“Are you going to play this game, or flirt the whole night?” Akiko demanded.
“I am playing the game.”
“Not well. You have to play better in the next stage.”
“I’m trying, but I’m still figuring out the controls. I have to get my feeling for things.”
“You only have two rounds left.”
“I know,” Ben somberly said. “I’m trying my best.”
“Look at them,” Akiko snapped.
The pair’s struggles were starting to wind down as they ran out of energy. They swam desperately, fatigued, beating the glass as they begged for mercy. People had been taking wagers on length of time before drowning and which would give up first. An unspoken competition had begun between those with Korean ethnic backgrounds, and those of Japanese ancestry who felt their player would last longer.
“That’ll be you unless you shape up,” Akiko continued. “And they,” pointing to the crowd, “will take pleasure in your death.”
Ben averted his eyes from the killings. “Then I die and leave the world a better place,” he said, mustering as much confidence as he could.
Akiko heard the doubt in his voice. “I’m grateful that you saved my life and Hideyoshi’s, b–”
“How’s he doing? He looked like he’d had a rough day.”
“We’ve all had a rough couple of days.”
“But he’s not a soldier,” Ben noted. “He’s not prepared for this shit.”
“You don’t know what he did.”
“Whatever he did, he feels guilty about it. He couldn’t stop bawling. I feel bad for him.”
“Emotional tears are made up of protein-based hormones like leucine enkaphalin, a pain killer, which makes him chemically feel better about himself. Crying is for the weak.”
“Not always.”
“Always.”
“You never cry?”
“Not since I was a child,” Akiko stated.
“Then I guess I’m weak ’cause I cry all the time.” When Akiko didn’t reply, Ben said, “Thanks for the support. Where is he?”
“I’ve dealt with him.”
The grin on Ben’s face evaporated. “What do you mean, dealt with him? He’s alive, right?”
“What do you take me for?” Akiko asked.
“An agent of Tokko.”
“He’s alive,” Akiko affirmed.
Ben eased up again, though he could sense her agitation. “Thanks for not making this wager meaningless.”
“It was a dumb wager and I’m not going to just let them take you to your death without a fight.”
“You’ll be killed if you try to fight them.”
“Death is a welcome honor if it serves a purpose. You’ll be killed for nothing if you don’t play.”
“I appreciate it, but like I said, don’t worry about me.”
“You can’t just run away like before. If your team loses, you’ll be killed. This is a stupid death. And what about Mutsuraga? If we don’t capture him, I might as well be dead.”
“So that’s what you’re really concerned about?”
“Ishimura. Don’t you care that your life is on the line?”
“I’m very aware of that. I’ll try harder next round. And if I fail, I’ll cross my fingers and pray I be reborn as one of those Pomeranians.”
“You don’t believe in reincarnation.”
“I’ll pretend you convinced me.”
Akiko sighed, came closer to him, and whispered, “Do you have something planned, or are you really losing?”
Ben struggled to form an answer. “I’m going to try harder. It’ll come back to me.”
The answer provided no comfort for Akiko.
The waiters were cleaning out the cages, carting off the two dead contestants. The third stage started soon, only four players remaining. Ben was still teamed with Eagle Killer. Their duty was to defend a train full of supplies being sent to reinforce the Americans attacking Hiroshima by ground. The opposing team had to do their best to disrupt the convoy and prevent delivery. Eagle Killer picked up a Parker-Hale Model 85 Classic modified for night combat and packing explosive charges. She was going to take on the role of a sniper. The other duo was endeavoring to setup an ambush along the railway. Ben made his way to the armory of the train and hid inside with the rations.
“Where are you going?” Eagle Killer demanded of Ben.
“I’m guarding the supplies,” Ben replied.
“You need to get back on top and get in position!”
Ben ignored her and, when she continued with her rant in the game, he muted her dialogue.
It was strange for Akiko to see the homeland under direct attack by Americans, even if it was just a portical game. She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if foreign soldiers had invaded Japan and taken control of their territory. Even the thought of the Japanese people being subject to the violence of war offended her. If Japan had lost, what would have happened to the Emperor?
“The good part’s about to begin,” Orochan said.
The ambush commenced and the explosions were fiery. Eagle was ubiquitous, killing thousands of foes. No matter how many Japanese soldiers the other side threw at them, the Americans, under Eagle’s control, prevailed. Seeing so many Japanese shot, even in portical form, disgusted Akiko. She hated the game more and more, convinced it had to be abolished.
Ben tarried in the ration car and actually started eating the supplies to replenish his energy and stats. Unlike the previous round, this one was short. Eagle was a force all to herself and single-handedly beat both enemies. The Americans were successful in resupplying their forces. Her point total jumped to 6,342 while Ben’s was at a measly 75.
“What’s next?” Akiko asked.
“They’ll go head to head. But, even if Ben wins, his point total will be less,” Orochan answered.
“What can he do to win?”
Orochan looked at the score again. “He has no chance of winning.”
“There’s got to be some way.”
“I don’t think so. Eagle picks the stage and, whichever one she picks, she’ll dominate him. He isn’t trying at all. Watching him is so frustrating,” Orochan said, genuinely irked. “Look at him. He’s not even paying attention.”
“How can we help him?”
“We can’t unless we somehow convince Mosquito to let him live,” Orochan said.
Akiko stormed over to Mosquito’s table. The losers were injected with chemicals by two women in contamination suits. Warts began to grow on both players. Not small cauliflower disfigurations, but pus-filled lumps that bulged in size until they were mounds as big as their fists. Akiko did not watch as their bodies became covered by warts. The helplessness in their verrucose faces was too familiar from the times she’d inflicted similar diseases on her victims.
Mosquito was surrounded by several Japanese men with metallic pinkies who were smoking cigars, fellow Yakuza out for a night of entertainment. “May I speak to you in private?” she asked.
Mosquito didn’t take his eyes off the killing. “You can speak here. What do you want?”
“You need to change the parameters of the final round.”
“To what?”
Akiko suggested, “Whoever wins this round wins the whole thing regardless of score.”
“That’s not the way we play it.”
She noticed two sumo thugs hovering behind her.
“He agreed to the terms,” Mosquito said. “And he’ll abide by them.”
“But–”
“My customers are complaining about his lack of involvement and how bad he is. I told my customers he was one of the best players in the USJ. This is just a waste of time. Disgruntled customers are never a good thing. I’m very annoyed right now. Don’t push my patience.”
“Ishimura and I are both soldiers of the Emperor. If you showed mercy–”
“The Emperor has no jurisdiction here.”
“The Emperor has jurisdiction every
where within his Empire,” she reminded him, annoyed by his insolent tone. “I suggest for your sake that you never forget that.”
“Or what?” He glanced at the guards, and one put his arm on her.
Akiko kicked his knee as hard as she could. The weight of his entire body dropped down and caused his knee to rupture, the cap bursting the leg in the wrong way. She punched him in the nose with her gun arm, then did a roundhouse to the second one who was approaching in the groin. He stumbled to the ground. She used her metallic limb to smash down on his head.
“Don’t try to scare me,” Akiko warned.
Mosquito took a bite out of his food. “My father was a Tokubetsu Kogekitai,” a Kamikaze Pilot. “He sacrificed his life at San Diego. I still don’t know what for. Every morning, my mother burned incense for his soul and prayed to a picture of the Emperor. She worked as a maid at a geisha house and never missed a day. She got hit by a car and still insisted on going to work with her broken ribs. She knew if she lost the job, we’d be out on the streets. Where was the Emperor then? I used to get into trouble playing portical games all day, but my ma was too busy to notice. I was addicted to Honor of Death and accidentally disturbed some thug in the Nakayama family because I got too excited playing. He put a gun to my head and told me to finish my game without dying. If I lost, he’d shoot me in the head. It was the longest two hours of my life. I played it perfectly. Put a gun to anyone’s head, and they’ll have a better sense of clarity than anyone in the world. Where was the Emperor then? Go back to your seat. Ben sacrificed his life for your boyfriend in this pathetic display. Be grateful for that.”
She sighed, more infuriated that Ben seemed indifferent to his situation. Was he intentionally seeking death after realizing Eagle Killer was too good? Some misplaced fatalism where he had accepted whatever may come? Mosquito was watching her gun arm the whole time. “Don’t do anything rash. We have an agreement and if you try anything, you won’t survive.”
“You think if I really wanted you dead, I’d care whether I survived or not?”
She went back to her seat.
The final stage was the Battle of Pearl Harbor, one of the most disastrous defeats for America. In the new version, Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor before the Germans were ready to invade America. As a result, the American fleet was partially stationed at Pearl Harbor, ready for the attack. Eagle Killer chose to represent the American side and Ben was attacking as the Japanese. Even before the game began, a poem by the Emperor Meiji came up on the screen:
* * *
All the seas, everywhere,
are brothers to one another
Why then do the winds and waves of strife
rage so violently through the world?
* * *
In the original battle, Marshal Rommel of the Germans had already begun his onslaught of the American east coast. When the Japanese fleet attacked Hawaii, they met with only token resistance. In this new history, Japan attacked America too early and, while they were able to destroy part of the fleet, the attack mobilized the American people into retaliating with a full force. Pearl Harbor represented a turning point in the war, an internecine battle that empowered the American spirit. Ben was to be part of Japan’s Operation Z (named to commemorate Admiral Togo’s Z sign at the Battle of Tsushima), an all-out desperate gamble to disable and handicap the American fleet. When the game actually began, Ben immediately fled for the hills. Eagle did not pursue. She picked off all of the Japanese soldiers, killing them one by one. She took over an antiaircraft gun and destroyed multiple Zero fighters. Her point total surpassed 10,000.
If she hadn’t been so flustered, Akiko might have marveled at the beautiful graphics, the fully rendered environments reacting to the gunfire, disintegrating via realtime simulations of geometric dynamics. Every building and ship was destructible, polygonal destruction waged one facet at a time.Eagle Killer took her time hunting down Ben. Ben was still trying to conceal himself in the hills. Eagle had several clear shots at his head, but didn’t take them, wanting to come in close for the kill. There were more points to be had using a knife to finish an opponent.
“Ben!” Akiko yelled.
But he did not hear her.
Most of the audience gave disappointed groans, knowing the inevitable was coming, going back to their veal with leeks and truffle-crusted Dover sole. Akiko felt knots churning inside her and turned to Orochan who was focused on her food, refusing to watch the end. Was there really nothing either of them could do? Ben fled further up the hills. The fact that his life was tied in with the success of his gameplay appalled Akiko, even though she knew people had been killed for less. Did Ben want to die? But why now after coming this far? Or had he always dwelled at the fringes?
She touched her gun arm, knew what she had to do after Ben lost. It seemed Mosquito anticipated her as several guards surrounded their table. She examined each of them, trying to assess which order she should kill them to maximize her chances of survival, but–
She heard gasps and murmurs. People were watching the screen again. Akiko did not want to see the final kill, the portical representation as mockery of a man’s life. But she forced herself to watch. The ground was quaking. Akiko was confused, not sure if the game was suffering from a glitch. The hills split apart and a gigantic hand emerged, followed by the torso of a gigantic mecha.
“What’s going on?” Akiko asked no one in particular.
It was clear everyone else was curious about the same thing.
The gigantic mecha with a Japanese Rising Sun painted on its armor stepped over Eagle Killer and started decimating the entire American fleet, firing laser beams to destroy the enemy forces. Within a minute, the whole of Pearl Harbor was on fire and Ben’s point tally was already at 9,000, quickly approaching 10,000. A minute later, that point score was doubled. The mecha stepped on Eagle Killer and crushed her avatar to pieces.
Ben had won.
Eagle Killer threw off her gear and yelled, “He’s cheating! This is a sacrilege! That’s not supposed to be possible! I won this tournament! He rigged the game!”
Mosquito approached the stage, holding a trophy.
The guards chained Eagle to her wheelchair and gagged her. She was trying to scream, but the ball in her throat prevented her.
“C’mon, you can’t be serious,” Ben said in Eagle’s defense. “She’s the best player you’ll ever have. Mosquito! Mosquito!”
“She lost,” Mosquito said sternly. “Rules are rules.”
“She didn’t know all the rules.”
“That’s her loss. Take her upstairs.”
“What are you going to do?”
“That’s not for you to worry about. Did you eat yet?”
They dragged her away and Akiko knew from Ben’s flustered expression that he was forcing himself to think about the bigger mission. “I’m famished.”
“Good. There’s a meal for you. Perhaps we can discuss future matches.”
“I just want my ride to Catalina.”
Mosquito nodded. “I’ll keep my word. But perhaps I can tempt you–”
Ben shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“How did you know about the mecha?”
“That’s my secret.”
Ben came over to Akiko. Akiko slapped Ben’s face.
“What’s that for?” he demanded.
She did not answer, still fuming.
“I’m starving,” he said.
“Then eat,” she said and did her best to hide the fact that it was her hands trembling this time.
The portical screens had switched to a view on the deck of the boat, an angle of a plank overlooking the ocean. Eagle was screaming that she’d been cheated. “I’ve spent my whole life playing games! There’s no one who knows as much about the USA as I do. He must have cheated. He’s made a mockery of the entire game. He corrupted the files and he–” The guards ignored her and threw her overboard. The audience members laughed hard as she hit the surface of the wate
r. She screamed for succor, begging for another chance. Without her legs and dragged down by the wheelchair, her voice drowned out as she plummeted underwater.
“Let’s see if she can hunt eagles in the ocean!” Mosquito jested to an excited audience.
11:43PM
They were given an unmarked motorboat to take them to the island. Ben suggested making their way to Catalina from the west as there were no mines and very little security. Akiko did not like the smell of sea nor the spray of saltwater in her face. But the further they got away from Mosquito’s boat, the better she felt.
“Where’s Hideyoshi?”
“I don’t know,” Akiko confessed. “I don’t care.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Ben said.
“We don’t choose the people we fall in love with. How did you know about the mecha?”
“I asked Mutsuraga to put it in Honor of Death. A cheat for gamers like me who sucked, but needed to play the whole game. You can only trigger it if your score is down by 10,000 points and you need to put in a special command.”
“That’s why you ran away?” she inquired.
Ben nodded. “Honestly, I wished I could have played her straight up, but I’m not anywhere near as good as her and the controls have changed from Honor of Death.”
“How’d you know he’d put that cheat in USA?”
“Actually, I didn’t until it happened.”
“You gambled on a hunch?”
“I gambled on what I knew about General Mutsuraga.”
“What’s that?”
“He likes to give underdogs a chance.”
“You’re bolder than I give you credit for, Ishimura.”
“I didn’t have a choice. It’s like the late Prime Minister Tojo once said, ‘Sometimes, you must jump with eyes closed off the veranda of the Kiyomizu Temple.’”
“When did he say that?”
“Before he became a Buddhist monk and advocated peace throughout the Empire. I heard it when I was at BEMAG.”
“It’s all a bit deus ex machina.”
“You got machina all right. Damn shame about Eagle Killer. She was an incredible gamer. I know Mosquito is a Yakuza, but he should have spared her.”
United States of Japan Page 23
