act25side

<i>If, in a century or a millennium, our descendants walk among the stars, the masses will sing her praises.'</i>

She sat on a tree stump, humming as she observed the shapes of the clouds above. It was not until her mother called for her that she hopped off and ran toward the voice.

The low flight that they were about to take was all too familiar to her parents. Otherwise, they would not have taken her along.

Her goggles were strapped on, and her seatbelt fastened. As the engines roared, the aircraft began to slide down the runway.

The wind brushing her cheeks grew stronger and stronger. Scared, she closed her eyes.

Then, her body felt very light. A nauseous feeling gushed through her larynx, and her heart raced to the tip of her throat. She squeezed tightly into her mother's embrace.

Fortunately, the feeling didn't last very long. When the aircraft stopped jolting, she slowly relaxed.

But she was still afraid to open her eyes...

Until her mother lightly tapped her shoulder.

She finally found the courage to open her eyes and look around.

From this angle, the city where she had lived her whole life felt so foreign and strange. The crowds that she was struggled to squeeze through now looked like tiny, insignificant insects.

Her mother pointed up, prompting her to look.

The sky was so clear and bright.

Outskirts of Max, District of Columbia, Columbia, 1099

Federal Nomadic Prison

Sir, you're sick.

What? I'm as healthy as can be.

No, I can tell. Alcoholic, crapulent, and insomniac. In this oppressive nomadic prison, surely you haven't had the chance to enjoy much of the finer things in life?

Heh, you're right about that.

Haha, I mean no offense.

I get the sense that you might need some rest and recreation. Have you been to Siesta? Minos?

Please stop making fun of me.

No, no. This is an invitation. Please, choose one. Think of it as a way to kill time as this boring wait drags on.

...Minos.

Ah, Minos... The fruity aroma of its streets rides the wind past its pristine white walls. More importantly, the innate elegance of its beauties will have you reluctant to leave...

Alright, alright. I can already imagine the extravagant life you live. I'm green with envy—

No, what I'm saying is that it's all prepared for you. 'All prepared for you.'

What do you mean?

I believe an illness like yours can only be cured in such an environment. And you've been a great help for me across a variety of matters. Men like you deserve the finest of treatments.

After a few months, any gloominess clouding your mind will have completely dissipated. You'll be as strong and sturdy as the Minoan craftsmen. You may even enjoy a stimulating romantic encounter.

—Mr. Justin Fitzroy Jr. Let me say this again. I'm fine. Please stop toying with me.

Please, Mr. Justin was my father, call me Justin Jr.

*sigh*... Alright, Justin Jr... So even Business Section people at Rhine Lab know their medicine?

No, no, no. I don't know the first thing about medicine. Who would be interested in something so complicated that can affect no visible, immediate change?

Then what in the world are you talking—

I'm sure you're dying to know what kind of illness you have and who spread it to you.

Take a look around you and remember—

Your superior, that unsympathetic, good-for-nothing judge, and even the old warden, so unpleasant even after he retired...

You should've been hailed as a hero after you retired from pioneering, or at the very least enjoyed a comfortable life with a fancy house in a nomadic city on a government stipend.

But now?

Y-You looked into my background?

That's suiting medicine to the illness, sir. And the way I see it—

—your situation is hopeless.

The remedy I prescribe is a vacation, a luxurious home, bottles of fine wines, beautiful specimens of your preferred gender, and top-notch security service.

I... I don't understand. I know what you came here for. You're gonna take that one back with you.

If you made it all the way here without trouble, then Rhine Lab and the brass must already have an agreement?

What's the point of bribing me now?

I need an answer first. Are you willing to take fate into your own hands?

Heh. Who isn't?

Right, which is why you're very unlucky, and also lucky in a way. At the very least, you know the obstacle in front of you and your predicament. For instance, you've always played lackey to someone else. You were deliberately ignored, and cast here.

You also know what you want. For instance, you've been planning to propose to a certain someone, which got delayed by this trip, right? Oh~ I wonder how that proposal would go on the Minoan plains?

Ah... Yes... I... haha.

What do you need me to do, Justin Jr.?

It's simple. Sell the information on all of the prison's 'special procedures' to Rhine Lab. I guarantee you'll find the price I'm willing to pay more than attractive.

Th-That certainly wouldn't be hard, but...

But you'll be held accountable? Haha, we came prepared.

I mean it. The old men behind you have a serious appetite. I spent twice my budget to get all this in order... They've been plenty arrogant the last couple years, and that won't do.

Those greedy, selfish idiots haven't been willing to face facts. What, do they think they're some kind of Ursus or Leithanian nobles? Haha.

I prefer practical men like you, and so does Rhine Lab.

So, you could make a considerable fortune out of all this. Then, you and I can send those stubborn old men to prison. They won't get a chance to turn things around for the rest of their miserable lives.

Doesn't that sound nice?

You want me to defect—?!

I... Uh. Hold on.

Who the heck...? Couldn't have picked a worse time. Hm, a letter from the bank? I thought I paid it all off...

...Ugh!

Justin Jr... This money?

Did I forget to mention? Haha, my bad. Seems I'm not fit to be a doctor. This is your first course of treatment.

So much...

And the most effective cure for your disease is—'power and wealth.'

I guarantee it will get to the root of the problem... on behalf of Rhine Lab.

I understand.

Pleasure to work with you, Justin Jr.

The pleasure is mine.

Let me ask one more thing. Is Rhine Lab full of men like you?

Hm? No, no, no, no... They're all freaks. The freakiest you've ever seen. But I'm cool with freaks.

Like the one we're looking for today.

It's all ready, sir.

Good, good. After all that effort, I finally get to meet our famous freak.

Please don't forget what we talked about. I hope you'll be at my cocktail party in Trimounts next month... As my personal guest. No invitation necessary.

She stood in the center on the day of her parents' funeral. People came and went around her.

One after another, men she didn't know offered their condolences in front of her parents' portraits. A science journal's editor-in-chief, a high-level government official, a legendary investor in the finance world, the representative of a technology conglomerate...

All of them looked so, so saddened. Saddened that the genius inventor husband and wife brought the world of science to new heights, only to both die young.

None of them could understand. They couldn't understand why, when this era-defining technology—flight—had just taken off, why would they waste their energy and effort on something as meaningless as reaching the highest altitude possible.

All of them were furious. Furious that, with the death of the Wrights, the government-sponsored plans became a laughing stock, and their enormous investments had all gone down the drain.

One by one, the guests all left. She alone stood in front of her parents' grave and lifted her head up to look at the clear sky.

Yet it was so, so dark and gloomy.

The light is blindingly bright.

Past the passageway's dark shadows, the uncharacteristically bright lights keep Justin Fitzroy Jr from opening his eyes.

The brightly glowing laboratory is, right, exactly the same as the ones in Trimounts.

Justin Jr. takes two steps to feel things out and finds his attention instinctively drawn to the equipment so clean and shiny that there is light reflecting off of it.

'How much did this cost to build? They built all this for this one man's sake?'

Deep in an area of the laboratory untouched by light, an old man whose face is hidden guards a radio as ancient as himself.

...Haha. This is a prison? You call this a prison?

Goddamn. Kristen built a whole replica lab here just for you?

She thinks really highly of you, doesn't she, Convict No. 30?

You aren't the regular liaison, but I've seen your face.

You're a Rhine Lab director?

Well, that's just hurtful. I played no small part in expanding the company to its current size in such a short period of time. How could Kristen not have told you about me?

I have no interest in people like you. I'm a sick, crippled man. What do you want from me?

...Don't talk like that.