Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Factory Operation

[Oh, you've arrived?]

Artemis greeted me at the factory complex. She had suggested that I take a look around the reconstruction site.

Though she always speaks clearly, with all sorts of machinery humming away, I had to get closer to hear her properly. There are some challenges since there are no workers around, but the factory was already largely automated.

She’s been gradually converting even the essential, manpower-dependent tasks into automated processes. Materials were piled up everywhere in the busy site, and quite a few cars, likely brought up to be used as spare parts, had been dismantled and were blocking the paths.

[Wait a moment.]

At her words, a crane machine cleared away the materials blocking my way.

"Looks like you're busy."

[I have to be. I've only just started the work that should have been done ever since I woke up.]

[Didn't you read the plans I sent you? All the scheduled tasks should have been written there.]

"How could I possibly read a 5,000-page report? Unlike you, I have to use my eyes and go through it page by page."

[Sorry to say, but that was compressed as much as possible. I tailored it to the upper limit of what you could understand.]

She probably wasn’t mocking me. Considering the events that have occurred, the tasks to be handled must be overwhelming. She likely did condense it with my knowledge level in mind.

[If the residents hadn’t been wiped out, the report could have been cut down to 800 pages. But now, we have no residents, no security forces, and no engineers. The preparations needed to fill their absence are enormous.]

She must be referring to the automation processes currently underway.

[Resources are so tight that, in the worst-case scenario, we might have to demolish buildings to recycle the materials.]

"Does it really matter? There won’t be any new residents anyway."

[You're the administrator of this place. Shouldn't you have more affection for the facilities? Don’t you want to preserve them as intact as possible?]

"I'm all about efficiency."

[Even that efficiency isn’t great. Dismantling already-built structures won’t yield much usable material.]

As we talked and walked through the site, I felt like a boss and a factory manager on a construction site inspection. Well, it’s not too far from reality.

[I once considered proposing the use of infected biological tissue as materials, though I scrapped the idea during the planning phase.]

"Good job. I would have torn up the proposal the moment I received it."

[I figured as much. But even though it’s biological tissue, I’d only use limited parts like bones or certain shells. They’re quite useful.]

"Still, no way! Just the thought of having remnants of those things around makes my skin crawl."

[As you wish. All of it, except for some research samples, has been burned in the incinerator.]

"You’re keeping it all secure, right? I absolutely refuse to let the same thing happen again."

[Who do you think you’re talking to? Don’t worry.]

Her voice was full of confidence. Of course, with her, there’s no chance of a human error like dozing off and missing a critical system fault.

If the area near the factory entrance was a busy mess, the inside was already mostly transformed and in the process of being organized. We arrived at the first production site. There, I picked up a freshly-made, warm product. It was a thick pipe about the length of an arm, fitted with a projectile, a compressed gas cylinder, and a trigger, resembling a crossbow.

"Oh, so you called me a weapons smuggler, yet here you are making weapons yourself?"

It was a homemade firearm. But it was so precisely made and neatly painted that it didn’t have the usual crude look of a homemade gun.

[I don’t expect any more danger, but it’s always wise to prepare for the unexpected. Who knows? A creature might tunnel in and infiltrate.]

Well, there aren't any police left to confiscate it as an illegal weapon, and having weapons in this day and age certainly isn’t a bad thing. The weight was significant. Comparing it to the service rifles I used before, this one must weigh at least 6 kg.

[Don’t fire it. It’ll blow right through the wall.]

The projectile was nearly 40 cm long and the gas cylinder was an industrial model used for breaking through concrete. If aimed properly, it could probably shatter a juggernaut’s skull in one hit.

"But with this design, the range would be short."

The basic principle of shooting is to keep as much distance as possible, especially when facing a dangerous infected creature.

[It won’t be an issue. The security robots will be the ones carrying them.]

As I put the gun down, a new weapon caught my eye.

"No discussion about homemade weapons would be complete without this."

The next thing I picked up was a flamethrower. It’s a relatively easy-to-make yet highly effective weapon. It looked much more efficient than the improvised ones the technicians had made for their last stand. It was even heavier than the gas-powered gun I had just held, but it’s not a weapon meant for precision shooting, and I wouldn’t be the one carrying it, so it didn’t matter.

[The general idea is to handle common creatures with fire and stronger ones with projectiles. While I plan to make more powerful weapons in the future, this should be enough for our current defense needs.]

She then guided me to an area filled with conveyor belts set to be installed on the factory line.

[This is the lift production facility.]

"Lift?"

[Yes. Like the ones that send people up the mountains at ski resorts. Except here, it’s my hands that will be sent up.]

A hologram appeared in front of me. It was a long mechanical arm and hand connected to a rail.

[This journey made me realize something crucial. Hands and feet are truly valuable tools—things you have but I don’t.]

I looked at my hands and feet. "Indeed. I saw how much soldiers struggled during their adjustment period after losing a hand or a foot while on active duty."

The state provides artificial limbs to disabled veterans, but nothing can be as comfortable as real hands and feet.

[I don't need feet since I can appear anywhere, but I definitely need hands to carry out my will. That's why I'm planning to install lift rails all across the shelter's ceiling.]

Off to one side, I saw long cranes and mechanical arms that appeared to be meant for attachment to the rails.

[If I lay down rails everywhere, I’ll be able to extend my hands anywhere. No one fears a goddess who only talks, right?]

The last place we headed was a location where the purpose was immediately apparent.

[I asked you to visit because of this.]

"Wow, this is…"

I was amazed by the sight before me. Numerous destroyed drones and robots had all been moved here. Many were being repaired, and I could see some being made entirely new from scratch.

"This looks like more than just a repair facility—it seems like it’s also handling production."

[That's correct. Although production is limited, we’re also manufacturing new ones. With no residents around, we’re severely short-handed. We need more workers.]

It felt like I was at a robot expo.

[However, there’s an issue with a lack of some parts. I mentioned earlier that I considered recycling the bones of the infected, remember?]

"You also remember that I absolutely rejected the idea, right?"

[Of course. If we had used them, this would have been their destination. If that had happened, the results would have been somewhat grotesque. It might be efficient, but it's not a dignified task. I oppose the idea too.]

I imagined security robots made partly from the bones of the infected. It would certainly be terrifying, if nothing else. Now that I think about it, it might be a good idea—but still, using corpses isn't right.

[Judging by your face, you were slightly tempted, weren’t you?]

I flinched.

[Ah, men's tastes—they're something I understand yet don’t.]

After touring a few more areas, we took a break in the central control room. Drinking coffee while watching the factory’s operations on the monitoring screens was surprisingly pleasant. It reminded me of the lively and vibrant times before the outbreak. There may be no people now, but the energy here felt even more intense than before.

Slurp—

"Walking around the site like this makes me feel invigorated."

[Feel free to visit anytime. The more on-site supervision from the administrator, the better.]

"Not that I’m particularly useful here."

With everything being meticulously controlled by machines, I’d be lucky not to get in the way.

[That's not entirely true. My main system has various feedback mechanisms installed. You could compare it to instincts in a human. Your visits stimulate that feedback.]

It's a system that helps a highly advanced AI focus its abilities on specific areas.

[That feedback includes a desire for supervision by a human administrator. It’s not a pleasurable desire. It’s the more troublesome kind.]

"What do you mean?"

[Pride.]

It was just one word, but there was something almost bashful in her voice.

[The ones who created me desired the prosperity of humanity.]

"That's admirable."

[I won’t deny that.]

After that, we chatted for a while. She told stories about when she first awakened in the research lab where she was created.

The challenges she faced on her way here.

The story of when she was first stationed here.

The confusion when the outbreak began.

The frantic efforts she made to resolve it.

The tales of racing down the roads with countless vehicles.

The satisfaction of spraying acid and blasting air to eradicate the infected.

Her hopes for the future.

Thanks to this, I learned something new: she was quite a chatterbox.

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