~Hel~lo~

Chapter 1

Haruka Ooshima entered the office of her boss, Hiroshi Tachibana. Or, as she often called him behind his back, "Gacha-Gacha", in reference to these old vending machines she used to favour as a child. As usual, and quite fittingly, she had no idea why she was called to this meeting. And, as usual, she knew it would be a tense exercise of dreary negotiation. Good old Tachibana was a resourceful businessman and a fair boss, but he was terribly old fashioned in his methods. Hierarchy, for him, was of paramount importance, and this often led their viewpoints to clash with disastrous results. Yet, she loved her job – managing idols, showing the way to stardom to aspiring young artists - and couldn't imagine doing anything else. Over the years, she developed a sort of understanding with her boss, a strained, complicated relationship, which amounted to the following mantra: you stay out of the creative side of things, and I'll stay out of the business one. This meeting, however, looked like trouble.

As she entered the office, the scent of his favourite cigarette, which usually pervaded the place, made her tense up and quickly review her appearance. Blue, formal blouse which is, of course, unbuttoned just right? Check. Dark, slim jacket? Check. Matching skirt? Check. Heavenly smile? Check as well. This was nothing for Haruka, at least compared to the old days of idoldom. 'Being cute and happy all the time, now *that* was a challenge', her mind wandered with a hint of irony, 'At least I haven't aged that bad, for a forty year old'. By that, she meant that she did not use that much makeup to hide her wrinkles.

The office was as familiar as ever, with its dark-blue carpet and mahogany desk. On the top of it was a collection of pictures of his family – mainly, his wife. Sitting in front of the desk, in an expensive-looking leather office chair, was Hiroshi Tachibana. While the recent graying-out of his hair gave him a somewhat experienced and weathered look, his polite mannerisms and reserved gesture, which tended to appease his employees before he settled them out with some surprise impossible task, have been there since their first meeting. And, as usual, in his fingers he was clutching one of these stinking brown cigarettes.

Next to him, sitting in another chair, was someone new, Haruka noticed. This was a younger man, maybe in his thirties, with short, black hair; he was sharply dressed, with a blue suit and a dark red tie. She gave him a once-over, and found him not without charm. His eyes betrayed a sort of passion she only saw in those who enjoyed their work. Yet, his face was unknown to her; that made her alert: who was this guy? Was she too washed-up to keep up with the times? Or did Gacha-Gacha find some new venture? Bending politely before the two businessmen, she felt uncomfortable. The smoke pervading the office, bending and weaving, seemed to her like a sort of faceless monster, ready to snatch her away.

"Ah, Miss Ooshima !" Gacha-Gacha rose from his chair and returned her respects, and then turned towards the newcomer. "I believe you have not been introduced to our new partner, Mr. Ebihara."

Likewise, the young man stood up, bowed, and looked at her. He spoke in a deeply respectful tone. "It is a delight to make your acquaintance, Miss Ooshima." He looked at her eyes, his voice becoming a bit warmer. "If I may confess, your singing career has been a great source of inspiration to our business, and to me as a person."

"Oh. Thank you." He seemed sincere, and Haruka, somewhat taken aback, was stroking her neck. While she was faithful to her husband on principle, a little compliment here and there always made her feel warm inside.

"Well then, why don't you take a seat?" The soft, yet commanding tone of Mr. Tachibana soon made her come back to a more businesslike mood. They all sat down, and the meeting started.

"Mr. Ebihara here is the Vice President of the Crypton Media Initiative, which sprung up from Crypton Inc. Miss Ooshima, I suppose you know of their main product, Hatsune Miku?"

She nodded. She had indeed heard of this so-called idol. Yes, some songs of hers were catchy, but Miku's artificial voice turned her off from the whole thing altogether.

"You mean that CG cartoon character? Yes. But I don't see…"

The younger man, seeing her discontent, spoke, his eyes gleaming. "Miss Oozaki, she's not merely a cartoon character. Yes, using a CG singer is nothing new, but Miku is unique in the way that she is *nothing* more than a voice synthesizing software. Her songs, even her attitude, came from her fans on the Internet, and not from any corporate agency. Quite frankly, I think she might just be *the* with which everyone can identify. As an idol, too, she's perfect: you'll agree that idol managing is time consuming. You have to deal with the training and supervision of hundreds of young girls, all competing to become the next big star. We, also, have to cater to the different tastes of the public. Miku solves everything. Everyone – anyone who wants to be heard can use her program, and spread their message through her. And she's obedient and faceless. I'd say she is like… a revolution in the business."

Haruka nodded again, disappointed. So this young man produces a fake singing girl. A shame. Not noticing her disinterest, he continued.

"Until now, we've managed to make some concerts using holographic footage of her. But now, our company feels that, with the recent advances in that field and in AI technology, it is time to give Hatsune Miku a real place in this world as an artist."

Her face darkned. She spoke dryly. "What do you mean?"

Gacha-Gacha, looking tenser judging from her reaction, took the question. "We will be joining forces with Crypton MI to give Hatsune Miku a real existence. She will train daily, give interviews, and function much like any idol in the business."

Haruka blinked, dumbfounded. "But—that's impossible! Isn't she a computer program? How can she give out interviews if she has no mind?"

"Indeed." the younger man answered, while Gacha Gacha looked away, somehow disinterested by the technical details, "Most of her appearances and mannerisms will be scripted. However, we noticed in our previous concerts that giving her just a touch of humanity – like when we made her sigh during that sad song about lost love – can have a powerful effect upon the audience. To replicate these moments, we has developed the "IM" or "Inner Mind" routine. This means that, when she is not under a particular script, she will function using an adaptive, self actualizing artificial intelligence. This will allow her to react to unexpected events and to learn new concepts."

"And that's where we come in." The older man chimed in, wanting to his voice heard among the technobabble, "If Crypton is to create Hatsune Miku as a permanent idol, she will need a talented manager, which we will provide. As one of the most popular singers of the past, you know that world better than anyone on our team. That is why I am asking you to work on this project and manage Hatsune Miku."

She had expected this, but the news still surprised her. "W-what? But she's- nothing! What can I possibly add to-?"

Beaming with pride, Ebihara flashed a confident smile at her. "Ah! I know it must be surprising. But we've conducted some tests already. And, well, sometimes Miku tends to be too perfect, too artificial. She doesn't make mistakes, her moves tend to be robotic, and, when speaking, she can get a bit too awkward. Yes, I fear the IM system isn't very developed yet, probably by lack of experience. As a longtime follower of your career, I know you poured all of your passion into your songs…. And your help will be…"

As soon as Haruka heard the word "passion", old memories flashed in front of her eyes. She remembered singing in front of thousands of fans who all came to see her. She remembered her struggles, her fears and doubts as she slowly made her way towards the top of the charts. How much had she cried during these days? It was all worth it. And she was not alone: that same passion, that same longing for success was also in the eyes of her pupils. Managing was them was difficult, as she had to suffer with them through their hard times, but all this was compensated by seeing their smiles, and their eyes sparkling as they sang. All their faces and histories were etched in her memory: Rika, who counted maybe a bit too much, on her the support; Kasumi, who destroyed careers to reach the top; Yuuka, who quit after being caught in an affair. All of them, even with their quirks and failings, were what made her relish her work.

And now, they wanted her to work with an empty-eyed, soulless piece of computer programming? Haruka grew cold, her eyes wandering over the tangling smoke which lingered in the room..

"You do understand, Miss Ooshima, that M. Ebihara specifically asked for your participation as a longtime fan of your career? This is both a great honor and a great opportunity for your career."

She looked at her boss, who had his trademark flush of superiority all over his face. 'You bastard' she thought 'you knew I wouldn't agree to this, right? That's why you have that important guy right here: if I refuse, I'll dishonor both myself and the firm, and you'll get the pleasure to demote me to a crappy job. Now… do I love managing so much as to work with some computer crap?'

A few moments passed. The younger man puffed some smoke and casually extinguished his cigarette in a small rectangular ashtray.

"I'll do it, put me on the project."

"Ah, thank you." M. Ebihara beamed with sincere excitement "I'll have you meet her this afternoon".

And that is how Haruka Ooshima, once one of the most famous idols of Japan, came to manage Hatsune Miku.