ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (2)

Fairy Tales Turn Gray

April 16, Evening

Ishigakijima Observatory, Ishigaki, Okinawa

On the night of the day Jindo and his team departed Narita, under a star-filled sky, some people were making astronomical observations at an observatory on Ishigaki Island. Their main purpose was to observe a celestial body closest to the planet.

"Alexandria... what a beautiful planet."

One man is peering through the 105 cm telescope at this celestial body with his naked eye. His name is Shingo Masuwaki, a staff member of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. He is looking at the celestial body that corresponds to the "moon" of this world, the planet Terralus. When it had just been transferred, Terralus had one huge satellite, just like Earth's. However, later investigations revealed that it was not a moon, but a binary planet, and that Terralus was one of the planets in it.

JAXA has given this binary planet the name "Alexandria," just as it once gave Terralus the name "Counter-Earth," for convenience. The rocky planets are nearly equal in size. This was the first time in the history of astronomical observations that a double binary of rocky planets of nearly equal size had been confirmed, and Japanese astronomers were all very interested in Alexandria.

"...There could be life on that planet."

Observations from the ground have shown that Alexandria has oceans and continents. Observations of emission and absorption lines in the spectrum have also confirmed that the composition of the atmosphere is similar to that of Earth. However, the detailed conditions on the ground have not yet been fully observed due to cloud cover. If there are oceans and the composition of the atmosphere is the same as that of the Earth, there is naturally a possibility that life exists. Perhaps, as in Terralus, intelligent lifeforms that nurture civilization may be living there. The curiosity that Masuwaki and others involved in astronomy have for Alexandria is endless.

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Almost the same time

Makuteru Airfield, Makuteru, Japanese Territory of Yawa Peninsula

Hinomaru Airlines Flight 119 took off from Narita Airport at 14:20 and arrived at its destination, Makuteru Airfield, after nearly 9 hours of flight time. Since there is a three-hour time difference between Japan and Makuteru, it is now past 20:00 local time in the city. The airport, located far from the city center, is used jointly by the military and civilian sectors, and aircraft of the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Ground Self-Defense Force were parked alongside civilian aircraft on the tarmac. From the main entrance of the airport, Jindo, Hiraide, and Riyoshi were coming out with their hand luggage.

"Haah, we're finally here!"

Jindo, unaccustomed to long flights, stretched wide to relax his body, which has stiffened after sitting for so long. Riyoshi and Hiraide looked around the airport. Since this city is located at a latitude above Wakkanai, it was still chilly even though it was April, and their breathing turned to white vapor. Moreover, there was still snow here and there.

The airport itself is like a small regional airport, but the area around the building is pitch-dark and no streetlights can be found. They felt as if they have been thrown out into the world of darkness. The shuttle buses between the city center and the airport are operated by the public, and when they checked the timetable at a nearby bus stop, they found that they have to wait for about 10 minutes for the next bus to come.

"So, I guess we'll have to wait a while..."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Jindo nodded curtly at Hiraide's words. Ten minutes later, two dazzling lights flashed out of the darkness. The passengers smiled when they saw the shuttle bus finally appear. The bus stopped in front of them and opened its doors with a pshawing sound. The driver, the man at the wheel, stood up, got off the bus, and appeared in front of the passengers.