When The Seas Call

Living in the barracks had taught me not to expect anything. Still, one would never be ready for conscription.

Blue walls. Blue tiles. Blue lights. Everything here was supposed to be sickeningly blue, so when I opened my eyes this morning and everything turned red, my heart dropped. Dread secured its place in my mind. It was every man’s fear.

It’s my turn.

An announcement popped up on the LED screens covering the whole one-bedroom unit, blinking furiously in bold capital letters. The terrorizing words filled up the walls, floor, and ceiling. A warning that could cost me my life if I didn’t oblige.

As I washed up and prepared to go out, I kept reading the words, repeating them in my head like a mantra. They were everywhere I looked and started hurting my eyes because they wouldn’t stop flickering. I couldn’t not see them.

CONSCRIPTION NOTICE. AKAI SOU. REPORT FOR DUTY.

“Alright, I get it! Stop shoving it in my face!”

There was about an hour left to empty the room. The cardboard box remained untouched by the front door. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the pristine clean desk I had never used, the wardrobe stuffed with uniforms. What was there to pack?

The timer ticked down to five minutes. The alarm started ringing across the narrow space, blaring loud enough for the next-door neighbors to hear. One of them knocked on my door, yelling for me to come out. I stayed put. They wouldn’t dare to do anything with the CCTV cameras everywhere, and I technically didn’t break any rules. I still had five minutes left. If the alarm disturbed them, then it was their problem.

Any sane person wouldn’t trade their precious private time with anything.

At exactly one minute before the time was up, I stepped out of the room I had lived in for the past year with no lingering attachment whatsoever. Every seventeen-year-old man got assigned to a room in the barracks with an order to stand by for conscription while training. I used up most of my time during the day to train, so the only time I used this room was to sleep.

Some guys wearing the same uniform were waiting outside. The burliest one, Hideo, grabbed my collar and pushed me hard, banging my head against the door as his larger frame pinned me down. His dark eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from how hard he glared at me. I still had no idea why he hated me so much.

“Are your ears decorations? Should I just tear them off and give them to the hound dogs?”

I turned my head to face the CCTV camera recording us. “Smile for the camera, guys!”

Hideo let go of my collar in an instant, swore at me through gritted teeth, and proceeded to walk down the corridor with his lackeys. It sounded soothing rather than offending since swearing was one of the light offenses we could do without getting detected by the AI operating the cameras. Nothing escaped their watch, at least not down here in the underground barracks.

Humans had always been too reliant on AI's help. They had incorporated it into everything, including military defense programs. It had completely taken over the world after the disaster in 2070 when biohazard nuclear bombs had been mistakenly launched from several countries, resulting in lots of human casualties—including my parents. Countries had started to point fingers at each other then, hence the ongoing war.

Everyone had put too much trust in AI, and it had backfired. Now twelve years later, the younger generations had to make up for their mistake. The country I lived in, Japanova, had created a newly remodeled AI and ordered it to watch our every move to learn from us. They called it Bluefort; the reason was self-explanatory.

In other words, conscription also functioned as an AI training program.

I waited for Hideo and the gang to get farther ahead before I made my move. Bumping against them once a day really tried my patience. While waiting, I noticed the other rooms around me were red as well. A loud groan left my lips. Where could I train to have more patience?

What is Yuna doing now?

Red was Yuna’s favorite color. My childhood friend would love seeing every unit turning red. I hadn’t seen her since I moved into the barracks and started training for the military. Conscription only applied to men, so we had no chance to meet. We lost contact as well because I couldn't bring anything with me. However, now that I had finished my training and proceeded to my duty assignment, I might be able to earn some leave.

If only I’m lucky enough to survive until then.

“Private Akai Sou.” I saluted the guard standing by the exit door of the underground training base.

My detailed information popped up on the wall next to the guard. Privacy was a miracle at this point. He took a brief look and shook his head in disbelief. “Lucky boy. Got assigned only after a year of training. Alright, off you go.”

“What’s so lucky about that? I’ll just die younger than everybody else.”

I slid into the elevator and closed the door before the guard could discipline me from talking back. The glass elevator moved past dark walls for a few seconds until it came into the light so bright I could barely open my eyes. Sunlight beamed through the glass dome ceiling of a very spacious hall where the elevator took me. A girl around my age was waiting for me in the hall, her arms folded across her chest. She wore an identical blue uniform as mine, her black hair tied in a high ponytail under the military-issued hat.

“So, you’re Sou? Corporal Kuroba Enma.” She stared at me like she was waiting for something.

Oh.

I saluted belatedly. “Private Akai Sou. Report for duty.”

She scoffed. “Brat.”

“We can’t be that far apart in age.”

“I’m still your superior.”

“Please take care of me, Corporal,” I said, emphasizing her title to spite her since she made it clear that she had no intention of making my life easier.

An empty can hit the back of my head. I whirled around to see a large brown hound dog—larger than any dogs I had ever seen. It was almost as big as a horse. I blinked.

“Nice aim, Kuma!” Enma called out.

I blinked again. “What is that thing?”

“Bluehound K-9. Robot dogs made by Bluefort to assist soldiers. You’ll get yours, too.” Enma beckoned Kuma over. “Kuma, go and introduce yourself to Sou.”

Kuma picked up the can with his mouth and threw it into the bin. The bin instantly processed the waste, disintegrating it. It was easier to believe he was a genetically cross-bred giant dog than a robot. Bluefort had done a great job. I had to admit that.

“Good morning, sir. My name is Kuma,” Kuma greeted. I couldn’t get used to seeing a very realistic dog talking like a human. Robots came in every shape lately, indistinguishable from real things most of the time. Still, technology developed terrifyingly fast in the face of war, faster than I could comprehend.

“Nice to meet you, Kuma. So, Corporal Kuroba, can you tell me which division I am assigned to?”

She waved her hand as if swatting away flies. “Just Enma is fine. You’re going to my division. It’s fun. Don’t worry.”

I had a bad feeling that our definition of fun was very different. “And what is that?”

“Military Police Department. You’re going to be a Drifter Captor, Private Akai Sou. Your job is to help me catch deserters.”