Mission: Base Code

“Hey, don’t we have that new teacher now? What was his name again? Satou… Yatou?”

“Katou! Come on, you should remember that. It’d be pretty embarrassing if you called him by the wrong name.”

“Ah, whatever! Social studies are boring anyway. I bet you’ll be asleep after ten minutes!” laughed one of the girls in Class 2-3.

“We’ll see… maybe he’ll make it more interesting than last year.”

“You really think that? New teachers learn from the old ones. That means they’ll teach the same way. I hope he doesn’t pick up anything from Mr. Igurashi. I always struggle to stay awake in his class.” She put her hands on her hips and frowned.

“I’m way more curious if he really looks that good up close…!” said another girl hopefully.

“Tsk. So what? Planning to hit on a teacher?”

“I never said that! But at least then I’d have something to focus on, hehe.”

“Doesn’t matter to me. He’s a teacher, no matter how good he looks… and I don’t like teachers!”

On the other side of the classroom, a few boys were gossiping about the new teacher, too.

“Man, what a shame! Why’d we get him and not Maki-sensei?” one of the boys groaned.

“Calm down…”

“But did you see how she looks? That would’ve actually been a reason to stay awake.” A lecherous look appeared on the boy’s face.

“There’s no saving you…”

“You saying you disagree?”

“I didn’t say that…”

“Aha! So you’re just not admitting it because you have a girlfriend!”

The boy looked a bit flustered and turned his gaze away.

“Ugh, I hate fresh couples. Always acting like nothing else matters,” he continued.

“Y-You’re just jealous because you want a girlfriend yourself! And trust me, it won’t be Maki-sensei!”

“So what?! A guy can dream, can’t he?”

“Pfft, you’re such a dork. Sit down already, break’s over!” the other boy teased.

The loud scraping of chairs echoed through the room as the students took their seats. Some were still whispering to their neighbors, but fell silent when the classroom door opened.

Takeshi hesitated for a moment at the door, his hand reaching toward the handle with slight hesitation.

This is the first time, huh? My first lesson. I’m curious to see how this goes. Especially because of her.

A soft creak, then a barely audible step. Instantly, all eyes were on him. Takeshi could see curiosity in some faces, boredom in others, and indifference in a few. He stood almost stiffly in front of the chalkboard and opened the class.

“Good morning. I’m Takeshi Katou, and starting today, I’ll be your teacher for Social Studies. I’m 27 years old, and my hobbies are archery and landscape photography. Not much else to say. This is my first year teaching, so I hope we get along.” Takeshi gave a short bow and glanced around. He could hear some whispering.

“He seems kinda old for his first year…” someone murmured from the back row.

As Takeshi scanned the room, he noticed Ayaka Ikehara sitting in the second row by the window. Her gaze was downcast, making it hard for him to read her. The students stared at him expectantly.

“Let’s get started, then. Who can tell me what Social Studies is exactly?” Takeshi asked with his usual emotionless expression.

Some students started to scribble something into their notebooks.

“Ah, before we continue. For today, you don’t need to take notes or anything. All I want is to talk.”

Frowning faces met him, but they quickly put their pens down.

A boy with short brown hair raised his hand from the middle row. His name was Akio Isobe. Takeshi remembered his file. He was the class’s top student. Athletic, best grades, class president, good-looking, and seemingly kind and friendly. Takeshi had made sure to memorize all the students’ names and faces in advance.

With a nod, Takeshi signaled for him to answer.

“Social Studies is a subject that combines several others. I think it was Ethics, Geography, Sociology, Politics, and Economics,” Akio answered effortlessly before sitting back down.

As expected from the class’s top student…

“Exactly. I think it’s important to understand the connections between human behavior and the environment. So today, we’re starting with something fundamental: basic human needs. Can anyone guess what those might be?”

Takeshi looked around and noticed everyone hesitating, a slight tension in the room. Many faces looked like they had ideas but weren’t confident they were right.

“Alright, come on, just guess around. This isn’t a lecture. It’s a discussion. Relax and speak your mind. Here’s a hint: there are five basic needs that everyone has experienced.”

A girl with shoulder-length hair blurted out without standing or raising her hand:

“Maybe… l-love? Or food?”

She looked slightly embarrassed. Some boys murmured in response.

“No worries, there are no wrong answers,” Takeshi said to calm the class. “And of course, you’re absolutely right.”

A relieved look crossed her face when she heard this.

“Definitely success at work!” someone shouted from the other side of the room.

“That’s correct. Anyone else?” Takeshi waited a few seconds before continuing. It seemed to him that no ideas were coming soon.

“As I said, there are five needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.”

Some students were listening intently, while others gazed out the window or found other distractions.

“Earlier, someone mentioned success. Success is something everyone needs, but not everyone achieves it the same way. Say I’m unsuccessful in my job, I can still meet that need through my hobbies. Every person has these needs, but their intensity varies. Take extreme athletes. They often sacrifice the need for safety in favor of a stronger desire for self-actualization.”

“Uh, are there examples for each need? I might be able to understand it better…” Katsuo Minamoto asked.

“Of course. Physiological needs include breathing, eating, and drinking. Safety includes having a home to sleep in or good health. Love and belonging involve partners, friends, or family. Esteem is getting positive feedback from others. Self-actualization is simply doing things you enjoy or find fulfilling. But be aware, there are many more examples. There’s almost nothing in the world that doesn’t interact with these in some way.”

“So even just sitting here in class?” asked Kichiro Araki, a student who looked like a stereotypical nerd, with sleep-deprived eyes behind thick glasses and messy hair.

“Absolutely. Question: Why are you here? High school isn’t mandatory anymore for your age group, yet you came… why?” Takeshi tossed the question back, hoping he’d connect the dots.

“Um… I’m not really sure. Maybe because everyone else goes to high school?”

“But you could’ve said no and gotten a job.”

“Well, then people would think I’m a failure, and I had a hard time finding a job,” he replied.

Takeshi pointed at one of the needs on the board.

“Belonging… Oh, wow… You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it like that…” the student mumbled.

“So, it’s either you yourself who wants to achieve something through education or it's society's pressure that makes you attend school. To remind you, nothing's that easy. There are multiple reasons why you do things. But in the end, everything can be broken down to those needs.”

A slight hint of satisfaction flickered across Takeshi’s face. Subtle, but there. He had never been one for strong expressions.

Some had puzzled looks on their faces, and some started writing something down, even though he told them not to.

“Let’s move on to what I find the most fascinating of all basic human needs: safety. Safety is deeply influenced by perspective. Environment, nature, culture, and politics… all of them influence how safe we feel. So, tell me, what makes you feel safe?”

Nobody could answer, and Takeshi began to struggle, thinking that he overdid it.

Maybe it’s too abstract. Should I change the course?

“Okay, think about it. Why are you still alive? Think of it as more fundamental: why is your heart still beating? A little tip: biological processes.”

“Ah! Do you mean something like food and drinking?” said one of his students.

“Correct. As mentioned before, those are vital things. But there is something even more important than drinking or eating. It’s breathing.”

He waited a second to let it sink, but stared into even more confused looks.

“Sensei, why do we even have to learn about that? I thought we would do social studies and not that shrink stuff…” asked Naomi with annoyance.

“Understanding society without understanding individuals is like reading headlines without the article.”

Naomi looked dissatisfied but couldn’t come up with an answer. She crossed her arms defensively, visibly even more annoyed.

“You need to understand. I’m not trying to teach you how society works, but why people struggle to adapt to it. Society runs on rules. Humans run on needs. When rules ignore those needs, people either break
or break the rules.”

He let it sink in for a moment.

“Before you try to understand how, start with why.”

As he continued, time flew by, and before he knew it, the bell rang, marking the end of class. Takeshi gave a few final remarks and left the classroom.

After the door closed behind him, a weird feeling lingered in his chest.