Sword Art Online - Volume 9 - Alicization Beginning Read online

  “C-Controller?”

  Kazuto, who repeated the word, seemed to be able to sense something from it, Gatan, his chair made a sound as he corrected his posture. He took out a thin mobile terminal from his pocket, ran his finger on its screen. He then lifted his face and said to Shino with a bitter smile,

  “I see.”

  “……What do you see?”

  This time Shino tilted her head. Kazuto then placed the terminal on the table, and slid it slightly toward Shino. Looking into the high-precision four inch monitor, she saw the map of the Okachimachi neighborhood with this coffee shop in the center. There was a blue light dot blinking along the route from the station to the shop.

  “What is this light dot?”

  “The person Sinon is waiting for is coming. About a hundred meters more.”

  It was just as Kazuto said, the light dot was moving toward this shop. Crossing the intersection, entering the alley, arriving at the center of the map, and at that moment,

  Kararan, the doorbell rang, Shino lifted up her face. The person who had entered the shop folded the umbrella, her long chestnut hair swung around as she turned toward Shino. From there, a bright smile floated as if the rainy season had ended a little early.

  “Yaho―, Sinonon!”

  Part 2

  To the nickname she hadn’t been called by for more than five years, Shino inadvertently stood up as she gave a broad smile.

  “Asuna, hello.”

  Yuuki Asuna made a lively sound from the natural wood floorboards as she walked along, the two girls then joined their fingertips to each other in a pleasant reunion. As they sat down on the chairs side by side, Kazuto, who had a slight expression of amazement asked,

  “You two…… when did you become this close?”

  “Huh? Last month I even spent a night over at Asuna’s.”

  “W-What!? And I haven’t even been to her house yet.”

  “Wasn’t Kirito-kun the one who said ‘I need to be mentally prepared’ and escaped?”

  As Asuna gave a little scowl, Kazuto sipped from his Caffè Shakerato in an embarrassed manner. To that state, Asuna couldn’t help but smile as she thought ‘It can’t be helped’ then she noticed Agil, who offered her some cold water and a towel, so she stood, getting off the chair before giving a bow.

  “Excuse me for my long silence, Agil-san.”

  “Welcome. ——This really reminds me of the time when you two were lodging at the second floor of my shop.”

  “Even though you’re saying so, but we’re still freeloading at your shop in Yggdrasil City at the moment…… Hmm, what should I order today……”

  As Asuna, who seemed to be an old friend of the giant shopkeeper, viewed the cork-bound menu, Shino took another peek at Kazuto’s mobile terminal placed on the table. The blue blip stood still on the spot, perfectly overlapping the location of the coffee shop.

  “……Then, I’ll get ginger ale please. The spicy one.”

  After Asuna finished ordering and Agil had returned to the counter, Shino said while grinning,

  “Hey, are you two monitoring each other’s GPS coordinates? It seems you’re getting along very well.”

  Kazuto then gave a serious look as he waved his right hand while saying ‘No no no.’

  “It may seem to display the exact coordinates of Asuna’s terminal, and also seem to not require any operations from Asuna, but mine isn’t that simple. Asuna, show it to her.”

  “OK.”

  Asuna nodded and brought out her mobile terminal from the bag hung on the back of the chair, before forwarding it in its standby screen to Shino. As she received it and took a look, the monitor was set up with a cute animated wallpaper.

  At the center of the screen was a pink heart tied in a red ribbon, which was throbbing at an interval about one second long. Beneath the heart were two lines of several figures, whose meaning Shino didn’t understand. A [63] figure on the left side was displayed in a big font, and a smaller [36.2] was on the right side. As Shino tilted her head, the left figure ascended to 64.

  “What is……”

  As Shino was about to ask ‘What is this,’ Kazuto seemed embarrassed and saying ‘Don’t stare like that.’ At that point, Shino finally realized the meaning of this standby screen.

  “Ehh…… this… could it be… the heart rate and temperature of Kirito?”

  “That’s correct― As expected from Sinonon, you have good intuition.”

  Asuna said as she clapped her hands. After Shino rotated her gaze between the mobile terminal and Kazuto’s face several times, she asked the first question floating in her mind,

  “B-But…… what kind of mechanism……?”

  “It’s here under my skin……”

  Kazuto poked at almost the middle of his chest with his right thumb. He then extended his hand toward Shino, and made a crack of about five millimeters using two fingers.

  “It is a very small implanted sensor. It monitors the heart rate and temperature, and sends the data to my mobile terminal via radio. From that, the almost real time information is then passed to Asuna’s terminal through the network.”

  “Ehhh? Vitality sensor?”

  This time Shino was greatly surprised, as she became speechless for about two seconds before beginning to speak,

  “W-Why are you doing something like that…… Ah, could it possibly be a cheating prevention system?”

  “N-No no!”

  “No―!”

  Kazuto and Asuna’s actions were in perfect synchrony as they shook their heads repeatedly.

  “No, it was when I started this part-time job, they recommended me to implant it, as it was terrible needing to stick electrodes in every day. After I told Asuna about it, she strongly urged me to get the vital data. She then forced me to set up an application, and installed it on her terminal.”

  “That’s because― I don’t want some unknown company to monopolize Kirito-kun’s health data. I was against embedding something strange into his body in the first place.”

  “Eh, don’t you seem happy whenever you look at the monitor every time you are free, so who are you to say that?”

  To Kazuto word’s, Asuna’s cheeks became faintly red.

  “I felt somewhat calm when looking at it. Thinking that Kirito-kun’s heart is beating, it is as if we’re on a trip together……”

  “Uwa, Asuna, that sounds dangerous somehow.”

  While Shino laughed, she glanced down at the terminal in her palm again. The pulse rate had already sped up to 67, while the temperature had also rose slightly. Even though Kazuto made a poker face as he greedily drank the water, the data showed that he was actually very embarrassed.

  “Hahah, I see…… That’s right…… somehow…… it’s nice……”

  When she realized what she had carelessly muttered, Shino quickly lifted her face, and shook her head at Kazuto and Asuna who were blinking in surprise.

  “Ah, no… that… there’s nothing behind it, really. Well…… G-GGO also has a heart beat sensor, it was a supplement in the battle situation with bad visibility, it has no girly implications like this, that was what I had just thought.”

  As she quickly returned the terminal to Asuna’s hand, she continued speaking,

  “O-Oh, I almost forgot today’s main topic. Hmm, I asked Asuna through mail about the fifth tournament in GGO, could you participate? Since it involves character converting, I don’t want to forcibly ask you for the favor.”

  “Ah, about that, it’s no problem. I have a sub-account in ALO so the house and items can be left to that account to maintain.”

  Asuna’s cheerful smile and tender tone returned Shino to her calm self, she took a deep breath before speaking,

  “Thank you, with Asuna’s help, it’ll be like giving an iron club to an ogre, or mounting a machine gun in a bunker. I think you will need a few days practicing with a photon sword to grasp the timing though.”

  “Yeah, I’ll convert about one month bef
ore the tournament, I’ll need you to guide me through the city then.”

  “Of course. The food in GGO also can’t be neglected. Then…… it may be a little early, but I’ll be in your care.”

  Shino’s outstretched right hand was wrapped by Asuna’s supple fingers. After gripping each other’s hands tightly, Shino hit the surface of the table with her hand once.

  “So, the main topic is now concluded. Let’s see, next is……”

  She said as she stared at Kazuto’s face, as he chewed on the remaining ice from the opposite side.

  “Should we hear it carefully now? About your suspicious part-time job. What kind is it? But even if we ask, knowing Kirito, it would probably be alpha testing some new VRMMO game.”

  Shino put forward the question she had held for more than thirty minutes as her gaze was fixed on his face.

  “Well, it isn’t a hit, but it’s also not too far off the mark.”

  Kazuto nodded as he gave a bitter smile, then traced the micro sensor embedded at his heart’s upper section with his fingertip.

  “The test player part is correct. What I’m testing isn’t game application however, but a new Brain Machine InterfaceBMI of the FullDive system.”

  “Heh!”

  Shino was surprised, while her eyes remained on Kazuto.

  “That means, the next generation of AmuSphere will finally come out soon? Could it be, a tester for Asuna’s father company?”

  “Nope, it isn’t related to Recto. How should I put it…… somehow I still don’t really understand the whole picture about that company…… It is a venture company whose name I’ve never heard of before, and it has quite a lot of funds to pour into the development’s expenses. There might be a large organisation backing them with funding……”

  As Kazuto’s expression remained vague, Shino tilted her head to the right and asked,

  “Heh…… What is the name of the company?”

  “«RATH»”

  “It may sound ordinary, but I also never heard about it before. Hmm, is there an English word for that……?”

  “I thought of the same thing too, Asuna knows it though.”

  Sitting beside Shino, Asuna drank her ginger ale before nodding and answered,

  “In [Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There] there is a verse in [Jabberwocky] mentioned the creature that comes out in the dream. It seemed to be explained as a pig or a turtle.”

  “Hehhh……”

  Even though it was a book she had read long ago, she didn’t remember such a word at all. Shino imagined a strange creature with the head of a pig protruding out of a rounded shell, as she continued asking,

  “RATH…… Then, they are independently developing the next generation of FullDive machines to sell? But wasn’t AmuSphere co-developed by several companies?”

  “No, I don’t think so……”

  Kazuto muttered in an unchanged, uncertain tone.

  “The main machine is very large. Adding the console and the cooling equipment together, it could easily fill up this entire room…… Although the experimental first generation of the FullDive machine was that large, but from there on, the size of the Nerve Gear has remained the same for five years. And the AmuSphere 2 (provisional) which is lead-developed by Recto will be on sale next year too…… oops, that is supposed to be confidential.”

  As Kazuto shrugged, Asuna gave a little smile before saying,

  “It’s fine, as they will announce it in Tokyo Game Show next month anyway.”

  “Ah, so Recto will participate too. ……I hope it won’t be too expensive……”

  Asuna looked at Shino, who made upturned eyes, the daughter of the company president then made the same serious look and nodded deeply.

  “I hope so too― But for now the price has yet to be decided…… Well, even though I’m already satisfied with ALO and don’t really plan on buying a new device, they said it’ll have a much higher rendering speed. And it’ll be backward compatible with the software too.”

  “Is that so. Kuu―, should I find a part-time job too……”

  Pushing aside the data in her account book which had surfaced in her mind, Shino continued to ask Kazuto another question,

  “……Well, so that RATH company’s huge FullDive machine isn’t intended for home use? Is it for business use?”

  “No, I think it isn’t at that stage yet. Firstly, strictly speaking, it actually uses a different FullDive technique.”

  “Different……? Isn’t it about creating a VR world using polygons, in which a user can Dive into it? What did you feel inside that world?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Kazuto shrugged, then said something unexpected in a casual tone,

  “Due to the security protection, the memories of the world made by that machine can’t be brought out to the real world. Everything I saw or did during the test, I currently have no memory about any of it.”

  “H……Hah!?”

  Shino unintentionally yelled in a loud voice, then lowered her voice before asking,

  “Can’t bring out…… memories? Something like that… how is it possible? Could it possibly be that you get hypnotized after you finished testing?”

  “No no, it uses a purely electronic mechanism. No…… it could be called quantum……”

  Kazuto who had cut off his words then took a glance at the mobile terminal placed on the table.

  “Half past four, huh. Sinon and Asuna, do you still have time?”

  “Yes.”

  “No problem for me too.”

  As the two nodded at the same time, Kazuto leaned his back against the back of the antique wooden chair——

  “Well then, let me start explaining from the foundation. The question of…… «Soul Translation» technology.”

  Kazuto said another unfamiliar word slowly.

  Somehow, it sounds like the name of an in-game spell, Shino thought. She felt discomfort at the words related to the latest technology. Asuna next to her tilted her head slightly as she muttered,

  “Soul……?”

  “The first time I heard it, I had thought that it was a somewhat exaggerated name too.”

  Kazuto lightly shrugged before throwing a sudden question,

  “The human mind, where do you think it is?”

  “Mind?”

  Shino was about to touch the middle of her chest by reflex, she then cleared her throat as she answered,

  “In the head…… the brain, right?”

  “Then let’s magnify the brain, where should the mind be now?”

  “Where……”

  “The brain, or in other words, the lump of brain cells. See this……”

  Kazuto extended his left hand with fingers tightly stretched out toward Shino. He then poked the middle of her palm with his right index finger, before tracing it around the entire palm.

  “At the center is the nucleus, and wrapped around it is the cell’s body……”

  After hitting each of the five fingers, he drew the line from his wrist to his elbow.

  “These are dendrites, which meet the axons, connecting this cell to the next. Where does the mind exist within this structure of a brain cell? The nucleus? The mitochondria?”

  “Hmm……”

  Asuna replied in place of Shino, who was mumbling,

  “Kirito-kun, even though you said «connecting this cell to the next» just now, but isn’t mind the network connecting many brain cells together? Just like…… the question about «What is the internet», the answer won’t come out from paying attention to an individual computer.”

  “Yeah.”

  As they seemed to get the idea, Kazuto nodded deeply.

  “The brain cells network is certainly the mind, I also think that is the correct answer under this current situation. But…… for example, this question «What is the internet», if investigated thoroughly, various answers could be obtained. Such as, the internet is the structure in which the computers arou
nd the world are connected to each other based on a common protocol——”

  He then pointed at Asuna’s and his mobile terminals lined up on the table in turn.

  “Similarly, every single computer is a component of the internet. In addition, it could be said that the users in front of the computers are also a part of the internet as well.”

  At this point Kazuto took a break, after saying “Give me a bit,” and took a sip from Asuna’s ginger ale, he closed his eyes.

  “Oo…… like always, the spicy taste here is really hot.”

  “It’s completely different from buying it off a convenient store, right? Even though it seems to be based on a cocktail, I like the strong taste of ginger.”

  Shino recalled the taste of the spicy ginger ale from half a year ago, the first time she ordered due to Kazuto’s lead. Without meeting him in GGO, she would never have set foot in this shop, which looked unfriendly from the outside, and the development of everything since then could be considered a miracle…… As she embracing that deep motion within her heart, Shino continued the topic,

  “Then…… how does the human mind and the internet relate?”

  After returning the glass to Asuna, Kazuto nodded once before using his hands to make a shape.

  “Well. ——Hmm, if the connection between a server and a router, the PCs and mobiles which looks like a mesh is the «shape» of the internet.”

  “Shape……”

  “Then, what is its «essence»?”

  Shino thought briefly before opening her mouth,

  “In short, it’s what flows in that shape…… in the network structure……? The electrical signals…..?”

  “That may be so, since electrical or light signals are persistent media. The essence of the network is how they go along that structure and verbalize the information…… Let’s temporarily take an explanation here.”

  After he finished the gesture he made using both hands up until this point, Kazuto placed his hands on the table and joined his slim fingers together.

  “Here, as I said earlier, the network of the hundreds of billion brain cells connecting together…… Now looking at the shape of mind, what is the essence of the mind?”

  “The media…… in other words, the flowing of electrical pulse along brain cells…… the information?”