Tomb of Information (4)
When they reached the counter, a woman with her hair falling to her shoulders greeted them.
"Hello. This is the High Gear user registration page. Are you both new here?"
She looked human, but a seam ran across her face and small bolts were embedded symmetrically in her cheeks.
Rough, perhaps, but the mechanical look gave her a certain charm.
"This friend here is new, and I already have a user code. Can I register now?"
"Yes. Please tell me your code name."
"Yolga's Son. Dongguk." Shirone turned in surprise, and Fermi shrugged.
The woman's eyes lit up.
"Oh my, a ranked player. Dongguk, rank seven—Yolga's Son. It's an honor to meet someone so distinguished."
Fermi smiled with his eyes.
'Her acting is excellent. Well, with a machine face she probably doesn't need to try hard.'
Magneti, the tutorial administrator.
As the one who managed High Gear's real-time connections, she could hardly be unaware of Fermi's identity.
Magneti manipulated the screen as she spoke.
"Under High Gear regulations, a special benefit is granted to the user who registers a new player. As a 'New Face' bonus, 100 million enha will be awarded."
Shirone glared at Fermi.
"Hey."
"Take what's available. Don't worry. The 100 million enha will be for you."
"Enough."
Shirone didn't want to get drawn into this.
"I'm not here to play High Gear. You said I could contact an Operator here."
"Impatient, aren't you."
Fermi asked Magneti, "Can you forward a message to High Gear's original designer? It's urgent."
"Designating a specific operator violates policy. If you have a request, tell me and I'll relay it."
"I thought so..."
As Fermi readied to back down, Shirone stepped forward.
"It'll only take a moment. If you hear me out, the Operator will change their mind."
"I'm sorry, but I can't approve that. High Gear's Operators follow internal regulations."
"Operator? So you're not an AI. Are you a human from my planet?"
"...That's beyond my authorization."
Her voice was flat, but Shirone caught that her response lagged for a beat.
"You know what's happening to humanity. The fate of the world is at stake."
"Huh? The fate of the—"
Magneti's mechanical face, which had been processing his words, twisted oddly.
Heh—
Then she couldn't hold back.
"Ha ha ha! The fate of the world, huh. This is insane! It's even more dramatic than I expected!"
"What's so funny about that?"
A coldness crept over Shirone's expression. Fermi pursed his lips.
'Of course... in the Undercoder, where fakes and anonymity run rampant, "sincerity" is only ever a joke.'
"What's so funny, I asked you?"
When Shirone widened his eyes, Fermi said, "Calm down. This is a virtual world. Whether the real world ends or not, no one here cares."
"How can you say that? Do you know how many people fought and died? Do you think this reality is laughable? Not at all. You're just running away from it."
Fermi felt at a loss for how to make him understand.
"Sigh. So here is—"
Magneti's laughter faded.
"You can think whatever you like, but insulting an Operator can incur penalties. You may be barred from High Gear for a time, or you could be permanently expelled."
"Try it."
Light from Shirone's Miracle Stream flared up.
"Think you can still laugh if I attack this place? Then maybe you'll understand what reality is."
"Just log back in."
Magneti's tone stayed steady.
"If you do, you'll be permanently expelled and you'll never see me again. That's the worst thing that can happen here. Do as you please." "Shirone."
Shirone had never revealed his name before.
"This is ridiculous to say, but I'm so angry I'll humor you this once. This isn't the real world. You don't know who I am outside. I might be a fighter struggling for the world, or I might be the villain you despise."
Fermi nodded in agreement.
"Also, I don't know who you are. I may have heard the name—you are famous—but how can I tell if you're really out to save the world? When you wake from this dream, you might just use your power to indulge yourself."
"Am I—?!"
"Whether that's true or not doesn't matter. The important thing is no one cares. The Undercoder is like that. So please, leave reality in reality and mind your manners here. Your earnestness is making other users uncomfortable."
Fermi kept nodding.
'See? That's exactly it.'
"I don't get it."
Shirone clenched his fist.
"Whether real or in the Undercoder, they're still people. Even if they don't have real bodies, I'm talking to people right now. Why turn away? Your world is being destroyed!"
"...What a nuisance."
Shirone felt stifled.
"How do I prove it? If I kneel here, will you believe my sincerity?"
Magneti snorted.
"Kneel? There are plenty who want to feel like dogs—those who howl and let themselves be torn apart. Serial killers from reality play nurse here. Still don't understand? It's all fake."
"Fine."
Miracle Stream shot toward the ceiling.
"Then I'll destroy that fake. So go back. Go back and open a window. Look outside."
Magneti's hand moved toward the screen.
"Attacking an Operator is permanent expulsion. I warned you." Tension spiked; Shirone lunged at Magneti.
"Wait—"
As Fermi reached out—
"Please."
Shirone stopped in front of the counter and braced a hand on the floor.
"I want to save the world. Too many people are suffering. I can't prove my sincerity; you might be deceiving me—but even if I am...
"Can't you at least pretend to believe me? Maybe that could save someone—maybe even one more life."
Magneti glared at him.
The mechanical face emptied of all emotion and went cold again.
"Sigh."
At last she spoke, "What should I tell them?"
Shirone looked up, startled.
"One thing to know: I'm an Operator too, but I don't have the authority to command the lead Operator. If it's a strange message, they might not even respond."
Shirone shot to his feet.
"Okay! Fine. If Shirone—no, if Yahweh wants to meet you, then—"
"Fermi."
Fermi cut him off.
"Tell them Ardino Fermi has a very big deal on the line. Say they'll be satisfied."
Then he shrugged at Shirone.
"It's better to use my real name in deals. The name Yahweh won't get you anywhere here."
"All right. Sent."
Magneti finished transmitting, but five minutes passed with no reply.
As if she'd expected it, she said, "No response, as I thought—"
Beep—beep—
An alert flashed on the screen built into the counter.
"They actually came."
To be honest, she hadn't expected it either.
"We have a response. We'll play it now."
Between Shirone and Fermi's silence, a heavily modulated voice came through.
Get lost.
Is that it? That's all?
Shirone looked dumbfounded. Magneti rested her chin on the counter.
"This is unusual. The Undercoder is a carnival of concepts, but Operators themselves can be downright eccentric."
Fermi agreed. "If even my name didn't work, there's nothing else for it. Let's get into High Gear and find another way."
"But at least they responded."
Shirone refused to give up. "If they really didn't care, they wouldn't have said 'get lost.' Try again."
"No, well..." When Shirone jabbed Fermi in the side, Fermi threw up his hands and was pushed back toward the counter.
"Okay, okay. I get it."
Fermi turned to Magneti. "Can you send one more message?"
Magneti nodded—Shirone's suggestion made sense.
"All right. What should I send?"
"Hmm."
Fermi's eyes sharpened. "I'm going to put a data recorder—presumably containing information from the outside world—up for conditional auction..."
Shirone snapped his head around.
"There are three conditions. First, the buyer must be able to decode the record. Second, anyone who views the data must share it with me. Third, the auction will be settled on a first-come, first-served basis."
Tapping the screen, Magneti swallowed.
"But we're not strangers. If anyone's interested, they can contact me privately and we can negotiate. That's all."
Shirone's gaze narrowed at Fermi.
'I knew there had to be a way.'
"Sent."
The moment the word left his mouth, a loud chime sounded and Magneti blinked.
"Code name 'Operator' requests a voice conversation with Operator privileges. Do you accept?"
There was no question about it.
Fermi nodded, and an excited voice cut through the modulation.
—Hey, what are you? Using the Operator channel for private business? I thought you were smarter.
"Anyway, it's an enticing offer, right?"
—Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only connected because it's annoying. You think I'll lose a first-come win to someone else?
"Actually... that's not confirmed yet."
—Who are you kidding? Talking about an auction means you couldn't figure out how to decode the recorder. To prevent devaluing it, you chose first-come, first-served—an extreme competition, right?
'Picky.'
Fermi's face didn't change. "That's true, but the situation's delicate. If you don't take the offer, some lowlife might snatch it. There's a robber beside me with a knife."
—What the hell are you talking about?
Shirone stepped forward. "Hello, Operator. I'm Shirone. I heard about the recorder from Di Abyss—"
—Shut up. I didn't call you. Shirone's chest tightened.
—Shirone? You think Yahweh's involvement changes anything? That recorder might as well not exist for me.
Fermi smirked. "Come on, you can't really mean that. Just look at what people obsess over at auctions."
"Then join us. Let's work together. Good for everyone, right? Make me a program for Di Abyss."
A pause.
—No. The Sun War has to happen. You won't back down? Then you'll be eaten by the western lands.
Shirone stepped forward again. "Operator, I don't know what the Sun War is, but—"
—If you don't know, get lost. Why keep butting in? How could you not know the Sun War? Stupid.
A vein stood out on Shirone's neck.
"I don't know. But is that more important than human lives?"
—Ha! You talk big. You think you're Yahweh here? If you're so confident, come find me. Beat me in a duel and I'll grant any demand.
Fermi sighed.
'This is bad.'
Beating the West's number-one and the overall number-one Operator one-on-one was practically impossible.
"Fine!"
Shirone shouted, "You wait right there! I'll tear this High Gear apart!"