Chapter 272: The Country of Steel and the Faceless Men - 13
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 272: The Country of Steel and the Faceless Men - 13
Leaving Shiati behind, I stood up and spoke to the Signaller beyond her.
“You must know that Captain Abbey and I have met before, so why put her in front? Is she a hostage? Or have you been cooped up for so long you've become too shy to talk to people without a stand-in?”
Signaller IA remained calm, even as Azzy burst through the door. The agitation I'd caused was fleeting. Having fully assessed the situation, the Signaller once again deployed her Unique Magic.
Unique Magic, Spiderweb.
Dozens of thin, fine threads extended from her, reaching the many other Signallers nearby and weaving them together.
Memories, sensations, and information flowed back along the delicate threads. Its effective range wasn't as long as Captain Abbey's Morning Glory, but at close quarters, it was a type of Unique Magic that connected its targets more intimately than any other.
Now linked as one with every Signaller in the module, IA rose and stepped outside.
“That is incorrect. This is a message from us.”
Despite emerging from a dark room for what must have been the first time in years, IA’s only reaction was a slight narrowing of her eyes. IA spoke in the same flat, dry voice as Captain Abbey.
“At this time, this module has determined that the cost of repairing the damage from your terrorist activities has overwhelmingly exceeded the cost of maintaining the Military State’s secrecy. Therefore, we have decided to reveal our identity to engage in dialogue with you.”
“I’m a little disappointed. I thought the Military State I knew would keep its secrets even on pain of death.”
“Of course, it was not a simple decision. There was a conflict of opinion during the calculation process. Normally, a conflict of opinion would never occur between synchronized Signallers, but…”
One of the threads extending from IA touched one of Captain Abbey’s flower buds. As if a butterfly were sipping nectar, IA drew information and emotion from it, then looked at me.
“Due to the powerful insistence of Signaller Abbey, this module unanimously agreed to guide you here.”
“Oh, so Captain Abbey pulled some strings for me. She must be high-ranking, then?”
“There is no hierarchy among Signallers. We are all synchronized and therefore equal. However, differences in ability do exist between individuals.”
IA touched one of Captain Abbey’s flower buds with her thread. Unique Magic is supposed to be invisible to others, but it seemed Signallers shared a bond far closer than that of ordinary people. The bud turned toward IA and forced itself to bloom.
“Abbey. As the one closest to the first ‘A,’ she is one of the most powerful Signallers. Her Unique Magic is invasive, broad-spectrum synchronization. Short-range, long-range, area of effect, number of synchronized individuals—her abilities exceed the average in every category.”
“Oh. And she used that power to persuade everyone to accept me?”
This is why you should always have a connection or two. Yes, this is clearly a political victory for me, having found Captain Abbey first and gotten on her good side…
“That is incorrect. The Signallers are many as one, and one as many. No matter how outstanding her abilities, strength is meaningless in Synchronization Magic. In fact, due to its nature, the stronger one is, the more likely they are to lose. And she put up a resistance she could not win.”
Was I wrong? Was it useless?
“Is Captain Abbey’s current state because of…”
“When her opinion was not accepted, she attempted to oppose all the other Signallers. However, it is impossible for a single Signaller to resist the module. Especially one with such powerful abilities. After a tenacious struggle, she was stripped of her position as Abbey and has been assigned to a vacant post in the Inner Circle Module, where she continues to perform her duties.”
Assigned? She’s basically a puppet.
No wonder the Morning Glory vines seemed to be forcing the captain’s body to move. She was caught in the backlash of her own Synchronization Magic and ended up bound by it.
Right now, Captain Abbey is in a state no different from a golem. It’s a relief she wasn’t disposed of immediately… but I never imagined she’d end up like this.
“Then that’s strange. If Captain Abbey’s attempt failed, why did you call me here?”
“…That is why, Pied Piper. We do not know what methods you used to contaminate her mind, but if she has indeed suffered mental contamination, then maintaining secrecy from you becomes meaningless.”
“You’re treating a person like a disease.”
Grumbling aside, I understood what IA was saying. Since I already knew the Signallers’ true identity, there was no longer a need to maintain secrecy.
“You are eroding the Military State from both within and without. Therefore, we demand an immediate cessation of your hostile activities.”
“Hmm. Well, let’s say I agree. If this is a negotiation, you must have something to offer, right? What’s your side of the deal?”
“First, to ensure smooth negotiations, we wish to clearly understand your demands.”
“You expect a mere captain to handle our demands? Forget it. Bring me someone higher up.”
Wow. To think I’d see the day I’d call a captain ‘mere.’ I’ve really made it. But it’s true, isn’t it? It’s a bit much for a simple captain to be the one facing a man who could destroy the entire Military State.
“Specifically?”
“Well. How about a member of the high command, at the very least? Someone from Headquarters. Then we might have something to talk about.”
“Headquarters? Will that be sufficient?”
“There’s no one higher.”
I stubbornly held my ground like a difficult customer, demanding to speak to the person in charge. Only they could satisfy the curiosity of myself and the others here.
But IA’s reaction was completely unexpected.
One of the spider threads extending from her body trembled. A flicker of shock crossed IA’s face as she read the information from the minute vibration. But it was only for a moment. IA instantly regained her composure and processed the transmitted data.
“In that case, you may speak to me. My qualifications are sufficient.”
IA uttered the Military State’s most hidden and secretive piece of information.
“Because Headquarters is, in fact, ‘us.’”
The impact of mentioning Headquarters was immense. Shiati, the Princess, even Historia—everyone’s eyes widened at the unexpected truth.
“To be precise, no individual or group exists that commands all Signallers. However, if ‘Headquarters’ refers to the entity that synthesizes information and makes value judgments for the benefit of the Military State, then that can be none other than the Signallers.”
Therefore, IA’s claim was that the Signallers were Headquarters. Even Historia wore a look of disbelief at this unforeseen revelation.
“The Headquarters that has been running the Military State all this time… was the Signallers?”
“It is not a command issued by an individual Signaller’s will. Information transmitted from dispatched Signallers is verified by other Signallers throughout the State, then relayed to the module. Here, simulations are run to find the optimal future, and the corresponding orders are disseminated across the Military State. In other words, what is called an order from Headquarters is the collective will of the 500 Signallers. It is the very reason for our existence.”
I once compared the Signallers to the nerves of the Military State, because they relayed commands to every corner of the nation through golems.
That analogy turned out to be accurate, though in a slightly different sense. The high command of the Military State was a collective entity, an intricate network of countless nerves, much like a human brain.
“—And that is why, if you are searching for the high command of the Military State, your target is inevitably ‘us.’ Because it is the Signallers who monitor, control, and classify all information.”
Headquarters, which had never shown itself. The Signallers, who had likewise remained unseen. The Military State’s command revealed itself only through its orders, like a ghost, or some metaphysical being no different from a god.
But now, with the confession of the Signaller standing before us, its true identity was revealed.
“So the Military State was a utopia after all. A nation where everyone is ordered around by someone else.”
From what I’d observed living in the Military State, it was a nation inhabited only by the innocent.
Its citizens suffer under all sorts of harsh rules, working like oxen with rings through their noses to enrich the State. The soldiers who seem to exploit them are, in fact, merely following orders from Headquarters.
And the ones issuing orders to everyone were, in fact, the Signallers.
“But the Signallers who command every soldier, who command even the absolute might of the Six Generals, are mere captains. They’re pitiful, wretched beings, trapped in tiny rooms, forced to communicate only through golems for their entire lives. What do you think, Shiati?”
“I don’t give a damn about their circumstances!”
Shiati, not yet fully grasping the implications, flared up in anger.
“What does any of that matter?! They killed my friends. I swore I would never forget them! The Military State must atone for its wrongs. If not by its own will, then by force!”
Imagine someone commits murder with a knife. The knife is not guilty; the blame rests solely on the one who wielded it.
But the Military State treats all its people like tools.
Every person is a tool. They don’t work, they merely function according to someone’s orders. Therefore, every person in the Military State is innocent.
Even these Signallers, who appear to be the ones giving the orders…
“Shiati.”
“What!”
“Why don’t you ask her age?”
“What’s going to change if I know?!”
“Yes. Something will. Just humor me. This is the last time, I promise.”
Shiati glared at me, clicked her tongue, and then turned to the officer before her. There she stood, in a stiff uniform, staring back with emotionless eyes—a being that seemed to embody everything Shiati hated about the Military State.
“Fine. I guess I can ask the age that’ll be carved on your tombstone. How old are you?”
A common question in everyday conversation. Asking and judging another’s age, the time they’ve lived. In a way, it was a question that played into the outdated, evil custom of seniority.
“I am twenty-one.”
But even a simple answer like that could make a world of difference.
Twenty-one. The children who became Signallers were born three years after the Military State was founded.
It had to be that way. Because the very existence of a Signaller could only be created by suppressing and educating children in a perfectly controlled environment.
In other words.
“She’s… younger than me?”
Shiati’s blazing fury—a rage so powerful it could swallow the Military State whole, even if her abilities could not.
Faced with a pale face younger than her own, that rage could only lose its direction and wander.
Because at the time of the incident at Hamelin, these Signallers would have also been undergoing harsh instruction at the Communications Headquarters.
“If you’re twenty-one, then what about the Hamelin incident?! You said you remembered it…?”
“I remember it as data left behind by the previous generation of Signallers.”
“Then where is that previous generation?!”
“The whereabouts of the previous generation of Signallers is classified information that even I do not possess.”
But it was obvious. What would the Military State do with such valuable assets—people who were practically Headquarters itself—once they were no longer usable?
“They’re dead. Whether by their own hand or someone else’s.”