Mecha Samurai Empire (A United States of Japan Novel)

by Peter Tieryas

  We talk to one another through communicators installed in the sim. Shimitsu asks us to customize proportions according to our needs.

  “Why does it matter?” I ask.

  “Adjusting things like arm length is critical,” Nori replies. “Arm length affects your speed with weapons as well as your mobility and defenses. You can give it a general range that can be adjusted.”

  “A factor you young’uns have to consider for longevity is repetitive stress injuries,” Kazu says. “You keep on doing the same motion over and over again, and you get hurt.” It reminds me of Spider’s pain. “You have to work with the architect program to get the right seating configuration and make sure your posture remains upright. Last thing you want is to get a pinched nerve that puts you out of operation.”

  We end up spending the first four hours customizing all the parts and scaling them appropriately. Every time I make a change, I take my Leviathan for a spin, running around the simulation course. There are dummy targets I destroy with my sword. Shortening arm length means I get a quicker attack but lose length and reach. Longer arms translate into greater reach but a slightly slower swipe. I make the arms a little shorter than the default, which seems to strike the right balance. Knee positioning is critical for mobility, and I adjust that about eighteen times. Same for hand scale, finger length, and overall height in proportion to the others. When I actually compare my updates to the default, they’re not far off. Kazu and Nori bulk up, increasing limb lengths by about twenty percent. Chieko keeps the defaults but asks for bigger hands and fingers.

  “This thing doesn’t feel right,” Kujira says.

  “What doesn’t feel right?” Shimitsu asks.

  “Everything feels too light.”

  “Response times should be more reactive than any training mechas you may have used.”

  “I mean compared to the Korosu class,” Kujira replies. The Korosu class is what his mom used.

  “Those old things are junk compared to the Leviathan. Their reaction time is a tenth of the Leviathans.”

  “That ‘junk’ would handily destroy any of your Leviathans.”

  “Kujira, let’s save this debate for later,” Kazu jumps in.

  “There’s no debate to be had,” Dr. Shimitsu says. “The Leviathan is far superior. There will be another day to lock down proportions in case you want to adjust it after starting the simulations. I’ve uploaded the ‘Lygar’ program, which will pit you against a biomech using pre-Leviathan mechas. Please do your best to defeat it even if you feel it is impossible. It’s important for us to assess your fighting methods. You can also start testing out direct voice input.”

  For some reason, I’ve screwed up the interface so that changes on the left side don’t mirror properly to the right. I toggle the symmetry controls, but everything is out of sync. I have to ask Dr. Shimitsu, who says she will take a look.

  “Done!” Nori shouts.

  “What’s done?” Dr. Shimitsu asks.

  “Biomech is defeated,” Nori replies.

  “That’s impossible. You’re still playing in pre-Leviathan mode.” But when Kazu, Chieko, and Kujira also defeat the biomech, Shimitsu is surprised. “None of our testers have been able to defeat the biomech in this mode.”

  “This biomech needs to get a lot tougher,” Chieko chimes in. “The thing we fought dismantled the Sentries like they were scarecrows.”

  Shimitsu resets my finger positions, and I have to readjust them with the symmetry reactivated. This time, the coordinates are appropriately mirrored, and I plunge into the biomech fight via simulation.

  I’m in San Francisco. Skyscrapers are all around me. There are people inside the windows and cars are driving down the street. The biomech is in front of me. It’s not as intimidating as my confrontation, both because I know it’s not real and I’m at the same level as it is. Its movement is all wrong and looks more like a mecha with a black texture applied to it, not like the biomech with living skin as its armor.

  I expect it to be an easy fight and charge headfirst. But before I can strike, it punches me hard. Its length is longer than mine. I raise my defenses, but it charges into me and starts cutting me up. Before I know it, my mecha is destroyed.

  I try again, and the result is the same.

  “Something wrong, Mac?” Kazu asks.

  “Just warming up,” I reply.

  In the next simulation, I don’t charge it. I try to draw it close to me. I have my sword up, hide between the buildings. The biomech destroys everything in its wake and jumps on top of me, destroying my mecha.

  I’m boggled.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “I’ve increased the difficulty level,” Shimitsu says. “You all can try again.”

  Even with the higher difficulty, the other four breeze through it. It’s a struggle for me to keep up, and eventually, Kazu suggests I watch the others fight. Nori is excellent with her spear and uses her length to pierce the biomech to death. Kujira uses his sword arts to slice the biomech to pieces. Kazu swings his magnetic yo-yo, which has deadly blades that are also charged and melt the biomech’s skin. Chieko actually gets up close and personal, using daggers and her combat skills to choke the biomech to death. I realize its neck is its weak point and am able to take it down on my eleventh try. I feel embarrassed, but I’m also getting used to the controls.

  The day passes quickly, and by the evening, we’re sent to our temporary housing in the residential quarter, apartments inhabited by workers and their families. There’s a school down here, mess hall, clubhouse for people to congregate and watch portical shows together, as well as a twenty-four-hour market.

  My eyes are strained from the simulation and I grab my dinner to go so I can eat in my room. It’s a studio with a bed, a kitchen, and private toilet. I eat dinner, drink two glasses of water, and take a hot shower. I shave the stubble on my chin, tell myself I’ll do better tomorrow, then lie down in bed for sleep.

  * * *

  • • •

  Unfortunately, day two doesn’t go any better.

  “Based on the exercises yesterday, we’ve revamped the biomech intelligence and made updates to the mecha controls,” Dr. Shimitsu tells us as we arrive. “We’d like you to switch to the Leviathan today and document any bugs, issues, and suggestions through our database.”

  The menu for filing bugs has multiple categories including priority, type, importance, affected section of the mecha, and other information for the engineers. Once the simulation commences, we find that the biomech is a much more competent opponent. But the upgraded armor in the Leviathans proves too much for the biomechs. Chieko has plenty of suggestions for ways to improve. Nori finds major kinks in the way the limbs respond to our controls. Kazu has more philosophical ideas about the broader scope of the project. Kujira complains about everything. I’m struggling just to survive against the updated biomech. Even in the Leviathan class, my mecha is defeated by the biomech. I launch, reset, launch, reset. The final result is always my destruction. I think I’m prepared for the assault and try to defend myself. The monster always gets me before I can get it. There’s no way for them to revert the difficulty level of the biomechs either so that I can practice.

  At lunch, everyone gathers to throw around ideas about how to improve the Leviathan. Dr. Shimitsu and her team of engineers are excited to hear our input. Everyone has suggestions except for me. Dr. Shimitsu actually asks me, “Do you have anything you’d like to add?”

  I shake my head. “Not at the moment.”

  I feel comfortable with the controls. When I practice by myself, the sword reacts the way I expect it to. But whenever I go up against the biomech, my response time isn’t fast enough to react to its vicious attack. Are the others just that much better than me? I don’t know why I’m struggling so much.

  The four times I do find a minor problem in the mecha, I
do a search in the database and see someone has already logged the issue.

  I feel useless here, like I don’t really belong. By the end of the second day, I’ve nearly defeated the biomech but still haven’t done anything to contribute. The others have reported a combined 217 bugs. I have three, and they’re suggestions about how to improve the biomech’s appearance.

  Maybe it’s being underground or maybe it’s just not having seen the sun for three days, but my dreams are vivid that night, and I have a hard time breathing. All my old RAMs pile up on top of me. I try to push them off, tell them they’re suppressing me, but they won’t budge. Spider, Botan, Wren, Sensei, Olympia, and all the others have blank faces though they’re staring in my direction. Their eyes get wider and bloodshot. I struggle with their weight, try repeatedly to extricate myself. My alarm wakes me, and I realize I’ve been wrestling with my blanket.

  I’m extremely frustrated on the third day, and by the fourth day, I want to destroy my console. I try to fight, attempt to master the use of the Leviathan. But after getting beaten eight times, I unstrap my gear and pop out of the booth. I need to get out, need someplace I can breathe. Dr. Shimitsu meets me, and asks, “What are you doing?”

  “I need fresh air. I need to go up to the surface.”

  “You can’t leave right now.”

  “I’m not staying here!” I shout, and rapidly march out.

  It’s a long trek back up, but I don’t care. I go through all the security gates, past everything we saw on the way in. When I reach the surface, I welcome the cold breeze of the bay. I breathe in deeply. I feel embarrassed that I broke down and left the way I did. Will they kick me out of the Tigers now? Will they say I wasn’t mentally tough enough? I suck in the bay air, let it refresh my lungs. Why am I having such a hard time with the program? Am I more disturbed by the presence of the biomech than I’m admitting to myself? I give myself half an hour to cool down. I feel a hundred times better. But I don’t know what to do now. Go back to my dormitory? That seems silly. But I don’t want to go back down and try to explain myself to them when even I don’t know why I’m doing so badly.

  I think it’s the sense of helplessness that’s getting to me. I hate feeling like there’s nothing I can do to stop that biomech again. Is it my fear that’s locking up my movement?

  I’m fuming to myself when Nori arrives. I expect her to say something to me, either a reprimand at my childish departure or some type of cheesy encouragement. But she doesn’t do either. She’s holding a nashi, which she starts to peel with her dagger. The yellow skin slides off, hanging from the side. She makes her way around the pear until it’s bare. She cuts off two half-circle slices and hands them to me. I take them, and she starts eating her pieces. I take a bite out of mine. It’s very sweet and tasty, and I’m grateful she peeled it for me as I’ve never been able to do it without cutting my fingers. We spend the next two minutes chewing on our pears. I appreciate that she doesn’t lecture me or tell me what she thinks I should do. By the time we’re done, she heads back. I follow her. No one mentions anything. I jump into the sim booth.

  “Let’s calibrate your mecha,” Nori suggests to me.

  “What’d you have in mind?”

  * * *

  • • •

  In the big scheme of things, the changes she suggests to me are minuscule. Shorten the arm length by 3 percent. Adjust the elbow location so that it’s slightly more equidistant between the shoulder and wrist (1.8 grid units in X). Scale out the shoulder spans by 2.4 percent. And bulk up the chest by 1.7 percent. But it makes a huge difference when it comes time to fight the biomech. My swings are faster, as are my defensive parries, because my reaction time has been optimized. When I confront the biomech again, I’m able to deflect its first set of lunges. I see an opening and plunge my blade into its left armpit, slicing the arm away from its shoulder socket. It swings at me with its right arm, but I’m able to block it and pierce it with my sword. It gets a few more attacks in that damage my hull. But I lop off its head and score the victory. I hear cheers from the other Tigers that make me realize they were closely watching my fight.

  I input a few suggestions related to the proportions, recommending they find a way to compare the different ranges for scale and provide alternatives that’ll give pilots a clearer idea of what might work better for their skill set. It’s not much, but I feel like I can breathe in peace.

  “I didn’t know those changes could make such a difference,” I tell Nori later.

  “It’s a matter of life and death,” she replies.

  “Your ass just needs to get faster!” Kujira snaps at me.

  * * *

  • • •

  Thursday night, Kazu suggests we grab dinner together and eat in a private lounge. I’m not a big fan of the salad and dried fish, but at least there are pineapple slices.

  “What do you all think of this place?” he starts.

  “I knew lots of research took place into mecha development, but I never knew it was this much,” Chieko replies. “One of the scientists was saying she’s being transferred to the space division, onto a project called Cybernater.”

  “That’s ’cause the Nazis are focusing so much on space development and building those huge satellites,” Nori replies. “If they want a war in the stars, we’ve got to be ready for them.”

  “How big is Mechtown?”

  “Big,” Kazu answers. “Berkeley has the largest mecha research facility in the USJ.”

  “There are two bigger ones in Asia. But none are as advanced as here,” Nori adds with pride.

  “How you liking the place?” Kazu asks me.

  “It’s been a steep learning curve,” I reply. “I’m trying to absorb everything. But it’s awe-inspiring. And they have very nice bathrooms.”

  Kazu laughs, acknowledging my reference. Then to Kujira, “Let me guess. You’re not impressed.”

  Kujira shrugs. “Lot of money being wasted here on pet projects and mad-scientist chicanery.”

  “That’s what they said about the very first mechas.”

  Kujira can’t deny that, so he says, “I don’t care where the powers that be waste their money.”

  “What do you think about Mechtown?” Chieko asks Kazu.

  “This is high-tech royalty,” Kazu replies. “I started off as an enlisted soldier, so everything here is posh compared to what I’m used to.”

  “How’d you go from enlisted to BEMA?” Chieko asks.

  “Same way you jumped from the RAMs to BEMA. Fought my way in.”

  “What was it like driving tanks?” I ask him.

  “Wild,” Kazu replies. “I was stationed together with Honda in the Singapore Province. Local dissidents were stirring up trouble, so we were sent in to pacify. It’s weird—the things I remember most are the heat and the ants. If you left any food around, it’d be swarmed by ants.”

  “Killer ants?” Kujira asks.

  “Fortunately, nonmutated and not lethal to people. But they were everywhere, just like the rebels. They’d blow up everything they could. We’d try to track them down, but they’d blend in with the civilians. One time, we think we’ve found a shipment of arms, so eight of us chase them down. It’s a trap, and about a hundred guerilla troops surround us. They got antitank personnel in place too, and I swear it’s over for us. I make peace with the Emperor. That’s when a mecha came to our rescue. Just when one of the guerillas is about to shoot me, the mecha swoops down and crushes him with his hands. It killed the rest, took out their vehicles, and even destroyed three of their helicopters. I got to thinking, what am I doing in this tank? I should be up there in that mecha. It’s tough for enlisted to transfer. Outwardly, there are opportunities for everyone. But it’s about connections and what your superior officers are willing to do for you. I wrangled some heads, got a transfer to work as a service technician aboard the Morikawa. It was an a
uxiliary mecha that got sent all over. But those two years traveling through Asia on the Morikawa will always stay with me. You all ever been to the Khyber Pass?”

  None of us have.

  “It’s a bleak, mountainous road where old military leaders like Alexander the Great and Darius passed through,” he informs us.

  “Who are they?” Kujira asks.

  “Warlords of the past. You know Genghis Khan, don’t you?”

  Kujira shrugs. “I got too many problems of my own to be interested in ancient history or dead people.”

  Kazu laughs. “It’s a special experience visiting some of the most important sites in Asia on a mecha, even if they’re only about dead people and ancient history.”

  We swap stories before breaking for dinner. I catch up with Kujira in front of his room as there’s something I’ve wanted to tell him.

  “Thank you for talking to Agent Tsukino.”

  “Why?” he asks me.

  “Why what?”

  “Why thank me?”

  “I—I wanted to express my appreciation,” I say.

  “Why?”

  “It’s—I guess it’s the polite thing to do. You don’t want me to thank you?”

  “It’s quaint, man.”

  “Quaint?”

  “If you’re really grateful, get me some junk food. Otherwise, no thanks.”

  He enters his room and shuts the door. I laugh to myself, wondering what response I was expecting.

  * * *

  • • •