Earth — Tokyo Advanced Research Facility Headquarters
For several seconds after Annie finished explaining her theory, no one in the room spoke. The doctors continued staring at Astra's scans while the energy patterns moved across the display.
Sakura was the first to break the silence.
Sakura turned toward Annabelle.
"So, Annabelle, how did you reach that conclusion?"
Annie leaned back in her chair She removed her glasses and rested them against the table then she looked at the scan again.
"I didn't approach it the way you did," she replied. "You were trying to fit Astra's structure into the rules of ordinary science. I looked at the possibility that those rules simply don't apply to her."
Sakura gave her a small smile.
"What about the breathing mechanism? If she takes something in, what does she release?"
"She may not release anything," Annie answered. "Humans breathe in and breathe out, but this being may only draw something into her system. Whatever enters her body is probably not ordinary air."
Sakura's expression became more doubtful.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because the energy inside her is not behaving like any gaseous substance we know. It is stored, processed, and transferred through the channels in her form. If she is taking in something from the environment, then it may be an energy source that is even more unusual than what we're seeing inside the core."
Annie paused and studied the scan again.
"Actually, I have one question. Where did you find her?"
Sakura avoided her eyes.
"Don't worry about that."
Annie gave her a suspicious look, but before she could ask anything else, the door opened violently.
A man in a suit hurried into the room. He was one of Kurogawa's bodyguards. He walked straight to Kurogawa and whispered into his ear.
"Sir, the people who witnessed the incident are uploading videos of the creature to social media."
Kurogawa's expression changed immediately. He looked at the bodyguard, then at Annie.
"I have some business to attend to," he said. "I'll be back."
Annie nodded, while Sakura continued watching him until he left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Sakura turned toward the doctors.
"Alright, everyone. We need to extract the energy from Astra's head. Be careful and do not wake her."
Annie looked toward the screen.
"Do you have an artificial intelligence system here?"
Sakura glanced at her.
"Yes. Why?"
"Because we can use it to teach the energy language patterns. If the energy in her head is performing functions similar to a brain, then the AI may be able to create a bridge between the energy and human language."
Annie looked at the scan displayed on her screen.
"Let's hope it works."
The doctors prepared the equipment.
A junior doctor approached Astra with a specialized extraction device while several others positioned themselves around the bed. The senior doctors watched from behind them, ready to intervene if the energy became unstable.
Annie could not see what was happening from the angle of the video call. She told the doctors she would be away for a moment and stepped out of view.
The moment she disappeared from the screen, the junior doctor pressed the extraction device against Astra's head.
The device pierced the surface of her manifested form.
Astra's body immediately began glowing yellow.
Sakura looked at the screen to make sure Annie was still out of view. When she confirmed that Annie could not see the procedure, she spoke in a low voice.
"Quickly. Ignore the colour and continue."
The doctor activated the extraction process.
The energy began flowing into the device.
Astra's wings moved on their own.
They opened sharply behind her, and an intense radiance spread through the room. The doctors holding her down immediately stepped away, fear replacing their confidence.
A violent surge burst from Astra's body.
The doctors shouted as the force threw them across the room. Several crashed into expensive equipment, sending metal and glass across the floor. The doctor operating the extraction device was also thrown backward, but he managed to keep hold of the container.
The energy extraction was successful.
The doctors quickly gathered themselves and began cleaning the room. They moved the damaged equipment out of sight, cleared the broken pieces from the floor, and returned to their positions before Annie came back.
A few seconds later, Annie reappeared on the screen holding a packet of chips. She looked at the doctors and smiled.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Sakura forced her expression to remain calm.
"Everyone, bring the desktop computer. We need the laptop, the cables, and every connection device we have."
She pointed toward the doctor who had extracted the energy.
"You—place the energy inside the connector. Then connect the desktop system to it. We need the AI and the energy to communicate."
The doctors moved quickly.
[The Energy Resonance Interpretation System]
A few minutes later, the equipment was connected. The extracted energy was sealed inside a transparent chamber attached to the connector, while several cables ran from the chamber to the desktop system.
The energy pulsed inside the container, changing shape whenever the system sent a signal toward it.
Annie leaned toward the computer.
"From now on, your name is Eris."
The artificial intelligence responded through the speakers.
"Eris accepted. Please define the meaning of this designation."
"Energy Resonance Interpretation System," Annie replied. "That is what ERIS stands for."
"Designation accepted. What is my assigned function?"
"You have one primary task," Annie said. "You must study the energy and help it understand human language. Begin with words, meanings, and patterns. If the energy responds in a language you cannot identify, redirect the information into English and record the result."
Sakura stared at the computer:
Did she just rename our artificial intelligence system without asking anyone?, Damn she's bosses
Inside the chamber, the extracted energy began moving violently. It struck the glass repeatedly, as though it were trying to escape.
Everyone in the room became tense.
The training began.
Eris remained silent for several seconds. Then the AI spoke.
"Analysis indicates that the energy is communicating through an unidentified language."
Annie crossed her arms.
"We already know that. Don't try to force it into a language structure it doesn't recognize. Study the pattern first, then use English as a translation reference."
"Beginning linguistic comparison."
The energy pulsed harder.
A warning appeared on the desktop screen.
"Error. Training unsuccessful. Access to the energy's communication structure is unavailable."
Annie's expression tightened.
"What do you mean, access is unavailable? This is not an ordinary computer system. You cannot simply install language into it."
"Annie," Sakura said calmly, "take a breath. We can try another method."
Annie sighed and leaned toward the screen.
"Eris, generate a notepad."
A blank document appeared on the display.
Annie looked at Sakura.
"Type one word: Species."
Sakura typed the word.
"Now send it through the connector," Annie instructed. "Let the energy interpret the concept instead of forcing the word directly into it."
The word was transmitted.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then Eris spoke.
"Energy transferred. Species: Ang—"
The AI stopped.
The energy inside the chamber flashed white.
"Ange—"
Another pause followed.
"Species identified. Species name: Angel."
Annie and Sakura looked at each other.
The other doctors stared at the chamber in shock. Even the senior doctors had no response.
Annie slowly turned back toward the energy.
"An angel?"
Sakura lowered her voice.
"So my suspicion was correct."
Annie looked at the scan on her screen:
Then the structures behind her really are wings. They were created from the white energy, but they belong to an angelic species.
Annie faced the computer again.
"Alright, Eris. Continue the training, but document each word separately. Start with the basic concepts surrounding us."
The process continued.
Several minutes passed before Eris spoke again.
"English training is sixty percent complete."
Annie frowned.
"Only sixty percent?"
"The energy has accepted basic word associations, but sentence construction remains incomplete."
"I want one hundred percent."
"Understood. Continuing language development."
Sakura turned toward Annie.
"Why are you so dedicated to this?"
Annie continued watching the energy pattern displayed on her screen.
"I don't know. I suppose it means I may be able to solve a problem that no one else could solve."
"What are you studying?" Sakura asked.
"Engineering."
Annie adjusted her glasses.
"My mother is a doctor, so she taught me a lot about medicine and the human body. My father is a programmer, and he taught me how systems process information."
Sakura nodded slowly.
"That explains why you're able to combine both fields."
Annie smiled.
A few seconds later, Eris spoke again.
"Eighty percent complete. The remaining twenty percent involves sentence structure. I have begun teaching the energy complete statements."
"Good," Annie replied. "Continue."
She glanced at the time on her laptop.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I have to leave. I have class."
Sakura looked at her in surprise.
"Now?"
"Yes. I didn't realize how late it had become."
"Alright," Sakura said. "Take care."
Annie nodded toward the screen.
"Don't stop the process while I'm gone."
Then she ended the call.
A few minutes later, Eris spoke through the speakers.
"English training complete. The energy has been taught five thousand words, one thousand sentences, and additional associations. Images were also used to explain the meanings of selected words and sentences."
Sakura looked toward Astra.
The being on the bed began to move.
Astra's fingers twitched.
Her eyes opened.
Sakura immediately disconnected the connector and used the extraction device to draw the energy back out of the connector chamber.
The yellow light around her faded.
Astra recovered almost instantly and rose from the bed.
She stood at roughly the same height as a human. She was not gigantic, despite the size of the wings she could manifest.
Astra looked around the room and shouted:
"Vael enora?!"
Sakura stepped forward and raised one hand, forming a sign of peace.
Astra's wings spread high behind her.
The doctors froze.
Energy gathered in Astra's hand and formed a blade.
She looked down at the weapon with sudden wonder:
I finally did it.
Sakura and the other doctors stared at her in disbelief.
Annie was right, Sakura thought. She can shape the energy into weapons.
Astra suddenly threw the blade toward Sakura.
Sakura bent down just in time. The extraction device slipped from her hand and struck the floor.
It broke on impact.
The energy remaining inside it escaped and rushed back into Astra.
Astra's blade struck the wall behind Sakura with tremendous force. Cracks spread across the surface before the wall shattered.
Sakura slowly lifted her head.
"Hello!"
Astra stopped.
She straightened and walked toward Sakura, who was still crouched near the floor. Her eyes moved over the terrified doctors. One of them turned and ran from the room.
Astra watched him disappear, then looked back at Sakura.
"I understand you," she said.
Sakura's eyes widened.
Astra listened to the words around her for several seconds. Then her expression changed.
"What language is this?!"
Sakura remained on the floor.
"My name is Sakura. You're speaking English."
Astra turned toward the shattered wall. The blade was still lodged in the broken surface. She extended her hand, and the weapon tore free from the wall before flying back toward her. Once it reached her hand, Astra redirected it into energy. The weapon dissolved into light and flowed back into her body. Her wings followed, breaking apart into streams of light before returning to her form and disappearing inside her.
Then Astra looked at Sakura again.
"Where am I?"
Sakura slowly stood and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Earth."
Her expression remained calm, but her thoughts raced:
Every one of Annie's theories was correct.
Sakura took another careful step forward.
"What is your name?"
Astra looked around the room nervously.
"You can trust us," Sakura said.
Astra studied her face.
Then, for the first time since arriving on Earth, she smiled.
"Astra."
To be continued…