Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

The Tokyo cops were on the move again.

Last year, they'd had the thankless job of rounding up a ton of "recruits"—so-called "shrine maidens," eccentric youths, and anyone a bit too clever for their own good were all hauled off.

But life in the Far East hadn't gotten any better. In fact, there were even more "shrine maidens" now.

The officer wasn't an idiot. He knew this couldn't go on, but what could he do? He had a family to feed, so when it was time to work, he worked.

This time, however, they were accompanied by someone from Academy City, here to determine whether the "mentally ill" were genuinely so.

This was all thanks to the increasing proliferation of Stigma Battlesuits, which provided a deeper theoretical basis for interpreting an individual's will as it was projected into their Stigma Space.

Last year, he'd arrested an unlucky student. If he recalled correctly, he was still working in Chiba back then. He'd been transferred to Tokyo for his excellent performance in rounding up "recruits."

Now that someone from Academy City was here, he finally had an opportunity to ask about the things that had been puzzling him all year.

The person from the city was a typical female researcher, direct and to the point. So, as they walked, the old cop in the black suit voiced the question that had been on his mind.

"I can't help but feel like you people from Academy City always seem to go after these social outcasts, or, you know, the more disobedient types. Logically, wouldn't ordinary people be more suitable? Whether it's for experiments or just for their obedience, normal people are way easier to manage, right?"

"And I heard that the benefits from Academy City mostly go to these more... chaotic people. Why is that?"

The researcher from the institute didn't seem to mind the question. It was true that Academy City preferred social outcasts, not because there was something wrong with the city's leadership, but because they'd never intended to recruit "honest, upstanding citizens" in the first place.

"Officer, we've actually studied this matter. We even have specialists who come down to explain it to us. The most important factor is never the cost of management. For us, the true standard of judgment is the degree of loyalty these people have to their original lives."

The woman's lips were on the thin side, and her voice was cold, as if she were completely accustomed to this kind of human research.

But she still wore a smile as she explained, "Think about it, Officer, and it becomes clear. Consider a person who dislikes their life and their surroundings, yet does absolutely nothing about it, unwilling to pay the price for change. In the eyes of Academy City's upper echelons, such a person is loyal to their current life. They're what we commonly call 'honest folk'."

"They suppress their own pain and will never take that first step toward change. They know their current situation is disadvantageous, but they fear that taking action might make things even worse. Until Academy City demonstrates a clear power advantage, these people won't make a choice or take action. Most importantly, their personalities are not suited for survival within Academy City."

"Academy City isn't a place that runs on 'rules' as people normally understand them. There, conflict is the true norm. Even within the Scientific Inquisition, people often get beaten black and blue and sent for medical treatment."

"We're already doing our best to keep our own people from affecting the lives of ordinary citizens, even as we try to pull them into our era."

"But the results haven't been ideal. No one likes an unstable and constantly changing future."

The officer fell silent. He was beginning to understand why Academy City liked to collect these marginalized people. In a way, whether by choice or by force, the only people Academy City wanted were those who had already abandoned the order of the outside world.

Abilities could be nurtured. Talent could be engineered. But this kind of chaotic spirit was far too troublesome to create from scratch, so it was easier to just find it in modern society.

The officer nodded. "So you're saying that people with nothing to lose, or those who act on impulse, bring more value to Academy City. It's like how we police aren't afraid of calculating criminals; we're more afraid of the ones who have nothing left."

The woman just smiled, not answering his question.

The officer was right, of course. A person with high strategic value also, by extension, had high value when it came to pledging allegiance.

She changed the subject back to the mission at hand.

"Regarding the intake of Tokyo's mentally ill, we've already been in contact with several psychiatric hospitals. Some people, unable to pay for further medical expenses, simply abandon their mentally ill family members at the hospital. We can't reach them by phone, and there's no one to take them back."

A flicker of pity crossed the officer's face, but he quickly concealed it.

"After we take in these individuals, we'll move on to admitting psychiatric patients from the general populace. At that stage, we will observe those who willingly offer themselves up, the ones who do so despite knowing full well that Academy City is no paradise. These people are, without a doubt, those who oppose the current social order."

"That's the first batch. Next comes the second..."

"This batch consists of people who have no money and no means to care for the mentally ill members of their household. Some of them will breathe a sigh of relief after sending their sick relatives away, allowing them to return to their daily lives. These people have been worn down to their last nerve and were forced into this corner. For them, sending the patient away is actually a good thing."

"Then there are the others—those who lack the ability to provide care but still want to keep their families together. This group is a primary target for Academy City."

The officer wasn't sure he'd heard her right. Did she just say "primary target"?

"Even if we don't help them, it shouldn't go as far as targeting them, should it?"

The woman paused for a moment before explaining, "I don't fully understand it myself. It seems they have other considerations. But the ones doing the targeting won't be us. Academy City doesn't proactively attack people. They're simply classified as primary targets."

The officer asked curiously, "Then how are they targeted?"

"We deny them the right to enter Academy City. We also retract any existing access or privileges they may have. To Academy City, anyone who tries to cling to their old way of life, and is willing to sacrifice their own interests and take the initiative to do so, is a threat."

"We allow remnants of the old era to exist. We can even allow people of the old era to stay cooped up in their own little corners. But we will absolutely not allow people of the old era to harbor any thoughts of preventing the new era's arrival."

"Besides," the woman added, a subtle expression on her face, "we're not the ones bringing the hammer down..."

As she saw it, the ones who would ultimately crush those clinging to the old era would be the ruling class of that very same era. What did that have to do with them, with Academy City?