Chapter I
"[This place] where a man cannot live but he must spend,
and cannot get suitably, without breach of his honour."
-- The Diary of Samuel Pepys, September 27, 1668
Reika Yamamoto sat pensively at her accustomed table at the café, sipping her tea and reflecting on the relentless march of time. Around her, the world bristled with optimism. The fear and uncertainty of the last few years had come to a sudden end with the capitulation of the World Government and the lifting of the Blockade. Tachibana Networks and the Big Eight corporations now ruled supreme, a move that most welcomed for the peace and prosperity it instantly brought. But this move also meant that Tachibana now had time to take care of lesser annoyances.
And that's all I am to them, she thought, a speed bump on the road to Progress. An ultimatum, disguised as a polite note, sat crumpled in a ball at the bottom of Reika's purse. In two dozen words an anonymous Tachibana employee had completely destroyed her last hope of independence. Even more galling was the possibility that it may have been a machine that composed it instead, using a pre-selected template designed to force compliance in the least number of words without leaving any possible way to legally retaliate.
Reika noticed her cup was empty, and turned to find a waiter. Instead, she saw a woman open a gate and walk into the outdoor area of the café. She bypassed the maître d' and walked to a large wall mirror, where she adjusted her hat, then stopped to give herself a long look in the mirror. Reika instantly recognized that reflection: Arisu Mizuki. Back from China, back from the one place of Earth that Tachibana did not control.
She doesn't look a day over twenty-five, Reika brooded, well aware that on most days she herself appeared ten years older than she was.
Just then, Arisu saw Reika in the mirror. She flashed a childish grin and waved wildly at the reflection before turning to join her at the table. "Happy Birthday, Reika!" she cried.
There was the usual round of hugs and laughter and hanging things on racks, and of course ordering two cups of hot tea. Eventually the two settled into catching up.
"How long has it been?" asked Reika.
"Well, I've been e-mailing fairly regularly..." Arisu knew what the real question was. "In person, it's...ten...fifteen years?"
"You've been out of the country..." prompted Reika.
"Yes, I've been to so many places..."
"...helped so many people..."
Arisu stopped a moment to judge the way her friend spoke that last remark. "Do you resent my being away so long?"
Reika focused her attention on stirring her tea. "I did...once. But I got over it. I used to be so petty, Arisu, but of course you knew that. I don't know how you put up with me." She looked up to see Arisu smiling at her.
"I stayed with you because I saw your potential. And judging from your expensive outfit, I'd say you achieved it."
Reika shrugged, the effect accentuated by the shoulder pads. "I always said what the world needed was me in charge. Well...if I didn't say it out loud I certainly thought it enough. So that's where I am now, in charge. Of a college mathematics department, of all things. Turns out you don't need to be all that brilliant in math to tell a bunch of professors what to do."
"And are you happy?" asked Arisu.
"Do I look it? The higher I've climbed in the academic flow-chart, the less power I realize I actually have. The department runs itself. The students who want to learn seek out the professors with the knowledge and squeeze it out of them. The professors...well the professors are constantly at each other's necks, and my job is to be the bad guy they can both blame for backing down. That is the sum total of my usefulness."
Arisu just sat there, looking awkward. Reika took her hand. "There, there, Arisu, you don't have to solve all of the world's problems. I get by pretty well, on my un-birthdays. You're just seeing me at my 45-year low."
Arisu tried to change the subject. "Are you..."
"...seeing someone? No, far too busy for that. No, that's not right. I can easily delegate and make the time, but I wonder sometimes if it's just too late for me, if my title is too impressive to ever let a man through. However..."
"Yes?"
"Well, there is someone, a former Computer Science professor who transferred to Mathematics a few years ago." Reika had clearly been waiting a long while to confide in someone, and Arisu was always good for a secret confession. "Not quite a knight in shining armor," she continued, "but on the other hand he's not like the others, interested only in his own image. He keeps very much to himself. The few times I've gotten him to open up I've seen a wonderful, caring person. But most of the time he just holds back. Maybe he earned the hatred of his Computer Science colleagues--if anyone is touchier than a math professor, it's a computer scientist. I could easily find out, but I'm waiting for him to tell me."
Arisu smiled. This was an area where she could be useful. "I think the problem is that both of you are doing too much waiting. You probably haven't let him know how you feel about him."
"No," Reika interjected, "I couldn't do that. Not yet anyway. There are very strict rules about associating with your higher ups."
Arisu inwardly grimaced at the oblique reference to her long-ago affair, although Reika had never said one word of criticism about it. "Well," she offered, "is there anything official you can do for him, some way of hinting how you feel? If he's interested in you, he'll respond appropriately. If not, you'll still be helping out."
Reika smiled warmly. "You know, there is something I can do for him. Arisu, you've done it again!"
Arisu returned the smile, glad to know that her perilous visit to Japan wasn't in vain. "By the way, " she asked innocently, "is Juri going to make it?"
The smile instantly left Reika's face. "Um, well, I was going to tell you, but things haven't been going well for Juri lately."
"What happened?"
"Well...uh, she did say she'd be able to join us today. Said something about a big announcement, actually. Let me check my e-mail."
Reika didn't find an e-mail message from Juri. She found an entirely different and entirely unwanted e-mail message from webmaster@mika.com.
