Part 49: Chapter 2 Extra Study Material (1)

As discussed in the thread, this post will cover the missed chapter 2 "free time" events with Mondo and Chihiro. I'm going to add to it gradually, hopefully a segment along with each update of the main game. Also, I know next to nothing about motorcycles. Someone please correct me if there are obvious mistakes.





We first find Mondo next to the changing rooms.



What’s up, Naegi? Do you have something on your mind?

Should I spend time with Oowada-kun?



Spend time / Go somewhere else



I guess you give me no choice... Not that I’m into man dates or anything...
Sure, if it’s just for a little while, I’ll hang out with you...

You spent time with Oowada-kun.

We're giving him this present:



The fastest Cup Ramen: High-speed noodles, ready for consumption 3 seconds after adding boiling water, but they go stale 30 seconds later.



So, Naegi. What do you ride?
Eh? What do you mean by “ride”?



A motorcycle, obviously!!
Um, I don’t ride any of them...



Huh!? It’s not as if you’re too young. You’re saying you’ve never rode one!?
...You’re actually as dull as you look!
U...um... I’m sorry...
Just to let you know, though...
For a man, Kawasaki is the only choice. That’s my kind of machine.



Heh heh, I’ll show it to you sometime. It handles like a dancer with horsepower like a monster!
Riding it is an art that’s impossible for someone without the proper skill.
You really like motorcycles, don’t you...



...Of course I do! I run a motorcycle gang, don’t I!? There's no one riding wilder than us!
That’s right, you’re the leader of Japan’s largest gang, aren’t you...



Yeah!! I’m the second leader of the invincible “Crazy Diamonds”!!

That gang name is made of a long string of Kanji characters with such abstract meanings as "majestic" and "intimidating" (as well as the two brothers' names, as seen below). When read out loud, they literally spell out "Crazy Diamonds" (or, more accurately, "kureiji daiyamondo").

I’ll take you for a ride sometime! The engine sounds great with an exhaust muffler on, right?
...Exhaust muffler?



What the fuck? Don’t tell me you’re one of those dudes who don’t even know what an exhaust muffler is?

Um, what's an exhaust muffler? Isn't that what you use when you have no...?



I have no idea / A Silencer / A Pipe

You're talking about a muffler with no silencer, right?



Oh! So you know after all?!!
Right, it’s decided! We’re going to ride together soon!



Ah, it brings back memories of my own debut ride!
My big brother was also in the gang, you know. His name was Daiya.
Daiya and Mondo. The Diamond Brothers. Do you get it? Our name was infamous across the country!



I’m much more amazing than my brother, tough.

“The Diamond Brothers”... It does sound awesome...



You know, on that debut ride, I was told to ride back door.
And then I was suddenly surrounded by the police. They gave me a hard time.



But they couldn’t stand up to me, of course! In a fight, I take everyone down!
Everyone... you sure are strong, aren’t you.



...Of course I am! What, you thought I ride bikes waving a white flag?
If there’s a fight coming, I just ride straight on into it!
I aim straight for the head of the group! That’s why everyone else is always coming straight at me!
I mean, a group is only as strong as its leader...



You’ll understand once you start riding! So let’s ride together next time!
No... I think it’s better if I don’t understand...
And anyway, I told you I don’t know how to ride...



In that case, I’ll let you ride in my back seat! It’s fun! Thrilling, too!

Ride in the back seat of the guy all the other gangs target...?

Um, I think I’ll p...
Heh heh! I’m looking forward to it.
I finally have something to look forward to after we leave this place!!

Oowada-kun left the room in high spirits.

Bad... That’s bad.

I feel as if my life will still be in danger after leaving this place...

This encounter raises our SP.

Our second encounter with Mondo is at the laundry room.





Someone get me out of this depressing place. I don't even mind being washed away into the sea...

Should I spend time with Oowada-kun?



Spend time / Go somewhere else



Sure! It helps pass the time!

Let's give him this:



Mineral water: For the modern man who finds tap water unsatisfactory, a drink with some water from deep within the ocean mixed in.





Ah, Shit...
Shit...!
Fuck...!
What’s wrong? Are you mad about something...?



...”About something”?
Are you too dumb to get the reason why I’m angry all the time?
I have a gang to run! I need to get out of this place...!



Fuck! It’s so irritating!
I... I understand how you feel, but try not to get any weird ideas...



How about a one-on-one fight, then?
A... A one-on-one fight?!



Don’t worry, I won’t use any weapons. You know the style, right?
...Eh?



We won't use any weapons. You know the style, right?!

An empty-handed fight. In his words, that’s called...?



Sutegoro / Gorodama / Wanpan

All slangy contractions. Sutegoro is the right answer, and is an empty-handed raw fighting style ("sute" means bare hands, "goro" is a quarrel). Gorodama is the trick answer (because of the "goro" in it), but it's actually a baseball term - a ground ball. Wanpan is short for "One Punch" and means winning a fight with just a single decisive hit.

“Sutegoro”...?



Yeah, that’s it! A one-on-one sutegoro! You don’t have any problems with that, right?
W...wait a second! Two classmates shouldn’t hit each other...!



I don’t have my gang here, so I have to release the pressure somehow...
But... I have never been in a fight before...
I have an idea! You should ask Oogami-san!



...Huh?
You can ask her to spar with you! It's not a real fight if it’s sports, right?



Y...you bastard...! Don’t say retarded things! I’ll never hit a woman...
S...so sparring with one... is impossible for me...
............



I’m serious! I won’t hit a woman! Don’t act so surprised, you bastard!!
I...I got it... You don’t have to yell...



I can’t help yelling! When I get nervous I always yell!!

So... he got nervous...




It’s an instinct! Is there anything wrong with that?! It’s the reason I can’t even tell girls I like them!!
I get nervous and I end up yelling, and they reject me every time!!
I’m on a 10-strike run right now! Fuck!!

A 10-strike run... that’s a sad record...



Oooh, shit...! It’s your fault I remembered something I wanted to forget!...
Why did you have to do this...?
Sigh, now I’m depressed. I’m going back to my room.

Oowada-kun slumped out of the room.

I... I feel like I did something bad...

On the other hand, I think I’ve seen a part of Oowada-kun he usually keeps hidden...

So he has a soft-side too... I shouldn’t say that in front of him, though.

We get a skill out of this scene. Shiftdown: Used during the school trial. Slows the target's speed down.


Let's take a break from Mondo, and visit Chihiro for a bit. We find her in the hallways of the second floor.







Ah, Naegi-kun. Good morning.
Heh heh. Fancy meeting you here.

Should I spend time with Fujisaki-san?



Spend time / Go somewhere else



Heh heh! Yay! I like talking to you, Naegi-kun!

We give her this present:



Rose herb tea: A herb tea perfect for a beauty diet. It can make you feel refined in no time.



Sigh...
...What’s wrong? That sure was a heavy sigh...



I feel like I’m useless...
Everyone is doing their best looking for a way to escape this place, but I’m no help at all...
T...that’s not true!



...You don’t have to pretend. It’s the truth.
I mean, without a computer I can’t do anything...
If my body was at least a little bit stronger, I probably could have done something...
...I’m sure something will come up soon. A time when we need your special abilities...
So try not to feel so dejected...



A time... my abilities are needed...



If that time comes... I’ll do my best to help! When it comes to computers I'm sure I can do anything...

That’s right... She’s a “Super High-school Level Hacker”, after all...

...So, why how did you get into programming in the first place?



...Eh?
I mean, computers is a hobby I usually associate with guys...



............
Do you think I’m... weird...?
N...no, that’s not what I mean. I’m just interested in your motivation.
...The reason you started using computers...





The reason...
It’s not very much of one.
I was weak since I was a kid, and I couldn’t go out and play with friends outside...
So I started playing with the computer we had at my house to pass the time, and it turned out to be much more fun than I imagined...



You see, my father is a systems engineer, and was involved in creating many major computer systems...
...I found one of his half-finished programs, and made some modifications on my own...
That was the first time I realized I could write programs by myself.
What kind of a program was it?



It was an information retrieval system.
...An information retrieval system?



It listened to the user, parsed the language, and returned the information the user was looking for.
That is, it was a system that could take input from sources other than a keyboard.

A system that listens to the user and parses the language without using a keyboard...
That means it took...



Voice input / Touch input / Telekinetic input

...Voice input?



Yeah, that’s it!
Then I thought if I made it reply with my own voice, it would be really fun having a conversation with it...
It would be as if I was talking to myself! So I worked on it in a daze and managed to make it work.

It’s like kids who record their own voice as a game... No, this is far too complicated to be called “a game”...



The toughest bit was understanding the user’s input correctly...
That is, to precisely analyze the user's speech. It’s tough because Japanese is so complicated.
And yet, you managed to do it?



Yeah, and just after I did...
My dad discovered that I modified his program without asking for permission...
I was sure he was going to be mad, but...



It was just the opposite! He really praised me for what I had done!
I did some natural language processing work on that system, and made it able to exchange information with the user by conversation...
And it seems I did really well, he even said it may lead to a breakthrough in information retrieval technology!



Though, honestly, it never became popular because of cost issues...

Oh, Chihiro. If you only lived longer and could see your work popularized by Apple.

But, it didn’t matter to me. From that time on, I was completely absorbed in programming.



I was so happy that even someone like me can make things other people like!

Fujisaki-san sure seems to love computers...

Once the conversation turned to that subject, she became so lively!



Ah! I’m sorry, I took over the conversation...
Don’t worry, your story was really interesting.



Eh? Really...?
Let me hear some more next time, okay?



S...sure...! Let’s do this again sometime!
Heh heh! It’s a promise!

We get a skill out of this event. Algorithm: Usable during the school trial. Faster memorizing of evidence bullets.

Our next encounter with Chihiro is in the laundry.







Um, do you need anything, Naegi-kun?

Should I spend time with Fujisaki-san?



Spend time / Go somewhere else

And here's yet another present Chihiro likes:



Blueberry perfume: A perfume popular with the guys. That scent attract women, but is hated by men.



Um, Naegi-san... If you don’t mind...
Can we speak some more?

I don’t think there’s anyone who can refuse her when she speaks like that...

So, tell me more about yourself, Fujisaki-san.



Sure... What do you want to know...?
What kind of programs are you working on these days? I’m sure they’re great.



Um... my current work is still at the research stage...
It’s something a little more complicated, but it’s using the conversation algorithms I told you about before.
But... I can’t talk about it in detail... I signed an NDA with the company that’s funding the project...
I see... it would be troublesome if someone steals your ideas...



It’s not like I don’t trust you, Naegi-kun... But I do have a contract...
I... I’m sorry...
No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have asked about things you can’t talk about.



Ah, but...
I can give you a little hint. That’s probably alright...
It has to do with the first and ninth letters of the alphabet...

With that hint, I think I can figure it out...



Virtual Reality / Artificial Intelligence / Robotics

It’s Artificial Intelligence... right?



Ah! You found out!?
Was my hint... too obvious...?



That’s bad... if they find out I broke my contract, they’re going to get mad...
I...It’s okay... I promise I won’t tell anyone...



Y...you’re right... Since it’s you, Naegi-kun, I’m sure I don’t have anything to worry about...
...In that case, I guess I can tell you more about it.





You see, the AI I’m developing now is like nothing that was ever done before.
It’s going to replicate the way our brains think. It’s a “Strong AI” that can solve problems as well as any human.
“Strong AI”...?



The artificial intelligence field is divided into problems of “strong AI” and “weak AI”.
Weak AI is used in software that solves problems that don’t require actual human-like thought processes.
The computer isn’t really thinking. It just processes information mechanically.
On the other hand, strong AI is the theoretical computer that has actual intelligence and ego.



If you take this point of view, a working strong AI has a mind of its own.
But there are also many researchers who think that this is impossible.
It all sounds like science fiction to me... Are you really working on such a thing, Fujisaki-san?



Like I said, it’s at the research stage right now...
I think programs that think in a human-like way are going to get more and more advanced, but...



Actual intelligence and ego are still far far away. I think we may never even reach it.
Is that so...?



How can I explain...? I think it may sound a little strange, but...
It doesn’t matter how good or complicated your program is...
Even if you have hardware and software that can completely simulate the human brain...
...I don’t think that’s going to be enough.
We may come very close to making a program that thinks like a human, but I think it will definitely lack something.
Lack something...?



I mean...
Something like... a soul.
If I could find a way to put my own soul into a computer, that would surely create a true “strong AI”...
But, a soul...



Yeah, I don’t really get it myself. It’s a word us technical people don’t normally use...
...I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.



And in any case, we’re still at the research stage so I can’t really tell you anything else...

Artificial intelligence, huh? It was a little complicated, but it’s an interesting subject.



I talked for a long time again... You’re not bored, are you?
Not only am I not bored, it was really interesting.



...Eh? Really?



Well, then! Next time, let me hear something about you!
No... as opposed to you, my own stories really are boring...



...I won’t have it! Next time it’s your turn!
S...sure, I got it...
Heh heh. Yay!

This encounter gives us more SP.