End of the World Broadcast

Regardless of the era, all technology has evolved to alleviate direct and indirect discomforts felt by humans.
Space and time, resources and processes.
Humans, who easily adapt and become accustomed and quickly cease to be satisfied, have advanced technology without stopping for a single moment.
And now, even someone like me who lived in a relatively developed era, is amazed at how exceptional items are rolling around like stones.

“…You know what? They say the first computer was so large it filled an entire room, and so heavy it was like having five full-grown elephants in one place.”
Almost a thousand years have passed since the first computer was created.
A thousand years is so long that humans, whose lifespans don’t even reach 200 years, can’t comprehend it.
Yet it’s a short time, merely a flash, compared to the time that has passed since this Earth existed and life first appeared on it.

“But all that heavy and large computer could do was simple calculations at best.”
However, just as a rabbit and a tortoise running the same path for the same time won’t cover the same distance.
Humanity, which didn’t waste the time given to them and ran madly forward, made the world their own in that short time.
Not just information from external sources, but by sharing with everyone the information and changes they created through constant contemplation.

“The humans from a thousand years ago couldn’t have dreamed that the technology they created would develop this far, right? Just as the humans from 2000 years ago couldn’t have predicted that their descendants a thousand years later would create giant computers and reach the moon.”
While hanging on the ladder, I grabbed one of the many cubes lying on the shelf.
The cube, small enough to fit entirely in my palm, which couldn’t be called large, was surprisingly a complete computer.
Dozens of cores and storage capable of handling exabytes, all contained in something smaller than a 3×3 cube.

“Moreover, it seems peripheral devices like keyboards and mice became unnecessary. I heard that if you attach the sticker on the back of this to your forehead, you can control it freely. Isn’t that amazingly fascinating? If there had been computers like this in the era I lived in, it would have been so good.”
Humanity built a kingdom for humans on the nature that was given equally to all, and laid rails connecting those kingdoms.
Instead of developing their own bodies, humans changed the world through technological advancement, enjoying a more splendid and abundant life than any other living being.
That must have been very comfortable and enjoyable.
They might have suffered from not reaching their ideals, but they didn’t tremble with fundamental fears like hunger or cold.
Just like I used to.

“But now, they’re all meaningless objects.”
The advancement of technology inevitably causes a disconnection from previous eras.
Humanity, which believed that moving forward by discarding things from the old era was the right direction of development, failed to consider what would happen when that technology no longer worked.
Electricity and machines. Many tools that broke free from the fixed idea that wires or batteries must exist to receive power have become unusable to me.
I dropped the computer I was holding.
The computer, falling from a shelf three stories high, met its death with a crackling sound, revealing its complex components.
People from the era who actually used this computer would probably scold me for doing such a wasteful thing and feel sorry for the broken computer.
But to my eyes, that computer was no different from scrap metal or stones rolling on the street.

“I wish there was at least one useful machine somewhere.”
In the old days, there was a big difference between products that used batteries and products that received power from external sources.
For the former, the hole for inserting batteries was visible with just a little looking around.
And for the latter, since wires were attached, you could tell at a glance what kind of machine it was.
But─ the people of an era that succeeded in simplifying most objects wouldn’t have left such traces.
As mentioned earlier, the advancement of technology causes disconnection from old objects and technologies.
A world where machines could operate by receiving electricity without inserting batteries, without charging, and even without connecting wires, erased traces of the old era as it had always done.
As a result, most tools except for time-honored survival items like flashlights and gas torches became unusable antiques to me.

“I already have essential survival items like measuring tapes, gloves, knives, and tools, so I wanted to find machines that could be used in special situations, like heaters… but the results are quite disappointing.”
Finding items that use portable chargers or batteries that I have is like picking stars from the sky.
Even if I find such items, most don’t work properly, probably because they’ve been abandoned for so long.
And if they do work somewhat, they’re mostly inappropriate for a wanderer like me, being too big or too heavy.

“Why didn’t people anticipate what would happen after the power supply was cut off and all these items became unusable?”
Or did they anticipate it but couldn’t come up with a proper solution?
“The world probably didn’t suddenly become like this, there must have been signs.”
It didn’t seem likely that people in an era where even volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which were thought to be unavoidable by human power, could be measured years in advance, would be completely unaware that the world was heading toward an apocalypse.
Unless weapons like nuclear bombs suddenly covered the entire world.

“Nevertheless, not preparing for the apocalypse… perhaps they turned away, believing that the inevitable apocalypse wouldn’t come during their generation.”
The civilization of humanity, which had continued in a straight line, was collapsing, and a world where the technology and science that had been used as a matter of course could no longer be used was approaching right before their eyes.
In that situation, engineers or scientists who were willing to cleanly give up everything they had enjoyed and go back to the beginning to revive the technology and objects of the old era… wouldn’t have been many.
After all, rather than rummaging through old documents in consideration of the worst-case scenario where they cease to exist and civilization meets its end, it would have been more rewarding and enjoyable to develop existing technology and machines even a little to give their families a happier life.

Opening a can when I get hungry in the middle, taking a short nap on the shelf when tired.
Since there aren’t many places with intact resources like this, I wandered around the supermarket for a long time to make the most of my visit.

“Wow, a hill of scrap metal has formed among the mountains of corpses. This world is really too unfriendly to wanderers like me.”
The ladder, which is heavy due to its length and drains my energy every time I move it, has been moved more than ten times already.
Climbing the three-story shelves without any safety devices, examining boxes and items from the swaying ladder took half a day.
Each time I found that an item I had worked hard to take out of the box was useless, I grumbled and threw it on the relatively empty floor to relieve stress, and before I knew it, those discarded items had formed a high mountain.

“Even though I know most of them are just scrap metal, expecting something is a bad habit…”
The role of objects, their causal relationships, have become unrecognizable to me, leaving only the direct forms visible to the eyes, making all these objects and technologies worthless.
Although I don’t know much about the value of currency, I pass by many machines that probably weren’t cheap even here, and put a glow-in-the-dark toy ball that’s sold almost for free into my bag.
And instead of the ring-shaped display that allows you to view any data anywhere if you just store information, I pick up paper and pencil that have fallen to the status of relics from the old era.

“Sigh, if I had a sturdy vehicle or an exoskeleton enhancement, I could have packed more than just these. What a waste, what a waste.”
So far, I’ve been talking as if all the items in this supermarket are completely unusable. Actually, that’s not entirely true.
With the supermarket being this large, there’s no way there are absolutely no items that can be ‘used’, setting aside their usefulness.
But such items either overlap in purpose with what I already have, making it unnecessary to take them.
Or they’re mostly so large and heavy that it would be better not to take them.
For example, weapons like baseball bats or guns often lie on the streets, so I can pick them up when needed.
In fact, I’ve put a handgun in the side pocket of my bag just in case.
Also, a tent that unfolds when thrown and contracts when the string is pulled would have been very useful and I wanted to take it.
But it was heavier than expected, not something that I, wandering alone without any tools, could easily carry around.
Besides, things like flamethrowers that operate on oil… even if I could use them and they’re useful, it wouldn’t be appropriate to carry them around.

“Hmm… I don’t think there would be much gain from exploring further, shall we stop here? I’ve had decent findings and─ I’ve packed a lot of food too.”
Fluorescent ball and dog gum. Gas torch.
And an automatic rope that fixes itself when thrown high, and pulls up the body automatically at the press of a button.
As someone who was looking for something that could substitute for the dimming heater, it’s a somewhat disappointing result, but overall, I’ve gained quite a bit.

“Now, let’s go outside and wander around the city again. There’s plenty of food in the supermarket, so I could stay and look around for a few more days, but since we don’t know what might happen in this world, I want to move as much as possible while I’m in good condition.”
The two days of exploration have brought me many things.
From trivial items to food that will last a long time.
And even the hope of meeting living people.
Now it was time to shoulder these and walk forward.