Muv-luv Alternative -Right Stuff- 作：レイテンシー
2014, Date Unknown
UN Yukon Base
Lieutenant Yuuya Bridges
Suddenly, due to the BETA invasion, the existing livestock industry was devastated. While waiting for my meal in the canteen of the UN base I was assigned to, my thoughts drifted to the food I was about to eat.
Naturally, it was a so-called synthetic something lunch, made of synthetic materials. However, this was not a cause for dissatisfaction. The United States had maintained a high self-sufficiency rate in food due to national policy, but that was only until the 2000s.
With the global changes in food situations, even the sole superpower had to change its course. Therefore, as an American, I am accustomed to synthetic food.
What I am thinking about now, and what I will think about in the future, has nothing to do with tactical fighters. Surprisingly, during a time when the world is at a disadvantage in the fight against space creatures, there are well-rounded lectures on humanities and social sciences at the university. That’s where I learned this.
The lecturer said that studying and maintaining culture is also part of the fight against BETA. If we degrade to creatures that only fight, at that time, humanity will become the same as the BETA, industrial machines.
Now, the reason why humanity had to drastically change its food situation was, roughly speaking, due to the increased value of land.
Agriculture and livestock, which supported existing food cultures, could be seen as consuming vast amounts of land to produce food. However, there was a different demand for the flatlands suitable for these purposes.
Of course, the reason is BETA. With the fall of the Eurasian continent, humanity, having lost many cities and industrial areas, had to seek alternatives in areas not yet reached by BETA.
That is, land began to be demanded more as residential and industrial areas. You might think that food should be the first concern, but with an alternative at hand, the situation changes.
So, humanity decided to prioritize building houses and factories over fields and pastures. Let’s look at how the BETA invasion threatened humanity's food situation, in order.
Since the 70s, when the BETA began their westward advance, they were rapidly taking over the western half of the Eurasian continent. At this point, humanity was forced to change its future food situation.
The direct cause was the destruction of vast grain-producing regions from the western part of the Soviet Union to Europe by BETA. With advanced transportation methods and the internationalization of food procurement, this loss did not stay confined to the Eurasian continent.
To perceive this problem merely as the unavailability of bread is a mistake. The grains produced here were mainly consumed as livestock feed.
So, humanity was forced to convert grains that were supposed to be consumed by humans for livestock use, or to cultivate new lands. Here, livestock, considering its feed, was re-recognized as an extravagant item that consumes an incredibly vast area.
New land cultivation was more difficult than expected. It wasn't as simple as just going to an empty land and plowing with a hoe. This is because large agricultural areas usually have history.
Shifting this at the regional level was equivalent to abandoning history that had been improved over hundreds or thousands of years. Even with the science and technology developed over the past 50 years, it was predicted it would take half a century to obtain decent crops from entirely new lands.
In the Alternative Declaration entrusted in 1979, the eighth goal was to procure alternative food sources. It was the Japanese Empire that overturned its negative impression and took leadership.
I don’t know the details, but I heard there was a big order from a command structure higher than a Shogun, and they offered a new option for humanity.
That is, a massive shift to marine resources for food procurement.
Hunting, so to speak, was a precursor to livestock on land and by the 20th century, it had ceased to be a food procurement method in major cultural zones. However, the situation was different for marine resources.
Fishing, or hunting aquatic life, was still an active primary food procurement method for the Japanese Empire. By this time, nations had forgotten that Japan was the only advanced country that retained hunting as a food procurement option.
Their new proposition was a call for all of humanity to eat fish.
However, the world envisioned by the original Alternative 8 was more advanced, namely, non-biological food synthesis. The proclamation was that only by procuring food chemically from synthetic substances could humanity find an alternative.
However, this organic alchemy, as it was called, had to overcome several technological barriers. Also, culturally, there was resistance to movements that would force the abandonment of existing food cultures.
Here, the general policy of current synthetic foods was established: an imitation of existing food cultures as an intermediate step before chemical synthesis.
That means grinding marine resources to synthesize and re-mold them into a form that fits existing food cultures, which is what I am about to eat: the B Lunch, a synthetic Saba Miso set meal.
Interestingly, the synthetic Saba Miso uses synthetic food containing mackerel. It's completely an extra step.
There's also a matter of preference, but when I queued up in the university canteen, the lecturer told me to savor the dilemma of eating something fish-like synthesized without real fish, and I found it interesting, so I choose this when it's on the menu.
Since the 90s, synthetic foods actively introduced in the Japanese Empire were not always welcomed. Initially, everything tasted like kamaboko, which was inevitable since the production method was almost the same.
However, due to the big order mentioned earlier, the promotion of synthetic plant construction as a main foreign currency-earning business, and the rapid advancement of cooking techniques, they gradually became accepted.
For them, as long as fish remained the main source of food procurement, there was no need to change food culture, so I'm impressed by their contribution to humanity.
The concern of massive depletion of marine resources due to reliance on them, initially feared, was shown to be less of a problem through global marine surveys conducted from the 80s to the 90s.
The resilience of marine resources was stronger than initially assumed by humanity. Dr. Sakanakun, who led the investigation, pointed out the low movement cost in the sea.
Humanity knew from experience that terrestrial animals easily go extinct due to large-scale hunting or environmental changes. There are legitimate concerns that the same may apply to marine life. However, the doctor dispelled this concern by introducing the concept of movement cost.
That is, terrestrial animals are prone to extinction because they cannot escape the high movement costs caused by topographical differences.
The sea, although it has factors like tidal flows and temperature changes that increase movement costs, has a wider domain than land and the added dimension of depth, making movement costs in the sea significantly lower than on land.
Humanity didn't realize this until global surveys because the vastness exceeded even the economic frameworks of nations. That is, even if the fishing volume decreased in one region due to national influence, in other countries or regions, the escaped fish would lead to a bountiful catch, so the overall global fishing volume wouldn't change much.
Of course, it's not a matter of recklessly fishing, but with worldwide cooperative management and maintenance of marine resources, humanity could simply borrow a part from the large cycle system of the sea to survive.
The sea is less susceptible to BETA influence compared to land, which is also a premise.
As a result, the Japanese Empire's Ministry of Marine Resources, a quasi-UN organization, became heavily involved in global food procurement. They deployed numerous large, high-speed ships of 10,000-ton class, fighting against illegal fishing boats worldwide every day.
They even purchased decommissioned aircraft carriers from the United States for wide-area surveillance. Equipped with twin turboprop fixed-wing carrier-based patrol aircraft, they even fitted catapults through modifications. It was effectively the revival of the Imperial Navy's mobile force.
In some regions, they are more feared than pirates, and if you go fishing without reporting, it is said that within an hour of hearing the sound of a propeller, a large cruiser will ram you, come alongside you, and make inquiries.
There's even an unverified anecdote that they stormed unauthorized F operations by the US Navy fleet. The scale of the crackdown makes this dubious.
Anyway, an Asian cultural history lecturer once told me that when the Japanese have clear standards for discerning good and evil even on an individual level, they unanimously make radical decisions. In other words, the clear criterion under BETA dominance was the advantage of marine resources.
However, in World War II, it meant liberation from the Western powers, but as history shows, it was a point of caution and could not be called a virtue.
Their excessive leadership in Alternative 8 was part of this. They are extreme in many ways.
Returning to the topic, the question of whether marine resources can sustain humanity indefinitely is a separate issue. Even though the area is wide, the ocean is definitely affected by BETA. There's a major problem that as BETA's dominion expands, the human population needing sustenance decreases, but let's set that aside.
BETA, not being integrated into Earth's ecosystem at all, pollute the environment merely by their existence. Previously, it was thought that pollution spread more easily in the ocean, but to put it bluntly, this was because fish were caught nearby. If fishing areas expand globally, there's a bit more leeway.
However, it's only a bit of leeway. Compared to animals and plants directly exterminated on land, the impact on marine life is less severe. The ultimate goal of Alternative 8, however, remains unchanged: food synthesis from non-organic sources.
The current Alternative 8 aims to create a society that accepts synthetic food ingredients as a step in this process. The Japanese Empire is aware of this and has repeatedly emphasized the transition from marine life, which serves as the synthetic base, to ultimately chemically synthesized non-organic substitutes.
But technology has yet to catch up. Even the publicly available roadmap shows we are far from achieving safe non-organic synthesized food. That's why synthetic food materials using marine resources were proposed. And then, an even more intermediate step was suggested.
This was a big issue. In 1989, when the Alternative Declaration was revised, the Japanese Empire, using its initiative in this field as a shield, proposed something outrageous.
It was the new alternative goal of the current Alternative 8: "Let's eat BETA!" This change, made without prior consultation, outraged countries worldwide.
Until then, the Japanese Empire's efforts in Alternative 8 were seen as commendable, though the reason was unknown. They had skillfully dealt with opposition from industries that wanted to maintain livestock farming.
They cleverly designed synthetic food materials so that their composition could be altered in each country. For example, the original Japanese version, based 100% on marine resources, could replace the whale component, albeit at a higher cost, with existing livestock materials.
Their flexible approach, like introducing synthetic foods gradually and not forcing rapid changes, was honestly appreciated. They didn't seem as rigid as when they boldly exited the League of Nations.
Then they started advocating for the inclusion of BETA-derived materials in synthetic food compositions. Those who continued to eat fish with deadly toxins were, after all, incomprehensible.
Eating BETA is like eating something that will kill you if touched. Moreover, there's a risk of going insane just by staring at it for 10 minutes. The truly frightening part was not their sudden madness, but their logically correct insanity. They had a rationale: the integration of BETA into Earth's ecosystem.
BETA is a problem because it doesn't fit into Earth's ecosystem at all. Since no microorganisms can decompose them, they don't rot. The fact that not a single blade of grass grows in their dominion is attributed to this effect.
So, they thought, why not reverse this and integrate BETA into Earth's ecosystem? A truly Alternative approach.
Eating BETA was one sensational goal, with spin-offs like creating harmless BETA-derived fertilizers for recovering lost lands.
And this wasn't started without basis. Meticulous groundwork was laid for the decomposition and detoxification of BETA. There was a proper roadmap, and third parties had verified it wasn't as impractical as synthesizing food from non-organic materials.
Initial methods for capturing BETA were also in sight. Ultimately, humanity would hunt BETA, but until then, the plan was to use naturally deceased individuals.
The concept of BETA dying naturally seems odd, but they discovered diseases in these space creatures. It was already known that among the BETA that stopped functioning, some had no discernible cause.
That is, no apparent external injuries. The AL4 Joint Working Group assumed these individuals had suffered something akin to a heart attack in human terms.
If BETA is understood as industrial machines of extraterrestrial beings, these were defects. The Japanese Empire, after conducting global marine surveys, including BETA control area, found that this defect rate was higher than expected.
By doing this, he declared that there is room for improvement in the BETA creator's quality control. However, given BETA's basic strategy of overwhelming by quantity, a few defects don't favor humanity.
Anyway, the numbers were such that initially incorporating BETA as a primary nutrient source was feasible.
They even identified unknown taste components in powdered BETA. There was a serious report that taking it alone causes a crackling sensation in the brain. Rumor has it they proposed this after getting high on it.
The UN official who first received this proposal recorded feeling "pushed into a direction humanity should not go."
Nevertheless, the new objective of Alternative 8 proposed by the Japanese Empire faced severe criticism worldwide. While countries understood their intentions, they couldn't grasp why they would go that far.
The Japanese Empire's argument was based on the overall operational calculations of the Alternative Declaration. The declaration is revised every 10 years, basing on the forecast of the BETA War for the next decade.
This forecast includes three scenarios: pessimistic, status quo, and optimistic. However, when devising measures, only the latter two are used.
The pessimistic scenario typically concludes that humanity will be extinct in 10 years, requiring a different response, but it's not suitable for strategies to sustain human society.
For the past 10 years, the BETA War has progressed as per the status quo scenario.
Even if the war situation improves, both scenarios in Alternative 8's ocean-based food procurement require some intervention, as warned by the Japanese Empire.
This is due to the limits of marine resources and the fact that even if the situation improves, we can't immediately return to terrestrial-based food procurement like livestock farming.
The reason is, even if we recapture continents from BETA, it will take time to remove the pollution. This is especially true for plants.
While animals can somewhat excrete pollution, plants can only accumulate it. Whether for human consumption or livestock feed, it's estimated that vegetation will take at least a century to return to the traditional food procurement system.
Everyone vaguely felt this, but it became concrete. Seeing the Eurasian continent turned into a wasteland under BETA rule raises the suspicion that it might never return to its original landscape.
Childishly, the UN avoids exposing satellite images of Eurasia, now predominantly brown, to public view.
From the perspective of maintaining a spirit of resistance to BETA, thinking about reconstruction afterward was taboo. It's better to still be burning with a desire for revenge. There, the Japanese Empire made a bold move.
They must be earnest, feeling it's irresponsible not to think about reconstruction regardless of the war situation. They are not wrong at all.
So, the voices of opposition from various countries were, so to speak, just sulking. It's like children pouting when told to eat vegetables. Hence, no country withdrew the revised objectives of Alternative 8.
Humanity will survive by eating BETA, sow seeds in the reclaimed wilderness, continue to discard them until they become non-toxic, and finally rebuild towns from the debris of non-toxic lands, reviving the economy. Even if we win against BETA, humanity's future is a continuous struggle soaked in sweat and blood.
The European Union, fixated on reclaiming Eurasia, has become a revenge ghost, possibly burning out once they achieve their goal.
The United States harbors a misconception that eradicating BETA will lead humanity to the next step and solve all environmental issues. It's also to avoid looking at the huge no-return zone they created next door.
As for the Soviet, I'm not sure.
The revision of Alternative 8 was the first opportunity for humanity to think about The Day After.
It's astounding that the Japanese Empire, in the midst of these discussions, lost half of its territory to a BETA invasion. Yet, they did not waver from their argument and began reconstruction as advocated after driving out BETA.
At least, their actions are worthy of respect.
---
Receiving my synthesized mackerel miso meal, you might think it took quite a while in terms of word count, but as I mentioned before, thinking time and real time do not always align.
Let's now look at how synthesized food was accepted in America.
When in uniform, during meals, it's best to focus solely on eating, avoiding casual chats with anyone. This approach had its own comfort.
Following Japan's initiation of synthesized food in the 90s, other countries, surprisingly even the prideful European Union, started adopting it. The cost difference compared to natural food, continuously on the rise, left little choice.
Especially the synthesized food made from multiple marine resources, being exceptionally stable in supply compared to existing food, caught on. The European Union tried to conceal it, but it later became evident that their social infrastructure transfer to Africa led to a food supply disruption, resulting in starvation.
Countries that faced calamities due to BETA learned the hard way about the difficulty of transferring agriculture and livestock industries. Marine resources, being flexible in distribution by adjusting the port of landing post-fishing, along with advanced refrigeration technology, resolved the major issue of freshness.
The key point was the centralization of food supply systems for humanity. In previous scenarios where each country separately procured food, whether marine or terrestrial, problems were likely to occur.
With Japanese Empire-supported fish landing facilities cropping up along coastlines worldwide, marine resources transformed into a vital resource for humanity's food supply.
Lately, many large ships have incorporated synthetic plants, a combination type. They meet various fishing boats at sea, receive fish, crush it on board to create synthetic food, then freeze it and pack it into refrigerated standard containers for transport to ports.
Occasionally, I come across containers on highways adorned with fish reciting their final poems, likely filled with synthetic food. Initially, the Fisheries Resources Ministry was hesitant, worried about the difficulty in measuring catch, but managing the finished synthetic food resolved this issue.
America was among the last to resist this trend.
Initially, grains earmarked for export were rerouted for domestic livestock feed. Besides, they made arrangements to sustain the industry using domestic raw materials.
Forecasts in the early 90s suggested that with standard population growth, the country could continue domestic food procurement. However, this rapidly fell apart in the 2000s due to a surge in population from massive immigration.
The U.S. didn't relax immigration standards; they actually became stricter. However, being the only functioning advanced country globally held tremendous appeal, attracting people despite stricter criteria.
Refugees aren't wandering aimlessly; they opt for destinations with thought. The U.S. becomes the first choice when options run out, contributing significantly to the influx.
As the BETA War worsened in the 90s, and the UN acknowledged entering the pessimistic scenario, the flow of people increased dramatically. Once the number exceeded the capacity of immigration authorities, the country overflowed with illegal immigrants.
---
"Lieutenant Bridges, a Japanese official wants to meet you. Report to conference room 207 at 1 PM," I was interrupted in my thoughts by Lieutenant Ibrahim whom I coincidentally met in the mess hole.
I had planned to think about the time I walked around distributing buttered corn to kids in college, how Kyoudzuka Food's Extra Meat No. 3, known as XM3, penetrated the American market, and how the world overcame the WHO's warning of the 'Deadly Eight'. But once interrupted, it's hard to resume.
I often wonder, why do military personnel tend to communicate important messages upon coincidental encounters? What if we hadn't met? But it just shows how patterned actions are in the military.
Anyway, I braced myself for a heavy conversation in the afternoon.
---
■■■■ Year ■■ Month ■■ Day
UN Military Yokohama Base
Civilian: ■■ ■
---
Waking up to find my childhood friend's house crushed by a robot and my school turned into some kind of military base, I thought it was a dream. Teasing the guard, I was harshly pinned to the ground and thrown into a real cell.
Expecting to wake up, I realized it's been over a day in felt time, and I've fallen asleep and woken up several times.
It was reality.
"You can pilot that robot better than anyone else in the world right now," I was told by Yuko-sensei after undergoing tests with a machine attached to my body.
Because of the situation, I cried and explained the situation, but she told me that we didn't know each other in this world and that I shouldn't get too familiar with her.
In conclusion, I've stumbled into a strange world where there's a war against space aliens using robots. And apparently, I have the highest aptitude for piloting these robots.
The aptitude seems to be about how a device that moves machinery just by thinking reads intentions with minimal error.
Next Generation Indirect Thought Control Research and Development Unit A-01 under direct control of United Nations Alternative 4
She seems to be Yuko-sensei's students in this world, gathering only people with the highest level of aptitude A-01, classified with an accuracy error of 0.01. A-01 does not specifically mean that a value is 0.01, but it does mean that there is an error, but it is the least. In other words, they were the group of humans who were most likely to have their will reflected in machines.
I was told that I could take care of her there.
"It's like all the people who won the first prize in the lottery were gathered in one place."
Later, when I learned about the world situation, I was surprised that there was a lottery in this world, but the explanation was easy to understand. When I listen to the details, they talk about the law of cause and effect, so I have no idea.
The goal is to achieve A-00. An imaginary thing where the error is 0.00 and a machine moves just by thinking about it. It was an experimental group aiming for the great ambition that would be realized when human will is completely reflected in machines.
"You might not get the whole picture, but hey, just hop in the robot and make some noise. It'll be fun, so just go with the flow, will ya?"
You like him because he's a boy, right? It is said.
Of course I liked it.