Chapter 1.2 - Archon Police Station
Galaxy Federation Police Station, Archon Division
At the landing zone, a transport plane sets down and a man gets off. Another man goes out to meet him, straightening his clothes and saluting.
Erich: Captain Sauer, this way please.
Jan: Status report.
Erich: You probably already know that a large-scale meeting between the Galaxy Federation and the Immigrant Fleet is planned for next term.
Jan: The Pilgrimage Council, right?
Erich: Yes. I gathered from the local news that the special delegate from this area, Donald Marquand, is recently under suspicion of pulling strings in an active right-wing organization.
Jan: ...Is that so? Donald Marquand is involved with the Torres Foundation and a favorite for political advancement. The Foundation's refugee aid and acceptance of the Immigrant Fleet got them past the moderates. Are they joining up with the Taka sect?
Erich: Yes. Consequently, they formed a Goodwill Ambassador group to garner public approval. It seems they set up their little ‘meeting place’ here in neutral Archon. However, the ambassadors have been kidnapped.
Jan: So their demonstration for the public turned into a much worse kind of show. Ironic. And the status of the Archon police investigation?
Erich: They’ve located the place where the ambassadors and diplomats are being held. Point NG-PP6-42T8. They think it's a crime by a fringe organization under the influence of the Immigrant Fleet.
Jan: Has the Immigrant Fleet released a statement?
Erich: Yes. Today at 22:00 Patriarch Julius announced in an official comment that they are completely unrelated to these events. He claims the Immigrant Fleet is also a victim, and if the Galaxy Federation doesn't let up their suspicions it is likely the Pilgrimage Council will be suspended. What do you think?
Jan: Patriarch Julius has always been an advocate of dividing up Abraxas. That eliminates the possibility that the group behind this is opposing him… Did the perpetrators make any kind of statement?
Erich: No.
Jan: ...That figures. Their goal is to trap Donald, not to demand a ransom from the Goodwill Ambassadors. Judging by the nature of the crime, I would wager that their ultimate goal is to erode diplomatic relations between the Federation and the Immigrant Fleet.
Erich: ...
Jan: I've heard there's a connection between the Torres Foundation and the construction of the Assembly Hall program [the virtual space in which the ambassadors are trapped]. Naturally, they have anti-hacking security of the highest level. A AAA-class barrier like that can only be broken by our own organization, or possibly...
Erich: ...Voyager?
Jan: Perhaps. Remember the incident involving the Immigrant Fleet anchoring in Miltian space? When the documents of mediation were falsified?
Erich: Sure... If I remember correctly, Gloria's team was in charge of that case, right? I also heard they didn’t turn up any concrete evidence.
Jan: That incident... they say that an extreme right-wing organization on the Federation side, the Descendants of Nestorius, somehow got Voyager to do their hacking for them. Now that I think about it, I have no doubt that the Descendants and Voyager are behind this incident as well.
Erich: But if they did get Voyager to help them, wouldn't they be expected to make it worth his while?
Jan: I’m not sure. Until now there have been many acts of terrorism attributed to Voyager. We can't be sure what kind of rewards he was getting as a result of them. For now I'll dive in and take a look around. At any rate, until this business is settled our top priority must be recovering the diplomats and ambassadors. How are preparations for the dive coming?
Erich: …Ah, yes, about that...
Jan: What is it? Don't withhold information in your reports.
Erich: Lactis and Melisse have already gone in with some members of the Archon police. Mikhail is currently tracing them, and given the strange circumstances they also brought Bugs. He's equipped with the level 3 counter-terrorism armament BT-278. They figured that since they were ready to go, why not get a head start…
Jan: They went in without approval? ...Was Melisse behind that?
Erich: Probably.
Jan: ...Then I'll log in. Prepare the device immediately.
In the Archon police station operating room.
Erich: We're here, sorry to keep you waiting.
Jan: Lactis and the others went ahead?
Mikhail: Y-Yes, Captain!
Jan: What's Melisse's situation? According to Erich's report it's almost time to approach the target.
Mikhail: Yes. Damn, whoever made the Assembly Hall's logic was pretty good.
Erich: ...
Jan: Is this interference?
Mikhail: Yeah. Are you receiving the image?
Jan: So this is the Carnegie construction process...
Mikhail: You're familiar with it?
Jan: Yes, but I've only heard the name. It was at police academy... and that was nearly ten years ago.
Erich: Back at the turn of T.C. 4400, Vector Industries had a UMN management and administration department... these days it's been merged into the First Division. They were behind the first theories of virtual reality construction inside the new UMN. "Carnegie" was the name of the mathematician who served as the leader of the organization at the time. Because of his ideas scientific progress has jumped forward rapidly in the past two hundred years. Without his research, virtual reality would still be hundreds of years away.
Mikhail: Not bad, Erich. That's right. It takes a genius programmer to come up with something like that... granted, he did call himself "The Original." Can you see it now?
Jan: What... is this? Looks like the construction of virtual reality.
Mikhail: This is the program where the ambassadors are being held. For now you'll dive in at this point. The Carnegie construction process is... everything. This virtual space is constructed by its own distinctive logic. Oh, and when you dive in you'll find heavy security and macrophages waiting for you. Why the hell would a criminal want to hack into that kind of place?
Jan: ...
Mikhail: ...Well, Lactis and the others made it in okay. And at least we know the point where the ambassadors are being held, thanks to the local police. It seems they somehow found a weak point in the security system. That'll make things easier for us.
Jan: Even if Bugs is with them, going in with only a scout and no backup seems like suicide.
Mikhail: I-I'm sorry. Melisse made me...
Jan: Afterwards I want a written explanation and apology from both of you. At any rate, for now prioritize preparations for my dive. Can you do that?
Mikhail: Y-yes. I did a few pick-ups before your secure login. I calculated the advance point for Melisse's mission, so if you dive into the virtual courtyard in their vicinity, you should be able to catch up to them. It's pretty safe, but I should still warn you that the security in this place is built like a maze. Anti-intruder units can swarm you, so be careful.
Jan: Understood.
Mikhail: I've finished up preparations for your dive.
Jan: Of course. Let's go, then.
Mikhail: Captain?
Jan: What?
Mikhail: Actually... there's just one more thing.
Jan: What is it?
Mikhail: After the incident occurred, all records of the ambassadors' presence were erased, and I couldn't find any electrical traces of resistance.
Jan: What does that mean?
Mikhail: When a normal person is held in virtual space against their will, the captive's brain waves leave some kind of electrical residue as evidence of their resistance. However, this time there was no such thing. The only possible explanation is -
Jan: That's ridiculous. Are you saying the ambassadors are staying in virtual reality of their own free will?
Mikhail: Maybe a disparity in the construction process could have caused an error in the trace records, but still... no program that I know of could cause an anomaly like that!
Jan: What do you think, Erich?
Erich: I don't know. I can't imagine that the ambassadors have a reason for staying in there. How about forcing them to log out?
Mikhail: If that were the answer we would have done it already. Externally forcing someone to log out can potentially damage their brain. For safety reasons, you have to dive into their personal space and make contact with them before you can execute a compulsory logout.
Jan: Understood. Keep careful records of my dive.
Mikhail: Please be careful. Something strange is going on... I have a bad feeling about this.