...Dammit, Teddy, pick up already!!
The terminal continues its unanswered ringing, each heavy tone a drumbeat of impending doom that tightens the anxiety on every face.
The Task Force reinforcements have helped them eliminate all Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures. The operation is proceeding as planned, all except for...
All Strike Hawk members have completed reconnaissance. No hidden hostiles detected.
All the "trash" has been taken out.
Now the only thing left is...
Karenina's gaze burns into her terminal, her entire will bent on coercing a single sound from its speakers.
She is met only with dead silence.
The shriek of a different alert cuts through the quiet. The rest of the team immediately checks their terminals, but Karenina remains fixed on her task, until the very air in the room grows heavy with tension.
When she finally looks up, she finds every face here etched with the same, unmistakable dread.
What is it? Spit it out!
...We have new orders.
All personnel are to execute a phased evacuation and escort remaining civilians to the refuge vessels. Once complete, report to your assigned transports and stand by for immediate evacuation.
What??! I thought we still had time!
The command leaves no room for doubt: Babylonia is lost, and humanity's last hope is to flee Eden.
Karenina opens her mouth to demand answers, but the chime of her terminal cuts her off. She stabs the answer button without looking, her heart leaping, only for her hopes to crash at the sound of Asimov's voice.
Asimov! Did you find it? You have to do it right now before we run out of time!
Asimov's brow furrows deeply, his voice betraying a strain of distress that even he does not yet recognize.
No, I didn't.
There is insufficient computing power anywhere in Babylonia to execute a full attitude correction.
We cannot restore control to the engine systems with our current resources.
Babylonia, humanity's greatest technological marvel, is a navigable megalopolis suspended in the sky.
Maneuvering this colossal structure demands processing astronomical data,
with countless parameters adjusted in real-time.
—Wait. Let me try reaching Teddy again.
You said it yourself, right? The quantum supercomputer she was tasked to find could be our backup plan.
In theory, yes, but...
But we still can't reach her, and we have no confirmation that she even secured the quantum supercomputer.
Nikola cuts in, a hint of impatience in his tone.
She's seen our messages! She's just not responding.
She must have found something and is verifying it. She'll contact us as soon as she knows!
We are nearly out of time.
If Babylonia crashes, the casualties will be catastrophic. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance. We cannot afford to gamble.
It is my duty to preserve our remaining strength.
But—
...?! Wait, hold on!
Just as Karenina is about to argue further, her terminal vibrates. She reads the message, her eyes widening, and turns urgently to Nikola.
She replied! It's a string of numbers, and she's asking us to wait!
I'm forwarding it to you now.
Asimov and Nikola both study the message from Karenina. The string of numbers is followed by a stark, final word: "core."
That's the theoretical maximum stability window. It matches my calculations.
Teddy must have located the quantum supercomputer. While her lack of detail is concerning, this means we still have a chance to turn the tide within that window.
I believe we must exhaust every possibility before conceding defeat.
For several seconds, Nikola is silent, confronted by the unwavering determination of Asimov and Karenina. Their resolve forces a calculation, and a decision is finally reached.
Asimov, factor in the evacuation time and set the countdown based on both calculations.
All remaining personnel will proceed with the evacuation, guiding civilians to the refuge vessels. Only a skeleton crew remains in the control room, and they must be prepared to evacuate instantly.
If Teddy fails to respond before the countdown ends, we abandon Babylonia and ensure the complete evacuation of all personnel.
This is my final compromise. Now, move out.
Roger!
You guys continue the mission. I'll find Asimov and keep tabs on the communications.
Teddy... what exactly are you hesitating about?
Teddy... what exactly are you hesitating about?
She averts her gaze from Teddy's eyes, either out of disgust or a guilty conscience.
Just get it over with. Kill me or arrest me. I made my move, and I don't regret it.
But stop giving me that annoying look. And that shiny new frame of yours is an eyesore I can't stand.
Moineau despises Teddy's new frame, even though it was their salvation.
She loathes this new, unfamiliar form that holds no place in their shared memories.
She resents the life Teddy has built beyond their past, a life from which she is exiled.
She is bitter that Teddy moved on to embrace "truth" while she remained a prisoner of "falsehood," trapped forever.
I don't have time for your drama, Moineau. We'll settle this later.
Teddy closes the distance, gripping Moineau's face and forcing eye contact.
The moment is shattered by an alert from her terminal. She flicks her eyes down to a message from Karenina, where a synchronized timer ticks down.
Its crimson glow is a stark, rhythmic pulse against the screen.
How much computing power does Elysium's core actually have? I want the truth.
Would you even believe me? Or are you just that desperate?
Lying won't help you. You care if Elysium survives, and I'm already connected to its core.
You can't stop me.
I know...
...You guessed right. Its computing power is enough to solve Babylonia's crisis.
But the core is Elysium's "foundation." Use it to prop up another structure, and this whole world collapses.
A digital world without processing power is no different from being deleted.
Yes, Elysium was always virtual. But don't forget, thousands of "real" people call this place home.
...So you're making me choose which one to abandon.
It's about which one to "save."
The virtual and the real can't coexist. You can only pick one, and completely sacrifice the other.
So? Are you going to abandon Elysium?
Moineau pulls out an electrolytic vape, taking a deep drag as if it might be her last. Paradoxically, a sense of calm settles over her now that the confrontation is unavoidable.
I'm not selfless enough to sacrifice my own world. Babylonia means nothing to me.
I suspect you'll choose your world, too. So if you're going to do it, you'll have to go through me.
A few seconds of silence stretch from Teddy before she launches into a torrent of calculations. The surge in her connection to Elysium's core is a palpable pressure against Moineau's senses.
The preliminary calculations complete, Teddy forms a plan. Without hesitation, she opens a communication channel to Karenina.
You're wrong, Moineau. No one's life is expendable.
She emphasizes each word with deliberate intensity.
EVERY. SINGLE. LIFE. MATTERS.
I'm not sacrificing either world.
You...
Karenina, tell Asimov to grant me full system access. I'm integrating Elysium's quantum supercomputer with all of Babylonia's data as the processing node.
I was just waiting for—wait, what?!
You're saying you'll be the processing node?!
Nobody told me it would be like THIS! Don't they have any remote interface equipment over there?!
There's no time. I can handle it.
You'll die, dammit!
Moineau freezes at Karenina's furious words over the comms.
Karenina!
...
Babylonia's systems respond immediately, granting Teddy full administrative access.
But time has already run critically short. To ensure their safety, all personnel except the combat-ready Task Force and Engineering Force have already evacuated on the refuge vessels, ready to leave the plummeting Babylonia behind before the final deadline.
Everything depends on this...
Asimov studies the diagnostic readouts, watching Babylonia's modules gradually reorient under program correction.
Engine module A3 online... C6 online... D8 online... A3 output reduced by 30%, adjusting sector orientation...
The data is a river flowing through his mind. A single string of red code flashes—an anomaly the system dismisses as a transient error.
The program corrects itself almost immediately, but the glitch was enough. Asimov's focus has already locked onto a more critical issue.
The processing time... it's too slow...
It's not enough. The computing power is insufficient. At this rate, we'll never stop Babylonia's fall before it reaches the gravitational capture threshold.
...
Teddy recognizes this reality too, but she's at her limit. She can only focus her remaining strength on allocating computational resources.
Dammit... Is this it?
You were too arrogant. Spouting crap about saving everyone...
I don't know what the core showed you, but throwing your life away won't create some perfect ending.
Hah... Hah... Isn't this... what you wanted?
Teddy's vision begins to swim, the world around her blurring at the edges.
Let me connect to your system. I'll share the processing load.
You... don't... have to...
Cut the tough act.
Teddy releases her access restrictions without another word.
In the next instant, Moineau is drowning. The full weight of Teddy's burden crashes into her.
She sees endless mountains of data, rivers of raw information with no beginning and no end.
Data... data... data... endless streams of unprocessed data.
She redirects every ounce of her frame's computing power, but it is a futile dam against a tidal wave.
Excruciating pain surges through her systems as her M.I.N.D. deviation index skyrockets.
How are you even...
The words die in her throat.
Hah... Hah...
Darkness creeps into the edges of Teddy's vision.
(Is this... my limit already?)
Reality fractures into countless mirror shards, revealing the darkness that lies beneath.
And from that darkness, gentle whispers echo.
So I just need to close my eyes...
And it will all be over...
Words heard not long ago echo once more in her mind.
This path is fraught with thorns. And I sincerely hope...
...That sunlight will still find you.
Sunlight...
The infinite cold of the void triggers an instinctive, desperate need for sunlight.
Sinking into the abyss like a drowning soul, Teddy reaches out.
Then, she feels the warm sunlight.
Mind... Beacon? ...But whose...
Consciousness returns, and with it, Teddy's rational mind.
Computing power... My frame doesn't have enough computing power...
I need more!
We'll need an enormous number of people for that.
You establish communication with Asimov.
That's reckless!
...Fine.
The die is cast; there is no turning back. You must gather enough computing power to prevent Babylonia's fall.
Across the network, input programs flash onto every Construct's terminal.
Gray Raven is joining the connection.
Strike Hawk is joining the connection.
Cerberus is joining the connection.
Dark Aries is joining the connection.
Egret is joining the connection.
...
All Engineering Force members are joining the connection.
Purifying Force is joining the connection.
We're getting additional computing power inputs. Beyond the Task Force commandants who just received the notice, there are also...
Nikola watches, breath caught, as messages flash across the terminal screen.
A silent testament unfolds: humanity is forging a unified front, and Babylonia will not face the coming catastrophe alone.
"Watanabe of Oasis... has agreed to provide assistance and joined the connection."
"Sophia, Changyu, and Scorpio of Akdilek... have agreed to provide assistance and joined the connection."
"Rosetta and Diana of the Arctic Route Union... have agreed to provide assistance and joined the connection."
One by one, countless hands emerge from the digital darkness, reaching out to lift Teddy, to lift Babylonia itself.
She can feel it: a river of raw computing power flooding the system, each new connection a surge of strength.
Again, she sees the countless silhouettes, but now they shift, their forms transforming from echoes of herself into a mosaic of faces, both familiar and strange.
As this collective might courses through her M.I.N.D., it is more than data; it is a physical sensation, a ghostly touch from every soul now standing with her in reality.
So, the [foundation] of civilization is... solidarity...
