Story Reader / Main Story / 25 Everglowing Justice / Story
Wells sits in a corner in silence. The air in the room is as still as a frozen lake.
[player name] has entered Conservation Area 112 as planned.
Conservation Area 112... It's about time to restart the investigation on Silver Falcon.
Wells looks up as if triggered by a keyword. He takes out the badge with sharp edges from his pocket, the silver falcon eager to take off from his palm.
Silver Falcon...
Has the proposal to restart the investigation finally passed?
The report on Fort Winter has records of Conservation Area 112 on it. They suspected the two were related, thus approving the investigation.
The mission briefing back then...
Silver Falcon immediately went to the surface after receiving reports of Corrupted and Hetero-Creature activities. Their objective was to protect the residents of 112 while eliminating as many enemies as possible...
It was a standard mission, but they never came back. By the time I found out, every member was listed as deceased.
An entire elite squad was decimated in such a simple mission, yet no one suspected any wrongdoing, not even me.
Was no one suspicious for real?
Wells...
Cecily, Nata, Arabella, Zikka.
Is this belated justice even necessary...?
Wells goes quiet. Hassen wants to offer a few words, but he has no idea what to say. Right then, they hear a knock on the door.
Come in.
I've finished analyzing part of the research data we retrieved from Fort Winter.
From what I can tell, their research direction was twofold.
Twofold?
M.I.N.D. fusion and M.I.N.D. replication. There isn't much I can find on the former, as M.I.N.D. replication was the main objective of Fort Winter.
I've combed through all their known database, but I haven't discovered anything else on M.I.N.D. fusion.
...M.I.N.D. fusion?
Kurono proposed this idea before, but there's no actual experiment data in Fort Winter.
From the texts I could analyze, Kurono had proposed something even more extreme upon the foundation of M.I.N.D. fusion.
They theorized that one of the requirements the Ascension-Network used to filter Ascendants was a "powerful" enough M.I.N.D.
If they could expand a M.I.N.D. to include as many consciousnesses as possible, they could create a powerful enough one that could approach the Ascension-Network with a greater chance to become an Ascendant.
...
Is that really possible?
It's completely unrealistic based on our current theories. But then, the Punishing Virus is beyond the scope of our understanding.
Remember the two Constructs from Strike Hawk?
Kamui and Camu?
Kurono has no doubt acquired special means through many unconventional experiments.
Judging by how the M.I.N.D.s of the two Strike Hawk Constructs are fused, Kurono's research on this area is apparently quite mature.
So my answer to your question is I can't confirm if it's possible.
If they're indeed conducting this type of experiment... I suggest looking into the records of defecting and missing Constructs.
Babylonia Constructs would be the best test subjects for them.
...
Asimov returns to the Science Council after the meeting.
His terminal rings, and he receives a seemingly normal report on a Construct frame.
...
Tapping the screen of his terminal, he finds the details of the report listed one by one.
Aurora Squadron... Kurono's private laboratory...
Compatibility between M.I.N.D.s? Is this what comes after that Fort Winter file...?
M.I.N.D.s are more compatible if they live in the same social system under the same rules? Tch...
Are M.I.N.D.s that can highly identify with the same set of mundane rules fundamentally capable of passing the Ascension-Network's filtering?
It doesn't matter. This file arrives just in time.
He deletes the browsing history and thinks for a second before opening another chat window on his terminal.
There is no one inside the aircraft before you. Echo leads you to search inside to no avail, as it appears to have been abandoned for a while.
It looks a little different from the "massive" flying fortress Echo described.
Utopia is a fleet of flying fortresses. This is only one of the smaller ones.
If necessary, the flying fortresses can be disassembled, leaving just the large one in the center.
She cautiously bends down and inspects the tracks on the ground.
Lena was here.
This here... and this here are tracks she left behind. She must have been here before.
Lena once taught me to read secret codes their squad used...
—I found it. Here. She left behind clues on the next location she was going to investigate...
Echo is about to look closer at the hidden codes when static noise suddenly appears from the abandoned, seemingly defective control panel nearby.
A... lisa...
Some audio device seems to have been activated, and you hear a rasping voice all around you.
...No, that's impossible...
It's been a while, Alisa.
How have you been? It's getting warmer now. Your cooling system has some issues, so don't forget to repair it... Or you can come find me. I'll make all your little problems go away.
...I'll never go back! Stop pretending!
Why... are you doing this?!
Devote everything to kindness and love. Never disregard what is righteous. Be fair, be just, be humble, be prudent... Wasn't that what you taught me?
Why... would you betray Utopia?! Didn't you write those rules yourself?!
Cough... Haha.
Every fine rule and grand vision has prerequisites. Above these foundations... are a separate set of "rules," obviously.
Everything has a price—did I not teach you that as well?
No, it shouldn't be this way...
Our Utopia...
Our Utopia never changed, Alisa.
One day, you will understand what your father has done, just like they did. You will become my true "family."
...Who are "they"?
Oh, right, you're seeking information on your friends, aren't you, Alisa?
Is it Lena from Caribou? I remember her. She was a special one. Stubborn... just like my little Alisa, so you had a lot of fun together back then, didn't you?
Or is it someone from earlier... Nata from Silver Falcon? She was a bit of a bookworm, wasn't she? Sigh, I kept telling her not to read so much. They were more or less useless.
Or is it...
Enough!
Alisa...
The raspy voice starts laughing unabashedly.
One day, you will know what great work your father has been doing.
If you want information on your friends... there are a few backup files in this control panel. You can take them with you.
But remember... I'm right in Utopia, waiting for you.
The voice disappears before Echo can speak again.
...I'm alright.
Didn't he say there are... backup files in the control panel? Let's go find them.
...Yes.
I didn't leak our location... I don't know how he found me.
...I appreciate it.
Lee has been monitoring the surroundings during the entire operation. He has not detected any suspicious signals this whole time.
I... can't understand him.
You were going to refrain from this topic, but Echo starts talking unprompted.
The Utopia when I was little was genuinely a wonderful place. It was like the paradise written in the books, a place where everyone lived in harmony.
But I... I don't even know when... he became like this.
I never broke those rules even after I left Utopia. I thought Utopia would return to the way it was if I kept following the rules and defending justice.
Was I... wrong?
Echo looks up, her eyes brimming with tears.
Everything has changed...
She quickly wipes away her tears and turns to look at you.
I'm sorry. I... shouldn't be saying that at a time like this.
Their control panels all share common passwords. I remember a few of them. Let me give it a try...
Her fingers tremble as she punches in the wrong codes a few times. The control panel buzzes, alarmed.
...W-what's wrong?
She hastily wipes her eyes again, trying to hide the trails of her tears.
...But I don't know what to do anymore. What even is justice?
I'm... doing a great job?
...
She could be a child's mother or an old man's daughter. Echo helping the woman could mean a full meal for a whole family.
Even when she does not know what justice is or what she should do, protecting the weak is already an act of "justice."
Is that so...?
Echo still looks a little lost, but her fingers have stopped shaking.
Inputting a code again, she unlocks the control panel.
...I'm through.
A folder sits alone on the screen. Clicking on it reveals document after document.
Each document is a detailed file on one of Echo's "friends"—everything from their basic information to their hobbies and interests.
Father... Dr. Pickman was very nice to everyone. He even remembered everyone's birthday and interests.
Everyone in Utopia liked him back then.
...Can sentiments like that really be a facade?
Lena's information is here!
Echo opens the file titled ET-0215-Lena.
Construct... Squad unknown. Attempted to infiltrate the outer flying fortresses of Utopia multiple times. Current status... Missing!
That's great news. Lena is alive.
Based on the direction she was going to investigate... This is the place!
Opening the holographic map on her terminal, she pinpoints a new location.
Another conservation area with "Hetero-Creature-related missing persons."
This is no coincidence.
We shall rest here tonight before we keep going.
Until then, let me continue the story of Utopia.
