Liberi Reader

This snowstorm looks like it'll last at least a week. Good thing I've got plenty of supplies.

Let's take another look at the to do list. I think I remember a few things still need doing.

Let's see here. Right. Sample collection is done. Searching for clues in the ruins, I think we can call that done.

Nothing much new, compared to last year. If only we had a discovery like the year before.

It's pretty normal, but I bet the section chief still chews me out for getting greedy.

Nothing here either... Oh? Here's a blank. Low temperature test of new materials... oh.

I totally forgot!! Where did I put that new material?!

Oh crap! They're gonna kill me if I lose it!

Phew. That was close. I just left it in my outer pocket.

The outer pocket is 43 degrees below zero. I kept it there six hours. It retains elasticity.

Now to test hardness.

Hey!

Well, no problem. Into the experiment chamber you go.

Thank goodness I put it in my jacket...

With the blizzard and all, I guess I can just put it outside the door and see how it holds up in a low temperature environment.

I think the current temperature out there should be right.

Okay, Magallan. Here we go. Take a deep breath, open the door a split second, toss the thing out, then shut it.

Gotta be quick, precise, decisive. Or else the snowstorm gets in here and we're all done.

1, 2, 3!

......

......

Excuse me...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Magallan, did you just see a ghost?

Yes, Magallan, and she was very pretty. Still a ghost though.

But how could there be another person up here in the Northlands?

C- could it be some kind of snow ghost?

No way. I just have to open the door and take another look. I have to answer this question with science!!

There's no such thing as ghosts! And I'm not so cold that I'm hallucinating!

What if it's some kind of uncontacted tribe? That would be huge! Go for it, Magallan!

......

......

Excuse me, can I come in?

Er... Um... You... I...

Don't be afraid. I am not a ghost. Here, touch my face.

Huh? What?

Oh, okay...

Wow. You're warm! But how? How are you here in the Northlands?

...are you a Sami?

Ah...

I don't know why that seems disappointing to you, but I am indeed a Sami. Nice to meet you, little girl.

H- hi. I still don't know how you got here, but please come in. A normal person would freeze to death out there.

I mean, wouldn't a blizzard like this be a problem even for a Sami?

Thank you.

Here, have some tea.

Thank you.

What's your name?

You may call me——

Let's say Simone. Simone. And your name, little girl?

My codename is Magallan! Rhine Lab Field Specialist, assigned to Research Outpost #420...

It's only me here, at the moment.

I see.

Simone, why are you here? Did you get caught in the storm...?

I was entrusted with the search for a certain individual.

Search? In the Northlands? There's no one here. For all the months I've been, I've seen maybe a couple living organisms.

The client informed me that she would be active in this area.

Why are you looking for her?

This storm will last for some time, which should delay her movements. I came here to retrieve her.

Oh, really? Do you mean me?

I am not certain.

R- right. So you're not here for me. But the weather as it is, it really doesn't bother you?

The Sami... rather, I am familiar with snow.

But if the weather continues to deteriorate, many things will change in unpredictable ways.

Yeah. I knew this storm would last a while, but I didn't think it would be this intense.

I wanted to wait for the wind to die down a bit... We would have to speed things up like this.

According to the calendar and my observations, tomorrow would be the best time!

And we have enough supplies. I really did well.

All these supplies are for you alone?

Oh, no. These are for all the people living at this research station to hold out until next year's survey season.

...oh?

If you need to live here for a while, you can use these supplies too.

But you can't touch my equipment!

Oh. Okay.

Good, well, now that that's decided, let's get packing!

Sorry, Simone, there's a few things I have to prepare.

Sure. No problem. I won't get in the way.

Suitcase, suitcase, where did I put my suitcase? Oh, I remember. I brought it down from the loft and put it in the kitchen!

The survey apparatus, and the drone... Meh, it's fine.

Just need to charge a bit.

Is there anything I can help you with?

Huh? Oh, no. I can take care of all of this myself.

I've been doing this all by myself for a while. I got lots of practice.

So this is where you work?

That's right. I do research and observation.

What do you observe?

All the ice fields of the Northlands!

And you're the only one here?

Yep. That's my job.

You don't get lonely?

I do! But I don't think loneliness and happiness are mutually exclusive.

I know my colleagues are all waiting for me to come back. And I know these ice fields hold so many amazing secrets waiting to be unlocked. So it's not that bad.

Sometimes I get lonely. But most of the time, I'm really very happy!

To be alone... is very scary. A life like this... I don't even know what to say.

I know it's not for everyone.

Being an explorer isn't easy!

Err, ahem, being a scientist!

You are... truly optimistic.

Hehe. To borrow the words of one of the greats: 'An explorer's best friend is loneliness!'

Oh, but the section chief said I have this bad habit of talking to myself. Do I? I don't think I do?

It's fine, Miss Magallan. You are a fine person.

Oh. Huh. Heh. Really?

Yes.

Okay, the station's energy reserves should hold up all right, as long as I set the hibernation times right. So...

Right. Like I said, aside from the research equipment, you're free to use anything you want, Simone.

I see. Thank you.

But I am Infected. Is it okay for us to share supplies? To share this facility?

You noticed, didn't you, Magallan?

Er, yes. I noticed. You certainly didn't do anything to hide it.

You are not afraid?

It surprised me a bit at first glance... it did! You don't usually see crystal distributions like this...

But really, as pretty as you are, Simone, those crystals look even more special.

You need not avoid my eyes.

Oh, your eyes... huh? You should really get treatment, Simone. It's a little dangerous there.

That is not what I mean. My meaning is, do you not fear infection?

Oh. No, I don't need to worry about that. Rhine Lab's research has proven time and again that Oripathy transmission from person to person is not nearly as easy as most people think.

Even though nobody seems to listen... Sigh.

I have lots of Infected friends and colleagues. It's no big deal.

...Really?

Yep. Really. Everyone at Rhine Lab Medical is really proud of what we've accomplished!

But when it comes to Infected stuff, we can't compare to a pharmaceutical company called 'Rhodes Island...'

It pisses off some of my colleagues, but it's the truth. They do really amazing work on Oripathy over there.

That's why Rhine Lab signed a cooperation agreement with Rhodes Island. I'm actually going there myself!

I'm pretty excited. I have no idea what it's like, but I really hope I can get some really good research done! I thought I'd be cooped up in a lab forever...

You really like to talk, don't you?

Obviously! I really like talking to other people. But, um, if I start to talk your ear off, you can just tell me. I'll quiet down...

Not at all. I like you talking about all these things I don't know.

Oh. Huh. I'm blushing a little...

You know, Simone, you could go to Rhodes Island for treatment! Hey, I could even take you there!

You aren't worried that I have some ulterior motive?

Ulterior motive?

That I am bad.

Okay, Simone, are you bad then?

...Yes. Am I bad then.

......

Magallan, do you feel like the temperature is dropping?

The temperature? Huh, now that you mention it, it is a bit colder than it was before... Hold on... Oh no...

That's not good. Excuse me a second, I need to check on that control system.

Uh oh. Exterior heating pipes sprung a leak. Probably just worn out...

Sorry, Simone, I have to step outside for a bit.

What is going to happen?

If I let the system go ahead and shut down the outer heat shell, the outpost isn't going to make it to next season. Or at least, it won't be able to support life.

How many days do we have?

Two months, give or take... No matter how familiar you are with snow, you wouldn't be able to live here.

I won't. I am leaving the Northlands soon.

Is that right.

...are you still packing?

I'm getting ready to go out there.

Did you not just say it could last two months?

Yeah, that's no good! It's gotta make it to next season!

It is not safe to be out there in that storm. Such a harsh environment may endanger your life. Don't go.

No can do. This outpost isn't just for me. It's a base of operations, and it needs to hold up for good.

No one else is coming in this weather.

Simone, you just showed up in this weather like ten minutes ago.

I am different. I am not an explorer, Magallan.

Phew... this heater is heavy...

This outpost is even more important.

For an explorer, base camps like this outpost are lifesaving nodes. If this outpost goes down, an explorer who runs out of supplies or gets lost might come here and find only death.

Okay, but, since the time it was built, up until I got here, has anyone else come by?

Not a one.

Then what does it matter?

It matters.

How are you so sure?

Because there will be someone coming by. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not until the next research season, maybe not for another couple of years.

You are just making baseless assumptions. Magallan, it is dangerous out there.

No one is coming. At least not until the dry season. No explorer is coming.

Simone... You said you're not an explorer, didn't you?

That is correct.

Well, different explorers make different choices.

Some of them might choose to come here when it's nice and calm, to explore the length and breadth of the Northlands. No one's done it yet, but people are always trying.

And some of them might come here at its most dangerous, to see how the land shapes and changes, to record what they see and bring it back to civilization.

The Black Flow of Bolívar, the highland plains of Kazimierz, the undersea volcanoes of Iberia... there was a time when no one had seen them either.

But now the explorers have been and gone, planted their flags.

And there are still many places in the world no one has set foot on yet. But that's all it means. Not yet.

Today, I set foot on this ice field. That means more people will come in the future.

And we have no idea under what circumstances they'll be coming.

And if no one else comes in your lifetime?

After you go back, won't this station fall into ruin?

I can't give up. There's always that minute chance that some nonexistant explorer might come along two months later.

Simone... You have to understand. I, Magallan, believe in exploration. I believe in explorers.

One day, our footprints will cover this entire land.

...You have put your hopes in a future that may not come to pass. Will you not be disappointed?

No big deal. An explorer spends her whole life discovering, and her whole life being disappointed.

No explorer's discovery is purely her own. Every one of us stands on the shoulders of all the explorers who came before us. Every discovery is connected to a long and storied past.

Like, I'm only here in this ice field because of a story I heard as a child.

But I know in my heart that even if the thing I'm looking for doesn't exist, everything I do still has meaning.

Even if it's just some empty, disappointing, imaginary meaning.

Oof, this heater is a little too powerful... burned my hair last time. Oh well, on you go!

...I see.

Yep! Welp, here I go!

Let me go in your stead.

Huh?

Simone, you came here looking for someone, right? Our outpost here doesn't hire anybody!

I already found her.

Huh.

You mean me, Magallan?

The environment has deteriorated to the point where our messenger was unable to inform you in advance.

Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am a Rhodes Island Operator, codename 'Santalla.' I am here to retrieve you. Of course, you can keep calling me Simone.

Let me go in your stead.

Wow...

Nope. It's too risky!

That's what I should be saying to you.

Nope nope nope. I'm the field specialist here. It's my responsibility.

Don't underestimate me.

Huh.

Tell me how to do the repair, Operator Magallan. And let me take care of everything outside.

Okay, okay, I got it. Here, take this!

What is it?

Just press this button and I'll come out and get you! And take this, and this...

Heh heh, thank you...

I truly found the right person. I don't need them, Magallan.

You do! I can't let you go out there without...

No. Operator Magallan... trust me.

The land, she trusts me too.

We spend our whole lives discovering, and our whole lives being disappointed. Right?