Chapter 726 – Room 302, The Cursed Chamber – ‘Brave New World’ (4)
—
– Kim Sanghyun
The digital camera I got back from Jennifer contained three photos.
After receiving it, I couldn’t help but think that Jennifer might have seen these photos too.
I mean, they must have looked like a precious camera to her.
Luckily, none of the images were obvious enough for a regular person to recognize immediately.
The first photo featured none other than the huge model of a space shuttle at the Houston Space Center in Texas, with tourists snapping their so-called certification photos in front of it.
The first shot resembled one of those touristy photos.
There were seven people in the picture.
One was me, but the other six were complete strangers.
I habitually raised the photo like it was a trophy and spoke to it.
I wasn’t sure if the observatory was watching me, but thinking they were made me feel a bit better.
“Can you see the photo? That’s me, but I don’t know who the other six are. They aren’t my astronaut buddies from my NASA days.”
However, I had a faint idea of who these six might be.
They all had very distinctive appearances.
Do you believe someone’s eyes are flashing like lightning?
What if their hair color was a mix of black and white in a cool gradient?
And believe it or not, two of them looked to be in their late teens at most.
A gang of such uniquely styled characters isn’t something you find every day, and some of them were probably hotel staff.
“They must be agents. If that’s the case, the friend who looks like a teenager is probably much older than he appears.”
A photo of me with six Bureau agents in front of a space shuttle.
“Let’s see what I scribbled on the back. Astaire, David, Li Dao—oh, I jotted down some names and a few thoughts about them. So…”
It seemed that this realization triggered something intense within me.
And then, a vivid memory storm swept over my mind.
…
*
– Eleven Years Ago, Houston Space Center, Texas
It was 3 AM.
Most normal folks wouldn’t be going to work at that hour.
Even astronauts, being an extremely specialized profession, would consider such a thing unusual.
So, if someone was coming in at this time, it probably meant something odd was happening in Houston.
“Johnny, did you understand my explanation?”
“So you’re saying the Bureau has requested our cooperation? They’ll send six agents at dawn to get some quick astronaut training from me?”
“That’s right. The upper management thinks you’re the ideal instructor. Of course, your ‘colorful background’ was a factor. Is that okay with you?”
“Absolutely. It’d be an honor to train Bureau agents, even if I’m just hearing about this from hearsay. The novelty is intriguing! But…”
The request for astronaut training seemed reasonable, and I thought it would quench my curiosity about the Bureau.
But…
“The training period is six months.”
“They said there’s no time to waste. From what I heard, the Bureau seemed pretty frantic. Just look at us talking at this hour.”
“Well, that’s true, but is six months even enough?”
“Sure, for agents, it should be.”
“That does make sense.”
*
The Bureau is the apex organization of humanity.
This doesn’t mean they’re the best in every field.
Just like the President isn’t an expert in everything, the Bureau doesn’t specialize in areas unrelated to disaster management.
…
Training astronauts at NASA typically takes about a year to a year and a half.
Thinking about that timeframe, it might be sufficient for the Bureau agents, who are supposed to be top-tier human resources.
But there’s something to consider.
In the astronaut selection process, you need at least a master’s degree in engineering, 3 years, and over 1,000 hours of flight experience, and knowledge of rocketry and space engineering to even be chosen.
The additional training time for these selected candidates is that one to one-and-a-half years, meaning that actually training astronauts demands much longer preparation.
Could agents really learn everything in six months?
Initially, I thought both the Bureau and NASA could pull it off.
NASA didn’t know much about the agents, and the Bureau didn’t grasp the full extent of astronaut training.
…
*
Two months into the training.
After starting manual operation training on the Aston Arrow Space Module, there were sighs all around within just ten minutes.
“Johnny, do we really have to memorize this entire manual?”
The one saying this was an agent named David, a young white guy who looked to be in his early twenties. Of course, from the information I had received subtly over the last two months, I knew a few bonus facts.
David was actually over 300 years old, and he didn’t always look like a white guy.
*
‘He switched races by looping through time. Seems like I didn’t fully understand this back then.’
*
“Agent, this is just the beginning. There are seven modules, and you will have to master them all—”
As soon as they heard “seven,” another agent chuckled dryly.
“Johnny, you know I’ve flown a bunch of fighter jets, right?”
“I’m aware.”
“Yet this… how should I say, it’s quite the leap.”
He trailed off, looking puzzled about how to express himself.
I totally understood how he felt.
It was the same process I went through when I trained to become an astronaut.
“When you say fighter jets—do you mean you have to control everything yourself, even the areas where computers usually handle it?”
“Exactly.”
“Agent, this is due to the differences between space and ground.”
“…”
“Simply put, we understand Earth’s environment quite well, so most of it can be automated. However, space is like a black box for many aspects.”
“…”
“Moreover…”
I also trailed off here.
I couldn’t say exactly what the agents were supposed to do; that was classified info even for me as an instructor.
“I don’t know exactly where you’re heading, but there’s no data for that route. If that’s the case, the navigation system will probably run into countless errors.”
Agent Astaire nodded in understanding.
She appeared to be in her early thirties with unnervingly pale skin.
According to my experiences over the past two months, she was also the unofficial leader of the six agents.
“You’re saying each passenger must have the knowledge to correct errors? I get that.”
“If so, the training should focus on—”
“No, Johnny. What I mean is you must realize we can’t complete all our training within the remaining four months.”
The agents weren’t below average in terms of talent; each one was at least gifted.
It was common for them to finish training in just two weeks when normal folks took six months.
Still, even those prodigies found space module operations absurdly tough.
“So what do we do?”
“Let’s focus on physical training. Things that will help us adapt to space.”
I implemented the order right away.
However, a certain question nagged at me.
If we only conducted physical training, who’s going to operate the spacecraft?
It didn’t take a day to get my answer.
“Johnny, the Bureau sent additional requests.”
“Additional requests?”
“Agent Li Dao is dropping out. As a replacement—”
“Wait, Victor! You can’t switch personnel now, just over three months left! That’s insane!”
“The replacement is you.”
“… Huh?”
It became clear during the actual training process.
No matter how skilled an agent, they can’t become astronauts in just six months.
Thus, a real astronaut had to come in to fill the gap left by one less agent.
Someone to operate the space module instead of the agents.
*
‘So that’s how I ended up heading into space with the agents. And now I finally understand why the Bureau chose to erase my memories instead of disposing of me. They treat me kind of like an odd member of the Bureau.’
*
After my identity switched from the instructor to a member of the exploration team, a few changes took place.
For instance, I finally learned the official name of the project the Bureau was undertaking.
Which means I hadn’t known its name before.
“My name is Dennis Cromwell. I’m also a member of the Pioneer. You can just call me Cromwell.”
The top brass at the Bureau, Pioneer Cromwell.
“Project Moon Hunt. Johnny, you’re on board from now on.”
To be honest, at my age, being called “Johnny” felt off, but I sensed no awkwardness in how he spoke to me.
Cromwell treated me like some child, and I just accepted it.
The purpose of the project? It wasn’t rocket science; they wanted to destroy the moon.
“A very straightforward name, right? It’s a project that carries the fate of humanity.”
“…”
“Johnny, all the agents recommended you, including the one who dropped out, Li Dao.”
At this moment, I felt an indescribable thrill.
It felt like I was becoming part of a grand mission to save humanity.
“Honestly, it won’t be safe. The odds of dying are high, and even if you do survive, you might not come out in one piece. The chances of making it back whole aren’t good.”
“…”
“Johnny, will you accept? You can refuse. It’s not a highly specialized job, after all. No intention of forcing you.”
The word “refuse” had already flown far away from my mind.
My life, which had been a nonstop race, finally reached the realm of greatness.
Call me childish, but I believed that if I feared death in this situation, I wouldn’t be a real man.
Even if I had to die at the end of this project, I’d gladly accept that.
“I consider it an honor. I’m ready to lay down my life for this.”
Soon, I was allowed to check out the spacecraft operated by the exploration team.
“The ship you’ll be boarding is the Twinkling Bright Star. What do you think?”
My first impression of the Twinkling Bright Star was incredibly impressive.
To accommodate me, the Bureau had to remove Agent Li Dao, which meant the spacecraft had to have seven seats.
That’s why I hadn’t expected such a massive spacecraft.
“It’s pretty big! I thought it would be smaller than a third of this.”
“Is that so?”
“At this size, you could fit over twenty people, right?”
“Sadly, no. Actually, seven is pushing it. Some agents don’t need food, which is how it’s even possible.”
Despite being a ridiculously massive ship, the reason it could only seat seven came to light.
The structure of the spacecraft was downright bizarre.
“What on earth is that central structure? It doesn’t look like it’s needed for flying at all.”
There were gray pillars sticking up here and there, strange sculptures, bizarre carvings on the floor, and a mysterious liquid dripping from the ceiling.
With so much oddity occupying weight, it was no wonder the capacity was low for such a large ship.
Cromwell didn’t seem inclined to reveal anything further; he just averted his gaze.
The one who approached with a smile was agent Astaire.
While Cromwell didn’t want to explain, he didn’t stop Astaire from doing so.
“Johnny, what does it look like to you?”
“It looks like a supernatural place right out of a video game. Is it some sort of magic circle?”
Surprisingly, Astaire nodded.
“A magic circle… kind of half right.”
“Half right? What’s the other half?”
“You could say it’s a temple.”
“A temple?”
A temple usually implies the presence of a deity.
So, naturally, my next question arose.
“Which god are we talking about? Judging by the absence of crosses, it doesn’t seem to be the God we’re familiar with—”
“… The fallen from the heavens.”
“Huh?”
“The lost Star, the son of Dawn.”
The fallen from the heavens.
The lost star.
The son of Dawn.
“A being who might save us.”
At this point, I finally grasped the vague essence of the Bureau’s ongoing plan.
They aimed to bring down the moon by borrowing the power of a great entity that could only be summoned from space!
As a tiny, tiny human, I had one question.
“… Mr. Cromwell.”
“Johnny, feel free to ask any questions.”
“Your words are hard to understand. Isn’t this like bringing in tigers to handle wolves? If things don’t work out, do we have a backup plan?”
“Johnny, of course. We always have a plan. If things go south…”
“… If it doesn’t work out?”
“The pure will live in a Brave New World.”
“What the heck is a Brave New World?”
“That’s classified information.”
“… Am I undeserving of knowing?”
“I’m sorry. You—”
“No, Cromwell. I think differently.”
“Astaire?”
“Used to be I wouldn’t care, but now he deserves to know what’s what.”
“…”
“I agree with Astaire as well.”
“David, if you think that way, fine. Johnny, free up your schedule for tonight.”
…
…
—
“Ugh!”
It felt like being splashed with cold water as I woke up from the car.
I think that’s about as far as my first photo could take me in terms of memories.
“… To be cut off here is quite the tragedy.”
I have a feeling the next part was about the identity of the ‘Brave New World’!
Lucky for me, I still had two more photos left.
The second photo.
In the center of the Twinkling Bright Star, an altar was glowing strangely.
…
*
– Park Seungyub
About three hours had passed since the start of Room 302.
I was caught up in one shocking realization.
Though no one believed me, and even Ari teased me about it!
“…”
I really do have a girlfriend now, don’t I?
And an incredibly cute one at that!
“Seungyub!”
“Uh, uh, uh, uh—”
As I stammered, a brown-haired girl smiled brightly at me.
“Wanna run away with me?”
“What do you—?”
“Let’s ditch class!”
At that moment, I sighed over the immense popularity of the real Park Seungyub!
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