CHAPTER 1.11 – “THE DREAMER GIRL”

-CHAPTER 1.11 – “THE DREAMER GIRL”-

Location: Koruch Vessel – Infirmary

Date: NTC 1446.07.15

The red lights still pulsed.

The infirmary reeked of metal, medicine, and drying blood.

After a moment of grim silence, the three of them got back to work.

Merry leaned against a wall plate, tracing the gaps with her fingertips.

Yusuf rummaged through drawers, pausing only to glance at the cold, fallen android Mute’s face.

Then he turned to Chatter, eyes wary yet curious.

“Um… were the others like you?” he asked, pointing to the lifeless android Mutes.

Chatter inspected the bodies. Its voice was colder than usual, tinged with sorrow.

“No. They were pacified. In other words… they were already dead.”

Merry looked up, genuine childlike curiosity in her eyes.

“So… can’t they be brought back? Their consciousness, memories?”

Chatter shook its head slowly, still staring at one of the androids.

“No. The pacification protocol is irreversible. You become a walking corpse, dead but still moving. No thoughts. No feelings. Just reflexes.”

Yusuf pursed his lips, turned away, and exhaled heavily.

“So… ‘pacification’ is just a euphemism. Really…”

“Murder. Massacre. Even genocide,” Chatter cut him off sharply, its voice hollow yet intense. “The Sublime State loves to rebrand its brutality with soft words. Pacification… as if it’s just a procedure.”

It knelt beside one of the motionless androids.

Suddenly, it grabbed the android’s body panel and lifted it with a "CLANG", exposing wires, cables, and module boards. Without hesitation, it plunged its hands inside, searching.

Yusuf watched in horror, eyes wide. “Are you sure? Like… we have to do this?”

His gaze locked on Chatter’s hands.

Chatter didn’t look up. “What? Did you think they’re my friends? Look at the other one. We need parts that work. Time’s running out.”

Swallowing hard, Yusuf stared at the other android’s corpse. He stepped forward hesitantly and knelt beside it.

He gazed at the body for a moment, then spoke in a hushed tone.

“…Okay.”

He raised his hands slowly and began to pry open the body panel.

In that dark, cramped infirmary…

Two of them dissected the limp androids,

while the third stood watch.

Chatter pocketed a small circuit part and turned to Merry.

“Can you remove that plate over there?” It pointed to an old connection panel in the right corner of the infirmary.

Merry looked at the wall, then at her empty hands. She opened her palm.

“I’d need a lever or something… to remove it.”

Without a word, Chatter grabbed the android’s arm and ripped it off with a "CLANG" the joint separating cleanly. It held the metal limb out.

“Here. Use this.”

Merry took it without comment, as if it were just a tool, not a limb.

She approached the wall and wedged the metal arm between plate and wall.

It didn’t budge. Her face tensed, breath held. She tried again.

For thirty seconds she strained.

“Can you handle it?” Yusuf asked, his voice mixing curiosity and concern.

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“I’ll…” Merry gritted her teeth, arms trembling. “Get it… Just… wait…”

“If you can’t open it, we’re staying here,” Chatter said flatly, its voice laced with warning.

She gave one last push with all her strength.

“Okay… Opening… Aaaaaaa!”

"CRACK!"

The metal plate groaned, shifted, then dropped with a clang, sending up a cloud of dust.

Merry collapsed to her knees, gasping, face flushed and dripping with sweat.

“Wow… you really bent it…” Yusuf stared at her in amazement.

“Over MT‑5, apparently,” Chatter observed.

Merry blinked and looked at them with calm fatigue, yet confidence.

“Okay… Your turn now… Open the door…”

Chatter knelt next to the opening, checking its circuit modules. It leaned into the hole.

“I’ll try, but no promises.”

“What are you gonna do?” Yusuf asked. “Last I checked, you can’t open that door from here.”

“Koruch is old,” Chatter replied, voice technical and determined. “In early models like this, emergency bypass ports for the doors were left open. A design flaw. Newer ships don’t have it.”

“Just because it’s old doesn’t guarantee that,” Yusuf warned. “Thomas and my brother have modded this ship a lot.”

“Let’s hope they didn’t change the doors.”

Chatter peered inside the gap Merry had opened. It set its tools down and examined it, muttering itself quietly.

Forty seconds passed, maybe fifty.

Then Chatter turned to Yusuf.

“You were right. It has been modified. The bypass port’s been removed. We have no way in.”

Merry placed her hands on her hips, looking from the door to Chatter to Yusuf, impatience etched on her face.

“So what, do we just give up?”

Yusuf lowered his head.

Chatter stared blankly at a corner, both wearing the same defeat.

“Is there… any other exit from here… besides the door?” Merry asked.

Yusuf replied in a near-whisper, like recounting a disappointment.

“Sadly… no.”

Silence returned. Only the red lights flickered.

Then Chatter raised its head, a thought forming, even though its face remained grim.

“There is one. But none of us can use it.”

Yusuf whipped his head toward it, voice a mix of hope and doubt.

“What are you talking about?”

Chatter pointed to the ventilation cover high on the wall, about two and a half meters up. A thirty-centimeter square.

“Heat distribution ducts. They feed from there. They channel heat waves across the ship.”

Yusuf looked at the vent and rolled his eyes.

“You’re kidding, right? Which one of us fits in that? I’m the smallest and I still don’t fit. Even if I did, the ducts run hot like 200 °C. It’ll roast me alive.”

“I know,” Chatter said with a shrug, cold and neutral again. “But you asked, so I thought of it.”

Merry stared at the 200-degree hole. She remembered the sandstorms on Yonja, the day she first realized her burned flesh healed itself.

“I… can handle the heat.”

Yusuf turned to her abruptly.

“Yes, but... You wouldn't fit in the tunnel. What are you going to do? Go piece by piece?”

She paused, then her eyes lit up, smile widening.

“That’s a great idea! You’re really smart, Yusuf!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! There are limits to healing. That’s basically dismemberment!”

Merry laughed, a genuine, cheerful, childlike laugh.

“You don’t know your limits until you push them!

Maybe… I have no limits!”

She turned to Chatter, her voice still upbeat but serious.

“Chatter, can you build me a little drone-carrier, to help carry my parts through that tunnel? Using parts from your android friends.”

Chatter narrowed its eyes, tone sharper.

“I told you. They weren’t my friends. They weren’t even alive. But… yes. I can do it. Give me twenty minutes.”

Merry clapped her hands in delight, eyes bright.

“Now that’s teamwork!”

Chatter began walking to the android, already holding some pieces.

“With two hydraulic fingers and an old injection motor, I can rig a chassis,” it muttered to itself. “Mount a module for carrying parts. No sensors, but I’ll remote-control it.”

At that, Merry’s voice rang out again.

“Hey Chatter! After we escape… what do you want to do? Any dreams?”

The question hung in the air.

Chatter paused mid-step, parts in hand.

It had never thought of that before. “Dream” meant futures. Desires.

It narrowed its eyes, gaze sharpening. Its voice came soft but distinct.

“I have no dream.”

It continued examining pieces, assembling metal frames.

Merry blinked in surprise.

“What? No dream?

Having a dream… It’s one of the basics of being a person!”

She stepped closer, tone gentle but insistent.

“Think now. Pick a goal, a dream. No matter how silly or impossible! Just pick one!”

Silence fell.

Chatter, not used to thoughts of the future, stood still.

Yusuf remained quiet, face thoughtful like he’d forgotten his own dreams.

Chatter placed its soldering piece down. It glanced at Merry, but stayed silent.

Yusuf broke the silence.

“In that case… What’s your dream?”

Merry smiled softly, but this time determined, calm—like a promise.

“Of course, finding The Last Page and truly be free!”

She spoke it with such conviction the air changed.

Chatter and Yusuf looked at each other.

Shock.

Confusion.

Awe.

Perhaps admiration.

Then almost in unison they both asked:

“WHAT?!”