Chapter 3: Emulator

Aoi: "Duusu. Hide yourself."

The little kwami phases inside of me. We are now in the big city. A strong signal is connecting with me. As I tune in to the radio, multiple various feeds play through this discarded radio I had found lying in the streets.

Aoi: "This is a piece of metallic trash. How did it end up here?"

No matter though. I'm no one's cleaning agent. Right now what I need is an emulator. And how would I make an emulator though? I'm not a programmer and I know absolutely nothing about making machines.

Oh wait. I know how to maintain the Society's own machines but that's just about it. So for this…

Hmm. Now that I consider about it, perhaps this broken up radio could be helpful. I certainly need a way for me to keep in touch with the local news and it's not like it would be feasible for to keep on taking out a receiving device just to learn about the current happenings. I still need to find another ingredient to turn this into an armament.

As I walk through the brightly lit streets I find a discarded walkie-talkie. I pick it up and open its back case.

Aoi: "It's missing its batteries."

Looking at it, I see I'll need to get a 9V. With the amount of cash that I had found in that now completely devastated Kawasaki P2V-7 VSA, once I sell it off for today's price or auction them off to some collectors, I should have some decent amount of cash remaining to spend. For now I'll…

Ah. No, let's not do that. If I speak they'll recognize that I'm partially machine and that might complicate things. Yes, for now I'll just buy what I need, that should be simple enough and if there's a problem, I'll just have to silence all the witnesses.

I walk into the convenience store. Hearing the jingle of the bells, the store clerk looks up at me. I can't tell what the expression on his face is saying though seeing how his head went back down to reading his magazine, I won't pay it much mind. As I look around I find what it is that I'm looking for.

A 9V battery for my walkie-talkie

A flashdrive

There's also a laptop here but I have insufficient funds for it. If i take this for myself, I'll draw a scene. My calculations tell me that would be imprudent. For now I'll have to find another way to gain access to the internet. Without saying a word I purchase the 9V battery and flashdrive and walk outside of the store. As I turn the corner and take a few steps into this alleyway, Duusu phases out of me.

Duusu: "You're planning on downloading an emulator to that flashdrive?"

Aoi: "Yes,"

I answered. This creature, which Duusu calls a sentimonster must be able to somehow transfer information about what I am doing to him. I don't quite get how it works. Perhaps it's symbiosis.

Aoi: "I just need to download one from the internet to my flashdrive. From there you know what to do."

Duusu: "Help you create another armament."

Aoi: "2 in fact."

Opening the case to my walkie-talkie, I insert the battery and close it. I then open my chest cavity, take out both my built-in item synthesizer and the broken radio I had found earlier. Inserting both the walkie-talkie and the broken radio inside the item synthesizer, I place them all back inside my chest cavity and closed up. Duusu phases inside and in a couple of moments another armament is made.

Aoi: "The radio armament has been a success. You may come out now Duusu."

Duusu phases out of me. With no one nearby to see the two of us, I began heading towards the nearest radio station. As we got closer Duusu spoke up.

Duusu: "Huh. So I guess that armament must've given you some sort of navigator augment? Sort of like a GPS?"
I shake my head.

Aoi: "No-"

Well he's not entirely wrong.

Aoi: "Well yes, but actually no. That radio armament only gave me the augment to hone in on freely available public radio stations. I have to be close to a broadcasting tower, otherwise-"

Duusu: "Otherwise it won't work."

I stopped and tried the door. Locked. Seeing this Duusu phases inside and then phases right out.

Duusu: "There's a security camera situated right at the door."

Aoi: "So? You won't be recorded."

Duusu: "I won't but when you enter, you will."

Aoi: "Then just chew out its wires. No one will be able to tell."

Duusu: "They will. They'll notice a segment of time has been left out, unrecorded."

Aoi: "Okay, then let's find another way inside."

As I walked around a corner of the radio station, Duusu flew up to me.

Duusu: "I got an ideal. Hand me your flashdrive."

Aoi: "What are you planning?"

I asked him as I handed over my flashdrive.

Duusu: "Just a little breaking and entering."

Duusu answered and he began floating up to a vent.

Duusu: "It's fine. With my sentimonster I'll be able to cover up all indicators that anyone had breached their facilities."

Duusu pushes the flashdrive into the air vent.

Duusu: "I'll just need you to stay here."

As he was saying this Duusu phases through the grates of the air vent. By this point Duusu had already finish flickering out. He must've already dismissed his sentimonster. I guess I'll wait here for the time being.

Duusu's POV

Phasing through the air vents I spot a router. Creating my amok, I insert the amok inside the router creating my next sentimonster. Using my telepathic connections with my sentimonster, I order it to cover up my tracks and to make sure no record of what I did will make it through and to generate a false file that way it looks like nothing happened here. With my orders given out, I float back inside the air vent to retrieve the flashdrive. Then, navigating through the maze of the air vents, I had made it inside with the flashdrive. Plugging the flashdrive in, I quickly searched up for an emulator and downloaded it.

Whew. Thanks to all my experience I have gained working with computers, I know a lot more about exploiting computer security weak spots. There was a password on this computer but thanks to my tech skills I was able to easily crack it. Now to wait for this download to finish.

And it's done.

With the emulator loaded flashdrive in hand, I made my way out of the radio station. Even though I set the download path for this particular download to be the flashdrive that I had inserted, without my sentimonster the traces of my action would've been logged. Even though I myself will not be recorded, the results of my actions will be unless I use some sort of means to circumvent it. Now outside I dismiss the temporary sentimonster I had created for this particular mission before proceeding to recreate Transceiver.

Non POV

Aoi: "You have the emulator?"

Duusu: "Yes!"

Duusu beamed with glee as he handed Aoi over the emulator loaded flashdrive.

Duusu: "It's all right here. Now all we need to do is-"

Before Duusu could speak another word Aoi had placed the usb plug inside of her-

Tongue?

Blinking twice Duusu realized that Aoi's tongue must've been modified to serve as usb port at times. Then he felt it. Strong. Unyielding. His eyes flickered as he felt himself go limp. Aoi's eyes however only dulled slightly


A teddy bear. A young girl of 4. Birthday? A pack of trading cards. A game of pachinko. Rewards. Great rewards

Pocky sticks, allowance made for a job well done

Well done.

Grades have been superbly excellent.

A man in his early 30's is curving his lips upwards. Eyes are beaming.

A book, notepad.

The little girl writes something down on the notepad and hand it to the man.

It says,

I love you, papa.

The man gleems and closes his eyes. This man must be the girl's father.

A few weeks pass

"Mama. When's papa coming home again?"

The mother answers.

"Sweetie. Please be patient. Your father's on a business trip."

Business trip. F-father. He was a…

A phone rings.

My mother answers it.

She shakes her head.

"I'm sorry dear, but-"

"No! I really want to see- eh yeaaah!"

?

Wait. Something's not quite right.

This change in scene doesn't flow, but nothing is omitted here. It must not be important to this recording then.

I am in… a city. A vibrant city. What city is this?

"Wow papa! This city's great."

This is… one of papa's business trips. He must've had them a lot back when I was younger.

A girl around my age.

"Oh, alright. I'll share."

I'm giving away…

"Here. You can have it."

Wait. What did I just give-

"No! It's mine. Gimmie!"

And now I'm taking it back? What was it?

My mother is saying something to me.

"Nishi. You should know better than to do that."

"Mm. Fine."

"That's much better."

I don't understand. Who is this other girl I see before me?

Wait.

She tells me her name is…

No. I hear nothing. I am in an arcade.

Going on an airplane. Airplane window is open. Bright lights, Neon lights.

"Why don't I call you Pachiko then? Okay Pachiko-san?

Today is my birthday.

An announcer.

"Now leaving Tokyo."

I am 5 years old now.

A couple of months pass. It's April now. I met a young boy.

Who is he?

I don't know. I am in a classroom, scrubbing the chalkboard.

"Do you want some help?" he asks.

"Leave this task to a boy? Nuh-uh."

Time passes by. Now there are…

?

What are those little things next to me? Ants? But they're all standing upright.

"Mine.. mine… you're all mine and I'll never-"


Duusu's POV

"Wha- what was that just now?!"

As I came to, I could feel my head throbbing. I looked over at Aoi.

"You feel any different?"

Aoi looks at me before examining herself.

Aoi: "I am detecting no particular changes."

No chances? Huh. Then why am I the only feeling this. I rub one of my stubby arms on my forehead.

I feel… exhausted. Why? Is it because watched that clip with her?

Mm, but something doesn't seem quite right. Last time I was inside of her but to have the same thing happen again when I'm not.

It's all peculiar.

"You sure you you don't feel different?"

Aoi: "Negative."

"Huh. I guess this was all a waste."

Aoi: "Oh I wouldn't say that, Duusu."

"What do you mean?"

Aoi: "I still learned a few things, like for starters I learned that I must've had some sort of connection with an arcade. Which one I do not know. And I seem to be a collector of some sort of object called a gachapon."

Mm.

Aoi: "For now let us find or make for ourselves a semi-permanent base of operations. At least until I have the means to find the rest of the missing parts of me more efficiently."