Solnus 30. Who is Euclid? Oude Sam, the Dutch Agreement Hundreds of Years Ago with "That Creature" in Japan

70 days, or 2 months and approximately 9 days before the Circumadversum Omatsuri, one late afternoon.

Japan experienced a period of self-isolation known as Sakoku. This period lasted for approximately two hundred years, from the 1630s to the 1850s. During this period, Japanese citizens were prohibited from traveling abroad, and any Japanese caught intentionally traveling abroad and returning to Japan could face the death penalty.

During the Sakoku period, the presence of foreigners was restricted. This also applied to non-Japanese who intended to trade. Only certain foreigners were allowed to trade with the Japanese in certain locations.

Dutch traders were allowed to trade at a trading post in Nagasaki. The island was a small, fan-shaped island. The island, called Dejima Island, is an artificial island completed in 1634.

The Dutch had the right to use Dejima Island as a trading post from 1641 to 1859. Ultimately, contact between the Japanese and the Dutch was not limited to trade. The Dutch also disseminated information about Western technology and science, giving rise to the term "Rangaku," or "Dutch Learning."

Seira Ito Fotiou was certainly familiar with Japanese history during the Sakoku period and the involvement of the Dutch during that period.

However, Seira only learned something about some of the Dutch during the Sakoku period from Yuukyruritoo's words at this time.

Yuukyurito said, "Ultimately, the Dutch were not just traders. Miss Fotiou certainly knows that."

Yuukyuriritoo explained, "But at that time, some Dutch people, besides trading, also had another mission. That mission was not religious proselytizing like the Portuguese, but rather a scientific research mission."

Seira asked, "Who exactly are those 'some Dutchmen' that Mitsuishi-san is referring to?"

Yuukyuritoo shrugged and explained, "What I can say, or what 'we' can say, is that it's not entirely clear who those people are. But what's clearer are the records of what they did."

Yuukyuritoo argued, "It's like Euclid and his famous work, The Elements. We know what The Elements is like, but Euclid himself is even less clear than The Elements."

Seira agreed, "Yes, that's true. Some speculate that Euclid was born in this era or that era, that Euclid was this or that, and others speculate that Euclid wasn't actually a single person but rather the name of an organization, a team, or a school of mathematicians."

Yuukyuritoo said, "Yes, that's right, Miss Fotiou. Well, in this case, what we know is this group of Dutch people are... Well, they call themselves "Oude Sam."

Seira guessed, "Oude Sam? Old Sam?"

"That's right," Yuukyuritoo said. He then continued the conversation, "They, the Oude Sam, were involved with companies in the Netherlands; they were involved with Freemasonry in Batavia, in the Dutch East Indies, or rather, they utilized Freemasonry networks, and... They were also involved on Dejima Island to research something."

Seira guessed, "That something is what Mitsuishi-san mentioned earlier: "Utsuro-bune."

Yuukyuritoo nodded, "Yes, Miss Fotiou."

Seira already knew what an Utsuro-bune was. Seira first learned about the term from her friend Matsuri. After gaining this initial knowledge of Utsuro-bune, Seira searched for more information on them online.

Utsuro-bune, also known as "Utsuro-fune" or "Urobune," literally means "hollow ship." An Utsuro-bune was an unidentified object found by fishermen on a beach near Hitachi Province—a region of Japan at the time that was part of Ibaraki Prefecture.

The Utsuro-bune was discovered on February 22, 1803. This discovery occurred during Japan's Sakoku policy, and the Dutch had exclusive trading rights with the Japanese on Dejima Island.

Seira confirmed, "The Utsuro-bune is a mysterious object, or USO, or Unidentified Submarine Object. The story of the Utsuro-bune appears in several records. One record I remember is called Hyoryūki-shuu, or Records of Castaways."

Yuukyuritoo nodded, "That's right, Miss Fotiou."

Seira recalled her memory: "In the Records of Castaways, it states that the Utsuro-bune was a ship made of rosewood and iron. It was equipped with glass and crystal windows. It was shaped like a bowl or plate, round and hollow. It was about 3.3 meters tall and about 5.4 meters wide."

Yuukyuritoo nodded. "That's right, Miss Fotiou."

Seira continued to rummage through her memory. "The fishermen who approached the Utsuro-bune found a woman inside the ship, aged between eighteen and twenty."

Yuukyuritoo nodded, "Yes, Miss Fotiou. The young woman had pale skin and red hair."

Seira continued Yuukyuritoo's description, "The woman appeared to be wearing luxurious clothing, clothing that not many Japanese people owned or wore at that time."

Yuukyuritoo continued Seira's description: "The servants who found the Utsuro-bune brought the woman inside the boat to land. The woman seemed friendly, but she couldn't speak Japanese, and the fishermen couldn't understand her language either."

Seira continued to follow Yuukyurito's description: "The woman was carrying a rectangular box. When the servants wanted to touch the box, she wouldn't let them."

Yuukyuritoo responded, "That's right. Due to communication difficulties, the servants then returned the woman to the Utsuro-bune, and eventually, the object, the boat bearing those symbols, drifted out to sea."

Seira commented, “Ah, yes. There are symbols on the Utsuro-bune.”

Yuukyuritoo nodded, “Yes, Miss Fotiou.” Then Yuukyuritoo continued, “Now, let’s get back to what we discovered.”

Seira still had her “serious listening” expression on, while Yuukyuritoo paused to take a sip of the tea on the table.

Then Yuukyuritoo explained further, “What we discovered is that the Utsuro-bune was actually a ship that made a wrong landing. It was actually going to land on Dejima Island to meet the Dutch.”

Seira interrupted Yuukyuritoo’s explanation by asking, “Wait a minute. A ship that made a wrong landing? Where did that ship come from?”

Yuukyuritoo smiled and replied, “They came from outer space, from outside our galaxy.”

Seira tried to get a more explicit answer, “Aliens?”

“You could say that,” Yuukyuritoo replied.

"Okay," Seira responded curtly, nodding her head. Seira's eyes glanced at Yuukyurito's left wrist, which was still covered in strange strands.

Yuukyuritoo continued, "So, the Dutch members of the Oude Sam group had already suspected the arrival of aliens. They had already considered further steps."

Seira asked, "What kind of steps?"

Yuukyuritoo explained, "Oude Sam tried to communicate. They tried to understand the woman—or rather, to understand them. Because the woman was actually just an artificial body, and within that artificial body were their real bodies."

Seira nodded, "Oooh..."

Yuukyuritoo told the rest of the story, "Okay. So, after the Utsuro-bune made a slight mislanding, the ship eventually made it to its original destination, Dejima Island. There, the Utsuro-bune women met with members of the Oude Sam. Of course, the Oude Sam kept the Utsuro-bune's existence a secret from the Japanese government at the time."

Yuukyuritoo explained, “Oude Sam and the Utsuro-bune woman tried to communicate, and after a while, they were able to communicate.”

Seira asked, “So?”

Yuukyuritoo took a deep breath before continuing her explanation, “Eventually, after getting to know each other, Oude Sam and the Utsuro-bune woman agreed to a pact.”

Seira asked, “What kind of pact?”

This time, Yuukyuritoo didn’t immediately explain. She asked, “If Lady Fotiou wants to know, then Lady Fotiou must first agree to a pact with me—with us. We, the Buriki kan no Barakku, desperately need Lady Fotiou’s abilities.”

Seira realized that in some of her sentences, Yuukyuritoo had used the word “we” instead of “I,” and she thought, “Oh, so does the ‘we’ Mitsuishi-san mentioned mean the name she just mentioned, Buriki kan no Baraku?”

“What do you think, Lady Fotiou?” Seira heard Yuukyuritoo ask again.

Seira asked, "What kind of agreement are you hoping for? And of course, I need more information about that alien."