Chapter 10: The Laptop That Sees the Future (１)

****

Anomaly O-714.

“Why won’t this turn on?”

Otherwise known as the Ordinary Laptop.

A few days ago, the Precognition Team asked me to hand this anomaly over to them. But I need to know what it is before I decide whether to give it to them or not.

I think the Precognition Team got this one wrong. This is just a half-smashed piece of junk laptop. Plugging it into a charger didn’t get it to power on either.

Huh, wait a second.

It’s such an old model I didn’t notice at first, but looking again, this is a Samsung product. Couldn’t I just take it to a Samsung service center?

First things first, I’ll call the Electronics Department of the Research Department. As for the service center — honestly, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“Hello, is this the Samsung service center?”

“Yes.”

“I have a laptop that’s about twenty years old… If you can fix it, I’ll pay whatever it costs. Is that possible?”

“Yes. Could you tell me the model name?”

The service center readily accepted my offer. Whether they grasped the gravity of the situation, I couldn’t say.

And then, the next day.

The day of reckoning had arrived.

There was no way I could bring a service center employee into a Foundation facility, no matter what. The solution I came up with was simple. I’d use a helicopter to carry an entire Electronics Department laboratory from the Foundation all the way to the service center.

It’s what Foundation staff jokingly call the Science Vessel — a “science ship,” so to speak.

“Dr. Geum. Is this really a good idea?”

“Why not?”

This person is Lee Jihye, an administrator in the Director’s Office. She was tilting her head, looking puzzled about something.

“I just think mobilizing a helicopter to fix a single laptop is a waste of resources. Couldn’t we just take a taxi?”

“No.”

And I really mean no.

To maximize the chances of fixing the laptop, I need the Electronics Department lab, and to source parts for a discontinued laptop, I need to go to the service center.

And well… I can do it, so I will. It’s fun. Getting a helicopter airborne on my orders.

“If this laptop gets properly fixed, it might turn out to be an anomaly that can see the future. No amount of money is too much.”

“That’s true, I suppose.”

Seven people total are taking part in this operation. Four researchers from the Electronics Department of the Research Division, plus me, Administrator Lee, and the helicopter pilot.

“Alright then, grab your gear and follow me.”

****

The helicopter’s rotor noise rattled my skull.

The difference from the helicopter I rode last time is that the research helicopter has safety helmets with intercoms built in. Thanks to that, I can talk to the person next to me without screaming at the top of my lungs.

“Director. What kind of anomaly are we deploying for? Aren’t we bringing soldiers along?”

“We’re going to fix a laptop.”

“What. Is it a laptop that predicts the future or something? Do we need five PhDs and a helicopter to fix a single laptop?”

I can hear the words, but it’s incredibly loud. The rotor is making my head ring, so I can barely register what anyone’s saying.

Still, it’s better than nothing.

“Professor Park. Didn’t you read the operation plan? And I’m not the Director.”

Professor Park.

A researcher in the Electronics Department — a white-haired old man with a strong eccentric streak. I have no idea what this grandfather is saying.

Administrator Lee muttered something.

“He says he didn’t read it!”

“So you’re the Chief Researcher of the Director’s Office. I thought you looked far too young to be a Director.”

“Professor Park, do you clock in somewhere else every day? How can you not even know whether the facility has a Director or not?”

“I’d need to see the Director on business for that.”

“I keep telling you, there is no Director.”

“Speak up! I can’t hear you!”

“Just stay quiet, Administrator Lee.”

“Does the service center actually have a helipad? More importantly, how are they going to fix something the Foundation itself can’t?”

“And, Director. A mobile lab doesn’t have to be a helicopter. We could have just taken a truck.”

What a racket.

As if the helicopter rotor noise weren’t already drowning out all speech, these people were especially bad at communicating. I shut my mouth.

“We’re arriving soon. Get ready to disembark.”

“Already?”

The Electronics Department researchers had come in suits instead of lab coats. Six men in black. Since we were outdoors, they could even wear sunglasses.

THUD.

The helicopter landed on the building’s rooftop, and before long the rotor noise began to die down. I briefly checked the time on the Crystal Clock.

We wouldn’t be late.

“Let’s get off once the rotors have fully stopped.”

Professor Park looked at me.

“I didn’t catch what you said earlier. What exactly did you do, Director Geum? And what are we here for?”

“Professor Park. To repeat myself, I’m not the Director — I’m the Chief Researcher of the Director’s Office. We’re here to fix this laptop. And this laptop, if the Precognition Team is to be believed, can see the future, which is why we’re fixing it.”

Professor Park nodded.

“Understood clearly.”

Finally, the conversation was resolved.

****

Just as expected. The service center employees, the moment they saw us arriving by helicopter, panicked and most of them came running up to the rooftop.

“Oh my, what’s going on? Who are you people? What’s happening right now?”

Fair enough.

If a military helicopter suddenly landed on the building where you worked and a bunch of people in black suits got off, anyone would react the same way.

Right now, we needed to look intimidating. And we probably did. There was no reason to be overly polite or seem anxious.

I slid my sunglasses down slightly.

“Hello. We’ve come on the business I mentioned over the phone. Are you the highest-ranking person at this facility?”

“The service center? Y-yes, that’s me.”

“The item to be repaired is this laptop. If you succeed in fixing it, I’ll add fifty million won to the repair cost.”

I handed over the briefcase.

“…”

“Does it contain important information?”

“Think whatever you like. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate it if everyone involved in this job would sign a confidentiality agreement.”

The service center employees nodded.

“There’s quite a lot of equipment on the helicopter. Grab the parts and anything else you need and come to the helicopter.”

****

It was an absurd sight. Service center employees and Foundation researchers were gathered around the laptop in question as if performing some kind of surgery.

If this didn’t work, we’d have to give up.

“Is the repair going well?”

Machines weren’t my field.

I couldn’t participate in the repair directly. All I could do was watch. One of the service center employees answered after a moment.

“This laptop is such an old model that parts are hard to find. I did manage to locate the same model in the warehouse, though. If worst comes to worst, we might have to solder and fabricate new ones.”

“Please do your best.”

If we replaced all the parts, would the anomalous properties disappear entirely? Unfortunately, there was no way to know without trying.

****

About two hours later.

“It’s done! It turns on.”

A laptop manufactured twenty years ago powered on.

Professor Park handed me the laptop, and I took it as carefully as if receiving a baby. There was no way to know right now whether this laptop could truly see the future.

I’d have to check once we returned to the Foundation’s office. I confirmed the laptop in question turned on, then carefully placed it inside the briefcase.

“Good work, everyone. The additional payment will be deposited as soon as we confirm normal operation.”

Everyone stared at me.

“What are you all doing? My staff, head back to the helicopter. The rest of you may return to your duties.”

“Can’t you verify it here?”

No.

Even if it looked like an ordinary laptop, it was still an anomaly. Just showing it to civilians this much was already a significant risk.

“Not possible. It’s too dangerous.”

I waved my hand, and the people gathered around me dispersed. A moment later, with a loud bang, the Foundation helicopter’s door shut.

“I never thought you’d actually succeed in fixing it.”

“We don’t know if it’s fixed yet. We’ll only know once we get back.”

“Are you going to hand it over to the Precognition Team?”

I mulled over Administrator Lee Jihye’s words for a moment. If it really was a laptop that could see the future, I’d like to keep it. But that would just be greed.

I myself was an anomaly, and I already possessed the Crystal Clock. I thought it would be right to hand this anomaly over to the Precognition Team.

“If it turns out that this laptop can no longer see the future even after all this, I’ll have the number assigned to this anomaly struck from the records.”

“That makes sense.”

Administrator Lee Jihye nodded.

If you asked for my honest opinion…

That laptop in question. It might be dead right now, but it was still an anomaly that had been assigned a serial number. There had to be something more to it than we knew.

****

[Anomaly O-714]

[The Ordinary Laptop]

[Risk Class: Safe]

[Classification: object-type anomaly]

[Anomaly O-714 is an ordinary laptop discovered in the Foundation’s warehouse. It is a model manufactured in 1999.]

[According to the Psychometry Team, it may possess the ability to communicate with the future. Tachyon reaction testing showed no anomalies.]

[The Foundation failed to repair the laptop. As it was an important anomaly, it could not be carelessly taken apart, and since the product was discontinued, there were no replacement parts available.]

[Postscript. It was useless anyway, so we decided to take it apart without further deliberation. The Director’s Office outsourced the repair to a civilian contractor.]

****

[Anomaly Transfer Request]

[Filed by: Support Department, Precognition Division]

[Please transfer Anomaly O-714, currently held by the Director’s Office, to the Precognition Division.]

[This may be an impertinent thing to say, but with the Director absent, it seems inappropriate for the Chief Researcher to be personally holding a number of powerful anomalies.]

[Please transfer the laptop to the Precognition Division, and have the Crystal Clock appraised by the Safe Artifact Management Division. Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Geum.]