Terminus Island, Yogyakarta.
The next day.
The diplomatic team from HME gathered in the hotel lobby immediately after breakfast. They had a very sumptuous breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Although the breakfast was a buffet, the amount and quality of the food were very high. Ambassador Phiam had never eaten food of such quality, even though he was often invited to parties at the Emperor's Palace.
The quality and quantity of the food led to a lengthy discussion as they ate breakfast. Some believed that the quality and quantity of the food were specially prepared for the purpose of entertaining them. But others believed it was the standard menu at the hotel. This was due to the fact that many of the guests were also eating, and they did not seem surprised by the food.
Either case, this food issue caused additional burden to Ambassador Phiam as it showed the superiority of the Myto Empire over HME.
They also discussed the quality of the bed they used last night. The quality of the bed was so good that they felt like they were sleeping on a cloud, like they were sleeping in zero gravity, with their whole bodies perfectly supported by the mattress of the bed.
"I don't know the technology to make such a mattress." Baeluna said this while shaking his head.
"Not only that, the air temperature regulation is also very precise. I did not feel cold or hot. That's why, even though I was a bit restless because of the new place and the psychological pressure because we are on an important diplomatic mission, I slept less than 5 minutes after I put my head on the pillow of that bed." Rydorka said.
Other team members' testimonies that were similar to this one came after it. But this made Ambassador Phiam even more stressed, as it showed the technological superiority of the Myto Empire.
"Oh, yes, are there golems in each other's rooms? In my room, there is a golem that helps me with everything. When not needed, it goes into a closet." Rydorka said.
A number of people, especially those with high ranks, agreed. People who received a lower class of room claimed that the golem was outside the room and that they could call it by simply pressing a button. So one golem for several rooms.
They were busy chatting in the lobby while waiting for the Gravit ambassador to arrive.
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Less than half an hour later, Ambassador Gravit arrived at the hotel. After saying good morning and making small talk, Ambassador Gravit shared the schedule of today's activities.
"We will leave for Jakarta at 2 p.m.Therefore, we can walk around the city this morning, and we will have lunch together at the restaurant we have booked before we continue our journey to Jakarta. We are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta at 2.30. There is still enough time to rest before we are invited to dinner by Governor Ira." Gravit said.
"The distance between Yogyakarta and Jakarta is only half an hour? How many kilometers is it, sir?" said Baeluna.
"The distance between Jakarta and Yogyakarta is about 225 kilometers, sir," said Gravit.
"What will we take there, sir?" asked Rydorka.
"We will take the high speed train. Sir." Gravit said
They calculated the speed of the train, if the distance is 225 km, then the speed of the train is 450 km per hour! What kind of train could be that fast?
"Only ½ hour by train? What is the speed of the train?" asked Phiam.
"We will use the fastest train to Jakarta, we need to stop at two cities, therefore the actual distance is much longer. Our train has a speed of 800 km/h." Gravit said.
That answer really surprised the entire HME diplomatic team. The speed of the train they were about to board would be much higher than the speed of HME's latest fighter aircraft, the Alpha-3. The members of the diplomatic team began whispering among themselves, judging whether what Ambassador Gravit had told them was a lie or not. But they had magic that could determine the speed and direction of their walking, and they agreed to use it to determine the speed of the train they would take later to Jakarta.
"Alright, after this, we will look around the mall in the city of Yogyakarta." Gravit said
"What is a mall?" asked Phiam.
"A shopping center, like a market, but much more modern and luxurious." Gravit said.
"Alright, where can we exchange our money for shopping?" said Phiam.
"Since the exchange rate has not yet been determined, we will give you all 1,000 credits per person. That's about 14 grams of gold." Gravit said.
"We have also brought gold to exchange, sir." Phiam said.
"Oh, excellent. We'll take you to the precious metals trading center before we go sightseeing at the mall." Gravit said
The delegates had been provided with at least 250 grams of gold per person by the HME government, which would be used to purchase technology samples from the Myto Empire. Ambassador Gravit then gave each person from the HME diplomatic team a card.
"Gentlemen, the card is used for payment. All you have to do is hold the card up to the payment device and press the pin written on the paper attached to the back of the card. Please memorize the pin and discard or put the paper in a safe place. The card currently contains 1,000 credits." Gravit said.
"Thank you very much, sir. We will use it to look for souvenirs from the Myto Empire." Phiam said.
"But keep in mind, sir. There are items that cannot be purchased due to technological flow restrictions. Hopefully, those rules can be eased in the future." Gravit said.
"We understand that. We have similar regulations to that." Phiam said
They were then invited into several vehicles, such as minibuses. Especially for ambassadors Phiam, Rydorka, and Baeluna, they were taken in the luxurious landspeeder that had brought them from the airport yesterday.
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A few moments later
Shopping Center in Yogyakarta, Malioboro
Malioboro Shopping Center is located in an integrated building, where there is Malioboro Shopping Center, a culinary center, offices, hotels, and apartments. The building has 60 floors, or almost 250-meters in height. Today, visitors to Malioboro Shopping Center were temporarily restricted due to a visit from the HME delegation.
The group from HME arrived at the lobby of the shopping center. As they got out of their vehicles, they marveled at the architecture and luxury of the building. From their vantage point right at the foot of the building, the building towered very high.
"Wow, how tall is this building?" said a diplomat.
"It's actually not that tall, sir. It's only about 250 meters high. If I'm not mistaken, it's only 60 floors. It's just that maybe because we are right underneath it, it looks tall. Inside there is not only a shopping center, but also offices and residences." Gravit said.
They nodded, and then the group entered the shopping center.
"Wow, look at the floor made of a single piece of marble!" said a diplomat.
"It seems that all buildings in the Myto Empire are climate controlled." Baeluna said
Many more remarks showed the admiration of the diplomatic team members from HME. This made Ambassador Phiam embarrassed, they acted like they were from a backward nation. He also reminded them by making certain gestures, not daring to use words, but because of the admiration, it did not have much effect.
Ambassador Gravit took them to a gold shop. Then he spoke quietly to the shopkeeper, stating that the Myto government would buy back the gold sold at the price of pure gold, so the shopkeeper could buy from the delegation members at a price equivalent to pure gold.
"You can exchange your gold here." Gravit said.
"Thank you, sir." Phiam said as he took out a 25-gram gold bar.
The shop owner scanned the gold bar. He was surprised because even though he knew that the HME people came from a country far more primitive than the galactic empire, the gold sold was extremely pure, even the impurities were only under one ten-thousandth of a part, and it was also likely that most of the impurities on the surface of the gold were due to touching, dust, and so on. Such purity was even close to the technology that the Galactic Empire had for refining gold!
He bought the gold at the highest price and told Gravit about it.
"Please look around the shops in this shopping center. We will gather here at 11:30 for lunch. Because we will have lunch in different places." Gravit said.
The members of the HME delegation sell some of their gold and dispersed to look around. Some went alone, but most went in twos or threes. Ambassador Phiam went with Rydorka and Baeluna.
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Ambassador Phiam's group entered a bookstore.
Although it was a bookstore, there were not many physical books. Most were digital books that could be purchased and opened on a tablet. The bookstore had been prepared the day before, and most of the high-tech books had been stored. Also, the high-tech tablet had been put away, only the very basic ones remained on display, including the children's version. Those tablet versions still used a very low-tech chip, with technology above 8 um, more primitive than the one given to the Mu Empire that now have been cleared to technology of 4 um.
"Hmm, what a strange bookstore. Why aren't there many books here?" said Ambassador Phiam.
"Welcome to our shop, gentlemen. We are one of the most comprehensive bookstores in Myto." Said the shopkeeper.
"If the books are complete, why are there only three bookshelves?" asked Rydorka.
"We stock over 1 million titles, but as you can see, only a small portion are physical books, the rest are digital." The shopkeeper said
"Digital? What does that mean?" asked Phiam
"Digital is sold in the form of data that is transferred to a portable reader. We also sell portable readers, or tablets." Said the shopkeeper.
"Try to show us the tablets." Phiam said.
The shopkeeper took his three guests to a shelf. On the shelf were several thin rectangular boxes of various sizes and designs.
"Gentlemen, this is the tablet. As you can see, there are two size options, large or small. There are also many designs, some are colorful for children, some are for women, and some are universal, standard, and usually bought by men." The shopkeeper said this while showing several kinds of padd.
"Hmm, can I show you how it works?" asked Baeluno.
The shopkeeper took a Tablet and turned it on. After the splash screen finished, several titles of free books that had been included in the tablet were displayed.
"This is a sample of some free books. They are all folkloric stories. This Tablet can store several tens of books. If you feel that it is not enough, then an additional memory module can increase its capabilities by more than two times. They were powered by batteries that could be charged by a universal power module. The battery itself can power the Tablet for several days consecutively, or maybe a month if you don't use it often. In addition, this Padd uses a low-resolution touch screen and also has several other functions, such as a calculator and memo. The price is only 40 credits." The shopkeeper said
"Calculator? Try showing me that function." Phiam said
The shopkeeper also showed the calculator function. The calculator application in the Padd was a scientific function calculator with solver and fraction capabilities. Phiam, Rydorka, and Baeluna's faces turned pale when they saw the calculator's capabilities. The calculator's capabilities were far better than the HME-made calculator that was about to be given to the Myto Empire!
"Of course, this is just an additional feature. This calculator's features are incomplete and lack precision. But it's worth it compared to having to buy another calculator." The shopkeeper said.
"Do you sell scientific calculators too?" asked Baeluno quietly.
"What did you say? Calculators? We sell them too. Let me show you." The shopkeeper said as he walked towards another display cabinet.
In that display cabinet were calculators in various forms. Calculators were not prohibited items to give to HMEs, hence, there were calculators with quite advanced functions, including a programmable calculator.
"This is an ordinary calculator, it can only do ordinary calculations plus percentages and roots. The advantage of this calculator is that the display is wide enough to make it easy to read, even for the elderly. You can buy it for 1.5 credits. If you want a smaller one that can be carried in your pocket, you can get this type, and it only costs 1 credit." The shopkeeper said.
Hearing that, the three people became dizzy. A calculator with a price of only about 1/70 gram of gold is unheard of. In HME, people still use slide ruler calculators to calculate simple and even complicated calculations. The electronic calculator is only used for very complicated calculations.
"Now this is a calculator with scientific functions. There are various capabilities. This one you can even program. It has 512 bytes of memory to store the program and results. The price varies from 2 to 40 credits." The shopkeeper said.
The explanation almost made the three people faint. Especially after they tried the best scientific calculator. Its capabilities and speed were far above those of their most advanced calculator. Even the programmable calculator had capabilities not far from those of the computer they had.
"Can we buy all these calculators? How many calculators do you have?" said Rydarko quickly.
"Of course you can, sir, I'll see first how many calculators we have." The shopkeeper said this as he went behind the counter to see how many calculators were in stock.
"Quick, exchange all your gold. This is a great opportunity to get a sample of technology from the Myto Empire!" Phiam said to Rydorka and Baeluna.
Ambassador Phiam also gave the 200 grams of gold he was carrying to Rydorka and Baeluno. They both ran to the gold shop to exchange all the gold plus the gold brought by Phiam. On the way, they met other team members, and Rydorka also asked for some of their gold. In the end, they exchanged 1.2 kg of gold for credits and got more than 85 thousand credits.
In the end, they made crazy purchases of technology goods in the mall. More than 500 calculators of various types were purchased. Also, 100 tablets with nearly 1000 book titles. Not to mention the purchase of books, TVs, and radios. Only a few people who did not know about the incident had time to buy luxury items such as watches, clothes, and others.
"Fortunately, we have not given away the items that were gifts from HME. Don't give them tech items, it will embarrass HME in front of Myto Empire." Ambassador Phiam said.
"That's right, it's better for us to hand over magic and cultural items only. We now know the technological capabilities of the Myto Empire." Rydorka said.
"Hmm, yes. We have to adjust our meeting plan with the Myto Empire." Phiam said, still somewhat denying the Myto Empire's superiority over HME.
"That's right, don't let us look like fools in front of them." Rydorka said. "Why haven't many of our teams gathered yet? The time is already very tight."
"That's right, because of the size of this shopping center, it's impossible for us to find them...ah that's them." Phiam said it rather angrily.
However, when Ambassador Phiam saw the watch one of the team members had purchased, he once again started to panic because he realized what the watch's capabilities were. This was because the watch purchased was a digital watch with a calculator function. As a result, Ambassador Phiam once going to buying spree again, and bought more than 100 watches of various types.
Ambassador Gravit scratched his itchy head when he met them at the appointed time, looking at the boxes of products piled higher than the person carrying them. In the end, Ambassador Gravit was forced to borrow another car to carry all the goods purchased by the HME team straight to their airplane parked at Maguwo Spaceport.
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After they had lunch at a restaurant on top of the tallest building in Yogyakarta, they were taken to the train station. As time was of the essence, they quickly boarded a fast VIP class train bound for Jakarta. Nonetheless, they were able to admire the busy train station in Yogyakarta, which had many train tracks and was very luxurious by their standards. Even the main train station in Runepolis wasn't this big!
The incoming trains are on a track that is connected to a door in the station wall. This meant that passengers didn't have to heat up in the unair-conditioned air, nor did they know in advance where their cars were. Of course, this system caused the people from HME to be astonished and amazed.
The train they were riding was similar to a maglev, but part of the propulsion was changed to use repulsorlift. Magnetism is only used to steer and propel the train.
They entered the VIP carriage that had been reserved just for them. In a few minutes, the train departed, and from the window, it was already traveling quite fast. Ambassador Phiam also used magic to determine the speed of the train, and finally he found that the train was running at 500 km/h and increasing. That meant Ambassador Gravit's claim was not a hoax.
Ambassador Phiam seemed to be silent during the journey to Jakarta. In his head, a lot of questions arise, especially about where the technology owned by the Myto Empire comes from. Another reason is that Phiam felt very upset because the superiority of HME was destroyed compared to the Myto Empire.
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After they arrived at Gambir Station in Jakarta, they were again stunned by the splendor and magnitude of the station. There were trains departing almost every minute, and from the perspective of the HME people, they could not see how many train lines there were in the station. This was because the departure hall consisted of many floors. They could never imagine a station that had more than one level of departure halls.
"It's amazing this station, I don't know how many floors are used for departures." Baeluno said
"Train departures are up to 5 floors above ground and 3 floors underground. All underground floors are for the subway, which is the public transportation system in Jakarta." Gravit said.
They walked for quite a while before finally exiting the station and getting into their respective vehicles. After that, they were taken to the most luxurious hotel in Jakarta. The diplomatic team from HME dropped their proverbial jaws at the luxury of the hotel. Even when they were already in their rooms, they did not lose their amazement at the luxury of their rooms. Crystal chandeliers that sparkled like diamonds, fluffy carpets, and gold plating on all the furniture. It was all over the hotel, right down to their rooms and even in the ordinary rooms given to the lowest-ranking team members.
They finally received an invitation to Governor Ira's dinner in the evening after spending a considerable amount of time resting their bodies and resting their minds after dealing with surprises all morning. As they were getting used to the Myto Empire's scale of splendor, the banquet seemed like a normal affair. What stood out at the banquet was the beauty and elegance of Governor Ira in her evening gown.
----oOo---
Star System K17T
Astroid in the 7th planet's orbit
Captain Calsa walked on the bridge of the spaceship they had found. The bridge was more spacious than the bridge of the CR-90 he commanded, though the alien spaceship was smaller in size. The design of the stations and chairs indicated that humans designed and built the spaceship. At the moment, most of the screens and controls are not working as they are shut down. Droids and engineering crews were seen looking at all parts of the stations, looking for a way to activate the computer systems and the entire spaceship.
In many places, there was foreign writing that he could not read. But the protocol droid recognized it as English, the same language the UHW spoke. How strange.
"Captain, although one of the ship's fusion reactors is functioning, we are unable to activate the other equipment. It seems that the fusion reactor that can be activated belongs to the emergency energy system. We have less than 10% of the ship's deuterium fuel left." The XO's report interrupted Captain Calsa's reverie.
"Can we fill the fuel tanks on this ship?" said Captain Calsa.
"Yes, captain. Should we try to fill them?" asked the XO.
"I think so, there is a possibility that the computers and other systems cannot be activated because the fuel is so low." Captain Calsa said.
"Well, that's right, captain. Alright, I'll ask the engineering team to fill the deuterium tank of this ship." The XO said this while picking up his communication equipment.
Captain Calsa sat in the captain's seat of the ship. The seat had handrails that also contained control equipment (like the captain's chair on Star Trek). Despite being over 10,000 years old, the padding and upholstery of the chair were still intact.
"How can these chairs and equipment still function properly after thousands of years?" thought Captain Calsa. "Perhaps there is an automated system that repairs them. This means that some part of the computer is active."
Captain Calsa looked at the control panels at the ends of the left and right arms of his chair. He tried pressing the touch buttons, but to no avail. The panel remained inoperative.
But as he held the lower part of the right arm of her chair, he felt a difference in a spot compared to the area around it. He squatted down to see why there was a difference. It turned out to be a hidden lid, covering something that seemed very important.
"Hey, there's something here." Captain Calsa said.
An engineer looked under the arm of the chair and said, "This appears to be the cover of a small panel."
Captain Calsa pried off the lid, and underneath was a small scanner. He held the scanner up. Suddenly the panel at the end of his right arm lit up, and the speaker in the room said something in an unfamiliar language over and over again.
"C3KO, come here! Try to translate what that panel says." Captain Calsa ordered a protocol droid.
"Captain, the panel is asking if you are the owner of this ship. It appears to be answered by pressing the green button on the armchair panel." C3KO said.
Captain Calsa pressed the button, and the panel said something else. Captain Calsa looked at C3KO.
Captain, you are being asked if you wish to activate this ship? By pressing the button again, the ship's computer system will be turned on, and the ship will be gradually reactivated." C3KO said.
Captain Calsa pressed the green button again. And then almost every control station on the bridge lit up. A voice came from the room's speakers, but only C3KO understood it. C3KO then opened his data port and attached a cable connection to a port on the science station.
"The ship's central computer is requesting language samples in order to develop the translation matrix." C3KO said.
"Proceed." Captain Calsa said.
Moments later, the voice from the computer changed. The computer was now using Galactic Basic.
"Greeting, Captain. May I know your credentials?" said the central computer.
"I am Captain Calsa of the Myto Empire." Captain Calsa said.
"Is the Myto Empire a human empire?" asked the central computer.
"We are mostly humans; only about 10% are non-human." Captain Calsa said
"Very good, then the Pactya-class Corvette 'Aachen' from the Solar Empire is at your service," said the central computer. "What is your command?"
"Please run a self diagnosis. Confirm the readiness of all systems." Captain Calsa said.
"Running diagnostics, complete diagnostics need a maximum of 1 hour." The central computer said.
"Well, that's how to activate this ship. Please see all the systems that have been turned on. The Astromech droid downloads all logs and data from the central computer." Captain Calsa ordered.
"Yes, sir." Some people said.
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"Captain, we did not find any logs, it seems the logs of this ship have been wiped clean." The XO reported a few minutes later.
"Strange, why wipe the logs? What about the other data?" said Captain Calsa.
"We obtained data on many new technologies. Including many schematics of ships from the Solar Empire, the origin of this ship." The XO said. "We can easily adopt the technology from this ship if needed."
"Inform central command about this immediately." Captain Calsa said.
"Yes, captain. Oh yes, the technology on this ship is very different from ours. The central computer uses a positron-based quantum computer, while our computer system is more photonic." The XO said.
Before Captain Calsa could answer, the central computer suddenly spoke through the speakers on the bridge, "Diagnostic complete. We were able to expedite the diagnostic because no damage was found to the sub-processors that help perform diagnostic tests. As a result, the ship is fully ready, except that we only have 9.2% fuel remaining. We can't go far with this much fuel."
"Very well. Temporarily activate all systems, ready for flight. We will test the readiness of all systems." Captain Calsa said.
"Activating main reactors, warming and readying impulses, and linear engines. Anti-Pol main cannon report ready, themal and disintegrator cannon report ready, HU and kinetic shield report ready. Warning fuel low, transferring fuel to reactors, reducing fuel to 4.6%." The main computer said
The main viewscreen, which had been blank, suddenly came to life and showed the scenery around the ship.
"Warning, the ship is immersed in sand, engine impulse activation is required to raise the ship to the surface. There are many living creatures around the ship. Advice to vacate the vicinity of the ship immediately." The central computer said.
"Immediately order all people and droids to enter this ship or return to the 'Aurellia'. After all have entered the 'Aurellia', order it to return to orbit. XO, take command of the 'Aurellia'." Captain Calsa ordered, "Computer, wait until all living things have been evacuated."
"Yes captain." The XO said as he quickly exited the bridge to return to the 'Aurellia'.
"I will wait until further command. Warning, critical fuel reserves, only 4.4% left. It is recommended to immediately deactivate a number of fusion reactors after the 'Aachen' stabilizes on the surface, while waiting for additional fuel." The central computer said.
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15 minutes later.
"Captain, we have reached a stable orbit over 'Aachen'. You may start the main engines from 'Aachen'." XO reports via Holonet.
"All right, computer, turn on the main engines and lift the ship to the surface." Captain Calsa said.
The technicians on the bridge immediately looked at the readings from each control station on the bridge For now, all operations are controlled by the main computer. Outside the ship, the nozzles on the ring at the equator of the ship began to move, and a few moments later, the fusion reaction inside the engine took place and produced thrust through the nozzle. Gradually, 'Aachen' emerged from the sand that had covered it for thousands of years.
"Aachen is airborne. Temporary retracting main landing gear to test the integrity of the landing gear. Landing gear retracted, no anomaly.... Landing gear extended, ready for landing." Said the central computer.
A few seconds later, 'Aachen' landed back on the asteroids surface. After 10,000 years, the 'Aachen' again stood upright on its landing gear. The sand that littered the ship's hull was washed away with the activation of the HU shield. The 'Aachen' stood tall again and was ready for duty.
"Warning fuel critical, 4.1% remaining. Shutting down main reactors except no. 1 main reactor and no. 1 auxilary reactor. Reactor No. 1 was put on hot standby. Switching the impulse engine to cold standby." The central computer said.
With that, all operations in Star System K17T focused on bringing 'Aachen' back to Elysia. A specially equipped shuttle flew to the gas giant to obtain deutorium to fuel the 'Aachen'. Meanwhile, from Elysia, a mobile dock ship was dispatched to bring the 'Aachen' to Elysia.