Part 38: Shu Amiguchi 3

Let’s give Shu another shot. I’ve been hard on him, but maybe he’s not so bad.



Chapter 38: Shu Amiguchi 3

Music: Forty Winks (Rikako Watanabe)





All these weird dreams must be getting to me… And that show that came on in the middle of the night. Wish *that* was just a dream…



Consider Tetsuya Ida

(Back in my dream… He called himself Tetsuya Ida. We look identical, but… that’s not my name, so…)

Consider Tomi Kisaragi

(It’s weird… I keep seeing Kisaragi in my dreams. Except it’s not exactly me. My name’s Ida there. Just two people struggling to survive… Wonder if they’re in love.)

Consider That Dream

(This dream’s probably way, way off in the future… Looked like it was in some kind of lab. Never figured she’d turn up… But that was her. Tomi Kisaragi.)

Wait… what? We haven’t seen that dream, have we? C’mon, fill us in!




No sign of her, though.




I wanted to talk about my dream… Might be out in the passageway…








…What?
She’s the same… Just like the Kisaragi I saw in my dream…
(annoyed) Did you say something?



You were the one just standing around here.

Uh, yeah. He was standing still. You were the one running and not looking where you were going.

Use That Dream on Tomi Kisaragi



Huh?



Oh. Well, uh… never mind about that second chance, then.

Huh.




You think you can do anything you want just because you’re popular!?
Look, I mean, I had this dream last night…

Excellent start to an excuse, A+.





What the hell is your problem?



You think you can just go around grabbing girls?
Oh, uh… sorry, sorry.

Use That Dream on Tomi Kisaragi



(Or half of her, at any rate… Maybe it really was just a messed-up dream. I already know what Kurabe-kun would say… I gotta lay off the splatter flicks.)



*sigh* Such a skeezeball… What’s *with* this guy?



Tomi then disappears into 1-B’s classroom. Let’s make our way to the right, then…











Hi, Amiguchi-kun.
Kurabe-kun’s not here, huh?



How about you, Amiguchi-kun?
Yeah, my dreams have been crazy lately too.
Do you see robots too?
No… Well—okay, sure, yeah, they’re kinda like robots…



Well, they were more like androids. I mean, you couldn’t tell them apart from human beings. And I’m there in some kinda lab with all these androids…?



I was there, too. In my dream. The “sixth biggest underground laboratory in Shikishima”… or something.
That place is… underground?
And I saw Usami-chan there, too…
Tomi Kisaragi! Yeah, me too! It’s gotta be the same place.




Tell me more about your dream.

Use The Lab Dream on Iori Fuyusaka



Okay, so…

Music: SEEKER (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)



There’s like six different things happening right now that make me want to yell.




Tamao!? Make that seven!

I really don’t know what I’d do without you.
Don’t worry, Ida-kun. You succeeded with me. I’m sure you’ll do fine with her.
I’m sorry I had to prioritize her… Don’t worry, we’ll get you a body too. Soon.
I’m looking forward to it.



Initializing composition.




The simulated personality and memories have been synchronized.






Do you recognize me?



…… Wait…



…Did he even have a brother?
It is you…
You look so… grown up.



Wonder how long it’s gonna take for the existential terror to set in.




Hm? I can’t move…
She’s having trouble understanding her situation. I will inhibit her emotions to avoid a panic attack.

Oh, there it is, right on schedule.



……



Please, listen. Try to stay calm. I analyzed your data from the records in Sector 0. I found data for your old memories, your mind… And now I’ve transferred them into an android body.
You mean I’m… I’m not… human? Am… I…
Tamao-san, please turn up the sensitivity on those inhibitors…
…Kisaragi-san… You’re like me now.

No offense, Tamao, but you don’t even have a body. I’m not sure that’s gonna calm her down.

An AI, based on memory data. You are constructed to think and act just like her. To *be* Tomi Kisaragi.

Really not helping!



……
…Let me try to calm her directly. Could you connect us?








The Sentinels we thought were complete aren’t responding.



So it has to be the D-code control holding them back. If we want to disrupt that function, well… We need someone compatible to maintain direct access.



No…
Is this a bad time?
No, everything’s fine now.



Really?




Well…
Please. Be honest…



You, and the other kids. …And I put him down.






Man, what time is it? No way I’m getting back to sleep after that…

Consider Tetsuya Ida

(So in that dream, my name’s Tetsuya Ida. It looks like it takes place in the future… And Fuyusaka’s apparently been seeing stuff in the same place… …… I’ve been seeing things through Tetsuya Ida’s eyes… But Fuyusaka… …Actually, now that I think about it… The Ms. Morimura in my dreams looks pretty familiar. She kinda reminds me of Fuyusaka…)









Okay, maybe I’m just going nuts.




Music: Head In The Clouds (Rikako Watanabe)



From the sounds of things… This might still take a while…

Use Miyuki Inaba on Miyuki Inaba



Or something else just wearing her face?
There’s only one Miyuki Inaba in the world. But whether this face is just a mask… It’s hard to say. Sometimes a mask is all an idol has. Sometimes it’s all they are.

Yeah, deep, whatever. Didn’t really answer the question.

I know this is a normal TV set. It doesn’t even do videophone stuff. Pretty sure I shouldn’t be able to talk to someone through it.
You yourself are the transmitter. The TV is just the receiver. This is the only way I can communicate with you…



Universal Control?

The system denied me access. So I had to sneak in on this broadcast.
Kind of over my head, but I guess the point is… You hijacked the airwaves? And that’s how we’re talking?
You could say that…



You’re the only one I can find. More accurately, your ID is the only one I could locate… But even beyond that… I know I can depend on you.



What were you talking about?
It will take a while to help you understand.
Understand what?
Our situation.



I’m being tracked… I’m cutting the connection for now.






And Shu is unlockable again. Man, a lot of scenes are dependent on seeing “Exterminator,” huh?



We add “Universal Control?” to the board, and remove “Androids?”, as it’s pretty clear now why there are androids of Tomi Kisaragi and Tamao Kurabe running around. Well, sort of. Still a lot of questions around that answer, but at least we know that bit.