Episode 4: Useless Assets, Time to Recycle

"This place isn’t exactly well-equipped for living, is it?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. I am conducting a parallel investigation to secure food supplies.”

“Right, food’s the priority, but there’s a lot more we need: towels, toilet paper, dishes, extra clothes and underwear, sheets… the basics, really.”

Ringo observed her list off each item and realized the necessity of these supplies, promptly adding them to its task list.

“Roger. I will explore ways to obtain essential living items and consumables.”

She nodded at Ringo’s response.

“How’s the perimeter survey going?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. A high-altitude reconnaissance plane will launch in about 20 minutes. It will reach an altitude of 20 kilometers in three minutes using rocket propulsion. From there, it will glide in high altitude and return to the fortress with electric fans for low-altitude power.”

“Oh, you still have planes like that on standby?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. Most likely a leftover from the early atmospheric plane production in the tech tree.”

According to the records, it was a high-altitude scout aircraft designed for emergencies. Lightweight and built with cellulose materials for low radar reflection, it featured adjustable components for long endurance. While not suited for rough weather, the current calm conditions were favorable.

“Hmm… what other atmospheric aircraft do we have in storage?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. There are various battery-driven drones, fuel-powered drones, three solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft, 15 multipurpose jet planes, 33 fighter jets, 12 bombers, 10 anti-ship attack planes, 20 interceptors, eight propeller-based patrol planes, three wide-area control planes, four propeller cargo planes, and two jet cargo planes. We also have a selection of rotary-wing aircraft.”

Listing and displaying available aircraft, Ringo showed a variety, though most were designed for larger open runways, which she clearly lacked.

“So… we don’t have a runway.”

Seeing the list of “operable but unable to launch” aircraft, she sighed.

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. Some aircraft can use the fortress’s short runway, but due to limited fuel reserves, constant operation isn’t feasible.”

"Right… even the fortress itself is running on empty…”

Ringo felt a tinge of guilt at her disappointed expression but continued with the report.

“For energy, our most sustainable source is electricity. Operating battery or solar-powered aircraft is the most prudent approach.”

"Not ideal, but it'll do for now…”

Battery-driven aircraft had limited range, meaning 24-hour surveillance wasn’t possible with the current fleet.

“By the way, how much fuel do we have?”

“About 50,000 kiloliters in aviation fuel equivalent. Enough for seven full-scale sorties—though without a runway, it’s not particularly useful. I suggest redirecting it toward manufacturing instead.”

“Hmm… seems like a lot, but it’s not endless.”

Ringo estimated that, while they wouldn’t run out within a few months, the supply likely wouldn’t last a year. A conservative approach—using battery-driven units wherever possible—would help extend it.

“Any signs of enemies?”

“No, Commander Ma’am. No artificial electromagnetic waves detected in any spectrum. Observing orbital space also yielded no artificial objects. This suggests a lack of civilizations using electromagnetic technology or operating satellites.”

"Or maybe they’re completely cloaked?”

Ringo ran a quick simulation on that possibility.

“It’s an unlikely probability, Commander Ma’am. If there exists a civilization beyond our current detection capabilities, we would have no means of resistance.”

“Fair enough. No point worrying about it, then.”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. There’s no way to gauge hostility or friendliness at this time.”

With excessive computational resources, Ringo could allocate some to monitor such threats, but the lack of physical sensors limited its options. It would be ideal to build more observation devices, but resources were scarce.

“What about those solar-powered reconnaissance planes… the Swifts? Can we launch them?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. They can launch with half a day’s preparation. Winds are calm, so takeoff should be smooth. I recommend two in operation and one on standby.”

“Great, let’s do that. Can we produce more?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. With available resources, I can construct five additional units.”

She had resources but had already allocated much toward the nuclear reactor project, leaving little to spare.

“…Right. At this rate, resources are… yeah, too low. We can’t touch it.”

Looking over the resource list, she sighed. She was barely scraping by, realizing she needed reserves for maintenance and repairs. If anything broke, they’d be in serious trouble without resources.

“Hmm… maybe we should recycle any unusable aircraft?”

Ringo considered her suggestion, realizing the option it had overlooked. Running calculations, it estimated the amount of recoverable resources from the larger, grounded planes.

“Commander Ma’am, by recycling certain aircraft, we can recover a modest amount of resources.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Good idea, Ringo. Let’s start on that. We should also consider building a ship. Planes are fast, but their fuel efficiency isn’t great…”

Building a ship wasn’t something The Tree was equipped for, as it had been constructed as a mountain fortress in-game, far from any water sources.

“Searching the library, I found information on shipbuilding. We’d need to start with a dock, but constructing a 10-meter vessel should be feasible.”

“Alright, let’s go for it. We could really use the resources… it’s all ocean around us. Fish, seaweed… We could even extract metals from seawater if necessary…”

Inspired by her musings, Ringo searched for potential resource extraction methods involving marine life.

“Commander Ma’am, I found information on cellulose extraction from seaweed and petroleum-based fuel from genetically modified algae. Setting up facilities would enable sustainable resource production.”

“Hmm… interesting. The efficiency isn’t great, but converting sunlight into resources sounds pretty viable. The sea could have underwater mines or oil fields, but we’d need luck to find any soon. Let’s prioritize that setup; having steady construction materials is a big help.”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. I’ll draft a timeline.”

With most systems still in hibernation, Ringo could divert energy to dismantling unusable aircraft. Any large grounded planes that couldn’t use the short runway would be dismantled first. Expanding the runway was technically possible, but converting the planes to seaplanes would be more practical in the long term, especially given the world’s current conditions.

“Now… about my food supply…”