I can gain access to the criminal database through my father, but even if I choose somebody, how would I know if they're dead? Light thinks to himself as he's riding the subway.
Even if I managed to find a notorious criminal, I doubt their death would be announced immediately. It's also possible that it's more convenient for the government to conceal the deaths of, for example, infamous terrorists. To verify the notebook's effects, I'd need to see it with my own eyes. So what, do I now have to hang around the unsafe parts of Kanto to look for dangerous individuals? That's definitely a bad idea.
I won't always be able to find out the person's name, and even if I hear it, I won't be able to know how it's written for sure. I'd have to go through all the homophones, either wait for 40 seconds after each unsuccessful try or write all the variants at the same time. With the various tests on rules 4 and 5 it would take a while, and I'll also waste a lot of space. Ideally I'd need to know the spelling of the full name in advance, for example if I can get the target's ID or another similar document.
The main question remains – what principles should I follow to write a person's name in the notebook? I felt much more superior to those two people I was talking two at that time, however I only showed them the introduction to prominent moral and ethical dilemmas. Probably the best analogue would be the trolley problem. Should a person die if it serves the interests of the majority? No, this interpretation looks more like preferential utilitarianism. If I just write down the names of people that are shown on the news then would that help the society? That would certainly lessen the amount of taxpayer money spent on the prison maintenance. Also the statistics show that in the most cases the rehabilitation doesn't work and the criminals go back to crime after their sentence is over.
Now the antithesis. What is the percentage of judicial errors in Japan? Note for yourself – find the exact statistics. I believe it's less than in other countries. If I remember correctly, for a serious trial there are 14 judges and a chairman. Is it more effective than the jury trial – definitely yes. Usually, the jury members aren't educated, easily affected by various biases, such as confirmation bias, they are easily intimidated or manipulated. Never mind that, I got distracted. This is another dilemma – the overall harmony is not worth the suffering of even one innocent person. Moral rigorism, just as Dostoevsky said. I definitely don't agree with that stance. What is the acceptable fraction of judicial errors? I think around 1-2 percent is relatively acceptable.
Now, the most important part. I need to focus on figuring out the model of measuring the usefulness of a person, in this case the level of danger. Essentially, in the context of a committed crime I need to calculate the measure in, for example a monetary equivalent of the damage caused by the crime. If the damage reaches the lower limit then it's enough for a verdict of using the notebook. For the lower limit we can choose the value of human life. The cost of life can be calculated by multiplying the GDP per capita with the average human lifespan. I wonder how much it would be, 500-600 million yen? Is this kind of a weak estimate enough to kill somebody? I think I'll find the exact value when I'm sure that the notebook works. Plus I'll need to understand the damage calculation more deeply, such as if the prisoner upkeep inside a prison should be counted, or what about the correctional labor, etc.
All in all, what's important is that this method comes from purely my moral values, which are consistent with my beliefs. The main point is that I can't fully rely on my personal desires, especially if those are just primitive emotional desires. This is a typical crooked path that will lead to me becoming an actual villain.
"Fight against your pride, Light, be more compassionate to people," I'll try, father.
Light enters the prep course classroom.
"Hey, Ryo-chin, lend me 2000 yen will you?" Some questionable individuals surrounded a guy wearing glasses.
"Again? Sudou-san, I already gave you some, I can give more after you return the previous amount…" Replied the nervous guy.
"Are you complaining? Those weren't enough, I need 2000 more!" Sudou demanded.
No, I won't kill this one. It's the cycle of evil. Poor guy… If he doesn't fight back, they'll keep exploiting him, asking for more and more. Until one day he won't be able to endure anymore and will break. Will he become a policeman, to take revenge on similar people in the future, or will he get a gun and shoot everyone. In the later case he will become evil, enough to be written in the notebook. Evil will always find a way. Should I kill Sudou, if he could potentially cause greater damage in the future? Ideally the guy should fight back and stop this until it's too late.
"Alright… But it's the last time, next time please pay back everything…" The guy with glasses surrendered.
"Yo dudes! Let's go have some fun!" Sudou said to his friends, and showed the money to everyone.
Go, tell him and explain what to do. Explain that he can't let them treat him that way. Explain that the consequences of this cowardice will follow him his whole life if he doesn't do anything about it. No… It's just words, I doubt they will make him actually do anything. Also I'm almost sure that he had thought about this before, he just lacks courage. Overall, such a homeostasis can be kept for very long and I shouldn't spend my time on such losers. The chance of him becoming an evil large enough for the notebook is extremely low.
Rationalization. In actuality I'm just too lazy and it'd feel awkward to talk to a stranger. I didn't know I could be that shy. No, it's not about shyness, it will somehow ruin my image of an arrogant, egotistical student. This happens all the time in the majority of schools, no need to waste my time.
"Point K is in (1,1). Point G is in the absolute maximum of the curve 4y = -2x^3 + 3x^2 + 7 on the interval from -2 to -1. Point P lies on a line, collinear to the line created using points G and K. Where is the point P?" The teacher asks, after writing the question on the desk.
"Yagami-kun, answer the question," the teacher says.
He always asks me. The understanding of the rest of the class doesn't matter to him, he only asks me because he knows that I'll answer. This creates an illusion of the entire class knowing the material. Maybe I should answer wrong on purpose to break his game? No, I can't abandon the role of… What was it, a spoiled genius? I can't act out of character without a serious reason.
"Yagami-kun?" The teacher asks again, waiting to hear the answer.
"In (2,0)," Light answers.
"Explain how you found it," the teacher prompts Light.
"The point G is in (1,-3), the point K is in (1,1), then the slope equals to -1," Light says with a bored voice.
This is really just some school mathematics, they're writing it down as if I just proved some difficult theorem. If those are the hardest questions for the admission test then why am I even here?
Anyways, back to debating about the notebook. How do I check its effects in real time? Maybe I should find some sort of suicidal homeless person? How often do they die, how many of them are there even approximately? The news don't even talk about them, maybe there's very few of them here. No, the homeless definitely don't deserve it. What model did I come to in the end? If the damage is higher than 500 million yen then it's enough. I doubt that a homeless person can cause this much damage. Then, maybe I can try being the witness of a crime? If I go home traveling through dangerous regions, what's the worst that can happen? Are you serious? Do you think the notebook will help you against a firearm? "Wait, before you shoot me, can you tell me your name, I'll write it down." No, even better – to ask the criminal to write his own name down. In any case, I doubt that will work.
*Bike sounds*
"Hey girlie. How 'bout havin' some fun with us tonight?" The biker gang leader stopped by a good-looking woman that looks about 20 years old.
The other gang members surrounded her and blocked her way.
"You got good taste, boss!" Yelled out one of the gang members.
"Name's Shibuimaru Takuo, that's Shibutaku for short!" The gang leader chuckled, "Come on girlie, how about it?"
"Thanks but I don't think so…" She replied fearfully.
"She doesn't think so dude! How cute!" The other gang member laughed mockingly.
"I'll hold her, you, inject the drug," The boss said to one of the members.
He wants to inject something, some sort of drug. Hypnotic, Rohypnol, or something more potent? I need to intervene. Should I try out the notebook on him? What was his name, Shibutaku? Shibura Taku? I couldn't hear it well, damn it. What do I do, I have to help her.
"No! Please, stop it!" The girl yelled out.
He injected it already, they'll take her away. This is my last chance to do something.
"Wait a moment, what did you inject her with?" Completely unlike himself, Light stopped hiding and went into the open.
"Oh look who came to visit us, boss! How 'bout we take him too!" Laughed on the of gang members.
"Moron! I'm not into guys!" Shibutaku hits the guy in mock anger.
"I bet those geezers will cough up a pretty sum for this guy! Look how pretty his face is!" The other gang member pointed at Light.
Why am I doing this. Why am I risking my life. Don't tell me I'm feeling guilty for not helping out that guy with glasses.
"You're doing human trafficking?" Asks Light, not showing any fear on his face.
"Not only that!" Laughs Shibutaku proudly, "Drugs, assassinations, we do all kinds of stuff. That's why kids like you shouldn't poke their little noses into this kind of business. You better walk away like a good little kid before I change my mind." He said threateningly.
"Okay I understand, but, can you please tell me your name before I go?" Light asks hopefully.
"Kid wants to call the cops boss, don't tell him!" Yelled out the guy holding the girl.
"Don't be scared of some cops man, they can't do shit about us. And my name won't matter. But sure, I'll humor you after you give me yours." Shibutaku said in amusement.
No reason to say my real name. Is this guy really so stupid to tell me his real name?
"I'm Yamada Light, now your turn," Light lies calmly.
"Yamada, interesting… I'm Shibuimaru Takuo. Spelled like astringent and round," Shibutaku thinks, "Anyways, Yamada-kun, if you tell anyone about this, I know how to find you."
"Wait, can you explain the part about not fearing the police. Do you have a guy in there or something else? I'm just interested. I promise not to tell anyone." Light tries to get more information.
"Ohoho, just interested? Yo dudes, this kid wants to join us!" Laughs the gang leader after turning to the others, "Sorry kid, doesn't work like this. But to let you know, we're a part of the dark side of the country. We are the necessary evil, y'know? You probably heard 'bout the brothel chain in Osaka, right?"
"We prepare the goods for sale," Shibuimaru continues, looking at the unconscious woman, "We bring 'em to the red light district, where the buyers are. Usually those are mid- to high-level officials."
"Boss, you told this guy so much about us. Why don't we grab him too? I bet we could get a couple mil out of him!" That one gang member persists.
"We won't find a buyer for him I told you! And I'm not interested in guys you idiot!" Shibuimaru hit the guy on the head again, "But you're right we should take a picture of him as a guarantee," he shamelessly admits, "Hear that kid? If you tell anyone we'll also know how you look!"
"Smile for the camera!" Says a gang member that took out a camera. Light made a face for the photo and turned towards the camera, as it flashed and clicked.
What should I write in the notebook? They're about to move out, I don't have much time to think.
Shibuimaru Takuo, takes the notebook from Light and writes down the names of all his gang members, starting from those that are nearby. Then he will write down the names of all people that are connected in any way to human trafficking, drug trade, or assassinations. After each name he will write, "an accident, in which no other people are hurt". Ha-
I wanted to keep writing, wanted to add that he has to do it in 6 minutes, but Shibuimaru tore the notebook out of my hands by force and started writing in it with high speed. Yes, this is incredible, but the notebook works. I'm not sure if the people that he'll write down will actually die. It's possible that the notebook is attached to a single holder. What will happen to me if the other gang members don't die? Also I didn't write down the cause death for him, will he die from a heart attack?
Suddenly, a high voltage cable tears and falls on the rest of the bikers. One of them tries to run away, but he still gets electrocuted. Somehow he stepped into a puddle that conducted the discharge. The second one slipped and fell face-down into the same puddle.
I have to get out of here. What were the safety measures for escaping the high-voltage zones again? Even though he wrote down that no others should be hurt by the accidents, I still have to be careful – crawling or tip-toeing. What about the girl? Somehow she fell far away from the cable, she's breathing, I should help her.
Light picks up the woman and carries her away.
She's unconscious. I'll lay her down on a bench and call the ambulance. Damn it, I should've written down that Shibuimaru told what kind of drug she was injected with. I could've torn out a page out of the notebook and give it to him, while continuing to write. It's too late to think about it. Also, how do I know if the notebook keeps working if it's just a torn out page. I'd need to verify it, but in this situation I didn't have any time for that at all. I need to take back the notebook. He's still writing? Does he really remember that many names? I'll leave the girl on the bench near the public park, maybe someone will notice and call the ambulance. No, I need to do it myself.
He stopped writing and fell down, probably because of a heart attack. It feels like it's been 5 minutes. I should've been counting the seconds. The cable stopped conducting electricity, did the safety mechanism turn on? I need to carefully take the notebook, and also the camera. Accurately I take it out from the puddle with a stick, and amazingly enough – it's completely dry. Magical artifact indeed.
I think I shouldn't take the camera, I'll just delete the photo of me in it. There are probably important clues for the police. Not leaving any fingerprints behind, with my sleeves. For some reason I started scrolling through the album. I wish I didn't. No, don't look, just scroll to the beginning and find the right image. Here it is – delete. I'll put the camera back into this guy's pocket.
Looking at the scene of the crime, did I leave any traces of myself? No people nearby, all the passerby tried to avoid this place. I took the notebook, deleted the image. Did the girl see me? No, at most she heard my voice. Will she be able to identify me? Should I kill her too to be safe? Then why did I even do all this, just to check the notebook's effects? No, I won't kill her, I'll call the ambulance.
Keeping his nose closed with one hand, trying to change his voice as much as he can Light calls the ambulance, "Hello, ambulance? I want to report about an unconscious woman. She's lying on a bench near the park on the * street."
How many names did he write in here? 30 names, maybe tomorrow I'll see the consequences in the news. Did they all deserve death? They are responsible for human trafficking, murders and drug trade – the damage is obviously much more than 500 million yen. Maybe there was some sort of undercover agent there, or Shibuimaru made a mistake, writing down an innocent's name. No, I doubt he talks to innocent people – his whole social circle is criminals. Other possibilities are acceptable costs. I didn't do half-bad, even though I spontaneously went against dangerous gangsters, which in and of itself was stupid of me. Yes, I should've acted smarter – called the police for example. Right now I'm too tired to think about it. What's done is done. Just accept the result and go home, Light.