October 9th 2050. Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California, U.S
"Five days of non-stop training." Simone gives a weary grin to us as we all meet up outside our quarters. "I'm glad we have today free."
"That's because you have a place to go while you're here," Alicia replies. "I've already seen all the so-called 'tourist attractions' Los Angeles has to boast, and the rest of the city does not reflect the glitz and glamour they've been selling for so long. Strip-malls aren't exactly my idea of a good time."
"I've always been curious about Hollywood," I tell them both. "It's the ideal America exports through the power of your films. I might be Japanese but I grew up on a lot of American movies."
"You clearly didn't swallow the bullshit completely," Simone remarks, "but let me tell you, Los Angeles ain't no shining city on the hill."
"What city ever is?" Nanami grins. "I still want to see it! Why come to Los Angeles if we can't see the sights?"
"I don't know my way around here." I tell her, one eye on the two Americans. "If someone will be willing to show us around…"
"...fine. This is my city, if anyone's taking you around it's gonna be me. But you owe me!" Simone turns on her heel and walks away towards the PX for breakfast. Alicia smiles in sympathy before chasing up Simone. The hostility between them has lessened over the last few days as I've forced them to fight together on several occasions, and they've quickly equaled the odds with Nanami and I. Victory over the American duo is no certainty anymore.
"We're going to get a tour of Los Angeles!" Nanami bubbles excitedly. "The walk of fame! There's a star there for Godzilla! And the big Hollywood sign!"
"You saw that on the flight here a week ago." I remind my partner.
"Yeah, but that was from the plane. Imagine seeing it from the ground! It would look so big!"
I can't help but chuckle at Nanami's burning enthusiasm. My interest in the legend of Los Angeles is detached. Sure it's interesting, but not enough that I would seek it out for myself. I'd have remained happy to stay in quarters for the duration of my stay in this city. But if it's for Nanami, sure I'll take up Simone's offer and get a whistle-stop tour of the mightiest city still left on the planet.
We catch up with the Americans in the PX, and there's already steaming bowls of thick army porridge waiting for us. You can certainly taste the difference between it and the synthetic porridge we sometimes get in Japan or Seattle.
"She's coming with us," Simone gestures with her spoon towards Alicia. She's not calling her princess, which is a good sign.
Alicia smiles over at Nanami and I. "We're making it a girls day out, show you Japs around the city. You probably won't want to see it again after this." That last part is said with a wicked grin on her lips.
"You really don't think much of this city?"
Simone butts in. "Forgive Alicia, she's too west side for this half of the country."
"You don't like the city itself any more than I do." Alicia protests.
"You're right there," Simone admits. Then she grins wickedly at Nanami and I. "Before you get your hopes up, you both have to know that Hollywood itself is a fucking dump. It's rows of souvenir shops, dollar stores and those metal grates they close at night to deter thieves. You think it's this magical place, but it's really a shithole."
"S-simone!" Nanami stammers.
"What? It's true." Simone blinks innocently at us. It doesn't quite mask the smug on her lips.
"Hollywood isn't all of Los Angeles." I point out. "There's things here I want to see. Mulholland Drive for example. It offers a great view of the city as a whole."
"How do you know about that?" Simone asks, surprised I know the name.
"I saw the movie, the one named after that drive. The Director said that you can feel the whole history of Hollywood upon it."
"You saw Mulholland Drive?" Alicia asks me.
"My father loved American movies. The arty ones. He was introduced to them by the Americans he served alongside, who had weekly movie screenings they invited him to join. Kubrick, Fincher, all the greats."
"You are an odd woman, Kaede. But an interesting one." Alicia smiles over at me. No doubt she's looking to win me over, but it takes two to tango in this line of work.
"Mulholland Drive," Simone addresses us. "Is there anywhere else you're burnin' to see?"
"I'd like to see Griffith Observatory." I tell her.
"And I want to see the Hollywood sign!"
"Lucky for both of you, those two are a stone's throw away from each other. We'll make it a twofer." Simone nods to herself.
"Nanami and I will need to speak with Captain Tomosato first, while we're technically off-duty we have to inform her of our movements."
"Speaking of, have you heard anything more about Seattle?" Alicia asks, concerned.
With all the delays in communication, it was not until yesterday that we learned about the attack. A full scale assault by the BETA against Seattle, weeks in advance of expectations. It was beaten off by the Empire's TSF forces, but not without some losses.
I wish I could have been there. Those Eishi who died that day did so because neither Nanami nor I were there to break the back of the BETA ourselves. I spoke with Captain Tomosato about it at length when she gave us the news. Tomosato reassured me that there was nothing I could do, and that to rush back now was to waste the promise that had sent Nanami and I down here. When we return to the north, it'll be with the American Adapters at our sides, ready to face down the worst either the BETA or the France-Canada Coalition can throw at us.
"We missed it. All those BETA, and others got to have the joy of killing them." Nanami's voice has a thing of longing, one that sends a chill down my spine.
"I'm sure the IJMDF will be all-too pleased to leave some for us when we get back." I gently chide her.
"Think they'll leave some for us too?" Simone's megawatt grin is on full display.
"Hey, when you get to Seattle, Nanami and I will be the ones giving you two a tour of the city. The Space Needle! The Seattle Great Wheel! Seattle Grace Hospital…"
"Yeah yeah, we get it." Simone looks good when she smiles. Her personality really shines through, forward, confident and energetic. We didn't do too badly when we were paired with these American women. Let's hope the winning streak carries through.
I Love L.A.- Randy Newman (Vinyl Restoration)
It's a beautiful day today.
The skies are a vivid blue, dotted with puffs of white cloud. The blazing heat of the California sun beats down upon us as we cruise down the pale grey strip of worn concrete that forms the San Diego Freeway. Towering street signs and billboards loom above us hawking the labyrinthine routes connecting the city together, while trees poke their greenery above the crash barriers. On either side of the freeway spills the suburbs of Los Angeles, rows of beige, white and brown buildings perched upon a spider's web of roads, tall palm trees jostling with power lines. It comes off as barely-ordered chaos, and to my mind there is nothing more American than that.
Most of the traffic buzzing back and forth is still civilian, and thankfully we're not bucking the trend. With the permission of the Base CO we've been permitted to use our own transport for our jaunt. In this case it's Simone's pride and joy, a ruby-red Sports Car. A convertible, she has the top down so we can enjoy the breeze caressing our faces. I've seen her eyesing us out of the corner of her eyes, and behind a pair of black-tinted sunglasses her eyes have a spark dancing about them as Nanami and I marvel at the sights.
We're all in civilian garb. The only hint to our true occupation are the dog tags hanging around our necks under our clothes.
"How did you convince the brass to let you take your personal vehicle out for this?" I ask her. I got to ride shotgun while Alicia and Nanami shared the back. Neither seems to have any regrets.
"Please, you want to see me drive into LA in a JLTV? No way." She raises one finger in a sign of defiance.
"You got what you wanted, you really want to flip the bird now?" Alicia asks her.
"I'm off-duty. I'll give a shit when I return back to base. In the meantime, this is my time."
"I was taught to behave at all times as if I were on duty," I comment dryly, "and not to bring dishonour to the Imperial Army in any way, shape or form."
"As if one person blowing off steam for a few hours is going to dishonour an organisation that has committed many dishonourable acts in its existence." Simone scoffs. "Lighten up Kaede."
"We're not here to dig up history. If we were, everyone's face would come out black with soot." Alicia reminds us.
"Yeah, we're here to see the sights! Though all I've seen so far is endless urban sprawl." The wind tugs at Nanami's tied-back hair, a few stray strands whipping about freely.
"I know your cities in Japan were compact, but that's never been the case in the US," Alicia explains. "If there's one thing we've always had - until recently at any rate - it's space."
"That I can see," I gesture to either side.
"Is there anything you're particularly interested in seeing, Kaede?" Alicia asks from behind me. "Beyond the shit-stained streets of Hollywood, I mean. Across the city proper."
There is one place that has been at the back of my mind since we flew into the city. "There's your famous LA Zoo, a place that now houses the last known examples of numerous species of animal. It's the only place left where you can see an Elephant, or a Lion, or a Giraffe or so many others!" I'm not sure if that ending was exhilaration or despair. If we humans have suffered in the BETA War, the animals and plants we share the earth with have suffered worse. LA Zoo truly is the basion of some of the last animals of their kind on earth.
I wonder how many think of all the planet has lost, not just the selfish desires of the humans that remain.
"What do you think Simone? A quick jaunt around the Zoo?" Alicia picks up on the thread and carries it.
"As long as they pay for themselves," Simone tells us.
"Do you think you're too good for the Zoo Simone?" I gently chide her.
"It wasn't what I planned to do on my day off," She huffs. "But I guess if it means we spend less time in Hollywood itself that's fine by me. What about you Nanami," she directs her voice behind her, "Anywhere in LA you've ever wanted to see?"
I wasn't expecting the answer we got. "There's those Tar Pits where all the sabre teeth and Mammoths got trapped? Can we see those?"
"You know about La Brea Nanami?" That comes from me, and the surprise in my voice just slips out.
"You don't know everything about me, Kaede-senpai," I can hear the mischief that must be dancing upon Nanami's lips. "And I learned about it when I was at school. We were learning about the giants of the past."
"It's on the way back, so if you can accept us leaving it till last, sure we can swing by La Brea. Not exactly much to see there though." Simone
"That's alright, just seeing those metal mammoth sculptures will be enough for me." Nanami says.
The distant mounds of the Santa Monica Mountains loom on the northern horizon as we drive our way onwards and upwards.
"That sign says Sunset Boulevarde! Are we getting close?" Nanami points to the green sign that flashes past us.
"Your English reading is getting better, Nanami." Simone quickly flashes a smile in the rear-view mirror before returning to the road. "We've still got a couple of miles to go. I know someone here who's going to enjoy where our little journey is taking us."
"I've also seen Sunset Boulevarde. The film. A true classic in every sense of the word." My father could not stop his enthusiasm as we watched the film together and he pointed out all these little details about the great figures of early Hollywood and how the film alluded to their real-life stories. At moments like this a pang of pain strikes my heart. What my father would have given to see these sights for himself. At least I get to see them in his name.
"I could not bring myself to see a film in black and white. So boring," Simone huffs.
"You're just a philistine, Simone." I told her.
"Guilty as changed." is her reply.
The suburbs no longer sprawl around us. Instead beige-brown hills of earth and clay look down upon us, covered in a green stubble of grass, trees and bushes. The traffic hasn't lessened in any way, with plenty of cars and trucks making their way back and forth. You could almost imagine that the world was normal, that there were no BETA or that the Babylon Disaster was nothing but a bad dream.
We who were in the front lines have long felt resentment for that. The Americans seemed to think of the BETA War as just something that happened to other people. They had never had to make any serious sacrifices, and as more and more of the earth fell under BETA dominion that feeling only grew sharper.
The men and women on the roads now might pretend, but they must all know now that nothing will ever be the same again. No longer is there a great moat shielding the United States from the BETA, let alone from the all-too human enemies that have arisen in the wake of Armageddon to seek their revenge on the 'damn yankees'.
"Hard to think we're not that far out of the city here," I say aloud, trying to snap my thoughts away.
"Was it not like this in Japanese cities?" Alicia asks me. From her files she's never left the United States once, so I can accept her curiosity.
"Our cities tend not to have much wildlands around them. We were a small set of islands with an immense population. All the land we could claim, we did."
"The Britain of Asia, that's how I've heard Japan described. Island people crowded off the coasts of mighty continents, projecting their power beyond."
"And like the British, we were able to stall the BETA from our island fortresses for a while. Unfortunately, we both suffered the same fate in the end. But that will never be the fate of the United States. Not while I still live."
"Nor me!" Nanami chimes in.
"That's very kind of you both, but we all know you fight for your Empire first, and us only by circumstance," Alicia reminds us.
"We live together now. Side by side in Seattle. When the Empire was left homeless, the United States gave us a home. And now we will defend that home until our dying breaths. Consider yourselves lucky you get to share a home with us now." I feel an honest warm feeling stir in my chest, the sort that only Kazanari-Senpai had ever been able to give me before.
I see the next sign advertising the turn-off, and the name on it sends red to my cheeks and a smile to my face. It's been plainly obvious for a while where we were going, but it's also clear Simone is committed to this, despite any words she might have said. She's a big softie at heart beneath that hardened exterior.
And the smile on her face and delight in her cheeks shows me she understands. "And here it is. For you, Kaede. We're taking a trip down Mulholland Drive. I can't promise any of you a love story in the city of dreams, but the view's pretty good."
I accept the smile crossing my face as a good friend, much like I hope this shows the Americans are becoming.
With the click of an indicator, we take the turnoff and after a few hundred metres we find ourselves cruising down the road.
"Is that a deer sign?" I point to a yellow sign.
"Yeah, at night you catch the deer trying to cross the road. And the dumbasses get mesmerised by the headlights if any car catches them on the way. They get fixed like they're staring into the eyes of an Angel. And that's exactly where the car takes them." Simone might be warming to us, but she's still quite a blunt woman. Not a diplomatic bone in her. She really wasn't cut out to be a soldier, at least Alicia can accept the need to moderate herself for the good of the whole.
A red car flashes past us, and Nanani leaps out of her seat to watch it past, excitedly asking us, "Was that a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT?"
"A what? The first words that come to mind spill from my lips before I can rein them in.
"It's a very fancy and rare sports car, Kaede." No surprise Simone recognises it. "But how do you know about those Nanami?"
"My father was a mechanic, remember? I spent a lot of time with him helping him fix cars. I like classic cars. If Kaede-senpai wants to see the sights from those weird American films she likes so much, I want to see the mustangs and dodges and all the rest."
"I can't make any promises, but we did see that '61, so who knows?" Simone continues to coast her car around the long and winding road. You'd think we were a fair distance from the city, as this road reminds me of rural Japanese highways I sometimes traversed on trips away from Fukushima. But the tall gates dotted around symbolizing the opulent mansions of the Hollywood elite who have colonised this road reveal the truth by their presence. This is no rural road, but a golden mile.
Mulholland Drive is a lot longer than the movie made it out to be. For minute after minute we cruise on, enjoying the sights, sounds and the sun. Simone doesn't seem to mind the drive, with a small smile omnipresent about her lips.
As we turn a corner, Simone gestures to her left. "And there it is. La La Land, before your very eyes."
I'm reminded of the view of Seattle from the hills behind, but the skyline of Los Angeles is crowded and cramped, closer to a Japanese city in looks though the sprawl is still greater by any stretch.
"Have you been here before Simone?" Nanami asks her.
"Only once, when I was first learning to drive and clocking up the road hours to get my full permit." She answers. "I've driven most of the city, far from Long Beach. I've found a good road trip helps you find good material when you're stuck for a good flow." She grins. But then her grin faces and a serious look crosses her face. "Don't forget, anywhere downtown is skid row. It's not an alley or anything, it's like 12 square blocks where the meth is $2 a hit, tents line the streets and conditions are as bad as the refugee camps."
"Really? Is it that serious?" I ask.
Simone nods. "Damn straight. We'll be keeping you two out of downtown. I'll show you Hollywood just so you can see why I call it a dump, but we won't stay long there."
"Not if you two want to spend any time at all at San Francisco Zoo, this is." Alicia concludes for her. The two must have discussed this beforehand. "Now enjoy the view as we make our way in. consider it thanks from Simone and I for all the hard work you've been putting into us this past week."
"I will, and thank you. Both of you. For not being too hard on welcoming us."
"Not like Uncle Sam was about to roll out the red carpet. And besides, we expect the same from you two whenever we get to Seattle." Alicia brushes stray hair from her tightly regulated hairstyle, one that reminds me of women in the Second World War a full century ago. The Americans like to remind themselves of that war, the war that first put them on the map as a world power, at the same time as they stripped all that power from the Japanese Empire, preserving itl to oppose their former allies the Soviets.
The fickle fortunes of time once more mock us, And speaking of, "The longer we get before we have to head north, the better," I say. "Seattle is our front line these days, and if the Spectres are sent there we sure as hell won't get many chances to do this sort of thing up there. Los Angeles is a more free city, if you get what I mean."
"Let us enjoy the freedom of today then, for soon enough we'll have to fight to preserve that freedom for the future." Alicia says succinctly.
"And fighting is what we're best at!" Nanami enthuses.
"I'd like to be good at more things than just fighting, but yeah, you're right." Simone's grip tightens on the steering wheel. "Now we have no windows, so let us cruise." And with that, she puts her foot on the accelerator and we take off down the storied path of Mulholland Drive.
Everything looms so large in your mind when it's an imagined construct, not one of flesh and blood or steel and stone. Years of watching films with my father created an imagined vision of Hollywood as America itself personified. The Americans sold themselves abroad with Hollywood, and it created an image powerful enough to take root elsewhere, especially in a defeated Japan that had seen first-hand the military power backing up that vision.
My father knew better than to take it at face value, yet it still had him under its spell, and through him it's always enchanted me.
The Hollywood boulevard itself, as a real-word location will never live up to that, and I can't quite keep the frown off my face as a result.
"There's an old saying about never letting yourself…"
"Oh shut up," I grumble at Alicia's grin. She and Simone knew this would happen, didn't they? This is the Americans taking a measure of satisfaction at our ignorance as to their ways. Normally it's the other way around.
At least I'd like to believe that Nanami and I have been behaving far better than the stereotype of the ignorant American. And I'm grateful that Simone has given her free day to us so she can enlighten us about the city that - for the moment - is our home.
The sidewalk is a black strip of marbled material, but it's clear from the discolour and scuff marks that they've seen hard wear. It's nice to see a few of the names though, that the great figures of American film legend have this as a monument to the influence they had upon this city.
"The walk of fame, where bums piss and people spit. Whenever flowers are laid down here on the stars of dead celebrities, they shrivel up and die from all the toxic waste and fecal matter in a matter of hours." Simone really doesn't think much of Hollywood at all.
"Then I'm glad we only need to see it this once." I told her. "And I can wash my boots when we get back."
"That's the spirit!" Simone gently nudges me. "You got what you asked for, even if it wasn't exactly what you hoped for. Now make the most of it."
Under the shade of a small tree, I stop before one of the stars. "You know who this is?" I ask her, pointing.
"Gloria Swanson?"
"Exactly. The star of Sunset Boulevarde, the film I mentioned earlier. She was essentially playing a fictionalised version of herself in the film, a silent movie star who never succeeded in the transition from silent to talking films."
"How can you even watch a silent film?" Simone asks. "The acting is all so comical? Bulging eyes and exaggerated gestures like they need some ritalin. I don't get it man, I really don't."
"It's a matter of taste, I guess," I tell her. "Have you ever had a problem with silent films, Alicia?" I direct my voice over.
"I've never sought them out, but I don't hate them either." She says. "I'm no film buff the way you are, I just watch whatever I enjoy." She gives an apologetic shrug.
"And what do you enjoy?" I ask her.
"Oh, this and that," She smiles faintly. "Have you ever seen All the President's Men?"
I wrack my brains for a second. Have I heard of that one? "That's about Watergate right? No I haven't. It's not exactly considered a Hollywood classic."
"Hollywood doesn't want to remind you that Americans are not always infallible, and that even the great Arsenal of Democracy itself can stumble and fall. That's what happened in Vietnam, and that's what happened at Watergate. Though nobody really had a catchphrase as good as 'follow the money'." She smiles at the last part.
"You were studying law at University, but you've never told us why. Were you interested in a political life Alicia?"
She nods. "Yes. I grew up in and around people in power. And I saw first-hand how they saw power as a means unto itself. They sought it to benefit themselves."
Was her father part of that circle? She's grown up in the lap of privilege as an established Senator's daughter. No better place to see how the sausage of American politics is made, and how Chancellor Bismark of Germany was right on the mark when it comes to sausages.
"But I also saw how important that power is. When you hold the lives of thousands in your grast, their future peace and prosperity resting on your shoulders, anyone can break and succumb to temptation. But a lucky few won't, and they'll be the ones who are remembered fondly."
"Birds shit on statues Alicia." Simone warns her. "Nobody is immune to the lust for power. One little drop and you become an addict. Power requires compromise, including compromise of your precious ideals."
"There's a secret to power, Simone. It doesn't corrupt, it reveals. When one has the power to do what they've always wanted to do, you see what they always wanted to do."
"And what do you want to do? Help people? Who do you help? The working poor, the business community that probably got you elected in the first place?" Simone is a very passionate woman whenever her blood gets up. "You make enemies, and that makes it harder to achieve anything. It's an oxymoron, you lose power whenever you use it. And it's always a finite resource."
"If it's a finite resource, then all the better for spending it instead of sitting upon it like a dragon's hoard of plunder and with as much smug satisfaction."
"A well-chosen metaphor won't get you very far, girl. What you'd need is networks, the ability to make people work together. And your record for that hasn't been great until recently." At least Simone is admitting Alicia's improvements on the front.
"You wouldn't give me the chance then. It took Kaede and Nanami here, forcing us to work together to get us this far."
"Then we have much to be thankful for. Right you two?" Simone's brought us back into the conversation.
"I wish we didn't have to be the ones to do that for you, honestly." I replied. "But since we have been, I consider it an honour."
"As do I! The more friends we make, the more of us can go smashing the BETA and kicking them off of our planet!"
That's Nanami for you. Friendship and killing aliens are two sides of the same coin. Could she ever survive in a world without BETA to kill?
Simone gestures ahead of us. "Right, we can stick around looking at these dirty old stars, or we can finish and head off to the next item on our itinerary. Do you want to get a chance for a brief tour of the LA Zoo?"
"Yes I do." I replied. "Sorry about that. But it's stars like this which are why I wanted to come here. Paying my respects to the greats."
"By walking all over them. Gotcha." Simone winks. Right back to her breezy self.
We carry on down the boulevarde for a few minutes. As we go I notice a brown lump of what look like dirty and worn blankets in the lee of a building frontispiece.
It only takes a second for the pile to shift slightly, and be revealed for what it truly is. A reminder of what we try to keep out of sight or mind.
It was inevitable that we'd encounter a member of the Los Angeles homeless community, those poor people left stranded at the very bottom of society, cast-outs, human detritus. Even before Babylon Los Angeles was known for its outsized community of down-and-outers, even so for a Japanese person like myself.
It always seemed such a paradox, a country so rich yet with so many who had nothing to their name but the clothes on their backs. The United States might be a country built on paradox, as Alicia and Simone have demonstrated, but they've been able to make it work in so many ways. But not here. Nothing can stop this from feeling grossly unfair.
There must have been people like this in my native Japan that I never saw or heard from. I have no right to judge, but I can't help but feel both pain and anger at the sight before me.
I wouldn't be human if I didn't.
A pall falls over all of us as we file past. Nanami senses something and looks over at me with an unspoken question in her eyes. I shake my head softly. I'm sure we can answer her questions, but the last thing I want is her questioning us within earshot. That would be the height of impropriety.
The Americans are also silent, Alica looking wistfully while there's a flint of anger in Simone's eyes. They both see injustice before their eyes, but have very different ideas in how to combat that injustice.
We're a few steps past, each still lost in our own thoughts when there's a sound of movement, and the sound of a human voice.
"Hey!" The voice comes from behind us, a clipped grunt weighed down by pain.
I whirl around to see that the blankets and rags have shifted and the head of a man pokes out of them. It's a man, his skin dirty and hair lank. But his eyes, dark and strong they are, stare intently upon us.
Upon me. He's staring at me! And at Nanami, I deduce from as those eyes search back and forth between the two of us like a blazing searchlight.
Then his lips twist into a leering grimace of bitterness and he spits words at us.
"You two! You're Japs aren't you! Dirty stinking Japs! What the hell are you doing here? Was Tacoma not enough?"
The venom in his voice stings me into silent incomprehension as I involuntarily take a step back.
"Yeah that's right, nothing to say have you? Sure it's 'not your fault' or whatever bullshit you like to tell yourselves. But you got what you wanted, and we were cast out as 'inconvenient'. Look at what an inconvenience looks like."
With a wheeze the man pulls himself to his feet, casting the blankets aside. His clothes are worn, dirty. Army surplus gear, second-hand cast-offs, all scrounged and scavenged into an ill-fitting whole.
"W-why would you say that?" Nanami splutters. "We fight for everyone! The sacred gift of our Symphogears…"
"Cut the shit." The man cuts her off. "You fight for your government, who got me evicted at gunpoint from the home my family had lived in for nearly half a century. Where's the justice in that?"
Nanami gapes like a fish. Fortunately for her Simone is in front of her the next moment. "Hey man, don't take your shit out on the first Japs you see. That's not cool."
"What, are you defending them? You don't know what it's like to get thrown out on your arse, deported south and then find yourself in an alien city where you don't know shit and nobody gives an equal amount of shit about you."
"Are you telling me what it feels like to be marginalised?" Simone steps right up to him. "I don't need a lecture from you about that pain. I've felt it all my life. But you know what? That pain won't go away if you sit and stew in your own spite and let it distill into nothing but hatred."
"So what? I should just accept that a bunch of buck-toothed…"
"When were you born? 1928? Your slurs are stuck in the past. If you're going to insult someone, at least try and make an effort," Simone's voice contains a hint of mockery.
"Have they brainwashed you?" The man growls. "No real American would ever side with the enemy."
"They are not your enemy." Alicia swoops in, standing beside Simone. "And she is not brainwashed. If anyone here is, it's you. And that's not fair to you, but you don't have to act like a racist ass all the same!"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The man asks them both. "We're Americans! You should be on my side!"
"If being on your side means you get a free N-word pass, then I'll likewise pass on it." Simone tells him sharply.
"I have nothing against you! You're an American just like me! Those two are…"
"Guests of America," Alicia finishes. "And guests of ours. We can't cure you of your ignorance or your bigotry, but we can tell you that these two women are with us. And I know Simone here can kick your ass from here to LAX if she wants to. So I wouldn't aggravate her." She nods to Simone, who likewise takes it up with a gleam in her eye.
"Yeah. These two 'Japs' as you so insist on calling them," She points her finger into the man's chest. "Are here to defend this city, and you along with it. You'd be BETA chow right now without them."
"Am I supposed to be thankful?" The man spits.
"No. Be thankful that no matter what you think, they'll keep on fighting for this city, for mankind, and you by extension." Alicia turns to Simone. "Do you see any point in sticking around?"
"No can do. Look after yourself, whoever you are. There's places you can go, you know that already."
"Fat lot of help any of them are." The man curses. "There's just too many of us these days. Between the spics from across the border and us come down from Seattle, all local resources have been exhausted."
"I wish I could magic a miracle out of the air, but that's not how my shit works." Simone tells him. "All I can do is kill BETA. You know, those Aliens that are the ultimate reason why you were forced from your home? Are they not to blame?"
"What the fuck can I do about them?" The man retorts.
"Exactly as much as you can do against the Imperial Japanese Government." I finally added. Simone and Alicia look over and part to let me pass until I'm standing right before the man. This close up I can see the creases lining his face, testament to the stress that this man has been under for a while now.
"Which is to say, nothing. You feel powerless. I get it. It's not a feeling unique to any one colour, nationality or creed. We all feel the burden of circumstances beyond our control. I didn't ask to come here to Los Angeles, any more than you asked to leave Seattle. We were forced to do it. And it sucks." I hope my English is good enough that he's taking me seriously. "Worse for you, I know. I understand exactly how you feel. But I can't change anything on my own. Do you have a name, sir?"
"Now you ask me?"
"You didn't exactly give me the chance to introduce myself either. I am Otohime Kaede, soldier of the Empire and defender of humanity. And you are?"
The man paused for a second, unsure of my motives. But then he finally relents. "Roscoe," he says. A blunt name for a blunt man.
"And if I may follow up," I ask, "Where in Seattle was your home?"
"...south 17th street. At the hillside garden apartments. Number 23." Roscoe says after a moment. "What's it to you?"
"At some point I'll be heading back to Seattle. It's the front line for all our struggles." I gesture north, away from Hollywood, away from Los Angeles. "And when I do I'm going to pay a visit to those apartments and find out who lives there now. And when I do I'll remind them what it costs for them to live there."
"That doesn't give me back my home." Roscoe growls.
"No it doesn't. But I can't give it back to you." I shake my head sadly. "Time only flows one-way. Do you know why I'm here? Why did I ask to be brought to the Hollywood Walk of Fame?"
I answer my own question before Roscoe can say anything. "I'm here to pay my respects to the great Americans who sold me an idea of your country through the films they made. You are the sad reality of what America really is, but that ideal shouldn't die because it's not yet your reality. It still can be. That's the beauty of America, as far as I can see. I have never hated America or Americans, and I'm not starting with you.
"The blonde is right. I fight for the day when you won't have to suffer on these streets. And I'll keep fighting until I die. The least you can do is fight as hard as I do for your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I wish you well sir, and am sorry if I caused you any pain."
He is too stunned to say any more, and just numbly lets us go as I lead the way, with Nanami quickly coming to my heel as Alicia and Simone fall in behind us. Alicia looks quietly troubled while Simone stares off in her own silent brooding.
"Kaede-Senpai, did he really hate us?" Nanami asks me after a few minutes of silent walking. She's never encountered an attitude like that before.
"He hates what we represent," I answer. "What we represent to him."
"I know a lot of people were relocated here from Seattle after, but I didn't think the American authorities would do that without having a plan in place to rehouse everyone." I muse.
"Do you think anyone had the time to spare for such concerns?" Simone says drolly. "Alicia here might cling to America's ideals, but those in charge here threw them out the window the moment we needed to."
"Should we have left the Japanese, our long-time allies, without a home?"
"I'm not saying it was the wrong choice, princess," And back to that name again, though I can't hear any malice in it. "But the President and Congress made the choice they did. They sent men and women like Roscoe behind us to the streets in order to ensure the thousands or millions or however-many lucky souls who managed to escape Japan could be housed somewhere."
"It's a sacrifice the Empire will not forget." I tell them. "It's why we've taken the lead in defending Seattle."
"It's also a sacrifice they weren't allowed a choice in." Simone corrects. "You can't take any moral high ground here, even if it is your Surfies biting the BETA up there and not ours."
"The American forces in Seattle never shirk the fight. Their commander, Colonel Walken is one of the bravest and calmest leaders I have ever seen. They've suffered as many casualties as the Empire has."
"And how do they feel about the relocations?"
"The Colonel has accepted their need, though I've always had the impression he didn't like any of it. The junior officers were more bitter, at least when we last served alongside them."
"Speaking behind your backs?"
"They've seen us in combat. No way they'd ever say such words to our faces. Not when they've seen us killing a thousand times more BETA than they could ever dream of." I can't quite keep the feeling of smug satisfaction from turning my lips.
"Is that Adapter privilege in action?" Simone grins right back. "It might shield you from the ire of the American Surfies, but it sure won't solve the problem."
"Some problems are just beyond our abilities as Adapters." I admit. "We can kill a lot of BETA, or a lot of TSFs, but we can't fix a broken world. Merely shield those who are trying to find a way, and help them if they do."
Yet another lesson courtesy of Kazanari-Senpai. She'd learned that the hard way, when Alternative IV was cancelled and all the hopes and dreams of the UN's Symphogear spearhead, one that operated for the good of all mankind and not any one country's self-interest, was lost. At the end of the day when she dropped on Hive 20, she dropped in the colours of the Empire of Japan, and not the United Nations. And that was after her own blood and kin had forced her to choose between them and her country. A wound that shadowed Kazanari-senpai the entire time she was training me, that despite my attempts to keep her spirits up would endure until G-Day.
Sooner or later it's a story I'll have to tell. Alicia might chafe, but when the time comes she deserves to know everything. She's certainly earning it between the Simulators and the salt fields.
"We don't know everything these Relics can do. For all we know they have some secret mode that will allow us to construct cheap housing quickly, or reclaim land from the low-atmosphere zones." Alicia's being hopeful. Maybe too hopeful.
"When you find it, let me know." Simone's stride hasn't wavered for a second. "Meanwhile, we still have a lot of ground to cover. Keep up will ya?"
"Only if you'll keep up with us." I wink at Nanami and together we take off down the road, breezing past Simone and racing back to where Simone's parked. With squeals behind us I know the Americans and not having a second of it and are in hot pursuit.
One little moment where we can act like the young women we are, in the prime of life, and not with the fate of the world hanging over us.
What could be a better way to celebrate the dream of Hollywood?
The sun is starting its descent below the horizon, the omnipresent heat waning and fading along with the closing day. The shadows have lengthened enough that they've kept us in the shade as we drive back to El Segundo base, casting a pall of melancholy upon the end of our free day out.
Los Angeles might be a scorching city in the sun, but in the shade I feel a chill that has me in its grip. Unfortunately for me this chill has nothing to do with the temperature, and everything to do with my state of mind.
"Dammit Kaede, why do you still look down?" Simone says to me. "We got to see everything on your itinerary! The sign, the observatory, we spent the whole afternoon at the zoo and swung by those tar pits on the way back. You should have the same smile as young Nanami. Look at her!"
She's right that Nanami is still riding the high that's come from this day out. Sometimes I feel I've grown up too fast, and have lost that youthful exuberance that Nanami indulged in all day. Not that I didn't enjoy myself, especially seeing the African animals at the Zoo, among the last of their kind in the whole world.
You still hung up on that homeless dude?" Simone throws me right back to reality.
"Roscoe was his name, and yes I am."
"You're really going to let that get to you?" Simone takes a second to fix me with a dumbfounded stare, before her eyes snapped back to the road. "He was acting like a raging asshole. His situation sucks shit, but he shouldn't go about spreading more shit in return. It doesn't help his situation in any way."
"No it doesn't, but he got to vent for a moment. And you agree with me that he was right." I tell Simone. "Even if he went about expressing himself the wrong way, the Empire of Japan has caused him a great deal of pain. And as a representative of that Empire, that pain is mine to answer for."
"You don't answer for your government any more than I do." Simone rebukes. "We might be asked to do the dirty work, but the crimes of our leaders are not our crimes as well unless we are the ones asked to pull the trigger. And when that happens, we have the power to say no."
"If it's not within your power, it's not your problem. Is that right?" Alicia asks her.
"That's how I see it, yeah." Simone's eyes flicked to the rear-vision mirror and Alicia's pained expression.
"But if you have the power to change lives, to change the world, would you use it?" Alicia says. "Or would the cost of using that power be too high for you?"
"All power demands sacrifice, princess. Are you willing to make those sacrifices even if you lose everything in return?"
"...I am. Kaede can correct me as she has more experience with this, but the Symphogear was designed as a weapon of hope, correct?"
I give a nod, and satisfied Alicia continues. "That hope can change history. That hope underpins the ideals this country was founded upon. I did not choose to be an Adapter, but it has allowed me to touch hope in a way I never could have otherwise. And now I want to spread that hope, and with it remind this broken and battered country who they are and why it must be us that makes things right."
Simone gives a bark of laughter, though with a bitter note within it. "You think that you can fix this?" She gestures around us with one hand. "We can't see it from here, but the world around us is fucked, and we did the fucking. And now the French and Canadians are out to fuck us in return."
"And where does the Empire fit into all this 'fucking'?" I ask.
"You're our resident fuckboi. Have been since 1944." Sikone doesn't skip a beat. "No offense."
"None taken. We in the Empire have long recognised our subservience to the United States, and largely accepted it. It's worked out for our two countries well enough. Except…" I quickly cut that spoken thought off, and it goes right back to the start of this conversation.
"Except in the case of that man." Alicia finishes it for me. "That lies on us, the United States, and not on you. Our government made the decision to rehouse the Empire's population in Seattle, and then it forced those people from their homes without a plan in motion to give them all houses, jobs and security to cushion the blow. And is something that can be fixed."
"Where would you get the houses? The jobs? What about the refugees from across the border? Shouldn't they be part of this as well?"
"If we don't try, then nothing will ever change." Alicia balls one hand into a fist. "We cannot be defeatist, especially when it's couched in terms of 'realism'. Mankind has never accepted the world for the way that it is. We always strive to improve it in a never-ending cycle. And we can't stop now."
All my hard work and these two are still butting heads. But at least they're talking about it now. And Nanami and I are here to mediate a compromise. I give Nanami a look, and she nods and speaks up.
"You two both have good ideas. You should combine them, use them together. It's just like piloting or fighting, we achieve a lot more when we combine our powers!"
I nod and continue the strand. "Alicia thinks that change has to come from the top, from those with power. Simone thinks it must come from below, from those without. But aren't all of America's greatest achievements borne from a compromise from both sides?"
"There hasn't been balance between those two sides in a long time, Kaede." Simone tells me softly. "That spirit is gone."
"No it isn't!" Alicia rebukes. "If it was gone, we wouldn't be America anymore. We have never given in to despair, even in the face of extinction. And we're not doing it now."
"Honey, when have I given in to despair? I stare into its dark eyes and tell them to fuck off. I see it, but it has no power over me. But I don't need to cling to lofty ideals that have already proven themselves false."
"But they haven't. And I intend to be living proof of that. Lady Liberty needs to make a return, and like the maid of revolution I will take up that mantle and make it my own."
Simone actually turns in her seat for a moment, and meets the determination in Alicia's eyes, gurning with green embers.
Alicia Bernstein, born into a life of politics and privilege but determined to change things for the better. What acts of political skullduggery must she have witnessed to breed this attitude into her? Were there betrayals in her life that I don't know about that have given her such heart and fire?
"Don't take your eyes off the road!" I say in alarm, And for a second we swerve, throwing us in our seats. But Simone has it, and with a deft touch she corrects and sends us back on our way.
"If you think you can do it," Simone addresses Alicia, "accept the blood that will be on your hands and that you'll never end it satisfied, then I'll certainly stick around to see how badly you do."
"And you can give her a good kick in the rear if she falls short!" Nanami adds.
"I would rather not let the Secret Service try and use me for target practise, thank you very much!" Simone growls at Nanami's giggle.
"My ambitions don't lie as high as changing an entire country." I say. "I intend to serve the Empire for as long as I am capable, and then rest easy as my father did."
"I wanted to make some dope-ass music and bring joy to people through it. The rhythm and flow run through my blood, and I like to give it release from time to time." Simone pats her hands on the steering wheel in a carefully timed beat. "Four Adapters ride down the San-Fran Freeway!"
Another memory fragment suddenly pops into my head from nowhere, a memory of a similar moment over a year ago back when Japan was still there and I was the kouhai.
It's something I want to share before it disappears. "This will interest Alicia, but that's exactly what my mentor Kazanari once did. She was a singer at heart, and loved giving voice to her thoughts and feelings. Though she was trapped in the life of one of the Imperial Nobility along with all its duties and obligations, whenever she sang, she was free. I think in another life she would have become a famous Idol."
"Idol? LIke the statue?" Alicia asks.
"A performer. Like your pop-stars, but with a bit more on the performance side. Performance is a big part of the Japanese arts, one that goes back to the traditions of our ancient past. Everything about you Americans must be shiny and new, but we are an old people with a long history we cherish behind us."
"And there's nothing wrong with that, except when you use it as a shield to keep the new at bay. Like you said before, it's always a conversation between the powerful and powerless, the old and new. They have always existed and will always exist, but we balance them for the best benefit of all." Alicia tells me warmly.
"That is when people want them to be balanced. Plenty do not." Simone pours cold water onto all the warm feelings, but there is no malice in it, merely a reminder.
"Ugh, this is why I'm glad that all I worry about is killing the BETA!" Nanami pouts. "Killing Aliens is easy, and a lot more fun. No messy politics or complicated people. But me, the ugly aliens and my hammers. One plus one plus one makes free!" She giggles at her own pun, unaware that the smiles on Alicia and Simone's lips are more to do with her attempts and English pronunciation than the content.
"Do you worry about anything beyond that?" Alicia turns beside her.
"Should I?" Nanami shrugs. "That's what's in front of me, that's what I'll face. We never know what might happen tomorrow. I accept every moment I'm given, because that moment is most precious to me. And I might never get another."
"Living fight to fight is only good as long as there's still a fight to be had."
"Princess, Alicia, you seriously think there'll ever be a moment when our fight is done? Especially now? We're already the second generation of Adapters because the first generation fuckin' died." Simone is as blunt as a baseball, and her words often hit as hard.
"If we can't keep our eyes on the future, then there'll never be one for us."
"And maybe that's a good thing. The human race finally made that one fuckup we could never fix. We've been dancing with extinction ever since 1945, and now we finally achieved it. Hooray for us."
"You said something about staring despair in the face. And yet you say that? I don't get it, Simone." I told her.
"There is a difference between personal despair, and despair for the human face. I can have one without the other. And I can fight against one, but all the Relics in the world can't undo the other. Especially not when we who bear those Relics and their power are pitted against each other for selfish reasons."
"All the more reason that we need to combine our powers, so that together the four of us can make a difference in this world. And that's the future for all of us. Thank you Simone, for giving us this day, warts and all. It was a gift from you to us,"
Simone's dark skin illuminates her blush, and she quickly shakes her head to hide it. "It's not like you would have been doing much else today otherwise! You would have sat around in the base, kicking your heels."
"It was amazing, Simone-san! I promise that when we go to Seattle I'll do the same for you! I'll take you up to the Space Needle!"
"I'll hold you to that, Nanami. We'll both get to Seattle, and then we'll see all the sights." Her cheeks are still burning with blood, but Simone's not trying to conceal it, and there's a warm smile on her face. Alicia's grinning herself, eyes bright. And the mood that homeless man Roscoe had set me off into has finally passed. We are a strange quartet, but we all have the power to change the world, if we fight for it.
And we're training for that mother of all fights ahead of us.