Living with Memory of Steel (Part 1)

by Masahiko Kimoto

  Living with Memory of Steel

  (Part1)

  Written by Masahiko Kimoto.

  Copyright © 2010-2016 by Masahiko Kimoto.

  All rights reserved.

  Translation: Hiroko Tokunaga and Masahiko Kimoto.

  Cover Design: Kouhou@Design.

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to actual people, places or events are used in a fictionalized setting. Other names, places, characters and events are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual people, places or events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  About author

  Introduction

  Researchers and engineers spend incredible amount of their energy for the improvement of science technology. They can sometimes go blind, really blind.

  Describing about psy-connect (Psychological Connect to the Net), the situation is same. The same can be said for psy-connect. The first generation of psy-connect was only slightly better than Virtual Reality, but it has improved to second and third generation. Currently researchers have been working on study of fourth generation psy-connect technology. Even the second generation technology seems special to most people, how they could know what they are up to now.

  To be more precise, challenge for 4th-G psy-connect was way before the commercial stage or rather the research itself barely started.

  Everything started unexpectedly. Researchers have drowned themselves in recreating the phenomenon.

  The incident happened when the psy-connect of 3rd-G was being tested at Shanghai network research center. Only 0.01 percent of the population has 3rd-G psy-connect ability. This is why research was active in China which has a large population. Chinese government did all it could to look for people with 2Ni-G or 3rd-G psy-connect ability.

  There were lines in front of the research center to take the test. People who failed went back to their normal lives, and people with the second generation ability started looking for a new more appropriate occupation for them. People who have the third generation ability got isolated.

  Government official examiners kept on sorting people every day. The endless line of people was making them sick and bored. They failed most of the test takers. The process was monotone and finding the ones with special ability was like finding gold in flowing rivers. However it was a lucky day. A person passed 2Ne-G test. She was taken to a separated room to sit the test for 3rd-G ability. It was almost unbelievable that the girl also had the 3rd-G.

  The 23 years old lady, called Furey Ryu was attached to the psy-connect device on a simple bed in special test room. Her mind was detected in the information network. People with 3rd-G ability can release their mind into the networks, so called cyberspace, and wander around the nodes. The test examiner guided her consciousness to the computer in the next room and shutdown the line between the rooms. Her consciousness traveled there. That was it. She definitely had 3rd-G ability!

  "I'm going to ask you several questions."

  "Yes, Sir."

  "Tell me your name and your age."

  "My name is Furey Ryu, I'm a 23 year-old girl."

  "Where are you from?"

  "Jianli, in Hubei."

  "Do you have any family?"

  "Parents and grandma. I also have a brother. My parents wanted a boy. That's why I have a little brother."

  "We don't need any extra information."

  "Sorry, Sir. It just popped into my head."

  "Popped? What image came to your head?"

  "I remembered the time when my brother was born. My dad is old-fashioned, so he didn't really believe in genes screening. He wasn't convinced when they had told him that it was definitely a boy. It was when the boy came when he first showed burst of happiness. I vaguely remembered him jumping around with joy at the hall in the hospital near my house."

  This examination doesn't succeeded.

  The 3rd-G psy-connect let just surface of consciousness wander into networks, but only the superficial memory can come with the consciousness. The vast memory that a brain has cannot get separated from the body. There is no way that childhood memory comes to their minds. That means the line between the rooms wasn't cut correctly.

  The examiner asked the lady to let her mind go back to the body, and stopped the computer. He walked into the test room and checked her condition.

  The lady was dead.

  A doctor immediately came to check the medical monitor which was attached with psy-connect device.

  "She had a heart attack. It must have happened straight after she entered to psy-connect."

  The examiner didn't know what to do. If she died soon after she tried psy-connect, it was impossible to explain how she happened to remember the childhood memory. This case could be discarded as if nothing had happened.

  There are millions of people taking test every day. No one would care if one person went missing. However, since a bunch of people come every day, if he doesn't report any unusual situations, he could be suspected whether he was slacking off.

  The guy decided to report what exactly happened.

  This incident was recognized as a case situation not as an accident. Researchers in China immediately took notice and insisted to reveal this to the public.

  Naturally the Chinese government dealt with this case as a confidential matter and planned to proceed the domestic research. Researchers who work for the government also engage in the negotiation. This incident was eventually presented at an international conference. If the manifestation of this ability which is beyond the third generation appears probabilistically, China has a definite advantage of the gigantic population. If that's the case, it's more efficient to pick the brain of the world for the research foundation. That was what the government was thinking.

  After the international conference, the reproduction test of the fourth generation psy-connect --- which is an ability to dive into the network with full personality and memory --- started all over the world.

  *****

  Dr. Akari Nakazato is walking down a hall with her terminal-panel under her arm as her white robe flaps. The hall of the new international integrated communication organization is made of cream-colored nature friendly material. Recently bidding conditions have become more difficult. Environmental consideration is a large advantage. It should be durable, but also easy to demolish. This fourteen storied building is made from plastic which can be broken down by particular bacteria. The bacteria can live only for a week or so. There is no need to worry about them growing their numbers as stray bacteria. None of the staff know what would happen when the bacteria come into a human body during the week. Either way, it's not a big deal.

  The plastic floor is hard, but gives footsteps that are not cold. Nakazato likes the sound of footsteps on the floor when she walks into the research room of this building. The rhythmic footsteps give her boost when she is heading for her room and walking to a meeting room.

  Her straight hair is tied up with a black silicon band, and her clothes are mass-produced products. However, she's bought seven pairs of shoes for the last 6 months. They give different sounds of footsteps. She changes her shoes depending on the mood to change the sound of footsteps and her mood. These subtle changes somehow make her happy.

  "Um, hey."

  She turns around to find a colleague in a white gown, Dr. Toshihiro Sekiba.

  "How are you doing? Akari Nakazato."

  "Stop calling me by my full name. Are you here alone? Where's Sannomiya-
kun?"

  "Ha! Do you want to know his whereabouts? You're such a GIRL."

  "Stop it."

  "It's okay to act like a girl. Sannomiya is still at LSL (Life Science Laboratory). He seems to be stuck in the lab-room."

  "Okay."

  Nakazato starts walking off, and Sekiba follows slowly after her.

  "It's sad that the love of your life isn't here, hey, girl."

  "Stop it."

  "Ha! That's okay. It's normal to feel that way. An experiment of the century is going to happen soon, and you're playing the leading role. There's nothing strange about getting nervous and needing someone to support you."

  "I'm not that kind of woman."

  "You don't have to say such an out-fashioned line, don't you think? You can lean on my shoulder, if you'd like."

  "That's a great idea. Thank you so much, so much"

  Nakazato emphasizes the last word on purpose. Sekiba lifts his eyebrows a little and keep on walking with his hands in his pockets. The sounds of their footsteps on the hall are not quite matching.

  Nakazato, Sekiba and Sannomiya are not exactly coworkers. The three of them have graduated from the same graduate school, but they've joined different companies. Nakazato is working on psy-connect at InITeO (International Integrated Telecommunication Organization). Sekiba studies cybernetics at alternative human formed machine research center. Sannomiya works on genetic screening at LSL (life science Laboratory). These three organizations happen to be located next to each other. Three of them have kept in touch like the schooldays. The relationship between Nakazato and Sannomiya has been changing, but the friendship of three has stayed the same.

  It's sunny. Even though the room doesn't get direct sunshine, the reflected sunlight against the wall casts light on the hall. There is an old-fashioned fanfare.

  "What was that?"

  "Hm? Ah, some kind of political organization is here. There are several cars around the central and the back gates. Do you remember the news a couple of days ago? It was saying that an anti-monopoly organization of scientific technology had been inaugurated."

  "...It was called Earth something."

  "Yes, that's it. It seems like our research center is their first target."

  "That's stupid."

  "Ha! Definitely."

  Nakazato opens the door of the laboratory.

  This room has been altered based on the normal lab for psy-connect.

  There is a large bed, called Cradle, in the middle of the room, and there are ceiling-height racks and desks are arranged alternately. The top parts of the racks are connected to the ceiling with pipes to release heat and noise to the above, which makes the room quite quiet.

  When they enter the room, there are five assistants in white coats already. One of them finds Nakazato and walks toward her to report the current status. Sekiba takes several steps back and lean against the wall next to the door, watching the researchers work. He's just a visitor here. There is nothing he can help with the work outside his research field.

  --- Anyway,

  Sekiba wonders why they are all wearing white coats even though their profession is information science, fiddling with computers. However, the question immediately gets resolved. Sekiba himself wears a white coat. There are various excuses such as not making their private clothes dirty, but it all comes down to pride. As police officers brace themselves by wearing their uniforms, uniforms can provide a certain mindset. He puts on a white coats as an uniform to build his pride in his job that can advance the world.

  Nakazato gives instructions to her assistant one after another. Her back is always straight and her stare is rather intense, which hasn't changed since the schooldays. She is nowhere near as fashionable, but somehow she seems appealing.

  The door opens on the left side and another person in a white robe comes in. That's Dr. Sannomiya.

  "Still preparing stuff?"

  He talks to Sekiba in a small voice. Sekiba nods.

  Sound of a fan echoes in the room. One of the assistant is sticking his head into the computer rack. After fiddling with cables, he closes the door. The room becomes silent again. He realizes that he attracted attention and bows with a feeling of embarrassment.

  Nakazato was going to get back to work, but notices Sannomiya standing next to the door and waves a little. Sannomiya waves back. Sekiba also waves his hand. Nakazato ignores Sekiba and starts working again.

  "Come on. Now the time to dive! Are you ready?"

  Nakazato puts an adaptor for psy-connect to the head and sits on Cradle. She isn't only a leader of this experiment, but also a subject.

  "Nakazato!"

  Sekiba calls out.

  "What?"

  "Aren't you supposed to be naked in an experiment like this?"

  "Sannomiya-kun, can you please take Sekiba-kun out of this room?"

  The two of them laugh and move from the wall to in front of the large screen. Nakazato lies down on the Cradle and encourages her assistants to start.

  The assistant in front of the panel operates the device. It shows that the brainwave of Nakazato has slowly calmed down. Psy-connect starts. Sekiba glances at his watch. It says 2:13 pm.

  "I've moved to the third generation."

  "Hello, Nakazato. How are you doing?"

  The voice comes from the speaker, which is attached to the wall.

  "This must be Sekiba-kun. I'm doing great as per usual."

  "We have no idea what it feels like to be in the third generation."

  "It feels like swimming. This isn't quite accurate, but I don't know what else I can describe this feeling. It's not like wading in water, I'd say it's more like your mind is the only thing that is being active."

  "How about our voice? Do you recognize the voice?"

  "This must be Sannomiya-kun. This isn't the same as voice recognition. After converting A/D, my consciousness proceeds voice as a language. That's why I can recognize the voice by checking with my memory."

  "But, the memory is quite superficial, right?"

  "Yeah. For instance, I can't really tell the voice of someone who I haven't heard in 10 years. Also I don't think I can recognize the music that I haven't listened to in 10 years for the same reason. That's why I'm doing this experiment."

  "We'll start the scan for the fourth generation."

  The operator assistants budges in.

  Psy-connect is an advanced technology of what is called, fMRI. It is more precise, and the device itself is smaller and simpler. What more important is that the result of a long history investigation has revealed what images that can be seen from scanning mean. Also, a descendant of TMS device is used for the write-back, which gives magnetic stimulation to parts of the brain. The latest psy-connect adaptor enables to conduct this process. More than 10 times as much precise device than a conventional one is used in this experiment.

  The brain of Nakazato is being scanned. The cranial nerves react to the fine electromagnetic waves, and every movement is sucked into a gigantic storage pipe.

  "...This feels strange. The third generation feels like a thin surface skin is peeled off and me in the thin skin is drafting in the network while looking at my body getting sucked into. Is this my main body? Is this what makes of me? ... If that's the case what is this, which makes my thinking here? ... This is fake, and the real me is ... my body?"

  Suddenly an alarms goes off.

  There are a number of pop-ups on the screen.

  "What's going on?"

  Sekiba asks the operator.

  "This is disaster emergency... No, it's not. The signal type shows security alert. The security guards seem to have set it off. This is... Earth light. The noisy crowd around in front of the gate must have got inside."

  "God. What the heck are they doing? But, they are just security guards. They can't really do anything."

  "It seems like the intruders are armed."

  "In this country? Maybe we should cancel the experiment."

  "Hold on. I'll go ch
eck the outside."

  The consciousness of Nakazato reaches out to the building network. She collects all the information inside the building though the security system. It turns out that half of the censors on the first floor are dead and the rest of the sensors shows the intruders destroying facilities inside the building. More sensors and the network system have been disabled as the time goes on.

  "Everyone, it seems like we should get ready for evacuation."

  "Hey, we should cancel the experiment!"

  As Sekiba urges the assistants, a deep vibration echoes inside the room. After several seconds of silence, they hear the sound of breaking through the windows and the walls coming further down the hall repetitively. On the count of three, two, one, the door of the lab gets broken down, and a cylindrical object is thrown inside. The footsteps are disappearing.

  When one of the assistants approach the cylinder, gray fluid, which is not quite dust or smoke bursts out. The worst possibility comes to Sekiba's mind. It might be a bacteria weapon that melts plastic.

  "Get away from it!"

  The walls, the ceiling and the floor are changing their colors.

  "Nakazato! Hey, Nakazato!"

  Sekiba yells at the screen.

  "...what...what is happening to my body..."

  "Nakazato! Are you conscious? How's your body?"

  Sannomiya runs to Cradle and checks the body of Nakazato. The pulse rate seems normal, but she is still in the state of psy-connect. He can't take off the adapter.

  The sound of crumbling down the walls is approaching from further down.

  The worst case scenario crosses Sekiba's mind. He grabs a confused looking assistant.

  "Don!Gt stop the fourth generation! Let it keep on reading! Disperse it as much as possible and store it."

  The room vibrates a little and the rack on the wall tilts.

  The rack starts to fall on Cradle. Sannomiya covers Cradle to protect Nakazato.

  The floor around Sekiba's feet falls away. He loses his balance and snap his back against the wall. As the wall tears down, Sekiba loses his consciousness.