ALL NOVEL Sora
"I understand most of what you're saying, but I don't understand why I'm here, why you're telling me all this, or what you want me to do," I said while looking at the baby, who had their eyes open and almost seemed conscious.
With a proud smile and somewhat dangerous eyes, Hanako said, "Before I answer you, Musashi-san, let me ask you: do you know where I invested my most personal shares, and what kind of projects I invest in within the corporation?"
When she said that, I stopped looking at the child in the incubator, turned to Hanako, and answered, "Umm, if my memory serves me right, mostly in medicine: better healing drugs, increased cell division, muscle and bone enhancement therapies, even nervous system treatments for sick people that weren't viable for the masses due to their high cost per session. Also, genetic purification technology for hereditary diseases, things that your father was very proud of you for, aiming to improve people's lives. I also remember you are a pioneer in nanote-"
I interrupted myself to look again at the child, who was still in the incubator, unable to believe what Hanako had hinted at with that question.
"Hanako, how much, how many, of your investments have you used on your own child?" I asked, calling Hanako without an honorific suffix due to the seriousness of the insinuations about her using experimental technologies on her own child.
When she heard me, she smiled, and what I initially thought was a dangerous look turned into one with a hint of madness. "All of them. This child carries in his body research worth billions of New Yen, but that is nothing compared to the nanotechnology in him. You think I don't know what my father wants to achieve with Soulkiller?"
When Hanako mentioned Soulkiller, I couldn't believe what she had said. How had she found out? It even made me forget my anger at what she had done to her own son, almost experimenting on him.
"How do you know that name?" I stammered.
"Do you think I wouldn't investigate John's attacks on Arasaka within a few years of meeting him, or how he died 10 years later... or how my father has a digital copy of John? Do you think after what happened in 2023, I wouldn't examine every little thing to guarantee my plans to secure my son's life? Everything John did, the good and the bad, and the way he died, only delayed my plans, making everything more difficult and secretive. Now, my son was not just any man's son; John earned many enemies, even my father. I had to wait for Johnny Silverhand's face to be forgotten."
I couldn't believe what Hanako was saying. She knew about Saburo's obsession, Soulkiller—a program that created a digital copy or engram of a person's personality and memories, converting them into code. You could say that by paying with your soul, you could achieve immortality, something that Saburo had been seeking even from Johnny Silverhand's engram. How does she know all this?
Snapping me out of my astonishment, Hanako spoke with an arrogant tone, "You know, I don't understand why my father is so obsessed with the program that woman made. Do you know what I think of Soulkiller, Musashi-san? A talented Braindance specialist could do it again or even better, simply by taking a person's memories and editing them into a loop. All you need is a blank AI that enters that infinite loop of memories and learns to act like the memories you have shown it."
"Long story short, Soulkiller sticks a basic blank AI inside a person's memories or engram, making it learn to act like the person in those memories. But at the end of the day, it will still be a copy that you paid your soul for. I can't understand why everyone is so impressed by that woman's creation."
I was speechless at Hanako's opinion. I had certainly underestimated the woman in front of me. She also seemed annoyed with Alt, the creator of Soulkiller, and I could imagine why. But still, it made me believe that maybe Hanako might be the best choice as the next head of the family if Saburo retired. The Hanako Arasaka in front of me had all the necessary qualities: she was cold, intelligent, and determined.
"On the contrary, I came to a different conclusion. Instead of burning your soul to become a ghost of your former self, I decided on another alternative: improve the container to protect the soul."
"I... at first, I thought of raising him myself," Hanako said while caressing the incubator with affection.
"But those were my last naive thoughts I allowed myself to have. I decided to strengthen my son with everything I have. Musashi, I want you to withdraw from Arasaka altogether, leave Japan for an area little controlled by the corporation, and raise my son. Teach him to fight, to live, to survive. But, above all, I want him to be free. I want no one to be able to catch him. I want him to live a life without shackles."
PUK
With that little noise, we turned to the source, and I stared.
It was the baby, awake inside the orange glass incubator, eyes wide open as he rested his hands on the glass, looking at us as if he was listening to our conversation.
Hanako was surprised to see this but then smiled and said, "It seems the little one has woken up. Wait a little longer; you will be able to come out soon."
While she touched some buttons on the incubator, making the little one go back to sleep, I knew I had to make a decision. I looked at the child who seemed to be affected by the sedative, their eyes closing little by little. But before that, he tapped the glass with his small fists, looked into my eyes, and smiled with joy, as if he liked me. Seeing this, Hanako also smiled, seeing her son laugh.
With that little event, I made up my mind. I had nothing in Japan apart from my job. My wife, Aoi, changed since our children passed away. For sure, she would love to raise this baby as her grandson.
"I accept, Hanako-sama, your request. But I would like Aoi to also come with us. I also wanted to know where you have thought of raising your little one."
"Thank you, Musashi! Of course, I was counting on Aoi-Obaasan. As for the city I have decided... I think you won't like it. I chose it by the same criteria I used when I escaped."
"Hanako-san, don't tell me you want me to raise your son in that DAMN city!"
"Yes, that's the place his father died. The little legacy John has left is in that city. I don't want my son to know nothing about his father. John may have been insane, but... he's still the father."
"As for the boy's abilities, I will inform you. One more thing: his name."
"Musashi-san, let me introduce Arasaka Sora,' or also in American Sora Linder-Arasaka.'"
When she told me his name, I thought about what she said about wanting no one to be able to catch him... and to think that she would call her son that... heaven/sky."