In 1958, the Pirate-1 probe reached Mars. (From Muv-Luv)
After landing, its descent module transmitted data images suspected to depict Martian life back to Earth, while its orbiter confirmed that life did indeed exist on the Martian surface.
Soon after, contact with the descent module was lost.
In the years that followed, further exploration programs launched by the two superpowers during the Cold War also failed. Even so, this marked humanity's first observation of extraterrestrial life.
Unfortunately, due to the insufficient observation window, very little information was obtained.
In 1966, a global-scale project aimed at communicating with alien life was launched: Alternative I.
In 1967, a geological survey team from the Permanent International Lunar Base Plato-1, while investigating inside the Sakhorosco Crater, unexpectedly discovered organisms suspected to resemble those seen on Mars—and then promptly lost contact.
Not long after, these organisms attacked multiple sites across the lunar surface and destroyed human facilities. This was humanity's first true contact with extraterrestrial life.
These alien lifeforms were designated BETA: Beings-of-Extraterres-Trial-origin-which-is-Adversary-of-human-race (extraterrestrial-origin life that is an enemy of the human race).
Thus, the First Lunar War erupted.
In 1968, Alternative II replaced Alternative I. Its primary objective was to discover a means of communication with BETA by studying their biology and their interactions with the environment.
However, although BETA appeared to be carbon-based lifeforms, they possessed no cells, tissues, organs, or systems. They were profoundly anomalous—and impossible to communicate with.
That same year, the northern superpower began trialing a plan to communicate with BETA via telepathy.
In 1970, humanity's anti-BETA weapons—Tactical Surface Fighters—were deployed into the Lunar War.
In 1973, with the war situation deteriorating, BETA successfully invaded Earth, made planetfall, and began constructing the first hive, H01.
That same year, in an attempt to eradicate BETA, humanity even launched a nuclear strike against the hive—only to discover it had almost no effect.
Also that year, because Alternative II had made no meaningful progress, the northern superpower's telepathic contingency plan replaced it as Alternative III.
This plan aimed to create artificial humans capable of telepathic communication in order to establish contact with BETA. The result was that most of those artificial humans perished.
In 1974, she was born into a world that was about to become hell.
In 1975, BETA constructed hive H02.
In 1976, BETA constructed hives H04 and H05.
In 1977, BETA constructed hive H06.
That same year, because Alternative III also produced little effect, the nations began competing for leadership over Alternative IV.
In 1978, BETA constructed hive H07.
In 1979, G-Elements, discovered in 1974, were—after a series of theoretical breakthroughs—found to enable the development of a super-weapon effective against BETA. Thus began the G-Bomb Development Program.
In 1987, the G-Bomb was successfully developed. It was a weapon even more dreadful than nuclear arms, capable of effectively destroying BETA hives.
But its ecological damage was catastrophic and could potentially lead to humanity's extinction. Moreover, delivering it into a BETA hive required breaking through layer upon layer of BETA defenses.
As a result, its use was treated with extreme caution.
In 1991, her work—the Quantum Causality Theory proposed by the genius physicist Yuuko Kouzuki—drew the attention of the Alternative Committee.
In 1995, the United Nations decided to adopt Yuuko Kouzuki's proposal as Alternative IV, and she became the program's chief director.
That same year, hive H17 began construction, further compressing humanity's remaining living space.
In 1998, the Far Eastern island nation was invaded as well.
That same year—today—Kyoto's fall was confirmed. Nearly one-third of the nation's population had died, and hive H21 also began construction.
Meanwhile, Alternative V was once again being pressed forward, because a habitable planet had been confirmed to exist within the Bernard Star System. Alternative V's goal was interstellar migration.
But the plan could not carry a large population, meaning vast numbers of humans would be abandoned. As a result, Alternative V was not progressing smoothly—allowing Alternative IV to continue, barely, under immense strain.
"Dr. Kouzuki, they've come again to push for it."
A voice intruded into Yuuko's office, snapping her out of what looked like a daze. She cast a cool glance over and responded flatly.
"I know."
After the person withdrew, Yuuko focused her attention again on the live stream within that peculiar dimensional chat group.
This supernatural phenomenon might be the lifeline that could save this world.
The mechanical lifeforms on the stream—if she could obtain their precision components and understand the structure of their computational units—would be of enormous value to Alternative IV under her direction.
And if she could also study their power sources, all the better. Either way, the technological dividends would be immense.
This—!
Yuuko abruptly stood up, eyes wide.
It was not because she had learned something from the suicide-style attack by the mechanical spiders against that heavily armored figure.
Correction: she had indeed noticed something, but it was not on the spiders' side, nor from the humanoid "metal tin-can." Smoke and fire still obscured much of the view; she couldn't see enough for that.
Rather, it was because Miss A2—seemingly worried about that humanoid tin-can—moved, and the camera centered on her shifted with her.
When A2 jumped down from the giant machine to the ground, there was a wreck beside her.
It was not a wreck of a mechanical spider.
It was unmistakably the corpse of someone on A2's side—someone from the same group as that woman piloting the transforming fighter.
A corpse.
A dismembered corpse.
And the internal structure was not normal biological tissue.
"An android?"
No—some organs looked similar, and were clearly synthetic as well. That meant the blood was artificial blood.
But it was different from the artificial human child Yuuko had taken in—Kasumi.
Kasumi was still human, a human created through genetic engineering.
The being in the live stream was something else entirely: a humanoid robot built to resemble a human, and one that possessed independent thought.
If she hadn't seen the internal structure, Yuuko would never have suspected their identities. She would have assumed they were humans from that world—perhaps genetically modified, or otherwise enhanced into stronger bodies, or perhaps artificial humans like Kasumi.
She had never imagined it was this kind of artificial being.
Which meant its computational core was beyond imagination.
Its technology far exceeded Yuuko's understanding.
She stared, unblinking.
She wanted nothing more than to reach into the live stream, drag that corpse into her laboratory, and begin analysis immediately.
"Oh? There's someone inside. Still alive?"
Yuuko froze slightly, because the humanoid tin-can had emerged into view again.
It was in terrible shape. The armor plating had been blown open and deformed badly.
But through the damage, she could see someone inside—someone who looked severely injured.
Injuries like that would be unsurvivable for anyone in Yuuko's world.
Yet the person still stood.
And more than that, they forced the armor apart with brute strength, pried off the plating, and tore the heavy suit away.
When the figure was finally revealed, Yuuko watched with an intensity that bordered on disbelief.
With wounds like those, her world's humans would be dead beyond any question.
Yet this person was alive—and still strong enough to rip open that thick armor.
Most importantly, they did not resemble the androids from that side.
They looked like a real human being of flesh and blood.
(End of Chapter)
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