Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 266. The Tablet's Contents

An academy was where people were nurtured for the future, so its atmosphere was vastly different when compared to the hustle and bustle of the outside.

Walking through the triumphal arch-like gate, Charles looked around and noticed that his fierce demeanor and visage stuck out like a sore thumb among the students around him. He felt as though he were a wolf among a flock of sheep.

As expected, Charles quickly caught the attention of the sheepdogs herding sheep.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Charles was instantly surrounded by three men in black uniforms. When they noticed that Charles reeked of sea brine, their expressions changed drastically.

Before the three men could call for backup, however, Charles showed them a disk made of various flat gears. "I'm here to see Professor Cocci."

Soon enough, Charles was led to a school building. Unbeknownst to him, over a dozen security guards had gathered to "escort" him.

"Is this really necessary?" Charles asked.

"Governor Swann said that the children are the future of the Albion Isles. You have his permission, but we can't take even the slightest risk for the sake of our future. I hope for your understanding," one of the security guards replied.

Charles glanced at the protruding weapons hidden in their uniforms, but he said nothing in the end. Soon, he was led to a glass door, and he pushed it open before walking through the door.

With such an "enthusiastic" group of escorts guiding the way, Charles had no issues finding Professor Cocci's laboratory.

"What are you doing here?" Laesto asked, clearly surprised by Charles' arrival.

"I had nothing to do, so I just dropped by to see you," Charles said as he turned to the workbench in front of an old man. The old man sported a tiny mustache and the same dirty white coat Laesto often wore; his gray hair was frayed as if he had survived an explosion.

The old man was welding something with a gadget that looked like a tiny telescope. Four youngsters flanked him; it seemed that they were the old man's helpers.

Charles pulled over a stool and sat down before turning to Laesto.

"How is it? Can it be fixed?" he asked.

"They're attempting to fix it. I've tried my best long enough that the results don't really matter anymore. I just hope that you'll bury me on Hope Island once I'm dead, and I want a spacious burial site," Laesto replied.

Charles stared deeply at Laesto's weathered visage. Age spots had marred Laesto's face; the passage of time was indeed cruel to anyone.

In the end, Charles had to nod and say, "Sure."

Silence descended upon the laboratory, and no one could be heard aside from the crackling noises being emitted by the welding equipment.

Eventually, Cocci shattered the silence. A black chip was held between the tweezers in his hand, and he let out an uproarious exclamation, "Hell yeah! I'm a genius! And it is really quite difficult to grasp the fact that such a tiny thing has more computing power than the best difference engine on our campus.

"I'm sure we'll have an astounding technological breakthrough once we manage to analyze how it works!"

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Laesto impatiently slammed his tin flask on the table and said, "Just hurry up and fix my tablet! If you can't fix it, then I'm just going to flush all of them down the toilet. I won't give any of them to you!"

"What's the rush for? Country bumpkins truly have no respect for technology. This thing is delicate, and it has to be treated with respect and care," Cocci replied. He took out a tablet and removed the cracked back panel. Then, he carefully installed the black chip on the tablet.

Charles saw that Cocci was working on Laesto's tablet.

"How did your task go? Any difficulties?" Laesto said after taking a swig of his alcohol.

"Swann didn't stop me. As for the submarine, the shipwrights are still discussing it, but I don't think there are going to be any issues," Charles replied. He took out his cell phone and started scrolling on it with his thumb.

"I see. I guess Swann has already offended too many people. I'm sure he doesn't want everyone to become his enemies, so I don't think it's going to be strange, even if he makes friends with the worst riffraff out there."

"Did you just insult me?"

"I wouldn't dare, Captain."

Charles was left speechless at the remark. However, he had noticed that Laesto's mental state had changed. He didn't sound as bitter and as resentful anymore. In fact, Charles could hear a tinge of relief in Laesto's voice.

"I left the charger for your phone on the ship. Just go there and get it yourself. It consumes whale oil as power, so keep that in mind," Laesto said.

"Mmhm."

"You shouldn't work so hard anymore. Try finding a woman to have a kid with. To be honest, my biggest regret happened in my youth. It was the fact that I had kicked that fat woman off my bed when she crawled up to me."

A smile immediately suffused Charles' lips, but he hurriedly concealed it.

"Did you just smile? What was funny about what I said?! Let me tell you; once you've reached my age, what was funny back when you were young would make you cry instead!" Laesto exclaimed.

"How old are you this year?" Charles asked.

"I forgot. Probably around ninety or something," Laesto replied.

"Then, I don't have to worry about reaching your age. I don't think I'm going to live as old as you, anyway," Charles replied.

Time passed by quickly as Laesto and Charles engaged in idle talk on many different topics. The number of students on the campus decreased until one could no longer see a student outside.

Charles glanced at his pocket watch and saw that it was already nine in the evening. He used the final vestiges of his cell phone's battery to set its time to match his pocket watch.

Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Cocci exhaled at length. He stared deeply at the results of his effort before turning to look at Laesto and saying, "This genius me broke into not even a single sweat and fixed this thing quite easily."

Laesto ignored Cocci's remark and strode over to the tablet. Excitement suffused his face as he grabbed the tablet with both hands. He fiddled with it for quite a while, but the screen remained dark and gave no feedback.

Charles' heart sank at the sight. Was I right? Is it broken beyond repair?

Laesto's voice trembled ever so slightly as he asked, "Why is it not lighting up?"

"Of course, it won't. It's not connected to any power supply, so it's not going to light up. How can it work without power?" Cocci said.

Cocci's nonchalant words made Charles feel like giving Cocci a delicious knuckle sandwich, even though Charles was just an outsider to the entire affair. Charles truly couldn't believe that such an outrageous individual was still alive.

Laesto started shouting at Cocci; his roars of fury seemed like they could even dislodge the dust on the ceiling. Only then did Cocci ask one of his helpers for the power supply that they had prepared beforehand.

Beep!

The tablet lit up, and Charles quietly walked up to Laesto to peek over his shoulder.

The tablet's UI told Charles that its operating system was rather primitive. It seemed that it only had a few essential functions.

Laesto started scrolling on the tablet and soon found over a dozen videos inside of it. He tapped on the earliest recorded video, and the screen changed to show the figure of a man wearing a white coat.

The man seemed to be in a daze. His movements were both sluggish and mechanical, and it took him a few seconds before he covered his forehead with one hand and started speaking in a mechanical voice as though he was sleepwalking.

"Hello. My name is Gray Hermann. I don't know who is watching this video, but I hope that you are my descendant. If you are not, then it's fine as long as you are a human being."

Laesto patted his chest, trying to ease his excitement as he answered. "Yes, I am a Hermann!"

The man seemed to fall into contemplation before quickly snapping out of it and continuing. "I am not sure what the outside world is like while you're watching this video. If everything is normal, then nothing could be better than that.

"You can then laugh and lament the cowardice of your ancestors. Otherwise, this video will tell you just how your ancestors had brought upon their own destruction."

Charles' breathing grew labored as he moved even closer to the tablet.

"My friend, what is science? I hope that this term still exists in your time and that you still know the meaning of this word," the man said before proceeding to answer his own question. "Science is an orderly system of knowledge that is based on testable explanations and predictions about the form and organization of objective entities. It embodies knowledge that has been systematized and formalized."

"Whether it was the discovery of fire in the distant, ancient times to electricity and nuclear power, it all started with an observation. It is then followed by intervention until control is finally achieved."

"Humans are superior to other species because of our ability to systematize any form of knowledge and pass it down to subsequent generations. That is why our species have been growing stronger since time immemorial."

"But what if there is an existence with neither rules nor patterns? What if there is an existence that defies regularity and can't be observed? If our accumulated wisdom becomes futile in the face of such anomalies, what should humanity do, then?"

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