Part 5
(November 10 – Lanai – Star Lounge Shot Bar – From security camera footage)
Kamijou Touma, Misaka Mikoto, and Roberto Katze forced open the door to an empty bar and hid inside. After the emergency landing in the transport plane, being recovered by the American military, and being attacked by anti-ship missiles, they had somehow made it to shore. Ignoring all law, machine gun-equipped off-road vehicles were brazenly patrolling the main roads.
Their clothes were covered in seawater and sand, but it was hardly the time to complain about that.
"...I should have realized it," said the president as he sat directly on the floor and placed the attaché case next to him. "I should have realized it when I was told there was someone controlling people via the occult but this person had a restriction on the number of people she could control."
"Realized what?"
"I had thought the occult had eaten into the entirety of the government. I had thought the Senate, the House, and everything else was in the grasp of some strange power, but I was wrong."
"Eh, but, what…?" stammered Kamijou.
He had thought that was precisely what Saronia had done.
That had been why the president had sensed danger, fled his own protectors, and headed out on his own. Gremlin had used people in the military and government to search for information on the Trigger and had partially used it on Kilauea.
But…
"Only a few people were being controlled," spat out Roberto. "It's the same as those soldiers. You can control people without relying on some strange power."
"Y-you mean…?"
"There is someone out there with the power to forcibly control people, but that does not match what is going on here. The occult is barely being used at all. You can control people using orders without relying on all that. It's the same thing I usually do as president!"
His tone was oozing chagrin over the complete reversal of victim and attacker as well as the fact that his own subordinates and forces had clearly betrayed him.
However, Kamijou simply could not follow his train of thought.
What was actually happening in Hawaii…no, in the United States of America?
"Wait a second. Birdway used that automatic analysis spell to reveal what Saronia's spell was. She truly does have a means of controlling a large number of—"
"Now I'm a complete layman when it comes to the occult," said the president, cutting Kamijou off. "But are you absolutely sure there is no chance the automatic analysis was intentionally led to a false result?"
"Wait, you mean…?"
"Both this Birdway person and this Saronia person are experts in this field, so this is not a one-sided fight between a pro and an amateur. That means the odds of success are 50/50. Isn't it possible Birdway was tricked?"
"But what about your Imperial…whatever it's called? Didn't you use data from there to deduce that Saronia was controlling a large number of people to gather information on the Trigger!? And the Trigger really was in that Pearl Harbor base, so—!"
"It is true that the people accessing information unrelated to their duties over the central government cloud were accessing data on the Trigger. And it is likely that information was indeed reported to Saronia's group." The president shook his head. "But all I saw was the flow of data. It is entirely possible they were following Saronia's group's orders while still in full possession of their senses."
"But what about Cendrillon? Before we ran into you, we fought a magician named Cendrillon in the airport! In order to silence her once we caught her, Saronia controlled her in order to have her commit suicide!!"
Even as he spoke, an argument against his own words came to Kamijou's mind.
Cendrillon herself may have been putting on an act.
They may indeed have heard Saronia's voice, but that could have been a simple communications spell. Kamijou could not deny the possibility that Cendrillon herself had attempted to kill herself in order to match what Saronia had been saying.
It was an action unthinkable of someone in their right mind, but it had successfully dulled Kamijou and the others' judgment.
It was possible Cendrillon had managed to pull it off by gathering together everything she had to give Gremlin a better chance of retaliating against them. If that was true, they would have to rethink everything from the very beginning.
"I doubt the children in the shopping mall and the pilot were cooperating with Saronia of their own free will, but it's possible that the number of people she can control is much smaller than we thought and that the orders she can give people are much simpler than we thought. In fact, the ability to control people might be nothing more than a side effect of some other attack of Saronia's. Her true power may lie elsewhere. Saronia A. Irivika's true specialty may not be controlling people."
Part 6
(November 10 – Oahu – Wreckage of Pearl Harbor's Third Marine Base – From an auxiliary control camera)
Birdway was leaning up against the side of a transport plane that was tilted to the side due to a broken axle. She was being fired on by the mysterious armed force's light machine guns. Upon hearing something from over her cell phone, she magically manipulated the papyrus in her hand, checked some information, and then threw it down to the cracked asphalt.
"…Dammit, Balbina. How could you sell me this piece of crap!?"
A woman in black clothes who Birdway had met up with when Trident had appeared said, "Her specialty is selling individual materials, so it isn't really her fault, boss. I would say the fault lies with you for not constructing your own spiritual items because you find it to be too much of a bother."
"This means I have yet another task," said Birdway, ignoring her subordinate. She lightly waved the wand in her hand and an explosion of light blew away a group of soldiers using an armored vehicle as a shield. "I need to recheck Saronia's specs. I need to analyze the method, effects, and range of the magic she uses. I need to redo the analysis I left to the spiritual item."
"Can you really finish that before you run into her at the end of all this?"
"Like always, I'll just have to pull it off somehow."
Part 7
(November 10 – Lanai – Star Lounge Shot Bar – From the camera in a handheld game system left on the counter)
Not all of the people had been controlled by Saronia's magic.
Kamijou was shocked to hear President Roberto Katze say that, but he also seriously considered the possibility.
Someone was controlling the American government for their own benefit.
This person had used various methods to get politicians and government workers in their control.
However, there were some people that acted purely for their country and thus stubbornly refused to be used as pawns.
In that case…
"So whoever is really behind this uses the realistic methods as much as they can and then use magic to forcibly control the rest? So they're eating into America both above and below the surface like that?"
"Probably."
It was possible Saronia's magic was not primarily a means of controlling people.
If that was the case, it had some effect that looked that way when used in a certain way.
It was similar to recklessly using the heat produced by a motor as a space heater.
However, that power was still quite a threat. It had been used to take control of an entire nation. This was especially true as the nation in question was the nation known as the world police and as the greatest power of the science side when it came to resources and economics.
And there was a single target that was both deeply involved with the American government and could not be controlled by realistic methods.
This was of course Roberto Katze.
As the president, he had sensed the occult encroaching on the government and the improper use of the Trigger. He had then done the unheard-of by heading out on his own without even the secret service guarding him. For someone trying to control the country from behind the scenes, no one could be more of a problem.
Was the enemy trying to get the president in a situation where they could control him in one way or another?
Or were they simply going to kill him so his authority would transfer to someone easier to control?
That man was the biggest target, but he had a daring smile on his face.
He said, "And in some cases, the occult could be used only as an example. You know, 'Do what I say if you don't want to end up like that.' Or maybe it's being used like an indulgence. If this rebellion is discovered and it turns out these people are going to have to take responsibility, the magician could just use her occult power to control them and make them look like a pure victim that was merely controlled."
They did not know the specific conditions required for the magic.
Even if Saronia could only control at most a dozen or so people and could control them no better than poorly-made robots, no one could prove it.
The entirety of the US Congress would insist they had been controlled by some occult power.
All they needed was proof that some strange power was involved to some extent.
People who only believed what they saw would be tricked into thinking the tiny bit of the occult displayed before them had spread to every corner of the government.
"Eh? But…it's the occult, right? We're not talking about scientific esper powers here. What good will that be as a testimony?"
"Before the war, not much. But all sorts of mysterious phenomena were detected during World War III. The world is beginning to recognize the existence of the occult. Even if it is not accepted as official evidence in a trial, the people like me who are higher up than the courts and have started to come into contact with that darkness of the world might sympathize with supposed victims of the occult. In some cases, that kind of person has special measures he can take."
"Like a presidential pardon…?"
"I doubt an emotional argument like that would be enough to convince someone, but it would be enough to help open them up to the idea. For those doing the tempting, that would be enough. After all, they have no need to actually make good on their promises." Roberto Katze sighed. "When I think about it, it was odd that Roseline and I noticed that anything was odd. We are complete amateurs when it comes to the occult. We are not specialists like that Birdway, so would we really be able to tell at a glance whether someone was being controlled by the occult or not? I doubt it's that simple. Magic power? Spells? I don't know anything about those things, but I bet you need to have at least a working knowledge of it all to tell."
"Then what did you notice?"
"An act. Insurance. Faking it. The ones who joined Saronia's side via realistic methods wanted to look like they were victims of the occult in case they were ever found out. That was why an amateur like me was able to notice the change. In fact, if an expert like Birdway saw them, she may have been able to tell that they were not acting how someone being controlled would."
"Who is it?" asked Kamijou carefully. "If there is some other enemy that is not a magician like Saronia but has joined forces with Gremlin, who is it?"
"Given the realistic means being used to infiltrate the government, they must be an enemy with a more realistic type of power," said Roberto as he placed his attaché case on the shot bar's counter. The lounge seemed to have a wireless LAN because the computer in the case was able to pick up a signal. "The main hint is those CD-like soldiers."
"What country are they from?"
"Most likely, they're mercenaries not affiliated with any country. They're known as a PMC. They will do smaller things like bodyguard jobs, carrying out torture when regular soldiers don't want to dirty their hands, and acting as guides in jungles or mountainous areas, but they can also act as a proper army on a division or brigade level when an independent military force is all that is needed." Roberto Katze sighed again. "They are an effective force when hired on that level, but it's just too expensive. You hear about tankers being attacked by pirates all the time, but you never hear about a large mercenary force being hired to act as a protective fleet, right? There are of course political issues preventing that from happening, but the ridiculous cost of hiring them is an even greater obstacle."
"But the enemy here was able to pay."
"The soldiers here are likely from Trident, a mercenary company that is quite active in Eastern Europe. They have D model Narwhals, they use electronic camouflage, they can deploy on such a large scale, and their movements show that a lot of them are former American soldiers. That's the only PMC it could be. It's one of the largest and it has an army, a navy, and an air force."
"Just how large is it?"
"The estimation I've heard is around fifty thousand soldiers. Apparently, they have been able to cut down on their numbers quite a bit with a software update for their warships."
"That's about the population of a small town, isn't it!? Those soldiers are experts, right? How did they get that many people!?"
"They only use mid-career recruitment rather than going after new graduates. Also, 150,000 soldiers around the world retire every year and about two-thirds of those are not at the usual retirement age. Not to mention that those statistics are from before World War III."
"…"
"They have plenty of reasons for quitting and life after retirement is not always kind to them. Trident has more former American soldiers than soldiers from any other nationality. I've been appealing for improving social security for them once they retire, but it seems some people think the continuous expenditures would put too much pressure on the economy." The president sighed yet again. "Well, whatever the details, that is a collection of former professionals. They may be retired, but Trident puts them through a special training program to retrain them and raise their value as if they were replacing rusted gears. During World War III, NATO was thinking of hiring them, but negotiations broke down before a price could be settled on. The kind of funds needed to make a deal with them should make a noticeable flow of money in banks' databases. No bank wants to have money flowing out of their vaults, so they would put out a warning."
"Have you found it?"
"Unfortunately, no, but that still gives us a hint. The Imperial Package can only check things within the range of America's power. That means whoever is behind this purposefully made the deal outside of that range so that they could not be traced." The president typed on the Imperial Package's keyboard, looking through even more classified information. "It had to have been someone who would gain from intervening here in America even if it costs them that much money. Someone with large amounts of money distributed outside of America. Someone with a hidden connection to Eastern European governments or banks. Someone who could hire Trident. Someone with a system that allows them to monitor our movements here in Hawaii."
"Can you narrow it down to a single person?"
"No. First of all, there are over thirty people in America alone that are famous for having more assets than the United States. Combined multinational businesses sure are a scary thing. They aren't divided by national lines. They clearly have a different means of division that is based around money and economic blocs," readily admitted the president. "However, a few of the large powers that keep the US moving are influenced by a certain other person. People like Flack Kateman the car king and Douglas Hardbell the rock star are actually underneath this certain other person. A lot people could be the one behind this, but the common one at the top seems the most suspicious to me. And in that case…"
He pressed a few more keys and his answer finally appeared on the screen.
The Imperial Package displayed a single large photograph.
"Olay Blueshake the media queen. It has to be her."
Part 8
(November 10 – Hawaii – Volcanoes National Park – From a bird watching camera)
It was strange that he had not been killed.
That was what Hamazura Shiage truly felt.
The Island of Hawaii had become a hell of lava. The giant caldera that was over ten kilometers across was filled with orange lava and some had overflowed and was flowing down the side of the mountain like spilled corn syrup.
Perhaps due to the incomplete effect of the Trigger, the lava was not headed in the direction of any towns. Hamazura and the others had not been swallowed up by the lava either, but the air around them had steamed up like in a sauna and the stench of sulfuric gases was so thick Hamazura feared it would kill him. The volcanic ash covering the sky above darkened the area like the time just before dawn. Smooth ash was constantly raining down and pieces of rock the size of fingertips stabbed into the earth as they landed.
However, a different situation was developing that made them almost forget about that twisted form of nature's fury. In fact, Hamazura felt almost glad that he was so near the caldera that had become a lake of lava.
Beyond the ash that obstructed vision like a thin fog, gunshots and explosions rang out from the base of the short mountain. Hamazura could also see soldiers in silver uniforms dotting the ground as well as hovercrafts and armored vehicles.
"…Olay Blueshake?" he said into his cell phone as he lay down on the white ash.
He had his phone on conference call with Kamijou, Accelerator, and the rest.
He had no idea what she was doing, but he could hear explosions in the background as Birdway replied.
"She is America's media queen who went over her father's head and inherited her grandfather's network. She started expanding from there by creating a specialty news channel and established her position by buying up all the country's newspapers and the major cell phone companies. She is also famous for being the owner of major league teams and pro football teams. She is a monster of the economic world who people say would conquer the four largest sports if she only started in on basketball as well," said Birdway casually. "She is very skilled at getting fields unrelated to the information business wrapped up in the information business. By introducing an eco-friendly house that uses a computer to manage the solar power generation and the power use of the household appliances, she managed to make inroads into construction and real estate. By developing things like electric cars and a program to automatically regulate the distance between vehicles, she is now behind one of the largest producers of automobiles in the country. She was listed in a magazine article on the one hundred people who keep America running, but the rampant expansion of the groups she controls swallows up even many of the others on that list."
Olay had brought even the car king and the railroad king under her control for her own purposes. She was less a queen and more an empress. Even the kings who ruled over their territories were under her control.
Birdway continued her evaluation of the ruler of that empire.
"People say she is the most likely person to become the first complete civilian to take an extended trip into space. They say she might have access to classified government information on UFOs. They say she has a hand in thirty percent of the world's oil. …No one has any proof of any of those things, though. In recent years, she has taken control the internet's major search engines as well as the social networking businesses, so she now has almost complete control of America's information networks."
"And there was a bit of suspicion regarding those search engines," said Roberto Katze in a calm voice. "FCE…Free Compound Eyes. That is an internet service that allowed anyone to easily setup cameras, connect them to the internet, and construct a security camera network without purchasing an expensive plan with a security company. However, white hat hackers pointed out that anyone could see the images produced by a third party's camera by only entering its registration number and, more importantly, that the major search engines that acted as the hosts could see through cameras all across America. Of course, the Fair Trade Committee advised them to correct that issue and the service was supposedly ended…"
With a groan, Kamijou said, "So since the person behind this seems able to monitor our actions, this FCE must still be active?"
"Even if normal users can no longer use it, the FCE software must still exist on the servers. In fact, the level of control over the cameras it gives may have been heightened. Olay has also invested heavily in the three major internet providers, so if the FCE tools were installed in secret, it is possible she can control all cameras that are connected to their networks."
"Damn. That would give her access to cell phones and even video cameras and portable game systems that use Wi-Fi," added Accelerator.
"But what is this Olay after? Doesn't she already have more money than she could ever use?" asked Hamazura.
For someone with as much as her, he doubted there was anything pressuring her into straying from the proper path. Or had some other problem arisen due to the very fact that she was rich?
The president replied with a bitter tone, "Olay Blueshake is said to be the 'third house' of Congress."
"What?"
"She simply has that much influence. One's exposure in the media is directly linked to gathering votes and she holds every kind of mass media in her hand. To be honest, not even the presidential election can completely escape her influence. Even my campaign was partially backed by Olay."
"So it had already been that you couldn't win in an election if you got on the wrong side of the media queen, hm?"
"I see. She started by influencing the members of Congress whose orders influenced the military and other government organizations. Information circulates better than money, after all. And then Saronia's magic was used to control the politicians who stubbornly continued serving their country for personal ideals," commented Birdway.
"She tried to take control of the US for her own ideals by leading those who would help her toward getting elected," said Roberto Katze in a low voice. "And yet America did not head in the direction she wanted. Or perhaps it would be better to say that, at that time, the country was in a situation where she could no longer leave it to anyone else."
"?"
"World War III," said the president simply. A short silence increased everyone's tension. "To be honest, it's hard to say that war went the way America wanted it to. In fact, we were more or less left out completely. It's possible this led Olay to abandon her old methods and try to control the US in a more direct fashion."
"And so she contacted Gremlin and Trident?" muttered Hamazura with a groan. "If you know all that, why don't you just have her arrested?"
"Because no one knows where she is. She has a lot of enemies, after all. Her residence is officially listed as being in Washington DC, but I'd believe you even if you told me she had built a base on Mars to live in."
With the conversation over for the time being, Hamazura hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.
Misaka Worst spoke up from next to him.
"So what are we going to do now?"
"Meet up with the boss and the president of course. We don't gain anything by staying isolated like this."
Kuroyoru frowned at that and said, "Are you serious? Don't they have anti-ship missiles deployed all over these islands? If we head out in a pleasure boat, we'll be sunk in no time at all."
"Then we just have to get on a boat that won't get sunk." Hamazura pointed toward one of the landed military hovercrafts. "We just have to mix in with them somehow. If there really are thousands of them, they'll be negligent when it comes to identifying individual soldiers. If we dress up in those CD-like uniforms, our faces will be hidden too, so they won't even be able to tell we're Asian."
"Misaka thinks they would notice if we killed some of them and stole their uniforms."
"This is the world's largest gun country. They sell handguns at supermarkets." Hamazura wiped sweat form his brow. "An enthusiast gun store will have equipment for guns as well. I'm pretty sure they said those soldiers were wearing a combination of equipment from various countries, but that gives us more of a chance than if it was original equipment. …And even if we can't find the exact same models of some things, we might be able to get away with it and say we altered our equipment a bit for personal preference."
"Hmm. You and Misaka might be able to pull that off, but someone as small as Kuroyoru-chan would look suspicious even in a military uniform."
"Then we just need to stuff her in a bag or something. She's small to begin with and her arms can be detached. We can make her pretty compact if we need to."
"…Don't you fucking dare," growled Kuroyoru.
"That means the only problem is the FCE. If they see us do it, a disguise is pointless."
"How many cameras do you think there are on this island alone? It'd be impossible to take them all out."
"Once we've changed, they can't tell us apart, so we only need to destroy the cameras until then," said Misaka Worst as she pulled a nail from her pocket and started manipulating magnetism. "Right?"
(Information)
Camera ID 119a0e19 not responding.
Using last known location data to search for a usable camera in the same area.