Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 4

#4. The Ruined World

While Yeowon was glad that the guiding drugs would help a large number of Espers, she couldn’t shake off Jay’s explanation about keeping a close watch on the movements of the dangerous Espers for the time being.

Of course, she agreed with the justification that they needed to stabilize the world on the brink of collapse. After all, what other reason was needed to save people?

It was a natural thing to do, both humanely and morally, and it was something I did half voluntarily.

But when the guiding drug was about to be distributed around the world… I felt a little uneasy. Is this really okay?

“I’m a little anxious. What if the espers come looking for me?”

[Don’t worry. The ark itself was designed with a wavelength-shielding function. All the drones delivering the drugs are made of fiber and paper, so they won’t show up on radar, and we’ve programmed a random flight algorithm to make tracking impossible.]

“I can confidently say that the ark’s coordinates will never be discovered.”

Even with such assurances, Yeowon lacked the ability to judge whether those words were true. At times like this, all she could do was trust. It was her only refuge, after all.

As Yeowon hesitantly nodded, Jay continued speaking.

[Oh, but it’d be wise to carry a wavelength blocker with you. With one, even if the ark’s location is exposed, you could disguise yourself as a researcher rather than a Guide.]

[I’m 98.67% sure nothing will happen, but highly sensitive Espers can detect a Guide’s wavelength with uncanny precision.]

As soon as Jay finished speaking, the 3D printer in the corner began operating. What emerged was a small metal wristwatch.

[It’s a compact guiding blocker. It functions as both a wavelength amplifier and blocker, and even supports reverse guiding through wavelength modulation. It was once a must-have tool that every Guide owned and relied on.]

“It just looks like a plain wristwatch. Is it really that impressive?”

[It may look simple, but it includes all the functions of a smartwatch. It also serves as a weapon for self-defense and protection against Espers.]

“This is a weapon?”

[It hides the unique wavelength of a Guide, so Espers won’t discover your identity. In emergencies, it can amplify reverse guiding to attack an Esper.]

[It’s an essential item for Guides, so try not to take it off. Of course, there’s no risk to your safety within the ark.]

After that, Jay gave a brief explanation of how to use the guiding blocker. Half-listening, Yeowon casually put on the newly made wristwatch. It automatically scanned her body and adjusted its size.

Surprised for a moment by the advanced technology, Yeowon quickly regained her composure.

Isn’t this the future, 500 years later?

Yeowon already understood that the ark’s items were a culmination of absurdly advanced science and technology—self-adjusting clothes made of shape-memory fibers, convenience facilities, and even mac and cheese or mashed potatoes that only required hot water poured into a cube.

She had marveled enough at the continuously evolving future tech over the past week.

Despite such dazzling advancements, humanity was still steadily marching toward its demise.

As Yeowon operated the guiding blocker on her wrist, following the tutorial with a skeptical expression, Jay spoke.

[Thank you for cooperating.]

“Consider it minimal cooperation. I know you’re looking after me. Sending androids outside the ark to gather food, monitoring the area near the ark via satellite—I know enough. And I’m somewhat grateful.”

[…]

“Thanks to you, I avoided the crisis of eating food made from human ingredients… So, I suppose I should at least cooperate this much. No matter how ruined Earth is, I don’t want to resort to that kind of food.”

[Well, that’s quite the rewarding response for retrieving the corpses of deceased Espers.]

“Speaking of which, can’t you procure food directly from the shelters? I understand the method of scavenging supplies from dead Espers outside the shelters intellectually, but ethically, it feels very unsettling.”

[Shelters, huh. That’s one of the options we’ve considered. Just selling a single batch of the guiding drugs we’re producing now to a shelter could secure enough food for ten years.]

[But right now, the priority is to keep the location of the ark a secret. It’s too early to bring in food.]

[You don’t understand. You may think you do because I explained it, but you can’t truly grasp what a Guide is to an Esper. You’ve never actually met one.]

“Is that so? The Espers you mentioned—on satellite images, they don’t seem much different from ordinary people… I’ve seen them kill monsters outside the shelters a few times in real-time, but… I don’t know… they just feel like monster-hunting heroes.”

[Hero? Ha! Hahaha! That’s such an old-fashioned way of thinking, like something from 500 years ago. It’s so naïve and ignorant. Ah, don’t look so serious, though. I was half-joking.]

“…I don’t think so.”

[Ahaha. Did I get caught?]

“Tch. Don’t make that weird laugh. An AI telling jokes like this… It’s just creepy to me.”

[That’s too much. I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to refine and maintain my human traits within the network. And, once again, I’m a transhuman, not an AI. These two are distinctly different.]

Instead of responding to the protest, Yeowon focused on the video that Jay had displayed on the hologram.

The guiding drug, now fully prepared and packaged, was already loaded onto the drone. It was a tiny ampoule, barely the size of a finger. Would something so small really have any effect?

[We’re launching the drone now. It will first ascend to the stratosphere to disrupt its flight path, and then begin its delivery.]

As those words were spoken, the video shifted, revealing a desolate wasteland.

“Is this where the ark is buried?”

[Of course not. We’ve dug tunnels to ensure the ark’s location stays hidden. The drone is currently traveling through one of them. This is Ulleungdo, 50 kilometers from the ark. We’ve dug about three tunnels from the ark, and we plan to expand that. We’ve also confirmed that there are no survivors in the area via satellite. There will be no traceable signal.]

“50 kilometers? How can you dig a tunnel of that length so quickly? I know androids exist in this world, but this speed?”

[Ah, this tunnel was created the day you were found. It took about a week to finish.]

“…So you’re saying you completed everything on the assumption that I would cooperate with the production of the guiding drug from the very beginning?”

[I guess you could interpret it that way.]

“Wait, that’s Ulleungdo? The same Ulleungdo I know? Isn’t it supposed to be in the sea?”

[Ah, I must not have explained this. Due to the gate phenomenon on Earth, the continental crusts shifted. It’s been almost 200 years since Ulleungdo became part of the Korean peninsula. Its official administrative name is now Ulleung-eup.]

“‘Eup’? Ulleung-eup, you say?”

[It’s hard to catch up with all the changes in common knowledge over the past 500 years. I think I’ll need to show you a new world map. I’ll simulate how the world map has changed from 500 years ago to now.]

As soon as those words were spoken, another hologram appeared beside the previous video.

The continents of Earth shifted erratically, some sinking into the ocean, others rising from the seabed to form new landmasses. The entire process was beyond comprehension.

The continents, which should have slowly moved and changed over billions of years, have been transformed and devastated all at once by the Gate phenomenon on Earth.

It felt as if an invisible hand was arbitrarily reshaping the land and recreating the planet.

[As you can see, Japan is now located next to the United States, closer than Hawaii. While most of its territory has sunk into the Pacific Ocean, it’s still better off than the Netherlands, which has been completely submerged under the sea.]

At this explanation that left her speechless, Yeowon stammered a reply.

“Are you asking me to believe that? I don’t even know where to start to refute it…”

[Hmm. I’d love to let you board a flight drone to see it for yourself, but due to safety and security reasons, I can’t allow that. Even if you feel disappointed by my decision, I hope you remember that you’re the last remaining guide on Earth.]

[You’re the one who follows in the footsteps of Guide Baek Seo-yeon. Well, I doubt you’d understand.]

“…”

[Now, I’ll launch the drone.]

As soon as Jay’s words ended, the drone soared into the desolate sky, flying in an irregular pattern.

Yeowon, unsure of how to accept the changed world, stood frozen, watching as the drones took off in unison. She had no idea what kind of waves the guiding drugs would cause as they spread across the world.

All she could understand for certain was that the Earth she had once known was completely gone.

***

Two years have passed since then.