"The permanent storage of Galactic Link Pro is 80 astrobytes, temporary being 20 astrobytes can even run in sync with the VS. It is based on AI 8 powered by AI 89 and thus will help you in sensing your body conditions and will only cater to you and all your needs. The communicator also has a battery life of 20 time units. Though it is said that it can be charged, by that time I am sure you will get yourself a new communicator," the sales aliens laughed at the end and said. The notion of AI sent Aric into a bit of a spiral.
This made him think of his problem. He needed to be cautious of his next steps.
"Can I get any communicator that is not AI interlaced?" Aric asked. The sales man was confused for a bit, but then seemed to understand.
"Ah, you are fearing for your privacy. You can rest assured that your privacy is of paramount importance and Blue or any electronics company would not try to invade your privacy. Not after what happened to the Toriah civilization."
"No, I would still like a communicator without any connection with an AI," Aric insisted this time. Though the sales man was confused, he replied.
"That is easy. You just need to deny the request of integrating AI from the central core, and thus the AI will never attach to your communicator." Aric had an epiphany. The salesman's words meant that the AI came from a central command somewhere, and thus they could definitely not be trusted.
"How much does this one cost?" Aric asked. He wasn't ready to scour through more models, and he was in a bit of a time crunch.
"It's 1.2k Sora and 1.1k Vallin credits, with 10 time units of warranty," the salesman said.
"That's too much. How about I give you 2k Sora credits for two?" Aric said.
"Two? For 2k? Hmm... Okay," the salesman said. Aric was expecting a load of bargaining or even the fact that the price was fixed. But nothing like that. Did he get scammed? But he couldn't read the letters on the back. This had been a problem here as he wasn't able to read the letters here.
It was a different language, and he could only understand the words but not the letters. But since he already gave a price, he couldn't back out. Soon the salesman came back with two small cases.
"I will be taking the credits from you with a sign. Please approve the transfer within 72 hours," the salesman said, as he could see that this man didn't carry cash nor a communicator. After signing off, Aric took the credits and walked out.
After looking around, he found a bench to sit along the broad footpath. After keeping the one case nearby, he opened the other. Soon he got to hold the communicator himself. He had seen IWatch before, and even owned a smartwatch, but looking at the current communicator, he could proudly say that it looked cooler than those ones.
The belt seemed to be made of some kind of material that could be stretched. After putting it on, he thought that the belt would be uncomfortable, but nothing like that happened. Without any delay, he clicked the small button on the side, and it immediately turned on.
As expected, it was holographic, and he was able to choose the options provided to him as he clicked. Thankfully, there was an option for English. After multiple clicks and even allowing the AI assistance to take over, he finally got the hang of it.
With the new communicator, a very small hearing aid and a lens were also provided. He could understand the hearing aid since one needed to talk, and it was kind of a bother to talk over the hand, but a lens?
With the help of the communicator's instructions, he put on the two lenses provided. And when he put the lenses on, he understood why they were required. The whole world around him immediately changed. The letters, which he was previously unable to read, he could now read with ease and perfection.
It worked like Google Lens translation but without any change in orientation. It was superfast, and every time he moved his eyes to a different far-off place, he could read it. And not only that, the lens also showed information about the roads, the buildings, even the far-off spaceships.
It was as if he was watching the world from the eyes of a gaming world character. This was ridiculous.
"AI, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Master. I am happy to be of service," an AI female voice could be heard from the hearing aid.
"Master? Don't call me that. You can call me by my name. I will assign you the name Apis."
"Thank you for naming me Apis. If you want to change my emotional meter, you can tell me to do so," Apis said.
"No need. You can maintain the same emotional meter. Now, take me to a cheap hotel where I can crash for a day but also get appropriate privacy of mine. While on the way, tell me everything about this place, the history, and also the universe. Treat me like someone who came out of a cave for the first time and is able to see the world for the first time."
"Sure, Aric. If you walk about 50 steps to your left..." Apis started speaking in his ear about the world while he also followed her directional instructions. The more Aric listened, the more surprised he was.
The location that he was at the moment was supposed to be the lowest point of interstellar civilizations. Well, at least in one sense. He was on a planet named Echorysia, a planet which was on the borders of Sora and Vallin civilizations. A place which was not under the control of the two civilizations of the galaxy Chronos Nebula.
