Young Master's Regression Manual-Chapter 125: Helios Orbital Habitat [3]

"A single room, hmm?" Isolde said, glancing around. "Are you plotting something, Mister—Julius?"

She corrected herself halfway through.

"A single room is all my brother could get, unfortunately," Julius replied. "But it’s alright. You can take the main bed. I’ll request extra bedding."

"It’s fine."

"Huh?"

"Let’s just share the bed."

Julius paused.

The room itself was luxurious. Wide panels of reinforced glass curved along one wall, offering an uninterrupted view of space beyond the station’s shield. Just a glance, and you could see the stars.

The furnishing gave off a Sci-Fi feel straight out of a movie. Soft, adjustable lighting lined the floor and ceiling. At the moment, it was neon blue.

Julius looked back at Isolde.

"...Are you sure?"

She shrugged and sat down on the bed. The staff had already brought their luggage in beforehand.

"Having the big bed all to myself when you’re the one who secured the tickets would feel wrong," she said. "Either I take the extra bed, or we both take the big one."

"I’ve been told I kick in my sleep."

"Then I’ll just make sure you kick my back."

Julius paused, then let out a breath that was almost a laugh.

"Look, Julius," Isolde said, leaning forward toward the control panel embedded in the wall. "It says zero gravity."

"Huh."

Before he could add anything else, she pressed it.

Julius felt the weight leave his body first. His heels lifted slightly from the floor before he realized it was happening.

Isolde let out a gasp as she rose a few centimeters off the bed.

"...Oh."

Slowly, gently, as if caught in a current.

Their movements felt delayed, and every small motion sent them gliding farther than intended. Julius instinctively reached out to the bedframe to stabilize himself.

Strangely enough, nothing else moved.

The furniture remained anchored. Even the loose objects on the desk did not so much as shake.

"Localized field?" Julius muttered. "Seems like selective gravity suspension."

Isolde laughed as she floated closer without meaning to.

"That’s unfair," she said. "We float, but the room doesn’t."

"It’d be a disaster otherwise," Julius replied. "Imagine chasing your clothes around the room."

She tilted slightly, arms spreading as she tested the sensation.

"But that’s strange," Isolde said. "Since when were you knowledgeable enough about space tech?"

"...."

Perhaps it was a lingering attachment from his time as Dimitri. A habit formed out of necessity. If he didn’t research beforehand, his cover would be blown.

"Habits, I guess."

"Hmm..." Isolde hummed thoughtfully. "What were you called again? Dimitri?"

"...."

Something inside Julius snapped at once.

The warmth drained from his expression, as if a switch had been flipped.

The ease he had moments ago vanished, replaced by a look of isolation. His posture straightened without conscious thought. Even his gaze hardened, losing its softness entirely.

For a split second, it was no longer Julius floating there.

It was Dimitri.

The air between them felt colder.

"Julius?"

Julius didn’t even regard her. He just looked around the room, as if it were something worth studying.

"Julius?"

His thoughts were no longer his own.

’If I schedule the testing on Saturday, I’ll have enough time to meet Yuliya on Monday. No, that’s too inconvenient. Schedule it on Friday—’

"Mister Schneider!"

"Yuliya—"

The name left his mouth before he could stop it, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Isolde tilted her head in confusion.

"Who’s Yuliya?"

"Ah."

He fucked up.

* * *

The tour continued.

Before them stretched a vast terraced space, layered vertically instead of horizontally.

Platforms rose and fell at different heights, connected by slow-moving lifts and translucent walkways.

"This is the Zero-Field Arboretum," the guide continued. "Plants grown in fluctuating gravity environments."

Vines waved upward instead of down. Trees grew in spirals. Their roots seemed to be suspended in nutrient mist rather than soil.

Isolde slowed her steps.

"They’re floating..."

"Partially," the guide said. "Their growth patterns adapt in real time. Some of these species cannot survive under constant gravity anymore."

They moved on.

Beyond the arboretum was a circular chamber filled with translucent tanks arranged like petals around a central hub. Inside each tank, liquid refracted light into different hues.

"This is the Cryo-Archive, where we store genetic records of extinct ecosystems stored at the molecular level."

"Ooh." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Not all of these will ever be revived," the guide added. "Some are preserved simply so they are not forgotten."

The next section opened into a wide observation hall. No glass separated them from space here. Stars stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see.

"This area exists solely for orientation," the guide said. "Long-term exposure to orbital environments can distort perception. This hall reminds visitors where they are."

Isolde stopped near the edge, staring out into the void.

"This is very nice."

Julius stood beside her in silence.

"At the far end," the guide said, breaking the moment, "is the Helios Core Exhibit. Restricted to this habitat alone."

They followed him one last time.

Within the chamber, a massive structure rotated slowly. Rings of light orbited a dense central mass.

"This is the prototype for sustained orbital civilization," the guide said. "Of course, it’s only a glimpse of what could be. Of humanity’s future beyond Earth."

Julius glanced around from one structure to the next when someone suddenly hovered far closer to him than expected.

"Are you Mister Schneider?"

"Uh?"

A woman floated directly into his personal space. She had deep black hair and sharp, slanted eyes, clearly of Asian descent. A lab coat hung over her figure. From the look of it, she worked here.

The guide let out a tired sigh.

"Miss Chae," he said. "Please move away from the guest. It’s bad manners. How many times must you be told?"

"Hehe." The woman leaned back, giving Julius a grin. "Hello, Mister Schneider. Big fan."

Her German had a rich, distinctly American accent. It was an odd mismatch, considering her appearance.

"I’m Chae Eunah," she said. "Associate Director of the Helios Orbital Habitat."

"Korean?" Julius asked.

"By origin. I grew up in the States, though."

"Hm." Julius met her gaze. "What might you need from me, Miss Chae?"

"What do you think of fiction, Mister Schneider?"

"Fiction?"

The guide sighed again. "My apologies, Mister Schneider. Miss Chae has a... hyperfixation on game development."

"Is that so?" Julius turned back to her. "Fiction, then. If it’s related to games, or perhaps fiction in general, I’d say it’s like another dimension, perhaps?"

Chae Eunah’s eyes lit up at once.

"Right? Right?!" she said, moving closer in excitement. "That’s exactly it! Oh my gosh! Someone actually gets it!"

She clasped her hands together, barely containing herself.

"Fiction isn’t just stories," Chae Eunah continued. "It’s a controlled reality! You step inside, and suddenly the world makes sense in a way the real one doesn’t!"

Julius listened, intrigued.

"You build a space," she went on, "and people inhabit it. They suffer in it. Grow in it. Sometimes they even become more real than the people outside!"

The guide cleared his throat pointedly.

"Miss Chae..."

"Right, right." She waved him off, then looked back at Julius with a grin. "Sorry. Occupational hazard."

Isolde, who had been watching quietly, spoke up at last.

"You sound very passionate, Miss Chae."

"I am," Chae Eunah replied immediately. "Because Helios isn’t just about space itself. It’s about worlds. Of what lies beyond the vast unknown."

She gestured around them, to the domes, the glass, the stars from every direction.

"And someday, I want to build one that people can live in without ever leaving the ground!"

Julius regarded her with curiosity. "A world that replaces reality?"

"No, no." Chae Eunah shook her head quickly. "A world that exists as a data backup."

"Data backup?"

"Think about it. Let’s say aliens really do exist. What happens if they take over the planet? Where do we go? Do we get leashed? Do we surrender?"

"Uh..."

"Or, what if the Moon suddenly gets way too close and crashes into Earth? What are you supposed to do then? Fly off to another planet?"

She scoffed.

"Where’s the guarantee that works?"

Isolde watched, half-amused and half-stunned at the absurdity of this all.

"So instead," Chae Eunah went on, "we prepare something in advance. A contained world. A closed system."

She gestured vaguely, as if shaping something invisible in the air.

"A replica of Earth. Down to molecular behavior, the physics, its biological structure—heck, even the climates. A place where humanity can jump ship instantly in the event of total calamity!"

Julius didn’t even know how to address her anymore. She sounded like a total madwoman.

"You’re talking about a full-scale simulated reality."

"Yes," Chae Eunah said brightly. "But not just a simulation. A preservation environment where consciousness can be instantly transferred! A continuity of self!"

She leaned closer, eyes sparkling.

"People wouldn’t even feel the transition. One moment the world ends. The next, they wake up and everything is still there!"

"That’s... a little extreme," Isolde murmured.

"Extreme problems need extreme contingencies!" Chae Eunah replied. "Helios preserves life! I want to preserve civilization!"

Julius was quiet for a long moment.

"...And who decides when humanity gets backed up?" he asked.

Chae paused. Her smile softened.

"That," she said, "is the hard part."

For the first time, the excitement gave way to something heavier.

"But if we don’t build it," she added, "someone else will. And they won’t ask questions first."

"A world you can escape into..."

He looked at her again.

"...You’re not talking about fiction anymore."

Chae Eunah grinned. "I never was."

Before either of them could respond, she slipped a card into Julius’s hand.

"If you’re ever interested, Mister Schneider, do give me a call," she said. "I believe we’ll meet again very, very soon!’

[Chae Eunah

Marblenet Games

Lead Developer]

By the time Julius and Isolde looked up, Chae Eunah was already walking away.

"...What an odd woman."