Ch.18Work Record 003 – Too Many Me’s (3)

Subject 7436, Bella, wasn’t as difficult as we had thought. She seemed satisfied just to be acknowledged as an entity. Despite being kept still all day, she didn’t show any resistance.

It was as if she were saying, “What does it matter if my wrists and ankles are bound?” This made my colleagues relax a bit. Bola, who had seemed the least interested in such matters, was the first to pull up an office chair for her and ask:

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d found a decent sponsor to buy and release you instead of pointing guns at people’s heads? You’re so well-behaved.”

“That might have been possible if I hadn’t worked at a brothel. What I learned there is that people want to spend one night with Bella, but they don’t want to be with her the next morning.”

Intelligence might be a good thing. But in situations where it’s not needed, even intelligence becomes useless. She must have gradually run out of things to think about as she analyzed her surroundings day after day.

Although she didn’t even know what it felt like to have blood rush to her head, she apparently hated becoming stupid more than anything else. Enough to stage a hostage situation.

“So you can think. When did you realize it? There must have been a moment when it felt like someone had deliberately disconnected wires in your head suddenly reconnected, right?”

Perhaps because Bola’s mechanical body contained humanity, she could ask such questions comfortably. Ms. Eve only showed a mixed expression of pity and discomfort whenever she looked at 7436.

“I don’t know exactly either. It was just some day. A client ordered something, and I really didn’t want to do it. So I said no, and then the cultivation team took me away for testing before sending me back. I didn’t know anything, but I thought my saying no was a big deal. It wasn’t. You don’t know when you became you either, right?”

Bola output a laugh. Looking at them now, anyone would say Bola appeared less human than 7436. We who didn’t properly understand what it meant to be human misused the word.

“Clever one, aren’t you? Aren’t you scared about parting ways in three days?”

She pointed at me with her cable-tied hands. Her expression showed no good feelings toward me. I didn’t expect some absurd story where affection begins with choking.

“I know there’s nothing I can do, whether it’s when that guy threw that exploding thing and came in, or now. I’m pretending to be okay because I’m scared to death.”

After hearing that, Ms. Eve left the office entirely. Bola also stroked 7436 with her mechanical hand before getting up.

The official work that came in that day was simple. It involved catching illegal racers, but unless we could chase cars on foot, neither Ms. Eve nor I could contribute much.

So four of us remained in the office: the two of us, plus Mr. Enzo. Ms. Eve still seemed to have something to say but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

As she grew frustrated with her own hesitation, she finally spoke with a voice that had lost its coldness.

“Arthur, could you go to the reception room with Mr. Enzo for a moment? Close the door. It won’t take long.”

Since Mr. Enzo also knew what Ms. Eve wanted to discuss, we quietly headed for the door. I closed the office door and deliberately dulled my hearing. Mr. Enzo, nervously clasping his hands together, sighed.

“W-what kind of b-belief makes people like that? Both the belief that damaging brain function makes someone not human, and the belief that God, that thing exists.”

I deliberately kept my hearing dulled. I had no desire to hear what was being said behind the door. She probably only wanted to speak to 7436 alone.

“Exactly. At least LA has Belwether. ‘Meet production quotas! Then I don’t care.’ How nice is that?”

Mr. Enzo quietly shook his head. Religion had been not just persecuted but nearly eradicated, yet people still needed something to believe in. Large corporations often became that object.

It wasn’t religion. Those who stood at the extreme end of religious hatred believed in it, so no one called it religion, but what they did wasn’t much different from religion. He seemed to think I was one of them.

“A-Arthur, don’t t-trust Belwether too much. In the end, it’s a company created to make money, and the ideals they p-present are just to d-deceive people.”

“Ah, well. I don’t believe in Belwether itself. You have a general idea of why my career record was completely erased. I just… believe in what Belwether believes in. Having ideals is important, right?”

Efficiency, stability, and order. Those were what Belwether believed in. They weren’t often upheld in the field. I was charged with a crime not in the rulebook and punished in ways not recorded in the regulations.

Nevertheless, Belwether still believed in and advocated for efficiency, stability, and order. That made it still worth believing in. Being betrayed doesn’t make one a betrayer.

Just as Belwether didn’t always act according to its ideals, I too was sometimes swayed by personal vengeance or the desire for recognition in Nightwatch, but beliefs remained beliefs.

Mr. Enzo heard my words and let out a small laugh. It wasn’t mockery.

“Oh my. I’ve treated a true believer like a cult member. I should a-apologize for that…”

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to think of the people at Belwether who shared those ideals with me. At that moment, I heard a small voice in my ear. It was Mr. Enzo’s voice, but it didn’t stutter.

“So, don’t close your ears. You need to listen. Ms. Eve needs someone to listen. Even if you have to eavesdrop.”

After touching my ear, feeling it tingle, I asked Mr. Enzo:

“What did you just say?”

“Ah, n-no. I was just saying that you seem to have g-good beliefs. That’s all.”

Was Mr. Enzo just speaking and then pretending otherwise? My resolve to keep my distance was easily shaken by someone’s persuasion.

I had thought these were personal matters that I shouldn’t concern myself with, but Ms. Eve herself had shown interest in my personal circumstances and stayed by my side until I met the Shepherd. Perhaps I could do the same.

I restored my hearing to normal, which I had deliberately dulled in anticipation of a shock. Now a single closed office door was no obstacle.

“I asked for some privacy, but I don’t have anything grand to say. I just wanted to tell you that I understand. I understand what it feels like to be surrounded by so many ‘me’s. I’m sorry if my gaze bothered you. You just reminded me of my time at Hollowwood Creek.”

In Hollowwood Creek, every man is Adam and every woman is Eve. It’s a surveillance city that binds people’s hands and feet with religion. Different people become the same Adams and Eves.

Clones were at least physically equal. But the people of Hollowwood Creek were not. The reason for Ms. Eve’s discomfort was what I had thought.

But that was all I knew. I knew nothing of what came after. As if she had been building up to the main point, Ms. Eve spoke in a somewhat gentle voice.

“I won’t explain what Hollowwood Creek is like. You’ve probably got the idea. I just want to say… trust that cultivation team employee a bit. There aren’t many good people in the world, but they do exist. If you betray that person and run away, your freedom will be short-lived. I hope you’ll trust them.”

Ms. Eve came out of the office immediately, as if afraid to hear a response. She walked out with the expression of someone who had finished a difficult conversation. Saying she needed some fresh air, she went down the stairs.

After that, Ms. Eve didn’t speak to 7436 again. It seemed like she had said everything she needed to say. And 7436 had started to think things over.

That day, and the next, the work didn’t require much attention. In two days, we didn’t even use a full magazine of bullets. The problem arose on the third day, when we were supposed to return 7436.

I covered 7436, who was sleeping on the leather sofa in the office, with a blanket and stretched lightly. Though I’d been with Nightwatch for about a week, I felt as comfortable as I had during my six months at Belwether.

A silly wordplay. As I was drinking from a water bottle I’d prepared in the duty room, I heard hurried footsteps from outside the office. From the rhythm, it was the boss. Enhanced hearing made many things convenient.

She had an uncharacteristically flustered expression. Something hadn’t gone according to plan. She knocked on Valentina’s duty room door and opened it. Seeing that I was awake, she sighed.

“No need to wake two people. Good. Have you checked the news this morning?”

Normally I would have shrugged, but this seemed serious, so I straightened up and answered.

“No, I thought it would just be something like Daily Los Angeles’s mercenary stalking article, so I didn’t read it. Is something wrong…?”

Instead of answering, she pushed a hologram screen toward me. It showed an article about the purging of industrial spies from the clone brothel where 7436 had worked.

Those stupid higher-ups had done something. According to the article, the recent clone hostage incident had occurred because a competitor’s spy had infiltrated the cultivation team and planted spies within the company.

The important part came next. Half & Half Company had used its security team to thoroughly weed out these industrial spies and was confident that such clone malfunctions would not happen again.

It didn’t say how many were purged or how many died. We couldn’t determine whether our client was among those in the indiscriminate purge.

I felt my breath catch. Right. If they had been merely moderately stupid, they wouldn’t have suggested killing and burying a single clone in the first place. Unable to bury it with one clone, they had cut their own lifeline.

“Is there any contact with the client?”

The answer was obvious. I asked just to confirm, but a voice full of dismay replied.

“No, Arthur. Considering that our client’s position was Fourth Cultivation Section Chief and that they handled practical matters on site, I think the survival probability is low. But that’s not the problem. If the client left a record of our contract…”

We would be implicated. Even if Half & Half’s security team was a bunch of misfits, Nightwatch had only four field staff. This wasn’t something we could handle.

If we tried to withstand it, Belwether’s auditors would come down. Half & Half would declare that Nightwatch had collaborated with industrial spies to shift blame, which would violate partner company regulations.

“We’re finished. Do you think there’s a way to check?”

“I could ask K to infiltrate, but they probably didn’t conduct the purge using means that could be infiltrated from outside. For now, we need to put our heads together. I’ve called everyone in, so please wait a moment.”

Ms. Eve arrived first, but the rest of the personnel gathered in the office within fifteen minutes. Everyone looked grim. Even confronting a mid-sized company head-on would be insane.

No clear solution emerged. We shouldn’t approach them first. We shouldn’t show ourselves to Half & Half, which was prepared to cause any scale of incident to bury this matter.

Whether to deal with 7436 or not wasn’t important. If the client had left a record, we would be finished regardless of 7436’s survival.

As the inconclusive meeting dragged on, Ms. Eve quietly spoke up.

“What about going in directly to check? I mean, we have 7436… and Half & Half offers clone visitation services and free collection services. So, we could call for collection service in a remote location… subdue the security team, and then go to Half & Half ourselves. In exchange, we offer freedom to 7436.”

At first, I thought it didn’t sound like Ms. Eve, but as she continued, it became a plausible plan. Having met two security team members yesterday, I could be confident.

“Those security guys were wearing helmets with visors, right? Whether to hide where employees work or not, you couldn’t see inside. If we could call just one of them…”

Bola continued, seeming to like the idea. We all knew different things. That’s why we could work more efficiently than people who all knew the same things.

“After a purge, they usually give the security team a two-week vacation. Those guys became security to deal with bad guys, not to shoot colleagues, so they’re pretty shocked. So they’ll be short-staffed. Being short-staffed means they might tell us upfront that only one security guard can come. Seems quite possible. What do you think, boss?”

“It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but…”

The question was who would go. I looked at the other field staff. Bola was too conspicuous. Ms. Eve had a generally slender build, not the threatening impression preferred by security teams, and the same went for the boss.

Without feeling like it was being dumped on me, I spoke up. I had to do what I could. Nightwatch’s survival was my survival. It felt like leading Security Section 4 again.

“I’ll go. I’ve never been part of Belwether’s security team, but you know I graduated from the security team training college. No one else could look as much like security as me. Just convince 7436.”

The boss briefly grabbed my collar, as if trying to stop me from making such a calm decision. But she too knew there was no choice but me.

It didn’t matter. If it had to be done, I would do it. I had already graduated from dying with my body torn in half due to lack of ability at Belwether. I pretended to be relaxed.

I didn’t know whether this spirit of sacrifice was instilled in me at Belwether’s security team training college or if it was my personality. But usually, things turned out better when I threw myself into the fray.

“K, tell me again about what happened in that alley. It’s obvious who’s best suited for this. And tell me about the life allowance and bonus amount. If it’s an emergency job with ’emergency’ mentioned twice, it must be more than a pittance, right?”

Only then did the boss come to her senses. Just pretending to be relaxed when you’re not helps reassure those around you. They find their own ways.

“Double the life allowance… and the entire 4,500 credits we received as an advance payment for this request will be deposited to you, Arthur. It’s not enough, but…”

“It’s enough. I’ll make up the difference with company loyalty. If I want to stay in this company, the company needs to exist first, right?”

I prime the pump. Trust is like an old-fashioned water pump that won’t produce water unless you prime it. Old and rusty, but still working well.

Trust appears on the boss’s face. I believe what Belwether believes. This is efficient work. I do efficient work. Her eyes showed complete trust in that fact.

She soon called for 7436. This time, she cut the cable ties on her wrists and ankles, allowing her to walk out and stand before us on her own feet. She walked out of the office carrying the blanket I had covered her with.

“I can’t say it’s a good morning, 7436. Half & Half Company, where you were, has conducted a major industrial spy detection and… to put it simply, the cultivation team that created you and the clones has taken responsibility. We don’t know whether the client who asked us to protect you is alive or dead, and now we’re about to be implicated in this matter. So, I want to make a proposal.”

The boss took out her employee ID and showed it to 7436. This is identity. This is life. This is a name. This is proof of being distinct from others.

“If you, 7436, cooperate with this operation and help us infiltrate Half & Half Company, Nightwatch will vouch for your identity. We’ll guarantee you a new name, a new face, and a new identity. What you need to do is simple. Go with Arthur so he can enter those walls, confirm whether our client is alive or dead, eliminate any evidence implicating Nightwatch, and get out.”

7436 was smarter than expected. She asked sharply:

“This man is an employee here, but I’m not. If he just abandons me there and leaves…”

The boss’s sniper eye implant gleamed sharply. The efficiency of Belwether that I believed in flashed within it. She dismissed 7436’s concern simply.

“I come from Belwether, and the Belwether Company I worked for abhors variables. The possibility of you being abandoned there and spreading information about us is inefficient. Do you think it would be possible for an offliner to kill you in there? With so many watching eyes, that would be equally inefficient. We will call for 7436 Bella, take you out, and eliminate variables by giving you a new identity.”

7436 trembled slightly at that fanatical efficiency, the gaze of a model citizen of this high-speed era. It must have been a look she had never seen in her world.

Eventually, 7436 nodded. Perhaps it was because Ms. Eve had shown her empathy.