For a while the situation was tense. Kayaba Akihiko showed no response to government contacts. They kept contacting him via email, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, to no avail. Prime Minister Kishida appealed for time and demanded to know the condition of the hostages.
Suddenly, at 5:37 P.M., the phone rang. The Prime Minister answered.
Kayaba was on the line. He offered the authorities two hours to get all ten thousand or so people trapped in their NerveGear helmets to hospitals.
Ever cautious, Kishida agreed. He promptly communicated to authorities to begin moving people. He announced the move at 5:45 P.M.
While representatives of the Japanese government continued to reach out to Kayaba Akihiko, authorities organized a massive effort to get all people who were still trapped in their VR helmets to hospitals. Throughout Japan, people were wheeled into ambulances, helmets still strapped on, with rapid precision. The sound of ambulances roared throughout the streets. People trapped were brought to the biggest hospitals around. Some were brought inside American military bases.
In two hours, the streets fell silent again. The Japanese government confirmed at 7:30 in the evening that the evacuation was complete.
The mobilization was caught on social media. It was praised by many both inside and outside Japan. However, bringing people to hospitals was only the first step to ensure the safety of the hostages. A waiting game had to emerge to see what would happen next.
Prime Minister Kishida sat in his office, waiting nervously for a change in the situation.
At the Makuhari Messe, the launch event spiraled into a fiasco. The Emperor and Empress had left, escorted by bodyguards, as there were concerns that there may be a threat against them. People in the building were concerned about the situation. In this atmosphere, CEO Sano left the building for Argus headquarters in the Shinagawa district in Tokyo. There, he set up a briefing room staffed with shareholders to discuss the situation.
At 8:07 P.M., the 214th person died.
From A World of My Imagining: Kayaba Akihiko's War Against Japanese Society by Carl Straszinsky, Doubleday, 2027