The Rise of Shiroi Nami – Chapter 19

The party continues around me as the festival goes far into the evening hours. I thought the idea of genetic enhancements and people from outer space would freak everyone out, but apparently, I’m wrong. Not surprising. I’ve been wrong before.

Why do I feel like such crap? I figured if I sat down and rested for the afternoon, I’d be in much better condition, but I’m hanging by a thread. I lay my head down on my arms at the outdoor table while Aimi and Ryoko chat across the table.

“Did you see the way she looked at him?” Aimi asks.

Ryoko laughs. “She’s gonna get some of that.”

“What?” I ask. Someone taps on my head, and I groan as I pull myself back up. “What and who?”

Aimi jerks her chin towards the people behind us. “Atsumi. She’s got the hots for Wataru.”

When I turn my head to survey this scene, the world seems to swim around me. Yeah, I think I see Atsumi flirting with Wataru, and he’s reciprocating. Ugh. I don’t even care, but I’m grateful she’s distracted by something other than wanting to kill me.

I smack my lips as I try to focus on other groups around us. Rin, Okamoto, and Hayashi are deep in conversation. Reina is sitting at a nearby table, eating and drinking with locals.

“Shintaro checked in to see how the big announcement went,” Ryoko says, pulling my attention back to the table. “He and Chiéko are making progress finding everyone from the Orihimé mission. It looks like we’ll be able to move on to phase two tomorrow like we planned.”

I slump forward, unable to keep myself upright anymore. When I open my eyes again, the world around me is bouncing.

Why am I bouncing?

“Hold on tight around my neck. We’re almost home.”

Rin is carrying me. What happened?

“The doctor will be here in a few minutes,” Kazuo says. He must be following us.

“I should have been paying better attention to her. I fucked up.” Rin’s voice is edged in anger.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It’s not like she was forthcoming about how she felt. She was just doing her job.”

“Thanks,” I mutter. My teeth chatter. “So cold.”

“You have a blazing fever. You should have said something.”

Kazuo opens the door to our home, checks inside, and beckons us in. “All clear. There have been guards posted here all day.”

Rin lays me gently on our bed and piles blankets on top of me.

“Stop,” Kazuo cautions him. “She’s bleeding again.”

I don’t even look to see. I’m sure the cuts the cats gave me are opening up again. Dr. Jimmy complained about that yesterday.

There’s so much to do. I don’t have time for this nonsense. I hope another round of antibiotics will solve this problem because we’re traveling to Shin-Osaka tomorrow.

Saki’s voice comes from the front room. “I’ve brought the doctor. Do you need anything else?”

Dr. Jimmy appears in the doorway, so I close my eyes. Anything he needs to do, he can do without me conscious. Time can pass in darkness for all I care.

Hours later, Rin’s smile is sweet and a little worried. It looks like he’s about to deliver bad news, and with Saki and the doctor right behind him, my stomach sinks. They all look ready to deliver bad news. Kazuo stands back, his tablet in his hand.

“So, there’s been a development while you’ve been asleep,” Rin starts before turning to Dr. Jimmy.

“You have some sort of infection from the cat scratches, so we’re changing up the antibiotics until it clears your body.” His face is stretched into the perfect peaceful expression. “I’m sorry to say it’s going to make you feel a lot worse until you feel better. These are some of the strongest antibiotics available without resorting to phage therapies. Can you stay put for the next few days? Rest up?”

I close my eyes and turn my face to the ceiling. Deep breaths, in and out. Find my calm. Find the answers I need.

I shake my head. “It’s not possible. Did you see the announcement today?”

“I did. I’m asking you to rest even with what you need to do, but I understand if you say no.”

I shake my head, and the room wobbles. “I’m sorry I can’t stay here to rest. I would love to, but it’s not possible. So, this is what we do — fever reducers, plenty of hydration, and steroids to keep me upright and mobile. I’ll fight off the infection while we’re on the go.”

Dr. Jimmy hesitates. “I can do this for you, but I have an ethical obligation to do no harm. And if these medicines end up doing more harm than good, then I won’t want to keep going with this kind of treatment.”

He’s a good doctor, I’m sure, but there’s only so much anyone can do.

“I have to make it to…” My voice dies off, aware that I’m about to give up important information to someone I’m not sure is trustworthy.

Rin nods to me. “Jimmy is one of ours. He used to work for the Zukōka corporation, and now he’s independent.”

Dr. Jimmy covers his heart with his hand. “I mostly care for Shiroi Nami ex-pats and Kiiroi Yama employees. That’s all who live in this town.”

“Now I know why I’ve always felt safe here,” I say, sinking farther into the bed.

“Aoi Uma wouldn’t dare invade here. There are armaments on almost every rooftop,” Dr. Jimmy says, raising his eyebrows. “I may strive to do no harm, but I have no love for that corporation.”

So he’s trustworthy.

“I need to be upright long enough to return to Amagasaki. Aoi Uma has the technology to transfer consciousness to digital storage and then to androids.”

Jimmy covers his mouth with his hand.

“It’s a consciousness transfer technology they stole from Shiroi Nami years ago,” I explain. “I think I should use it, just in case. My enemies are circling.”

“Going back to Amagasaki is not possible,” Kazuo says, “but —”

I know where he’s going with this train of thought.

“No. I can’t leave now and go to this far off moon base I keep hearing about. Shiroi Nami could do the transfer there, but how will I start my corporation? How will I accomplish my mission if I leave?”

I’m tired of abandoning my missions to please everyone else or protect myself.

Kazuo raises his hand. “I wasn’t going to say that, little Miss Impertinent.”

My laugh is weak. What I need now is sleep. Sweet sleep.

“We have it,” Rin says. “It’s here.”

“What?”

“The consciousness transfer technology. That’s what I stole right before we left.”

I open my mouth a few times, unable to form words while I rewind to our exit from the factory. Rin had gone into a room and emerged with a black suitcase. I thought that might be what it was, but I forgot to ask him what was inside in all the drama of the last day.

“And I don’t think Aoi Uma know we stole it,” Rin explains. “The building exploded not long after our escape, and I believe it covered our tracks. For now. Eventually, they’ll figure it out. We may have a week’s lead time. Maybe not.”

My heart beats so hard I can hear it in my ears. This is a game-changer.

“Go get it. Right now. Let’s get this underway before I degrade any further.” I wave to Rin, but he shakes his head.

“Sorry, Yumi. The equipment only does the scanning and compression. It will still need to store the resultant data somewhere. You saw that factory, right? The floor full of servers was to store ten consciousnesses. Ten. That’s it. They take up an enormous amount of digital storage space. We need to think creatively about where we can transfer you until Shiroi Nami can put you in a new body if that’s what we need to do.”

Jimmy turns to Rin with his eyes wide. “This is true? This technology exists?” He grasps Rin’s upper arms and looks Rin in the eyes.

“That’s how Isao came to be, the one with the wings,” Rin explains. “And the other beings you saw at the festival today.”

“I thought he was born that way. A genetic experiment…” Jimmy’s voice is breathless.

“No. His body was engineered and grown, and they transferred his consciousness into it.”

Jimmy sinks to the bed at my feet. “Fuck me.”

I snort a weak laugh. “That’s what I said.”

“This is what Shiroi Nami has been working on this last decade?”

“Even longer,” I tell him. “Isao has been through multiple bodies.”

Jimmy stands up, determination on his face. “Everyone must know about this. The festival and your announcement were a good start, but these details! With these kinds of advances, people will want to have children again. They’ll want these genetic enhancements. We don’t want to be androids.” He brings his hand up in a fist.

I glance at Saki standing off to the side. I don’t know if Jimmy is aware that she’s an android. She meets my eyes and then looks out the window.

“How are we going to find the digital storage space we’ll need to store and then transfer me?” My eyes fill with hot tears. “I don’t mean to sound self-deprecating, but I’m nobody. Most of the corporations would be happy if I just died. No one will help me but you guys.”

“That’s not true. You have more friends than you know,” Rin assures me. “We’ll figure something out. I’m already brainstorming up ideas.”

Kazuo lifts his tablet up and turns it around to face us. “Good, because we need to act fast. Like Jimmy said, people don’t want to be androids, and androids don’t want to do Aoi Uma’s bidding anymore either.”

On Kazuo’s screen is the front page of the underground forums I used to spend all of my time on in Kitakyushu. Across the white screen in red slab letters, a headline reads, “THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN.”