Abyssus Abyssum Invocat

by Carlo Zen

  But I’ve received a report that even with this much effort going into the interrogation, the short-term results we can expect to see are limited. The Feldgendarmerie is awfully pessimistic about getting intel out of the prisoners.

  In fact…

  Given the way the Federation soldiers unflinchingly attack in our daily battles, I can understand why the MPs want to throw in the towel—because what can the Feldgendarmerie even do to them?

  “But it’s strange.”

  Right after the unit repels another clockwork attack from an enemy commando unit, Tanya turns to Major Weiss to ask him, “What is?”

  It sounds like he’s going to start a lengthy conversation, and she’s sure her vice commander is a soldier who knows the time and place for it. Tanya has him continue and listens closely because she can tell it won’t be pointless griping.

  “I was wondering…why do you suppose these soldiers go along with these reckless offensives?”

  “I guess I’d say the Communists are merely hard to understand. It’s not impossible to reason out their line of thought. But anything beyond that is tricky for us normal people. I have no idea why they think that way.” It’s when she murmurs, sounding fed up, “I really wonder what’s on their minds,” that it happens.

  “Er, Colonel?” The one speaking is Lieutenant Serebryakov, who is standing by next to Tanya. She nervously makes a suggestion. “If…you have a question, then what if you tried asking them directly?”

  In a way, it’s a supremely reasonable idea. It’s rare to have access to an intelligence source as useful as a prisoner.

  But Tanya is forced to consider the nuisance of the language barrier.

  And even if she could theoretically overcome it, the Federation is a multiethnic state… The prisoners’ “official Federation language” is often heavily accented. Maybe to a native speaker it seems like just another dialect, but interpreting it is practically impossible with only basic language education.

  Language really is an obnoxious issue…is what Tanya’s thinking when suddenly, she recalls Lieutenant Serebryakov’s background. Since her family entered the Empire as refugees, she must speak native Federation language.

  But Tanya still turns her down for now. She may not have asked herself, but the Imperial Army had questioned prisoners along the same lines before.

  The Feldgendarmerie hasn’t been slacking on that count.

  “I’m grateful for the suggestion, but they’re already doing that. The Feldgendarmerie is surveying them.”

  “So what are they fighting for?”

  “Good question, Lieutenant Serebryakov. I read the reports because I was wondering the same thing, but…it turns out we have no idea.”

  “A report from the Feldgendarmerie? I beg your pardon, Colonel, but may I see it?”

  “Sure, I don’t mind.” Tanya hands over the document, and after scanning it, Serebryakov silently looks up at the ceiling.

  She’s so smooth, she even gives a little sigh.

  “…Lieutenant Serebryakov?”

  “Here you go, Colonel.”

  “Hmm.” Tanya takes what she discovers is a handwritten note. It looks like the sort of simple note she would get from the MPs after an interrogation…

  “It’s the outcome of briefly questioning some prisoners the Kampfgruppe captured just a bit ago.”

  “Hmm? Oh, you did some quick questioning before handing them over to the MPs…? Huh?” Tanya does more than a double take, rubs her eyes. “That’s strange…,” she murmurs. She could really use some eye drops.

  The soldiers were talking in their normal, natural voices.

  To be frank, Tanya has never read anything like this before.

  She’s looked over mountains of MP reports, but she doesn’t remember ever seeing a single one featuring “normal soldiers.”

  …It was a mistake to unconsciously assume it was because they were interrogating Communists. I had made up my mind that they were all committed to their ideology, but the notes from Serebryakov indicate the exact opposite.

  What Tanya sees in the notes are normal soldiers answering the questions they are asked in a matter-of-fact way. There are no “Communists” to be found.

  Just people.

  Just raw soldiers.

  In a nutshell, individuals.

  In the reports Tanya has read up until now, the answers were standardized as if they had received resistance to interrogation training. What’s going on when they talk to Serebryakov?!

  …It’s like they transformed from robots into humans.

  “Wait a minute, Lieutenant Serebryakov. It’s not that I doubt you, but you’re saying you questioned these prisoners yourself?”

  “Yes, we asked a few people, mainly noncommissioned officers, about their ranks and units. Some of them kept silent, but overall you can expect them to be fairly cooperative. You can even acquire intelligence through small talk during the interrogation.”

  How wonderfully proactive and inventive. This is what an officer should be like. Nodding in satisfaction, Tanya continues, “So then. You’re saying that apart from the political commissars, they all put some distance between themselves and the ‘Communists’?”

  “Strictly speaking, they don’t support the current party.”

  “Sure, I don’t care about definitions. In any case, the guys who are supposed to be resisting as fanatical Communists actually detest the party? Was it a penal battalion or something?”

  Given the unit the rebellious men were in, Tanya guesses they must be an old regime faction.

  But her adjutant’s reply catches her off guard.

  “Judging from their badges, they were regular army, and not only that but a unit mentioned in the Eastern Army Group’s intelligence documents.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “Yes.” The reply is resolute and contains the pride of an expert who is confident in their words.

  …What the hell? Tanya pinpoints something unsettling inside her.

  She has overlooked something.

  “Gather the documents right away and make arrangements for an officers’ meeting. Lieutenant Serebryakov, can I see you for a moment?” Tanya asks. “If this is true, there’s no way to explain why the Federation Army isn’t collapsing. If their faith in their state’s framework is shaken, why do they keep resisting so stubbornly?” Tanya nearly continues with How can this be? but shakes her head and stands up. “A picture is worth a thousand words. Guess I have no choice but to take a look for myself.”

  Her subordinates absentmindedly acknowledge her.

  As if to ask them, Were you not listening to what I was saying? Tanya sighs and breaks down her intentions for them.

  “…Major Weiss, I want you to come with me. Lieutenant Serebryakov, you can interpret, right? You come, too.”

  And so the heads of the Kampfgruppe appeared before the captured enemy soldiers.

  The attitude of the restrained noncommissioned officers was rather nervous but not exactly brimming with hostility. Maybe it was more accurate to say they were thinking about the future in the abstract.

  But Tanya decides she might be able to have a fascinating conversation with them.

  She is cautious, but incredibly optimistic.

  Major Weiss is going to perform the interrogation, since he can make the scariest faces.

  He’s a decorated, mid-ranking magic officer, so he’s the perfect interrogator. They hastily throw an enemy soldier into the room in one of the garrison buildings that has been designated for questioning, and the conversation unfolds as Tanya watches from the back.

  “Oh, an officer? Could I trouble you for a cigarette? I ran out a long time ago…”

  “Sorry. I belong to an aerial mage battalion.”

  “An aerial mage battalion? Surely in the Imperial Army a unit like that is well supplied.”

  “I can’t deny that, but regulations prohibit smoking because it ruins your lungs. We’re not allowed to carry cigarettes.”


  Shrugging his shoulders and apologizing, Weiss takes an unmarked white paper box out of his breast pocket and nonchalantly places it on the table.

  Saying how sorry he is to disappoint the prisoner, he pushes the box toward him with quite the practiced motion… Soldiers at war have an incorrigible but very real love of cigarettes. I can’t be critical of their personal tastes.

  Nevertheless, it should probably be said… There are almost no smokers in any aerial mage battalion, much less the 203rd. The high altitudes and low oxygen concentration they encounter regularly are bad enough. Hence, Weiss’s acquisition of cigarettes as a tool is praiseworthy.

  “Oh, well, nothing to do about that, then. Could you at least lend me a light?”

  “What? You don’t even have your own lighter? Sheesh, here you go.”

  It’s a silly exchange, but the technique shortens the distance between the questioner and the prisoner. The smoke is unpleasant, but I have to prioritize results over my personal preferences this time.

  “Now then, tell me something. What are you guys—no, what are you fighting for? For the Federation?”

  Keep observing. Tanya watches over the proceedings as Weiss asks the question and Serebryakov interprets.

  “Me and the other guys all fight for ourselves. Isn’t that obvious? …We’re fighting for a better future.”

  “A better future?”

  “If we beat you guys, our society should improve somewhat.”

  That must be the message the enemy is sending with their propaganda. It may not be completely new, but it’s important information. Just as Tanya is about to nod…

  “…Let me rephrase the question. You think your society will improve by fighting us? Why? Do you believe in Communism?”

  The moment Serebryakov translates Weiss’s casual question, the atmosphere grows strange.

  “…Yes, sir. About as much as you guys do!”

  …Wait a second.

  What did he just say?

  “What a witty reply. But I understand even less now.”

  “What in the world is there to not understand?”

  Weiss smiles wryly, as if to say C’mon, but asks, “Why are you fighting for Communism?”

  Yes, that’s the question. Where do they get the spirit to fight for an ideology they don’t even believe in?

  Weiss, the observer Tanya, and the attending interpreter Serebryakov all want to know the same thing.

  Even if Tanya isn’t personally dedicated to the Empire’s history, traditions, or norms, she finds the current regime better than the alternatives, and it’s her intention to support it.

  Which is why this makes no sense. How can they fight for a no-good state?

  “Hey, Mr. Major. You stupid or something?”

  “Hmm?”

  Weiss’s blank-faced reaction aside, the enemy soldier’s question sends a chill up Tanya’s spine.

  “Who doesn’t have feelings about their homeland? How can you even argue this point? Am I wrong? I don’t think so!”

  …It’s not for the party. Not for the party but for my homeland.

  “Just to confirm, you’re fighting for ‘your homeland’?”

  “I heard imperial soldiers were smart, but I guess you can’t believe every rumor you hear. You’re about on the level of the political commissars.”

  “That’s a pretty dramatic way to put it.”

  Weiss, flustered by the sarcasm, and Serebryakov diligently interpreting no longer appear in Tanya’s field of vision.

  Don’t make light of the word’s Logos.

  It has the power to change the world. When the frame, the paradigm, has its logic knocked out from under it, a shift must occur.

  “Do you need a reason to fight for your hometown? Plus, if we do a good job, those annoying idiots in the party will have to listen to us at least a little bit.”

  “So if you defeat the Empire, your lives will get better?”

  “Don’t you think? I mean, the party is only so headstrong about everything right now so they can face you guys. Once we don’t need to fight you anymore, things should get better.”

  “Hmm, very interesting. Now then, I’d like to hear a little bit about the unit you belong to…”

  The conversation between Weiss, Serebryakov, and the enemy soldier continues.

  But Tanya doesn’t care anymore. What matters is the truth she learned.

  Our enemies, the Federation soldiers, aren’t Communists at all.

  That one sentence.

  That right there is the key.

  And she hates this feeling of being shown how incorrigibly wrong she was.

  After the interrogation ended and once the enemy soldier had been sent away, Tanya can only stare absentmindedly up at the room’s ceiling.

  “Colonel?”

  Her subordinates are probably worried about her. She would understand that under normal circumstances.

  But right now, it’s impossible.

  “…Fucking hell!”

  The curse is directed at herself and her country’s carelessness.

  “So they’ve thrown their ideology away to fight a ‘great patriotic war’! No wonder they’re so raring to fight, then! Argh, damn it! What the hell!”

  Her second-in-command looks at her blankly. If this was combat, Major Weiss would pick up on her intentions and react right away, so she’s frustrated by his lack of comprehension.

  Why doesn’t he see how important this is?

  “You don’t get it?! We’ve been fighting nationalists this whole time as if they were Communists!” she spits.

  The significance of that: a nationalist war. The more she thinks about it, the more she wants to curl up in a ball.

  This was a complete mistake.

  This is idiocy of the finest order, foolishness that will make it into the history books.

  Weiss sinks into thought next to her and will probably figure it out eventually. She knows he has a decent head on his shoulders.

  But she doesn’t have time to wait around for him to think things through at his leisure.

  “We, the Empire, have been fighting a completely different enemy! We’re helping them, not beating them.”

  “Our actions were benefiting the Federation…? Could that really be true?”

  “Major Weiss. The way we’ve been fighting so far, the more we win, the more unified the enemy grows. We thought that if we won, it would chip away at their will to fight, but we were wrong! It doesn’t lead to their collapse, but the reverse! It stimulates their solidarity and makes their resistance even stronger!”

  When fighting an ideology, all that’s necessary to win is to attack the validity or the righteousness of that ideology. And the flaws in Communism have been proven. At least, Tanya is personally convinced. It’s not difficult to show how inefficient Communism is.

  But fighting with nationalism is no good.

  “…What did he say? ‘Who doesn’t have feelings about their homeland?’”

  “Yes, the prisoner did say that.”

  The fatherland is in crisis. We can’t say that the Federation’s people don’t disapprove of or doubt the party or feel angry. But more than that, the citizens have been roused by their fatherland’s desperation. We were convinced we were fighting Communists, but they have the fire of nationalism burning in their hearts.

  Nationalism isn’t logical. It’s emotional, passionate.

  Attacking Communism is like fueling the fire of their nationalism. Once that happens, even if the nationalists hate the Communist Party, they will still unite against the Empire, their common enemy.

  Yes, we truly have been helping them.

  “What a huge mistake. I should have realized sooner.”

  Apparently, Serebryakov has a much higher language ability than the guys in the Feldgendarmerie. She picks up the minute implications that might be lost in a literal translation and delivers suitable interpretations of the meaning.

  A proper interpreter, a prope
r translator is a must, especially to grasp the core essence of the message. They say the devil is in the details, and I think that holds true for conversations as well.

  The Federation soldier wasn’t hiding anything; he said it straight out.

  “We’re fighting for our homeland.”

  “This makes my head hurt. Why didn’t anyone realize this?”

  This must be what it feels like to whine without even meaning to.

  What kind of mistake did the Feldgendarmerie MPs need to make to interpret this as “They’re fighting for their ideology”? It could be because they didn’t dig into the prisoners’ responses that they were fighting to protect the Federation. It might also be that they aren’t as good at interpreting as Serebryakov.

  Ohhh, crap. Tanya makes one correction.

  “The MPs are always chasing after Communists. They have experience with them at home, so it’s no wonder they were convinced from the start.”

  Year in and year out, MP units are conducting counterinsurgency against cells of domestic Communists back home. In the MPs’ minds, Communism and the Federation had become one and the same without them even realizing it.

  “So the Feldgendarmerie has been conditioned to uncritically connect anything with the Federation’s fingerprints on it to Communism?”

  “Conditioned, ma’am?”

  “In other words, it’s like assuming that just because a bell rings, it’s time to eat.”

  Our guard dogs have developed an awfully peculiar habit. It’s really quite a pain in the neck. Thanks to them, we’re stuck in this difficult spot.

  “They associate Communism with the very word Federation. Does that mean…the work they usually do misled them?”

  “That’s what I think, Major Weiss.”

  If she wasn’t in front of her subordinates, Tanya would cradle her head and sigh. But she let them see a glimpse of her anger already. As an officer and commander, she can’t conduct herself so disgracefully.

  Swallowing many of the things she wants to say, Tanya instead declares they’ll look into it. “Lieutenant Serebryakov, sorry, but I’d like you and Lieutenant Grantz to reinterrogate the prisoners. I want to do a thorough analysis of the enemy psyche,” she continues with a bitter smile. “I’d like to ask them myself. But I only have a smattering of Federation language ability from the short accelerated course at the academy. I can’t flatter myself and say I’m capable of picking up subtle emotions.”