The Perfect Insider:Chapter 1-2

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.