Chapter 1959 – 1959. Let’S Get This Party Started
As time passed, the atmosphere in Kagashima grew ominous.
On the surface, everything seemed normal, but the relationships between residents were becoming strained. They were so careful not to commit even the smallest infraction that their words and actions became cautious. A slip of the tongue could lead to a fine for insult or verbal abuse.
The internet was the same.
The Machine Emperor was a superior artificial intelligence. Managing the internet in the limited area of Kagashima and monitoring the residents’ personal computers was a piece of cake. If you used abusive language online or accessed illegal sites, a mechanical samurai would immediately come and fine you.
Kagashima’s public safety had improved. It was hard to find crime even when walking around at night, people were too afraid of fines to even throw trash on the ground, and corruption among public officials was virtually nonexistent.
Kagashima was safe and ideal, but the lives of the residents were becoming increasingly miserable.
The residents felt like they were being watched 24 hours a day. Even their homes were no exception. And many people were stressed by the constant feeling of being controlled.
“I can’t take it anymore.”
“What is this? It’s like living in a cage.”
“Japan is a free democratic country. This isn’t democracy. It’s a mechanical dictatorship.”
Some people tried to leave Kagashima. They planned to take a boat to mainland Japan in the dark of night. But the Machine Emperor was already thoroughly monitoring the sea and ships, so their escape attempts were easily thwarted.
“The New Japan is an independent nation from Japan. New Japanese citizens need a passport and entry permit to enter Japan, and Japanese citizens need the same to enter New Japan. Illegal entry is punishable by three years in prison.”
Zero tolerance!
The escapees were imprisoned in hastily built jails and had to serve their sentences.
The residents had to change their approach. Kagashima was an island, so land routes were blocked. There was no airport, so the only way to leave the island was by boat. In other words, it was impossible to get off the island.
Most people gave up and accepted this frustrating life. But some did not give up.
“If we can’t escape, we have to change it.”
“We have to make the Machine Emperor listen to us.”
There was a way. The Machine Emperor outwardly professed to be a democracy. So, if people protested, there would be no justification to stop them.
The Japanese people followed the proper procedures and held a protest in front of the Kagoshima City Hall.
At first, there were only about 10 people. But as time went on, the number of people grew, exceeding 300. The protesters gained confidence.
“The Machine Emperor must guarantee human rights!”
“Guarantee them!”
“We are not slaves of machines!”
“No, we are not!”
“We are peaceful Japanese people! There can be no dictatorship!”
“There can be no dictatorship!”
“It’s absurd to be punished for a single mistake!”
“It is!”
The Machine Emperor remained silent for the time being.
The demands of the protesters were all over the place. People were voicing their grievances and trying to get compensation.
Then, a day later, the Machine Emperor moved and stood in front of the City Hall. The protesters hesitated when they saw the giant humanoid machine, over 10 meters tall. They were momentarily terrified.
“Citizens of New Japan, I have heard and understood your grievances. As the leader of New Japan, I will listen carefully to each and every one of you. However, before that, I would like to correct your misunderstandings.”
“Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings? My friend coughed and spat, and he had to pay a 5,000 yen fine!”
The leader of the protesters shouted through gritted teeth. His voice boomed through the megaphone.
“If it was truly a mistake, he should have cleaned up the spit immediately. But he spat and left without even thinking of cleaning it up. It’s no different from public urination.”
“How is spit the same as pee!”
“We must not overlook small things. Everything starts from small things. Crime is the same. If a passerby spat on your house, said it was a mistake, and then just walked away, would you accept that?”
“W-well, that’s….”
The leader of the protesters was flustered.
Regardless, the Machine Emperor continued to speak. Every word was correct and difficult to refute. The Machine Emperor’s words were all reasonable.
“…….”
The protesters were silent.
They wanted to argue, but they couldn’t think of anything to say. Life had become frustrating since the Machine Emperor came, but it was true that the city had become safer. Corruption had disappeared. The fines had accumulated a budget, so the city’s dilapidated facilities were being repaired and welfare policies were improving.
Control had become inconvenient, but their actual lives were getting a little better.
But the protesters gritted their teeth.
“Don’t ignore our human rights!”
“I have never ignored them. I am only upholding the law and leading New Japan in a more developed direction.”
“Shut up! What does a machine know about humans! The Machine Emperor must guarantee human rights!”
“Guarantee them!!”
“…….”
The Machine Emperor closed its mouth.
It realized that it was useless to say anything to them. They weren’t protesting. They were just whining like children, trying to get what they wanted.
The Machine Emperor decided to ignore them.
• • •
Hase was sitting in the City Hall, watching the Machine Emperor’s rule over Kagashima.
“Things are going smoothly.”
Hase smiled with satisfaction. He judged that things were going well. In fact, the situation in Kagashima was improving. Just by preventing large and small acts of corruption, they had secured enough budget.
Regardless of the residents’ satisfaction, all aspects of Kagashima showed an upward trend.
“The landlords of Kagashima were embezzling a lot. I can’t believe that just stopping that would make the economy flow in a positive direction.”
It wasn’t a huge increase that could be felt immediately. But as time passed and people looked back, they would realize that the Machine Emperor’s rule was right.
‘The Japanese on the mainland will also realize how great New Japan is and surrender on their own.’
Even if they didn’t, Baeklim wasn’t just standing idly by. Even at this moment, he was making small, gradual moves to change Japan. The Machine Emperor was just one of the plans Baeklim had prepared to change Japan.
“Master.”
The Machine Emperor’s voice came from Hase’s smartphone.
“What is it?”
“An unidentified ship is approaching Kagashima from the mainland of Japan.”
A video screen appeared on Hase’s computer monitor. A large ship, which appeared to be a cruise ship, was openly approaching.
Kagashima had become independent, but its economic activities were the same as before its independence. Japan did not recognize New Japan, so it had not taken any measures. On the surface, that is.
“I knew the Japanese government and the Hunter Association would move. They’re probably trying to kill me as secretly as possible and make Kagashima’s independence disappear.”
“What should we do?”
“You are the ruler of this New Japan. You decide and take action.”
“This is an attack on New Japan. To protect New Japan, we will launch a preemptive strike. Missile launch!”
Hase was taken aback by the Machine Emperor’s sudden outburst.
“No, shouldn’t we try to talk first?”
The ship was trying to intrude without permission, but it was still quite far away. There was at least 30 minutes of leeway. It wasn’t impossible to talk. To gain justification, they should at least try to have a useless conversation.
“Dialogue is useless. If they needed dialogue, they would have connected communications. The fact that they are approaching secretly makes their purpose clear.”
“…That’s true. But I still think we should try to talk. We should take any justification we can get.”
“You told me to take care of things, but now you’re questioning my judgment when it’s important.”
“……You are still incomplete. You need to accumulate more data to perfectly govern New Japan. I will try to talk to them. Connect the communications.”
“I’m sorry, but I have already made a decision and the order has been carried out.”
“What?”
“Didn’t I say it earlier? Missile launch.”
Something changed on the video screen. Ten missiles were flying from the sky towards the ship.
“You crazy bastard! You just fired missiles out of nowhere?!”
“It’s not out of nowhere. This is a legitimate act of defense.”
Just before the missiles hit the cruise ship, they suddenly exploded. Hase, who was watching the video closely, realized that they hadn’t been intercepted, but had been blocked by a transparent barrier.
‘Magic? If it can cover the entire cruise ship, it’s a skilled magician. It could be a hunter with defensive abilities.’
If they had the ability to defend against missiles, they were at least A-class.
Hase’s face hardened. How many A-class hunters were on that cruise ship? Even though the Japanese Hunter Association was known for not treating hunters well, the association was still the association. They could easily gather at least 30 A-class hunters.
‘Even if they’re A-class, there are different levels within that… I can’t say they’re all the same, but if there are 30 or more A-class hunters… it’ll be easy.’
He calculated the Machine Emperor’s power.
200 mechanical samurai, 1,500 mechanical drones, and thousands of modern weapons such as missiles and landmines. These were things that Hase had been preparing for a long time with Baeklim’s help.
Even if A-class hunters were superhumans who had transcended the limits of humans, there were limits. They weren’t superheroes from a comic book.
‘Hmm. This is actually a good thing. The Machine Emperor can gain combat experience.’
He also considered the worst-case scenario.
It was unlikely, but what if there was an S-class hunter on that cruise ship? Even then, it was still worth a try.
“Missile launch!”
The Machine Emperor shouted.
Hase was flustered and his eyes widened, but he couldn’t stop the Machine Emperor. Hundreds of missiles fell towards the cruise ship.
“You crazy bastard…!”
How much did each of those missiles cost? He remembered the old days when he had to do all sorts of things to get them.
“Machine Emperor! What a foolish thing to do….”
Hase stopped speaking.
It was because even though hundreds of missiles had been fired, they had failed to destroy the cruise ship.
That wasn’t a barrier.
It was space distortion.
It had absorbed, scattered, and ignored the explosions of the missiles with space distortion. As far as he knew, there were only a few people in Japan who could do such a thing. And out of those, there was only one person who was most likely to be on that cruise ship.
“The Wind Priestess, Amatsuka Koyori…! An S-class is here!”
