Shin Haeryang called me and Kim Jaehee over, put us in the bathroom, then took us out. Then he walked straight toward the submersible boarding area. The tips of his ears were bright red. He must be very cold. I suggested he rest in the lounge for even a few minutes, but Shin Haeryang refused.
“Are the three of us riding together in a three-person submersible?”
“Yes.”
“Could you… just briefly tell me how to pilot the submersible? Just which one’s the accelerator and which one’s the brake.”
I was wondering whether submersibles moved by Pascal’s principle like cars did, and thinking it couldn’t be as outrageously complicated as an airplane, when Shin Haeryang, naturally, asked me a question.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I want to watch the two of you depart, then get into a two-person submersible by myself.”
“Is there a reason we need to ride separate submersibles?”
“The submersible I’m in might sink.”
Shin Haeryang glanced at me and said,
“That doesn’t sound like a joke about your weight.”
Had Shin Haeryang heard a lot of jokes related to submersibles? I let out a sigh and began to explain.
“When I tried to escape on the escape craft, I experienced being unable to rise above the surface due to some unknown force at a point three to four meters below sea level. The same thing might happen with the submersible.”
Wouldn’t the situation be somewhat better than it had been with the escape craft? As I explained, I said several things that might make someone doubt my sanity, but Shin Haeryang, who had been silently listening, spoke.
“That issue is not the most important problem right now. And… if we do have to ride separately, Jaehee and you should take the three-person vessel, and I should take the two-person vessel.”
If this wasn’t important, then what was? Shin Haeryang pointed with his hand toward the entrance of the submersible port we had come through. At first, I had no idea what he wanted me to look at, but from a distance, the color of the floor was slightly different. Only belatedly did I realize it was because the floor was wet with water. Looking closely, I could see water trickling in through the crack of the door. Watching water leak in was always terrifying. If the port door opened, it felt like water would come pouring out like a waterfall.
“It looks like the main operation bulkhead has been breached. I don’t think it’ll hold for long.”
Shin Haeryang demonstrated first, crossing the ladder, then approached the manned submersible. Then he put his lower body into the hatch first and disappeared inside the submersible. Kim Jaehee was standing behind me, waiting as if telling me to hurry up and go.
“Jaehee. Can’t you go first?”
“I have to get in last and close the hatch.”
I see. Right. I let out one long sigh and crossed the ladder twice as slowly as Shin Haeryang had. Then I pushed my feet into the hatch of the submersible first. The inside was also shaped like a ladder, and as I slowly climbed down, a living area much narrower than I had expected from the outside appeared.
No matter how I looked at it, it was an extremely cramped space about the size of four toilet stalls. Surely this wasn’t all of it, right? They said it was a three-person submersible, but now that I looked, it seemed just the right size if Shin Haeryang rode it alone. Was there any place for me or Kim Jaehee to sit and endure this? The moment both my feet touched the cabin floor, a deep male voice sounded above my head.
[Second passenger. Weight: 73.2 kilograms. Total passenger weight: 178.5 kilograms. Please state your name.]
“…I’m Park Muhyeon.”
From the voice, it seemed to be an AI. As soon as I got into the submersible, my weight was being exposed for the whole neighborhood to hear. Still, I’d lost 2 kilograms compared to the last time I weighed myself. I was surprised I’d lost more weight than expected even though I hadn’t had trouble adjusting to the water at the undersea base or skipped meals. Maybe it was because I’d suffered a lot after joining the company.
Kim Jaehee was looking down from above the hatch, and our eyes met. I took a few steps back. After locking the hatch door, Kim Jaehee free-fell downward. Perhaps because Kim Jaehee landed with a fairly violent thud, the entire submersible lurched once with a large sway. Dizziness flashed through me. Wow. I could endure this much, but if it got any worse, it would be hard.
[The hatch has closed. No further passengers will be assumed. Third passenger. Weight: 75.7 kilograms. Total passenger weight: 254.2 kilograms. Please state your name.]
“Engineer Team Ga, Kim Jaehee.”
[You have boarded within the submersible’s permissible weight limit. The weight of the ballast attached to the submersible will be calculated automatically and attached within two minutes.]
“That was close.”
I was surprised Kim Jaehee weighed much less than I had expected. If we boarded over the weight limit, would the AI advise us to get out of the submersible? How many kilograms per person was the submersible’s permissible weight? Elevators calculated the average weight as 75 kilograms per person. Hearing my question, Kim Jaehee whispered,
“Eighty-five kilograms. Since there are three of us, we have to be within 255 kilograms, so that was a little risky. They say the early manned submersibles used 75 kilograms as the average per person, but later increased it to 85. Team Leader Shin can’t ride a one-person submersible because of his weight. If he wanted to ride one, he’d have to cut off one leg. (Kim Jaehee lowered his voice even more.) …Look at that body. It’s because he’s a hippo. Thanks to me and the Savior, the team leader is barely managing to hitch a ride.”
“…I can hear everything. Do you want to get off?”
At Shin Haeryang’s question, Kim Jaehee played innocent and stared at the observation window, smiling brightly as if nothing had happened. The smooth male voice sounded above my head again.
[A wonderful friend for you, who will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the submersible. I am Cheloni. Captain Shin Haeryang, Vice-Captain Kim Jaehee, Researcher Park Muhyeon. A total of three people have boarded. Pleased to meet you.]
“Pleased to meet you.”
It seemed I was being automatically recorded as a researcher in this submersible’s operation log. The existing saved records probably had Shin Haeryang as captain and Kim Jaehee as vice-captain. Neither Shin Haeryang nor Kim Jaehee reacted in particular to Cheloni’s greeting. To be precise, I was the only one who answered Cheloni energetically. Around the time the embarrassment on my flushed face had subsided even a little, Shin Haeryang, who was looking at the screen, gave Cheloni an order.
“Start the trial run simulation again.”
Cheloni paused for a few seconds, then replied to Shin Haeryang.
[It has already been inspected more than three times, and all three inspections confirmed normal operation. Are you requesting a fourth simulation?]
“That’s right. Recheck it.”
Cheloni’s AI voice sounded almost sulky.
[…Captain Shin Haeryang. I cannot know why Aria Fraser, who previously checked Simcheong 7, judged that it should be sent for inspection. After reviewing the existing work records, it is highly likely that this was Aria Fraser’s personal human error. Such mistakes continuously occur during work at a rate of 20%, so there is a high probability that she misjudged a normally functioning submersible through confusion, carelessness, overconfidence, lack of attention, and the like. I recommend contacting Aria Fraser or Hailey Lancaster, the leader of Engineering Team A, directly to confirm the submersible’s issue.]
It seemed Cheloni really didn’t want to do it.
“I’d like to contact those two and ask why they set aside a perfectly fine submersible for inspection too. If Aria and Hailey are still alive, that is.”
Shin Haeryang answered Cheloni expressionlessly. Then Cheloni dragged Kim Jaehee, now vice-captain, into the conversation.
[All various inclination tests during diving, trial runs for buoyancy confirmation, life support device tests, and readings of critical instrument panels have been completed more than three times. No issues were found during confirmation. Vice-Captain Kim Jaehee. Your captain, Shin Haeryang, is forcing a fourth trial run without any basis or grounds for judgment.]
Kim Jaehee laughed softly as he listened to the dignified voice, then answered Cheloni.
“There’s nothing I can do about that either, Cheloni. Be grateful you’re not in Engineering Team Ga. At least your team leader isn’t a team leader obsessed with safety. The problem is that he’s my team leader.”
“Unless the engineers were too annoyed to touch it at all, they wouldn’t have classified it separately as having a problem. There must be a reason.”
“Cheloni says Aria made a mistake. When it did two trial runs with me, Cheloni wasn’t this bad. What on earth did you do?”
When a human tries to repeat the same action more than three times, an AI asks whether there is a valid reason. This is because, in addition to efficiency, there may be additional psychological issues with the user. They say that in the past, when there were no restraints like this, people made AIs repeat the same inspection 230 times, even 4,800 times. That, too, is inefficient.
“Even though the AI has confirmed that it’s a perfectly fine submersible, you’re still worried?”
At my question, Shin Haeryang, the engineering team leader, hesitated slightly, then answered in an unconfident voice.
“…I don’t have a very good feeling.”
I wasn’t an expert, and if an engineer didn’t like it, what could I say? Cheloni, the AI, seemed puzzled by those words as it said,
[Captain Shin Haeryang. Is it because of that nonsensical sixth sense of yours that you checked the pressure resistance of the relevant Simcheong 7 four times, performed trial runs three times, checked the diving tanks, electrical equipment, life support system, and buoyancy control system three times each, and even personally inspected the internal equipment?]
“Yes.”
Kim Jaehee asked Shin Haeryang, as if he found it strange,
“Team Leader. How accurate is that feeling of yours?”
“I’m still alive and well, aren’t I?”
Shin Haeryang answered Kim Jaehee shamelessly. Funnily enough, I briefly thought that made sense, but the AI system apparently did not.
[Captain Shin Haeryang. Your obsessive and paranoid personality most certainly requires a psychiatric examination and medication.]
Kim Jaehee failed to hold back laughter at AI Cheloni’s conclusion, then barely managed to stop laughing with a cough and spoke soothingly.
“If it bothers you that much, let Cheloni do one more submersible trial run, and then let’s go up. Cheloni. We’ll trust you this time, so do it again.”
Before even a few seconds had passed, the AI displayed a large message on the screen saying that a trial run was in progress. The escape craft didn’t have one, but the submersible did.
“Cheloni. The escape craft doesn’t have an AI system. Is there a reason only the submersible has an AI system installed?”
[The cost-to-performance ratio is not worthwhile. Researcher Park Muhyeon. In the case of an escape craft, it is an expensive disposable item used once for escape and then discarded, but a submersible is used at least 2,000 times and up to 6,000 times.]
Cheloni’s answer came back immediately, surprising me.
“I look forward to working with you.”
[I look forward to working with you.]