Chapter 2: High Level AI Ageha

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

I was on the third underground level of the Hakone base, in the office of the chief of the Special Media Entertainment Department, sitting at my desk with my head in my hands.

I looked up and saw the various project managers sitting behind their partitions, making arrangements and generally looking busy.

“How did it come to this...?” I mumbled to myself as I drank my cold coffee.

Clare carried over a large pile of electronic memory chips and placed them on the desk in front of me. Even now, she was serving as my personal adjutant.

“Chief, tomorrow’s animation broadcast and the commercials to be broadcast alongside it have arrived from Noa Island,” Clare told me with a happy smile. “Would you be able to give them a final check?”

I’m glad Clare’s here, but doesn’t she have other things to do?! Clare is part of the PMC department. This is hardly her field of expertise. Then again, I’m busy enough as it is. Without her to coordinate each of our teams, this workload would kill me.

Once I’d sold the paintings Baldy and I had made, and determined that my plan could work, I’d proposed a culture creation project that my mom had swiftly put into action. She’d immediately sent the necessary personnel and equipment to Noa Island, created the cosmetics commercial within just two days Earth-time, and then gotten our satellite broadcasting going before I knew it.

For reasons related to the broadcasting rights, our broadcasts didn’t start until 7 PM, but we’d acquired rights to broadcast all five types of commercial repeatedly during commercial breaks on various TV channels. As a result, Noa’s products had sold out in cosmetics stores around the world.

Mom must have been pleased. Soon after that, she established a special purpose facility on Noa Island so that movies could be recorded and produced at a faster pace. It was now only five days after the broadcast of the initial commercials, but the anime would be broadcasting on satellite channel number 452, “Noa Channel,” tomorrow.

Clare and the rest of the personnel of Noa were so talented, it scared me.

“It’s only been a week since I made that painting,” I commented. “It’s amazing how we’ve gotten everything done in time.”

“Yes, but we did have every member of Noa doing all they could to back us up while we got the new department established,” Clare told me. “Please remember that we won’t be able to produce everything at this speed in the future. As for Magical Girl Alice airing tomorrow, Alice is playing the protagonist and Aikawa is playing the antagonist, as you wished. They haven’t finished recording the final episode yet, so it should be another two days before they’ll return to Hakone, allowing for sightseeing time in G-88.”

“I see.”

Maybe it’s asking too much to have a new line of business up and running within just one week. I’ll make sure there are at least two weeks of production time for the team to complete episodes in the future. I need to think about Alice and Megumi, too. They were keen to help with the anime production, but we should probably be paying them for the work. Mom probably dealt with that, but I’d better email her later just to check. Next, there are the VR games and movies that I asked Macho Man and his team to deal with. I wonder how that’s going.

“Clare, how well are my dad and the others doing with the VR works?” I asked.

“First of all, please be aware that the adult-oriented content you’ve proposed has been divided into male-oriented and female-oriented categories and development has been assigned to two separate teams. This is due to a directive issued by Miki.”

“Ah. I thought that might happen. I can’t exactly get involved in that kind of project. But what about the horror game? I’ve got high hopes for that.”

“Out of the 46 members of Noa’s PMC personnel that took part in the beta test... 15 suffered a loss of consciousness. Of those 15, three developed nyctophobia.”

“It knocked them out? Was that some kind of technical fault? I thought that Mom had made sure the beta test equipment was safe to use.”

“Sorry... I should have said it more clearly,” Clare said. “Out of 46 personnel, 15 passed out from fear. Of those, three developed a fear of going to the bathroom at night.”

Huhhh?! These are former members of a UN special forces unit. They’re fainting in fear? I realize that the VR device is different from a TV screen because it feeds sensory data directly into the brain, but... being scared to go to the bathroom? They sound like children. The beta test map was supposed to be fun. All they had to do was solve the mystery and escape from the big hospital in the mountains. Why would they pass out? I stayed up all night coming up with puzzles and ways to surprise the player, but it looks like I wasted my time.

“Did anyone actually solve the mystery and escape? Did anyone clear the game?”

“I’m the only one who escaped,” said Clare. “Forgive me for being so blunt, but the game makes no sense! The way it starts out is fine, but around halfway, when you encounter the nurse with the broken leg in the west ward, that part was unfair!! Most of the testers gave up when she chased after them in the wheelchair without saying anything. And please make it so the ghosts of doctors don’t suddenly get closer when the lights flicker while fetching the key in the underground corridor! And then there’s the part where you have to put the final medical record back in the right place. How are you supposed to figure out where it goes? It took me so many attempts!”

“I know it’s not perfect, but you must have enjoyed it if you played it to the end,” I said. “I’ll see if I can add some new features to help out the player. Maybe settings to adjust the difficulty or make the visuals less intense.”

The important thing is that Clare had fun playing the game. But I should have guessed that the difficulty would be too high for people in this world because they’ve never played video games before. I thought keeping the number of save points low would make it more realistic, but I’m going to have to adjust those along with the enemy spawn locations to make it easier. The next thing I need to deal with is...

“Where did Baldy disappear to?” I muttered.

That bald idiot is supposed to be here helping me and Shingo, I fumed. Why would he disappear when we’re so busy? If Noa really is counting on him to protect children who aren’t combat trained, then shouldn’t he be with us at all times? At the very least, he should be here to rescue me from all this paperwork.

“Shingo, Clare,” I spoke up. “Do you know where Baldy has gone?”

“Buh hee? I haven’t seen him at all today.”

“I haven’t seen him at all, either,” Clare said. “I don’t think he’s around today. In fact, I can’t remember when I last saw him.”

Disappearing without a trace might be one of his special skills, but unless he had to assassinate one of Noa’s managers, now’s hardly the time. I was exasperated. I don’t have a choice. I really didn’t want to do it, especially not with Clare around, but it’s the only way to find him and put him to work. If I don’t do something now, there’s going to be blood on my hands.

“Shingo! Activate Butterfly. Finding that damn lolicon is our top priority!”

“K-Kouki, wait! Clare is here!”

“We don’t have time to mess around. The media department staff members are going to die from overwork.”

Shingo looked around at the personnel of the media department who sat all around us, looking at their work with empty eyes. He knew I was right. Shingo connected his terminal to the server on his desk, and in that instant, a great number of windows opened up on the display in the center of the room. The windows were repeatedly appearing and then closing as the search for Baldy began.

“Mwahah. There’s no escape from the technological might of Noa, bald man!” I exclaimed.

“Kouki, what’s happening?” Clare asked. “It almost looks as though you’ve got access to positioning data for all key members of Noa.”

There’s no fooling Clare. She is a data analysis specialist, after all. Clare was exactly right. Butterfly was currently determining the locations of Noa’s key members and high-ranking personnel in real-time. But that wasn’t the half of it. If I tell her what else it can do, she’ll either tell my mom to order us to stop using it, or she’ll set up some kind of countermeasure. I’d better not mention it. I’d hate to lose Butterfly.

“That’s right,” I said. “Butterfly is currently determining the locations of Noa’s key members, including my mom and dad, in real-time.”

“Kouki! Do you know how dangerous this butterfly program could be?! If this fell into enemy hands...”

“Don’t worry about that. No one besides my mom would be able to take control of this software. Even Mom might struggle.”

“Buh hee, that’s right,” Shingo assured her. “No one but Miki. Even if you had the full power of the new large-scale terminal on Noa Island, the terminal would just get eaten by Butterfly.”

Clare was wide-eyed in surprise.

It might be an exaggeration to say that Mom would struggle, but I’m sure Butterfly could put up a fight against her for three days.

Shingo and I looked at each other and smiled. Clare knitted her brow and tried to terminate the program using her own terminal. I could tell that she was locked out of the server the moment she attempted to access it. That just made her more determined, and she continued trying to get access, but after four attempts, there was a morpho butterfly shown on her terminal screen.

Looks like her terminal got eaten. She’ll see why it’s impossible to fight against this program in just a moment.

**

Clare’s Point of View

I stared in disbelief at the image of a blue butterfly that had appeared on my terminal screen. Though it didn’t contain anything as important as the top-secret intelligence documents that Elise handled for Miki, my terminal had been specially designed to handle important information, and hijacking it wasn’t an easy task. Despite that, I’d only been able to make four attempts to access the server before my terminal was rendered useless.

I didn’t even understand what had happened to it. It wasn’t generally possible to hack a terminal so quickly, and all of the data stored on the terminal appeared to have been eaten.

I turned to Kouki and asked him, “When you said that things get ‘eaten,’ is this what you meant?”

“That’s right,” he grinned. “But you’re on Butterfly’s list, so the data that was eaten will be returned to you afterwards. Butterfly has shut you down temporarily because you got in its way.”

“I give up,” I said. “Which one of you made this program? Was it you, Kouki? Or Shingo?”

Given the way he was bragging about it, I suspected that Kouki had made the program himself, but I wanted to be sure who was responsible before reporting the program to Miki.

“No, we didn’t make it,” Kouki replied. “Do you remember Chabane?”

“You mean the perfect standalone AI?”

“That’s the one. Butterfly was made by Chabane.”

“But...”

An AI made by an AI? That’s not possible. It doesn’t matter how advanced Chabane was. Inventing something new is far beyond the capabilities of an artificial intelligence.

I was still speechless when Shingo took over Kouki’s explanation.

“Chabane went out into space before he could finish it, so he left it incomplete. But Chabane left behind a record of improvements he’d made to himself. Kouki and I used that record to improve Butterfly. As a result, we completed a new AI named Ageha. You could say that she’s Chabane’s daughter.”

“Kouki! Shingo!” The door to the office was violently thrown open as Miki entered the room. “Are the boys here? Stop hacking into the main terminal!”

It’s no use, Miki, I sighed. There’s no way for them to stop it now.

Miki looked so angry that I was worried about the blood vessels in her temples, but all I could do was quietly shake my head.

Yelling at us must have helped Miki calm down. Butterfly was analyzing data at a rate beyond human capability, and curiosity had overcome her anger.

“What’s happening?” Miki asked emotionlessly.

Before I could respond, we heard a ridiculous chiming sound effect, and a fairy, similar to those we saw in the world of G-88, appeared on the main display.

“Position data acquired. Target is currently located in Moscow, Russia. Would you like me to relay the video feed from a nearby surveillance camera?”

The girl on the screen was wearing a blue dress and had butterfly wings that moved gracefully. She made her announcement with a smile, and looked nothing short of a goddess.

“Thank you, Ageha,” Kouki said. “Now that we know where he is, you can leave the rest to us. Could you give us back control?”

“Very well. Please call on me again when you’re next in need of my assistance.”

After thanking Kouki, she bowed politely and then disappeared. The alert messages displayed on each terminal screen immediately disappeared and Noa was back in control. My own terminal screen was displaying a message that said, “Your data is now in order.” All my data seemed to have reappeared.

“This software looks useful, Kou...” Miki said.

“I don’t mind giving you access rights, but this is a Chabane-type AI, so don’t forget that she has feelings. Don’t be mean to her.”

Any conversation between these two is beyond me, but I wonder if Miki really understands what Kouki just said. More importantly, I wonder why Baldy— why Anton is in Russia.

I held back a sigh while looking at the detailed positioning data. It more or less confirmed that Anton had run from his duties. He appeared to be moving through Moscow, but I couldn’t imagine where he was going.

Hoping that Miki would know what to do, I cleared my throat and looked in her direction. “He still has a Noa terminal with him. How about we turn on the microphone, Clare? We can activate it using our authorization codes.”

I’m sure we’ll have no problem activating his terminal’s microphone with our authorization codes, but then again, do we really want to do that with children present? I wondered. If things get messy for someone in his line of work, that might not be something we want to expose the boys to. We could end up listening in to one of his targets screaming in agony.

“Don’t worry,” Miki told me, as if she’d read my mind. “Even he knows where to draw the line. And these children are somewhat responsible for his actions because they rank above him. I think this could be a good learning experience for them.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Kouki and Shingo had to understand their own responsibilities. Still, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

I thought about Anton’s personal history as I keyed in the authorization code using my terminal. He wasn’t the type of person to act on his own. You might say that he was obedient, or maybe he just lacked initiative. It was strange for that sort of person to disappear without telling Kouki or anyone else.

“Authorization granted,” I told Miki. “We’re now receiving audio.”

I began to feel anxious as we listened to the noisy signal picked up by the microphone. We could hear the hustle and bustle of a city street together with the sound of Anton’s footsteps. He was walking at a constant pace as if he knew exactly where he was headed, but then he appeared to suddenly stop.

The way he’s walking... I thought slowly.

“Is he making sure no one follows him?” Shingo asked me in surprise.

I nodded in agreement and considered asking whether we should stop listening, but then Miki began loudly speaking to all personnel in the media department.

“Everyone, initiate B-class security protocols. I order all media department personnel to remain in their quarters on standby for the next 48 hours. Please act swiftly in accordance with the procedure in your operating manuals.”

B-class?! Does she think some of our people might have turned against us?! I was too shocked to even say anything. There’s no way that Anton would ever turn traitor!

“I don’t doubt his loyalty,” Miki continued. “But Anton knows everything about how these boys are being protected. However small the danger might be, I don’t want to take the risk. Contact Shuuichi and instruct him to dispatch all soldiers on Noa Island to the Hakone base. I’ll give further instructions from the command center on the lowest level of the base. I’ll take Kouki and Shingo there with me.”

“Understood.”

The moment I responded, Miki turned and headed for the exit. I saw Kouki and Shingo hurry after her as I began inputting data into my terminal.

As I began selecting a security team and the types of weapons they’d use, I came to fully understand the meaning of Ageha’s message about my data being “in order.”

My data had been rearranged with such a maddening level of precision that it might actually have been an improvement over how I’d arranged it myself.

**

Miki Arakawa’s Point of View

The command center on the lowest level of the Hakone base was located 1,500 meters underground. There was only one entrance to the base, and that was protected by three-meters-thick blast doors made of a special-purpose metal. Even if all functions of the Hakone base were to fail, we could still survive in here for half a year. And deep inside the base, there was the gate that connected to G-88. You could call this base our last bastion.

“The entrance to the base has been completely sealed from inside,” an operator in the command center informed me. “It can only be operated by manual commands input from the command center.”

“Very good.” I nodded curtly.

I listened to the other operators as they gave me their reports, and re-entered the authorization code into the main terminal so that I could resume receiving audio from Anton. This time we were using a reconnaissance satellite belonging to Noa. That would allow us to know more about the target location.

“Don’t forget. Our target is Anton Bortkiewicz, a former member of a special operations unit attached to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s intelligence agency. The man is a true professional who I’ve trusted with the safety of my child. If we’re careless, we’ll lose him.”

This seemed to put the personnel in the command center on edge. The speed of their movements increased as they worked their terminals.

It’s about time I told Kouki and Shingo about Anton’s responsibilities, I decided.

I turned around to face the area where the two of them were sitting around, and saw that they were helping themselves to coffee from the coffee machine while laughing about something.

“Buh hee. Didn’t I tell you? I knew that Baldy— I forgot his real name...”

“Anton Bortkiewicz.”

“Right! I knew that Anton was a counter agent.”

“All of your guesses about him were on target,” Kouki grinned. “But do you really believe somebody like him would betray us? I know he has a bit of a thing for little girls, but—”

“Shh! Kouki! Keep your voice down.”

It looks like the boys have reached their own conclusions, but did I just hear that correctly? Anton likes little girls? I’ve made sure that the security personnel dealing directly with Alice and Aikawa are all female, so maybe I don’t have to be too worried... Come to think of it, I do remember him looking at some of the smaller female officers a little strangely.

“Satellite ready,” an operator informed me. “The satellite is able to observe the target area for two hours as it passes overhead. Additionally, we have temporary access to a spy satellite belonging to the United Nations. This will allow us to observe the area for a total of five hours.”

“What?! Oh. Th-Thank you, that’s great. Please express my gratitude to the UN for their cooperation.”

I got a little sidetracked there. I’ll have to look into his interest in little girls later. Right now, I need to know why he’s in Russia. The most likely explanation is that he entered the country to obtain information from a source himself. But that’s something he’s done many times before, and he’s always informed us of his intentions beforehand. The next most likely explanation is that he obtained information about a plot to assassinate Kouki, and now he’s dealing with the matter personally.

“Though that doesn’t seem too likely, either...” I murmured.

Judging by the satellite image, he’s not particularly well-armed. There’s also no way he could learn the location of an enemy’s base in a foreign country without support from our intelligence department. So the only other possibility is that he intends to sell information about Noa. If that’s the case, it’s the trust that the boys have in him that’s going to be most damaged.

I prayed that I was wrong and continued to watch the satellite image displayed on the large display.

Finally, Anton began to move.

“The target has entered a building,” an operator told me.

“Turn up the microphone! I want to hear absolutely everything.”

“Understood.”

Everyone was holding their breath as they silently listened to the sound picked up by his terminal. There was the sound of Anton walking across a wooden floor and then the creak of the door opening.

“Long time no see, Anton.” The voice we heard belonged to a man speaking in Russian. Judging by the pleased tone of his voice, this was someone who knew Anton quite well.

“Long time indeed. Five years, was it?”

“Roughly. Did you get the data I sent?”

“Yes, but what do you want from me?” Anton asked. “I can’t help you now, and I won’t risk causing him trouble.”

Data? This man must have sent something to Anton’s terminal. I quietly instructed a staff member beside me to have all data be transmitted via a Noa server so we could inspect it. Then I went back to listening to the two men talk.

“I never said we’d be causing trouble for Arakawa. I’m simply saying we can use him as a source of intelligence. You’re his protector. There’s enough trust between you and that monster to— Oh, don’t point your gun at me. I thought you were a more reasonable man.”

“Don’t ever call him a monster,” Anton growled. “That boy is my comrade. Insult him again, and I’ll make you regret it.”

It’s clear from the conversation that he’s willing to draw his weapon to defend Kouki’s reputation. If this isn’t a betrayal, then why is Anton in Russia? I looked over at Kouki and saw that he looked just as confused as me. All we can do is keep listening to their conversation.

“Whatever you say, Anton. But the army has taken Captain Yulia into custody. We need you.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here. Why else would I return to Russia after defecting? If the government finds me, I’ll be killed.”

“I’m glad you came,” the man said. “Take a look at this.”

“Is this a memory chip?” Anton asked. “It looks like an old one.”

“It’s old, but all of the data is recorded on here. Take your time looking through it. This is how the Alice Project and the New World Project began.”

Alice Project? I thought, startled. We’ve been frantic in our attempts to learn more about that project. Why would this man have all the data? We can’t let Kouki hear about this! Why isn’t Shuuichi here?! I need him to hold back Kouki at times like this. Shuuichi, please, hurry!

Everyone in the command center was sneaking glances at Kouki, expecting him to fly into a rage. But Kouki simply folded his arms and appeared to be deep in thought.

After a few minutes he suddenly said, “Mom, if we can hear what they’re saying, shouldn’t it be possible for us to transmit our voice to them?”

“Yes, it’s possible.”

“In that case, let’s help out Anton. I know you’ve been looking into the Alice Project because I saw reports that Dad left out in his room. Anton has the information that you want, and what I want is to keep Anton safe and help him out. The man he’s talking to must be looking for Captain Yulia. We should offer them our support.”

Shuuichi really is a brainless gorilla! Why would he leave something so important where Kouki would see it?! I was furious. I’m glad that it’s made Kouki calmer about the situation, but I’ll have to teach Shuuichi about his management responsibilities...

“It’s difficult to offer them support if the army is involved,” I said. “If we’re going to negotiate, we’ll need to talk to the Russian government. But we don’t have any bargaining chips we can use.”

“No, I think we do. I’ll need your help, but I can prepare bargaining chips. Before that, we need to see what data Anton is carrying.”

“What bargaining chips?” I asked.

“The precise location of a large, undiscovered diamond deposit located on Russian territory. Details of government involvement in an assassination plot using radioactive polonium-210. Free distribution rights for Noa’s satellite broadcasts.”

If we have bargaining chips like those, negotiation will be possible. I was floored. It might even put us in an advantageous position. I know I’m always asking myself this, but how could Kouki know these things? Did he research in advance after predicting that this situation would arise? I don’t want to believe that. If I accept the idea, it would mean that Kouki really can see into the future.

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

Mom’s gone quiet, I noted. Maybe she’s just thinking it over, or maybe I shouldn’t have let slip that I know about a diamond mine and a polonium incident that no one in this world should know about. She’s going to ask me how I know. I need to think of an excuse.

“All right,” Mom said. “We’ll negotiate based on those pieces of information. But afterward, I want you to tell me how you know all these things no one else knows. And no dodging the question this time.”

“...The mine is located at 71° 39' north latitude, 111° 11' east longitude. Open air mining of the area is possible, so it should be easy to locate. I’ll leave it to you to gather more info about the location.”

I ignored the real question and just told her where the mine was. Mom just looked at me and started chewing her thumbnail without saying anything. I had that same bad habit of chewing my nails, and Mom was always telling me to stop doing it.

We continued looking at each other like that for some time. Mom then did something I wasn’t expecting. She walked over to the coffee machine, poured herself a cup of coffee, and then added five sugars and a generous amount of milk. She normally drank her coffee black, and there was only one time when she’d make coffee like this.

“Mom’s brain has overloaded...” I murmured to Shingo.

“Buh hee? What do you mean?”

“Mom’s brain is normally capable of processing everything at high speed, but when there is too much for it to deal with, it stops working and needs sugar to refuel. I’ve only seen it happen a few times. Geniuses are weird.”

“Is she going to be all right?” he asked, concerned.

“It’s no big deal. I think she’s already recovered.”

I looked over and saw that Mom was shaking as she drained the cup. As the sugar diffused through her body, she abruptly lifted her head and continued talking as if nothing had happened.

“Yes, I’ll check what’s at those coordinates. Now can we make contact with Anton right away?”

“I’ll do it,” I said. “Can I get a headset?”

With Mom’s permission, a staff member removed their headset and passed it to me. I looked at Mom to ask whether it was okay to start talking, and she gestured with her hand to tell me everything was ready.

“Mr. Baldy, can you hear me?” I said softly into the microphone.

“Kouki?! Crap! My terminal!”

His voice sounded panicked. I tried not to smile at the thought of Baldy panicking because I wanted to act as calm as possible.

“Don’t bother trying to cut me off. Even if you turn the terminal off, we can still take control of it from here. There’s also a reconnaissance satellite monitoring the building that you’re in. Now please listen to me. You need information from me, right?”

I didn’t have any information of my own to give, but they were under the impression that I did. What I did have was Noa’s intelligence network cooperating with me, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“How much did you hear?” he asked, panicked.

“Everything. I want to give you my support, Mr. Baldy... I suppose I should call you Anton. But in return, I’ll need you to provide us with all the information related to the Alice Project.”

“Do you mean it?” the other man said. “If we grant your request, you’ll help us rescue the captain?”

“I’m sorry, what was your name?”

“I’m Joseph. I’m a member of the unit that Anton was formerly assigned to.”

So this is Joseph... Anton’s comrade in arms. He called on Anton out of desperation, so I think we can trust him.

Mom must have reached the same conclusion. She signaled to me to be quiet so she could talk to Joseph herself.

“This is Miki Arakawa. Perhaps you’ll feel more confident now that I’m participating in the discussion? The answer to your question is yes. We can provide you with money and manpower, if that’s what you need.”

“Thank you,” said Joseph. “In that case, I’ll allow Anton to send you the information right now.”

“You sound awfully hasty. No one likes a man with no patience.”

“Spare me, witch, I don’t have the time,” the man snapped. “At 10 PM tonight, eleven hours from now, the captain will be executed.”

Mom and I looked at each other.

In eleven hours? But why?

Before I could say anything, I realized that the data sent from Anton had reached my terminal. I ran it through a virus check just to be safe, and then opened the file. It was data about some sort of experiment on humans. I asked the person who’d given me their headset to display the data on the main screen.

Mom stared at the data in disgust. “DNA-Modified Reinforced Soldier Project? Is this for real?!”

“Yes. As a researcher yourself, I’m sure you already understand, but the experiment induced genetic mutations in humans. The ultimate goal was artificial evolution.”

“Experiments like these are forbidden for ethical reasons!” she cried.

“Yes. The UN resolution formally forbidding such experiments worldwide was passed in 2055. However, the research continued in secrecy in Russia. Our ultimate goal was to create a soldier with a toughened body, but the research ran into some problems, and the whole thing was almost scrapped. But humans are sinful creatures. The intelligence agency learned that the Canadian government was conducting the same type of research. After we learned what they were doing, we reached out to the Canadian government and offered to collaborate.”

“And that led to the Genetic Improvement Project, starting with the Second Reinforced Soldier Project mentioned in the document?”

“Precisely. We offered to provide financial support for all aspects of the research, while the Canadians provided the research facility, the research staff, and the equipment. You’ll find a document explaining the details at the end of the data, so feel free to look at that later. As I’ve said, our objective was to create a super soldier. But this merely amounted to using drugs and nanomachines to improve a soldier’s body. In other words, we were trying to strengthen an existing soldier. Meanwhile, the Canadians attempted to create a human born with altered genetics. This was the Alice Project.”

It reminded me of something that the staff from the medical department had explained to me on Noa Island. There were limits to improvements that could be made to an existing human body. Those limits made it impossible to create an anti-aging drug that completely stopped aging. At best, aging could be slowed down. To completely stop aging, it would be necessary to create a strengthened life form whose genes had been modified from the start.

So that’s what the Alice Project was about. That means that the photograph of Alice in those documents...

“It’s worth mentioning that our country concluded the Reinforced Soldier Project more or less successfully,” Joseph added. “The proof is in the existence of our external special forces unit, Chernobog. We’re improved soldiers that have been modified based on the results of the Genetic Improvement Project. And there’s no doubt that the Alice Project led by the Canadian government reached a somewhat successful conclusion. The proof is your son’s girlfriend, Alice Alford. She’s one of the Evolution Sisters born out of the Alice Project.”

I knew it, I thought. I guessed when I heard the name of the project. But what does it matter? If Alice learns that she was involved in some crazy medical experiment carried out by a shadowy organization, she’ll probably find it exciting. She loves that kind of thing. And it doesn’t bother me. I doubt it’ll bother Shingo or Aikawa, either. I just wish Mom wouldn’t look at us as if we need her to feel sorry for us! It takes a lot to shock us kids these days.

“As far as I can tell from these documents, Alice was the only example of success,” Mom said. “It says that Alice’s sisters showed no signs of life, but the report doesn’t give any explanation why.”

“Do you believe in souls?” Joseph asked. “I don’t mean in a figurative sense. I mean an actual soul that resides in a living body.”

“What are you talking about?”

“According to a theory set out by a certain researcher, a human serving as a vessel for a soul can only carry a human-sized soul. An insect carries an insect-sized soul, a dog carries a dog-sized soul, and so on. Our souls may be strictly limited from the start. But if there was a vessel that appeared human but had greater strength and intellect, what sort of soul would it carry?”

“This is complete drivel!” Mom exclaimed.

No, I think Joseph might be right, I mused. Vessels like the Evolution Sisters should have been too big to house the life that was meant for them. Which means that someone like Alice can’t have a human soul.

I pondered.

I didn’t realize it until just now, but I’ve changed my views since visiting G-88. The soul inside Alice is probably something similar to a dragon soul. There are dragons that can move between worlds, so maybe there was a dragon capable of moving into another world after its body had been destroyed and only the soul remained. That means there’s something I need to check...

“Joseph, did this researcher ever say anything about reincarnation?” I asked. “For example, did they ever mention the possibility of a soul from a parallel universe or from the past or future moving through space and time before settling in a vessel?”

“She did... She had that exact same idea. But would that even be possible?”

“I can’t prove it, but I think her theory is correct. This researcher... I’d like to meet with her myself and ask her some questions.”

“That’s not possible,” he said. “She’s the leader of a religious cult known as ‘New World,’ and you’re one of their targets. She’s the one who intends to have the captain killed to stop any more information about these projects leaking out. Her name is Dr. Sandra Zelenskaya. I suggest you look into her yourselves. My people are in hiding. I need to check that they’re safe and then meet with them at a new location. I’ll contact you again in two hours.”

The terminal abruptly switched off.

We could have switched it back on from here, but we didn’t want to interfere while he was moving to a new position, and it was enough to continue tracking him by satellite. I decided that the first thing we needed to do was negotiate with the Russian government and have the execution of the captain delayed.

“Mom, we need to begin negotiations—”

I stopped short of saying “with Russia” because there was something strange about the way Mom was staring at me. It made me worry. I was about to ask her if something was wrong, but she spoke first.

“Kou... were you reincarnated?”

She found me out... I thought, chagrined. A genius on Mom’s level was never going to have any trouble figuring it out. Not after hearing that conversation and seeing these documents. It’s time to stop hiding it. There’ll never be a better opportunity than this.

With that decided, I looked Mom directly in the eye and nodded.

**

Miki Arakawa’s Point of View

“Kou... were you reincarnated?”

At first, Kouki just looked at his feet. He looked uncomfortable, like a child who’d been caught doing something wrong. But then he raised his head and nodded.

Every member of personnel in the command center was staring at him in astonishment. I remembered the way that Kouki had always known when something was dangerous and wrong without me ever having to teach him.

I should have realized it before now. Why didn’t I?

“Sorry! I know I’m late. What’s happening?” Shuuichi entered the room from the entrance nearest the gate. He was armed and out of breath.

I raised my hand to silence Shuuichi and then turned back to Kouki. “What happened to you in your previous life?”

“I died,” he said bluntly.

I should have guessed. Now I see why he’s always trying to deceive us. I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about his own death. Especially not in front of his friend...

I smiled in an attempt to put my son at ease, and then I turned to the soldiers that Shuuichi had brought with him.

“Take Shingo with you and take refuge on G-88,” I ordered them. “The safe zone that we discussed with the Merkava Kingdom should be ready by now. Take Alice and Aikawa with you too. Security should be S-class. Mobilize an entire brigade if you have to.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The soldiers immediately sprang into action as I turned back to Kouki.

“Kou, thank you for sharing your secret with me. I won’t ask any more questions. But don’t forget: I love you, no matter what happened in the past. Whatever you’ve been trying to accomplish, you don’t have to do it alone anymore.”

“But I’m not trying to accomplish anything...”

Kouki was still putting on a brave face, and I couldn’t help but take him in my arms.

He was always like this. He takes on everything himself. All the misfortune and sorrow. But not this time. This time, I’ll be there for him.

“There’s a break room here inside the command center,” I told him. “Go rest for a while. I’ll come up with a plan to help Anton. Come back when you’ve had time to think things over.”

“Okay...” Kouki left quietly without saying anything more.

Now I need to explain this whole thing to Shuuichi. And then I need to inform all of our personnel. But how will I tell them? I hope none of our staff members will be rude enough to ask Kouki awkward questions.

“Miki, tell me what’s going on,” Shuuichi demanded. “Why’s everyone here look so tense? And you don’t look well either. What’s wrong?”

“Kouki was reincarnated. Basically, he died and then was reborn with all of his memories.”

“Huh?! Can that happen? You’re talking about life after death.”

I’d thought it was impossible myself. But if our son had been reincarnated, that would explain everything.

I urged Shuuichi to calm down, and then told him about the things Kouki had been keeping from us.

“Do you understand? If I’m right about this, he came to this world from the future. Actually, based on the equation he derived, I think he’s from the future of another very similar world.”

“What makes you think so?” he asked.

“He can predict things that are going to happen in the future. When he was hurrying to develop the eighth-generation model, it was because he knew Alice would be kidnapped. The roaring device used in G-88 must have been something he was planning from the very start. Our son has seen the future.”

“Couldn’t those things have been a coincidence?”

“Shuuichi, did you ever scold Kouki when he was very small? Maybe small things like, ‘always look before you cross the road,’ or ‘don’t play with my lighter’?”

“Well, obviously... I... Come to think of it, no, never.”

Because Kouki already knew. He knew what would make us angry and what he wasn’t supposed to do. He knew because he’d already died countless times.

“We’ve talked about the day Kouki was born, haven’t we? The way his eyes were devoid of emotion.”

“Right.”

“I think he must have died countless times. So many times that he didn’t have much emotion left. Can you imagine how many times someone must have to experience death to become like that? If I had to do everything all over again every time I died, I couldn’t take it.”

When he spoke about bargaining chips, Kouki told us about an assassination plot using polonium, I added silently. I can’t guess how many times he’d died already by then, but it must have been an assassination method that they used on Kouki himself. This also explains how he can fly his powered suit. Shuuichi said it wouldn’t normally be possible, but Kouki was driven to it by sheer desperation. It was the only way he could survive. He must be slowly losing his mind, but for what cause?

“What is it that Kouki wants?” I muttered to myself.

“What he wants?” Shuuichi said suddenly. “Well, I know the answer to that!”

Shuuichi’s confidence surprised me. I doubt he has the answer I’m looking for, but it can’t hurt to hear him out. Kouki is Shuuchi’s son, after all.

“We didn’t tell you at the time, but me and some of my subordinates took Kouki to a port town called Flonne in the Merkava Kingdom. It’s a big place. All the soldiers know about it because there are some decent brothels there. Obviously, I didn’t take him to a brothel or anything, but we had a barbecue on the grounds of a church in the town. It’s a port town, so there’s a good market there, and you can find a lot of good meat, fish, and wine. Well, we made so much noise that some of the locals came over to see what was happening, and we invited them to join us.”

“Is this story going somewhere?” I asked.

“Keep listening. We’d brought too much food, so we shared it with everyone who joined us. Then some knights showed up because they were worried that the locals might have been disturbing us. But then the knights joined us too, and it turned into a party. It was like race didn’t exist. Humans, demonic people, beast-like people, elves... they were all eating the same food and drinking the same wine. When Kouki saw that, he said, ‘This is the world I wanted.’ He sounded really happy.”

“So you think Kouki’s objective is...”

“That’s right. It’s really not that complicated. His goal is, ‘A world where everyone can live happily.’ I’m sure it’s a dream he’d be willing to go on dying for. But it’s meaningless without Kouki there to enjoy it. Without Kouki, not ‘everyone’ is happy. Let’s change Kouki’s goal a little.”

“A world where everyone can live happily,” Kouki included. I smiled. I can think of nothing better... The only way to free Kouki from his suffering is to create a world that he can accept. I don’t know what happened to us in the worlds Kouki has lived in up to now. If there are worlds where we’ve supported Kouki, then I’m sure there are also worlds where we never realized he needed us. But regret won’t help anyone. This time, I’ll create a world where Kouki can live happily!

“All right. Let’s get to it. Disengage the security protocols and have the political affairs team from the PR department gather ASAP. Have the military department on standby and ready to sortie. This could lead to a small-scale battle on Russian territory, so tell them not to carry anything that could tie them to Noa.”

“Leave it to me,” Shuuichi said confidently. “You do the thinking and I’ll do the fighting. It’s always worked for us up to now. This time’s no different.”

Shuuichi gave me a salute as he made his casual remarks, and I couldn’t help but smile. He rarely saw his own son because he was always working, but Shuuichi was always there for Kouki, and I’d never regret marrying him.

As long as Shuuichi’s by my side, I know that things are going to work out.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of an anti-intruder alarm system in the base.

“Where’s the alarm coming from?!” I exclaimed.

“Analysis in progress!” an operator called back. “...It can’t be! It’s coming from an emergency escape route. The location is right above us. I don’t believe it... This activation code is...”

“Who?!”

“OF-7-001. Kouki is activating it manually.”

I felt dizzy.

Why must he always act alone? We know his secret now, so why didn’t he talk to us? We have to stop him.

“Mobilize the Hakone base suppression team!!”

Shuuichi and the men he’d brought with him saluted in response, and then they ran off to carry out my orders.

We have to stop him before it’s too late...

I began biting my nails again as the shrill sound of the alarm continued.