In the end, they found one hundred and twenty-one discs. Seventy-eight of them were broken, meaning only forty-three remained intact. Furthermore, fragments for thirty of the broken discs were missing entirely, leaving them incomplete.
"I can't help but think someone—or something—broke them on purpose," Jin mused.
It seemed illogical for the Progenitors to intentionally destroy their own backup Crystal Discs, and Jin doubted they would do such a thing.
"Father, there are bones here," Reiko called out.
"What!?"
Jin hurried to her side and found the skeletons of two medium-sized animals. Having endured twenty thousand years, the bones were so brittle they looked ready to crumble into powder at the slightest touch.
"Did they wander in here by accident?" Jin wondered.
Or perhaps they had been the pets of someone stationed at the facility? He speculated that these animals might have been the ones responsible for breaking the Crystal Discs.
"Come to think of it, I remember hearing about dogs being left behind in Antarctica back on Earth," he muttered.
While those dogs were supposedly rescued by a research expedition the following year, these animals had met a different fate. Jin let his imagination wander as he studied the remains.
『They do not appear to be any animal within my memory,』 No. 700672 observed through the link. 『Though, the Masters I knew only kept about five distinct species as pets.』
Leaving the bones undisturbed, Jin decided to examine the magi-devices in the adjacent room across the corridor. Passing through the hallway illuminated by his light ball, he entered a space of similar scale containing magi-devices with the same exterior design.
"I wonder if these have the same function?"
Jin personally doubted it, but he knew of a method on Earth called "mirroring," where identical data was recorded across multiple drives for redundancy. He couldn't rule out the possibility.
"Well, I suppose we'll find out once we look inside."
Jin D worked with Reiko to strip away the outer casing. Beneath lay a magi-device of the same model as the one in the previous room, though its internal purpose remained unconfirmed.
As Jin D continued his investigation, No. 700672 offered his insight.
『Jin-dono, that magi-device is likely an identical model. However, the information preserved within it is almost certainly different.』
"I see."
It was likely the equivalent of having multiple storage units lined up in a server rack. Jin and Reiko searched for backup Crystal Discs within the second unit, but they found nothing.
"I suppose that’s just how it goes."
Jin decided not to dwell on the empty machine. He had only discovered this place while surveying a site for his own base; as long as there was no immediate danger, he could afford to take his time.
"It might be worth preserving these magi-devices as historical ruins," he thought.
For the time being, he decided to install an air conditioning system. While the facility must have had environmental controls when it was operational, no such equipment remained.
『The original air conditioning magi-devices were likely looted because they are so versatile,』 No. 700672 speculated.
"That seems plausible," Jin agreed. "Anyway, let's head back and figure out our next move."
He was eager to see what was on the Crystal Discs they had recovered.
Jin D returned to Hourai Island, while Jin himself traveled to the Nord Federation. His goal was to analyze the Crystal Discs. At present, the only equipment capable of safely interfacing with them was located at No. 700672's residence—the White Room.
"Jin-dono, welcome to my base," No. 700672 greeted him, having returned ahead of time via the Warp Gate.
"Thank you for having me."
"And these are the Crystal Discs?"
"Yes." Jin took the discs from Reiko and handed them to the Elder.
"Hmm... they differ slightly from the ones I am familiar with, but let us examine them."
Just as Earth had various standards for CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs that were often incompatible, these Crystal Discs were nearly twenty thousand years old. They utilized technology from an era even more ancient than the Masters who had created No. 700672.
"Let us start the investigation."
They had forty-three intact discs, each marked with a management number. The Elder picked up the one with the highest number, representing the most recent record—though "recent" still meant over ten thousand years ago.
"I shall begin with the one showing the least deterioration."
No. 700672 moved toward a magi-device in a corner of the White Room. To Jin, it looked remarkably like a DVD player. The Elder opened the top cover and attempted to seat the Crystal Disc into the circular indentation, but the sizes didn't match.
"...As I feared," No. 700672 sighed softly.
"What's wrong?"
"My Master likely had little to no contact with the group of Progenitors who built that facility."
Jin suddenly remembered that the Progenitors were notoriously individualistic.
"So you're saying there was no standardization?"
"Exactly."
Jin let out a sigh of his own. It appeared the Progenitors had developed unique technological standards for every small, isolated community.
"Though it likely wasn't that way in the very beginning," No. 700672 added.
Since units of measurement and writing systems were common across the different groups, Jin assumed they must have once shared a unified pool of knowledge. He found himself growing curious about the history that had driven the Progenitors toward such extreme isolationism.
"Jin-dono, do you have the broken Crystal Discs as well?"
"Eh? Oh, yes, right here."
No. 700672 explained that since he didn't know the recording format, he wanted to experiment with something he wouldn't mind losing if the analysis failed.
"Here, use these."
Jin handed over the thirty fragments that were missing pieces and deemed unrecoverable. From the pile, the Elder selected the smallest shard.
"This will suffice."
No. 700672 placed the fragment into a different magi-device. "This unit is designed to analyze the crystalline and molecular structure of the target."
As he operated the controls, he explained the findings to Jin. "These Crystal Discs appear to be artificial. It looks like corundum crystals grown over a base of sintered alumina."
He continued, "The discs use the surface's crystal structure as the recording medium."
The Elder adjusted several lever-like knobs. Jin watched with intense interest; it was his first time seeing this specific type of ancient magi-device.
"Hmm... this is a visual record."
A blurry image appeared on the monitor in front of No. 700672.
"Ooh... it looks like a topographical map."
Because the data came from a mere fragment, it was impossible to tell which region the map depicted.
Is it something like microfilm? Jin wondered. It didn't seem to be a digital recording format.
"Let's try this one."
No. 700672 analyzed another fragment, which revealed what looked like an external blueprint of a building. All twenty-eight of the remaining fragments also turned out to be visual records.
"To think they used such a method. Truly fascinating."
These were records left by the ancestors of the very Masters who had created him. It was only natural for No. 700672 to be captivated.
"This will take some time. Jin-dono, would you be willing to lend me these Crystal Discs for a while?"
The Elder promised to report any findings, but cautioned that the full analysis would be a lengthy process.
"Of course. I'll leave them in your hands," Jin agreed readily.
With the discs being handled by an expert, Jin decided it was time to get back to his original goal: establishing his new base.