Part 11: Takeshi - First Day - Part 7
Track—Hologramm
The newly-designated tie-breaker coin is to blame.
I persisted.
"That's still the same distance, right? It's just vertical instead of horizontal. I'd just have to try extra hard... And with float rings or something buoyant it would be even easier..."
"Hey, Takeshi. How fast do you think you could run 50 meters on mattresses?"
You suddenly shot me the question.
"Why mattresses?"
"Because. Just answer the question."
"Fifty meters. Maybe six or seven seconds."
"So how about if the mattresses were piled on you?"
"...Huh?"
"How long would it take to get them off of you?"
"How would I know? I've never tried that."
"Think you could do it in seven seconds?"
"You know I couldn't! Running on something and taking them off of you are two different things."
I gasped.
"...Oh, I get it..."
"Now do you finally see?"
Track—Drittestock
Takeshi – Second Flooding
"That is correct."
"There is something else I want to say. It is an announcement... I am still working to gather information and reconnect LeMU's communication network with the outside, however... All cable, radio and network functions are down due to malfunctions, physically severed cables or flooding.
"I cannot provide an estimation of when we will be in touch with the outside. Sonic communication to the outside is also down. Therefore I have not been able to dispatch an SOS. That concludes my report..."
There was no sign of help. If there were people up on the floating the island, the least they could do was send someone to check on us... I was trying to be upbeat about things, but with the first floor flooded and the partitions shut no one was going to be coming through there.
And coming through the ocean...that seemed even more impossible. The flooding of LeMU had disrupted the flow of the currents around it. It would be hard for a diver or small submersible to get anywhere near it.
Track—Insel Null
"Ready go"
[Pipi]: "Ggrrrr. Waff."
"...Heeee. Ah, ha, ha, ha,ha!"
"Yeah That's another win for Pipi."
[Pipi]: "Woof."
I had just finished my 34th match against Pipi. And I had lost 34 times. It was a pretty one-sided affair.
Did you start realizing that after the match 17?
"Is there anyway that Pipi could lose?"
"Oh, are you making excuses?"
"First off, you're the one who's making Pipi's face all funny. I can't make faces that crazy by myself."
"Well, there's no other way to do it. Pipi can't make faces alone."
[Pipi]: "Woof."
"Besides, I don't know how to make a dog laugh, so it's not really fair."
"Well...that's just something you have to get used to."
I wondered if was really just getting used to it.
"Pipi laughs when he's happy. right Pipi?"
[Pipi]: "Woof, woof."
"Well, I'll just have to admit defeat. Kid, you wanna take my place?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. I'm begging you. I'll be the referee."
The Kid had been talking with You but he came over.
"Alright! Game time!"
"Don't be too hard on me."
"Oh, what game are you playing? It looks fun..."
Sora, who appeared taken with the game, also came over.
"It's a staring contest - canine vs. human."
"Well, that seems pretty incredible."
Sora covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
"Actually, Pipi is incredible...I think I'm gonna have nightmares about this."
I shuddered.
"And now, in their first contest we have the Champion Pipi vs. the challenger, The Kid facing off in a face fight... I want to get underway, but first..."
"Let's hurry up and do this."
"Well, I think we need to decide what we're going to call the kid here. Is 'Kid' okay? What do you think?"
"Well, I don't know..."
"We could call him Kiddo."
"Uh...um...sure."
"Kiddo Kiddo Kiddo"
"Kiddo, huh.... You want me to call you that, too? There's gotta be a more normal name than that."
"John. It's a little random, but I like John Doe."
It’s a common name to use for unidentified people in cases/accidents.
"Don't you think that would be a little rude to all of the people named John?"
"Well, it's only for a little while, so it doesn't have to be perfect."
"Takeshi, I thought you wanted a more name-like name than Kiddo."
"Well then...Coco will think up another name! Kiddo's other name could be…"
"Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Hora Juan Novecino Maria de Los Remedios... Siburiano Critiano de la Santeshima Trinidado Luis Picasso!"
Holy shit
Incidentally, Picasso’s name really was this ridiculously long. Coco’s misremembering it slightly,
"That's too long! Anything longer than Yubiseiharukana Tanaka is out!"
"Hey Takeshi! Don't just go blurting out my full name..."
You, who had been standing over by the shop, came walking directly toward me.
"Ah! What a pain! In honor of the mascot, I name you John Raccoon Dog Smith!"
"........."
My sentiments exactly.
"That's crude, Takeshi..."
[Pipi]: "Woof?"
"Well, let's see. Why don't I think of one...How about Melos?"
I think this a reference to this short story, but I’m not entirely sure.
"Why Nomemo?"
"Well, he's got no memory."
I also suspect there may have been a line or two missing from the translation here because there’s no mention of You suggesting ‘Nomemo’ as a name.
"Nah, it's bad luck to name him that..."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to be so direct..."
"What are you all bickering about?"
Tsugumi cut in.
"If we come up with some random name, it'll be a hassle when he remembers his real one. He is a kid... So why don't we just stick with Kid?"
The conversation had come full circle.
Music—Stop
The lights suddenly went out and then flashed back on. There was a dull, heavy metallic echo.... At the same time, there was a slight tremor.
"What's that?"
"Below? I wonder if something happened below?"
"I will try to investigate."
Saying that, Sora held her hands out in front of her.
Track—Kopfsprung
"Oh...!"
Just then a strong lateral vibration jolted the floor. The holographic window that Sora had conjured vanished.
"Sora!"
"It's alright.... The monitor is back online, I am initiating a scan... Water has penetrated the material storage space in Sector 6 of Dritte stock."
"It's flooding? I didn't see any signs of that when I made the rounds..."
Boom, boom, boom...
The sound of metal giving way accompanied the massive shaking. Scenes from old movies of luxury liners being swallowed by the ocean flashed across my mind.
"There is damage to the passageways connecting the sectors. Multiple leak areas, and increasing."
"Hey... Don't you think we should grab hold of something?"
"Yes. Everyone grab something and steady yourself!"
"O-okay."
Coco crouched down as she squeezed Pipi tightly. Everyone held their breath.
Boom, boom, boom....
Boom, boom, boom.
Bam!
A huge shockwave rocked us. The whole floor, or rather the whole of LeMU shook.
I thought I would be thrown into the ceiling one second or pulverized into the floor the next. The souvenir shop in front of me trembled. The display of dishes in the shop fell to the floor and shattered... The pile of empty cans clattered and gave way... A stuffed animal made a beeping noise as it fell on its stomach. We all steadied ourselves against the shaking. All we could do was endure it. No one said anything. We could hear the squeal of steel twisting.
Boom, boom, boom.
Boom, boom, boom...
Finally the sound seemed to get further away. The vibrations also gradually subsided.
Track—Gedaechtnisschwund
Still wary, we headed downstairs. We carefully moved forward down the wet and slippery stairs. With every step, the scent of seawater seemed to grow stronger.
The water level in the corridor reached around my shin... It must have been around six inches deep.
"LeMU can't pump out all this water?"
"It appears not. All major areas where leaking has occurred have been closed off by shutting a partition, however, water is continuing to flow in through small ducts, even now. The water clearing pumps are operating at full capacity, but to make the water level recede—“
"The big hole will have to be plugged. Is that what you were gonna say?"
"But with the partition shutting off the sector of the original leak, there is no way to access it..."
"Yes, that is so..."
Sora checked the damage via the LeMMIH console.
"But I must sincerely apologize... Even though the second flooding was about to occur, I failed to notice and warn you all..."
As she manipulated the keys, Sora bowed her head looking deeply apologetic.
