No. 260 Compatibility and Clones 適合者実験とクローン

Ayame Park

イ01

Chihiro-san…

…

イ02

×Chihiro

…You think I’m the professor?

That is what I said.

You are Professor Chihiro Morimura.

A major figure in Shikishima in the year 2188…

Namely, the leader of its space initiative.

What are you even talking about…?

Just some hypotheticals.

A possible interpretation of the evidence I found.

イ03

×Chihiro

…Okay, say I am the professor.

Remember: Ms. Morimura’s the one who created me.

How would that make sense?

イ04

△Compatibility→Chihiro

Ms. Morimura ran an experiment to grant her clone compatibility.

She believed that you were synchronized to her.

…

イ05

×Chihiro

She believed it was her own data she transmitted.

But it was the other Chihiro Morimura in sector 0…

And of course, you entered the world as a newborn.

Incapable of verbal communication.

So Ms. Morimura never realized her mistake.

This is all speculation.

Certainly, yes.

イ06

×Chihiro

But if I’m right, and you are the professor.

I imagine you were in quite a panic yourself.

All things considered, it was a staggering deviation from the original plan.

What original plan?

イ07

△Report Log→Chihiro

Among the logs from 2188…

One of Tetsuya Ida’s noted that he’d found an anomaly.

Chihiro Morimura was set to undergo a memory transplant in the final phase.

And the “final phase”, well…

That would be us.

イ08

×Chihiro

I don’t know where you think you’re going with this.

A bit of patience, please.

There’s a little more context I need to provide.

イ09

△Future Log

The log from the future I saw first…

That would be the comms log I found with my own ID.

イ10

△Gouto’s Log→Chihiro

The first log I checked held some surprises.

The author seemed to be an elderly Renya Gouto.

And the date of recording appeared to be 2188.

I assumed… it was some future version of myself.

One that had time traveled into the far future.

But now I don’t think that’s the case.

I believe it’s the other way around.

In other words…

I, myself, am a clone of him.

…

イ11

△Clone→Chihiro

Every individual I saw in that log footage…

They all created clones of themselves.

Clones, huh…

I did find a log that proves this point.

…What did you see?

A comms log between you and Professor Takamiya. Her field is genetic engineering, I note.

…

△Takamiya’s Log

イ12

△Clone→Chihiro

There were fifteen survivors of that colony.

Each with a clone established to be compatible.

Though they grew up in different eras, different worlds.

And you…

You aimed to replace your clone’s memories with your own.

That was your real plan.

…

イ13

×Chihiro

Right now, I imagine your biggest question.

…is precisely how much of that log I’ve seen.

Am I close?

…

You do have a genius mind, but also the form of a child.

I imagine it’s harder than usual to hide your agitation.

It’s absolutely not―

…

Hehe… Now you’re just trying to trick me?

イ14

△Takamiya’s Log→Chihiro

I’d say based on that log…

Professors Takamiya and Morimura seemed to know each other quite well.

Maybe you’d know something about that?

Of course not.

Then perhaps instead… Tsukasa Okino?

Being compatible, that makes one part of his identity clear.

He’s one of the fifteen from the year 2188.

So. Any theories?

Who was he in the year 2188?

…

イ15

×Chihiro

Care to guess?

Stop it…

No? then allow me to clarify.

That boy, Tsukasa Okino…

…is Professor Morimura’s son.

But not her child by personal, conventional birth.

The professor donated her egg cells as a young woman.

In accordance with the policies on population control.

イ16

×Chihiro

…

No comment at this time?

イ17

△Clone→Chihiro

The blood relation wasn’t exactly obvious…

…until DNA testing on the clone revealed it.

The professor was faced with the truth: he was her son.

Which, naturally, sparked an inconvenient surge of maternal instinct.

…

However, Okino himself didn’t think highly of the professor.

He had his disagreements with the project staff, too.

When it seemed like her end was near…

The professor recorded him one final message.

One last chance for him to know the truth.

Stop!

イ18

×Chihiro

You… saw that?

But how?

You’d need a biometric ID match to access that log.

So you should only have been able to access your own.

My logs and Okino’s should have been locked off…

…Thank you.

Professor Morimura.

…

イ19

×Chihiro

Indeed, the files I could access were somewhat limited.

Mostly company logs.

Meeting reports, call transcripts, bureaucratic chaff.

Barely anything in the way of your personal records.

…

Then how do you know what was in my logs…?

It’s simple, really.

イ20

Iori…Fuyusaka?

Though unconscious, she proved very helpful.

She is Chihiro Morimura. A compatible version.

If you really are Ms. Morimura…

Then you should already know who Iori Fuyusaka is.

Because that would mean you hid her here in Sector 4.

The plan was for the two newborns to grow up with their own separate lives.

Ida-san’s idea, presumably.

Chihiro Morimura was planned to be placed in 2104.

And Tetsuya Ida in 2024. Yet neither could be found.

イ21

×Chihiro

…

…I knew Renya Gouto of Shikishima pretty well.

You and he are very different…

Except that you both make my life a lot harder.

So.

Suppose I am the professor. Then what?

I want to know the truth.

I want to know the reasons behind all of this…

イ22

×Chihiro

…But that seems unlikely.

I imagine you're not inclined to tell me anything.

And why’s that?

It’d be inconvenient for you if we had all the facts.

Considering you're trying to eliminate us.

…

From the very beginning…

You never intended for this world to survive.

Story

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