bottom of the seas, Aquajail, was born. The WEMC was also the one to build this underwater metropolis in provision of the looming threat of the damage caused by the rising of the oceans.”
“I’d never guess an android could become a representative assistant for a global organization” In response to Luka’s rational tone, the man laughed out loud.
“It is no great surprise you would think so. My former self was a human.”
“You are a human turned into an android?” But why would you do that..? But, that right. It’s not like someone has ever heard of a human living more than a thousand years.”
“You should know why. In those days, the world was in complete chaos. It was necessary for someone to be able to guide people for a long time.”
“And you were turned into an android because of that? You made such a big sacrifice?”
“I wasn’t the only one that chose to live forever like this. I am still an assistant.”
“Still? Then, the representative for the WEMC became an android, like you?”
“No. I was the only one to be given a physical form. The representative…he leads the world as a being that consists only of a consciousness.”
“A being that consists only of a consciousness?” Luka burrowed her brow, puzzled, seemingly unable to understand.
“The physical body of the representative, just like mine, sleeps in the cryogenic chambers. From there, our brainwaves are entered into a super-computer and converted into electronic signals. Mine come into this machine body, but the representative, as a being of pure consciousness, is safely inside the computer itself.”
“I see. Then, your mind is a human mind, but your body is the body of an android. No wonder you seem so humanlike. Is your way of speaking how humans spoke a thousand years ago?”
“No…this manner of speech…I decided to speak in a way that matched this appearance.”
“What an unexpectedly boring answer.”
“I am a human being that is over a thousand years old…how you would make it more interesting?”
“You might be right…Well, it’s fine. Now that I know about your circumstances, it’s time for you to learn about mine.”
“So now is my time to ask the questions. Your activation was not announced to me. That is in conflict with the specifications regarding android activation. If those conditions had been implemented, we should have been informed of your existence right away.”
Luka’s face momentarily clouded in response to the man’s questioning. But then she returned to her previous expression, and looked him in the eye as she answered.
“I’ll tell you why I am here…Why I want to go to the surface…”