The Perfect Insider:Volume 1 Chapter 1

The White Conversation

1

It is summer, the girl recalled.

In the room of expressionless concrete on all sides, no indication of the season was detectable. Nowhere in this building could an exterior window be found. Time and history were artificial concepts here. There was neither heat nor cold.

Most likely, living beings other than humans such as animals and plants do not exist here either, the girl suspected.

The blindingly white room was truly barren. The air was purified, so there was little dust as well. Merely an artificlal serenity. A single chair made of an inorganic aluminium alloy was prepared, so that was where the girl sat.

In front of her was a large display monitor set into the wall. The screen showed a white space similar to the room she was in now. From above, a small security camera stared in her direction like an owl.

The image on the screen was not this room. The girl herself was not shown.

She waited in this manner for several moments.

She'd left her bag outside the room. Her bag contained her computer for taking notes as well as her camera, but it was a rule that nothing was allowed to be brought into this room, according to the man outside. He was this building's boss, but his demeanor was kind and he'd had a charming presence.

Within the display screen was a single variation. Inside the projected room sat a girl in white clothing. Due to the room's brightness, the figure was little more than a vague outline, but after the camera's iris auto-focused ever so slightly, she was promptly visible.

The girl in the display was sitting in a chair, and looking straight this way. And younger than she ever could have imagined.

"Good day." She heard a woman's voice come through the speaker. "What is your name?"

"I'm Nishinosono." The girl answered. "Nice to meet you. Um, I…"

"Wait, I heard your last name, but your first?"

"It's Moe."

"Moe? How do you spell it?"

"M-O-E. Moe."

"Your age?"

"I'm almost twenty," Moe answered. She had prepared to be asked a lot of questions, but this woman in the screen was taking charge of the conversation to a surprising degree.

"How did you come here?" the woman asked.

"By helicopter."

"The chief's helicopter?"

"No, a different one." Moe shook her head. "Um, Doctor Magata… Do you know my dad?"

"Multiply 165 with 3367 and what do you get?" the woman suddenly questioned.

"55 and then… 5555. Six 5s, right?" Moe answered immediately. But then, she was taken aback. "Why'd you give me that calculation?"

"A test. Though I had a feeling you would solve it." The woman smiled slightly. "However, multiplying 7 is your greatest weak point. Just now, you took longer to say the last digit. Why is that?"

"It's not a weak point. I love the number 7." Moe crossed her legs to calm down.

"No, you misunderstand me. Ever since you were first learning your multiplication tables, you struggled with the 7s. Kindergarten, was it? Or maybe earlier? 7 is your lucky number though. You have no siblings, right? Well 7 is the loneliest number of all."

Moe was indeed an only child.

"Um…… Can I please ask?" Moe had more or less returned to her own pace. "About my dad……"

"Wow, your thought processes are quick too! And you've got the ability to make decisions. And also…" The woman stared directly at Moe as she spoke. "Your thoughts have emergent characteristics. That is your number one talent. Yes… I met with Sir Nishinosono Kyousuke sixteen years ago, four times. The first was in America. You were actually there as well. I asked him for your name, but you burst out crying, so I never recieved an answer. You were wearing a red dress, with ribbons in your hair. March of sixteen years ago… the sixteenth. The city was Champaign."

"You remember all that? Or…" Moe inquired, surprised.

"Or did I research it knowing you would come here… correct?" The woman answered immediately. "A meaningless question."

"So, how many years have you been here?" Moe was forced to pose a different question.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." The woman smiled again. "Our talk doesn't require such formal prelude. We don't even need conjunctions. I have no interest in context, after all…" With that, the woman lifted her hand and tossed her long hair.

"Is it true that you killed your parents?" Moe quickly asked a new question.

"Now you get it. Let's face the topic head on. Even your perceptivity and observational skills are exceptional." The woman spoke with a calm tone. She gave no particular intonation, though her mature voice was clear as day. "How about your parents? What kind of people were they?"

Moe instantly hid her face.

"I understand that they have passed away," the woman continued indifferently. "We both know that's why you've come to see me today. But, no matter how many stories I tell about your parents, you'll never get the information you want. Professor Nishinosono was a gentle man. I did not know his wife at all. I literally just asked you what they were like. Did you see the airplane accident?"

"I see it in my soul as if it happened yesterday." Moe chose her words carefully, as though she were dealing with dangerous weapons.

"I don't have anything like a soul." The woman smiled once again. "I suppose you want to have a human conversation though. Alright then, let's chat, shall we?"

"Who are you?" Moe instinctively asked the question that suddenly welled up inside her.

"Aah… now this is surprising. You truly have an amazing intellect." After saying that, the woman sat wide-eyed and silent for a moment. "That is the incisiveness of human thought, right there. Did you, perhaps, notice it too, just now, suddenly? That's amazing…. You can't make that with a machine. Asking a question like who I am… an artificial intelligence would never think to ask that. However, after talking with me, it took less than a minute for you to notice the disparity between me and my manufactured image of Magata Shiki, and then to unconsciously ask that question. Such quick knowledge acquisition could never be replicated by a machine. That is quite important. I am Magata Shiki. I am not, as you suspect, a separate personality."

"Doctor Magata, why did you murder your parents?" Moe repeated the same question.

"I cannot answer questions of why," Miss Magata answered while smiling. I am more concerned with in what manner they were killed. Considering I witnessed it…"

"How come you can't answer my questions?"

"Because I don't know. We can make wild guesses, but that won't result in a solution. Not without hearing it directly from the killer."

"Are you saying you weren't the one who killed them?" Moe leaned forward in her chair.

"That's right. At least, to my awareness, that is the truth. When your parents died in that accident, were you interested then as well, as to why the accident occurred? You were… how old at the time?"

"Sixteen." Moe spoke calmly. "I have no interest in the cause of the accident. That won't bring back my mom or my dad."

"My own parents died when I was fourteen." Magata's expression showed not even a hint of gloom. "Everyone thinks I killed them. Though, truly, that's not unlikely. After all, I was holding the weapon that took their lives, stained head to toe with blood…. No matter how much we, like you say, investigate the cause, nothing will appear out of thin air."

"Wait, you don't remember?" Moe narrowed one eye.

"That would not be completely accurate. I do remember. How they were killed, everything." Miss Magata answered with a soft expression. "The doll did it. I saw the whole thing."

"A doll?" Moe parroted. "What kind of doll could do that? Since when can dolls commit murder?"

"Who knows? It ran away somewhere." Miss Magata tossed her hair again. "I understand that nobody believes my story. But the understanding of others has no bearing on the truth."

Miss Magata Shiki must have been much older than Moe. However, the girl shown in the display in front of her face appeared to be in her teens. On top of that, her delicate jawbone and porcelain features, together with her fair white skin, gave the impression of someone entirely un-Japanese. Her long black hair was precisely groomed, and elegantly fell over her shoulders. That was as far as Moe could see on the screen.

"Then, Doctor, are you saying… a separate personality of yours… committed the murders?" Moe questioned.

"That's also… probably wrong," Miss Magata answered immediately. "It's true that there exist separate personalities within me. However, Miss Nishinosono. "The people inside me… they don't know my parents."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because, I've been talking with them for a very long time. An extraordinarily long time. Of course I know that much. Split the numbers from 1 to 10 into two parts. Then, multiply all of the numbers in each part together. Is there any way to make the products the same?"

"No," Moe replied instantly. "One side will contain 7, which makes that product a multiple of 7. Since the other side doesn't have a 7, they'll never be the same."

"See? 7 is the lonely one," Miss Magata said. "Among my personalities, the only the one with a motive to kill my parents… was myself, Magata Shiki. That's why, if my own body killed my parents, I would definitely remember it. I alone… am 7…. B and D as well."

(B and D…?) Moe didn't understand.

"Er, what do you mean by motive?" she asked.

"I wonder, maybe I wanted to play outside…?" the Miss Magata within the screen replied. "That's about as much as we can surmise based on all the evidence. Do you legitimately think there is meaning in such a thing as a motive? Did you come all the way here just to ask me that?"

"No I didn't."

"In that case, let's get down to business." Miss Magata said, and averted her eyes for the very first time. "You have seventeen minutes and forty seconds remaining."

2

It is summer, Moe recalled.

The girl in the screen (yes, the girl fit that descriptor well) was, upon closer inspection, wearing wearing a white sweater, and on her hands which were visible at times, faintly thin gloves. Perhaps she was in the middle of some kind of job. Wait, that's right, this place has no seasons. Surely it was completely airtight, just like a lunchbox.

"Doctor, you've secluded yourself in that room for fifteen years now, right?" Moe remembered the question that had been bothering her. "In a place with no seasons, no night or day, for fifteen years… how has it changed you? How has losing both of your parents changed you?"

"First, I must refute you from the start, because I was not kept here due to my own free will. So my thoughts on my unique circumstances are unchanged. Though, much inside of me has become independant. In a sense, you could say I got a grip on reality." Miss Magata answered. "What relevance, pray tell, does that question have to your life?"

"I don't know. I was… After my mom and dad died, I stayed in bed for a while. Thinking absolutely everything was nonsense, and with no interest in human society. Your comments will become data that helps me create an element model, after running a simulation for my own survival." Moe spoke the words with care as she answered.

"You say some interesting things."

"That independance you mentioned, did your ability do that to you?" Moe continued the questioning.

"In the fourteen years prior to being locked in here, I experienced much of the world. Therefore, I am controlled by nostalgia for the outside world. It isn't a power I was born with. Any data you get from me will be too peculiar to fit within your model, I think. Miss Nishininosono, you are asking all the wrong questions. Did Professor Saikawa tell you to come here?"

"No, I came of my own volition." Moe answered quickly while looking down. "I am here because I'm interested in you, Doctor. My questioning about my dad was a diversion."

"You're such an honest person." Miss Magata smiled. "You grew up in an affluent household. Was your father strict? In that case, yes, you are doing Professor Saikawa a favor, is that right?"

"The answer to both questions is yes," Moe confirmed. "Doctor…. One of your research subjects, virtual reality technology… what use will it have?"

"Well that's a topic change. Virtual reality is just another version of reality," Miss Magata answered. "What purpose does reality have for humans? Think about that, and you'll have the answer to your question."

"Could you… be a little more specific?"

"Reality interferes with our lives beyond the level of useful or useless. People wash their clothes due to the reality that they are dirty. Whether that is useful, is subjective. Though it must be useful for the laundry workers. That's reality. It other words, it's a phantom you can only observe after it happens. This seems like an interview of some sort, but are you alright without a notepad?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I have a good memory. Pay it no mind." Moe smiled. "What would you say are the problems with virtual reality rechnology?"

"Currently, there are three obstacles. First is that our processors' hard systems lack the computing power needed, second is the moral dilemma concerning whether humanity should accept it, and third is the unknown biological influence it may have after being accepted. The first problem can be easily resolved, and most likely is as we speak. I have been working in the field for ten years now, and the storage capacity of modern computer harddrives is steadily approaching the goal. The second problem is a tough one, but as with the previous, those born into a world surrounded by VR will no doubt accept it. Unlike a program, humans are flexible. Therefore, when the generations change, this will resolve itself. As for the third problem, about what changes we might expect to occur mentally and physically… That's not my field, so I don't care much about that point. To be blunt, it's a trivial concern."

"I entered school to study architecture. If I graduate, what effect would that have on architecture or the city? Doctor, how do you define people with that future?" Moe asked the next question.

"Architecture is the network protection, and the city is the system. Both operate under the idea of turning the hard into soft," Miss Magata said without pause. "Architecture and the city are nothing more than a simple program. The will of the masses and the flow of information is the city's focus, which isn't much different from the focus of a network. Professor Saikawa wrote the same thing. You must have read it as well. When I first mentioned Professor Saikawa's name, you quickly changed the topic to virtual reality, then when I asked if you were doing him a favor you answered yes."

"Have you cut off physical contact?" Moe disregarded the last half of what Miss Magata had said and asked the question.

"Yes, and perhaps it has even become a precious thing akin to a jewel. When I get to actually shake another person's hand, that's the only time I ever feel special. The opportunity to make person to person contact is… absolutely precious. It's a matter of energy, you see, so it must be done eventually. Because the energy available to be used by humanity's future is pitifully limited. Humans are destined to enter the electronic world. People don't need to move at all in order to save the environment. They only need to lock themselves in a room like I have. Why is it you refuse to talk about Professor Saikawa? Are you embarrassed?"

"Killing people would also be impossible," Moe said after a moment of thought.

"Excellent point." Miss Magata smiled demurely. "It is exactly as you say. Miss Nishinosono… Why do you like Professor Saikawa so much?"

Moe saw the girl's question as a counterattack. She was taken off guard, but then armed herself with logic for a response. She felt like a childish breakwater helplessly defending against the woman's powerful waves.

"Professor Saikawa was a student in my dad's lab," Moe answered after finding her breath. "Dad's final teaching assistant, actually… so I've known Professor Saikawa since I was little. He is extremely smart, but his ideas are also open to change. He's certainly earned my respect."

"That doesn't answer my question, Miss Nishinosono." Miss Magata glared at Moe. "When did you first meet the professor? Do you remember?"

"I do. I was in my fifth year of primary school," Moe answered honestly.

"What did you think of Professor Saikawa back then?" Miss Magata asked in her mature voice.

"I was shocked to find an adult who was smarter than me," Moe answered. "My father included, I had never met an adult that smart before."

"I have never had that chance. You were a lucky girl. So? Did you like him? Did you hate him?"

"I don't know." Moe looked down.

"What happened then, at the time?"

"I did a card trick. Sleight of hand was my specialty." Moe lifted her head from staring at her shoes, and began to talk. "No matter who I showed, they praised me, since nobody could figure out how I did it, but when I showed Professor Saikawa, he wasn't surprised at all. I… asked him why he wasn't surprised. The professor didn't answer, but I knew he had seen through the method of my trick."

"And how did you feel about that?"

"I was annoyed and thought up a new trick," Moe answered. As she spoke, she pictured the scene vividly.

"No, I'm asking what you felt about Professor Saikawa." Magata stared directly at Moe. The girl's pupils were a hazy brown.

"Probably… I didn't like him."

"But you like him now, don't you? So when did the change occur?" Miss Magata asked her next question.

"Umm…" Moe looked down once again, staring at her shoes. "I really can't remember when it happened. Doctor, why are you prying so far into my life?"

"Do you remember the day your parents died?" Miss Magata continued the questions.

"Yeah, I remember it well."

"Did you cry?"

"Yes."

"The accident was at night, correct?"

"Correct. I had gone to meet my parents at the airport. The accident happened just before landing."

"Was Professor Saikawa there as well?"

"Yes."

"Miss Nishinosono, on that day, what clothes were you wearing?"

"I don't remember." After answering, Moe tried to recall the memory.

3

It looked hot outside. The eight story tower of laboratories across the way was speckled with shadows owing to the unevenness of the wall, which upon closer inspection was due to air conditioners jutting out awkwardly from several windows. Almost a third of the windows were stuffed to the brim with bookcases or scientific equipment and closed up tight with padlocks. The university's engineering department was, at least by appearances alone, nothing to think twice about.

Saikawa Souhei gazed out the window in a daze. The conference room was set for the last committee meeting of the day, and members from each department, twenty in total, were gathered there. Saikawa was the representative for the architecture department.

The topic up for discussion was budgetary appeals to the Ministry of Education for the establishment of a new cutting-edge learning facility for the engineering department. Overused terms like network and multimedia were being tossed around, but Saikawa was barely listening. Nearly two months prior, several committee members from the school had gone on a research trip to MIT in America. Why a trip like that was necessary in this day and age when the world is connected through networks, he couldn’t fathom. He didn't understand it at all, but what he did know was that, if they didn't enthusiastically investigate, perform multiple studies, and come up with tangible results, the Ministry of Education wouldn't sign off. It was a shame, really. Hopefully, they'd be able to generate a pretty hefty report. He wondered just how many reports in the world have actual substance to them.

"Well, basically, the upper management is behind the times," Saikawa whispered to himself.

Even if they had the budget to make classrooms lined with computers, they would have to set up air conditioning units on every room beforehand, and most importantly there were too few classrooms available. So they would have to make more classrooms. The Ministry really couldn't get past such a basic issue…?

The idiotic discussion continued endlessly. Out of all the professors here many must have been connected to the network. If only they would use e-mail, this conference would be unnecessary. That way all these records and piles of copies wouldn't be required either. They were not only squandering finite resources and the most esteemed minds around, but more importantly their valuable time.

"Professor Saikawa of architecture, what do you think? Would you like to comment?" A member suddenly addressed Saikawa.

"No, I have no objections to the outlined proposal," Saikawa answered, half aware of what he was saying. "I believe our foremost goal is to bring students the opportunity to have this experience. Perhaps information studies could be made into a new discipline. Though, I think it is necessary to adopt information studies into our current curriculum…"

In the instant he finished his comment, it was immediately forgotten. Meaningless opinions like that, delivered with a straight face and wrapped up in a bunch of important-sounding words, were something he'd been good at lately. The way of living in which one never says what you truly feel… was an instinctual one for Saikawa, but he was gradually understanding why. It was like trying your darndest to get a broken-down car to run. As long as you get to your destination, that's all that matters.

The conference concluded after two hours, and Saikawa trudged down the hallway of the classroom building until he reached the research building.

His room was unlocked. When he opened the door, cool air surrounded him.

There was only a single decorative plant in his room. It reached up towards the room's low ceiling. Saikawa had no interest whatsoever in plants. He was actually more fond of leaves than flowers. You wouldn't ever catch Saikawa bringing a Pachira or the like into his room.

Saikawa used two desks, but one was just there to hold his twenty-one inch display. Now, the screen was playing a psychadelic pattern that looked like an amoeba. This was the visble expression of an automatic program called a screensaver, which protects against burn in.

Saikawa returned the committee files to their place on the steel shelf. Then, he grabbed a soda from the fridge in the corner of the room and sat in his chair. Before opening the can, he lit up a cigarette.

"If this school didn't hold committee meetings, I'd probably get my research done twice as fast," Saikawa sighed.

A voice could be heard from the adjacent room. Next door was one of Saikawa's lecture helpers, Kunieda Momoko's room. Kunieda didn't have the kind of speaking voice you'd normally hear from another room. She was likely with a student right now.

While still smoking the cigarette, Saikawa attempted to drink the soda. Miraculously, despite being inserted into the same mouth, the substances managed to remain separate.

A knock came at the door, so he replied.

"Pardon meee," Nishinosono Moe waltzed in.

She always wore flashy clothing, and today was no different. A bright pink tank top and grey skin-tight jeans. She also wore a thin white vest. She was carrying a large yellow handbag. Her hair was short and straight, and she had a pink earring to match her shirt in one ear. If you looked closely, you could see that the earring was a small glass elephant.

This girl had only just started studying in the architecture department this April. Generally, first year students in the department never came to visit the instructors. It was almost always fourth year students for help with their thesis, or in his position as a researcher, graduate students. However, Nishinosono Moe was the daughter of his former mentor, as well as the president of N University, Doctor Nishinosono Kyousuke. Doctor Nishinosono and his wife perished three years ago in an airplane accident, but even before that Saikawa had often had the chance to visit his home, so Saikawa had known Moe since she was very young. Ever since enrolling at N University, Moe had repeatedly dropped by Saikawa's office like this.

"Professor, you look tired." Moe peered at Saikawa's face as she spoke. "Another meeting?"

Saikawa nodded. He didn't have the energy to respond.

"Should I brew some coffee?" Moe asked as she dropped her bag to the floor.

"No, that's fine, Nishinosono. I've got my soda. But if you want some, then go wild," Saikawa said. Before, he would have always called her by her pet name, Mo-bear, but that would come across as uncouth towards a student in his own discipline, so nowadays he used her surname like normal.

"I could go for some coffee, so I'll make it after all."

Moe put the filter in the pot, then set the coffee maker. She liked to take her coffee black, just like Seikawa, though he had never actually seen her drink coffee at home. She had acquired a taste for the grown-up stuff since joining university, it seemed. This girl could not be more different from the who she was shortly after her parents were lost in the accident. Through much of highschool, Moe had long hair, wore skirts every day, and spoke similarly to her mother, with a subdued, meek voice. Now, however, it was jeans every day, and even a baseball cap when the mood struck. Her way of speaking was also entirely transformed.

Saikawa watched Moe's back for a short while.

Surely, going to university is bound to change a person, he assumed without much thought. About the physical changes a girl goes through, Saikawa had a grand total of zero experience speaking his mind. However, even accounting for personal bias, he had to admit that Moe was a stunning young woman. She had grown quite beautiful in these three years.

"What happened, professor? You're totally beat." Moe spoke without turning around.

"Well, this stuff happens," Saikawa answered amidst sighs. "How can you tell I'm so exhausted?"

"Huh? You can't see for yourself?" Moe turned and smiled. "Professor, you just got back to your room, right? But, the screensaver's still up on your display, and your desk is empty. So no work's getting done. I bet you threw those boring committee files right on the shelf and were done with it. Also, when you get back to your room in a good mood, the first thing you do is start the coffee, isn't it? When you're drinking out of a soda can and doing nothing, it means you're tired."

"I see… Well deduced." Saikawa grinned.

Moe sat in the chair next to the desk and crossed her legs.

"But exhibit number one… You didn't ask me about my meeting with Doctor Magata."

"Oh, that's right…" Saikawa lifted his head, eyes closed. "I forgot. She spoke with you? About you-know-what? ….Actually, you know what, I think I will have that coffee."

"It's a good thing I brewed enough for two then," Moe said, beaming.

Upon seeing Moe's glowing smile, Saikawa's spirits were restored.

"So then, you were able to meet with Doctor Hagata Shiki?" Saikawa asked.

"Of course." Moe gently tossed her hair with her neck, then nodded looking extremely happy.

"Wow, that's amazing." Saikawa reclined in his chair. "That's… amazing," he used the same word again.

Saikawa wondered just how few people in all of Japan would have been granted an audience with Doctor Magata Shiki.

He could hardly imagine that Moe would have used her family's political influence to win any favor. Which would have been understandable, considering her uncle held a top position within the Aichi police department, and her aunt was the wife of the governor there. And that's not to mention her late father, who was president of Former Imperial College N University. And on top of that, the various scattered relatives of the Nishinosono family were all at the peak of status and wealth within their respective realms. Moe herself was also the inheritor of her parent's vast fortune, on which she paid many times more in taxes than Saikawa's entire salary.

He was certain she had at least speculated for a moment… about whether she could wield her family's influence.

However, when it came to meeting Doctor Magata Shiki, those credentials were hopelessly inadequate. Since her teens, Magata Shiki had been widely renowned in the computer science world as a programming prodigy. She was also the daughter of the leading mind in computer engineering, Magata Sachirou, and linguistics legend Magata Michiyo. She was something of a mythical existance in the field, well recognized even now, for developing everything from interpreters and operating systems to game software. At age nine, she was awarded a master's degree from Princeton, and she acquired a PhD from MIT by eleven. Furthermore, she performed all the duties of lead engineer at MF Co. starting from age twelve. How could such an unbelievable career exist outside of absurd fantasies? That was what Saikawa had asked in highschool. Magata Shiki's grandfather on her mother's side was a Dutchman, so she wasn't pure Japanese, but the media at the time nevertheless lauded her as the first Japanese person worthy of the title of genius. "Girl genius" was an expression which was lovingly placed into cold storage and used only to describe her. And it was true; in kindergarten she could perform ten digit multiplications in an instant, and calculate cube roots in her head on command. Although her talent was mostly limited to the field of mathematics, she was undeniably in an entirely different league from average people. All that on top of her parents' positions as influential researchers. Growing up in such an ideal environment for her talents, they could only grow.

But then, on top of that, something absolutely sensational happened to make her even more famous.

How could even more fame possibly come to her?

The world was shaken to its core.

When Magata Shiki was fourteen years old, she was arrested under suspicion of murdering her parents, Doctor Magata Sachirou and Doctor Magata Michiyo.

"What did you talk about? What was she like?" Saikawa's fatigue was blown away.

"Umm, well I managed to get thirty minutes out of her, but uh…" As she answered, Moe recalled the scene. "It was kind of scary. I had no idea she'd be that interested in humanity though. Oh, and she was freakin' gorgeous…"

Moe gave a detailed account of her conversation with Miss Magata.

One of the graduate students under Saikawa's guidance was working on a master's thesis pertaining to the influence virtual reality could affect on the future. Moe, in her frequent visits to Saikawa's research lab, had grown close to this graduate student, who had heard about Doctor Magata Shiki's status in the field as the brightest in Japan. She, for her part, remembered that Doctor Magata Shiki used to be an acquaintance of her father. When July came around, Moe suddenly announced that she would be going to visit Doctor Magata Shiki. At first, the graduate student hadn't thought she was serious, but once she'd started making all sorts of concrete plans, Saikawa caught wind of it.

In the trial concerning the murder of Magata Shiki's parents, she was found innocent. That was because she was deemed to be of clearly unsound mind. From that point forward, Magata Shiki vanished from the public eye. Regular people would've had no idea where she went. And so, the world forgot about her.

However, as it turned out, Saikawa knew exactly where Magata Shiki was located. He'd heard it from a colleage in the engineering department, but apparently the fact that she was living within their very own Aichi Prefecture was common knowledge in the community. On an island in Mikawa Bay called Himaka Island, in a private laboratory. And in that laboratory, which she'd erected with the help of her parents' estate as well as affiliated foundations, she had continued her research ever since the incident, according to the rumor. In fact, to this day, several volumes of Doctor Magata's writings for American scientific journals continue to be published yearly.

Saikawa couldn't help but admire Moe's determination. A single university student matching wits with the world-famous Doctor Magata Shiki. However, he still wasn't sure what reason Moe had to meet Doctor Magata Shiki. Perhaps, he suspected, it wasn't a reason he could deduce from logic alone.

"I see, so it was more like you were the one being interviewed. Maybe her mind is fading to the point that she's finally developed an interest in other people, surely…" Saikawa said. "But good lord I'm jealous…. I've wanted to meet her for so long."

"She knew about you," Moe added.

"Yeah, you mentioned. She probably did background research on you." Saikawa forced a smile. "And that's a nice way of putting it."

"You think she's that kind of person?" Moe asked, cradling the coffee cup in both hands.

Actually, that's right, you wouldn't expect a genius to care so much. The fact that she had read his papers suddenly turned his mood around.

"So what was the facility like?" Saikawa grilled.

"Well, it was a very large facility. The lab isn't the only thing on the island either. I could see from above, a square-shaped building with a simple design. No clue what could be inside. I couldn't even see the whole thing."

"Wait, from above?"

"Yeah, I took a helicopter there," Moe answered as though it were obvious. "There's a heliport on the roof."

"A helicopter, I see. That's cool," Saikawa assented. Nishinosono owned a private helicopter. Naturally, a rich person wouldn't touch a boat with a ten foot pole. "Why didn't the Doctor meet you face to face?"

"Apparently she's allergic to people," Moe said, staring up at the ceiling. A common habit of hers. "I was super disappointed though. I only got to meet her through a television. I worked so hard to get there… just to learn that she never shows herself."

"You'd have been better off just mailing her, huh…" Saikawa folded his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair.

"It seems the Doctor has no direct contact with the outside world," Moe confirmed.

"Oh yeah… what's up with that doll stuff she talked about?" Saikawa changed the line of questioning.

"Yeah, I don't know either," Moe answered. "She made it very clear that a doll killed her parents. And that it ran away somewhere…"

4

A knock sounded at the door, and the graduate student Moe knew so well, Hamanaka Fukashi, entered. He was in his first year of the master's program on virtual reality. He was of small stature, and gave off an effeminate air.

"Uh, Professor Saikawa, the computer's acting sort of funny. Do you mind taking a look?" Hamanaka spoke with a high-pitched voice. "Oh, Nishinosono, you're back already?"

Moe nodded with a grin. Saikawa put out his cigarette and stood up. "Is Kunieda out?"

"Professor Kunieda is in the middle of a seminar," Hamanaka said, looking to the side. It wasn't visible, but in that direction was the room of Saikawa's assistant, Kunieda. "It was a little hard to butt in and ask."

The timid Hamanaka always did his best to avoid Kunieda Momoko. She was generally feared by the student body.

"Nishinosono, wait here a bit." Saikawa and Hamanaka left the room together. The graduate student room was on the floor below Saikawa's room. Moe had been there several times, but found it to be a disaster area of clutter.

Moe remained in Saikawa's tabacco-scented room, sipping her cooled coffee. She had a sensitive mouth, so she preferred this temperature of black.

Associate professor Saikawa's room was almost perfectly square, thirty meters on all sides. The room was originally an assistant's room, no more than half the size of the professors' rooms. According to what he'd told Moe, when he was promoted to associate professor last year, he'd been too lazy to move all his books and furniture, and so he'd stayed put. The spacious accociate professor's room that Saikawa should have been occupying was on the same fourth floor, though currently it was being used by several students from Saikawa's bachelor thesis lecture. Moe had never been inside.

Surly steel shelves covered every inch of the walls in Saikawa's room, and were packed tightly with scientific texts and files. There were two desks, on one of which stood two Macintosh computers. There was no printer to be seen. Not only did Seikawa almost never print anything out, whenever he absolutely had to, he could use one of his students' printers wirelessly. As for anything customized, there was the single decorative plant Moe had brought. None of the walls were visible, but stuck on the back of the door were countless pictures of aerobatic planes. Saikawa had never spoken to her about aeroplanes before, but she supposed he was into them.

In the narrow space between the glass of the steel shelves and the books within, various miscellanea were placed. It was totally erratic and out of harmony. A fake fruit parfait, a model of a stealth fighter, an Australian boomerang, an old IBM typewriter font head, a Chinese clay doll, a ChocoBall Kyoro-chan, an antique ampere meter, a twin lens reflex camera. These things had two commonalities. One was that they were all things with no relevance to his field of architecture, and the other was that they were all things Moe liked.

"Oh Souheeii," a woman called, without knocking, through the slightly ajar door. Moe startled and stood up. A longhaired woman entered, smiling from ear to ear.

"Oops… pardon me," the woman spoke with a faint voice, thick and wet. "Are you a student?"

"Yes. Professor Saikawa will be back soon," Moe answered.

The woman came all the way into the room, then looked all around. Her wavy hair swayed gently, and she carried the scent of perfume. No matter how you slice it, she was not a student. Her short pencil-skirt was navy blue. She had freckles under her eyes, and a deep red lipstick on her mouth. Probably owing to her heels, she stood slightly taller than Moe. She was beautiful, slender and fair-skinned, though her age was hard to place. Maybe her late twenties.

"Then, could you give this to him for me?" the woman said, handing Moe a paper bag.

"Excuse me for asking, but who are you?" Moe asked politely.

"Hold on, are you… could it be…? Miss Nishinosono?" The woman spoke softly, and didn't seem confidant speaking. Moe guessed she was putting it on intentionally to appear ditzy. The bag she'd been given had a wrapped box inside. When Moe didn't answer, that confirmed the woman's speculation, and she let out a chuckle.

"My name is Nishinosono, but… I don't think I caught yours?" Moe was a bit annoyed, so her voice had risen.

"Oh me?" She paused for effect, then giggled. "I am Gidou Setsuko." After she said that, her eyes became crescent moons from her smile.

"Gidou… you said?"

"That's right… Um… Have you read the Manyoushuu, by any chance?" Gidou Setsuko said.

"I have not…" Moe shook her head. She wasn't used to this person's conversation tempo yet. "What about the Manyoushuu?"

"So you're Miss Nishinosono then…. Hrrmm…" Gidou ignored Moe's question entirely. Moe was staring harshly at her. "You know… if you grew your hair out long? It'd look nice on you."

"Um, how do you know me?" Moe was thoroughly irritated.

Gidou giggled. "How else? Kouhei does nothing except talk about you." She laughed again.

Calling associate professor Saikawa by his first name was the thing that pissed Moe off the most. He had gone to an all-boy's school in his hometown, and he'd said all his highschool friends call him Saikawa.

Moe was about to ask "What relationship do you have with the professor?" but abruptly noticed the underlying tenderness in what she had said. Moe kept quiet.

"I'm sorry to put this on you, but I have a taxi waiting for me." Gidou Setsuko smiled broadly, then grabbed the doorknob. "Miss Nishinosono, do you like puzzles?"

"No…" Moe answered immediately. "By puzzles you mean like jigsaw puzzles?"

"Sure, those count too. Me? I love them…. Next time, let's do one together, yeah? …Well, give my regards to Kouhei, and please specify that Setsuko dropped by."

Gidou Setsuko left the room.

For a while, Moe just stood facing the closed door. She never quite managed to reach the same wavelength as Gidou Setsuko, she felt.

"What did she mean by puzzles?" Moe thought.

Moe washed both coffee cups and put them away in the cupboard. Saikawa's cup was still half full of water, so she dumped it. That action, somehow or other, made her understand how upset she was.

She left the room intending to go down to the graduate student room on the third floor. Since Saikawa was just one floor down, she felt the need to tell him about Gidou Setsuko now. Moe wondered why Gidou hadn't thought of that herself as she descended the stairs.

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