V Strategic Reconnaissance—Phase 1

V

STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE—PHASE 1

1

THE REAR SEAT, where the flight officer would be in charge of electronic warfare duty, had been empty ever since the old Yukikaze was shot down.

Naturally, Major Booker planned to rectify the situation. Now that Rei was fully recovered and ready for combat, a new flight officer had to be chosen, and fast. But at the moment, he was so shorthanded that he could find nobody qualified for the position.

The job of the flight officer riding in the fighter’s rear seat was to conduct tactical reconnaissance and electronic warfare duty while in the combat airspace, and it was a job even more exhausting than the pilot’s. Once they were in the combat zone, he would be so busy confirming the plane’s position and safety while giving guidance instructions to the pilot, selecting and operating a variety of radar systems for tactical recon, and confirming in real time the transmission sources of the massive amounts of comm traffic being collected in the background that he had no time to even look out past the cockpit bubble. And all the while he was locked inside of this insular environment, he’d have to endure violent maneuvers as well.

The SAF currently had eleven electronic warfare specialists. As they had twelve fighter planes in use, not counting the unmanned Rafe, in the event that they conducted an operation requiring all their planes, the mission would be a man short. The SAF normally would never send all of their planes out at once, but now, even if such a deployment ever became necessary, it would be impossible because Yukikaze was missing essential personnel.

As a general rule, you try to pair up a pilot and a flight officer who’ll be able to work together as a good team, thought Major Booker. However, with Rei back in combat, the major was having to assign him a different flight officer for each individual mission, which was only increasing the burden on the electronic warfare operator. That was something he wanted to avoid.

He needed a new man assigned to the squadron immediately. If he worked well with Rei, then all of his problems would go away. And even if he didn’t, another man in the talent pool meant he wouldn’t have to increase the burden on his EWOs. If Booker couldn’t get a good team formed and had to keep assigning a flight officer for each mission, he could still have Captain Foss, the doctor charged with their psychological care, do something about the mental strain it was causing. In any case, he wanted a new man, and had gone to plead with General Cooley for one.

“It can be anyone,” he said as he stood in front of her desk. He’d come to her office to make a direct appeal. “Just please, get me somebody to use.”

“You know perfectly well it can’t be just anyone, Major,” she replied.

“Okay, yeah. Yeah, you’re right. If they can’t be used immediately, then there’s no point in even discussing it. Our unit doesn’t have time to carefully train anyone. One person, though. All I’m asking for is one person. Please, transfer someone in from somewhere, from some other unit. Anyone, as long as they’re not a JAM duplicate. You know, I wouldn’t even mind one of them at this point. We’d probably be able to learn about their strategy.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying anymore, do you? We don’t have an EWO we can throw into battle immediately, and it’s suddenly all you can think about. You wouldn’t mind having a JAM? What kind of nonsense is that? If you want the numbers to balance out, I could do it for you easily. Back when Captain Fukai was still a lieutenant, if he hadn’t made it back and had been killed by the JAM along with his flight officer, Lieutenant Burgadish, we wouldn’t have this problem now. If that had happened, you would have complained about losing two men and a plane, but you’d have said you would deal with it somehow.”

Major Booker couldn’t speak for a moment.

“General,” he said at last. “I can’t just let something like that pass. Are you saying you think it would have been better if Rei— if Captain Fukai hadn’t made it back, because if you are—”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. This whole matter is giving me a headache too. Personnel selection is my responsibility. I’m just saying that this isn’t simply a matter of throwing a warm body into the unit. Major, take a moment and calm down a little. This isn’t like you.”

General Cooley rose from her desk and motioned to Major Booker to take a seat on the sofa in her lounge suite.

“I don’t have much time, and there’s something I’d like to consult you about,” General Cooley said, her tone changing slightly, becoming a bit friendlier.

“Yes, General.”

Although she’d said she didn’t have much time, she rang her secretary on the intercom and ordered tea and cocoa for them.

“We both do this so often that I know what you like, don’t I? It’ll be here soon.”

The general usually drinks tea with lemon. The cocoa must be for me, Major Booker thought as he sat down, preparing himself for the worst. Whenever she does this, it means the general has a little problem for me to deal with.

“How are things with Captain Fukai?” she asked.

“Like I reported to you a few days ago, he’s recovered about 85 percent of his physical strength, so no problems there.”

“His mental state still seems unstable. I’ve heard he has some anxiety about his plane, Yukikaze.”

“I put down in my report that his relationship with the plane would better be described as psychological growth for him. Captain Foss agrees with me. In my judgment, he should have no problem in combat.”

“You’re saying he’s developing a pleasant personality?” Cooley asked.

“Personality doesn’t change. He’s not an obedient soldier and never will be. Considering the duty the SAF has to carry out, that’s for the best.”

“In other words, we can still use him, right?”

“Exactly.”

“You still haven’t submitted a report on the conclusions of the investigation into Yukikaze’s unmanned sortie. How is that proceeding?”

“The investigation’s tentatively complete, but we’re going to need to keep a constant eye on how our combat intelligences behave,” Major Booker said. “I’m not sure if they’re going to be willing to accept it. We can’t use the computer network to distribute the report, since the CIs will be able to read it. Of course, I can’t say for certain they won’t overhear us talking about it like this either.”

“You’re studying what to do if that happens, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, although, on my part… At first glance, I think taking a hostile stance toward the CIs will just backfire on us. It’s the JAM, not humanity, that’s the enemy. We know that clearly enough. All we have to be on guard for is whether they’ve been contaminated by the JAM or are being manipulated by them. Of course, the final decision in this matter will be yours, General.”

“The SAF depends on its computers. If we can’t rely on them, we can’t fight the JAM. Are you saying, for now at least, that their reliability hasn’t been compromised?”

“Yes, in my judgment.”

“I trust you, Major, so I’m leaving this matter in your hands. I’m sure you’ll handle this without getting our own computers pissed off at us.”

“Thank you, General.”

“It seems strange to me to be asking you not to piss off some computers. Do you think so as well, Major?”

“You have a point there,” the major said. “You know, if we hadn’t been paying attention to the relationship between Rei and Yukikaze, we probably never would have thought to pay attention to the combat awareness of the computers as well. I doubt it ever would have occurred to me. Yukikaze has changed radically. Or, rather than changed, I think—”

“You think that she’s revealing her true nature?”

“I think she’s grown as a combat intelligence, and we humans are seeing that manifested in her behavior. It’s possible that we’ll see more incidents similar to the one that just occurred, and Captain Fukai is the only one who can control her. We have to make sure that he doesn’t fail at that task. If they can build a relationship of mutual trust, then through Yukikaze we can build a similar relationship with our computers. Whether we try to curry favor with the computers or not, we’re still at war with the JAM. But there’s no doubt in my mind that doing so will be much easier if we can establish mutual trust with each other. The only hitch is that we’re trying to build trust with things that aren’t human. These are autonomous ultra-high speed computers. You can express reliability with a number, but you can’t do the same for a concept like mutual trust.”

Even as he was speaking, Major Booker thought that Rei and Yukikaze wouldn’t have been able to fight the JAM unless they already had a perfect level of mutual trust beyond that which could be expressed through numbers. That trust was immediately reflected in the way she maneuvered in combat. There was no time to wonder what would happen if a maneuver didn’t work. Rei fussed and worried over his relationship with his beloved plane so much that it made other people laugh, but that was because his very existence depended on her. Nobody could laugh at that, any more than they could help. It was a question that operated on a different level than just being satisfied with the SAF maintenance staff putting enthusiasm into maintaining Yukikaze’s airframe and electronic hardware perfectly.

“You’re right,” replied General Cooley, nodding. “I’ll try not to forget that.”

The usual tea and cocoa arrived, the cocoa with lots of whipped cream and moderate sugar. The general’s secretary, a young man who looked quite dashing in his uniform, set the drinks down, saluted, and then left the office. After he did, General Cooley’s tone changed again.

“We are getting replacement personnel, but we can’t wait for a new flight officer to be assigned to us. I had a list drawn up of several candidates from other units that might be ready for duty with the SAF and tried to grab one of them for us.”

This conversation we’ve been having was just to kill time. The main topic was about to come, Major Booker thought as he picked up his cup and waited for what she’d say next.

“Our forces are shorthanded everywhere. Nobody wants to lose a good pilot if they have one. Besides that, even someone with superior skills may not be suited for duty in the SAF. I put out the word that we’ll take anyone, no matter how disliked they are, but when I checked into the candidates, none of them had the skills we need. After this went on for a while, my list was whittled down to nothing.”

“So, I guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer then,” Major Booker said.

“We can’t just wait for new talent to arrive. I hate not knowing exactly when we’ll get someone as much as you do. Besides that, in two months the SAF is going to lose an excellent EWO, Captain N’mudo, when he retires. He’s already extended his military service out to nearly six years. I want to let him go, and he wants to go. Same thing for Captain Kozlov in seven months. We know which people we’ll be losing, but no replacements are scheduled to come. Sitting around waiting for them isn’t an option.”

“I’ll try to find some candidates from my end again,” the major replied.

“Right, and I hope you’re always on the lookout for those, but another unit contacted me with a man they hope we can use. In other words, he’s a giveaway. What I wanted to consult with you about was whether or not I should accept him. I’d like to hear your opinion on the matter.”

“Who is he? Does he want to join the SAF? Does he have any personality problems? I’d welcome a guy with a personality like Captain Fukai’s, but people like that don’t usually offer themselves to us.”

“He wasn’t the one asking us to use him. It was Colonel Rombert.”

“Colonel Rombert? From the Intelligence Forces?” asked Major Booker, the cup of cocoa up at his mouth.

“Right. Ansel Rombert. He says that if we’re shorthanded, to please use one of his men. The candidate has electronic warfare experience and doesn’t seem to have any problems as far as competency goes. But he comes with another problem.”

“Yeah…the Intelligence Forces probably want to find out what’s going on in the SAF and maybe get some intel from us as well. I think Colonel Rombert sees our situation presenting itself to him as a chance to get some quid pro quo. Did he say anything like this guy he’s offering wouldn’t be an SAF transfer but just an Intelligence Forces member on loan to us?”

“Yeah, that’s basically the impression I got from him. Rombert’s attitude toward us will probably change depending on what moves we make. For now, though, he seems to be friendly to us,” General Cooley said.

“The colonel seems to be planning to start openly collecting intel on what goes on in the SAF. This personnel recommendation may just be a bluff. In any case, I think this is a declaration from him that the Intelligence Forces aren’t just going to leave the SAF to its own devices. We should take it as a warning.”

“I don’t want Colonel Rombert and his forces interfering with what we do here. The last thing we need is them breathing down our necks. I want to avoid anything that endangers our autonomy. Normally, I’d reject the offer out of hand, but right now, we’re really hurting for personnel, so I’m thinking of accepting it,” said Cooley.

“Accept an intel forces guy with strings attached, huh? All combat intel will end up getting passed straight to Colonel Rombert. Are you saying you’re okay with that?”

“So says the man who was just saying he wanted anyone, even a JAM.”

“That was just a figure of speech, General.”

“I didn’t think so. You sounded pretty serious to me when you said a JAM human could get us info on the JAM.”

“A JAM human. What Colonel Rombert refers to as a Jammy. Well, maybe this would be better. If the colonel’s recommending this guy, it’s pretty much a guarantee that he won’t be a Jammy,” Booker said.

“I can imagine that Colonel Rombert has been watching us for any strange moves ever since we told him that we’ve already been infiltrated by a duplicate once before. It’s only natural that he can’t disregard any actions the SAF takes now. We were prepared for that already.”

“True, but I figured he’d do it behind closed doors. I never expected him to openly send in a…well, spy may be too strong a word. How about observer?”

“No, Colonel Rombert sends in his right-hand man who will then report on what happens here to him. But at the same time, we’ll know about it. With that in mind, I want you to stay on your toes. This is also a good chance for us to learn about what the Intelligence Forces are up to. What I’d like to ask your opinion about is if you think we can do that, Major Booker.”

So, that’s what she wanted to consult me about, thought Major Booker as he sipped his cocoa. The general was right; they couldn’t just ignore Colonel Rombert’s activities and speculations. If they left this to lie, the Intelligence Forces would certainly be investigating the SAF in secret. But the colonel had shown his cards; he wanted to gather information through this guy they were sending over, so that the arrangement would be an exchange of information between the SAF and the Intelligence Forces. In that respect, Colonel Rombert had made a fair proposal.

But there was no mistaking that the colonel thought that he’d be getting the better end of the deal. Would Booker be able to handle this talented soldier Rombert was sending over? He was a spy, an expert in information warfare, while the major wasn’t. To be honest, Booker didn’t really want to take on any duties outside of the war with the JAM. Still, they weren’t going to get anywhere with the war unless they had the manpower to fight it.

“Colonel Rombert has good people working for him, and so do I,” said General Cooley as she looked at Major Booker. “I know you can handle this.”

“Hm. Well, I’d like some details on the man he’s recommending.”

“Colonel Rombert arranged to have a hard copy of his file sent over. It looks like he didn’t want the computers knowing about it.”

“He probably has the file memorized anyway. That’s the safest way. It’s kind of amazing how he’s able to do that.”

“The colonel’s abilities aren’t that praiseworthy. I have a feeling that you’d be able to tell me the detailed personal histories of our personnel and the current condition of their planes immediately if I asked you to,” the general said. “You’d do well not to overestimate the man.”

“It’s an objective evaluation of him, General. The fact that the colonel has his position in the Intelligence Forces is evidence of his ability in itself. My saying it’s dangerous to make light of him is another way for me to say I’m ready for anything he dishes out. It doesn’t mean he’s got me shaking in my boots.”

“As a member of the SAF, you know that we can’t let our guard down with Colonel Rombert, right?”

“The same way we can’t get sloppy with the JAM. Anyway, I want to know about this guy they’re sending before he gets here. He can’t be a total mystery man, can he?”

“We’re still waiting on his detailed personal file, but I’ve been given a brief précis of it.”

“Then could you please start by telling me what you know?” Major Booker asked. “Colonel Rombert may be distracting us with this guy while he thinks of some other measure to use against us, but I can’t make any judgments without data to work with. I want that data and some time to consider all this.”

“Very well. If you judge that he won’t fit our needs, then I’ll turn down the colonel’s offer. Don’t take too long, though. We should decide if we’re taking him as soon as we can.”

“What’s his name?”

“Akira Katsuragi. Second lieutenant, currently assigned to the electronic warfare analysis division of the Intelligence Forces. He comes from Japan and originally enlisted in the Japanese Air Force. So he’s Japanese, not a Jammy. Why don’t we pair him up with Captain Fukai?”

“You’re saying their coming from the same country will make them more compatible? That’s—”

“Compatibility has nothing to do with it. First of all, Yukikaze needs a flight officer. Second, we’ll need Rei’s and Yukikaze’s help if we’re going to outwit the colonel. Rei won’t let a new guy do as he pleases, and neither will Yukikaze. Particularly Yukikaze, since she’ll be recording every single thing the flight officer does while aboard her. He won’t be able to interfere with any SAF computer without her knowing about it.”

Booker paused a moment, considering his options.

“You know what, General? Let’s take Colonel Rombert up on his kind offer. Right now, figuring out the JAM’s strategy is more important than speculating on the Intelligence Forces’ intentions. After that is figuring out what our unit’s CIs are up to. I’m also interested in Yukikaze on that front, but I know what she’s doing from Rei’s reports. He’s working hard to get that information out of her. Compared to that, this little intrigue on Rombert’s part is a minor annoyance, and we’re going to let him know that through the new guy.”

“I’ll give you a little time to consider this.”

“Ma’am?”

“Take some time to enjoy your cocoa, Major. If you don’t want to do it here, you can take the cup to your office.”

Booker thought it over, then replied, “I’ll do it here, General.”

“I know you think you need a private secretary too, but there’s nobody qualified available. Getting a bad candidate in there will probably just cause more trouble for you, but I want to help you with that if I can.”

“I appreciate your concern, General. I’m fine, though. My coffee and cocoa tastes best when I fix it for myself.”

But as he slowly sipped his drink, Major Booker thought that cocoa made for you by another person didn’t taste so bad.

“We need to get Captain Fukai and Yukikaze to work on this new strategy against the JAM,” General Cooley said conversationally as she sipped her tea. “I’ll be expecting you to do your best with it.”

“I’ve broached the subject with him, but I’d like for this Lieutenant Katsuragi character to get used to Yukikaze first. We can get to the other thing later. No need to rush. The JAM aren’t going anywhere. We can take our time looking for them.”

“The SAF was originally formed to carry out tactical reconnaissance, but now we seem to be moving into the realm of strategic reconnaissance,” Cooley said.

“It’d be better if we didn’t keep pursuing autonomy for our unit. The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down, you know.”

“I never set out to start playing internal FAF power games,” the general replied. “But I can’t help but think that having a bit more influence would help us to avoid problems like the ones we’re facing now.”

“The thing is, you’re still the big gun here. You run things from the shadows,” the major replied. “It’d be better if you didn’t move into the foreground. From the very start, the SAF was never simply a tactical recon unit. Right now, we’re operating as a joint tactical-strategic intelligence unit. There’s a lot of know-how we need from Colonel Rombert. The way we need to think about this information exchange is not as a strategic recon force, but as another intelligence force. Now, of course, Colonel Rombert will probably be on guard for this. And then there are the internal power games we need to play. All these family squabbles within the FAF may be just what the JAM wanted.”

“Humans really are bizarre life-forms, aren’t we?”

“Completely. In the face of an enemy threat, we still waste our time with these internal power struggles. There are those who think we have better things to do, but they usually turn out to be the losers. I used to think it was basic instinct for every life-form to seek hegemony over its environment, but now I’m not so sure. There are special groups within humanity where that idea doesn’t hold sway. The SAF is one of them. We really do occupy a special position within the mass of humanity. I can only guess at the troubles it causes you,” the major said.

“Your sympathy doesn’t help much, but I think it makes me feel a bit better.”

“As does yours for me.”

Draining the last of his cocoa, Major Booker rose from the sofa.

“Please tell me as soon as you get a hard date for Lieutenant Katsuragi’s arrival. I’ll be placing Captain Fukai in charge of bringing him up to speed on Yukikaze, so I need to make plans.”

“Understood.”

General Cooley, cup still in hand, nodded her head. Saluting the general as she sipped her tea, Major Booker exited her office.

He didn’t know what kind of guy Katsuragi was going to be, but now Yukikaze’s rear seat was filled. That was one major problem solved. The next thing to prepare for was the strategic reconnaissance mission to be carried out by Rei and Yukikaze, which could lead to a major turning point in the war with the JAM. They were going to have to carry out that mission with their new flight officer.

2

THE PERSONNEL FILE he’d requested on Lieutenant Akira Katsuragi reached Major Booker’s desk that same day. He noticed that the characters spelling his name in Japanese were the ones for redbud, fortress, and clear. After skimming through it, he summoned Captain Fukai and Captain Foss to his office.

Rei, still on standby and eager for his next mission, came quickly.

The night of Chef Murullé’s death, after that ill-fated lunch meeting, the major had gone back to his quarters with Rei to share some whiskey. Booker took Murullé’s death harder than usual. As he got increasingly drunk, Major Booker started complaining about the SAF’s manpower shortage. Rei comforted him by saying that he would fly Yukikaze even without a flight officer. He had his reasons for not wanting one. Major Booker had broached the idea of Rei and Yukikaze flying a mission to proactively make contact with the JAM. There was no way of knowing what might happen on a mission like that, and Rei didn’t want a repeat of his experience of having the JAM feed him the flesh of his last flight officer. When he told the major that, Booker replied that he understood how Rei felt, but that there was no way he could let him fly out there on his own. Two would be better than one, and while he was sorry about what had happened to Lieutenant Burgadish, the major pointed out that Rei might not have made it back alive had he flown solo last time. The old scar on his face was flushed as he talked. The major had gone on, saying that he didn’t want to lose any more of his people either, but that just wasn’t a realistic option, and so he had resigned himself to it. And he had to deal with that on his own. Rei had remained silent and simply refilled his old friend’s empty glass.

It had been two days since that meeting, and Rei hadn’t been sent out with Yukikaze. Rei entered the office and immediately asked, “Have you worked out the details for my and Yukikaze’s new mission?” The major replied that no, he hadn’t yet. Still, the major’s attitude now made his drunken bellyaching from a couple of nights back seem like it never happened.

“You get some good news for a change, Jack? You look like you just inherited a fortune.”

“You can tell? Nothing to do with money, I’m afraid, but I’ve got you a new flight officer. That’s enough to make me happy. His transfer isn’t official yet, but as long as there’s no complaint from our end, it’s a done deal. Now we won’t be down a plane anymore. I’m still putting together your special strategic recon mission against the JAM, but I’d like you to fly some regular tactical recon missions in the meantime. The new guy can get used to Yukikaze while you do.”

“Shouldn’t we leave him out of the special mission?”

“That’s part of why I want to see how good he is,” the major said. “Anyway, I want to see if he’ll be of any use to us under fire. Check over his file to see what kind of person he is before he gets here.”

“What, are you telling me to play nice with the new kid? This isn’t kindergarten. What the hell’s the matter with you?”

“I’m not asking you to get along with him. Of course I wouldn’t expect you to do that. Actually, kindergarten is a good way of putting it, since he is kind of like a transfer student. Think of him as a student from the Colonel Rombert School. He’s the kind of guy you’d throw into an intelligence war or something like that.”

Rei seemed a bit taken aback. “I didn’t realize we were that short of qualified people,” he said. “You’re really going to have me fly with a spy in the back seat?”

“I know how you feel. That’s why I’m giving you the background info on him.”

“I suppose there’s no point in my saying no to this.”

“Not before you fly with him under fire. If you judge there to be a real problem after we get him up to speed, and not one just based on your emotions, then report that to me. If it means anything, I don’t like having to pair you up with a guy like this either.”

“Hmm…” Rei replied. As he skimmed the personnel file of his new flight officer that he’d been handed, Captain Foss arrived.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said.

“You’re actually earlier than I expected. Looks like you’re getting into the flow of things here.”

“Yes, thankfully.”

“Well,” said Rei. “If you don’t need me now, then—”

“Hold it. I’m not done with you yet, Captain Fukai.”

Rei stopped at the door. Major Booker brought Captain Foss up to speed on the new flight officer’s planned arrival, including the detail that he was one of Colonel Rombert’s men.

“Now, you see,” the major said to her, “I’d like you to analyze the personality of this new man. If the file they sent isn’t enough, figure something out. I especially want you to find out if he’ll be able to work with the SAF in general and Rei in particular. Take Colonel Rombert’s expectations into account as well. Since he’s about to take up his post here, I’d like you to give this matter your continuous attention.”

“Yes, Major. In other words, you want me to try profacting this man,” she replied.

“I’m not that familiar with your field’s terminology, but I think so. I thought it was called profiling, though.”

“Profiling techniques were never widely accepted in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. Since the term was also broadly interpreted and used arbitrarily by the general public, it fell into disfavor in the scientific world. Profacting is a method used to analyze the load intensity of the mind and body in order to theoretically predict a subject’s behavior or psychology.”

“It’s your specialty. I want you to analyze him the same way you did Rei.”

“Understood, sir. I suppose we’ll need to analyze Colonel Rombert’s psychology as well.”

“Just be prudent and don’t be too obvious about it. I know you can do this.”

“I’ll try to live up to your expectations, Major.”

“Good to hear. Ask for Captain Fukai’s opinion in your analysis. He knows more about Colonel Rombert and the relationship between the SAF and the Intelligence Forces than you do.”

“You want me to help with this too?” Rei asked.

“Right,” the major said. “You’ll do this together. This is a question that concerns your continued existence, Rei. The results of his psych analysis will be helpful in that regard.”

“Roger,” Rei said, nodding. “It’ll be nice, but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with all this? It doesn’t matter who they send to us. If he’s useless in combat, we throw him out, that’s all. You used to say that was all that matters.”

“But it’s better to know the trouble spots beforehand, right?” said Captain Foss. “You can’t be too careful.”

“That’s especially true for this new guy,” Major Booker added. “It may seem like I’m overdoing things here, but I don’t think it’s a waste of time, so it’s okay.”

Major Booker rubbed the back of his head with his palm, taking some time to let the mood change before he continued.

“I’ve been thinking about trying a direct exchange of information with the JAM. I want Yukikaze and Captain Fukai to carry it out.”

“Will the enemy go along with it?” asked Captain Foss. “Make contact? With the JAM? We don’t know anything about them. It’s too dangerous!”

“Which is why I’m working on the plan,” Major Booker said. “If we just do it all of a sudden, it won’t work. After thirty years of fighting them, we still know nothing of the JAM. I’ve decided that it’s time for the SAF to initiate its own strategy regarding them. The tactical reconnaissance we’ve been conducting up till now hasn’t been getting us anywhere, and coming up with tactical plans to forestall losing will never let us win. What we want is a strategy that will lead to victory. General Cooley agrees with me, so beginning with all of the data we’ve collected on the JAM thus far, I want to begin reconstructing a portrait of them. In other words, Captain Foss, I want you to do that profacting thing you mentioned. On the JAM. I want a psychobehavioral analysis of them.”

“But the JAM aren’t human,” Rei protested.

“I know that. I also know that only humans can do this job. The question we’re trying to answer in this case is this: what is the true nature of the JAM? I want to know what they’re after. I also want to know what their goal, their ultimate goal, is in all of this. Besides that, why are they sending these human duplicates to infiltrate us? I think it’s because they want to know more about us, but I want some theoretical backing to that supposition.”

“The JAM’s ultimate goal?” asked Captain Foss. “That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? They want to invade Earth and conquer it. Are you saying that’s not what they’re after?”

“While it may be true that the JAM invaded Earth before and are still trying to gain a foothold, the idea that they’re trying to conquer the planet is just our subjective impression as humans. Or rather than our impression, it’s your impression. The SAF doesn’t see it that way. At the very least, General Cooley and I don’t think so.”

“You’re right,” Rei added. “I don’t think the JAM’s objective is simply to conquer Earth. If they were just trying to invade, they could have pulled that off without us humans knowing it. They still could. They may already have.”

“I agree. It’s as though the JAM never expected humanity to try and stop their invasion, and their actions toward us since then seem to support that. That still holds true, but their behavior is changing. They’re changing their strategy because they now seem to have realized that achieving their objective is going to require dealing with us humans first. If they’re adopting a new strategy, then we can’t afford to ignore it. We’re about to see a major turn in the course of the war, which means we can’t keep fighting it the way we’ve been. We’ve got to come up with a countermeasure, and fast! Is that clear, Foss?” Major Booker said, chiding the young doctor.

“You have to understand that conquering Earth and conquering human society are two entirely different things. Homo sapiens isn’t the only species on Earth. To an outsider observing us, humanity may not appear to be its rulers. I’ve said over and over, that’s just human prejudice talking. You might even call it human conceit. Someone could just as easily say that plants rule the earth, or the oceans, or possibly that our computers do. The JAM certainly behave as though they see things that way. What I want from you in your role as a specialist is to analyze what the JAM have done so far and then figure out what they’re thinking and how they plan to seize Earth. Add Captain Fukai’s experience to the data and then go to it.”

“I’m not a specialist in analyzing JAM behavior and psychology!” Captain Foss insisted.

“Nobody’s a specialist in that,” Rei said. “No human at least. Yukikaze and the computers probably know more about that than we do.”

“We can’t go on saying that!” Major Booker shot back. “First of all, there’s a problem in our not being able to take pride in being the ones who know the most about the JAM. There are probably lots of civilians outside of the FAF who also have an interest in this. Some among them may be doing analysis that’s even more pertinent than what the SAF is doing.”

“Yeah,” said Rei. “Like Lynn Jackson.”

“People like her who think outside the box are a dying breed. Yeah, I was also thinking of her while I was talking just now.”

“Lynn Jackson? You mean the world-famous journalist?” asked Edith.

“Right,” replied Major Booker. “She’s been covering the JAM and the FAF for a long time now. It’s her life’s work. We owe her a lot, especially Rei here.”

“Really?” replied Captain Foss. “I read her book and found it fascinating. That’s what first gave me the idea of joining the FAF.”

“I wonder what Lynn would say if she heard that,” Major Booker said. “Well, the younger generation is definitely growing up. You’ve put yourself a lot closer to living JAM than she has. It’s an undeveloped field, and you’ve got a chance to pioneer it. That’ll become a real feather in your cap, one that may even outdo what Lynn’s working on.”

“Are you being sarcastic, sir? Because that’s how I’m hearing it. I came here to be a doctor for the SAF first and a researcher second, so—”

“I was hoping to get you fired up for this, Captain Foss. If I rubbed you the wrong way, you’re just going to have to accept that your superior officer is that kind of guy and then move on. I may not mean to wound your pride, but I don’t have a lot of time to always be careful not to. In short, I really don’t give a damn. No matter what your motivations were in joining the SAF, right now, your talents are needed. Do your profacting thing on the JAM. That’s an order. You’re both to get to work on it at once and make it a top priority ongoing project. This is the first stage of our strategic reconnaissance mission against the JAM. That is all. Dismissed.”

“Yes, Major.”

Captain Foss saluted. Rei followed suit. They left the office.

3

AS THEY WALKED into the hallway, Captain Foss turned to Rei. “Let’s go,” she said. “We can use my office. This is a priority matter, so you have to do this too. We were ordered to work on this together, right?”

“We were also told that our mission is ongoing,” Rei replied. “You keep dragging me to your office so much that it’s getting so that I can barely breathe in there.”

“Well, you don’t have an office. Want to go to the mission briefing room instead?”

“I do my work aboard Yukikaze.”

“Fine with me,” Edith Foss replied with a smile. “That’d be an appropriate place to try profacting your new flight officer. Yukikaze might have an interest in it as well.”

“The new flight officer is going to be trivial to her. But it’s possible she might show some sort of response to us analyzing the JAM. Anyway, let’s start by getting the trivial stuff out of the way first. I guess we can use your office for today.” With that, Rei began walking down the corridor, but Captain Foss’s voice stopped him a moment later.

“Hold it, Captain Fukai. You had a good idea there.”

“What?”

“Your suggestion to do this aboard Yukikaze. I also think it’d be a good idea to tell her about Colonel Rombert and this new flight officer she’ll be dealing with. I think…I just think so.”

Rei tilted his head as he looked at the doctor, wondering why she’d think such a thing. He said nothing, waiting for her to go on. Sensing his curiosity, Captain Foss continued.

“I think Yukikaze is also interested in the humans she comes into close contact with, not just the JAM. Major Booker told me about the incident with Lieutenant Yagashira. He said something about Yagashira sabotaging some of Yukikaze’s systems.”

Rei nodded. “Right, the AICS. Sorry, the Air Intake Control System, I mean. It was a part that she didn’t have direct sensor input on. You could think of it as an autonomic system. Yukikaze didn’t realize it’d been tampered with, which was probably why Lieutenant Yagashira chose that system to target. There aren’t many combat-vital onboard systems you can do that to, but the AICS was one of the few exceptions.”

“Was? You mean now it isn’t?”

“It’s just jury-rigged for now, but we added in a chip that allows the central computer to monitor all onboard systems. It’s not perfect, but it plugs the security hole Yagashira found. Now you can’t pull a circuit card from the fuselage without the central computer knowing it.”

“Did Yukikaze demand that you do that?” Foss asked.

“No, it was Major Booker’s idea. The tactical computer in headquarters also said we had to do it, but it was Major Booker who made the final decision. Except … You know, now that I think of it, Yukikaze was probably aware that she was in danger from Lieutenant Yagashira’s sabotage. From the way she queries the HQ computers about her status in combat when she returns to base, to make sure that her own analysis is accurate, I’d say that she still senses that danger.”

“Then you understand what I’m thinking about this, right?”

“Just what do you expect will come from us doing our work aboard Yukikaze while she’s on standby? Do you think we’ll just talk about stuff at her and she’ll just say ‘Right, I understand’?” Rei said.

“Don’t you think that, Captain Fukai? I’m only suggesting it because I heard that you told Major Booker that Yukikaze seems to be able to understand natural spoken language on some level.”

“You’re nearly as good at collecting information as Colonel Rombert. The thing is, I kind of doubt that you really believe that she has that ability. Nobody’s as close to Yukikaze as I am, so I have to wonder how someone in your position can believe that of her so easily. It’s not the sort of thing that an outsider would say, so I wish you’d stop pretending that you believe it.”

“Are you sure you just don’t like that an outsider like me could so easily realize something that took you so long to figure out?” Foss said.

“And there you go again,” Rei said, the exasperation showing clearly on his face. “Analyzing my mind and saying ‘Right, that being the case, this must be like this.’ You can say what you want, but—”

“Think about it yourself, Rei. You can’t bear having the way another person talks, like me, affect how you feel. You claim that it’s not your problem so that you can avoid dealing with it. But your mind is yours and yours alone, and when you declare that something isn’t your problem, you’re giving that up. Maintaining such a weak sense of self won’t get you very far, even with Yukikaze, and I think you know that too. You’re changing. If you just keep that in mind, you’ll be able to calmly value yourself in relation to any human group you interact with. That’s what’s known as getting stronger.

“Furthermore, it’s fine for you to say that other people don’t concern you, but you’re still in a fragile state. I think you need to continue your rehabilitation. As your doctor, I recommend that you continue with your training. By doing that, you’ll be able to overcome your fear of Yukikaze. I believe your fear to be connected not only to your worries over her, but also to your desire to defeat the JAM. My job as a doctor in the SAF is to help you do just that. Now, I’ll admit, I’m ignorant when it comes to Yukikaze, especially on the hardware side, but I’m trying my best to understand it. If I’m completely wrong about her, then please, set me straight. But calmly. Do you really think I’m just pretending to understand her?”

Rei took a deep breath. This doctor had done her profacting number on him, and it was clear to see that he couldn’t dispute what she had said.

“Do you…” he began. “Do you still have clearance to enter the SAF hangar bay?” The hangar where Yukikaze waited wasn’t open to just anyone. Edith had been given clearance once before, when she’d boarded Yukikaze for a mission, but Rei wasn’t sure if it was still valid.

“I don’t know,” she said. “We can find out by asking Major Booker—”

“We can also find out by just going down there,” Rei said. “I’m inviting you to my workplace. If you can’t get in, it’ll also be a good chance for me to see if Yukikaze knows that I need you. If I tell her that I do, she’ll accept you herself and probably make a request to Major Booker to grant you access.”

“Did you just say that you need me?”

“Yeah.” Rei nodded. “You’re still my doctor, and as much as I may not like what you just said, I can’t disagree with it either. It bugs the hell out of me, but I won’t argue. If you were one of our maintenance engineers, I’m pretty sure you’d keep our planes in perfect shape. Anyway, let’s go.”

Rei headed off toward the hangar bay, but Captain Foss stood where she was for a moment. “I’m grateful for the recognition, Captain Fukai.”

“You should be more thankful to Major Booker than to me,” he said. “He has a lot of faith in you.”

“Not complete faith, though,” she said as she fell into step at Rei’s side. “The major gave me this job of profacting the JAM because he thinks I can become a true member of the SAF. It’s like a test. He doesn’t really expect me to come up with a new understanding of the JAM or make some unforeseen discovery that he and the rest of you SAF people haven’t. I mean, the SAF has been working on the JAM on its own for so long, but—”

“You don’t think you can pass the test?”

“The key to passing it lies in whether or not I’m flattered by you and Major Booker, as well as my acceptance of the SAF’s current understanding of the JAM. I understand that. Neither he nor General Cooley will have much faith in someone who doesn’t accept common sense.”

“Unfortunately, that sort of thinking doesn’t apply in the SAF or the FAF.”

“How do you mean?”

“That attitude you have of passing a test, like you’re here studying abroad to get a degree. Really, it’s what you’d expect from an honors student. You think that your efforts will be recognized no matter what the outcome of your work. The problem is that the SAF is a combat unit. All we care about here are results. Major Booker has already decided that you’re useful to us, so you can’t treat this like some test you can take your time on. In other words, this is combat duty. He expects results we can use, no matter what expectations you may have. He really does expect you to make a new discovery that will shatter our existing view of the JAM. There’s no way I can describe just how naive your view is that this is some sort of test. And even though he knew that you’d see it that way, the major still gave you this mission. Even flattered you by saying you’d outdo Lynn Jackson. It was hard for him too. I could see that from the start. So don’t go running away from reality, Edith.”

She paused a moment as his words sank in.

“Yeah,” she finally said, and then it was her turn to let out a sigh. “I guess I’m just not confident that I can profact the JAM. It’s that simple. Maybe his expectations just aren’t justified. Maybe I don’t have the ability, and I just don’t want to admit it to myself.”

“The honors student who never had to deal with a setback. It’s a common story.”

“Can you knock it off with that talk?” Foss said.

“Sorry.”

“Still, you’re not one to get up on a soapbox like that. Great, now I hate myself.”

“Better to have someone tell you to stop acting like a spoiled brat than just say, ‘I hate you.’ You won’t survive here without reminders, and if you don’t have real ability, you’ll just be killed by the JAM. Besides, you’re a doctor. Doctors are supposed to act as though they’re superior to their patients. If they don’t, it just confuses us. An overconfident partner can be hard to deal with, but so can one who’s overly timid. I don’t want you ending up like that.”

“There are times, when I’m off the clock, that I like to complain about things too,” Foss said.

“Well, we’re on duty right now.”

“Yeah… Still, you can’t live your life at work. Do you ever take time to just relax?”

“Yeah.”

“Like, when you and Major Booker have a drink?”

“I suppose.”

“You have a good friend in James Booker,” Foss said. “I’m jealous. I don’t have any girlfriends here to commiserate with or even just talk to about women’s stuff.”

“Girlfriends, huh? You never forget that you’re a woman, do you?”

“Of course not. Unlike certain people I might name, I don’t forget that I’m human either, and gender comes with that. I’m a woman. I don’t consider myself some sort of asexual life-form. That goes for any normal human being, on the battlefield or anywhere else. That goes for General Laitume as much as it does for Colonel Rombert. You, however, are a slight exception.”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Rei replied, turning his gaze away from Edith. “My awareness of my own humanity is annoying, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I know,” she said. “I’ve learned that very clearly from my work with you. One wrong step and you totally depersonalize. That’s why you still need rehabilitation. You need to fight the JAM from a human perspective. That’s far more threatening to them. Humans have gender. I don’t think the JAM understand that. Neither does Yukikaze, for that matter.”

Rei just grunted in response. That, he thought, is most probably the case.

“I’m a woman, you’re a man, and the both of us are human,” Edith said, not looking at Rei. “Whether we’re at work or in our private lives, that never changes. Not when we get angry at each other or when we’re complaining to each other. I can complain about little things right here, right now, only because you are human. If I thought of you as a machine, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this. Doctors don’t share their private complaints with their patients.”

“Are you doing it because you think of me as a partner?”

“Yeah. Funny, huh?”

“Not really. Actually, I think it’d be interesting to try complaining to Yukikaze too.”

“I beg your pardon?” Foss said.

“When I think about it, I realize that I never thought of Yukikaze as a machine. It just occurred to me that I complain to her all the time when we’re in combat. I don’t talk to her like I’m better than she is. I get pissed off at her as though she was my partner and chat with her when I relax. Like now, with you. We’re equals. I was just wondering what Yukikaze thinks of us. At the very least, I’m sure that she sees me differently from other people. She isn’t just a machine.”

“Has Yukikaze ever warned you to knock off the chatter?”

“Well…yeah, actually. Now that I think about it, there have been situations where that’s happened. I wasn’t aware of her talking to me, but—”

“That’s because you always just thought of her as being an extension of yourself. You wouldn’t have considered it communication from someone else.”

“I’m reconsidering that.”

“I may need to do a psychobehavioral analysis on Yukikaze as well.”

“Having a disinterested third party doing that for her would be useful. Major Booker doesn’t seem that concerned about it, but it’s of vital importance to me,” Rei said. “She’s been my partner for a long time, after all.”

“Let’s give it a try. If we can get Yukikaze to complain to us, it might relieve some of the stress she’s under.”

“I never thought of her having psychological stress, but she probably does. The same as the maintenance teams, or Major Booker.”

“So while I’m profacting the JAM, I’ll also be working on stress reduction for a fighter plane named Yukikaze,” Captain Foss said, taking a deep breath. “You people must have really hooked me deep into your environment, because that doesn’t seem nearly as asinine to me as it should.”

“But it doesn’t feel bad either, does it?”

“No. I used to be scared of you and the SAF, but not anymore. That change in itself may be something to fear though.”

“That’s my fault. I took you into battle in Yukikaze. I figured if you were one of us, you wouldn’t be scared. However…” Rei stopped in front of the hangar bay entrance and turned to face Captain Foss. “I want you to stay a neutral party in all this. Stay on guard to see if I and the rest of the SAF are just crazy. I know this is a selfish and difficult request, but…it’s hard for me to explain, but somehow I think I can trust you more that way.”

“Basically, you want me to become a standard for objective reality.”

“Exactly. Like a spy operating on her own, observing enemy movements.”

“I’ve had training for stuff like that,” Foss said.

“You’ve had spy training? That’s amazing.”

“No, as a psychologist. It’s training designed to prevent me from assimilating a delusional patient’s fantasy world. It’s difficult because unlike other illnesses, like infectious diseases, you can’t take precautionary measures like getting vaccinated. Still, I’ll try my best. If I go crazy, then there’ll be nobody to help you with your rehabilitation. This business I’m in is all about cause and effect. If I fall in love with my partner, it’s all over.”

“That’s up to you to judge, but if you’re going to say that, then I’ll say this—I don’t like your personality,” Rei said as he touched his hand to the entry ID plate by the blast doors. “But I respect your battle skills.”

“Battle skills… Just the way I’d expect you to put that.”

The abilities you need to survive, Rei thought. Captain Foss pressed her hand to the ID plate as well.

4

NO “ACCESS DENIED” warning interrupted Captain Foss’s entry into the hangar bay. The two of them stepped side by side through the blast doors. As the doors shut behind them, a second set of doors leading to the hangar opened automatically.

“Looks like I’m still welcome to enter,” she said.

“Maybe you still are,” Rei replied. “Or maybe you were granted new access. Still, it shows that you are considered necessary around here.”

Grabbing two headsets in the prep room, he handed one to Captain Foss, and they climbed aboard Yukikaze.

Captain Foss looked like she was having a hard time climbing in, loaded down as she was with folders full of documents, so Rei gave her a hand. Once she was settled into the rear seat, Rei opened his own folders and asked what they should do first.

“I’d like to access Dr. Lecter, my personal computer in my office. How do I do that from here?”

She said it like she thought it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, she could do it, but it wouldn’t be that easy. Rei first indicated for her to plug in her headset, then switched the onboard comm system on.

“You’ve had training on how to use the electronic warfare systems in front of you, in case you have to go into combat. Do you remember it?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Rei flipped the master arm switch to ON. The electronic warfare system in back activated, indicating to Captain Foss that she could use it.

As he did, Rei saw MISSION UNKNOWN flash onto the main display. It was a kind of warning from Yukikaze, asking what he was planning to do. He’d already experienced what would happen if he ignored her hint.

Rei contacted the tactical computer in SAF HQ and from it called up a catalog of past missions and orders on the display. He looked for any orders from Major Booker regarding the task he’d handed to them today. He found them next to the current date: personality analysis of Lieutenant Katsuragi and prediction of future JAM behavior. Each had been assigned a mission ID number, with Captain Foss and Captain Fukai listed as leading them. Since these had been entered, explaining the details to Yukikaze would be easy.

Rei opened a voice line to Major Booker’s office. The response came quickly.

“Captain Fukai, I just got another alert from STC. What are you doing, prepping Yukikaze for combat?”

Rei read aloud the mission numbers displayed on the screen and asked that Yukikaze be added to the column indicating the personnel with command responsibility. When he explained that Captain Foss thought that Yukikaze would be interested in these missions as well, the major agreed.

“I’ll authorize it,” he said. “It’s in your hands now.”

Just as Major Booker had said, the tactical computer informed Yukikaze that she’d been added to the mission. She quickly confirmed the change; the MISSION UNKNOWN display vanished from the screen. Preparations, complete.

Rei called out to Captain Foss.

“Use the emergency tactical link. Activate the SAF super linker. You can do it, Edith. It’s on the menu in front of you. Just select it and hit execute.”

“Executing,” she replied. “Confirming SSL startup. I did it!”

“Right now, you’ve got a direct voice line to the SAF tactical computer. Just tell it your request. Call it ‘STC’ when you’re talking to it.”

“STC, call up my computer and have it link with Yukikaze.”

Denied, came the brusque reply from STC.

“Okay, first, it doesn’t know what ‘my computer’ is,” Rei said. “Second, you don’t make a request from your computer to Yukikaze. You have to say Yukikaze is making the request. First, you have to make a declaration like ‘This is Yukikaze, emergency,’ or even ‘B-1, emergency.’ If you make that declaration, you don’t have to tell it who you are. A request like that coming from aboard Yukikaze during a mission can be confirmed by both STC and headquarters, and they’ll give you top priority in executing it. In order for STC to know which personal computer you’re calling and want to access, you have to give it either its registry number or its personal name. That’s all.”

“STC, this is Yukikaze. Emergency. Requesting access to personal computer Dr. Lecter in the office of SAF flight surgeon Captain Foss.”

This is STC. Roger. Initiating emergency enforced linkup. Link, established.

“Tell it ‘roger.’ Say ‘This is Yukikaze’ first, though.”

“This is Yukikaze. Roger.—Okay, Captain Fukai, I know we’re connected, but how do I use Dr. Lecter from here?”

“You can bring up a soft keyboard on the EW display in front of you.”

It was meant for making it easy to program the programmable systems on board as well as to enter established orders, but wasn’t functional during flight.

“It’s on the menu. Just select it.”

“Got it. Big display, huh?”

“It’s meant to be used while you’re wearing flight gloves. You can change the size if you want.”

“Got it. So…this is a virtual version of my personal computer within the SAF tactical computer, right?”

“It’s an independently operating SAF personal computer. Not virtual. You’re accessing your office terminal by an individual domain that’s assigned to each SAF PC. That private domain acts as a single personal computer, so I suppose it’s a virtual computer if you look at it that way. You can load any sort of application software you have on it, but you can’t actually connect to the real PC through it. It was set up that way for security, so you can’t call it a totally virtual computer. Didn’t you know that?”

“I remember it being explained to me, but seeing it laid out in a hierarchical display like this is the first time I can really see how it works,” Captain Foss said as she looked at the EW display. “That means that all the data on Dr. Lecter is going through the tactical computer. I never realized that at all.”

“Fundamentally, it can’t be tampered with. I suppose anybody could if they got permission from General Cooley, but it’s probably pretty hard to get clearance under false pretenses. That’s the official line at least, but from a hardware perspective, the personal computers are just a segment of the tactical computer. The STC could probably do whatever it wanted to them if it decided to.”

“I’m sure. Like access it freely from Yukikaze the way we’re doing now.”

“The SAF super linker makes that possible. The SSL lets you operate the tactical computer from Yukikaze by means of a transmission protocol that’s unique to the SAF. You can’t do it unless you’re on a mission. We’re only able to do this because we’re acting under General Cooley’s orders.”

“But that means that any squadron member could do this. My patients’ privacy would mean nothing then,” Foss said. “I suppose encrypting my stored files would be a waste of time.”

“No, it wouldn’t. It’d take time to decrypt them, which greatly increases the likelihood of you noticing if someone’s been reading them on the sly. Anyway, let’s get to work.”

Captain Foss’s computer Dr. Lecter had profacting applications installed. Rei had learned of the various psychoanalytical and diagnostic software applications Foss used from his numerous examinations, but as to what specific tools she was using now, he hadn’t a clue. Rei monitored her work from the display in front.

Captain Foss started her profacting software.

“This is T-FACPro II, the most powerful profacting tool currently available,” she explained to Rei. “Using the numerical data it outputs from the effects of real-world behavior caused by mental load components, I can set up a certain situation and then simulate what sort of actions the target personality will take and the mental state they’ll have. It’s actually a standard tool in profacting. Ever heard of it?”

“No,” replied Rei.

“The psychoanalysis engine this tool runs on is top-notch, but it can’t really demonstrate its true effectiveness here in the FAF.”

“Why not?”

“T-FACPro II was designed to be linked up with MAcBB, a huge active database used exclusively for T-FACPro. MAcBB contains the prediction data from countless researchers who use T-FACPro II as well as the actual behaviors of the target personalities. When the gap between the predicted behavior and the actual behavior is too great, the prediction technique is judged to be flawed. Then, T-FACPro II’s analysis engine looks for the cause and attempts to select a prediction technique more in line with observed behavior. It’ll be hypothetical, but that hypothetical method would send feedback from the other versions of T-FACPro II running out there through the MAcBB database. If similar examples show that the method works, then it’s no longer considered hypothetical. By those means, we accumulate usable methods and samples through MAcBB. In other words, the greater the number of researchers accessing it, the smarter T-FACPro II’s analysis engine gets. However, I can’t access MAcBB from the FAF. Cut off from that, T-FACPro II can’t reach its full potential.”

“But it’s not completely useless, right?”

“Right. With my own know-how, we have a pretty good chance of getting a result. My T-FACPro II is better than the FAF’s own analysis tools and probably on par with the ones used exclusively by the SAF.” As she said this, Captain Foss began entering numeric data that seemed to be about Lieutenant Katsuragi.

“You said it compares predicted behavior with actual behavior?” Rei asked, being careful not to interrupt her.

“Right. Predictions made by the software are technically called predicts, while the actual behavior are actuals—”

“How does T-FACPro II know what the effects of real-world behavior from the target are? Do you input that?”

“Basically, yes. It isn’t always possible for it to judge if a prediction was accurate or not. If we take you for example, if I were to operationalize some specific behavior like ‘How will Captain Fukai feel about Yukikaze from now on,’ and profacted you, T-FACPro II would output an answer like ‘He will fear her and take steps to eliminate his fear.’ Then I’d keep you under observation to see if that’s correct, and after I judge if it is, I enter the result. After that, T-FACPro II will judge the method it used as being a good one.”

“But nothing you just described depends on that tool, does it?”

“That’s because you’re recognizing that the results of your profact are correct. That would be useful in an actual profacting where you’re making more detailed and specific predictions. The predicted result isn’t always the actual one, so it outputs a probability for how likely a prediction will be to come true.”

“But, in the end, it’s still just a prediction,” Rei said. “Basically, the program’s just a tool used by a researcher who’s accumulated experiences for the database. No matter how precisely T-FACPro II makes its predictions, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be correct.”

“Yes, of course. And having said that, there are times when it has such a high degree of accuracy that a user may become convinced that its predictions are absolutely correct. It’s easy for experts to fall into that trap, to say nothing of amateurs. Well, shall we give it a try? What would you like to know about Lieutenant Katsuragi? Try giving me a concrete scenario. For instance, something like ‘What will he say when he sees Yukikaze?’ ”

“Is that even possible to predict?”

“I still can’t profact him with a high degree of accuracy. All I did was enter his PAC code.”

“What’s a PAC code?”

“His standardized personal analytic classification code. Don’t you know about that? The FAF authorities used it to determine that assigning you to the SAF 5th Squadron would be a good fit for you. Naturally, Lieutenant Katsuragi had a code assigned to him as well. That’s what I was inputting just now.”

“Is everyone in the FAF numerically classified like that?”

“Not just in the FAF. You may not have known it, but you’ve probably had a PAC code following you around since childhood. Well, how they use the code varies from nation to nation. Some just use them to classify criminals, but the PAC code itself is a worldwide standard. It’s not unique to the FAF. Starting with blood type and an introversion/extroversion scale, it classifies you according to various psychological tendency components and arranges them as numeric data. T-FACPro II can read PAC codes directly, but in a full-scale usage of the software, it utilizes something called a PAX code, which is just an extended version of the PAC code, in order to achieve a greater level of predictive accuracy. It adds even more detailed psychological tendency components onto the PAC code, and coding those extensions is basically my job in all this. It leads to an even more detailed personality assessment. While you have to use T-FACPro II when you’re profacting, anyone can operate the software itself.”

“I see.”

“Since a mistake in analysis would lead to a flawed profacting, I’m sure you can understand why it requires an expert’s experience and advanced knowledge.”

“Have you made a PAX code for me too?”

“Yes, but your values aren’t fixed. You’re gradually changing.”

“I’d expect that. Humans are essentially analog. I doubt digital numeric data could express an individual personality,” Rei said.

“No,” Captain Foss replied. “It’s actually quite rare to have to revise past PAX code data to achieve an accurate profacting, as in your case. I’ve never seen anyone demonstrate personality changes as dramatic as yours. I originally thought I’d made a mistake when I first created your PAX code, but T-FACPro II determined that it was highly probable that the code was fine; you were changing. At this point, I know that was correct. It’s very rare. You have noticed how much of an interest I have in you, right?”

“But that isn’t actually me,” Rei said. He lifted his eyes from the main display and looked back into the rear seat as he spoke. “You’re telling me that a person’s will can be determined by a simple code. But I could look at the same thing more than once, and I might like it one time and not like it the other, despite what the code says, right?”

“It’s not perfect, but if you keep working with T-FACPro II, it may be able to predict what you’ll say over the course of repeated iterations.”

“So, human beings can be expressed as some kind of numerical code? That’s ridiculous. Don’t you think so?”

“I’ll agree that it’s unrealistic to expect to perfectly express a person as a data string,” said Captain Foss as she looked at Rei. “Think of it this way: all humans carry a chemical code within them called DNA, but it’s obvious that reading that code won’t tell you everything there is to know about a person. You may be able to tell what sort of things a person with a certain code might like, but it won’t tell you where they live. You might be able to predict what sort of habitat they’d prefer, but nothing specific of course, because there are countless habitable places where an individual may ultimately settle. Since the code is limited, you can’t express everything in it. The PAX code doesn’t represent everything there is about a person any more than their DNA does. In other words, the code is simply an expression of possible properties that may materialize, and the probability of them doing so. People with the genetic code for longevity don’t all end up living long lives. They could die in accidents or be murdered—”

“What I’m trying to say,” Rei replied, cutting her off, “isn’t nearly that tortuously detailed. The way I’d put it would be along the lines of ‘Numbers don’t determine the man.’ ”

“What you’re feeling right now is discomfort at the idea that your existence is being manipulated by others,” Captain Foss responded, not missing a beat. “You don’t like the thought that you can be so easily represented by an external numeric expression called a code. The thing is, no matter what sort of number you’re talking about, be it your PAX code or your FAF recognition number, changing a number doesn’t change who you actually are. Changes within you change the code, never the other way round. The thing that changes you is yourself. As your doctor, I understand very well your discomfort over the notion of the code manipulating people, but I can tell you that you’re mistaken.”

“You think so?” Rei replied, turning back to the front and folding his arms. “But if changing myself changes my code, then by extension you’re saying I should be able to alter my own DNA.”

“You’re basing that premise on the idea that the code manipulates the person, which is definitely mistaken. That’s what we in my profession call a delusion. You can’t encode the essential character of a human being. You also said that was ridiculous, didn’t you?”

“What about the fact that humans carry a DNA code within them?”

“Well, if you’re going to put it like that, then I’ll say that DNA isn’t the only internal code that determines who you are. Think of it this way: humans are more than just the result of their physical DNA code.”

“Hmm…”

“You can’t change the arrangement of your DNA,” Captain Foss said. Rei listened in silence.

“But, assuming that changes in your essential character changes an internal code, then the only conclusion that works is that some part of you aside from your DNA gets changed. When you think of it that way, it seems much more likely. For example, all of the somatic cells that make up a human being carry the same DNA, but which parts of them are active at any moment is different for each cell. Suppose it was possible to encode that pattern. Aside from that, human intelligence and consciousness would have to be taken into account as well. The entire system would then become a variable length, endlessly rewritable internal code of limitless capacity. Who could write such a code? It would take the life span of the universe for you to do it yourself. I don’t think that humans and other life-forms operate that inefficiently, but assuming for now that such a code exists, a change in it doesn’t necessarily change your self. In the instant your self changes, however, that code gets rewritten. On that point, this imaginary internal code and the PAX code are the same. Would you agree?”

“If this turns into a debate in your field of expertise, I have no way of winning it,” Rei said.

“Debate is exactly the way I’d expect you to put it. Still, you raise a good point. Some experts have argued that, rather than an ideal internal code, a limited buffer area exists within people into which is encoded predictive behavioral awareness. That’s what T-FACPro II simulates. If you want me to give you a lecture so you can understand exactly how profacting works with T-FACPro II, I can do that later, once we’re off the clock. But we have a job to do now, and Lieutenant Katsuragi is the one being analyzed and not you.”

After telling Rei that it was natural for someone being profacted themselves to be interested in how T-FACPro II worked, Captain Foss began a new operation.

5

A BUFFER AREA encoded with predictive behavioral awareness… It was like a feed-forward control program, Rei thought, putting what Captain Foss had said into terms he could relate to.

Yukikaze had those functions as well. However, her countless varieties of programs—her codes, if you would—could all be analyzed and understood, but understanding the programs would not allow Rei to understand Yukikaze. That gap between coding and behavior applied equally to humans, Yukikaze, and other computers. As Edith had said, codes and programs simply indicated probabilities. They weren’t a being’s essential character, and besides, Edith had just told Rei that it was delusional to think of the codes as determining human essence.

Suppose Yukikaze’s essential character wasn’t simply a collection of codes and it wasn’t controlled by them. If that were the case, she wouldn’t need to rewrite her existing programs in order to perform novel behaviors she never had previously. In other words, she might not necessarily always behave as she’d been programmed to.

Rei instinctively shook his head at the idea.

But if he followed Captain Foss’s line of reasoning, that would have to be the case. Was it just sophistry on her part? No… It was possible that it was actually true. Yukikaze wasn’t controlled by her programming. He’d always had vague doubts that she was, and while common sense told him that such a thing was impossible, his own experiences in observing her behavior were telling him otherwise. He had a feeling that Yukikaze possessed some essential character that wasn’t fully determined by the limits of her programming

It would be impossible to understand Yukikaze by analyzing her code. You could say that the only way he might one day be able to understand her would be by observing her actions. That must apply to the JAM as well.

There was no predetermined model like the PAX code set up for Yukikaze or the JAM. That would make profacting them difficult. Now Rei understood why Captain Foss had been so hesitant to try it.

“I got an interesting result just from entering Lieutenant Katsuragi’s PAC code. Can you see it up there?”

Captain Foss’s question roused Rei from his reverie, and he looked down at the display, which mirrored the captain’s personal computer, Dr. Lecter. Something that looked like a correlation graph had appeared.

“Yeah. What’s it showing me?”

“It’s the result of my asking T-FACPro II who in the SAF has the closest profact to Lieutenant Katsuragi. The line tracing up toward the upper right shows Katsuragi’s individual psychological tendency components, while the red dot near it shows the person who’s closest to him.”

“And that is…?”

“Guess.”

He paused.

“Is it me?”

“Bingo. Exactly right. That red dot is you. Lieutenant Katsuragi’s personality is almost exactly like yours.”

Rei was silent, wondering what he should say.

“However,” Captain Foss continued. “Not as you are now. That red dot is based on the psych evaluation from your old PAC code. If Colonel Rombert had spotted you back then, today you might be serving in the Intelligence Forces instead of the SAF. Interesting, isn’t it? But you’re different now. Let me show you another readout.”

Captain Foss switched Lieutenant Katsuragi’s psychological analysis code to display as a horizontal line, the graph showing how the other SAF personnel matched up to it. Somebody with exactly the same code as him would have a similar horizontal line, but nobody matched it exactly. Even so, with a unit comprised of people with similar personality types, the lines didn’t vary that much. The wavy lines depicting the other personnel entwined around Katsuragi’s. The one which intersected his at numerous points represented Rei when he was still a second lieutenant, Captain Foss explained.

“As you are now, Lieutenant Katsuragi is like a ghost of who you used to be. I can predict that you’ll have feelings of hatred for him, like you would for a close relative. I also expect that Lieutenant Katsuragi won’t understand why you dislike him. If you were to tell him that you hated him, I have no doubt that his response would be—”

“Not my problem.”

“ ‘Who cares? It’s not my problem.’ I can predict that’s what he’d think, even if he doesn’t say it. I doubt you think it isn’t your problem now.”

“I’d like to try checking that out with T-FACPro II.”

“You’re not serious, are you?” Captain Foss replied. “Why would you ask an AI how you felt? There are other ways to confirm how T-FACPro II is operating. Anyway, I’ll create a PAX code for the lieutenant. Major Booker will want to know how Lieutenant Katsuragi himself will accept Colonel Rombert’s orders. I’ll start working on that. You keep an eye on Yukikaze. I think she’ll be interested in T-FACPro II’s functions.”

The main display reacted as soon as Captain Foss had finished. It was a message from Yukikaze. Rei felt a familiar chill run down his spine; Yukikaze hadn’t been resting at all.

JAM can be profacted with the following coding.

The message was followed by a scrolling list of numeric data.

“What the hell is this?” said Captain Foss.

“It’s a profacting of the JAM, according to Yukikaze,” Rei answered, a knot forming in his stomach as he watched. “I think these numbers are PAX codes for the JAM. Yukikaze must be using the PAX code generation engine in T-FACPro II.”

T-FACPro II: JAM aspire to receive us…I judge this to be true.

“What’s this?”

“T-FACPro II’s profacting results say that the JAM want to meet with us, and Yukikaze agrees.”

“The result you’d expect, right?”

“No,” Rei said, almost groaning as he watched the display. “She’s never indicated anything like the ‘JAM aspire to receive us.’ ”

“The SAF believes that the JAM don’t consider humans to be their adversaries, right? But this—”

“ ‘Us’ in this case means Yukikaze and me, not the FAF. And if the word receive is being used to mean ‘welcome’ rather than ‘meet with the enemy,’ then you can’t say that this is an expected profacting result. Both Major Booker and I are sure that the JAM want to contact us, but this is slightly different from our theory.”

“Receive can also mean ‘welcome you as one of us.’ ”

“You mean the JAM are hot to drag Yukikaze into their ranks and make her one of them? How is any of that statement a result you’d expect?”

“If you interpret it that way, then it is. Maybe the JAM want to initiate some sort of cease-fire.”

“If it’s between the JAM and Yukikaze, and not the SAF, it’s possible. She contacted the JAM once already… In any case, this is just a prediction. The more important matter here is that Yukikaze is indicating that she thinks that the prediction is true.”

“Well, I’ll leave Yukikaze to you, then. Her profacting the JAM is a big help to me. It’ll save me a lot of time—”

“You’re missing the point, Edith.”

“Why?”

“T-FACPro II was made for humans, not to be used against the JAM. It’s your job to use it that way. Yukikaze was just trying it out for herself. She has her own ways of predicting JAM behaviors and desires. That’s why she said she judged the results from T-FACPro II to be true. The big help to us is that we can now use T-FACPro II as a tool to ask Yukikaze herself her predictions about the JAM. I think it’ll work. We have a new way to communicate with Yukikaze.”

“Right. So, either way, we still have to do our job on the JAM as well. Too bad.”

“You’re analyzing the JAM from a human standpoint. ‘Too bad’? That’s not how I’d expect an honors student to talk. Maybe you’re starting to fear how amazing Yukikaze is now too.”

“I consider you my partner, so I’m just doing a little idle grumbling at you. I’m not lazy, but I’m not the brilliant honors student you keep calling me either. You don’t know me very well at all,” Foss said. And then, “And what do you mean, I’m developing a fear of Yukikaze?!”

Just as she doesn’t understand just how powerful her own T-FACPro II is, Captain Foss doesn’t appreciate Yukikaze’s amazing potential, Rei thought. Right now, Yukikaze was using her internal program functions to try and explain the inexplicable JAM. That meant Yukikaze was a truly autonomous life-form that couldn’t be explained as just being the sum of her codes. To someone who’d known her for so long, the shock of realization made him shiver. But even now, Captain Foss probably only saw her as a fighter plane equipped with a particularly powerful computer.

“Yukikaze isn’t interested in the human standpoint. She wouldn’t profact from that point of view. That’s why your work is necessary. She’s trying things I never imagined she would, and if she’s doing that, then I’ll bet the JAM are doing things we can’t imagine either.”

“And I’m supposed to profact something like that. I get depressed just thinking about it.”

“Is that because of the way I put it?”

“No, it’s just more idle bitching on my part,” Foss said. “Okay, I get it. I’ll cut it out.”

Even if the JAM were beyond their imagination, it was still possible to approach them. Yukikaze had indicated as much with her prediction of their strategy against her. The SAF would have to consider that in detail. Booker’s decision to have Captain Foss participate in this strategic recon operation against the JAM has already yielded results beyond anything we expected, Rei thought.

No matter what method they used, a prediction was just a prediction. But what Yukikaze had just told them was something that nobody could have predicted, something that could force the FAF to reexamine its entire strategy versus the JAM. That was probably what Major Booker had been seeking in all this. He’d judged that they had reached the end of their rope vis-à-vis the JAM. The FAF and SAF were hamstrung by their own strategies, working themselves to exhaustion with little to show for it. And so they needed a new point of view that would allow them to create their own unique strategy and break the stalemate. In short, Booker had initiated this strategic reconnaissance operation in order to save them all.

Until the SAF flies a sortie based on our intelligence, we can’t know how successful this operation is. This is still only phase one, but it’s already borne fruit, Rei thought happily. Oh, soon, he wished. How he wished to fly into battle again.

Then Rei remembered Captain Foss’s words, how the personality of Yukikaze’s new flight officer Lieutenant Katsuragi was identical to how Rei used to be.

Well, whoever came along, it wasn’t his problem. As long as he was a good EWO, that was all that mattered. Yukikaze probably thought the same thing. After all, she’d shown no interest in Lieutenant Katsuragi’s profacting, had she?

But even as he was thinking that, Rei realized that he was eager to meet the new guy in person. Was it to see if T-FACPro II’s prediction was correct? Or was he looking forward to moving the operation to phase two? There is that, Rei thought, but not only that.

Rei wanted to see what sort of person he used to be. Not as a useful means of self-reflection, but simply a desire to see his past self from the outside. If the prediction about Lieutenant Katsuragi was accurate, he’d be able to see that as surely as if he were looking into a mirror.

No, the old him would never have been interested in anything like this. He’d hardly ever even looked at his face in a mirror. The one hanging in the bathroom he used to shave, with its slightly warped reflection, was always good enough for him. He’d never felt the need to get one that afforded him a clearer view of himself. Yeah, that’s what Katsuragi is probably like. Rei smiled unconsciously at the thought of it.

“Wanna let me in on the joke?” Captain Foss asked from behind him, wondering why he was suddenly smiling.

“Lieutenant Katsuragi probably doesn’t own his own mirror. I just thought that was funny,” Rei replied.

And even as he said it, Rei realized just how much he really had changed.

“You can ask him about that yourself when he arrives,” she said.

Deciding that would be how he would initiate phase two of this mission, Rei started planning his report to Major Booker. And just for a change, he would write it by hand.