Глава 15

Playlist 'Golden Oldies' selected...

Resuming from previous playback—

—My love♪

Blows the blossoms on the hills—♪

Now's not the time for karaoke, Friston-3!

You think I wanted to do that?!

My playback module is customized, and I don't have the remote—

Damn you, Closure!

Blaze! Watch out for Justice Knight!

Which damnable subdirectory did Closure put my code synchronization function in?!

—Gonna give you my tears♪

Save my precious—♪

Kitten, on my six. Justice Knight has me in her sights—

Got it. Whoa, almost hit Justice Knight—

Ouch! Stop running into me!

(Rams with burning heat)

Burn, burning—Boom... mmmmmmmmm—

—No matter who♪

Whispers of love, one trap one lifetime♪

Alright, THRM-EX! Let's see who burns brighter!

Hey, don't hurt the buggies—

I know! I got this.

Protect, protect, friends—

You need healing, Friston-3.

I guess I should thank Closure for fitting that energy barrier generator—

—Here's my most beloved♪

You shine in my tears—♪

Friston-3! How long do you need?

The synchronization module is ready, but I can't jump across this Originium.

I'll make a path for you. Now!

Friston-3 accelerates up the ramp and takes flight.

As he spins in mid-air, he can not help but throw a photo out.

(Man, it's been so long... so long since I moved like this.)

(That synchronized transmission system that you boasted about had better work, Closure...)

Guide these crazy carts into position and immobilize them. I'll fix them!

—A gift to you♪

This love in my heart—♪

I have a connection!

The song continues to echo in the empty desert.

—A gift to you♪

This love in my heart—♪

There is no question that the playback module has malfunctioned, playing Closure's favorite ballads over and over, as though this scene were supposed to be some tear-jerker.

But what he is actually doing is sharing the dream of inevitable parting with a few buggies that do not even have minds of their own, sharing his deepest memories as a human.

Trevor Friston would have no shortage of profanities to spew, if he could spew them.

What's this place...? I thought we were trapped in a... in a... uh...

I don't remember anything—

Beep beep! Anomalous target detected!

Who are you?!

Use your brains, whatever they're made of!

Closure says you're supposed to be smart!

That voice, that tone... y-you're Friston-3!

But Friston-3 isn't as tall as you are.

No, he is Friston-3! I feel a familiar warmth from him—

Warmth... how come I can't feel my own warmth anymore—

Ugh, this is such a headache.

Maybe this will make you feel better.

What is this place?

My dream. A dream that was a surprise to me too.

Now shut up and listen.

Something is wrong with PRTS. I have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Someone made your cognitive modules go haywire, and you were wreaking havoc all over the place. I had no choice but to put a stop to it.

Beep beep. Justice Knight does not understand.

Basically, I'm rewriting your bottom-layer code with my core code. I'll ensure that your memory modules remain intact, of course.

This will take some time. In order to make sure that you stay put during this time, I had to connect your cognitive modules to mine.

The side effect is... *expletive from an unknown language* I share my dreams involuntarily.

What is going on, Friston-3?

A friend of mine is waking up from a long slumber.

Stop thinking. It'll overload your brains.

What you need to do is walk with me before things come to a close. The gathering is about to begin...

A blonde dances joyfully in the camp filled with lights and ribbons.

It is a party!

No... a wedding. My daughter's wedding.

Are we not going to join, Friston-3?

We'll watch from here. I don't want to go there, because it means I'll once again—

Are you sad?

...You can tell?

Of course! Are we not the same?

You said someone made our cognitive modules go haywire. Why did you help us?

No particularly special reason. Like Lancet-2 said, we're the same... at least we are now, on Rhodes Island.

Life on this ship is peaceful. I won't say I like it, but compared to that dream without an end, those unrealized futures, it's not as...

It's not as bad.

Trevor Friston can hear the familiar laughter of his daughter.

A wedding that he must miss, a promise that he must break. Perhaps, if he did not go any closer, he would not have to watch her walk away...

...Code overwrite complete. Let's go home.

He does not wish to stay there, not even for a moment longer.

What happened to Rhodes Island?

Friston-3? Are they all back to normal?

For now.

I rewrote the sections of their code associated with PRTS, ensuring their basic operation with my own core code.

Great. Now we can go and help Misery's team, kitten.

Where are you going next, Friston-3?

I'll have a meeting with the kids, now that they've woken up. There should be something that we can help with.

I'll talk to Closure. I've got a score to settle with her anyway.

Looks like the buggies are back to normal for now, Amiya.

What about Mr. Friston?

Well, he seems a little pissed at me... other than that, everything looks alright.

Great idea, rewriting PRTS-associated code with his own. Would have been a lot of trouble otherwise.

Are all our PRTS permissions gone?

I'm afraid so.

PRTS is actively blocking all of our access. All of its operations take place in a black box now.

Kal'tsit is fighting to take control, but I'm not sure how long she can keep it up.