System Room
After that, I headed to the cafeteria.
’Himemiya. If your permission to enter the System Room has been granted, you should help Chris with her operations when you have free time. It’s also the place with the strongest security within the base.’
The Chief’s words. It seems even the Chief cannot enter the System Room where Chris normally does her work. Considering that the AI makes the decisions entirely, VARIS must be grasping all actions and speech within the base, making its judgments based on some kind of value system.
I bought two iced coffees at the vending machine in the cafeteria. I handed one to him, who was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria with a grim expression.
”Here. Good work.”
Kamikura took the cold iced coffee offered to him.
”If an incident occurs, it seems Tetsuya and the others will be doing the on-site investigation this time. You and I have standby orders here. It’s a bit frustrating, but we have no choice but to yield this time.”
Kamikura opened the can and took a sip of the iced coffee.
”――Are you aware that you’re being targeted? If it were me, I’d take you off the investigation and assign you a guard.”
Kamikura’s exasperated tone.
”That’s why we have standby orders, right? Besides, my guard is right in front of me. Are you aware of that yourself, Kamikura?”
I retort sarcastically with a sweet smile.
”…Sorry for raising my voice earlier.”
Kamikura drops his gaze. Come to think of it, I feel like I know him, yet I don’t. Same goes for the Night Striker unit, but I know absolutely nothing about his childhood. What kind of parents was he born to, and what kind of family did he have? And why was he left in my grandmother’s care?
Thinking back, Kamikura and I were left in my grandmother’s care around the same time. I hadn’t paid any attention to it initially, but now it bothers me a lot.
”――It’s fine. I don’t mind. But I think Hayama is worried about you too. I just want you to understand that.”
”…………”
Kamikura remains silent. It might be better to leave him be for now.
”Is your body okay now? Your medical checkup at Yokota seemed to take quite a long time.”
In terms of a checkup, it felt like it took quite a few days. A normal surgical checkup should be over in a day or two.
”Various things were examined this time, but… there are no problems. Don’t worry about it.”
It sounds like he’s just acting tough, but there’s no way for me to pry into this.
At that moment, an announcement flowed from the cafeteria speakers.
<Special Agent Himemiya. The administrator is waiting for you in the System Room. Please come to the System Room immediately. I repeat――>
”Well then, I’ll――be going.”
Saying so, I headed to the System Room.
The route to the System Room at Ground Base had a unique structure unlike any other. Upon entering, there is a large waiting room designed for small-scale meetings. Proceeding further, there is a sturdy door. Inside, perhaps serving as Chris’s private room as well, it is fully equipped with a shower room, a cot, a refrigerator, and a kitchen, making it possible to live normally just in here. This place is called the anteroom.
And beyond this point was the Ground Base System Room, where only Chris was allowed to enter. Basically, I can only enter here when accompanied by Chris. In other words, if Chris is not inside, it’s strictly off-limits.
Standing before a door that felt even sturdier than the previous one, it slowly slid open to the left and right.
Is there more…?
A narrow corridor continues. Judging from the light leaking from the back, is Chris over there? As I kept walking down the narrow corridor, I eventually reached a massive space.
Rather than a System Room, it’s on the level of a control center…
Is the ceiling nearly 15 meters high? A main display that seems three times the size of the one in the operation room in the center. Various monitors on both sides. In front of them are two devices resembling the cockpits of fighter jets with canopies attached. Chris is sitting in one of them, reclined, wearing something like a special helmet on her head.
”Asamiー. Welcomeー.”
The canopy opens, and Chris, having taken off the helmet-like object, steps down from the device.
”This place is somewhat amazing…”
I am dumbfounded by the scale and the cluster of systems that likely surpass the cutting edge.
”Well, this place is like a mass of classified secrets right before the practical application stage. Here, I manage all the systems of Ground Base, remote-control the drones, and do tuning and maintenance for VARIS. Although VARIS automatically handles almost all facility management, drone operations, and information control, I make the important decisionsー.”
Chris is smiling brightly.
”By the way, just so you know, the main body of VARIS isn’t here; this is strictly positioned as a command center capable of remote operation. So there’s absolutely no need to do any hardware maintenance. I can just concentrate on operations. Oh, by the way, this is a top-secret matter, so please be carefulー.”
As Chris explained that, I am guided to a table.
”The reason I called you, Asami, is because I wanted you to know what kind of place this is, just in case, and to explain how to operate the VARIS control system over there. That being said, the operation isn’t difficult. It’s an interface based on CBLS (Cybernetics Brain Link System), a next-generation brainwave control system, so it does exactly what you think. You just need to constantly make decisions in response to what the system presents. I’ve put a simple manual on this tablet, so please look it over.”
It’s all too next-generation, my brain can’t keep up…
”――Also, since you are being targeted by an AW, Asami, in the worst-case scenario, you are permitted to evacuate to the anteroom with me.”
…What does that mean?
”Sorry, Chris. I don’t quite understand what you mean. You mean run away in an emergency?”
”Yes. In case of an urgent emergency, you, me, and Kamikura-san are supposed to evacuate to the anteroom. The anteroom is always stocked with enough food and water to live normally for about a month. The entrance door isn’t as sturdy as the one here, but it has considerable strength. I think it’s the safest place within Ground Base.”
I wonder… Is the situation more serious in various ways than I think…?
But why? Within the UCIA, Kamikura is the only person with abundant combat experience against AWs. Chris is also crucial personnel as the system administrator of VARIS.
But me… If they are going to evacuate me, the Chief and Hayama should be more than eligible for evacuation as well.
”――Asami. To be honest, I don’t know what the Department of Defense is thinking either. When I was assigned here, I was only told that it was for the operational management of VARIS. But, I feel to a frightening extent that something huge is about to happen…”
Chris looks down.
”Right… Honestly, I also don’t quite understand this organization called the UCIA. The Department of Defense has grasped the existence of AWs, and is already operating anti-AW annihilation units. It should be easy to imagine that AWs are causing the skeletalization incidents occurring all over the world… Probably, the investigation of the skeletalization incidents is just a front for establishing the UCIA. I have a feeling the true objective is something else…”
”I think you’re right, Asami. An investigative agency and an annihilation squad. Probably, we are the public front unit against the enemy known as AWs. We are supposed to handle incidents and intelligence activities that are difficult for the shadow annihilation unit to operate in. Considering that, there is a possibility that a unit similar to the Night Striker unit back home is deployed here in Japan as well. Perhaps such a unit already exists within the Japanese Self-Defense Forces…”
Chris’s expression is slightly clouded. The tone of her voice is also low. She is probably harboring anxiety about the various situations that will likely occur in the future.
”Hey, Asami. Sorry for asking something like this. About what Kamikura-san was saying earlier…”
Chris looks down. And utters the words.
”Asami… Can you pull the trigger?”
For a moment, I think it over once again. I was about to give my answer earlier too, but the Chief followed up for me. However, that time will undoubtedly come. A moment’s hesitation will separate life and death. I must have a clear answer within myself.
”I will… pull it. To protect my precious people. But, everyone has their own justice. If people continue to pull the trigger solely for their own justice, humanity will never stop killing each other. That is the world today. Therefore, we have to change the fundamental parts. That’s why I will keep thinking. How to realize a world where we don’t have to pull the trigger…”
I might not have put it into words well, but right now, this is the best answer I can give. At that moment, Chris clings to me.
”W-Wait, Chris…”
Her body is trembling. As if she is frightened of something. And Chris begins to speak in a tearful voice.
”I… I’m scared, Asami… I don’t want to kill people using machines anymore… It’s so easy… People die so easily just by pressing a button… I know it’s the right thing to do. That it’s our mission. But no matter how much I tell myself that, my heart screams… My orders are executed without hesitation by the machines… by everyone… Thinking that it’s the right thing to do. The fact that I’m making the machines think that, I…”
Chris breaks down crying on my chest. Perhaps the incident from her past has become a trauma for her…
I gently, yet tightly hug Chris. This girl is smarter and kinder than anyone else.
That is exactly why various things are so painful for her. Why it hurts her heart…
”Chris… you are not alone. I am by your side. Kamikura, the Chief, Hayama, and Stephen too. Everyone cares about you deeply. I’m sure many things await us in the future. But, we can overcome them. If we are together with everyone, we can overcome them. I will protect you, Chris. We will all protect you.”
I continue to embrace the sobbing Chris.
”It’s strange… when I’m hugging you, Asami, I feel like my fear is fading away little by little… You know, I’ve always admired it. Having a kind older sister… I’ve always wanted an older sister like you, Asami…”
Saying so, Chris hugs my body tightly. Chris is probably an only child. She must have felt lonely somewhere in her heart all this time. That is exactly why she came to pour her affection into computers and machines. Though, that is not a bad thing. Love is precious, no matter what it is directed towards.
”Then, starting today, I am your older sister, Chris… Even if I might be the most unreliable one in the UCIA. Whenever
you want to be spoiled or feel like crying, come to me anytime.”
I said so gently. Like a real little sister, Chris is endearing. There was absolutely no falsehood in those words.
”…Thank you. Asami.”
After that, I continued to stroke Chris’s head and embrace her until she stopped crying…