Zeroth Directive

Archive II

[Audio Log] 'Locked and loaded. Is the signal jammer on?' 'Since two minutes ago. We won't be monitored or recorded by the main channel during the test.' 'The accuracy's improved. Not bad. Where do you get your ideas, big guy?' 'Haha, they just come to me from time to time... alright, the machine's up and running.' 'Stage two begins! Let me give it a run. Oh, and how about the target location? Do we have any options?' 'The vents in the corridor behind the cafeteria can serve as a temporary communications post. It's pretty well-hidden, and there's a storage cabinet next to it that can serve as a checkpoint.' 'Too many people coming in and out of the area, though. Kids sneaking into the kitchen at night might knock it over, thinking it was a trash can.' 'Plan B, then. Back entrance of the medical room. Pretty sparse during the day, and not so bad at night either.' 'It'll work. Players will insert coins at the machine, and we'll collect data and do the processing at the 'checkpoint' before issuing the redemption vouchers.' 'The flow seems reasonable. The question is... how do we make the transactions?' [End Audio] 'Who do you think you are, trying to build a black market right under my nose? You're a hundred years too early to get past my monitoring!' Closure turns off the audio monitoring and rushes to the scene to find Kichisei and Humus crouched in front of a sheetmetal box. As they look up at her blankly, the box begins to spit out metal beads. And so the still-unfurnished pachinko machine that Kichisei and Humus built together was confiscated. When interrogated, they admitted they had it all planned secretly, including the 'checkpoints' and 'transaction points', and Humus was planning an 'express channel' linking the three, encouraged by Kichisei. 'Don't talk people into this kinda stuff!' The pachinko machine was reprogrammed, reconnected, and furnished by Closure, who permitted its presence provided that it was not used for gambling, especially not for money, or it would be put in storage and never see the light of day again. Kichisei has made plans for the rewards as well, of course. Snacks, unusual gadgets made by Humus, karaoke golden-hour tickets, and 'a spooky story guaranteed to keep you up at night'—perhaps more than just one story. Kichisei eagerly awaits the day when the pachinko machine is ready for business.

Archive IV

A spring night in Mitsukue should not be so cold and gloomy. A sudden midnight torrent had battered the dark alley, billboard screens on the streets displaying watery reflections, with advertising jingles playing intermittently, sometimes screeching, sometimes rumbling. At the end of the alley, the old neon sign of the grocery store 'Lucky Star' flashed in the inundated air. The old Sankta Rosalia Artigat was about to pull the curtains down when she heard the faint, distant cry of a baby coming from the alley entrance, almost drowned out by the rain. For a moment, she considered pretending she never heard it. It was a chaotic time in Mitsukue, and an abandoned infant could imply someone on the run from debtors, or even a revenge killing. But her halo suddenly flickered, reminding her of that old saying, 'a lamp's duty is to guide the lost.' That was why the neon sign of 'Lucky Star' always shone bright in the first place. Rosalia sighed, took her umbrella, rolled up her pants, and walked through puddle after puddle towards the sound of crying. There was a worn-out suitcase lying open under the pile of scrap cardboard at the alley entrance. Half a gambling chip lay on the rain-soaked blanket. The swaddling cloth was damp and the infant's face blue with cold, but she was still trying her best to make a sound. Rosalia lifted the tiny, feather-light newborn; the warmth she felt in her palm was feeble, but it seemed to make her heart burn. It was still raining. A wall in the distance briefly reflected the flashing of a patrol car's lights. Rosalia quietly stuffed the chip back into the bottom of the suitcase, scooped up the infant and rushed back into her shop. She found some cheap honey, mixed it with hot water to feed the baby, and dried the soaked blanket. An old cigar box from under the counter served as a makeshift cradle. The infant finally quieted down, gazing at the halo formed by the neon lights outside the window with amber eyes, seemingly drawn by instinct to a tiny speck of hope that was subtle, yet warm. 'It's not a cigar or a temporary cradle you need,' the old woman muttered. 'It's a light.' She was reminded of the sight of the shop, the name 'Lucky Star' flashing in the curtain of rain, as though waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. Rosalia looked down and put her palm on the infant's tiny chest like putting down a chip of fate, whispering gently, 'From today forth, you shall be known as Kichisei. You will survive and live in this place, for as long as this light continues to shine.'

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Kichisei

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Archive IV