Chapter 004: Saburo Arasaka
AXSTRP Chapter 004 20230316e8
Different communication, thought patterns, and sounds:
Present scenarios
Past scenarios
"Speaking"
Name: "Speaking in the past"
'Thinking or speaking mentally'
Name: 'Thinking or speaking mentally in the past'
Prologue
The Relic was a series of Arasaka biochips allowing the storage and manifested reading of digitized human psyches – Engram. Initially, Relic was just an Arasaka business project using Soulkiller on celebrities, important cultural icons, and artists in order to create their Engrams for commercialization. However, Saburo Arasaka saw it as the future. The Emperor turned it into his top-secret project, with the aim to transfer an Engram to a new host body. His ultimate goal was to achieve a form of immortality with the use of Relic. Now, the director of the Relic Project – Estella turned the biochips into a war asset to enable humans to participate in the 14th Machine War in mechanical bodies…
[Cyberpunk Era: 2077]
In Night City Arasaka Tower, Saburo Arasaka walked into his son's residence, and the father couldn't make up his mind on how to deal with Yorinobu Arasaka's latest rebellious act yet.
"I thought I told you not to meddle in my affairs," Yorinobu Arasaka spoke to his father unhappily in Japanese.
Saburo looked around. Although he had plans for this situation years ago, he was still hesitating from doing anything which would harm his youngest son.
"Leave us," Saburo ordered his staff. Since this was his own familiar affair, He wanted to confront his son alone.
"Arasaka-sama. I still haven't done a full sweep," Takemura, his ever-loyal personal bodyguard responded while he was checking a cubby.
"This is my son," Saburo simply replied. He didn't want any outsider getting in between him and Yorinobu here because he was his father after all.
"Of course. Should I retrieve what we came here to…?" Takemura asked about the stolen Arasaka biochips.
"I will handle it. You may go," Saburo insisted that he wanted to handle the situation alone again.
Takemura bowed and walked out of Yorinobu's penthouse. Adam Smasher soon followed. Eventually, there were only Saburo and Yorinobu inside the room. There was no outsider disturbing them now.
"Did you think I wouldn't know it was taken from me?" The father spoke. He and his son finally made eye contact after both avoiding each other for so long.
"Actually, I don't think of you at all. Ever. You see, that's your problem. You think the world revolves around you. Arrogant." The son responded angrily.
"Yorinobu," The 158 years old man spoke his son's name. Saburo was a bit surprised by Yorinobu's sudden outburst.
"Why did you come? To humiliate me? To personally see to it that your son knows his place?" The heir questioned the Emperor sharply.
"The nail that protrudes from the wall gets hammered…" Saburo quoted but Yorinobu cut him off.
"Couldn't think of anything original to say?" The son stood up from his seat. Yorinobu ran out of patience and started pacing around his penthouse.
"And do you think it "original" to sell our greatest achievement to westerners – our future to these… barbarians?!" Saburo stood still and spoke calmly. Unlike the son, the father controlled his rage very well.
"Our future? Ours?! You are mistaken. You've only ever cared about yourself… and your sick schemes," His son accused him. Despite his return to the family, Yorinobu never truly agreed with his father.
"I knew this day would come. That sooner or later your impudence would cross the line," Saburo looked at the floor. Despite he should feel very angry with his son, the 158 years old man could only feel weariness. The Emperor was tired of confronting his own heir. He never asked for this.
Clearing his mind. Saburo moved forward. He stopped in front of Yorinobu.
"There was much for which I could forgive, but for treason – no," The father finally spoke it out.
Yorinobu stopped pacing after hearing this. Alas, the son and the father stood against each other at last.
"I'm just glad your mother didn't live to see this. Her heart would be broken but once," Saburo spoke. His words finally pushed his son over the edge. Yorinobu charged forward and put his hands around his father's throat. The heir pinned the Emperor on the cubby.
Yorinobu suddenly released his grasp on his father. Saburo wanted to say something, but he couldn't because he could only struggle to breathe. The father reached his hands to the son's face, but the son looked aside, then he slapped his father's hands away.
"You shall never have to forgive me for anything again!"
Yorinobu strangled his father again. Saburo's back hit the chubby. The back of his head was bleeding. As time went on, the Emperor lost his strength. His arms felt limp and he could no longer struggle. The 158 years old man could only make unrecognizable noises. No word could come out of his mouth. Once his father dropped dead, Yorinobu threw him to the ground. Saburo hit the floor and remained motionless.
Yorinobu walked back unsteadily. The heir paced his penthouse aimlessly. Then he sat on the table. After some thinking, Yorinobu returned to Saburo's lifeless body.
"I wish… I wish to put the hotel on lockdown," Yorinobu was checking whether Saburo was still living. The heir was looking for any life signs like breathing or blood circulation on the dead Emperor.
"May I ask why?" The AI responded with a female voice.
"Saburo Arasaka has been murdered."
Timeskip
"Where are we actually going?"
In Night City Arasaka Tower, the head of the Kiji (雉) Faction of the Arasaka Corporation - Hanako Arasaka led the legendary mercenary - V into a secret room.
"This is one of Arasaka's most closely guarded secrets," Hanako spoke proudly before the merc.
"Hang on, is this…?"
"Father's office. A faithful replica of the original in Tokyo. He ordered one made in every Arasaka branch on the planet. Every last detail, every item… arranged as if he could navigate it blind. That is the way he is. Meticulous. Fastidious," The Emperor's only daughter paced around her father's private office. Hanako gently touched Saburo's white marble meeting table.
"Was," V corrected.
"I beg your pardon?" Hanako turned to face the merc.
"Meant to say "was," The ex-corpo impatiently answered.
"Symbols are more resilient than you think. The question is if the faction leaders remain loyal to Arasaka values. And if they will find the courage to admit their mistakes," The faithful daughter of the Emperor responded.
"Odds of that happening are..?" The merc asked casually.
"Higher than you may think," Saburo's only daughter replied confidently.
"Come," Hanako led the merc to an elevator that was hidden behind fake walls in her father's office.
"We're going down…?" V asked when the lift doors closed.
"I told you – Mikoshi can be accessed only from a room beneath Arasaka Tower. Before we interrupt this board meeting. We must do one more thing," Hanako Arasaka explained to V seriously.
"Huh? Keep getting this weird feeling you're not telling me the whole truth," The former Arasaka counterintelligence agent criticized her client.
"Because I am not telling you the whole truth. I am cautious," The Emperor's only daughter answered.
"Thought you said we trusted each other," The ex-corpo crossed her hands.
"There is trust between us now. That is why you are here," Hanako Arasaka said when the elevator stopped.
"Though earlier… soon after you abducted me… I sought his counsel," The Emperor's only daughter led the merc out of the lift. They entered a dimly lighted observation room with a big unbreakable glass window.
"Uh, whose?" V asked.
"Father's," Hanako Arasaka sat before the observation window which separated them from the Mikoshi Terminal.
"Sit down, please. I will need a moment," The Emperor's only daughter politely requested, so the merc sat on a chair next to her.
"His office is not the only replica he created," Hanako Arasaka proudly told V.
"What!?"
A translucent blue-colored male figure who wore traditional Japanese male clothing appeared on the glass. It was the Engram of Saburo Arasaka. The Emperor who was presumed dead returned to life.
"Father. It is her," Hanako Arasaka politely introduced V to her father in Japanese.
"You stole from my company," Saburo Arasaka looked at V fiercely.
"Fuck me dizzy…" The former Arasaka employee was totally shocked by the sudden reveal. V had personally witnessed the Emperor being killed by his heir during the heist at Konpeki Plaza. The merc had sawed the rebellious son strangled his father with her own eyes when she and Jackie were hiding inside the chubby after stealing the Relic in Yorinobu's penthouse. 'Saburo Arasaka should be dead!'
"You aided in my daughter's abduction. And now you will bring my son to his demise. One might think you have a grudge against Arasaka," The Emperor spoke to the merc disapprovingly in Japanese.
"Why am I here?" The ex-corpo asked judgingly.
"I wish to see you with my own eyes," Her former boss answered.
"Because…?" The former Arasaka employee spoke carefully.
"It never ceases to amaze me how so much can at times depend on an ordinary individual. Life, death… And in between… Glass. That is what we are doing. Making the dividing line thinner and thinner. And you became a part of this process. I suppose I should thank you," Saburo Arasaka looked V in her eyes.
"Thanks won't be near enough," The merc coldly responded. V was dying because of the Arasaka-made Relic biochip inside her neural port. The Engram of Johnny Silverhand was killing her brain right now. That was why the ex-corpo didn't have the mood to talk with her old boss now.
"This I know. You will be compensated appropriately," The Emperor promised the merc.
Then, Saburo Arasaka turned to his only daughter, "I am ready, Hanako. Let's begin."
Before Hanako or V could do anything, they were interrupted by a new voice behind them.
"Hanako-sama. What are you doing here?"
V and Hanako sharply turned their heads. A woman was standing at the only exit of the Mikoshi observation room. Despite her picture-perfect smile, the merc and the Emperor's only daughter were spooked because they didn't notice her presence. V decided to speak first.
"Estella, I didn't expect you here. Did Yorinobu send you?"
V knew Estella since they were just Arasaka Academy students. Although both of them were seen as prodigies because of their unusually high deviation values from public exams, their school life was anything but easy. Compared to students who had parents being gainfully employed at Arasaka, they were nobodies because both of them were outside the Arasaka corporate family at that time. Their outstanding performance only turned them into big targets of the upper class at Arasaka Academy. As a result, others tried to bully them whenever they got the chance.
After graduation from Arasaka Academy, the two of them went their separate ways. V had gone to the security division of Arasaka. The merc had become an Arasaka counterintelligence agent who had always ended up with damage control works unluckily. V's career in Arasaka abruptly ended when the Director of Special Operations - Susan Abernathy fired her because her immediate superior – Arthur Jenkins had tried to assassinate Susan.
Estella was far more successful in her career. She was recruited into the weapons manufacturing division of Arasaka through recommendations. V's old school friend eventually became a respected chief engineer who was involved in unknown numbers of Arasaka black projects. She rose through the ranks to become an Arasaka Executive after the death of her disappeared immediate superior – Tanaka was confirmed. Estella later took over the Prototype Cyberskeleton project and successfully launched it to the global arms market. Making her one of the up-and-coming Arasaka executives. Recently, there were office rumors between the current Arasaka CEO – Yorinobu, and his project director - Estella, so V wanted to know where her former co-worker stood in the coming Arasaka civil war…
"No. Yorinobu-sama didn't give such orders. I'm here because it is my responsibility to protect company assets. Hanako-sama. Why are you transferring an Engram to a top-secret biochip without any authorization? It is a violation of company policies," Estella stated clearly. Her blue eyes laser-focused on the Relic chip stolen by Hanako Arasaka.
"This is not your concern. Leave us," Hanako Arasaka ordered, but Estella stood her ground.
"Hanako-sama. The Relic biochip in your hands is still an incomplete product. It should not be used on anyone. Please hand it over to me. I will put it back to its original place," V's former co-worker politely requested.
"V. Neutralize her," Hanako Arasaka ordered, but V hesitated.
V and Estella had been friends since they had met each other, and V knew Estella was anything but unarmed. Her former colleague was not just a suit like Anders Hellman. When they were still studying in the Arasaka Academy, they fought other students who were enhanced by chipware together. Last year, the merc had sawed Estella fighting alongside Adam Smasher during the Cyberskeleton incident. Estella had captured all thieves alive despite Adam Smasher's presence. Therefore, the merc didn't want to fight her former colleague.
"Please reconsider your actions carefully, Hanako-sama. What are you going to do with the Relic? It may kill someone if you misuse it," Estella said seriously while she moved her eyes to V.
"Fighting her is a bad idea. I doubt she is even alone. Why do you bring the Relic anyway?" V said to Hanako.
"You should neutralize her!" The Emperor's only daughter said to the merc.
"I mean you no harm. Hanako-sama. Please calm down." Estella immediately said.
"Why do you stand in our path? This is not your concern," Saburo Arasaka said to the Arasaka executive, but Estella was unfazed.
"Since Anders Hellman was gone, I have taken over his role of Relic project director. If the unfinished biochip kills anyone when I can stop it from happening, it would become my fault. That's why I need to know what are you going to do with the biochip," V's former co-worker explained.
"This is my family matter," Saburo simply said, but the Relic project director didn't buy it.
"The Relic has already made V's neural network deteriorates to the point where her brain would no longer function without the chip. If you use it on another person now, the same thing will happen again," Estella argued with V's case.
"The biochip was commissioned by me. I require no one's permission to use it," The Emperor stated strongly, but Estella was unmoved by his outburst.
"An engram is not legally a person. You are just another property of Arasaka Corp. No different from other Engrams who are under my watch," V's former co-worker coldly responded.
"My father didn't relinquish his rights!" Hanako Arasaka strongly disagreed.
"This is just a temporary measure in Arasaka. The law is simply behind the times. You don't have to worry about it," Estella simply replied.
"Whaddaya want?" V was getting impatient now because she wasn't feeling well.
"I don't want Yorinobu dead."
Timeskip
"WNS News've been notified of a breaking story. Saburo Arasaka lives once more, though now in the body of an autonomous humanoid AI. The CEO was reported dead months ago, but now it's been revealed that a copy of his consciousness was made before his death. It appears his consciousness was used to transplant into an autonomous humanoid AI. This shocking development was revealed at a press conference earlier today," The news presenter said on TV before the scene switched to the Arasaka press conference. A businessman was giving a speech there behind a podium.
"Welcome, everyone. My grandfather once told me, "A fallen flower cannot return to its branch." From the moment a person becomes conscious of their being, they live in fear of death. Mankind's oldest and greatest fear has been overcome. Here before you, I stand now – Saburo Arasaka – alive in this new body. I once gave my whole life to my company. In return, my employees have demonstrated the depth of their loyalty and have returned this gift to me. In my absence, Yorinobu made several decisions aimed at transforming our company. In these, he erred. Under my daughter - Hanako's leadership, the Arasaka Corporation will return to its roots – roots strong enough to move the heaviest stones. Thank you," Saburo Arasaka said before the scene switched back to the anchorman.
"Today is truly a historic day. Today, technology has fulfilled the promise left empty by religion. Thank you, Saburo-sama. You are an inspiration," The WNS News anchor ended his show with a Japanese bowing - saikeirei (最敬礼) as a sign of gratitude to Saburo Arasaka…
Timeskip
[Cyberpunk Era: 2078 July]
'War is business and business is good. The global military-industrial complex is having a heyday now and Arasaka is no exception…'
Arasaka was a worldwide megacorporation dealing in corporate security, banking, and manufacturing since it was founded in 1915. Before World War II, Arasaka had already been manufacturing for the Imperial Japanese Army. The wealth and power of the Arasaka family had grown beyond people's imagination with Sasai Arasaka foreseeing the defeat of Japan. His father had worked to ensure the Arasaka Corporation and his fortune would survive by spreading his wealth across the globe.
After his father died from old age in 1961, Saburo Arasaka became the head of the Arasaka Corporation. In 1997, Arasaka Security moved into paramilitary contracting and began training one of the world's first corporate armies.
Thanked the Corporate Wars. Arasaka became one of the largest armed forces in the world. Its strength only grew further after interfering in the Unification War. It was an armed conflict between the New United States of America (NUSA) and the alliance of seceded states known as the Free States that started in January 2069 and ended in June 2070.
In 2077, Arasaka successfully conducted new ballistic missile tests, developed new lines of reflex boosters, and introduced their new exoskeleton – Cyberskeleton to the global arms trade. A major breakthrough also happened in the Secure Your Soul Program when its temporary director - Estella combined the Relic Project with her human body mechanization technology. Saburo Arasaka's ultimate goal of achieving a form of immortality succeeded.
Now, a new opportunity presented itself. If they could overcome the risk and the challenge that came along with it, the Arasaka Corporation may get into a position of power from which it could dominate two worlds politically and economically.
A few days ago, a pair of red-headed twins visited the Arasaka Tower in Night City. They brought the craziest military project proposal to the sales representative on-site. After hearing their story, the salesman thought the twins were crazy. He almost declined their business proposal and made them leave immediately, but money was money, and their offer seemed too good to be true, so he verbally agreed and forwarded all the data he had gotten from the red-headed twins to his superior. After careful analysis, the data and money from the twins were confirmed to be true by both the counterintelligence and the R&D divisions in the Arasaka Corporation, so the employees decided to inform the higher-up. Eventually, his daughter - Hanako Arasaka learned about this business venture. She was impressed by the red-headed twins' proposal and amazed by the Automata technology that they gave to Arasaka for free, so she sought my counsel…
Timeskip
As a family scion, Saburo Arasaka had seen that his father's fortune would soon be his to control. He had envisioned Japan rising above the humiliation of losing World War II, and becoming an economic powerhouse. A nation got into a position of power in which it could dominate the world politically and economically. From that day, Saburo devoted his complete attention to his work. He had begun intense studies in different fields to become a worthy successor to Sasai Arasaka and to ensure his company would one day dominate the political and economical climate. Saburo had learned to read people by their eyes, so he could exploit every opportunity from them. Now, he taught his children to do the same as how his father had taught him in the past, and their new clients did have a very honest look. There was an inhuman beauty in their artificial green eyes…
To learn about the truth, Saburo and Hanako met the red-headed twins face to face in the Tavernier Suite of Konpeki Plaza. They sat on tatami mats and dined from low tables, as in the traditional Japanese style. After some formalities between both sides, the twin sisters took their sake and shared their story:
A long time ago, there was a Goddess called Hardy. She controlled a Dimensional Gate that could connect two different worlds. To entertain herself, Hardy connected different worlds for fun. Her actions led to countless wars in uncountable worlds. Causing heavy casualties of the innocents. Eventually, another Goddess couldn't stand Hardy and usurped her place. That was how the twins' backer - Rory Mercury took over the Dimensional Gate. Rory had a different goal in mind. She saw the Gate as a tool to improve different worlds and connect them to solve their unique problems.
Usually, it would be a well-developed world helping the less-developed world by sending a superior army to the other side through the Gate to solve the problems directly, but that traditional method would not work in Automata Era because the machine lifeforms in there were too advanced and powerful. Therefore, a different approach was needed.
The clients would provide the intel, technology, and money in exchange for humans building an army for their war. If the plan succeeded, the participants would gain control of two worlds and attain unimaginable wealth…
Timeskip
'War is risky business, but it is not always avoidable...'
Connecting two different worlds did not only make good things happen, but it could also doom both worlds. While the Gate made new cultural clashes, technological advancements, trade agreements, and political alliances possible by letting knowledge, resources, and people move between two worlds, it could also bring in chaos and destruction like new conflicts, competitions, wars, and disasters by letting enemies and plagues in. Human extinction was no exemption because it had already happened in the Automata Era thousands of years ago when a plague called White Chlorination Syndrome emerged from another dimension. Despite that lethal and incurable bacterial disease had been eradicated after all their hosts - humans had been killed, Saburo was still weary of the potential risks which the Automata Era might bring to his own world, but he could not do anything to it because the Gate wasn't in Tokyo or within his sphere of influence. Clearly, the Gate was well-hidden in elsewhere that the Arasaka Counterintelligence Division and his informant network couldn't make heads or tails of it. Saburo had already doubled down to find it but there had been no progress so far after pouring so many resources in the search of their Gate. The red-headed twins must have powerful friends who knew this world inside out to prevent anyone from tampering with their military project proposal.
Directly targeting the red-headed twins themselves to extract the intel would not work either because there was already a private army in place to protect them and their properties. Their security detail was no joke because it was headed by an Ex-Arasaka counterintelligence agent – V herself. It seemed that the former Arasaka employee was saved after she refused to join the Secure Your Soul Program at the Arasaka Orbital station. The merc had gone through the process of mechanizing her whole body including her brain and became the first human to get a Black Box transplant. V became the shining example that Automata and Cyberpunk technologies could work together and use on living humans. The merc was no longer dying and her inhuman strength outpaced every existing Arasaka combatant. Nothing less than an army could get through her and touch the clients. Mobilizing the Arasaka Security against the red-headed twins openly was not an option either when other megacorps had already on board with their military project proposal.
All arms dealers wanted a new world war for years, and the perpetual war between androids and machines in the Automata Era became the perfect excuse for the new arms race between countries here. Private military companies and arms manufacturers were job creators. They spent money and paid taxes. That's why rich people believed war was good for the economy, but since Hanako began the de-escalation between Arasaka and Militech, the Americans needed another war to jump-start their economy out of their deep recession. The economy of the Americas had been stuck there since the end of the Cold War. That was why the New United States of America accepted the red-headed twins' military project proposal without hesitation. After all, it was a "war on machines." They were not out to kill any human. No question was needed to ask when someone paid all the bills and gave out groundbreaking technologies for free.
Someone must have been hiding assets and building networks across the globe years before the red-headed twins brought out their military project proposal. If not they could not buy so many people off and finance the construction of so many war factories on such short notice. Militec, Kang Tao, Tsunami Defense Systems, etc. They were all in the new weapon development project that was part of the future armed forces plan. Using technologies from different worlds, the project also had the goals of reverse engineering all automata technologies and building a new world order in the Automata Era. Arasaka must join this military project before being left behind!
"If we don't participate in Project AhRoy now, Arasaka Corporation will lose market share, influence, and the future to competitors!" One Arasaka employee said in the board of directors meeting.
Timeskip
Since he made the Arasaka Corporation one of the largest corporations in the world, Saburo Arasaka became well-known as "the Emperor". Saburo was feared by everyone including his own children because of his ruthless and power hungry. However, everyone forgot that Saburo had once been an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Pilot who just loved flying and serving his country in World War II. Including Saburo himself. He had only stopped piloting any airplane after American bullets smashing through his Zero fighter canopy, shattering his left arm, and driving splinters into his left eye and skull. After those injuries, Saburo Arasaka had become unable to fly again and was medically discharged from military service in 1942. Then, he had turned all his attention to the Arasaka Corporation and totally forgot his love of flight until now.
When the alien invasion began in the Automata Era about six thousand years ago, the androids did not have an army. Their manufacturing factories had ceased operation because the last of humanity (Gestalts) went extinct in their world about eight hundred years ago. That had once significantly declined their population. Therefore, the androids had to organize themselves into the "Army of Humanity" and built new war factories in various locations while they were under alien attack. Unfortunately, the androids themselves clearly have no idea about how to fight a world war at that time, so they had just directly copied outdated weapons and tactics from human history, then the Army of Humanity deployed those obsolete combat units to the battlefield without proper testing and evaluation. That was why the androids reproduced the World War II Horten Ho 229 aircraft in the first place.
Horten Ho 229 was a German prototype fighter/bomber initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten in 1943. People saw it as an aviation engineering marvel because Ho 229 was the first flying wing to be powered by jet engines. However, the androids did have better choices for reverse engineering like Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, or Tupolev Tu-160 which were far more advanced, successful, and reliable than a World War II prototype that could not even enter mass production. Then, why the android leadership made such poor choices? That was because the humans in Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry said the Ho 229 was a "Wonder Weapon" which could turn the tide of World War II. Since Nazi Germany was defeated at the end of World War II, you could easily imagine the battle result of androids using those outdated illusionary weapons against the evolving machine lifeforms.
Once the aliens conquered North and South America of the Automata Era in 5024, they began producing machine lifeforms that could learn, grow, and evolve. The machines quickly rendered androids' outdated weapons and tactics useless. Due to the mass production of machine lifeforms, the Army of Humanity began losing territory at a steady pace in the following hundred years. Androids were forced to choose "Evolve or Die", so the Army of Humanity began proper research and development to rethink the way they fight a war. That was how the androids developed the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 Saburo flew today.
The YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 made by the androids in 11,937 and the Horten Ho 229 made by the humans in 1944 were not the same thing. Despite the shared name – Ho 229, the two fast military aircraft were totally different in nature. Although the Horten Ho 229 was once claimed to have stealth technology in 1983, the test in 2008 revealed such claim was highly exaggerated. The Army of Humanity learned that harsh truth after losing countless android pilots to the machines' anti-aircraft artillery. Then, the androids began a series of modernization, upgrade, and radical modification on it. After six thousand years of constant improvement, the Horten Ho 229 evolved into the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229. Its latest prototype completed most of its flight tests on 7th July 11,937. Unfortunately, that YoRHa Flight Unit fell into earth's atmosphere along with its spare parts because of a fire on the orbital satellite base – "The Lab". The red-headed twins and their unknown collaborators retrieved those wreckages and moved all confidential materials to their secret factory through the Gate. They reverse-engineered the YoRHa Flight Unit as much as they can and shared its copies with every aircraft manufacturer who participated in Project AhRoy. This was how Saburo Arasaka got the chance to test the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 himself.
After learning that wood glue mixed with charcoal dust was not an effective radar-absorbent material, the androids replaced the wood structure of their Ho 229 with the latest radiation-absorbent material. However, the machines found the Ho 229 easily again, so the android R&D changes its shape to minimize the radar cross-section. Making the surface more even and eliminating seam joints. Like previous changes, the stealth of Ho 229 still did not work. Therefore, the Army of Humanity turned the Ho 229 into an unmanned combat aerial vehicle and replaced its original cockpit with a compact and integrated avionics system. The new design didn't last long because the machine network soon discovered how to disrupt the drone. The Army of Humanity chose to not reuse its original cockpit design because of the new avionics and placed the new pilot seat into its belly. They gave up the concept of stealth aircraft. The machine network eventually developed better flyers which had better survivability, the MK 108 30 mm caliber autocannon of the Ho 229 became under power, so the androids replaced those World War II projectile weapons with modern directed-energy weapons which were more destructive and did not require any ammunition supply. Then the machine network further improved the efficiency of their military production, and the androids could not keep up with their opponents, so the Army of Humanity installed two oversized missile pods which were full of All Direction Multi-Purpose Missiles onto the Ho 229's only two hardpoints. The above modifications made the Ho 229 capable of clearing a swarm of machine flyers instantly, but that didn't help the Army of Humanity to protect its air bases. The androids eventually met the situation that they had no runway, so they introduced the transformation feature into the Ho 229 to give it vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability. After six thousand years of uncountable radical changes, the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 became an overcomplicated transforming mecha rather than a traditional combat aircraft.
As a World War II flying ace who had over 20 confirmed kills, Saburo Arasaka could easily recognize the advantages of the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229. Like his Zero fighter outflying most enemy fighters at the beginning of World War II, the YoRHa Flight Unit did have a tremendous range that it could outfly every known machine flyer. The android-made Ho229 had true global strike capability in that it could reach any earth surface from the thirteenth orbital satellite base - "Bunker" and return by itself without refueling. The compact size and light weight of the YoRHa Flight Unit made it more agile than any machine flyer, so it could avoid most of the enemy attacks without a single scratch. However, Saburo couldn't ignore its disadvantages even though the YoRHa Flight was better than any human-made fighter he knew before. The fatal flaws of the Ho229 were too serious, and Saburo was certain that the androids would not be able to win aerial supremacy with it.
First of all, the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 was too expensive and too complicated for mass production and maintenance. The Army of Humanity could not supply it to any combat unit other than the few elite squads. As a result, aerial reconnaissance, air transport, combat air cover (CAP), and close air support (CAS) were non-existence among android foot soldiers while the machines always had flyers nearby to fulfill the above roles in the hot zone all the time. If a YoRHa Flight Unit got damaged, it could only return to its original base to get its repair. However, machine flyers didn't have the same problem because their designs were far more simple and more robust. They could be repaired by other machines' components on the field without returning to their original factories.
Secondly, the firepower of the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 was insufficient. Although it was androids' most advanced fighter which was better than anything humans had now and capable of wiping out a wave of small machine lifeforms with a single strike. Its wrist cannons and micro-missiles were inefficient against machines with heavy armor or shield. Once the machine network deployed their heavy units like Goliath Flyer or Engels, the Ho229 would not be able to defeat them at a safe distance before the androids suffered heavy casualties. The YoRHa Flight Unit would have no choice but to use its beam saber or NFCS in close-quarters combat, so the opponent might easily kill the YoRHa Flight Unit with a single hit in that situation.
Thirdly, the survivability of YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 was too low. Besides its thin armor, the Flight Unit didn't even have an enclosed cockpit or a single safety belt. Anything could hit the pilot from the outside without resistance, or the pilot got thrown out of the Flight Unit under heavy impact. While the Ho229 could use anti-magnetic skin to survive re-entry, missile strike, and nuclear blast, that function could not sustain even one minute and had a really long cool-down. That was why the anti-magnetic skin could not replace good old armor. Some people always said, "What use was armor if you didn't get hit." As an ace pilot, Saburo could tell them if Japanese aircraft had better protection in World War II, more Japanese pilots would survive because getting hit or not wasn't decided by them. There were always situations that the pilots could not even notice or avoid in air fights.
Fourthly, the sensors and avionics of YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 were prone to interference and jamming. Its communication could be easily eavesdropped on and overridden by the Machine Network. The above weaknesses reduced the android pilot's situational awareness and command and control capabilities. Once the Machine Network launched its electronic warfare, the Ho229 pilot would become blind unknowingly. Everything that the androids uploaded with the Ho229 datalink would be intercepted or edited. Their commander would not know what happened on the frontline. These weaknesses made the Ho229 incapable of being a worthy reconnaissance aircraft to perform aerial reconnaissance. The android commander would not rely on the existing YoRHa Flight Unit to carry out real-time surveillance or general intelligence gathering. These were the reasons why android commanders always were outmaneuvered by the Machine Network on different battlefields.
Last but not least, the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 was totally unsuitable for any human pilot. Saburo Arasaka could fly it because he was an Engram inside an autonomous humanoid AI body now. He didn't need any Life support or worry about losing consciousness because of acceleration. If any human tried to ride the YoRHa Flight Unit, they would be killed by its launch instantly. Even if a speed limiter was added to the Ho229, the human pilot would still need a space suit to ride on the Ho229 safely. That was why any attempt of selling the current Flight Unit design to the commercial market would only end up in failure.
The list of necessary improvements on the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 was too long. Ejection seat, survival kit, anti-submarine warfare, cyberwarfare, beyond-visual-range missile… Saburo Arasaka would prefer leaving those problems to his company R&D while he enjoyed a trip between the Tokyo HQ and Arasaka moon base. He was certain that the Arasaka Corporation would win the Joint Strike Flight Unit program with his output in the end. Nonetheless, piloting a YoRHa Flight Unit was just more amazing than sitting on a commercial space shuttle passenger seat…
Timeskip
The Joint Strike Flight Unit program was a development and acquisition program intended to incorporate a wide range of existing technology from different worlds to replace the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 for Project AhRoy. The JSFU program office was established at Night City to develop aircraft, weapons, and technology with the aim of countering the Machine Network in 2078. All Cyberpunk Era aircraft manufacturers that knew how to build fighters eagerly participated when they received advanced payment and learned that the program's final design would be acquired by almost every country of the Cyberpunk Era in the foreseeable future. After fierce competition, a prototype flight unit design was chosen based on the Arasaka X-229 Yukikaze.
The X-229 was an experimental flight unit for testing advanced Automata technology. It was personally commissioned and supervised by Saburo Arasaka himself. This Arasaka Flight Unit was being developed for research purposes. It was also a research prototype to determine whether minimizing the orbital station size mainframe of the Arasaka data fortress – "Mikoshi" into the mission systems of a single fighter aircraft was viable. The Arasaka technology demonstrator featured Automata Era cyberwarfare capability.
Among the planned features of the X-229 were cyberattack capabilities, which could manipulate digital networks and allowed black programs to be transferred faster and with immunity to the electromagnetic disturbance in the Automata Era.
X-229's radar was intended to have broad spectrum agility, capabilities for electronic countermeasures (ECM), electronic support measures (ESM), and communication functions even when it was being under cyber attack and electronic attack of the Machine Network.
A further feature would be a so-called 'Self Repairing Capability' which would allow the Arasaka Flight Unit to automatically detect failures or damage, and use the remaining capacity accordingly to remain operational.
The backers of the red-headed twins were impressed by the Arasaka technology demonstrator, and they announced that they would buy a total of 64 prototype flight units. Surprisingly, the Arasaka technology demonstrator's success immediately led to a series of unfortunate events happening to Saburo Arasaka himself.
When the contract for System Development and Demonstration (SDD) was rewarded to the Arasaka Corporation, whose X-229 beat the concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) of other companies, the clients requested the next prototype flight unit must be capable of utilizing products from the other arms manufacturers:
Firstly, the flight unit must be capable to launch the multi-shot, multi-target, high-power microwave (HPM) package aboard the low observable standoff air-launched cruise missile which was developed by Tsunami Defense Systems for Japan Self-Defense Forces. After the latest upgrades, it should be capable of incapacitating or damaging Automata Era electronic systems by means of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse). It was desired in situations where the targets needed to be engaged and shut down, while not affecting the allies around them. The clients hoped it allowed the attacking personnel to evade the effect of EMP and defensive fire from the targeted Goliath-class machine lifeforms.
Secondly, the clients insisted on replacing the original android-designed medium-range All Direction Multi-Purpose Missile with the new beyond-visual-range (BVR), hypersonic, fire-and-forget type micro-missile which was developed by Kang Tao for Taiwanese. It was designed to intercept other missiles and the platforms that launch them. It also featured the ability to "Home on Jamming", homing on jamming signals from the target. The clients hoped it could defend the flight unit from some of the enemy attacks and counter Machine Network jamming.
Thirdly, the clients suggested mounting American drones to X-229 hardpoints on both wings. This was the most unacceptable request to Saburo Arasaka. The hundred years old man was very nationalistic, having a contemptuous view of foreign countries and cultures, rarely setting foot outside of Japan. More specifically, Saburo harbored a deep hatred towards the United States for humiliating his country during previous wars. Despite his misjudgments in 2077, Saburo was still highly arrogant and considers himself the most adept man that had and would ever exist. He was unchanged, megalomaniacal, and obsessed. Therefore, Ignoring protests from his own employees and the Militec personnel who maintained the American drones, Saburo Arasaka began a live fire exercise between the four Militech XQ-229 and the Arasaka X-229 Yukikaze with him being inside the cockpit. This was a deadly mistake.
Militech International Armaments was one of the largest manufacturers in the Cyberpunk Era. It was once led by a CEO called Donald Lundee. Like Saburo Arasaka, Donald was a war veteran. They saw each other as a threat to their own ambition. As a result, Arasaka and Militech were always pitted against each other even to this day. While Arasaka determined to upgrade YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 into the best multirole combat aircraft to perform both air superiority and strike missions, Militech focused on streamlining Ho229's design and manufacturing to make it more affordable, efficient, and superior, so they could sell their new flight unit and create the largest air force in both worlds.
Militech applied their experience in the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) project to the YoRHa Flight Unit and turned it into an experimental stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). By developing better design and maturing the commercial manufacturing process to reduce build time and cost, the Militech XQ-229 became far cheaper than its processor – Ho229 and able to deploy new weapons or surveillance systems.
By incorporating test pilot Engram into the Militech drones directly, the XQ-229 could accomplish tasks such as scouting, defensive fire, or absorbing enemy fire if attacked without external control. It was cheap enough to be deployed as a swarm of drones. The Millitech XQ-229 was capable of conventional take-offs and landings or being launched by other platforms.
While Arasaka enlarged the YoRHa Flight Unit Ho229 about 2 times to improve its capability, Militech minimized Ho229 to about one-tenth of its original size while maintaining most of the original capabilities and implementing new technology into it. Unlike the original Ho229, the Militech XQ-229 could facilitate network-centric warfare and achieve stealth. In short, the XQ-229 achieved hive mind like the Machine Network.
When Saburo Arasaka flew his X-229 and fired on the four XQ-229 from beyond visual range. He found all his missiles were blocked by the anti-magnetic of a single Militech drone repeatedly. The four Militech drones used that function to absorb all Saburo's attacks separately. If Saburo had a wingman or relied on the Arasaka airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system like any modern fighter pilot did, he won't lose in the live fire exercise, but the World War II veteran was overconfident and decided to be a maverick. As a result, Saburo Arasaka got himself defeated by a World War II tactic – the Thach Weave again.
The Thach Weave was a hundred years old tactic developed by the United States Navy in World War II. It was impossible to work on a modern jet fighter after beyond-visual-range missiles became common, but the prideful Emperor decided to use the beam saber of his Arasaka Flight Unit after he wasted all his missiles on Militech drones' anti-magnetic skin. Ironically, Saburo Arasaka got shot down by a Militech drones hovering above his cockpit when he was chasing another aircraft just like what happened to him in 1942. The only difference was Saburo piloting his state-of-the-art Arasaka X-229 Yukikaze this time…
[ I HAVE CONTROL_ ]
[ ! ]
[ ATTENTION ]
[ SOULKILLER PRIMED. COMMENCING ENGRAM TRANSFER. ]
[ UPLOADING 100 % ]
[ COMPLETED ]
Timeskip
G – BOOTING SYSTEM…
Commencing System Check
Relic Biochip: Green
Initializing Digital Neural Engram
Dataset Received. Analysis Attempted. 0% Of Data Currently Unavailable
Loading Geographic Data
Vitals: Green
Remaining Energy: 100%
Black Box Temperature: Normal
Black Box Internal Pressure: Normal
Activating IFF
Activating FCS
Initializing Mikoshi Connection
Launching DBU Setup
Activating Inertia Control System
Activating Environmental Sensors
Cyberware Diagnostics: Green
Security Systems: Green
Network Framework: Green
Equipment Authentication: Complete
Equipment Status: Green
All System Green
Combat Preparations Complete_
"Father. How do you feel?"
Saburo Arasaka woke up. He was no longer in the Arasaka Flight Unit cockpit or the military airfield. Saburo was lying on a comfortable bed and faced an unfamiliar operation room ceiling. A female voice was nearby, so Saburo sat up.
"Hanako. Why are you here?" Saburo asked with an unfamiliar voice. Something was wrong with the body. Saburo looked at the legs. They were shorter than they should be. Saburo moved the hands before the eyes. They were also smaller. Their skin color and texture were closer to female rather than male. Saburo looked at Hanako. The daughter was taller than she should be. Was him… Him!?
"Yukikaze told me everything. You shouldn't start a fight with Militech. Do you know how worried I am?" The daughter criticized Saburo.
"I am an ace pilot. I can…"
"You were a pilot hundred years ago! You hadn't taken any air fight after World War II. How could you be so stupid? Refused support while challenging 4 Militech drones alone. Takemura almost started a war because of you," Hanako said unhappily.
"My plane…"
"It crashed. The Militech drones destroyed it in mid-air," The daughter answered.
"Then how did I…" The last thing Saburo saw was the Militech aircraft flying right above his cockpit. Then, he was here.
"Yukikaze applied Soulkiller on you before Militech opened fire. It transferred your Engram to this body," Hanako explained.
Saburo blinked. The Arasaka X-229 Yukikaze was an autonomous fighter, but Saburo did not expect it could launch Soulkiller without his order. That meant the research prototype succeeded in the field test. However, there was an important question left.
"Why is my body…" Saburo realized he was not inside a male body.
"This is because I ordered Yukikaze to transfer you into the female android body the clients gave us," Hanako answered mischievously…
Timeskip
"Yes, X-229 was shot down. Rescuers found the wreckage."
"…"
"Don't worry. We recovered the data. The next Arasaka Flight Unit will be better."
"…"
"Yes, there was a gag order, but the footage already leaked to Net 54. I believed Militech is happy with the result."
"…"
"His body is reduced to ashes. Repair is impossible."
"…"
"Yes, your father is stuck in a female body. The replacement parts are missing. He would not change back soon. It will be too embarrassing for him to show up now."
"…"
"Yes, Yorinobu-sama of course. Michiko-sama already knows. I will share the images."
After reporting to her boss, the otherworlder cut the line. She decided to share the good news with others.
"Yes, it's me. The new system is a success. We can safely transfer Engrams within our network now."
"…"
"With this system, we can extract Engrams from machines."
"…"
"The wreckage found by rescuers is fake. I already sent the real one to you."
"…"
"I'm afraid so. Not sure if it can work on N2. More field tests and modifications will be necessary."
"…"
"Yes, Saburo got himself killed again."
"…"
"That's right. Saburo becomes the first person soulkilled by the new system."
"…"
"Yes, just like Johnny. He is stuck in a female body, too."
"…"
"Speaking of which. I think the Soulkiller can be further minimized. With your help, we may make it as small as a cyberdeck. That will be handy in the Pearl Harbor Ascent Mission."
"…"
"Yes, we have Hanako-sama to thank for that. Saburo gave everything she needed."
"…"
"Yes, they bought the story. They believed Hellman was the leak. They won't suspect us."
"…"
"The project goes as planned. Arasaka still hasn't discovered my true identity. They had no idea I'm triple crossing them."
"…"
"I will continue my activity as Arasaka director."
"…"
"It appears that no one knows I'm an AI."
"…"
"Of course, I am always your friend. Miss Cunningham."
The otherworlder disconnected from the net and walked out of her room. The red-headed twins and her own light blue-headed sister were already waiting for her around the dining table.
"Looks like your problems were over," Devola said.
"This is just a minor incident. Nothing to worry about," Estella simply answered. After working so many years with humans, this was not the first time that her boss got himself killed. The rogue AI clearly knew very well what to do in such situations.
"You think Project AhRoy will work? The humans are more eager to kill each other than deal with the machines," Devola complained. She and Popola just returned from a meeting after the so-called minor incident in which the Militech representative kept trying to smear the Arasaka representative. This situation was so common that the red-headed twins had given up their effort of correcting the humans.
"If it doesn't, all your money will be wasted for nothing," Popola added. She and Devola almost have nothing. It was the other pair of twins – Estella and Elizabeth paying all the money in this world.
"Don't worry about money. We have assets in other worlds," Elizabeth interrupted. Unlike the red-headed twins, she didn't worry about financial problems. As a good fixer, Elizabeth had earned more than enough to cover all expenses.
"Now humans are upgrading their armies. I believe we are making good progress," Estella sat down. After seeing so much fierce competition between humans, she never doubted their capabilities to catch up with the Machine Network.
"I can't believe you saying that…" Devola sighed. Acting like a corpo to sell Project AhRoy took a toll on her and Popola. They always found humans putting effort into undermining each other rather than solving the problem.
"I worry the humans start a world war here before our operation begins," Popola commented. She and Devola hated seeing human deaths, but that was unavoidable in Cyberpunk Era.
"It's possible, but the Army of Humanity will never accept Project AhRoy. We have to make use of humans," Elizabeth lazily responded.
Popola just sighed, so Devola asked her, "You have a second thought, sis?"
"It should be androids fighting for humans. Not the other way around," Popola dully stated.
"The Army of Humanity is too stubborn. They will never win. We can only put our faith in humans," Estella responded. As an autonomous humanoid artificial intelligence, she visited many battles in different worlds. That was why she and Elizabeth believed hiring the Megacorp was their best option.
"Is there another way? This will become a war between two worlds," Devola asked the same question again, but the other pair of twins – Estella and Elizabeth always had the same answers.
"Humans will fight with or without us being around. It's just business."
"People will die and kill for what they believe. No one can stop that."
Author's Note
[20230315]
I must thank Freedom's Ring (Attack on Titan/進撃の巨人 + Gate - Jietai Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri Crossover) written by DFMRCV and The New Man : An Adam Smasher SI (Cyberpunk Edgerunners) written by Seat_Admiral. Their works inspired me to finish this chapter. After so many changes, the main plot of this story is still around the concept of doing something good by putting people from different worlds together. I guess that is the reason why I haven't given up on this story yet. If I didn't see the success of Adam Smasher SI, I possibly won't spend so much time to write a different Saburo Arasaka. If I hope I can pull this off and make Adam Smasher suffer the same fate, but I doubt this is possible or any time soon.
Originally, I hope to add a fix to the relationship between Saburo and Yorinobu, but this already take too much time, so I didn't do that. I did hope to end this chapter with Saburo Arasaka saving one of the YoRHa Units who participated in the Pearl Harbor Descent Mission personally, but I think I do enough, and writing a modern air battle with the right term will take a lot of time, so I put that idea down. The main reasons for writing Saburo Arasaka are to envision a future that he controlled a regional Machine Network like N2 and adopted one of the YoRHa Units into the Arasaka family to make a family drama. That is scrapped because of time limitations.
If I started this story in a typical format, making it like Gate: Thus the Arasaka Corporation Fought in The Automata Era, writing will be much easier. However, I doubt opening the Gate in Night City Corpo Plaza right in front of the Arasaka Tower is a good idea. Firstly, there is already an overwhelming number of people believing humans cannot survive Automata Era or fight the Machine Lifeforms, Secondly, other factions won't do nothing when Arasaka tries to keep the Gate for themselves. The Gate may trigger a second Unification War and another nuke strike on Night City. More importantly, making a fusion between Cyberpunk 2077 and Nier: Automata is much more interesting. Rather than the typical Androids VS Machines, fusing the new Corporate War and 14th Machine War sounds more fun.
If my story can keep updated in a more frequent and stable term, I envision a different YoRHa which have to deal with all the troubles caused by two worlds connected with each other: War, competition, recolonization, immigration, pollution, environmental crisis, disasters relief, international crime… YoRHa would become the equivalent of Arasaka Counterintelligence division rather than an advertisement board. We would see YoRHa Units in suits and deal with work overload. 9S would still die a lot but the reasons would be different. 2B would have to handle 9S's work load when he dies for one or another reason. The Operator type would become Netrunner and get fired just like any human Netrunner we saw.
Writing this chapter costs too much time and I can't do that repeatedly, so this story is already on a hiatus. At best, I may write more pieces of different characters in a strange Nier world, but that absolutely cannot happen anytime soon. The previous three chapters needed a lot of changes, so they could be considered unfinished scripts rather than true stories. I kind of hope to turn this crossover into an Open Round Robin story if I can.