'Cyrene' would have loved to chat a bit longer with Himeko.
Unfortunately, just as she brought her to Okhema and hadn't even had the chance to visit the grand bathhouse together to enjoy the ambiance of Amphoreus, a message from Herta came through.
[Herta: Come to the station. Now.]
[Herta: Meeting.]
Looking closer, it wasn't even a private message—it was a new group chat named "Simulated Universe Project Team."
Unsurprisingly, there were five members, with both Divine Herta and Bai Ming included.
[Nameless: What's the meeting about now? Are you rested enough already?]
[Divine Herta: Does this involve me?]
[Herta: We'll talk when you get here. Hurry up, especially you @Nameless. Don't make me come fetch you. And I've changed your display name for you.]
[Bai Ming: ?]
[Ruan Mei: One moment.]
[Screwllum: @Divine Herta This is my suggestion. Madam Herta wishes to construct an entirely different Simulated Universe, and you might find it interesting as well.]
[Divine Herta: Oh~ Then I'll come take a look.]
'Cyrene' looked up with a somewhat complicated expression, meeting Ms. Himeko's curious gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"My apologies, Madam Herta seems to need me for something. I'm afraid I won't be able to guide you around Amphoreus anymore. Let me find you a more suitable guide."
Himeko casually glanced at the phone screen. 'Cyrene' hadn't made any effort to hide it, so it was easy to catch a glimpse of the chat—several geniuses' names were displayed, which left Himeko rather stunned.
It seemed she had just encountered some truly significant figures.
And this "Bai Ming"… wasn't that one of the pioneers of the new Path, one of the creators of the Giant of Light? And she had let someone of such stature act as her tour guide?
For a moment, Himeko's heart raced a little faster.
"No, no, it was my imposition in the first place."
"Why not leave the guiding to me? I haven't been idling these past few days." Evernight smiled at the two from under her umbrella.
Though her demeanor remained cool, it was clear she wasn't as distant as before.
Over the last couple of days here, Evernight had sensed countless eyes watching from the surroundings, yet no one dared infiltrate Amphoreus.
This had put her in a rather good mood, enough that she'd even warmed up a little socially.
Seeing Himeko had no objections, 'Cyrene' offered an apologetic smile. After sending a quick message to Demiurge, she left Amphoreus and headed for Herta Space Station.
Waiting for Ruan Mei to arrive, 'Cyrene' hadn't yet seen her but instead ran into an unexpected character.
"Thou art Bai Ming, yes?"
"…Calypso? What brings you to the space station?"
The golden-haired woman, who had been about to introduce herself, paused briefly before replying with a smile, "I did not expect thee to recognize my name so readily—'tis truly an honor."
"What Amphoreus needs now is governance and diplomacy, tasks ill-suited to my nature. Thus, I thought to venture out and broaden my horizons."
"Madam Herta is magnanimous, allowing even a retired Titan of Reason such as myself to board this celestial vessel in pursuit of knowledge."
Though Calypso spoke humbly, her demeanor remained dignified and unwavering. Even without the title of Titan, her scholarly composure was still intact.
"With your abilities, I'm sure you'll achieve great things here on the station as well."
"Then I shall take thy words to heart."
'Cyrene' exchanged a few pleasantries—not entirely empty flattery.
To be chosen as a Titan of Reason in the Scepter's calculations, one inherently possessed exceptional qualities.
Coupled with the accumulated data from so many cycles in that very role, it was only natural she would shine in the future.
After parting ways with Calypso, 'Cyrene' found Ruan Mei, who had just emerged from a Phase Flame.
"Ruan Mei, do you have any idea what Herta's planning?"
"I'm not sure either. I've been occupied with another experiment these past two days and haven't paid much attention." Ruan Mei shook her head slightly.
After confirming Herta was fine, she had returned to her own quarters.
"What kind of experiment?"
"Remember the concept of the 'Overman' mentioned in Dr. Primitive's materials?"
"…I do recall. Don't tell me you're working on that?"
Ruan Mei glanced at 'Cyrene', puzzled by her odd tone.
"I drafted a proposal based on his data. When you have time, perhaps you could come lend a hand."
"Sure, I'll stop by when I'm free." At this point, 'Cyrene' could only agree—as long as it didn't involve high-pressure torment tactics.
Not that Ruan Mei would ever do something like that, given her temperament.
The two arrived together at Herta's office. The other three seemed to have been deep in discussion already and turned as they entered. Herta crossed her arms.
"Ruan Mei being far away is one thing, but why are you so slow too, Bai Ming?"
"Ran into an acquaintance on the way and chatted for a bit. So, what is it you want to do?"
"Hmph."
Herta gave a light snort, letting 'Cyrene's' topic change slide.
Then she tilted her chin up slightly, pointing a finger toward 'Cyrene'.
"The world of memoria—since memories in this universe are all recorded through memoria, why not shape the Simulated Universe directly into a realm of memoria to uncover the secrets of the Aeons? And conveniently, we have a ready-made Pure Child of Anāsrava right here."
"…Are you some kind of genius? How is that any different from creating an actual world?"
'Cyrene's' eyebrow twitched.
Using memoria as the foundational substrate for the Simulated Universe instead of computational storage… only you could come up with something like that.
At 'Cyrene's' sarcastic remark, Herta curled her lips into a confident smile.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Just admit it—this is a completely different Simulated Universe, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don't blame me if we can't finish it before this body's time limit is up."
'Cyrene' shook her head, but since Herta had put it that way, they had to give it a shot. Whether they could actually pull it off was another story entirely.
Herta handed out the project proposal she had drafted to everyone present.
To be fair, when it came to project management, Herta was a bit more experienced than 'Cyrene'. 'Cyrene' hadn't even prepared something like this when she was running things.
Hearing 'Cyrene's' words, Herta couldn't help but retort, "Who starts off a project with such pessimism? If we can truly shape things with memoria, the accuracy of this Simulated Universe will far surpass the original."
"I'm not denying the potential results if it succeeds… But aren't you worried about things from inside the Simulated Universe breaking out?"
The thought of the original Simulated Universe—a realm of electrical signals—where Aha already seemed self-aware and possibly even connected to the Aha outside…
And now they were planning to create one with such a high degree of realism.
Weren't they afraid the beings inside might just walk right out…
But Herta instead wore an expression that seemed to say "thank you for the praise." Not only was she unconcerned, she even shot 'Cyrene' a look.
"I'm rather flattered you think so highly of me, but I'm not capable of the feat you're describing. If anything, I'd love to see what would happen if they could break out."
So, in this person's eyes, she was that remarkable?
Even Herta herself hadn't dared to imagine such a thing, yet the other spoke as if it were a given and was here worrying about it.
Wasn't that just… a bit too much to swallow?
--+--