Bang!
Takitsubo Rikou, seemingly half-asleep in the RV's back seat, jolted upright, startling Frenda Seivelun.
"What's wrong, Takitsubo?"
Frenda looked at her, puzzled.
Takitsubo didn't answer immediately, her gaze fixed on the institute. She wasn't sure if it was a trick of the mind, but she'd sensed a terrifying AIM Diffusion Field flare and vanish inside.
"Tell Mugino to be careful. I just felt a powerful AIM field—Level 5 or stronger."
Uncertain if it was real, Takitsubo reported it anyway. Her "sixth sense," honed by her ability, was rarely wrong, and she felt uneasy.
"…Mugino, be cautious. Takitsubo sensed something off—the top-ranked might be here. Respond if you hear me, Mugino! Mugino?"
No matter how Frenda called, only static buzzed through. The signal was cut.
Frenda's face darkened. She stepped out, scanning the surroundings, realizing things wouldn't go smoothly.
Inside the institute, Mugino Shizuri had reached the basement level.
"Zzt… zzt…"
"Hey! Frenda? Frenda?"
Mugino called twice, met only by static.
"Tch! Signal jamming in the basement?"
Mugino muttered, annoyed.
"Did we lose Frenda? What now? Without the map, this is super troublesome."
Kinuhata Saiai odd tic surfacing as she warily eyed the pristine white corridor, its fluorescent lights and unknown depths ahead.
"No problem. I've got a backup map. Let me check… Who's there?"
Before Mugino could finish, footsteps echoed through the corridor.
She pocketed her phone, focusing forward, her computational power primed to unleash her ability instantly.
Kinuhata mirrored her readiness.
Tap, tap, tap…
The footsteps grew closer, each one pounding like a heartbeat, stirring unease.
Mugino locked eyes on the approaching figure.
His striking features sparked a twinge of jealousy in her, while his brooding aura repelled her. But his eyes captivated her most.
Cold, calm, as if nothing in the world mattered, as if everything was beneath notice.
This was the "Firewall," or rather, the "Calculator." It instinctively computed its surroundings, measuring all in known terms, deducing endless outcomes. These were mere fragments of its process, an unending march forward without conclusion.
To it, everything was just a process—nothing more, nothing less.
This was Samuel's essence, the "Calculation" he suppressed and sealed. The true "self" he kept at bay.
If Samuel released it, unburdened by restraint, the Calculation would consume him. His body would be discarded, all irrelevant to computation cast aside, yielding infinite computational growth. The concept of calculation would surpass time, causality—everything.
Currently, Samuel underwent one computational cycle daily, boosting his capacity by about two percent.
In a timeless state, that capacity would multiply infinitely—from two by two to billions by billions, transcending time and causality.
But that wouldn't be Samuel—it would be "Calculation."
In other words, his cheat would devour him.
Samuel was unaware of this. These are the author's insights from a creator's perspective.
He only vaguely sensed that without limits, his gradual ascent might erase his identity.
Thus, he restrained himself. His ability programs and data were mere foundations.
To illustrate: Samuel theorized that abilities and computational power stemmed from the soul.
Humanity—personality—was the miracle of soul and body united.
In this world, a famous occult theory existed: the Kabbalah. It divided the universe into four worlds, each tied to a letter of the Tetragrammaton.
The first, Atziluth, held pure spirit, capable of spawning other worlds, home to God and the letter Yod, primal fire.
The second, Briah, was pure intellect, realm of archangels and the letter Heh, primal water.
The third, Yetzirah, housed subtle, unstable patterns behind matter, kingdom of angels and the letter Vau, primal wind.
The fourth, Assiah, was the active world of sensory matter and unseen energy, domain of cherubim, the final Heh, and primal earth.
Souls were indestructible but could decay with the body's corruption.
In Cross Church terms, the body tainted the soul with "sin."
Upon death, the soul returned to Atziluth to cleanse its sins—Paradise—then to Briah for new consciousness, through Yetzirah and Assiah to become human or otherwise again.
This mirrored cycles in other mystical traditions.
In magic, "mystery" was higher-realm "matter." Souls could withstand any mystery, being eternal, but bodies could not.
When souls absorbed mystery, they grew stronger, but mortal bodies, low-realm matter, buckled under the strain, sometimes "deafening" or "blinding" themselves for self-preservation.
Since computational power, abilities, and mystery were higher-realm forces, the means to wield them in humans were "spells" on the magic side and "programs" on the science side.
Magicians harnessed "mystery," a collective term for supernatural forces, crafting varied spells across sects like the Cross Church or others.
Programs worked similarly, tapping superpowers—a broad term. Espers instinctively created personal programs.
But differences emerged. Magic pooled collective wisdom, accessible to many with aptitude.
Superpowers were individual, rarely shared, due to espers' unique traits. Unlike magicians, who blended disciplines, espers struggled to do so. Yet, per Samuel's knowledge, Academy City was pursuing such integration—and had succeeded with a few specimens.
Back to Samuel: his humanity arose from the soul-body miracle, while his ability and computation were his soul.
Without restraint, excessive computation could burst his body, leaving his humanity rootless, drowning in endless data and calculations, reducing him to a computational machine, erased.
To "reinforce" his body, Samuel planned to use five Level 5s—plus programs from most of Academy City's espers—to deduce and compute.
As stated, programs were lower beings' means to wield higher powers. Could enough sophisticated programs achieve "ascension"?
Samuel knew the Roman Orthodox Church had a group pursuing this: God's Right Seat, his early-stage foe.
***
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