Story Reader / Palette Clash / Overture of Future / Story
lll Ending Overture of Future
The breeze kisses Windmill Square ever so gently in the day's first sliver of sunlight.
The breeze, however, does nothing to mitigate the boiling tension that has long prevailed in the square.
To no one's surprise, the Neo-Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists have emerged as the winners, with Ayla's works as the mainstay...
And the Neo-Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists' victory is precisely what has sparked the heated debate.
Didn't Milon tell you all that Ayla doesn't stand a chance of being Leader of the Arts because she isn't a mechanoid from Constellia?
Wait, stop. We never said we wanted her to be that.
Who, then? You're not going to say it's you, right?
Nah, Mark's not great enough to get involved in stuff like this.
So who exactly is going to lead your Whatchamacallit School?
What do you mean "Whatchamacallit School"? Think none of us noticed what you did right there, huh?
In a chain reaction, the heated exchange quickly turns into messy quarrels among the crowd.
Squeak...
Right then, the quarrels die down at once when deafening squeaks come flowing out of the speakers secretly planted around the square.
Testing, testing. All set.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for our new bos... I mean, leader.
It's all up to you now, Dulcinea.
Right...
Dulcinea walks up to the stage from behind the curtains.
Ma'am? What are you doing here?
I thought we already made it clear that we didn't want you to make a decision for us.
Dulcinea stops for a moment to process these words. Without her admin privilege, she has yet to figure out a new way to communicate with the mechanoids as she is.
First of all, I'm standing here now not as Constellia's administrator—but as myself. At the very least, the admin privilege I previously possessed has been revoked.
And secondly, no administrator will be involved in the process of terminating the Palette Clash.
Who's going to make a final call, then?
The winner takes it all.
Since the Masters from all three schools have accepted the challenge, it only makes sense that in the unfortunate event that none of you emerges the winner, you shall...
Stopping in her tracks momentarily, Dulcinea carries on.
You shall recognize the Neo-Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists—and to make no mistake, that would be us—as the winner.
...
With that, the crowd falls completely silent as they turn to look at their respective Masters.
Hold on.
We didn't think you'd involve Ayla in this, and that's the whole reason we decided to take you up on the challenge.
And in all fairness, given how taunting the message sounded, you wouldn't exactly call that a challenge, would you?
As far as the rules of the Palette Clash are concerned, is there anything of concern regarding Ayla's representation?
Well...
For all intents and purposes, there really is no strict rule governing the Palette Clash—one only needs to steer clear of Constellia's regulations and win all mechanoids' approval.
And the mechanoids' approval—a romanticism that demonstrates the mechanoids' cohesive unanimity in certain implicit ways—is not something Dulcinea has the intention to spoil.
For the record, let's not forget that you all approved of Ayla's involvement.
Or did you all say what you've said to Ayla to exclude her from the Palette Clash?
No, we'd never do that!
We welcome Ayla with open arms.
Thank you all for showing your love!
Says Ayla. And with it, the awakened machines decide to move on.
Before we start, though, we just want to make it clear that we shall approve of nothing beyond Ayla and her art.
That is to say that we shall not approve of you, Dulcinea, who has come as far as assuming the position of Leader of the Arts only through Ayla's help.
"Word!", "The art leader will lead Constellia's art into a brighter future," "What do you have to establish your credentials, Dulcinea?"
Squeak...
Though lacking in delicacy, the squeaks breathe sense back into a discussion quickly running amok.
Testing, testing. All set.
Geez, Teddy, can you just stop with that...
I will—when they're ready to lend their ears to what Dulcinea has to say.
Drawing a deep breath to recollect herself as Karenina has taught her, Dulcinea makes up her mind.
The art leader will lead Constellia's art into a brighter future—which is why I would like to make all of you a proposal here.
And I would like to ask all of you to decide whether I qualify as Leader of the Arts based on the proposal...
But, wait... Whether I qualify as Leader of the Arts is beside the point. I only ask that you lend your ears to the proposal I'm about to make. After that, you can deal with my title as Leader of the Arts however you see fit.
...
Deafening silence prevails once again—only to be shattered when another round of heated discussion unfolds among the mechanoids.
What was the last proposal that Sir Cervantes made before resigning as Leader of the Arts?
He wanted different schools of art established that would help categorize the arts of the mechanoids.
Our arts only advanced by leaps and bounds over the last couple of months thanks to Sir Cervantes' proposal.
Are you going to cut us an equally good deal here?
Facing the barrage of questions, Dulcinea draws another breath before she starts speaking again.
I propose that...
Wait, she's not going to call the Palette Clash off, right?
No way.
I propose that, going forward... Constellia operate without a Leader of the Arts.
The same deafening silence ensues—only to be drowned out by yet another eruption of outcry still more heated than before.
Squeak...
Teddy plays the same squeaking noise hoping to silence the crowd, but to no avail.
Quiet! Quiet, I say!
It isn't until the Masters step up to silence and tame the crowd that order once again returns.
With all due respect, ma'am, are you aware that the abolishment of Leader of the Arts would inevitably disrupt all the unspoken rules that were established when Sir Cervantes was still here at Constellia?
I'm well aware of that.
And that's something you still wish to pursue even if Sir Cervantes himself would never have approved of it?
I don't know if Sir Cervantes would have approved of it, but even if he were here now...
I'd still stand my ground.
The Master locks eyes with Dulcinea for a good few seconds and, having seen the unwavering determination in her eyes, nods back as he directs another question at her.
Lest we forget, ma'am, the awakened machines shall decide whether this proposal passes.
Let's see a show of hands, then.
Count me in!
...
Blurts out Mark as he raises his hand—before it hits him that all eyes are on him now, seeing as he's the only one in the entire square with his hand raised.
...
Mark looks around for another raised hand but sees none.
Mark is flustered seeing the silent pronouncement of death—it seems to him that this is going to end the same way it did last time.
Or is it?
Count me in, too!
To everyone's surprise, a mechanoid's shout comes out through the loudspeaker.
Who was that?
I think it's that mechanoid that runs a bing sutt like a human.
Before the Awakened Machine says more, however, the square is awash with still more shouts of support.
"I second that," "I second the proposal on behalf of the Manga Society," "The Wax Musume would like to express its support of the proposal"...
These are all mechanoids from different parts of the city that weren't involved in the Palette Clash.
One can only guess why they're voicing support for Dulcinea's proposal—some of them probably just don't think they need a Leader of the Arts, some of them may think the arts should be free, or they might just be sick of the Palette Clash itself.
But whatever their reasons, there is no doubt that they've decided to side with Dulcinea in support of her proposal.
Coming in through Constellia's city network, I see.
In the tent, people are giving Lee a thumbs up as he works his magic on the terminal.
It only makes sense that we involve all mechanoids since we're making such a big decision here.
Even when this decision could be wrong?
...
I can't tell you if this decision is right or not because I'm not Sir Cervantes...
But Milon has once said that Constellia's awakened machines are fighting fate with arts for the souls and freedom that are rightfully theirs.
And that should be reason enough for us to forsake the idea of electing yet another Leader of the Arts—or yet another Sir Cervantes, for that matter.
...
And going forward, all mechanoids... shall join hands with humans to work toward a Constellia we'd all like to see.
At the very least, this is what I believe we should do.
...
This time, speaking purely from the bottom of her heart as herself, Dulcinea locks her eyes with the Master.
This is one risky proposal, and it's going to change many things about Constellia.
And I'm well aware of that.
And you'd still go down this path fully aware of the consequences?
Yes.
Very well, then...
Should anything ever go awry with Constellia, ma'am, I want you to remember that I'll personally hold you accountable.
The Master raises his hand.
And with it, the rest of the mechanoids follow suit.
Two hours later, Babylonia's temporary garrison in Constellia.
With a halo over her head, Dulcinea ambles into the hall in salutation by members from all teams that stand on either side of the hallway.
Well, it's been a while since we last did this.
Nice to meet you, Sir Liszt.
With no intention to make small talk, Dulcinea keeps her eyes trained on Liszt as she picks up her pace.
When she stops right in front of Liszt, the halo over her head vanishes as the hologram of a key appears on her hand.
What's this, ma'am?
I always thought I was nothing more than an amalgam of codes that looked like any other awakened machine, except I've come to realize that I couldn't be more wrong.
Constellia's admin privilege of the highest order should never rest in the hand of a mechanoid with personal feelings that acts out of self-interest.
Dulcinea tightens her grip, shattering the hologram with her pale fingers.
This should stop anyone from hijacking the manmade facilities in Constellia through the city network.
I take it that this is what you all meant when you said you'd take a "step back"?
We're all just doing what's going to benefit the situation.
That's very straightforward of you, ma'am. The Diplomatic Court spent nights trying to come up with what to say, but I guess we won't be needing that after all.
We much prefer conducting ourselves matter-of-factly at Constellia.
Seems like it's going to take quite some time for humans and awakened machines to grow used to how we conduct ourselves.
Wild pasture outside Constellia.
It all worked out just fine, Dulcin.
I guess it did. Humans and awakened machines are closer to each other now because of the Palette Clash.
And that means a brighter future for Constellia.
What happened to your admin privilege, though? Is it really a goner?
It's completely destroyed. Going forward, Constellia's residents will be the ones to dictate the fate of Constellia.
And as a mechanoid by the name of Dulcinea, I shall continue to stand guard for Constellia.
Well... it's a real shame that we aren't around to bear witness to that, but congratulations on being one step closer to your dream now.
Ma'am! Ma'am!
Mark shouts through the line.
Should we count Sir Cervantes in?
Judging from all the noises coming from Dulcinea's side of the line, Alisa can only imagine how raucous it must actually be there.
We're all helping Lee with his painting here.
You're talking about "Constellia", right? That's a piece right there.
It sure is, and it's giving Ayla quite a headache. We've been talking for hours now and haven't arrived at anything constructive yet.
Alisa's face becomes a mixture of emotions at the mention of Ayla.
Say, Dulcinea...
Yes?
I hope you and the commandant still remember your promise.
...
We haven't told anyone about you, and Mark has been airtight, too.
That's definitely good news.
...
So, Alisa, the data I gave you. What are you going to...
Look, Dulcin.
Cutting Dulcinea off, Alisa moves her finger quietly to the side of her terminal.
There are just certain things that I need to do.
...
Even if those things are going to put us against each other?
We need to stand our ground here the same way you stand your ground for Constellia.
I have trouble predicting where your... your collective choice will be leading you down the road.
But I do hope that you'll have already accomplished what you set out to do when we cross paths again.
Hey, still on the line with Liszt?
Hey, huh... Let me just wrap up our conversation here!
...
Beep—Alisa presses the hang-up button.
Some farewells are better left unsaid.
On her terminal, Alisa starts deleting the history.
Before long, her terminal is flashing in light red.
Cervantes' plan worked.
An awakened machine can't create another awakened machine, and Cervantes has shown us that when he created Dulcinea.
But the arts opened her eyes to a possibility she'd never seen before—and that's what put her one step closer to being an awakened machine down her road of fighting fate.
That possibility is the courage to say no, to stand her ground when people try to insert themselves into her life.
And no matter where she goes from here on out, she is free, having realized that she has the choice to live on her own terms.
Well... that doesn't sound like rocket science at all...
Except we shoulder the destiny we've chosen—and the promises we've made...
...Well, guess we're ready to get the show on the road now, so shall we...?
..."For hell, Silver Falcon."
Alisa has come far out—so far out that she now has trouble seeing Constellia clearly even with Echo.
Having been set off by the self-destruct command, the thermite in her terminal engulfs it in flames, sending sparks of fire flying every which way.
When Alisa loosens her grip, her terminal drops to the ground, still aflame.
In the firelight, she takes one last look at the city with a smile on her face.
When she turns around again at Silver Facon's screech that reverberates through the skies, her face is as cold as winter.
Echo here. Management AI data of Constellia confirmed.
Order issued. Advancing to the next stage of mission.
