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Chapter 54: Renya Gouto 1
Well, let’s finally see what the deal is with Gouto.
Music: Time Drain (Rikako Watanabe)
Morimura enters the room.
I believe I told you using the gate is prohibited.
Is history one of your better subjects?
……
I have some theories, myself. I’d like to know if they’re accurate. For example… the true location of the lost nation of Yamataikoku.
I didn’t know what this was either. It’s apparently in reference to an ancient country in Wa (the oldest name for Japan) circa 1000 BC to 300 CE. According to Wikipedia, scholars have debated its location for generations. Now, back to 13 Sentinels!
And the truth behind the Honnoji Incident—how Oda Nobunaga really died.
And this is just the time Oda Nobunaga got betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide, his general, for unknown reasons, as famously depicted in Nioh 2.
Unfortunately, my paper in middle school was bound to the failures of our historians. In theory, I could update it into a full report.
……
…In theory, at least. A shame that the gates are locked to specific points in time.
…What are you really working towards?
That implies an understanding of what IS “like me.” Or at least… that you believe you understand me.
That’s… not the point. You need to stop using the gate. I’m going to seal this place off.
*chuckle*
I don’t know what you’re—
Wait.
Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)
But it does present certain advantages. Digitized data can be altered, fabricated, falsified… No intelligent person should trust it. But you already know that, don’t you?
……
I hardly think you’re in a position to talk. If anyone’s changed, it’s you. I can only wonder why.
What are you…
Ms. Morimura…
Well, the surface is a total loss. The automated factories are all running at full capacity.
They’re mass-producing kaiju.
The technology itself isn’t so different from 40 years ago. The real surprise was finding that it’s all been integrated into one unified system.
…You sure don’t seem like someone from your time.
It’s here that I take a couple steps around the room and confirm something from back in Ryoko’s prologue: Gouto does not, in fact, have a running animation. This powerwalk’s the best he’s got.
Okay, back to plot.
About like we expected.
Naturally.
All the nuclear plants are stable. Seems like it’s the same for other countries, too.
Defensive measures. They want to ensure nothing interrupts production.
Use Automated Factory on Tsukasa Okino
It’s more about how they got totally automated. That was back in 2080. They started functioning as part of a network instead of individual units.
A worldwide network comprising 1.2 billion factories. All fully integrated and synchronized. Based on a client’s request, the computer designs a blueprint. From there on, everything is fully automated. Assembly, production, even cost-effective ordering of parts. The human element was no longer necessary for those processes.
So it’s a manufactory that can mass-produce anything, on a global scale.
Consider Automated Factory
(They all function as part of a unified global manufacturing network. By its protocols, all 1.2 billion factories worldwide remain in automatic, perpetual production. And their sole output are these mechanized kaiju, which we know as the D-forces.)
I keep saying that and I keep being utterly wrong, so maybe just shut the fuck up, Gouto.
Use Automated Factory on Chihiro Morimura
Since they’re the largest plants of this era, and all.
Their production rate has doubled over the last three days.
Just like last time. The timing matches up, too.
Not long now. They’ll make their move soon.
Regarding my home time. That is, the year 2064. You’re certain we’ll face a similar attack?
We don’t have long until they appear in 2064. That much we know. It’ll be just like last time.
No, not quite. This time, we have the Sentinels.
True.
Loosely speaking.
We managed a partial data dump from the underground mainframe. Gouto-kun?
It’s an archived news report. Concerning a certain scandal… More important, though, is its date of recording.
When’s the data from?
The year 2188. In other words, far in the future—Even moreso than our current temporal position, 2104.
Let’s see it.
A newscaster appears on a holographic display.
Before dawn on the 20th, eight Newmen, Inc. executives were taken into police custody. Charged with human trafficking and illegal cloning, their established motive was to tamper with human memories. Authorities consider this an organized effort and are pursuing further charges. Mind-hacking crimes have been on the rise in recent years. By exploiting nanomachines such as innerlocitors, malefactors can overwrite stored memory information in cerebral synapses. This technique has recently been used to enable other associated offenses. These arrests come after a string of similar cases, including culprits criminally downloading memories onto another body. Evidence suggests these are attempts at a kind of technological reincarnation, and we’ve already seen more than 460 arrests connected to this practice.
The display disappears.
Consider Future Scandal
(A log concerning the scandal involving Newmen, Inc. The report is dated 2188. Some of their executives were taken into police custody. The crime in question was apparently attempting to use nanotechnology to, in theory, take over physical bodies.)
I didn’t even know it was possible to download memories…
The crime apparently occurred in June of 2188.
…Ida-kun…
That’s not all. Let him finish.
Regarding this Newmen… I found one more log that could be relevant. This report is from March, about 3 months prior to the other log.
The newscaster appears once more.
Newmen, Inc., the tech giant known for innerlocitors, has been acquired by Shikishima through a takeover bid.
Shikishima, eh?
Shikishima’s CEO had this to say:
Now, even the human body can operate with all the power of a supercomputer. Innerlocitors have paved the way for humanity’s next step in evolution.
By the way, if the word “innerlocitor” sounds familiar, it’s because the writer stole it from the movie This Island Earth! Yes, that movie that got riffed in the MST3K film!
For any one of us, all it takes is a thought… and we can have the world itself at our fingertips. With the brilliant minds at Newmen driving our nanotech business, we look forward to a brighter future for Shikishima, and all our affiliates.
The CEO disappears.
With this acquisition, Shikishima now sits among the top 3 in global market share of innerlocitors.
Consider Future Merger
(Three months prior to the Newmen, Inc. incident… Newmen was acquired by the conglomerate, Shikishima. With these “innerlocitors”… apparently some kind of nanomachine information technology… They’ve become one of the world’s top megacorps.)
You think that’s the nanomachines inside our own bodies?
Most likely.
At least we know we weren’t wrong. This all began in the future after all. Still, 2188…
It’s a shame, but… I don’t think we can verify this ourselves.
……
I think we should drop this lead for now. Better to focus on protecting Gouto-kun’s hometown instead.
Maybe so. We’re almost out of time, so we’ll need to move quickly. Best to return to the school in the year 2064. We’ll need the cooperation of the other two compatibles.
Gouto-kun, we should focus on putting the Sentinels through the combat sims. I hope you can join me.
…Sure.
Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)
I’m sorry we’ve had to remain here the past few days.
Not much we can do if it’s an emergency.
Does it bother you? Considering the age you appear, well… It struck me as the most inconspicuous choice.
Ugh…
Gouto walks away, but turns around when Chihiro does not follow.
You should probably just call me Chihiro. Otherwise we’ll seem suspicious in public.
Okay, Chihiro… san.
Better drop the “san” too.
A certain datalog helped. I found records that your mind had been transferred… into the young child standing before me.
……
I ran an experiment to see if I could restore my compatibility.
That’s why I sealed my memories.
Use Compatibility on Chihiro
That’d be the ability to control the gate, and the Sentinels?
You need compatibility to control the mainframe. I was once compatible myself. But after everything got rewound, I lost that power.
“Rewound”? That sounds somehow different from the normal time travel nonsense…
Maybe it’s hard for you to see how crucial that ability is. But you’ll understand soon enough.
Consider Compatibility
(This refers to the humans who can control the UFO’s mainframe. Those compatible have nanomachines implanted in their bodies.)
She’s acting like a completely different person. My theory is that someone’s taken control of her.
You’re saying she got mind-hacked?
…She’s clearly behaving very differently, at least. It seems like she’s working against the Sentinel Project. It’s like she’s been influenced by 426. Or the man herself may just be wearing her face.
That certainly explains why you woke me up. …… Not much to go on, though. Either way, we’ll have to do some more investigation. I can see it’s been quite a while since my memories were sealed. Five whole years… And now four sectors have gone dark. Talk about a rude awakening. First, you’d better catch me up on major developments in the last five years…
Easy enough. Hardly comfortable surroundings for a briefing, though… I’ll explain over in 1985.
Music: The Tower of Knowledge (Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Now, with Ms. Morimura’s ID… I should be able to get into her logs.
One of the logs she left behind…
Well, guess there’s no point putting a date to these logs. We’ve probably got four years left until the invasion begins. I ran an experiment on my clone. I wanted to see if I could make her more compatible. I had more than enough data stored in Sector 0. She would’ve had all my memories. However, I could not establish compatibility in the clone. …No more than I could in myself. Maybe… there really is no way we can survive this. …… Not even Ida-kun knows about this experiment. I’ve kept this attempt secret from everyone. The memories I implanted in the clone have been sealed. I left her in 1940, under the Miura family’s care. She’ll be able to grow up as her own person. Someone separate from me… Until they invade, at least.
The log ends.
Consider Experiment Log
(That methodology sounds familiar. Was she basing this project off of those memory-overwriting crime reports? All in an effort to achieve compatibility…? So compatibility isn’t just a matter of differences in the nanomachines.)
This file looks like the last thing recorded…
The remaining Sentinels are infected. No good to us. …We’re running out of options. We’ll have to resort to Operation Aegis… If we go that route… we’ll be risking the future of humanity itself. How do I make the call on a decision like that…? But… I don’t know how else he and I can survive this. This is my only chance.
The log ends.
Consider Final Log
(The final log that Chihiro Morimura left on the UFO. She speaks at length on Operation Aegis. Her goal is that “he” and she would ultimately survive… Even at the cost of humanity’s future. …The question is, who is “he”?)
Consider Operation Aegis
(Ever since the battle that ended with the Sentinels infected… Ms. Morimura has been pushing this operation as one of its fiercest supporters.)
That’s… puzzling. There’s a log registered under my name. As far as I know, I’ve never recorded anything like this…
Well, this should be good.
And I am immediately proven right!
Did you confirm receipt of payment? *pause* Then I’m sure you can see to the details. Am I clear? I want her dead. Any means necessary. Execute her. And stop the project. *pause* …That’s not my problem. It’s in your hands now. Do you realize what’ll happen if her project gets approved? It could ruin everything we’ve worked for. …You know what must be done.
The log ends.
Was that really me?
I dunno. You seem to be pretty smart, and that guy was absolutely a grade-A dumbass. He started a private correspondence with his hired assassin by introducing himself by name! And it was apparently recorded! What an idiot!
That man was a Shikishima executive from the year 2188. Is that supposed to be my future? …… …Seems like a private communications log. The other person on the line wasn’t recorded. But it’s clear enough what they’re talking about. That was an assassination order on Chihiro Morimura.
Wait, what the fuck!? Everyone else at 80% required to see the next Gouto scene? That’s absurd! Looks like we won’t be progressing this one for quite a while…
Renya Gouto is voiced by Ben Lepley, who I’ve… never actually heard of! Weird! The only roles really worth mentioning of his are Dedue from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and apparently Professor Mirror in New Pokémon Snap. Oh, and Illuso from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, a character I struggled to place even with a picture. Ogasawara from Yakuza: Like A Dragon? Who was that again? Lepley’s pretty new on the scene, is what I’m saying.
We add three new items to the 2188 segment of the board: Gouto being the CEO of Shikishima, Gouto putting a hit out on Morimura, and “Nanomachines!!!”
We also add a bunch to the right side of the board, starting with Chihiro as a character, who is linked to Miura, Gouto, and herself as Ms. Morimura. We also link Gouto to Ryoko, as he seems to be watching over her. One of these days I’ll redo Yuki’s board image with the correct font, but not today!
And here’s the whole thing.