Steel Rain

by Nyx Smith

  Machiko bows deeply. "Words cannot express how greatly I am honored to have such parents."

  Her mother smiles, wipes briefly at one eye.

  Lunch soon arrives, first appetizers of fruit, then fish and rice and a select assemblage of vegetables, all in delicious and rather artful combinations.

  "Machiko," her mother says, "what is really going on? These attacks. We have heard so many conflicting stories. Nagato Corporate Affairs says these are random acts of terrorists, but some people say it's bias, the pure human fascists."

  Before Machiko can say a word, her father says, quietly, "You should not ask our daughter questions like this. She knows we are always concerned about bias. If she is able to tell us anything, she would simply tell us."

  "A mother is not always able to maintain such an objective perspective."

  "Then a mother should recall that the Chairman relies upon our daughter's discretion. Recall her obligations as a member of the Guard. She stands at the Chairman's side during many confidential meetings. She is privy to the words of the Chairman's closest advisors."

  "You are right, of course." Still, her mother's eyes yearn for an answer. With a glance at Machiko, she asks her question again, but immediately looks to her food.

  "Besides," Father says, "this is 2058. People do not fear metas like they once did. The Night of Rage occurred nearly twenty years ago. Even if these recent attacks are the result of bias, it is undoubtedly the work of a small group of deranged fanatics, perhaps a single demented sociopath, who will soon be apprehended."

  And it is only natural that Father would hold such views. He spends his days surrounded by the enlightened personnel of a Nagato Corp subsidiary. His executive aide is an elf. Many of his managing directors are metas. More than a quarter of Nagato Corp's complete personnel roster are metas: elves, dwarfs, orks, even trolls. It is as fully integrated a corp as one is likely to find.

  "I am very foolish," Mother says. "Please forgive me."

  But she is not foolish, in no need of forgiveness. She speaks politely, but Machiko cannot regard her words with a settled spirit. It is a mother's duty to care for her child, and but for the single act of conception, a moment in time, they are truly mother and child. Machiko knows this for a fact. She was adopted not as a child or infant. Her original biological parents, both elves, were killed in a terrorist bombing, but the egg from which she evolved had been previously stored in a vault at a fertility clinic. When her true parents decided, out of loyalty to the Chairman's New Way, to adopt a metahuman child, they selected her egg, and this was medically implanted in the womb of the woman beside her now, her true mother in both flesh and spirit.

  It was not an easy path to walk. Her mother's health has always been delicate and she suffers from many allergies. She and Father tried many times to have children in the natural way, but always mother miscarried, usually in the first few weeks. Only the most extreme forms of medical intervention allowed her to carry Machiko to term and she spent the last five months of her pregnancy confined to bed, the last two months in the bed of a hospital.

  The actual delivery was difficult and full of pain. Machiko has seen the trideo record. She has heard her mother's cries, her desperate pleas to the doctors.

  "Oh, help me! Help my baby live! "

  She reaches out, lays a hand over her mother's hand, and gently squeezes. "Do not worry," Machiko says softly. "We will find our enemies soon. Even the Guard aids in the hunt." Mother nods, seeming somewhat reassured. Or perhaps she tries to seem reassured. "Yes," Father says, "we saw this on the news. Gongoro-san met with some violence."

  Machiko nods. "The Chairman has authorized me to deploy the Guard, to divide our responsibilities. We are working with the forces of Nagato Corp and the clans."

  "You could have been killed at clan headquarters," Mother says.

  Father scowls, but says softly, "You must not speak like this."

  "I cannot help it."

  "Machiko fulfilled her duty. She saved the Chairman and earned great honor."

  "I am just so afraid." And now Mother smiles embarassedly. She looks to Machiko and says, "Afraid for you."

  "I understand," Machiko replies.

  "Do you?" She takes Machiko's hand in both of her own and says, "Your warrior's ways are sometimes so foreign to me. I am so proud of everything you have accomplished, and yet I sometimes wonder what happened to the little girl I used to take shopping. You giggled so sweetly. Now it's rare to see you even smile."

  Machiko considers, then says, "I have my mother's heart and my father's resolve. Both these gifts vie within me constantly. My thoughts are preoccupied by duty, but sitting here with you I am filled with feelings of love and devotion."

  "Are you happy with how your life has gone?"

  "Very happy." And, discreetly, Machiko smiles.

  Mother briefly rises and comes to embrace her.

  Dessert soon arrives, and then tea, and then lunch is over. Machiko walks her parents to their car. They have come in one car, a Toyota Elite driven by a Security Service officer and further escorted by an unmarked sedan. As they pause beside the limo, Machiko looks to her father, and says, "Is there anything going on at Neurocomp that might give rise to special interest on the part of another corp?"

  Father seems puzzled by the question, puzzled and yet wary of it. He is the chief executive officer of the Nagato subsidiary named "Neurocomp."

  "Why do you ask?" he says.

  "Interest was expressed to me by a security officer of another corp," Machiko says. "I'm wondering if anything special is going on. Anything that might attract attention."

  Father does not want to speak of this in the open, so they all get into the rear of the limo and close the doors. "The research division has been engaged in a special project for some time," he says. "Have we suffered a breach in security?"

  "I do not know," Machiko says. "It may be that nothing definite is known, that only word of a special project has slipped out, but its nature remains unknown."

  Father looks to Mother, and says, "We will have to initiate an immediate check on our facility and people."

  "Yes, of course," Mother agrees.

  "What does the special project involve?" Machiko asks.

  Father looks at her, hesitates. "Am I permitted to tell you?"

  The question is surprising enough that Machiko herself hesitates. Ordinarily, it would never come up.

  Machiko's salary and other benefits flow through the Security Directorate of Nagato Corporation, and for purely legal purposes she is registered as a security officer of the corp, but she is not truly a corporate employee. The Green Serpent Guard is the elite force belonging exclusively to the Chairman. They obey only those orders that come from Honjowara-sama himself. They accompany Honjowara-sama wherever he goes and everyone knows this and so no one would ever question their right of access to any clan or corporate property.

  Information regarding a highly secret research project is a different matter. Ordinarily, Machiko would have no reason to request such information. That her request should be allowed immediately becomes apparent. "Father, I am acting senior of the Guard. In effect, I ask as the Chairman's personal agent."

  "Yes, of course." Father lifts a hand to his brow and briefly shakes his head, as if now imagining he had temporarily lost his senses. "Access to this project has been very tightly controlled. Forgive me. The suggestion that our security may have been compromised in some degree is very unsettling."

  Mother says, in a worried tone, "Only the highest-rated personnel have any access to the project at all."

  Father nods agreement. "It began as matter of curiosity," he says. "A few of our senior researchers began considering the processing power of linked processors. They performed some tests in their spare time and eventually these tests led to promising models and their after-hours experiments became an official project."

  "How is this different from other projects?"

  "Because here the processors ar
e human specialists," Mother says. "Deckers, Machiko. Very highly skilled deckers." A frustrated look abruptly comes over her features. "It is difficult to explain in lay terminology."

  "There is the issue of translation," father says.

  "Yes." Mother nods abruptly. "The ordinary interface between mind and machine is a sort of filter. Computer code must be translated into a form that can be understood by the human brain. And the language of the brain must be translated for the computer. And as with all transactions something is always lost. In time, if not also accuracy of command transfer. As a practical matter, the loss is infinitesimal and of no real significance. The human mind is hardly any less powerful for venturing into the Matrix. By this, I mean that the effect on processing power is negligible. But as we strive toward higher orders of processing operations, the loss becomes more pronounced. When we have several deckers working in combination through the Matrix, with all their sharing of data and commands being translated and retranslated, we find the machines must wait and wait while the human command processors are making decisions about system operations."

  "This begins to sound," Machiko says, "as though it leads to people utilizing the Matrix without cyberdecks."

  "Otaku?" Father smiles as if pained. "As your mother will tell you, we are dealing here in science, not in urban myths."

  "I meant no insult, of course."

  And no apology is needed. What Machiko knows of modern science has come primarily from trid documentaries and mealtime conversation. Her parents understand this. Her parents themselves owe their own acquaintance with the technical sciences to their positions at Neurocomp and frequent exchanges with working scientists. Her mother, like father, is primarily an administrator, an executive, Vice-President for Research, with a pair of Masters degrees and a doctorate in management.

  "The project, as it has developed," Mother says, "has really become an investigation into the structure of mind, expanding the awareness of mind, its capabilities."

  "Our senior mage-technologist," Father says, "describes it as a change in theoretical approach."

  "Yes," Mother immediately agrees, nodding her head. "Rather than merely add cyberware to our people, we are in a sense trying to add our people together, achieve a fusion of minds, a cerebral network processor."

  "Hence, the gamo-cerebroprocessor project, as we call it. Or simply, GCP."

  Precisely what this means, or how it will work, Machiko can only imagine. And for her purposes, a precise understanding is probably not necessary. The special project is pushing the frontiers of magic and technology and therefore might be of interest to many other corps. That is the main point.

  "Will this GCP project profit Neurocomp in some way, eventually?" Machiko asks.

  "For the moment, any practical application of data developed by GCP is not an issue," Mother explains. "When the first cyberterminals were unveiled, no one could be sure where the technology would lead. Command speed and efficiency was enhanced. This was the short-term objective in 2029 and it is our short-term objective now. We expect to expand the envelope of the GCP project as it progresses. We may well develop data on areas of knowledge that today are all but unknown."

  "I was not aware that Neurocomp performs research that is so theoretical in nature," Machiko says.

  Father says, "The resources available for such research are of course rather limited as compared to our overall operating budget. But the opportunity to perform such research has brought us many of our top people, in some cases without reference to such benefits as salary. These are people of a caliber that allows them, even in their spare time, to develop many practical technologies that have generated substantial profits."

  Machiko considers that, and says, "So one could say that this GCP project has value even if it leads nowhere."

  "Most certainly."

  "Is it likely that other corps would be aware of the quality of people Neurocomp is attracting?"

  Father says, "Specialist positions in such fields as magic and science are very limited. Perhaps only a handful of mages may possess a particular expertise, and the top people are naturally under constant scrutiny. They cannot change corporation affiliations without being noticed. It's impossible. Regardless of the corps involved."

  "The science-oriented telezines always find out," Mother adds, with a faint smile.

  "Then other corps might presume Neurocomp is doing something special because otherwise you would not be attracting such valuable people."

  "It is certainly a question other corps might ask."

  "So we might have no breach in security," Mother says. Father replies, "We must still check."

  "Have there been any threats against the GCP project personnel?" Machiko asks. "Any attempts at theft of project data?"

  Father says no. "Most of our mainframes are on the Nagato proprietary network, but no attempts at penetration have been made for several months, and the only attempt ever made against the GCP project mainframe was a documented failure."

  Machiko considers briefly, then says, "I have one other question. Please consider it purely hypothetical. If the two of you were both removed, if you were compelled to leave your positions with Neurocomp, would the GCP project suffer?" Mother seems disturbed by the question, but Father says plainly, "We merely administrate the GCP project, Machiko. We do not direct the experiments. And the project began with the agreement of all the senior officers. Unless the whole board was removed, the GCP project would almost certainly continue for the foreseeable future."

  "You mean if the assassin had meant to kill your father and I," Mother says.

  Machiko nods. "The thought occurred that perhaps the attacks against GSG were mere deception, that the assassin who attacked me did not want me at his back while he sought you, his primary targets. If your GCP project is so valuable, perhaps it is worth the price of assassins. But given what Father has said, I do not think it very likely that you were the targets."

  "Yet the Security Service is guarding us day and night."

  "That is the protocol," Machiko says. "Merely a precaution." Any time a person is menaced or assaulted, the family is provided with extra security until such time as any threat appears to have passed. That is as integral to the Way of Nagato combine as the Green Serpent Guard, as the Chairman himself. Machiko reminds her mother of several instances where one friend or another was also guarded day and night, and the reminder seems to ease her concerns. Especially when she recalls herself saying that a certain friend really did not need any guards, that the Security Service was being needlessly sensitive.

  Machiko then takes her leave, for her duty here is done and others await her.

  One she does not cherish.

  29

  The ceremonies begin early in the afternoon at the Amida Buddhist Temple, located on the grounds of the Nagato Commercial Park in a region of western Suffolk County known as Melville.

  The temple is ringed by a wall of polished marble. Statues of the Myo-o, vanquishers of evil, guard the main gateway. The inner sanctuary is tiled in marble and full of platinum, brass, and gold, crowded with statues of the Buddhas, such as the Bosatsu known as Kwannon and Jizo, who have both attained enlightenment, but refrain from entering nirvana in order that they might aid others in finding the Way. And of course dominating the inner sanctuary is the image of Amida, Lord of the Western Paradise, and merciful lord of the dead.

  Honjowara-sama himself is present to clap hands and ring the bells at the outset of the ceremony. The first row of attendees is composed of the families and friends of the fallen GSG—Mitsuharu and Jiksumi. Behind these are representatives of the three clans, the Honjowara-gumi, Yoshida-kai, and Toki-gumi, as well as leaders of the several small clans allied with the major three. Filling out the assembly crowded into the sanctuary are members of the board of Nagato Corporation and officers and executives of numerous Nagato subsidiaries. Machiko's parents are present as well.

  These many dignitaries are here because Honjowara-sama is here
, and Honjowara-sama is here to honor the dead and to honor the Guard, to refute by his presence any suggestion that Mitsuharu and Jiksumi were dishonored when they allowed themselves to be killed.

  GSG line the walls. Machiko, Gongoro, and ten others flank the altar. The rituals go on long.

  Mitsuhara-san was a Buddhist and Catholic-Christian. Jiksumi-san practiced no religion, but his family is composed of Buddhists, Methodist-Christians, and members of the Church of Gaia, a naturalist religion. And so five distinct sects drawn from three distinct religions are represented in the inner sanctuary. All play their part in the ceremony. There is no contradiction in this, no hypocrisy, at least not in Machiko's view. For all peoples are basically the same. They share a common essence. They may give their gods different names, but these too are all basically the same, concerned with life and the living, spirits, eternity. Spiritual matters, enlightenment. Whatever the names, whatever the particular concerns, it is all basically the same, all with similar intentions. That people should live in peace, respect their neighbors, honor their parents, revere their ancestors, worship the divine. Gods, kami, enlightened spirits—all understand this. As long as the tenets of their own particular faith are observed, the divine take no insult, no affront, if other faiths are also observed. Enlightened beings possess the wisdom to respect all forms of pious living and sacred ritual.

  Priests lead the assembly outside, onto the temple grounds, into a broad grassy meadow ringed by trees and lush, flowering gardens.

  Once all have taken their places, Honjowara-sama strides through the middle of the assembly and pauses before the funeral pyre, surmounted by a platform veiled in silk bearing the man of the Honjowara-sama. Upon this platform, clothed in their uniforms, lie the bodies of the dead.

  Honjowara-sama joins his hands in prayer. He bows. Briefly, he kneels. As he moves to the dais beyond the pyre, as he climbs the steps to the priests and the alter, Machiko is one-half step behind him, and nearer still when he pauses, facing the gathering from the center of the dais.