Rinko then walked out of the hatch and nodded at the man who came over, thinking that it was great that she chose to wear jeans inside as she jumped from a 40cm height. The soles of her sports shoes landed on the artificial ground and it was hard to imagine that a ship could have such stability and safety.
Next, the other passenger who had dazzling blond hair walked out of the machine with her sunglasses on and arched her back. Rinko also stretched her arms wide to enjoy the air that had the scent of the tides.
The man who was waiting on the floating ship showed a serious look on his tanned face and immediately saluted Rinko.
“Professor Koujiro. Welcome to the Ocean Turtle. And this is?...”
The man looked over at the passenger, and Rinko nodded as she introduced.
“This is my assistant, Mayumi Reynolds.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The co-passenger spoke in fluent English and reached her hand out to clasp the hand in a somewhat clumsy manner. The man then introduced himself.
“I'm First Lieutenant Nakanishi, assigned to lead both of you. The attendants will deliver your luggage later on. Then, please come this way—”
The man waved his right hand to a flight of stairs that could be seen on the heliport and continued,
“Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka is waiting.”
The air inside the bridge had the heat of summer and the salty tang of the Pacific Ocean, but after flowing through the elevator, the long passages and through the Ocean Turtle itself —the thick metal doors of the inside of the black pyramid, a cold and dry air blew at Rinko's face.
“Does the ship require such air-conditioning?”
She could not help but ask the First Lieutenant Nakanishi walking in front of her. The young Self-Defense Official turned around, nodded and said nonchalantly,
“Yes. There are many intricate machines, so there's a need to maintain the air temperature at around 23 degrees and humidity under 50%.”
“Is the power provided solely using solar electricity?”
“Not at all. The solar panels can't even fulfill 10% of the energy required. The main machines use a pressurized water nuclear reactor for electricity.”
“...I see.”
Things are getting more and more complicated. Rinko shook her head slightly.
In the passage that had clear grey panels, the human shapes got more and more distorted. The information she briefly read through previously was limited, and though there were probably hundreds of researchers who moved in, it seemed that there was more than enough space with regards to the size of the vessel.
They turned right, left and so forth for another 200m, and right in front of a door that appeared suddenly in front of them, there was a man who was dressed in a deep blue uniform. One would assume that to be the uniform of a security company, but he immediately saluted after seeing the First Lieutenant, and such an action was definitely not what an ordinary civilian would do.
The first lieutenant saluted in reply and said with a straightforward tone,
“Requesting permission for the researcher Professor Koujiro and her assistant Reynolds to enter area S3.”
“Undergoing confirmation.”
The security guard switched on the metallic terminal in his hand, then using his piercing stare and the monitor he scanned back and forth over Rinko's face. He nodded, and then looked over at the assistant researcher behind Rinko, using his hand to scratch the tidy beard before moving it to the side of his mouth.
“I'm sorry, can you please take off those sunglasses?”
“I see.”
The research assistant lifted her large sunglasses, and her bright blond hair and clear white skin were revealed. The security guard had to narrow his eyes at that dazzling countenance, and nodded again.
“Confirmed. Please.”
Hou. Rinko showed a bitter smile and said to the First Lieutenant,
“That's quite the strict security considering that you're in the middle of the ocean.”
“We've already cut down on the body check and other procedures. We only did checks on metals and explosives around 3 times.
As he answered, the man in the suit took out a disc from his chest pocket and put it into the plate beside the door, then used his right hand to press it into the sensor panel. A second later, the door opened with the sound of a motor, and the door leading to the central area of the Ocean Turtle slid open.
After breaking away from the thick doors, cooler air blew in, orange light shone in, and the slight moan of the machines echoed. Kan, kan, the footsteps echoed in the space within the ship that one could not imagine to be of that size, and the guide -the First Lieutenant Nakanishi realized this as he stopped in front of a certain door.
Looking up, a simple plate labelled 'Primary Control Room' was shown there.
Finally, we're now at the last remaining place left behind by Kayaba Akihiko. Rinko held her breath and watched the back of the Self-Defense Officer who was making the last safety check.
Is this the start to a new beginning—
On the other side of the door that slid aside heavily, a deep darkness surrounded her like a shroud, causing Rinko to be unable to move for the time being. No matter how much she rejected the darkness, no matter how repulsed she felt, she was forced to acquiesce.
“...Sensei.”
The voice of the assistant from behind her caused her to regain her sensibility.
First Lieutenant Nakanishi walked into the dark room, took several steps, and turned around to look at Rinko. Upon closer inspection, the interior of the 'Primary Control Room' was not completely dark, and there were orange lights flashing on the floor.
Rinko took a large deep breath and moved her right foot forward in a determined manner. The assistant stepped in, and the door behind them closed.
They followed the markers on the floor as they moved between the large network of server machines, and after walking out of the valley of machines, Rinko widened her eyes in shock.
“......Eh......!?”
She could not help but gasp. There was a large window on the wall in front of her through which she saw an unbelievable scene.
Streets... no, it might be a city. However, it did not look like a city in Japan. The buildings were all built with white stone, and there was a strange domed roof there. Though it seemed the buildings were all around 2 levels tall, they seemed to be very small, and this was due to being surrounded by the giant tree branches and leaves that grew all over the place.
The similarly white stone hewn roads formed several steps and arched bridges passed through the woods; and the people that were walking around —were obviously not people from modern times.
There was not a single man in a suit or a woman in mini-skirt. Everyone's aspect was dressed in middle-aged clothing, like a one-piece vest or a longcoat. There were also hair colors of all kinds -blond, brunette and black, and as one they stared at them. It would be hard to tell if they were Easterners or Westerners.
Where is this place? When did we move from the research ship to an underground world or some other world? Shocked, Rinko looked away, and at the end of the streets that stretched out into the distance, there was a pure white gigantic tower. The main tower was accompanied by four side towers, and extending out from the horizon was a distant blue sky that even the window could not contain.
Rinko took a few steps forward to see how tall the tower was that reached into the sky, and finally realized that the scene in front of her was not a window, but an image that was shown on a large monitor panel. Soon, the lights of the ceiling brightened, chasing away the darkness in the room.
“Welcome to the Ocean Turtle.”
An unexpected voice came from the right side, and Rinko immediately moved her gaze.
There were the silhouettes of two men right in front of the mini-theater screen with the monitor panel, at the console that had keyboards, sub-monitors and many other things.
One of them was sitting on
a chair with his back facing everyone, typing away at the keyboard in a relaxed manner. However, the other man that was at the edge of the console immediately narrowed his eyes through his glasses the moment his eyes met Rinko's.
It was a smile she had seen many times before, an easy to approach smile that was hard to read into. This was the Self-Defense Officer who was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka Seijirou, but—
“...What's with that attire.”
What replaced a greeting for the duo who had not met in two years was a frown from Rinko as she enquired. First Lieutenant Nakanishi who was in a suit immediately exchanged salutes with Kikuoka Seijirou, who in turn got up. He was dressed in a blue yukata with Kurume rice patterns, a kaku obi tied around it, and wooden clogs under his bare feet.
“I'll take my leave then.”
First Lieutenant Nakanishi saluted Rinko and left -once again the sounds of the doors sliding shut could be heard. Kikuoka, who was still standing, leisurely leaned on the consoles, and explained in a husky impassive voice,
“But I still have to stay on this ocean for another month. I can't just continue to wear a uniform like that.”
He opened his arms wide and smiled.
“—Professor Koujiro, Miss Reynolds, it's been a long journey. I'm really glad that you would come to RATH, and that our invitations have proved their worth.”
“Well, since we're here, we'll have to intrude on you, though we can't guarantee that we can be helpful.”
Rinko nodded back, and the assistant beside her greeted him in the same manner as well. Kikuoka's eyebrows curled up as his gaze remained on the luxurious blond hair of the assistant, and immediately smiled.
“You are quintessential to this plan no matter what, the last person amongst the trio I felt would be part of this. Finally, the three of you are all gathered in the belly of this turtle.”
“Oh, I see... one of them must be you, Higa-kun.”
Rinko said so, and the second guy who had his back facing them up till now stopped his hands and turned the chair around.
He was about as tall as Kikuoka, but looked a lot shorter. His whitened hair was standing like a hill of swords, and he was wearing round rimmed spectacles that did not look too elegant. His attire of a T-shirt was faded in color, the three-quarter length jeans and the sneakers with damaged soles made him look no different from his time in university.
Higa Takeru, someone she had not met in 5, 6 years, showed a sheepish smile on his boyish face that matched his body build, and said,
“That's me. As the last student of the Shigemura lab, if I don't inherit the will of my mentors, who will?”
“Really...you're the same as ever.”
The Shigemura lab in the Touto University Electrical and Electronic Engineering had two prodigious figures, Kayaba Akihiko and Sugou Nobuyuki, and Higa was under the shadows of those two like an existence in hiding. When was he involved in such a classified grand-scale plan? Rinko thought as she reached her hand out to hold her past protégé's hand.
“...Then? Who's the third person?”
She again asked after the third person, but the Self-Defense Officer showed that enigmatic-like smile that never changed and shook his head slightly.
“Unfortunately, I can't introduce him for now. Don't worry, in a few days...”
“Then, I'll help you say the name aloud, Kikuoka-san.”
—The one who spoke was not Rinko, but the 'assistant' who had been standing behind her quietly, like a shadow,
“What...!?”
You finally fell into the trap. Rinko gave such an expression as she saw Kikuoka widen his eyes in shock, and took a step back from her assistant.
The assistant stepped forward majestically, and used her right hand to take off the blond wig and the left hand to take off the large sunglasses. The hazel colored eyes stared right at Kikuoka as she said,
“Where did you hide Kirito-kun?”
An unfamiliar panic and shock ran through the Lieutenant Colonel as his disconcerted face rattled through various emotions and he continued to open and close his mouth, before finally whispering,
“...I thought the identity of the researcher should have been checked thoroughly through the California Technical Institute's database.”
“Ehh, sensei and I had been searching the faces for a long time.” Asuna the «Flash», Yuuki Asuna, used the identity of Rinko's assistant Mayumi Reynolds to disguise herself and sneak aboard the Ocean Turtle, and stared at Kikuoka straight in the eyes as she straightened herself and answered,
“We merely switched the photo of the database a week ago to mine. We do have someone who's very good in breaking through firewalls.”
“On a side note, the real Mayumi is enjoying a sunbath in San Diego.”
Rinko added as she smiled.
“Now, I suppose you do understand why I accepted your invitation, Kikuoka-san?”
“Ahh...I understand completely.”
Kikuoka weakly shook his head as he rubbed his temples with his fingertips. Kuku, suddenly, Higa, who had been staring at them blankly, started laughing all of a sudden.
“See, that's—why I said, Kiku-san. That boy is the biggest security hole in this plan.”
Four days ago, on the 1st of July, she had received mail in her private address with the sender being 'Yuuki Asuna'. It contained something that was able to move Rinko, who had been roving between her house and the school campus like a nomad, greatly.
Asuna wrote about the «Medicuboid» technology Rinko provided to the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, and how the basic design of it was used to develop a monstrous machine called the Soul Translator, which the mysterious organization called RATH was operating.
The main aim to develop this machine that could connect to human souls was most likely to create the world's first bottom up Artificial Intelligence. The boy who was assisting in the experiment, the unconscious Kirigaya Kazuto, was abducted from the hospital, and the likely destination was probably the megafloat research ship Ocean Turtle that had just entered these waters. The suspected mastermind behind this was the civil servant who had deep relations with Kazuto since the SAO incident, Kikuoka Seijirou —these unbelievable words were at first glance what was written within.
“I found Professor Koujiro's private address from Kirito-kun's PC email address. Only you can give me the chance to bring me to Kirito-kun. Please lend me your strength—”
The mail ended just like that.
Rinko was deeply touched as she had the feeling that what Yuuki Asuna said was the truth. As for the reason why, about 1 year ago, Kikuoka Seijirou used his position as Lieutenant Colonel to invite her to a development project for the next generation of the Brain Machine Interface repeatedly.
Rinko lifted her head from the monitor, looked at the night scene of the city of Pasadena through the window of her condominium, and remembered the face of the boy called Kirigaya from before she left the country.
He had explained the illegal human experiment Sugou Nobuyuki did, finally adding on hesitantly about what he talked about with Kayaba Akihiko in the illusory real world, and the secret request for the «Cardinal System» kernel for some unknown intent.
After thinking about it, she realized that the high intensity and high output brain pulse scanner Kayaba Akihiko used to end his own life was the original design for the Medicuboid and the Soul Translator. So everything was linked together. Nothing changed. I suppose it was necessary for me to receive Yuuki Asuna's mail—?
A night later, Rinko made her decision and sent a reply agreeing to Asuna's request.
It was a dangerous gamble, but I suppose making my way here to the Pacific is worth seeing Kikuoka Seijirou's shocked look, Rinko smiled. She may have gotten the advantage over Kikuoka -who had been working secretly since the SAO incident and always looked like he was in control of everything, but it was too early to relax.
“Then, since we're here, I suppose
you understand everything now...don't you, Kikuoka-san? Why did you, a Self-Defense Officer, fake a low profile in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to enter the VR world? What are you planning inside this large turtle? And...why did you kidnap Kirigaya-kun?”
Rinko fired one question after another, and Kikuoka could only shake his head and sigh hard as he showed a smile that was impossible to read.
“First, let me explain this misunderstanding that never happened in the first place...I did drag Kirito-kun into RATH through somewhat forceful means, and I am really sorry about that. But that was because we wanted to save him.”
“...What do you mean?”
If Asuna had a sword at her waist, she would have placed her hand on the hilt. Her forceful countenance was palpable as she closed in.
“Kirito-kun was attacked by the fugitive in the “Death Gun” incident and fell into a coma. I knew of it on that day itself. His brain took a whole lot of damage due to low oxygen levels, and I am very certain that the level of damage could not be treated through modern medicine.”
Asuna's face suddenly went stiff.
“Can't...be treated...”
“A portion of the neural cells inside the brain that form the network were wrecked. Even if he entered a hospital, no doctor could tell when he could wake up. It was possible that he might never wake up again...okay, you don't have to show such an expression, Asuna-kun. Didn't I say that if it were modern medicine?”
Kikuoka gave a 200% most serious expression as he continued,
“However, in this world, only RATH has the technology to heal Kirito-kun. It's the STL that you already know of, the Soul Translator. The dead brain cells can't be treated, but it is still possible to boost the regeneration of the brains neural network by reviving the Fluctlight through the STL. It's just a matter of time.”
The strong right arm that reached out of the sleeve of the yukata pointed at the ceiling.
“Right now, Kirito-kun is connected to that main conduit of the full-scale STL. We couldn't do any delicate operations in our branch in Roppongi, so there was a need to come back here. Once the treatment ended and he regained consciousness, we would have explained everything to his family and Asuna-kun and sent him back to Tokyo properly.”
Sword Art Online - Volume 10 - Alicization Running Page 4
