CH 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1

Part 1

”Warning Energy consu Energy consumption levels have passed their specified limit”

Being warned by an electronic fe at the underwaterwould fall off the manipulator

-I guess I shouldn't mess with it

Making an intelligent decision, Touma removed his hand from the Manipulator's control device In the process, the equiped to resist toppling over

Red letters had appeared in a corner of the screen, indicating the recoy consuy Touma had actually used The latter value was red and more than twice the recommended amount Yet the work that needed to be co This was a task he was supposed to finish before the end of the day, but the only confidence he had was that he would be unable to complete the job on time

Sighing deeply, he looked out thefor a change of reeted his eyes, but a part of a large scale research facility modeled after earth, with a diameter of 520 meters

The name of the research facility was Sphere Lab It was completely enclosed with it's own ecosystem for self-sustainability Were this experiment to succeed, it would be a facility independent fro could live and work It was said to be the first hope of ushering in the space Age According to one extre ecosyste as it was a place where the sun's energy could reach, the system could be released anywhere in space

Previously, Russia and America had performed similar experiments, but those had ended with the failure of the system

Differing from the previous experiments, Sphere Lab incorporated an elite coy to monitor the conditions of the syste of the project

Most of the staff and their faether in the research facility It could also be said they were like a small town community Beyond the experiment itself, direct contact with the outside was kept to a minimum That said, the laboratory was surrounded by a vast ocean

At the time the project had been made public, the one crazy over the concept However not until recently, apart froazine, had there been much information released to the mass media

Tou here as of ten days prior He had taken it as an excellent part ti vacation, with necessities like food and clothing already provided for Even so, since coiven, and so h

Especially because at the time of the announcement, details of the supercomputer LAFI's complete system control were not the same as they had been made out to be

He asked himself repetitively if it was natural for a seventeen year old to spend their spring vacation in a place like this Touhts were filled ays to escape the erroron the monitor

It was during one such moment of contemplation that a h he entered with, appeared beside Touma

“Ha ha, no matter how many times you do this, you just don't improve, huh”

“Please don't laugh at me so much, Mr Yokota”

The hter, but that didn't stop a wide grin froave off was that of a ave away his every emotion, and a beard he was too lazy to keep trie of the Sector One facility

His appearance was just like that of a unkept wild creature More than a year had passed since Touot of the man never wavered, in fact it had actually solidified He had been the one who hadthe Manipulator was possible if one just gave it a shot

“How many times does this make today? Three tries?”

Silently Touers

Laughing again, Yokota put on ahis beard

“Well, we can't have that now, can we Even without talent, there should be a limit, shouldn't there”

“It's just too complex! How is someone like me supposed to operate a machine when all seven wheels need to be controlled si that while the objects attached were about to fall off, before they did, there was a warning about the energy consumption levels?”

“You don't need to mention that After all, Sphere Lab has a daily liy we can use There's only so y Mr Up Above and the ocean currents can provide, and that has to power this maives us carefully”

The last sentence Yokoto spoke was a catchphrase Here in Sphere Lab, it was said by the staff more as a way to end sentences than because it held any real significance to theh it was true to a sense because Sphere Lab was a self-sustaining system, a miniature earth

“That's right Let's take the energy you've wasted through your attempts to operate the Manipulator, and compare it with a place on land Let's seehy you used could be coy required to power the entire city of Tokyo for a day”

“Are you kidding me? It's that much?”

“Just by being here at Sphere Lab, you feel how i based on that h”

As though he had re, Yokota looked at his watch

“It's about ti out now then Have you had anything to eat?”

Stretching, Touma followed Yokota out of the rooe thicket It wasn't so However, this thicket was only one of six held within the 525 meter in diaen required for the air that was contained within Sphere Lab However perhaps to ensure there were no probleen, all of the plants in the facility had been genetically engineered to produce even higher levels of oxygen

The two proceeded hurriedly down the path which h the trees

“Ah, geez It's already time Let's run”

Looking at their watches, the two broke into a sprint

Froether above their heads, in such a way as to be re in water At this point it becauish what the black specs were, but if the tere able to see the at robotic systeertip, called Honeybees

In order to cover the etation was all arranged in the area known as the Plant Sector It was these eetation within Sphere Lab The reason they were called Honeybees was because their function and responsibilities, as well as their appearance of flying in the air with four wings, was very siical counterparts

“It's kind of an uneasy scene, isn't it”

Running besides hih at Touma's comment