“To find aliens, time travelers and espers, and befriend them!”
The whole world’s time seems to have stopped at this moment.
That’s a bit of a ridiculous statement. The only thing in my mind was “Just as I thought.” But the other three didn’t think so.
Asahina-san was completely dumbfounded, widening her eyes and ears and stared at the cheery looking Haruhi. Nagato Yuki was the same, after turning her head towards Haruhi, she stopped as if she’d ran out of batteries. What surprised me was that Nagato’s eyes widened a little bit. For someone who doesn’t show a lot of expression, that is a surprising reaction.
As for Koizumi, he gave a somewhat enigmatic smile; it was hard to know what the smile meant. A moment later, Koizumi was the first to get back to his senses.
“Ah, I see.”
As if he understood something, he looked at Asahina-san and Nagato, and nodded in comprehension.
“As expected from Suzumiya-san.”
After making this ambiguous comment, he continued:
“No problem, I’ll join. I look forward to working with you guys.”
He smiled showing his bright, white teeth.
Hey! Did you just accept her explanation just like that? Did you really even listen?
Noticing a confused-looking me, Koizumi suddenly came and stretched his hand towards me.
“I’m Koizumi. As I just transferred today, there’s still a lot for me to learn. Nice to meet you.”
I shook the polite Koizumi’s hand.
“Sure, I’m…”
“He’s Kyon!”
Haruhi introduced me on her own accord, and then pointed to the other two: “The cute one there is Mikuru-chan, and the four-eyed one is Yuki-san.”
Crash!
A loud noise thundered. It was Asahina-san who tripped over her chair as she was trying to get up, and landed her forehead on the Othello board.
“Are you all right?”
Hearing Koizumi’s voice, Asahina-san reacted by turning her head, doll-like, and looking up at the exchange student radiantly. Hmph! That’s pretty annoying, that look.
“… I… I’m fine.” Asahina-san said in a very small tone, looking shyly at Koizumi.
“Great, now we have five members! The school won’t be able to do anything about it!”
Haruhi continued:
“Right, the SOS Brigade is open for business! Everyone, let us work together and move forward!”
What do you mean open for business, missy?
When I noticed, Nagato had already gone back to her seat reading her hardcover book. Nagato-san, Haruhi has already counted you as a member, are you sure you’re OK with that?
After Haruhi said she wanted to take Koizumi for a tour of the school and left, Asahina-san also said she had things to do at home, so only Nagato and I remained behind.
I wasn’t in the mood to play Othello, and there’s not much fun watching Nagato read, so I decided to go home as well. I picked up my bag and bid my farewell to Nagato.
“I’ll be going then!”
“Have you read the book?”
Hearing her say that, I stopped in my footsteps. Turning around, I noticed Nagato Yuki looking at me with her near expressionless eyes.
“What book? Oh, you mean the thick hardback one you lent me the other day?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I haven’t read that… Maybe I should return it to you?”
“There’s no need to.”
Nagato never minces her words, she always gets straight to the point in one short sentence.
“Remember to read it today.”
Nagato said flatly.
“As soon as you get home.”
Her voice has a tone of command to it.
Besides those required by Literature classes, I rarely touch novels, but since Nagato recommended it, it should be quite interesting.
“… All right already!”
Hearing my response, Nagato went back to reading her book.
Which is why, I found myself pedaling my bike as hard as I could in the darkness.
I returned home after saying goodbye to Nagato and went straight to my room after dinner to start reading the foreign science fiction novel she shoved to me. Just when I was getting dizzy with the sea of packed words, I decided to flip through the book wondering if I could ever finish reading this, and a bookmark fell from the book and onto the carpet.
It was a strange looking bookmark with flower patterns printed on it. I flipped it around and found a line of words written.
Seven o’clock tonight, waiting for you at the park outside the station.
The words are so neat, as though as it has been written by a word processor. This plain looking handwriting does look like Nagato’s, though I’m not certain.
I’ve had this book for days now. So is the seven o’clock written for seven o’clock that night? Or is it seven o’clock for tonight? Could it be that she felt that I would eventually find this bookmark one day and waited in the park every night? Is the reason Nagato wanted me to read the book tonight is so that I would discover this bookmark tonight? Even then, why didn’t she just tell me directly? Besides, I don’t know why she wanted to call me to the park.
I looked at my watch; the time is just past six forty-five. Even though the station is the nearest one to my school, it would take at least 20 minutes for me to ride my bike there from my place.
I thought about it for about ten seconds.
I stuck the bookmark in my jeans before dashing out of my room and down the stairs like a swift rabbit. I came to the house entrance to see my sister coming out, carrying a popsicle and asking, “Where are you going, Kyon-kun?” I answered “The station.” hopped on my bike, which was tied by the door, and rode off to my destination.
If Nagato isn’t there, I think I’m going to laugh very loud at myself.
Seems like I won’t be able to laugh.
As a careful bicycle rider, it took me till ten past seven to arrive at the park outside the station. As the park was far from the main road, there weren’t a lot of people at this time of day.
Under the noises of the trains and cars, I carried my bike and walked into the park. Under the lights of the equally spaced lamp posts ahead, I could faintly see Nagato Yuki’s slim figure sitting on one of the long park benches.
She really is the sort of person whose presence is not easily detected. Sitting so quietly in the park, if one didn’t know better she could have been mistaken as a ghost!
Nagato slowly stood up like a string puppet.
She’s still wearing her uniform.
“Are you glad I finally came?”
She nodded.
“You couldn’t have waited here every day?”
She nodded again.
“… Is it something you can’t tell me at school?”
Nagato nodded and then walked in front of me.
“This way.”
After these two words, she turned and strode forward. Her way of walking is like a ninja: no footsteps can be heard at all. I could only reluctantly follow behind Nagato, who has blended perfectly with the night.
After a few minutes of walking and watching the breeze blow her hair gently, we arrived at a apartment block very near the station.
“Right here.”
Nagato took out her pass and brushed it once against the electronic sensor at the entrance; the glass door ahead of us opened. I left my bicycle by the entrance and followed closely behind Nagato, who was already headed to the elevator. Inside the elevator, Nagato seemed to have something in mind but said nothing, only staring at the floor number board. Finally, the elevator arrived at the seventh floor.
“Excuse me, but where are we going?”
It was late, but I had to ask. Nagato, who was walking slowly along the corridor, replied:
“My home.”
I stopped at once. Wait a minute! Why is Nagato taking me to her home?
“Don’t worry, there
’s no one else inside.”
Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?
Nagato opened the door to room 708, and then turned to face me.
“Enter.”
Are you serious?
I tried to stay calm and entered with trepidation. As I took off my shoes, Nagato pushed the door shut.
I had a feeling of having just boarded a pirate ship, and I apprehensively turned around at the ominous sound of the door closing.
“Come in.”
Nagato said that flatly and took off her shoes as well. If the apartment had been dark, I could still have escaped. Alas, it was brightly illuminated, making the wide apartment look even wider.
I guess this must be one of those posh condominiums. To be so near the station, the price had to be very expensive.
But why does it look as if no one has lived in here?
Besides the living room, which had a small table with a warm blanket, there was nothing else. There were no curtains on the windows, and no carpet laid over the ten tatami-sized wooden floor tiles.
“Sit down.”
Nagato said before entering the kitchen, so I knelt down beside the living room table.
The reasons a girl might have to invite a boy home while her parents were away from the house were going through my head, when Nagato, moving like a mechanical puppet, placed a tray with a small teapot and teacups on the table and sat down demurely in her school uniform, across from me.
After that, the unbearable silence.
She didn’t even pour tea for me, just sat there looking at me expressionlessly. Seeing this, I felt more and more uneasy.
“Erm… where’s your family?”
“There isn’t any.”
“Well, I see they’re not at home… have they gone out?”
“I’ve always been the only one here since the beginning.”
This is the first time I heard Nagato use such a long sentence.
“You can’t be living on your own, can you?”
“Yes.”
Wow, a first year high school girl living alone in a high class apartment! There must be some special reason for this, right? I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that I didn’t have to meet Nagato’s parents. Wait a moment! This is not the time to be relieved!
“Oh right, what is it you want to see me for?”
As if remembering something, Nagato began pouring the tea into a cup and pushed it over to me.
“Drink.”
I obligingly started drinking the cup of tea. All this time, Nagato watched me like observing a giraffe in a zoo, so I couldn’t concentrate on drinking.
“Is it good?”
“Is it good?”
This is the first time I hear her ask a question.
“Yeah…”
After I finished, I placed the cup on the table, and Nagato refilled it instantly for me. Since she’s refilled it, I might as well drink that. Once I completed, she refilled a third cup for me. Finally, the tea pot is empty. Nagato stood up about to refill the teapot. I stopped her at once.
“There’s no need to refill tea for me anymore, can you please tell me why you brought me here?”
After I said that, Nagato stopped what she was doing and went back to her sitting position like a video rewinding itself. She still said nothing.
“What is it that can’t be said at school?” I asked probingly.
Finally, Nagato moved her thin lips.
“It’s about Suzumiya Haruhi.”
She straightened her back and sat elegantly.
“And myself.”
She paused for a while.
I really don’t understand her speaking style.
“What is it about Suzumiya and you?”
At this moment, Nagato showed a look of discomfort. This is the first time I’ve seen her show such an expression ever since I’ve met her. However, this emotional upheaval of hers is very minuscule; one has to be very observant in order to even notice.
“I cannot completely convey this in words, and there may be errors in the transmission of data. Regardless, listen.”
“Suzumiya Haruhi and I are not ordinary humans.”
Such an ambiguous sentence so early on in the conversation.
“Well, I more or less realized that already.”
“That’s not it.”
Nagato continued, glancing at her hands lying on her lap.
“I do not mean that in terms of deviations of personality, I mean what I said. She and I are not ordinary human beings like you.”
I don’t get what she’s trying to say.
7 On one of the official SH wallpapers, the term is translated as information integration thought body.
“The Integrated Data Sentient Entity[7], which oversees this galaxy, has created a Living Humanoid Interface in order to interact with biological entities - me.”
“…”
“My work is to observe Suzumiya Haruhi and upload the data obtained to the Integrated Data Sentient Entity.”
“…”
“I have been doing this since I was born three years ago. In the last three years, no particularly unusual elements were discovered, and things were very stable. However, recently an external factor has now appeared beside Suzumiya Haruhi that cannot be ignored.”
“…”
“And that is you.”
What is the Integrated Data Sentient Entity?
In the vast sea of data known as the universe, there exist many highly sentient data entities that possess no corporeal bodies.
These entities started out in the form of pure data. As all sorts of data gathered together, they became sentient, and finally they evolved by collecting other data.
As they exist only as data and have no corporeal bodies, they cannot be detected even with the most advanced optical devices.
As old as the universe itself, they expanded along with it, and the relative database became ever wider and larger.
Ever since the formation of this planet, sorry, it should be since the formation of this solar system, nothing in this universe is unknown to them. For them, this planet at the edge of the Milky Way is nothing special, because there are numerous planets in the galaxy with sentient organic lifeforms like this one, so numerous that they cannot be counted.
However, as the bipedal lifeform’s evolution on the third planet of this solar system became a success, these lifeforms gradually acquired the mental ability to actively seek knowledge. This organic lifeform living on the planet known as Earth started to become important.
“For a long time, we have always believed it impossible for organic lifeforms, who have limited data collection and transmission ability, to be able to acquire knowledge,” Nagato Yuki said in a serious tone.
“The Integrated Data Entity is very interested in all forms of organic lifeforms on Earth. It believes that by observation, it can find the solution to its own evolutionary dead end.”
Unlike the data entities, who have existed since the beginning in their completed form, humans started off as incomplete organic lifeforms, rapidly evolving by expanding the data that they possessed and using this data, which is saved and enhanced, to further advance themselves.
It is normal for organic lifeforms all over the universe to become sentient, but only the humans on Earth have evolved continuously to a highly sentient level. The Integrated Data Entity was very intrigued by this, and decided to observe these humans further.
“Three years ago, we discovered a very abnormal data hotspot unlike other humans appearing on the surface of this planet. The information sparks emitted from a certain area in the bow-shaped archipelago instantly covered the whole planet and started to spread towards outer space. And the center of all that is Suzumiya Haruhi.”
“We do not know why that happened, nor do we know what effects it would have. Even the data entities are unable to fully process the new data being created.”
“More importantly, humans are limited in the amount of data that
they can process, yet Suzumiya Haruhi was able to create a flare of data on her own.”
“The release of massive amounts of data from Suzumiya Haruhi continues to happen, at completely random intervals. Furthermore, Suzumiya Haruhi seems unaware of all this herself.”
“For three years, I have gone through all sorts of investigations on the individual known as Suzumiya Haruhi from all perspectives, but up to now I was still unable to discover her true identity. Concurrently, other parts of the Integrated Data Entity have determined that she is the key to the evolution of the data entities and have continued their analysis of Suzumiya Haruhi…”
“As they exist only as entities, they are incapable of speech and are thus unable to interact with organic lifeforms. But without speech, contact with humans would be impossible, hence the Integrated Data Entity has created me to act as the communication bridge between them and humans.”
Finally, Nagato picked up her cup and sipped her tea. She has probably said a year’s worth of words for her.
“…”
I don’t know how to respond.
“The potential for self-induced evolution may lie within Suzumiya Haruhi; she may even hold the ability to control all the data around her. This is why I am here, and that is also why you are here.”
My brain is getting so confused, I interrupted:
“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what on earth you are talking about.”
“Please believe me.”
Nagato looked at me with a serious expression that I’d never seen before.
“There is a very limited amount of data that can be conveyed through speech. I am just a terminal interface for the data, living as an organic alien in order to interact with humans. I am unable to convey all the thoughts of the Integrated Data Entity to you, so please understand.”
Even if you say that, I still don’t get it!
“I don’t understand, why look to me? Let’s say I believe you are an alien created by that whatever-you-call-it entity, but why are you telling me this?”
“Because you have been specifically chosen by Suzumiya Haruhi. Whether she intends to or not, as an Absolute Data Entity, she can influence the environment around her based on her thoughts alone. There must be some reason why you have been chosen.”
Volume 1 - The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Page 7
