Part 5: Hyun-ae

Back to reading the Pale Bride's--

Oh, *Hyun-ae already wants to talk to me again.



BGM: Hyun-ae (Cheer)

Thanks! It's just... well, you're finding out so much about the Mugunghwa, but I know absolutely nothing about where you're from.
It's not just that there's been nobody to talk to for centuries. I mean, I don't like that either! But the ship is all I really know about, and it's been disconnected from all other civilization for so long.



Oh. I had assumed you were!
Well... strictly speaking... only someone from the UKSPA would be authorized to access these systems. So I wouldn't really be able to help you if you weren't.



Aha, right, that's what I thought.
What I really want to know about is Earth. I mean... I'm sort of aware of it, I know it's the planet we all come from.
But I don't really know anything at all about it. I have some ideas, but I don't think they're really right.



Oh, wonderful.
I sort of understand the basics, like, it's a big sphere that everyone lives on, and there's unimaginably vast amounts of open space.
And you can only see the stars at night, right? Because the sky all just looks blue during the day.
All of this is just what I know from the Pale Bride. She never saw Earth. She was second generation, born on the ship after it had long left the Earth's star system.
But her parents were born on Earth! So she heard some stories from them, when she was youngn, and I think they brought a lot of books and movies with them.
I don't know. I'm just a little skeptical, given she was just a child when she learned all that. Maybe she got mixed up.
Hm, what can I actually ask in a yes or no question... I didn't realize how hard this would be.
Well... alright. So the Mugunghwa was originally supposed to be establishing a colony at some star or other a hundred lightyears away. I know that.



Ah... well, that's wonderful to hear.
Hmm.
Oh, I know!
Is it really true that on Earth, seasons aren't just metaphors? Like... oh, this sounds silly now that I actually put it into words.
But the Pale Bride seemed to think that "winter" wasn't just something that happened to you just emotionally - on Earth, it was when actually an entire part of the planet turned frigid.



Wow... my word, that's amazing. Seriously? That sounds like... I can't even imagine that.
What else was there?
Oh! Um, there was this city, that her parents were from... I think it was called Pyongyang. They described it as being amazing. If you looked up, all you would see were huge, bright white buildings, as tall as a hundred or more decks.
And on the... um... I'm not sure the word for this. It means, sort of... the bottom deck? Anyway, they said that at the bottom, the streets were lined with willow trees, and the tops of the buildings had flower gardens.



Sorry, I'm afraid I'm a lifetime spacer.

Oh...
Well, maybe it doesn't really exist, then.
Still, it's an amazing thought.
Like... they said they met in one of those gardens, up in the sky, and fell in love at first sight.
I guess the gardens probably aren't real, and maybe love at first sight isn't, either. But geeze, it's so awfully romantic, isn't it?



Ah...
Well, I guess I've already wasted enough of your time with all my silly questions, haven't I?
There's just... well... please, humour me once more. Then I promise, I'll stop bothering you.







Very well, I promised I'd stop wasting your time...
...so what did you want to ask me about?

Well, how about those last three log entries?

Straight to hell - Oct 27, Year 319, The Pale Bride







Wife - Nov 23rd, Year 319, The Pale Bride









The Bride's adolescence - Mar 7th, Year 321, Kim Jung-su







Oh... hi.



Thanks. I appreciate that. Really, I appreciate that you're here.
I know you've got ulterior motives - what they are, I'm not really sure, but most people do - and that's alright all the same.
I'm glad you're reading these logs, though. Even if you don't really care, it's better than nobody from outside the ship ever seeing them... which is what I thought for sure would happen.
Or am I just being cynical? If so, my apologies!



Yeah... I'm glad to hear you say that.
I'm really glad to hear you say that: Nobody else seemed to think so.
There's something... well, here. I've added another message for you.
Just... well, why don't you read it yourself?



With the addition of a single log, we have unlocked all of Block 5.

At least use my real name! Sept 18th, Year 319, The Pale Bride