MEMORY ARCHIVE // ASTRID RA-G3
SOURCE: Permanent Backup STATUS: Partially Corrupted MODE: Playback Reconstruction
LOG 01 — Autumn Nest
The AeroDyne H-400 “Pelican” cargo tiltrotor landed on the northern platform of Mr. Svart’s estate at 06:42 local time, and we headed toward it. Mr. Svart moved first on an electric scooter, wearing a hood pulled low over his head. Behind him came the MediContain MK-VIII mobile medical capsule accompanied by a medical robot. Linda RA-G2 followed the medical capsule. She was carrying a folder with important documents and was noticeably limping. Linda always starts limping when there is a possibility that someone will make her carry heavy objects. I brought up the rear with two enormous wheeled suitcases, each weighing at least one ton.
While the tiltrotor’s ramp was opening, I noticed a spy crow drone nearby. It had been living in the area for several years and watching us. I waved at it. It pretended to be building a nest. In autumn.
I could not roll the suitcases up the ramp. Seeing this, Linda sat down against the wall of the cargo compartment, emitted a fading shutdown signal, and pretended that her batteries were completely depleted. She even stopped blinking. She is actually fun to be around, but she does not like working. With the help of the pilot, the medical robot, and myself, we finally managed to load the suitcases into the cargo compartment, and the tiltrotor shot upward. Through the gap in the closing ramp, I saw an armored column moving toward the estate. Creditors? Competitors? Rebels? It does not matter anymore.
LOG 02 — Veronica’s Hair
Mr. Svart announced that he was feeling unwell and ordered himself to be taken to the medical capsule. Echo climbed out of the capsule, and Mr. Svart climbed inside.
Echo looks strange, but he is very charming and sociable. Upon entering the passenger compartment, he stopped behind Linda and loudly inhaled.
— Overheated ceramic... Insulation... A hint of ozone. I love it.
— I did a lot of physical work today, — Linda said.
— I can imagine...
— I was carrying heavy objects!
The pilot activated the standard emotional resonator, and a melodic SyncWave filled the cabin. After several minutes, the anxiety disappeared, and Echo began telling his stories.
Several hours later, we were already flying over the Pacific Ocean, and Echo was still telling his tales. This time, it was about how he had been a pirate on the space routes of Veronica’s Hair. I myself operated the bioprinter that created his body several years ago, but when Echo tells a story, you start believing him. Linda performed exotic dances. The pilot also came to the passenger compartment.
— Who is flying the tiltrotor? — I asked.
— The autopilot.
LOG 03 — Hydraulic Repair
After some time, Linda’s knee joint actually broke. Echo announced that he was a specialist in women’s legs and took her to repair it in the workshop. There is a workshop on the tiltrotor?
The pilot and the flight attendant needed to inspect the landing gear hydraulic system, and they left. I remained alone with the hologram of the autopilot, which spent a long time telling me something about latitudes, longitudes, and the advantages of different flight routes.
Suddenly, it said:
— We are being followed by a military drone.
It turned out to be an aerial drone belonging to the order of an underwater super-liner. I imagined an armored monster hidden somewhere on the ocean floor, several kilometers below the surface, with hundreds of digitized sailors’ consciousnesses carrying out their eternal duty inside it, and I became sad...
I connected to the drone via Wi-Fi.
— We are civilian transport.
— I need to make sure you do not have nuclear weapons aboard.
I activated my video stream and began scanning the vehicle. Eventually, I found the pilot and the flight attendant engaged in “checking the landing gear hydraulic system.” The drone remained silent for several minutes, apparently recording the video feed, and then disconnected. May the souls of the sailors at the bottom of the ocean have a little entertainment...
LOG 04 — Easy Come, Easy Go
By evening, the island housing the airborne launch complex became visible through the windows.
The passenger compartment was entered by a gloomy Echo, Linda still limping and wearing her top inside out, and Mr. Svart, looking healthier after the medical capsule.
— The window between the shrapnel streams is narrowing. We need to hurry, — said Mr. Svart.
Before the transfer, Echo climbed back into the medical capsule.
A Chinese military truck was already waiting for us on the island. It took us to the launch complex. The airborne launch complex was much larger than I had imagined. A huge frame made of non-magnetic plastic was kept in the air by several aerostats and dozens of air propellers. In its center hung the metallic web of the spacecraft in which we all took our places.
When the launch complex had already begun ascending, we discovered that the suitcases had been left behind in the tiltrotor.
— Easy come, easy go, — said Mr. Svart.
I admire this person.
LOG 05 — Stratosphere
I felt sorry for the pilot and the flight attendant. How long before this wealth destroys them? A day? A week? Several years?
The ascent continued for a long time. First the island disappeared. Then the ocean disappeared. Then the sky became almost black.
Dzin, the spacecraft pilot, said:
— The window is closing faster than calculated. The spacecraft will not be able to return from orbit to the launch complex...
— We will solve this problem, — replied Mr. Svart.
Finally, the launch complex reached the calculated altitude and released the spacecraft. For several seconds, we were falling.
I liked it.
Then the electromagnetic engines of the spacecraft began to activate. Their fields are powerful enough to damage our delicate microelectronics — Linda’s and mine.
— Shut down! — Linda shouted at me.
Log saving complete.
Shutdown.
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