Chapter 12:
Xyrite
“You didn’t even hear us out,” I protest.
It’s a few days later, and we’re meeting in a small office at one of Fujisaki’s branch buildings. It’s decorated exactly like the office we broke into—which is to say, sparsely. Still a bit fancy for my tastes, but after seeing how the Hosokawas decorate their homes and businesses, Fujisaki comes off as reserved by comparison. I can’t help but admire him for that, just a little.
Fujisaki fixes me with a death glare and clenches his fist. “The last time I agreed to listen to one of your proposals, I had a very unpleasant evening chained to a desk with a throbbing headache.”
“Yeah, well.” I look at the ground, doing my best to appear sheepish. “Some people pay good money for that, ya know?”
To my surprise, he busts out giggling like a little girl, but he still waves me away. “You really think a line like that is going to get me to change my mind?”
“Would it help if I said Mr. Hosokawa tricked me into doing it, and now I want to get back at him?”
He looks from me to the kid and back. “It didn’t have anything to do with your sister?”
“I had no idea what happened to her before that night. Honest.”
Sighing, he shakes his head and gestures for me to sit. “And now that you do know, what do you plan to do?”
Sitting will make me an easy target, but I don’t have any other choice. “I just want to put this all behind me. Hosokawa—Er, Mr. Hosokawa wants to kill me so I can’t testify against him, so I need your help convincing his board of directors to oust him.”
He takes a seat across from me. “You’re playing a more dangerous game than you realize. How do you know the new head of the Hosokawa family won’t take you out after he assumes power?”
“Not gonna happen. The kid and I are tight. Besides, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
“People change. Power changes people. It’s a lesson I keep learning over and over again. Do you have any idea why I didn’t have you arrested the moment you walked in that door?”
“Because you’re a smart businessman who doesn't let his feelings get in the way of discovering new opportunities?”
Fujisaki smiles and shakes his head. “Because I believed you to be a patriot, Mr. Tsuruta. I know your service record. It takes a dedicated man to charge enemy machine guns from the front, and an even more dedicated man to take those machine guns and clear every single Ruski off the battlefield. Time and again, battles were won because you endured. Frankly, the army was stupid to allow you to retire.”
That wasn’t true at all. Sure, I’d done a lot of stupid shit on the battlefield. Some might call it brave, but I was just following orders and trying to survive. If I hadn’t done what I did, my CO woulda executed me. The real gains on the battlefield were secured by my brothers-in-arms laying down their lives so I could advance. I was just lucky enough to survive. Or maybe I was just better with the implants. I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. I never believed in the cause, but I can’t tell that to Fujisaki.
“But what do you fight for now? Money? Why would a hero like you debase yourself to Hosokawa’s level? You know what they say about wrestling pigs.”
“Mr. Fujisaki.” I lean forward, put my elbows on my legs, and look him directly in the eyes. “If I’m loyal to my country, it’s because I’m loyal to my family. I’ll stop at nothing to protect my sister, just as I stopped at nothing to protect my country. Every cent I earned I put toward finding her. I’m sure you of all people can appreciate the need for money when it comes to achieving your goals.”
He nods. “Indeed I can, but I work for the good of my country. Now that I’ve destroyed the very thing that made you a patriot, will you turn against Japan?”
“I ain’t turning traitor, but you’re gonna have to explain that one to me. How does crystallizing my little sister benefit the empire?”
Sighing, he stands up, stretches his legs, and walks over to admire a map of the world hanging on the wall. “We’re on the brink of war with America. It’s now a matter of when, not if.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “Navy’s been sayin’ the same thing for fifty years now, but it never happens. Both sides have too much to lose and not much to gain.”
“Now there is. We’ve discovered a large deposit of rare earth minerals on the seabed near our easternmost territory. It contains more than any known mine, perhaps more than every mine put together. It’s closer to us, but it’s not far from Hawaii. Right now both sides are pretending not to know it exists, but preparing to project power over the area. Once one makes the first move, it won’t be long before the Pacific is engulfed in flames.”
“Holy shit.” I let out a low whistle. “But what does that have to do with my sister?”
“Tell me, Mr. Tsuruta. If the Imperial Army moves its forces eastward to fight the Americans, can we rely on the Co-Prosperity Sphere to support us? Will Europe come to our aid?”
Not a hard question. “No. Europe won’t risk confrontation with America, and Asia will rebel. And spare me the tripe about the Co-Prosperity Sphere being a voluntary union of nations. If you believe that, you’ve got no business armchair generaling a conflict with the US.”
“It appears we think similarly. It will be the Empire and Vietnam against America. They’ll dwarf us in troop strength and industrial capacity.”
“No, Hanoi will promise support at first, but they’ll use the opportunity to break away from the Empire’s sphere of influence.”
“I believe you are mistaken. Vietnamese royalty are always speaking highly of the Empire and our close ties. Even if the situation seems dire—”
“You’ve never been to Vietnam, have you? Well, I have, and I can tell you, behind our backs, they hate our guts. If what you say is true, we’ll be all alone against the American war machine.”
Fujisaki goes pale, perhaps from my revelation, but probably because I just out-geopoliticked him. But then he takes a deep breath and regains his composure. “In that case, our need is all the more pressing. Japan won’t win this war without a lot more people, and producing them the traditional way will take too long. No, we must manufacture workers and even whole armies.”
“Yeah, fascinating, but again, how does my sister play into all this?”
“The robot you absconded with doesn’t have your sister in it. Not the original, anyway. She’s being held in a much more secure location.”
“So, what are you saying? Once my little sister is mass-produced, we’ll put an end to the Americans in no time?”
I could just imagine it now, a massive army of Chiyos high-stepping across the land, rifles cradled in one arm, while in the other they waved and shouted, “Big Bro.” As far as battlefields go, I’d seen worse.
“Of course not,” Fujisaki answers. “She’s just one of many. We’ll need soldiers, patriotic soldiers who know how to fight and win to undergo the procedure. Soldiers like you, Mr. Tsuruta. How about it? Will you answer the call of duty one more time?”
“You wanna make me immortal?!”
He chuckles. “Goodness, no. Xyrite brains still age. It’s not as though you’re trapped forever as the same person. We could create a new brain whenever we wanted, so in that way, you could live, die, and be recreated, but I’d hardly call that immortality.”
“You can’t tell that to the Hosokawas. They all think we’re gonna make them live forever.”
“Foolish to show your hand like that. Perhaps I can put an end to this foolish plan of yours by ringing them up and telling them the truth. But if you were to volunteer for the procedure, maybe I could be convinced to play along. I’ll even throw in a bonus. You and Chiyo—the originals—can even live out their lives in peace together.”
“If you help the kid take control of the company… I’ll consider it.” Yeah, right. Last thing I wanted to do was to consign millions of me to the battlefield, and getting my brain eaten by Xyrite didn’t sound pleasant either, but maybe I could play along until I found the real Chiyo.
Fujisaki shifts his gaze to the kid, who I honestly forgot was standing right behind me. “Does that work for you, Mr. Hosokawa?”
“Absolutely not.”
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