Chapter 6: The Tenth-generation Model, Type 0

Miki Arakawa’s Point of View

“Don’t you think you should get some sleep?” Shuuichi asked as he entered my room.

I hadn’t been to bed in some time. It had been 72 hours since the underground rail tunnel where Kouki was holed up had collapsed.

That’s the limit... Humans can’t survive for more than 72 hours without food and water...

Now that three days had passed since the cave in, Kouki’s chances of survival had fallen below six percent.

The chance is still higher than zero... I’m sure he’s alive.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said at last. “Is there any news?”

“There was a report from the engineering department. They’ve finished their analysis of the powered suits New World was using. They were using sixth-generation suits. We believe their commanding officer was using a suit roughly equivalent to an eighth-generation suit.”

“I see... Now we know how they caused so much harm.”

“Yeah. They destroyed 80 percent of the elite powered suit company that the United Nations Standing Army sent out to extract Kouki. In the end, New World lost 65 powered suits while our side lost 241 suits.”

We barely put up a fight, I thought grimly. What a joke. But if the experiments Alice and I are performing can succeed, the difference in powered suit performance will cease to be important. I need to finish collecting data as quickly as possible...

“At 1 PM, we’ll perform a test of the Type 0 on Noa Island,” I told Shuuichi. “Please order everyone to leave the island except for the relevant personnel. Be ready to deal with it if something goes wrong.”

“But the system is incomplete,” he objected. “Don’t you think that’s too dangerous? And Alice isn’t to blame for what happened to Kouki. And I still don’t understand why you told the children about the Alice Project! What’s gotten into you?!”

“They would have found out sooner or later. I thought it better to tell them now so they don’t feel as though we’ve kept secrets from them. Besides, Alice herself demanded to be involved in the experiment, and I can’t stop her now. She feels responsible.”

“Kouki will blame us...” Shuuichi muttered. “This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He was trying to protect Alice’s secret. But now...”

I don’t need you to tell me, I sighed. But if Kouki really has escaped, he’s going to need the Type 0 suit. And the children truly believe that Kouki is alive. We have no choice but to move development forward several years. Whatever it takes, we’re going to finish it within a day.

Shuuichi still looked unconvinced as I pushed him out into the corridor.

In frustration at my own powerlessness, I bit my lip without thinking.

Somehow, I felt a little better as I tasted blood in my mouth.

**

Alice Alford’s Point of View

“Are you ready, Kon?” I asked. “Give it all you’ve got.”

“Kyuu.”

I smiled at the image of Kon on the display and then nodded to Miki so she’d know we were ready.

“Initiate the testing sequence,” she ordered. “Activate the converter!”

“Activating converter,” an engineer said. “Output stable. The Type 0 suit is now operational.”

It really worked!

The originally planned antimatter reactor hadn’t been ready on time, so the suit was using a magical energy converter fueled by Kon’s magic that we’d created at the last minute. At least Miki had told me that. At any rate, it was working.

Now I can do my part and help everyone!

I felt relieved, but I noticed Miki was looking at me sympathetically.

Is she still worried about me?

“I’m all right!” I told her.

“Sorry... This is all my fault.”

“I’m the one who suggested this. I’m not like ordinary people... not that it bothers me. Let’s just get this suit up and running.”

“Thank you, Alice. I know I’ve explained this already, but you’re about to be physically connected to the Type 0. All of its systems will be managed by your brain. Naturally, those systems include the weapons management system and motion control system. Your brain will also be managing the communications system.”

“It’s like I’m a living computer,” I said. “No, I’ve turned into a cyborg. That sounds way cooler.”

I realized that Miki’s eyes had glazed over while I was talking.

I was just joking around... Kouki would have laughed at something like that, but Miki’s reaction just makes me feel bad. I regret saying anything now.

“The load placed on your brain will probably be more than you’re used to,” she said at last. “We’re using a device from the moon relic that facilitates brain operation, but in the worst-case scenario—”

“Honestly, I’m fine! The measurements we took yesterday showed that my brain capacity surpasses ordinary human brain capacity. This should be easy.”

“I have surpassed humanity.” That sounds pretty cool. I’ll have to tell that to Megumin if this experiment succeeds. If I have more brain capacity than even Kouki, then maybe I have what it takes to become a genius? Maybe I’ll become like Miki if I work hard enough. I need to make this experiment a success so she can teach me things!

“All right, here I go,” I told Miki.

With some help from the research team, I climbed into a capsule that formed the back part of the piloting unit.

The large helmet I put on covered not just my head, but my entire face. I took a moment to calm myself before speaking into the in-built microphone.

“I’m ready.”

“Understood. Ultrafine needles will enter your brain to inject the nanomachines,” Miki said. “Make sure you don’t move.”

“Got it.”

I braced myself, expecting it would hurt, but there was no pain at all. Instead, I felt a sort of cold feeling for a moment, and then the world came into view.

“Awesome! I can see everything! Even things behind me!”

“Alice, calm down! Right now, your senses are extended by the external cameras of the suit. Now we’re going to switch the power supply from low-output mode to ordinary mode.”

“O-Okay.”

“Switch in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1. Switched to normal mode. The Type 0 is fully operational!”

I don’t feel anything different. Is it really working?

I started to worry, and then a red dot appeared in my vision centered on Miki in the control center.

What is this thing?

As I stared at the red dot, I realized that the researcher stood beside Miki was trembling. When I looked at him, another red dot appeared. The trembling person suddenly appeared to be having a fit.

“Alice, I don’t how to say this, but...” Miki said.

“What is it?”

“The weapons control system is online. You’re locking on to us.”

Uwah?! How do I get rid of this? I feel like I know how, but I can’t get it right.

As I was getting increasingly flustered, a message log stating “system optimization complete” appeared at the edge of my vision. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to do. I quickly disengaged the lock on using the method I’d just learned, and put the weapon control system offline for the time being.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly.

“It’s okay. It’s your first time using the suit, after all. Now that the optimization is finished, we— Excuse me for a moment.”

Miki turned away and began talking with someone excitedly over an internal communication channel. Then she looked back at me, and for the first time since Kouki’s disappearance, she was smiling in her usual way.

“Alice, we’ve found Kouki! He’s in Chelyabinsk. He’s alive and well.”

Kouki! I’m so glad he’s okay. I knew he would be. I knew that believing in him and getting this suit ready was the right thing to do.

I felt ready to explode with happiness as the message log reappeared at the edge of my vision: “Explosion requested. Would you like to overload the reactor?”

Uwaaah! I want out of this suit...

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

I awoke suddenly. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:18 AM. For a while, I lay on my cot and waited for my sleepiness to wear off.

“Volga, you’re awake?” the man lying on the cot next to mine asked. “I’m surprised. You went almost three days without sleep, and now you’ve slept for only five hours.”

“Because I’m hungry... And because there’s a lot to do today.”

“That’s true,” he said. “We should get some breakfast and then receive our uniforms.”

With that, the man got out of bed and began putting on his boots.

I forget his name. I’m sure he told me before we went to sleep, but I can’t remember. Something like Yohan... No... I remember! He’s Yosef!

He was Yosef from the heavy weapons squad.

“Yosef, have all the nearby residents been evacuated?” I asked.

“Yes. Last night we finished clearing out everyone within a fifty-kilometer radius. But will it really happen?”

“Yes. I was thinking about Clare and about the extraction team, and now I’m sure of it.”

Yosef stroked his beard and looked as though he still didn’t believe me.

We said nothing more to each other until we’d arrived in the cafeteria via a narrow hallway.

I accepted food from the soldier acting as the chef and then sat down in an empty chair to eat it.

“I hear that you’ll be given a major general’s uniform,” Yosef said.

“That’s right. I haven’t actually had the basic training and education, so I’ll probably just get in everyone’s way. Special major general is just the rank that Noa gave me.”

“Ha. It’s not as though we’ve had the proper training, either,” Yosef replied, laughing. “Can you believe that there’s still a unit trained for a nuclear war in this day and age?”

That’s kind of amazing in its own way... Even Macho Man’s unit was only ever trained to deal with tactical nuclear weapons used by terrorist groups. Meanwhile, Joseph and his unit are prepared for an all-out nuclear war involving strategic nuclear weapons. That’s the only reason we’re able to be where we are right now.

“I owe you an apology,” I said to Yosef. “I came out here to Russia acting all tough, but all I’ve done is sneak around like a coward.”

“Forget about that,” he said. “The National Security Unit showed you our new uniforms, right? I’m really happy. I didn’t think we’d ever get to wear proper uniforms.”

I didn’t realize Yosef’s unit has never had uniforms. Being in a top-secret unit sounds cool, but the top brass probably just thinks of them as a unit they can throw into any unconventional warfare situation.

“All right! I’m done eating, so I’m going to get my uniform.” Yosef spoke with exaggerated enthusiasm as if he was trying to shake off the gloomy atmosphere. “You should go see the captain.”

“All right.”

I watched him walk off and then climbed to my feet and headed in the direction of the captain.

On the way there, I encountered Clare, who was already wearing the new uniform.

“Good morning, Clare.”

“Good morning. The operation will commence in fifteen minutes, as scheduled. I’ll send the transmission to the Hakone base.”

“Understood. As our intelligence officer, the success or failure of this operation is all down to you, Clare. We’re counting on you.”

“You can always count on me.”

I was relieved to see Clare smiling confidently.

When I reached my destination, I found the captain giving orders with an unlit cigar in her mouth.

She’s as energetic as always... Does she never get tired?

“Good morning, Captain,” I said.

“Good morning. Our preparations are complete. It took some time, but now we can intercept transmissions to the Hakone base.”

“Even AAA-class transmissions?”

“Even those. Lieutenant Colonel Clare was able to hack into Noa’s main computer to give us full access for a short while. We can intercept everything up until they change their transmission frequencies.”

In that case, we need to start right now, I thought. If we wait too long, Elise might have the same thought and change the frequencies. If that happens, we’ll have wasted our time.

“Understood,” I said. “I know it sudden, but let’s start the operation right now. Please send a transmission to Noa.”

Under my orders, the captain and her subordinates began to move at once.

We would report my safety to the security department. That would set everything in motion.

“Transmission sent,” Clare said. A moment later she told us, “The traffic on Noa’s network is increasing.”

Clare had connected her own terminal to one of the computers and was analyzing the communication data.

One minute after being informed of my safety, Noa contacted Macho Man’s rapid response unit. I expected they’d contact the engineering department where my mom was working next.

“We’ve intercepted an AAA-class transmission,” a com officer said. “The transmission appears to be addressed to Miki Arakawa.”

It took them just two minutes to send word to my mom? That’s pretty fast. Next will be the reply from my mom, and then there should be an emergency directive sent to every department.

“I’ve found it!” Clare called. “This transmission isn’t being sent according to standard protocol. This is... I can’t believe it.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Kouki, Captain Yulia, you were both right. Someone within Noa is leaking information to New World. There’s a spy within the security department sending A-class transmissions.”

Just as I thought. Our plans are all being communicated to New World. But I never expected the spy would be in the security department. How did they infiltrate that department? It should have been possible to detect spies using the device for reading surface level thoughts that we discovered on the moon. Either way, Macho Man will handle it.

“Clare, contact my dad and have him lock down the security department,” I said. “The military department and the security department are the only departments where it’s permitted to carry weapons within Noa, so this puts Alice and my friends in danger.”

“Understood.”

If there’s a spy sending transmissions, what about the Chelyabinsk base?

I asked one of the operators to bring up a satellite image of the Chelyabinsk base. For a moment, the tanks protecting the base perimeter were bathed in a flash of light.

“Where did it come from?” I asked.

“It was a strike from an air force unit stationed 120 kilometers east.”

“Impressive. Sadly for them, there was no one there.”

“Indeed,” Clare said. “This confirms that there are no spies with us or within the National Security Unit.”

While we were having this carefree conversation, the intensity of the attack on the Chelyabinsk base was increasing.

If we were in that base, we’d already be dead, I realized.

“Kouki,” Clare called out to me. “We’re approaching the Academy City defense line. There’s an unusually strong antisubmarine defense patrol because of New World’s attack. If we don’t surface, they’ll sink us.”

“Understood. Captain, I’ll leave you in command. New World is fond of submarines, so our escape should leave them with a bitter taste. Let’s do this in style.”

The captain nodded, put on her new Russian Navy jacket, and then grabbed the mic to give orders throughout the ship.

“All personnel prepare to surface immediately! This vessel will surface close to Academy City within Japanese territorial waters. After surfacing, we will be in the care of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. We are crew members of the nuclear submarine Maria Feodorovna, belonging to the Russian Navy. Don’t forget that we’re to be given asylum by Noa as the heroes that rescued and delivered Kouki Arakawa.”

I know, I added silently. Once the Japanese government captures us, I’ll make it release you immediately. I’ve got no intention of sending the captain back to Russia or handing her over to the Japanese government. Delivering me home safely in a situation like this is no small feat. I’m sure no one will complain.

It felt good to be back in Japan. It had only been four days, but it felt as though I’d been gone a long time.

I’m sure my mom will be busy handling an inquiry into all of this once I get back. But maybe she can make me something to eat first, and then I can take a bath...

**

“Here’s some more for you to look at,” Mom said.

There was now a mountain of paperwork in front of me.

With my personal terminal broken, I couldn’t receive any data, but Mom had gone to the trouble of printing out all of the paperwork that was piled up in front of me.

Clare was sitting at another desk with a similar mountain of paperwork, looking over at me and grinning.

Is that pretty secretary of mine actually enjoying this?

“And here are the complaints from the Academy City Defense Force. Oh, I almost forgot! We have a request from the Russian Security Council for us to give back the submarine you came home in.”

“Mom...” I complained.

“The VR technology department was held up while you were gone, Kou. There are a ton of reports from that department for you to deal with. And then there’s...”

Oh, man. Mom is really angry. I don’t know how to deal with her when she’s this angry.

Mom was smiling at me, but she wasn’t smiling with her eyes. I turned and looked at Alice in the corner of the room for help, but she avoided my gaze. Even Kon was hiding behind her own tail as she lay in Alice’s arms. The captain and Anton remained behind me standing to attention as if they’d been turned to stone. I had nowhere to turn for help.

“I’m sorry...”

As soon as I apologized, Mom stopped piling on the paperwork. She slowly turned her head to look at me.

“I couldn’t quite hear that. What did you say?”

“I’m sorry for trying to do everything by myself! I’m sorry! So please help me with all of this!”

“You need my help?! But you didn’t need my help to run off to Russia. And when you found yourself in danger there, you stopped me from helping at all and said you’d handle everything yourself. Then you went ahead and blew yourself up in an old city of a foreign country before miraculously returning home in a secretly stored submarine.”

“I know...” I murmured.

“Well, all right. But promise me you’ll learn from all of this and stop trying to do everything by yourself in the future.”

“Okay.”

“Your dad is waiting for you on Noa Island. Go say hello. He was worried, so make sure you apologize.”

Even Macho Man was angry? Well, this was a big deal, so I can’t blame him.

I said, “Okay,” and then got ready to head to Noa Island for the first time in a long while.