Living with Memory of Steel (Part 2)

by Masahiko Kimoto

  Sekiba closed psy-connect and shook his head. Nakazato's way of speaking always felt like a blow to the head. Sekiba reconnected to psy-connect.

  "Of course we can get Akari back. But the UniverSoc is quickly approaching. The unveiling of the mass production of the A-B-A-H-S, coupled with the other DS children are important to me. Don't be so selfish."

  "You said I was absurd, right?"

  At that moment, Sekiba received an alert message.

  Trap activated for the internal storage system. An unnatural access has been detected in the region supervised by Sekiba and Nakazato.

  "Ha! Here they are!"

  Without another word, Sekiba cut the conversation, and began watching the intruder's every movement.

  "What happened?"

  "Just like we expected. Nothing to worry about."

  Sekiba searched for the intruder's entry pathway. Just like he expected. Only three people have ever got in through this pathway. One was Sekiba. Another was Nakazato. And just one other person.

  Checking movement history. No problems. Like expected, there was one more person. They must have tagged along for the ride.

  Without a word, without leaking a single thought.

  Alright! Let's meet!

  *****

  Junrock called out to Reji, who was working on his motorbike in front of the offices.

  "Are you preparing for escape?"

  Reji answered without raising his head.

  "Is that how you view people?"

  Reji got rather surprised that Junrock talked to him, but didn't want to show that.

  "I don't have any more reasons to look at you. I'm not apolitical like you. I have my own way of doing things. My own agenda."

  "Your own agenda is to be uncooperative. I heard that from Murase-san. You are actually quite an elite.

  "Murase-san, huh?"

  Different people talks various things about Murase. By Junrock, Murase is very good at talking, sociable and attractive as a guy or rather as a human. There is no way he can be like him. By Clare, Murase was a straight-laced person who never wavered in his convictions. He is a grownup man who has his own world. She can never be like him. The things they said in common about Murase is that he is the most aware of what's going on in the world and has the best ability to get on with people among the three of them. Also, he would be the world's most fraud.

  In the end, no one knows much about Murase's past.

  "He was a mysterious guy."

  "Murase-san told me to run. He'll be fine, he said. He'll make do, he said. So I thought there was some way to escape. Actually, he was a real swindler."

  "You should cover up the loss. It's decided by the organization."

  "I know that. That's why I'm working on this motorbike. I'm not preparing for escape."

  Junrock looked at Reji's hands, then at the motorbike's monitor. He stretched a cable from the terminal in his right arm, and connected it to the motorbike's control system.

  "Don't touch my motorbike."

  "You're installing a linear drive, right? It's not good to do it the way you are. It's better to do it this way."

  "You know motorbikes?"

  "Not really. But the basics of the control system are the same in all machines. And that's what I do. I work with control systems. So let me try it out."

  Reji watched as Junrock manipulated the terminal. Reji still didn't like the look of him, but when he operated the terminal he seemed to be having fun. Reji knew that his smile wasn't directed at him, but he took the moment as an opportunity to ask Junrock something that he'd wanted to ask him earlier.

  "Hey, can I ask you something?"

  "What?"

  "Why are you in Earthlight?"

  Junrock lifted his head. He had a strange, unexplainable look on his face.

  "You didn't hear the story from Murase-san?"

  "No. All I heard was that something happened inside your head."

  Junrock snorted.

  "So that was Earthlight's investigative powers."

  He closed the terminal.

  "That's done. Well, It's my story to tell. I'm not trying to hide anything, but I've got a lot of venom in me. If you think you want to look me up, though, there might be some stuff out there for you to find.

  At the end of the day, the scientists or maybe the MoSEs would be more accurate, are working on science and technology games. Research for researchers. There are formal beauty of science and research, researchers are mutually backslapping each other. That's all I saw. MoSEs are treated favorably because they are seen as working for the betterment of the world. But they've completely forgotten all that. That's why I didn't want to be there anymore.

  So what about standing out in the world? Everyone who isn't the MoSE are their slaves. They're not using the technology. They're being used by it. Still, they never try to escape from it.

  I got sick of it. Sick to the bottom of my stomach.

  I thought I wanted to break the whole thing down. I thought the whole world should be wiped out.

  And then I realized that wasn't the answer. Instead, I want to wake both sides up. I want to give both sides a slap across the face.

  And that's why I went into Earthlight. That was it."

  "It's a little different to the objectives of Earthlight that Murase told you, isn't it? Everybody in Earthlight..."

  "I know what you want to say. It seems like I'm using Earthlight for myself, but If my aims are ultimately the same as Earthlight's, does it really matter?"

  "It doesn't seem like you're an imposter."

  "I don't know. The top officials might have already noticed it and turned a blind eye. I should be here, I'm useful. More than you at least."

  Junrock lifted his hand with his usual disagreeable expression, waved goodbye, then turned and left.

  Although there were parts that Reji couldn't understand about Junrock, the fact that he was acting on his own principles and to his own strengths made Reji envious. He watched Junrock's as he faded from view.

  "That's all the shopping."

  Akari fastened the bags to the motorbike's side gauges. Reji's bike was stored in an underground capsule parking area.

  "Akari-san..., do you want to get something to eat?"

  Reji called out. The shopping was finished, and Reji had received a small stash of credits from Clare to take Akari out and show her a good time.

  Akari inclined her head to the side and answered.

  "Something to eat?"

  "Yeah. At a shop."

  "I've never eaten out before."

  Akari definitely had memories of eating meals with her family, but they were all inside the LSL.

  "But then again I sometimes confuse my memories."

  "Alright, let's go. C'mon, we'll go."

  Reji opened the capsule parking door, then pulled Akari's hand.

  The weather outside was lovely, with rows of trees lining the road, and a beautiful blue sky. Even though they were inside an enclosed town area, each building's walls reflected the sunshine, so everything was bright. Occasionally the buildings gave way to sections with direct rays of sunlight beaming down.

  'Come to think of it, this might be the first time since coming to Earthlight that I've felt sunlight like this,' Akari thought.

  Today Akari wore jeans and trainer with a logo on it. The clothes belonged to Clare. The jeans at the waist were a perfect fit, but they were baggy around the bum and too long. The bottom of the jeans were rolled up, and she had denim belt hanging from her shoulder.

  Akari thought that it would be better to be wearing something with a little more style, but overly flashy clothes didn't suit her intellectual countenance.

  "What do you want to eat?"

  "Umm..."

  Akari thought for a moment.

  "Donburi."

  "Donburi?"

  "I saw some people eating it on Video Program. It looked good."

  After walking and looking at a number of buildings, Akari
pulled at Reji's arm.

  "How about here?"

  "Seafood donburi? Sure. I don't normally get a chance to eat stuff like that."

  As they entered, an energetic voice called out to them.

  "Welcome! Two people? Thanks!"

  They sat down beside each other at a counter. The high seats were tricky to sit on.

  "Umm, I'm going to get the tuna and spring onion donburi."

  "I'll get the same."

  "OK! Thanks!"

  The shop assistant operated something behind the counter, and an image of Akari and Reji's donburi floated in front of them.

  "Please arrange it to your liking using the panel in front of you. Thanks!"

  They both compared the images and writing on each other's panels.

  "It says there are less spring onions. Are there usually more?"

  "That's the amount included in the tuna and spring onion meal. Thanks!"

  "OK. How about the oil? It says there's less here. Is there usually more?"

  "That's the amount included in the tuna and spring onion meal. Thanks!"

  "...Ahh, OK. It says there is less Umami here in this meal. What is the usual amount?"

  "Less Umami is better for your health. Thank you!"

  Akari and Reji looked at each other.

  "We'll take everything in the normal amounts."

  "Two lots of spring onions. Normal, normal normal! Thank you!"

  "Is the tuna and spring onion donburi abbreviated to 'spring onions'...?"

  "Okay, okay. It's fine. Whatever is fine."

  "Really? It's fine the way it is? I would have thought the essential of a tuna and spring onion donburi was the tuna part. Why did he omit the essential part of the meal when he abbreviated it? I don't get it."

  Reji sipped his tea with a wry smile.

  "We should have ordered the meal with more tuna, huh?"

  "But he said the thing about the oil? No, I don't want that. It's strange, though."

  "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Everyone seems to know that in this store.

  "You're always like that. Everybody uses these non-logical words so casually. And then more and more..."

  "Hey, Akari. Your donburi is here. Let's eat."

  Reji dribbled soy sauce at the juncture of the pink and white parts of the tuna, then split his wooden chopsticks to start eating. Akari kept on talking, evidently pleased with the tuna and spring onion donburi.

  Reji and Akari left the restaurant and headed for the capsule parking.

  They passed through a pathway made for pedestrians and lined with trees, then came to a crossing.

  Reji wonders what he should do after this. Clare said she didn't mind if Reji spends a day out with Akari, but Reji couldn't think of anywhere to take her. Even if he tried to ask her, he figured that she wouldn't say she wanted to go anywhere.

  Reji knew this was the time when a gentleman is supposed to show a lady to some places where the two of them could have fun, but he couldn't think of anywhere to take her.

  Just as they were crossing at an intersection, an Earthlight propaganda truck came around the corner. From the truck's megaphones, the words "Everyone throughout the world to receive earth's light" repeated in friendly tones, proclaiming that Earthlight were for the people.

  Akari looked at the truck for a moment, then her face beamed excitedly.

  "I just thought of something good to do."

  "What is it?"

  "How about broadcasting the messages from that propaganda by psy-connect? If messages are pushed directly to psy-connect users, the efficiency of the advertisement would be greatly increased, right?"

  Akari said. Reji didn't know whether or not the advertisements were more effective, since he couldn't use psy-connect. Of course, Reji wasn't the only person who couldn't use it.

  "Akari-san. It's a little hard to say, but I think the people that Earthlight are reaching out to are the people who can't use psy-connect."

  Akari cocked her head, not able to comprehend what Reji was saying.

  "Also, since we're against the special science and technology, don't you think it's weird that we'd use psy-connect?"

  Akari frowned, lost in thought.

  The propaganda truck came to a halt about fifty meters from the intersection, replayed it's recorded message, made a U-turn and came back.

  As the Reji turned his attention back to the propaganda truck, he noticed an old man with a walking-stick crossing the road. The traffic lights had long stopped flashing, and the other motorists watched on in fear.

  The propaganda truck raced onward.

  Using the security brakes, the truck came to a sudden stop a mere thirty centimeters in front of the the old man who was still only half-way across the pedestrian crossing. The driver of the truck pushed down on the horn, prompting the old man to cross.

  Seeing this, Reji suddenly ran over to the old man and pulled at his hand. He gestured to the truck driver, both hands raised. Just as the Reji and the old man neared the other side of the crossing, the propaganda truck veered around them.

  Safely across the road, Reji began to talk to the old man.

  "Are you alright?"

  "Even pedestrian crossings aren't safe anymore."

  Akari stood beside them.

  "Your legs are no good. Why don't you use tech-supports for your legs. If you did, you could walk at the same speed as everyone else."

  "What on earth is that? Tech-supports?"

  "It's a technology announced at the ASIT two years ago. They're pretty common now."

  "Ahhh, you mean that robot thing? You attach some stupid machine to your legs so you can walk?"

  "That's strange. The supports for your legs are the result of technology, both implants and out-of-body equipment. Even thought they can make you move faster on foot, they don't make any difference if you use a bicycle. To not use them seems silly."

  "What an annoying girl you are! I'm not going to rely on a machine I don't even know. And I can walk just fine. Go away."

  The old man swung his walking-stick a few times, stood up, and tottered away.

  Akari watched as the old man left, transfixed.

  Reji, of course, thought that Akari was right. The old man was being obstinate and senile. If there's something out there that can help you, you should use it. If you don't use it you might even up being a nuisance for the people around you.

  Earthlight was against the kind of bizarre technologies that only a select portion of society are able to use. Making it so everybody can happily use technology might be difficult, but Earthlight wasn't opposed to the idea. That was essentially the objective of the MoSE specialists.

  Reji remember, while thinking of the MoSE specialists.

  "Akari-san...I..."

  "Hm?"

  "There's somewhere I want to go. Do you mind tagging along?"

  The two of them went down into an underground parking area.

  Cleaning cemeteries was a very delicate job.

  The main part of the job was to clean the dirty flowers and other offerings left behind to rot. It was difficult work, sure, but there was a timing to it.

  Modern cemeteries weren't like the past where a person or family plot was erected, and a funerary urn was buried there. These days, a collection of the deceased person's DNA information and videos were stored, and people who came to visit a grave could input the ID of the deceased into a specially-made terminal. In more expensive services, the reproductive cells of the deceased were also stored. Old-style cemeteries still existed, but unless you were either rich or lived in the country, they weren't used.

  The real problems were the offerings that people left behind. The custom of leaving flowers, incense, and other favored items of the deceased in front of graves still persisted in the culture. Below the specialized terminal was a receptacle for offerings. These offerings were temporarily stored, and for the time when visitors entered the ID code, they'd delighted to see that someone had left an offering for the decea
sed.

  However, if they offerings weren't thrown away, the cemetery couldn't be hygienically maintained. Although the timing was tricky, there were specialist staff at all cemeteries employed to deal with such a disposal.

  It was for that reason that when Reji and Akari entered the cemetery, the room was perfectly clean, and there was a faint scent of incense wafting through the air.

  Beside the entrance stood a vending machine for repeatedly reading sutras on a loop. Reji stood in front of the appropriate terminal from a line-up grid and entered the ID of the deceased. A photo of Akimichi's face appeared at the top of the terminal.

  "So this is Kasuga-kun's grave."

  "Yeah."

  Reji, who wasn't carrying any flowers or incense, put his hands together. Akari soon followed.

  The A-B-A-H-S that killed Akimichi didn't receive any criticism from society. However, Reji still wanted to take revenge. Only a few days ago, Reji outwitted both the Riot Police and A-B-A-H-S and saved Akari. Next, it was time to deliver more damage. For Akimichi's sake.

  Really?

  Akimichi's death was society's loss. Sure we're all left behind, but even I die, it won't be society's loss. You know why? Because I'm not MoSE.

  Do I think it's unfair? But I entered Earthlight to spread technology with impartiality and equality, right? Is the technology unfair? Didn't I think it's unfair that I had no worth when Akimichi had it all? My real motives were to...

  "The personal DNA information amount is around 2GB."

  Akari let out.

  "The amount of data stored here is at-most only 2GB. That's the extent of a three millimeter directional recording device."

  "But even that much recorded, we should be able to regenerate his body, right?"

  "No. Even with that amount of cell restructuring...no, I should call it cell generation, it's not possible. With DNA itself stored, it's possible to revive a clone, but it's prohibited according to the Kuala Lumpur treaty. I thought I said that before."

  So I...

  "What are you storing the data for?"

  Akari took over from what Reji wanted to say.

  Akari was warmed by Reji's jacket as she clung onto him from the rear seat of the bike. Akari felt the vibration of the engine and the surrounding wind. Each time Reji moved his body, she changed the position of her arms around him. For some reason, this embarrassed Reji.