Chapter 40: The Sacrifices we Make

Celia slumps down on her chair in the control room as she reviews everything she learned. According to the manual, there were a lot more things to consider when launching a rocket than Celia had originally thought. The facility had multiple systems built into it to track things such as the weather, fuel status, engine status, and more. They even had sensors above the ground of the launch site to make sure that nothing was there to impede the launch.

The facility may have been built quick, but they had definitely put a lot of effort into installing everything as properly as possible. Despite this, some of the systems and sensors that gave data to the control room still eventually weathered down over the years and Alto had to go repair them with the help of one of Vitoria’s assistants who was a former electrical engineer.

He helped surveyed the area along with Alto, telling him which wires needed to be fixed and repaired, and as the rocket was slowly being built back up into its top notch shape, he was eventually able to get the sensors on the rocket to start working with the control room as well.

During the time Celia spent studying in the control room, she gradually saw more and more systems and computers in there start working again as the connections were slowly pieced back together. Once they did, she began to use the opportunity to test out each system in accordance with the manual. She learned how to read the fuel tank numbers, estimate how much was enough, calculate the angle of the launch, and figure out which weather conditions were perfect for launching a rocket in.

The manual was very detailed with its instructions, and Celia began to appreciate how much effort the authors of it had put into it.

“It’s amazing how far humanity can go when they put their focus onto something,” she recalled Alto saying to her when they stared at the obsidian coral; and she was just now realizing it to be true.

The dreams of people can really be beautiful when manifested into reality can’t it? she wondered as she continued flipping through the pages and scanning it with a translator app, despite having memorized the entire thing front and back.

She had read the manual over and over again so many times that she could almost swear she could recite the entire thing perfectly in the original French language it was written in. While Celia continues to read the pages, Hikaru and Alto suddenly enter the room.

“Oh, hey Hikaru, hey Alto,” she says to the two of them as they enter, “what are you guys doing here?”

“Alto is forcing me to take a break,” he said, “he says I’ve been working for too long.”

“Because you have, Hikaru” Alto said, “and the same applies to you too Celia. Put that book down.”

She drops the book on the floor jokingly before picking back up and placing it on the table.

“You guys should relax and do other things for now, it’s not like we’re on a time crunch or anything,” he urged them.

“I know, I know, but I’m just really excited to see everything starting to work out. Seeing the progress on the rocket makes me really want to continue working on it until it’s actually complete,” Hikaru said, “what about you Celia? Don’t you feel the same way?”

“I do,” she affirmed, “the feeling of understanding everything in this facility and seeing how everything works — I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to learn something my entire life! Putting it all into practice and seeing that I’m actually getting it is such a good feeling, especially when it’s something I care about.”

Hikaru nodded and then paused for a bit.

“Still…” he said, “I can’t get this bad feeling that we’ll somehow mess up this rocket launch. I haven’t even considered it up until now, but another consequence of failing is that Alto… he’ll die.”

Celia looks over to Alto with a worried expression as she realizes he was right. They had been so focused on trying to get a rocket to launch in the first place, that they hadn’t thought about the specifics of it until now. They had also been too worried about the consequences that they would have to face themselves on a personal level, that they hadn’t ever taken into account the consequences for Alto’s failure.

“Do not worry about me,” Alto said as he looked at the two of them, “I was actually hoping that such a thought would never cross either of your minds.”

“Don’t say that…” Celia murmured, “we care enough about you that such a thought inevitably would’ve occurred to at least one of us.”

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, as Alto looked around at the both of them.

“Celia. Hikaru.” he says each of their names, “know that each of you are important enough to me that I’m willing to risk sacrificing myself to help you fulfill your dreams. At the same time however, also know that I’ll be more mad at you for turning back on your word now just because you’re afraid of me dying. I was built with but a single purpose; to explore the moon, as were others of my kind. Unfortunately as it turns out, I’m the only one who will ever get the opportunity to do so. For the sake of my dreams and yours and the dreams of your predecessors, don’t turn back on them now.”

“He’s right you know,” Vitoria’s voice suddenly said as the three of them look up in surprise, “I’ve been eavesdropping in on your conversation, and I’m glad to hear that everything is going so well on both of your ends, but that’s also why it’s now more important than ever to not have regrets.”

She walks over and sits down on a nearby chair.

“Let me tell you something I was told by one of my mentors when I was just a regular employee at New Genesis,” she said, “a ship, regardless of how beautiful it is, was never made to just be admired at the docks. All ships and boats were made with the purpose to explore the seas, even if they ended up sinking one day. He told me this because the first time I saw a nano drone up close for the first time, I thought they were beautiful — and don’t get me wrong they absolutely are. They look like little tiny glass fireflies when they’re fully visible in front of you, but if we were to ever be too afraid to put them to use in the Tropodome, we wouldn’t have one today.”

The two of them look over to Alto and see the point she was making.

“Now this here is a beautiful robot,” she said, “he was equipped with all the features needed to explore the moon for many centuries to come. However, if we were to never put him out into space because of our attachments to him, it would be an insult to everyone who worked together to get him to this point.”

Celia and Hikaru nodded silently.

“I understand but… I’ll still miss him,” Celia said, “even if we don’t fail, he’ll still be on the moon — far, far away from us.”

“Even though I may be far, our dreams will always be close,” Alto said as he gave her a pat on the head, “if it makes you feel better, you may give me a hug.”

Without another word, Celia immediately latches onto him, pulling his large metal frame close to her. She owed it to him a lot for helping her get this far on her journey. Had she never had found him in the junkyard, or had he never convinced her on the rooftop on that fateful day, she wouldn’t know where she would be now.

To her surprise, Hikaru goes up to hug him as well. Even though Celia might not have understood it, Alto knew he needed the hug just as much as she did.

While they were all holding each other tightly, Vitoria suddenly gets a notification on her phone as her eyes widen in horror.

“I don’t mean to cut happiness short but… it seems we might’ve been caught.” Vitoria says showing them the message on her screen.