Chapter 2: Chapter 2

I didn't mean to brag, but although I was a scientist, I was pretty fit among my peers. I wasn't obsessed with bodybuilding by any means, but life in space had forced me to regularly exercise in order for my bones and muscles to keep their strength. I was pretty tall, too, and my face wasn't bad, so my female colleagues would ask me out all the time. If I didn't pursue science, I thought I could still do pretty well as a model or actor.

Well, reminiscence time's over. Back to the cold, harsh present. In front of me was a little girl with waist length silver hair, big droopy sky blue eyes, smooth pale skin with hints of healthy pink and a modest chest, wearing an adult male shirt - which at the moment looked like a dress and staring grumpily at me. Everytime I turned my head, she turned hers. Everytime I waved my arms, she did the same. I was holding on to a vain hope that she would do something else other than mimicking my movement. Yes, I was looking at my own body through a mirror, as I regretfully informed myself.

"...Hermes, what's the name of that gal game?"

"It was: [My life as a high school harem MC, surrounded by beautiful girls who fawn over me - including my sister!"], sir."

"What the hell is even that?!! Can't they come up with a less generic name? And what is this character? It's literally every little girl character in every low budget game and anime ever! At least have some taste god damn it!!!" I yelled in frustration. However in this case, my voice didn't carry the same authority it once did. Instead, what came out of my mouth was a cute, high pitched voice that shattered my dignity.

"Ahhhhh!!! It's over! My face! My voice! My body which I worked so hard for, it's all gone! If anyone sees me like this I'm gonna die of embarrassment!"

"I don't think it's something you should worry about at the moment, sir."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, we're still buried underground. And more importantly, we're running out of power. According to my calculation, our reserve will only last for another 40 years."

"What? How is our power so low? I thought Icarus's reactor was designed to run for 500 years without the need to be replaced? And we're not even flying, so it should've been double that easily!"

"It was a result of many variables. The Cosmic wave, the usage of energy shield to protect the ship during the collapse, the reconstruction of your body, and time."

"...Wait, how long have we been buried for?"

"800 years, sir."

"..." I became speechless. It was too much for me to comprehend. If it had been 100 years or less, then I could at least imagine it in my head, and accept it. But 800? Some nations weren't even that old.

"Oh. Haha. That's... certainly concerning." I laughed unsteadily, trying to rid my mind of the thought. "Do the ship's mining beams still work?"

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"Negative. They were destroyed along with the mine's collapse."

"Our autonomous mining ships?"

"The earth's magnetic field is too strong, plus the dirt and rocks above us is heavily impeding my signal. As a result, we can't establish communication with any of our above ground facilities and units."

"Damn. What about the portable mining laser?"

"In working condition. However, it will take approximately 36 years to drill to the surface, and with it consuming more power, our reserve won't even last that long. Also, please remember that your new body is also drawing power from the reactor, professor."

"What if we turned off everything and only kept the essential systems? Like the core processing unit and you? My new eyes can see in the dark, so we don't even need lights."

"Sir, we are running the bare essentials. There's nothing left we can turn off. I suggest we go into hibernation. Your body and my processor only draw power when we are awake. Reducing our activities to almost nothing will ensure that we can wait for several thousand years. I have already prepared the hibernation chamber downstairs, professor. It's most imperative that you…"

"What do you mean, wait? What can we even wait for? For God to come save us? Might I remind you that humanity right now is at stone age level of advancement? And for thousands of years? No, fuck that. I'm not going to wait this time, Hermes. I've learnt my lesson." I walked to the storage and grabbed a device in the shape of a crab's pincers, with two pointy tips tilting inward and a hole in its back. The tool was almost the size of my torso, but my new body made it seem as light as a toy.

"As I said, we're not going to make it. What will you do once the we no longer have enough power to operate the laser?"

"Then I'll dig. Better than being in stasis and doing nothing." I said with determination. "Open the hatch, Hermes."

"...Affirmative." The A.I. said after a long 1 second pause. There were sirens as red warning lights flooded the lower deck - right below where I stood, and I heard the gears within the ship's hull turn.

Behind the opened hatch were hot dirt and rocks. I didn't worry about the heat, since both Icarus and my new body were both designed to withstand much higher heat. On the other hand, it was then that I thanked my old self for designing the hatch to pull downward instead of out, or I would've had no way of getting out. I attached a tube to the device and connected it to the ship. Then, pointing the laser forward, I pulled the trigger. Two beams came out of the tips of the pincers and began extracting the dirt. It then floated between the pincers, through the tube into the ship's storage, while being put under compression in the process.

Within 5 minutes, a hole the size of myself was formed as debris and smoke filled the ship's entrance. "See Hermes, it'll take no time at all!" I exclaimed, hyping myself up.

"..." Hermes didn't answer. Ignoring him, I continued mining, not letting logic invade my brain.

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