Editing Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===

Eight people are lightly wounded, no casualties.

Luckily, the damages are a lot more minor than expected. The direst of the disaster is the direct route that has collapsed, but it’s completely repaired on the second day, and three days later, the rubble is all cleared up.

We decided to keep this ‘mysterious room’ we found during the repairs from the villagers. This decision is made by the Chief. He feels it is better to investigate first before revealing.

And on the fifth day after the earthquake.

“Vicia! Vicia Toxin!”

I, dressed in a nurse outfit, call out in the corridor. The waiting room filled with the ruckus from the children immediately quiet down, and a girl teeters towards me,

“Your name is?”

“Registration number 00218, Vicia Toxin.”

The girl straightens her little back, stating her name.

“Not bad. You did good, Vicia.”

I pat Vicia’s head, “ehehe” and she grins gleefully.

“Teacher, Teacher Viscaria!”

“Please wait~”

Splash. There’s the sound of hands being washed, and Viscaria, dressed in white clothes, show up.

“Kept you wait…eh, Vicia? What’s wrong?”

“Erm.”

Vicia puts her hands on her tummy, looking up as she complains,

“I feel some pain.”

“Oh dear…so, what kind of pain?”

“Feels like the screws are creaking.”

“I see.”

Viscaria nods away, moving her feelers.

“Now then, lie down here.”

“Are you going to open my tummy?”

Vicia lies on the bed, giving an uneasy look. “It’s okay.” Viscaria gives a tender look at the girl’s face.

“It won’t hurt at all. It’ll be done immediately.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Viscaria comforts the girl who still remains somewhat uneasy, giving a motherly smile.

“Okay now, if you’re a good kid, switch off your ‘Mind Circuit’.”

“Yes.”

“And your Control Circuit too.”

“Yes.”

To note, there are three main circuits in a robot. The ‘Mind Circuit’ is basically the human brain, which acts as the control tower for the entire body. The ‘Control City’ is basically the equivalent of the nerves and spine, able to spread the commands from the Mind Circuit all over the body. And then, there is the ‘Safety Circuit’ to prevent both Circuits from going amok.

“Teacher…ple…ase…”

Vicia’s voice becomes interrupted, and finally, the light in her eyes vanish. Once Viscaria is sure that her Mind Circuit is in sleep mode, she starts to investigate.

“Let’s see…”

She rolls up the girl’s shirt with her metal feeler, revealing the white belly, and gently inserts into that cute bellybutton. A little twist, and with a little creak, Vicia’s abdomen is opened right down the middle.

“Hm, uh huh.”

Viscaria checks the girl’s body with a serious look. The feeler extending from her fingertip twitches like a living creature, peeling off a translucent membrane, revealing the inner circuits.

“Ahh, so it’s this thing after all…”

“This, as in?”

I look over Viscaria’s back, and towards Vicias,

“An ‘inflammation’ around the batteries.”

She says, lighting a light from the tip of her feeler. It’s somewhere to the inner side of Viscaria’s belly, as the battery unit has been distorted like melted plastic.

“Another change?”

“Yes. The same part as the last one. But,”

“What?”

“The belly may still hurt even after it is replaced…”

The deeply entrenched growth ring-like frown appears on Viscaria’s forehead, “Specification is HRM1103. Type is 01102C.”

“Hold on.”

I head into the room, and look up at the parts cases that are stacked everywhere and built to the ceiling. The replacement parts for the villagers’ bodies are filled completely. In terms of importance to the village, this warehouse is second only to the Snow White.

“HRM1103. 01102C.”

I recite it out loud, and one of the shelves light up. A faint translucent blue drawer slides out automatically, indicating that what I’m looking for exists. I draw out a silver baumkuchen-like part, and return to the diagnosis room.

“This is okay, right?”

“Okay. Then discard that old one.”

I look at the part by the bed that is completely deformed. This is the ‘infected part’ taken out from Viscaria’s body. It’s so twisted that it is impossible to think of it as the same part. It’s basically telling the pain the girl suffered, and my heart aches.