Data Center (2) — Survivors in the Data Center?
The Data Center (2) — Survivors in the Data Center? — This is surprising. A data center... I truly never imagined it...
"Well, I suppose our thinking had become too rigid. Let's assemble a rescue team. By the way, since there's been internal conflict, make sure the team members are informed of that fact."
— Internal conflict? —
Philip Smith, the Commissioner General of the Security Bureau, spoke with a slight frown. It meant his workload had increased, so it was bound to be troublesome. Even without interpreting it that way, a leaking bowl leaks outside as well; for a security official, the influx of people who had already rebelled against the established order into the Ark was nothing short of displeasing.
"That's right. It seems they fought over scarce food supplies, splitting into factions. The manager I was chatting with escaped to the upper floors, while the rest are stuck below."
— Hmm... Understood. I'll issue non-lethal weapons to the team. —
It would be somewhat difficult for the soldiers, as this was indoor combat against hostile humans, unlike what they had done so far. Still, it was far better than fighting monsters. After all, these people were 'intact' humans. Since the conflict had arisen from food shortages, their physical condition was likely deteriorated as well.
"Then let's conclude the meeting here. Everyone, return to your duties now!"
The meeting has ended.
Along with the AI's words, the hologram projection terminated. Soon the Ark's outer walls would open and the gunships would launch, rescuing every last survivor from the data center. Their safety, however, could not be guaranteed.
"AI, display how many data centers exist within gunship round-trip range from the Ark."
Displaying on the map.
Ziiing— The hologram unfolded once more, revealing three glowing points centered on the Ark. One of them had a blinking line drawn to it, and the name written on that point read 'Rosteff.' That blinking line was likely the marker indicating the current rescue team's destination. The other two points were labeled 'Calibird' and 'Veilia.'
"Calibird Data Center and Veilia Data Center..."
As I muttered, the AI quickly retrieved images of the two data centers and displayed them. Judging by the watermark in the bottom right, they appeared to be promotional materials produced by the data centers themselves.
"What's the probability of survivors in these two data centers as well?"
Calculation impossible. No relevant variables found.
"Hmm..."
Even the Ark's AI was not omnipotent. Its greatest weakness, with various functions removed to suppress machine rebellion, was its inability to gather information on its own. It could infer, reason, and predict based on information input so far, but it could not create entirely new information from nothing. The reason the AI answered 'calculation impossible' was because it was impossible for the Ark's AI to predict human movements, which did not follow rigid rules like machines, so it could not find relevant variables.
But if there were survivors at Rosteff, why would there be none at Calibird and Veilia? I decided to hold on to a sliver of hope.
* Rustle... rustle...
"Damn it... This is the last one..."
Isaac Wilson, the manager of the Rosteff Data Center, fell into despair upon realizing that only one emergency ration remained in its packaging. There were still a few more packaged rations left, but it was all too obvious to him, who had managed vast amounts of data, that they would run out in a few days.
If there was any hope left for him as he forcibly pried off and chewed the grain block, it was only the rescue team promised by the person who had called himself the Controller of Ark No. 17 last night.
Beep—!
Isaac turned on his phone and stared intently at the chat log from last night. Though he was essentially trapped by his own choice, the thought that people were coming to save him from outside seemed to give him strength he didn't know he had.
"I wonder... what happened to the people downstairs..."
Having regained some composure, Isaac chewed the shrunken grain block and wondered about the lower floors. In the early stages of the incident, dozens of people who either didn't realize martial law had been declared and monsters had appeared, or who thought they would be fine even if they did, had left the data center. None of them ever returned.
From then on, the survivors began to see each other as competitors. In this extreme situation that no one had ever imagined before—'leaving means death'—the opportunity for unity seen in movies or comics never came. After months of uneasy coexistence, the catastrophe finally arrived.
It started simply. When someone tripped over discarded emergency food packaging, they got angry, only to receive the reply 'You should have watched where you were going' instead of an apology. Then someone added fuel to the fire with 'Looks like you've still got the energy to get mad,' and all the built-up stress exploded at once.
Isaac had never imagined people could act so irrationally. As the manager, he had done his best to prevent division among the survivors, but those in the IT field, despite their technical skills, lacked the persuasive power to convince them. The survivors who had lost their reason invoked 'noblesse oblige,' pressuring him to go outside and find food, but Isaac, who knew all too well how dangerous the surface was from the surveillance cameras, had no choice but to refuse.
And... this was the result. If he hadn't had the manager's card, he didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to him.
"The rescue team... they'll come, right?"
It had already been two weeks since he was trapped. Outside the window, only the occasional monster wandered across the devastated surface. If he opened the door, the rampaging survivors would beat him half to death before looting all the food. He tried to comfort himself that the rescue team would surely come, that the person had promised, that only a day had passed, but a gloomy feeling, as if his limbs were intact but his brain was trapped in a time bomb, seemed to drag Isaac down into the abyss.
....Da-da-da-da-da...
"Hm?"
Until, that is, a faint rotor sound came from outside the window.
*
"This is Rescue Team 1. Landing on the helipad complete. Proceeding to enter the interior."
— Understood. Proceed according to indoor engagement protocols. —
"Confirmed."
The rescue team that landed on the rooftop helipad moved swiftly. The monsters on the ground had seen the gunships heading for the data center, so they would soon swarm in. When that happened, there was no guarantee of safety no matter how solid the data center's defenses were.
Click! Click!
"It's locked!"
"Install the bypass device."
"Yes!"
When the bypass device, remotely controllable by the Ark's AI, was installed on the firmly locked door, it opened after a few beeps. The Controller's authority was higher than the data center manager's card.
"Team 2, head to the broadcast room and announce that the rescue team has arrived. Team 1, follow me to the manager's office."
"Yes."
The rescue team that successfully entered the center split into two groups, heading for the broadcast room and the manager's office. Before long, they faced a firmly locked blast door.
"There's an intercom here."
When a subordinate pointed to the intercom, the commander reported to the Ark's communications room that he would contact Isaac through the intercom.
"Approaching the intercom to contact the manager."
— Understood. —
With permission granted, the commander called the manager through the intercom. After the faint sound of running footsteps, Isaac responded.
— H-Hello? —
"Are you the manager of the Rosteff Data Center?"
— Y-Yes! That's right! You're from Ark No. 17, aren't you?! —
"Yes. Please open the door. The rescue team has arrived."
— J-Just a moment... —
Ziiing....
After a short while, the blast door split apart to make way, and a rather shabby iron door compared to the blast door clicked open.
"My God... Finally...!"
"Jack, Michael. Escort the manager to the helicopter."
"Understood."
The commander assigned two soldiers to escort Isaac to the helicopter, while the remaining forces moved straight down to the lower floors.
Ding-dong—! Ding-dong—!
While heading downstairs, Team 2, which had arrived at the broadcast room, began broadcasting throughout the entire data center. Though the tone was coercive, there was no need for courtesy toward the rebels who had once pointed knives at the manager.
"Opening this door leads to the lounge."
And descending the stairs, Team 1 finally arrived at the lower floors as well.
"Open it."