So in terms of the future, can you talk about any projects you're working on?
Well at the moment I'm working on a TV drama adapted from one of my novels.
Oh, I see. A TV drama...
One area which I always wanted to delve further into was graphic novels.
And I'm happy to say I'm working on a project with the artist, Junichiro Wakamatsu.
I'm sure that will be a great collaboration.
We're going to focus on the emergence of immersive 3D technologies
and the convergence between the game world and the real world.
Gaming and reality?
We're using an artificial neural network program to develop the story.
Recently, we took a basic story and fed it into a robotic neural network
and then told the system to highlight certain thematic elements and physical items in the main story.
We then asked it to recreate the story based on these highlighted elements.
And then kept asking it to build and build upon the story, on a constant feedback loop.
So endless repetitions?
Yes, after about ten times of a story playing out from the neural network
it began to take on a very disturbing and hallucinogenic quality.
As the network's imagination developed a life of its own.
So you just do this time after time...
Yes, exactly, it improves the storytelling through repetition.
This is definitely the future of how we tell stories in a future digital age.
So these feedback loops are integral to the process?
Yes, so I assume the network's imagination gets better every time it happens.
Hi there...
I didn't expect you to be out this early...
What do you want from me?
I need you to take a look at Level 4.
What'? Again?
What's wrong with it now?
We thought we were in the clear after ironing out the issues
with larger save files crashing the system.
But now we gotta deal with neuroworms forcing themselves into our simulacron database.
They keep pushing us down these narrative alleyways we can't get ourselves out of.
The puppets are dancing but not to the right song,
and now the boss is freaking out, given we might have to completely remap our server.
Tough break.
What do I care'? Not my problem.
Look, can you help us do a playthrough and just log some key bugs?
You're the only guy I can fully trust with getting this right.
Potentially...
But what's in it for me?
Two million...
I'll never understand how a guy like you
didn't end up running the company.
Some men know how to master shooting games,
others know how to master the corporate games.
Anyway, I'll take a look at it.
Great.
We're still aiming for a March launch
so we gotta get this sorted out pronto.
We've already had a massive uptake in interest from Korea.
Leave it with me.
Fine. I'll be in touch to stream you the VRX files.
OK, bye...
See ya later.
Kaito, it's a pity you couldn't make it to the reunion.
Most of the old gang were there and they were asking about you.
Yeah, I just couldn't make it...
I had to make deadline and I practically had to chain myself to the desk.
Oh, you remember Kuniko?
How could I forget her?
She was the love of my life...
C'mon, you had a three month fling...
Did you even fuck her during that time?
Don't answer that, I don't actually want to know.
She was looking as hot as ever.
It feels like only yesterday when we used to see her strolling around campus,
her tits bouncing around...
Can we please change the subject?
Kuniko is quite a famous author and journalist now.
I'm surprised you haven't bumped into her.
After all, you both write for a living.
Well, she is...
She is a lot more famous than you.
There's a difference between hack journalist and celebrated novelist.
We're different types of writers...
Yeah, the difference is she's successful and you're not.
Did you know she had one of her short stories translated for The New Yorker?
What I wouldn't give for fifteen minutes with her in the sack...
How was everyone else?
Oh, you know...
Just working round the clock, having kids, getting fat and lazy the usual.
This week's top 10 selling novels... 2. Adultery/ Lovers by Kuniko
China and Egypt are trading military aircraft parts! We need stronger defensive capabilities!
"Yokohama Short Fiction Competition 2006 Special Mention Award to Kaito Nakamura"
What on earth is this on about'? You call this 'news'?
Is this just on Pearl Harbor? What is this going on about?
I just don't get it...
Hey, what is this?
Look...
It's something about before the attack...
What a mess...
Can you believe it has been 12 months since we last did a performance review?
Time just vanishes, doesn't it. I don't know where it goes...
Yes...
So, let me flip this on its head a little...
Are you really happy here with us?
Pardon me?
You've been with us for 5 years now...
Are you happy in your job?
Yes, I am. I find this very rewarding as a profession.
Really, Kaito?
Are you happy with the job?
Or are you just happy you have a job in this lousy economy?
I'm happy, with the job.
I like what we do here...
I like history and I like what we try and promote, the nationalist cause.
Right...
I look through your file, I'm not unhappy with what you've done for us.
You're punctual...
You have some good ideas...
You meet your article deadlines...
You're polite...
And you seem to get along with the rest of the team...
Thank you very much.
Nothing to be thankful for.
These are just the facts as any objective person would assess your performance.
To be frank, I don't see any real progress from when we last sat here...
Which is not a bad thing.
But is it a good thing? I don't know...
You turn on the news,
and there is a desperate lust for growth, growth, growth, year on year growth.
But you and me,
we don't always grow,
we plateau...
and then steadily decline.
Kaito...
Yes.
Kaito, you are not steadily declining.
Yet...
You are comfortably nestled on that plateau.
Which is an achievement of sorts.
Good evening...
Good evening, Kaito. How are you this evening?
A little stressed...
Well hopefully I can make you feel a bit more relaxed.
Condoms are over there...
I know.
Just don't break your character.
Thank you, Kaito.
Why don't you give me a call sooner next time?
I always enjoy our time together.
I have to work long hours to pay for it.
"Adultery/ Lovers" by Kuniko Ozawa
"Yokohama Short Fiction Competition 2006 Special Mention Award to Kaito Nakamura"
So let me start with recent South Korean efforts to bring up the issue of comfort women
and fuel further unnecessary tensions between our nations.
Yes, the Korean leftists want nothing more than a fractured alliance
between America, Japan and South Korea
and they know that this issue is perfect to ruin our defensive unity
against the communists in China and North Korea.
All this issue comes down to is the need to ruin...
our strategic partnerships around Asia based on a speculative fiction.
So what has your recent research found on this topic?
What I have been specifically focused on
is the legal jurisdiction
and precedent for a government and military
to control what private enterprise brokers do.
It is only logical we cannot be expected to be held responsible
for what private businessmen did during the war.
The simple fact is that those who organised the so-called comfort women
were private citizen pimps; the government cannot be held responsible for that.
What do you say to critics who would argue that by still using the service
the military gave tacit endorsement of the practices of these brokers'?
Simply this the military nor the government
did not know that these women were coerced into such service
and therefore theories around 'endorsement' cannot carry any real weight.
If such women did in fact exist as claimed
the Japanese government cannot be expected to be held responsible
as there was no intent in using these brokers' services
because they were involuntarily procured.
So it is reasonable for the Japanese government
to express sorrow for what happened but not claim direct responsibility...
Of course.
Remember that during wartime
we did not have the kind of strict quality assurances protocols in place
for every single one of the Japanese military's procurement contracts that we have today.
There were many brave men who needed sexual release
which was entirely necessary for their morale
and civilian contractors were providing a service the same way others provided weapons or food.
Now, if some of the food was stolen from another farm
but delivered to the military on the promise it wasn't stolen
how can the Japanese military be expected to research and investigate product origins
when we were under attack and had far more pressing concerns to deal with?
Glory to the Emperor!
Glory!
Spit on my face while I cum...
Hello...
Hello. What seems to be the problem?
I think there's something breaking down.
I need a checkup.
Confirmed. I'll be over soon.
Well, it seems like there's nothing major happening.
Can you describe the problems in more detail?
Not really...
I just...
I just don't know how to describe it correctly.
I've been
having
bad visions...
Right...
Like, problems with your lenses?
Lenses?
No.
I can ingest external stimuli perfectly well.
The problem is during standby mode.
Don't be frightened...
I'm sorry...
But this is my first time.
I can tell. But there's nothing to be afraid of.
I suppose not...
What's so scary about a woman like me?
Nothing, I suppose...
"Special Q&A with Kuniko Ozawa Celebrate her new novel at Cafe Lumiere."
- Let's return to the book... - Yes, of course.
It's about ambition and the lengths people go to satisfy their dreams.
Was that theme an intentional starting point?
When I was reviewing the book, I realised all the threads returned to the same theme.
So there was deliberate intent?
It wasn't precisely planned, everything grew organically.
- That idea of finding meaning in one's work... - Yes, go on...
I think everything comes together in the end...
A real unconscious process...
Yes, if I look back now, I'm writing about myself from a far away place...
This was written when I was fresh out of college, so I was caught up with these ideas...
Is it ever possible to fully satisfy your dreams?
Total personal satisfaction? Total professional satisfaction? I don't know...
"In A Year of 4 Moons" Chapter 1 The bitter tears of a cold universe.
Hi Kaito.
Hi.
I was just... wondering whether... if you're not busy this weekend...
you might be interested in joining me for dinner.
I read about this really good Thai restaurant in Shibuya that just opened and I thought...
Oh, Kaito...
Thank you.
But...
I'm actually...
Kind of seeing someone so...
Sorry. Yes, I understand, yes...
Sorry to bother you...
Thank you anyway...
You have Kunik0's address?
You have my money?
It's not really my business but are you some kind of stalker of this author bitch?
She's pretty hot for her age...
Have fun with her...
I didn't want things to be like this.
I didn't ask for this.
But I cannot ignore
what has been festering all these years.
Many will say I had choices. But did I really?
This shadow has consumed me.
It has eaten away at me.
As I sink further into this hell
you call Japan...
There will be a beauty in my legacy
but it will only be appreciated
when this country degenerates into total despair.
The millions of hours
thinking about what could have been.
All the hope that was flushed away with every fucking minute.
All I have is nothingness.
All the wasted energy.
All the love I put out.
All I wanted was an escape from this game.
Time stretches backwards and forwards with only one constant...
Pain.
I have thought about every imaginable horror to inflict against my fellow man.
I've held myself back...
But no longer.
You should care less about my actions,
than the world that spawned someone like me.
Wait until I spread. You won't be able to contain the shadow
that engulfs the light of day.
Kaito? What the fuck are you doing here at this time of...
Hello.
Hi.
It has been a long time...
I did not think I'd see you back in this building.
Freelancing was the best decision I could make.
Can we get you a drink?
Just a soda water.
One soda water and two teas, thanks.
How did you find the overall experience?
It has some serious problems, but if you fix those
I think gamers will lap it up.
How bad did it get in that world?
It has problems.
But when you jack into people's minds,
and mess around what do you expect'?
You aren't tempted to come back into the fold
and work with us again
to take Level 4 to the next stage?
I love my life the way it is.
I've logged every bug I could find
and marked up some coding fixes.
It's all on there.
Please come in.
Nagisa, it is so nice to see you again.
You too, honey.
Long time no see.
Thanks.
Well...
If I were to tell you
to hang on to all the VRX files on your drive you've worked on
while we go through everything you've done
would you be willing to take another test for half a million and then give us final analysis?
I guess so...
Make it 750K and we're in business.
Fine.
I don't know why
a guy like you
didn't bother staying with us
and working your way up the ladder...
I'm not...
going to get ahead in a place like this, we both know that...
Tomoki...
Join me.
Here on the inside is so much more fulfilling than out there.
Hi...
I'm trying to get a hold of Tomoki.
I haven't heard back from her.
I saw her test results. She's got this virus I haven't seen before.
The company wants to recall her for more testing.
We don't know what the long-term impact will be.
Have you heard from her?
Nope.
I've been busy negotiating a new job.
Looks like I'll be able to get some more Bitcoin soon...
What's the new job?
It's a creepy new VR gaming experience.
It's still buggy as hell though.
Just a sec, Tomoki hasn't been exposed to any neuralgaming entities lately?
I don't think so...
Oh...fuck...
What?!
Well, I was testing that game software online.
I was also camming with her on the same network connection.
There might have been some convergence...
Fuck me, that is not good.
What do we say about keeping VR software well away from gynoid programming?
"It's like taking a bath with a toaster."
Fuck me...
Just make sure you get her to come in for a maintenance checkup ASAP.
Sure, I'm sorry about this...
It slipped my mind as I was getting into it.
I get so caught up in the moment, you know how it is.
If you hear from Tomoki, get her to contact me...Bye.
"In A Year of 4 Moons" A novel by Kaito Nakamura
What did you get up to today?
Nothing much.
And you?
I've started work on a new novel.
Good evening.
What do you want?
I just wanted to have a talk.
Shinya has been trying to get in touch with you.
Are you going to leave me standing out here?
I was actually in the middle of something but...
So what did you want to chat about?
Our future...
What about 'our future'?
Hello'?
Hi. This is Kaito Nakamura. Is this Kuniko?
Yes...Kaito...
It has been so long!
Do you mind if I come and have have a quick talk?
Yeah, sorry, this is just a bit of a surprise.
I was going to leave for a quick bite, but maybe we can talk first
and then, I don't know, maybe we can both get something to eat...
Okay...
So I heard from the others you're writing for a tabloid magazine?
Yes.
You were such a great writer when you did our college magazine...
I always thought you would be our next Kobo Abe...
Things don't always work out the way you want.
So why didn't you come to the reunion last month?
I was busy meeting a deadline.
I was sorry to miss it.
Yeah...
So why did you come and visit, Kaito?
Do you remember before you left for Europe you gave me a letter?
Of course.
Do you remember what the final quote on the letter was?
Yes.
I haven't forgotten it either.
"When you stand in front of me"
"and look at me"
"what do you know of the grief inside me"
"and what do I know of yours?"
Do you remember who wrote that originally?
Kafka.
Yes.
You always loved Kafka...
I wouldn't say 'love'. I admired his technique.
You didn't just come here to talk old times between us though, right?
Glory to the Emperor!
You were always better, Kuniko,
but we really could have gone to the next level...
"When you stand in front of me,"
"and look right at me,"
"what do you know"
"of the grief inside me"
"and what do I know of your grief?"
"And if I were to cast myself down before you,"
"and weep and tell you"
"what more would you know about me than you know about hell"
"when someone tells you it is hot and dreadful?"
"For that reason alone"
"we human beings ought to stand before one another"
"as reverently'
"as reflectively'
"as lovingly"
"as we would before the entrance to hell."