month record rogue 3 8 3

I can do it, the girl thought, volunteering herself towards this goal.

But when it comes time for the megastructure to start up, Angelina is nowhere to be found. Instead, she soars through the skies above a nameless marsh in western Siracusa.

Here, too, there were no roads, but passing through directly instead of circling around would save an incredible amount of time. Drone transmission signals were unable to cross such a long distance, so it was a route only Angelina could traverse.

She leaps further and further. It should be possible to cross the marsh without getting the letters dirty, right? The thought randomly came to mind one day, after a great many jumps already made in the course of her regular crossings. And after thinking it, she put it into practice.

You know, this might be something that only I can do, she thinks, rather pleased with herself. But obviously she couldn't let it get to her head and make her complacent.

The latest milestone of the Black Hole Protocol project might have gotten everyone in the land talking, and sure, it might be a big deal, but people still needed to live their lives in the meantime, and so a Messenger's work was never done.

One could even say that ever since the project launched, people needed to communicate more than ever before, to the point that calling the work 'unending' might be an understatement.

But this is great, thinks Angelina. She was the quickest of her colleagues, and so also the busiest. She didn't get many chances to visit home anymore, yet she didn't complain.

Whether today or tomorrow, there will always be researchers at the foot of the megastructure trying to probe it for answers, 24-7.

As for the places with no view of the megastructure, whether under bright sunlight or starry sky, one could always spot a Messenger or two.

Take a forgotten conversation from long, long ago. Perhaps it happened, perhaps not:

'Phew. The experiment on Star Four was a success, hah.'

'Wow! You mean the one involving T-symmetry in the kinetic energy of the smallest particle?'

'That's the one. Since it's effective on a celestial body with Star Four's mass, they're thinking of applying that tech to the rest of the stellar system.'

'Dang. Feels almost unreal, you know?'

'I can't help but think we live in good times.'

'Do you think there's more hope now?'

'More than ever, I'd say. If we can use it to precisely adjust a planet's rotational and orbital period, then the two gates we've built won't keep deviating from their destinations.'

'Sounds good to me.'

'I used to think that we only got a short time to live our life, and that when it's done it's done.

'Now, there's still hope, but we're going to need to do our best for the sake of our descendants.'

'Though, I've thought of something, y'see. That experimental device, it can only receive external commands, right? If you were going to put the T-symmetry effect to practical use, isn't using it only for curvature manipulation a little rigid? Like when that engine was being designed. Because the interior of the conveyance cannot actually influence its exterior, we had to design waygates—'

'What are you trying to say?'

'I'm saying that, if one day this effect could be implemented with only human will—'

'You sure you're not talking about some holodrama superhero?'

'It's an analogy! Just picture it, okay?'

'...You're right. Now might be a good time to work our imaginations.'

A 'hero' does not usually know their fate. And so, they suffer the forge of destiny and are reborn from their ordinary life. Only then can a brighter, more brilliant spark burst forth from within.

But the stars in the sky know. They know that one day there will be a star fit to be called 'hero.'

Stands the torch, certain as daylight; challenges chilblain eve.

Mind awander, where in life's dream; glimpsed in blizzard bare.