03. Suddenly, the captain of the spaceship — 2

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03. Captain of the spaceship — 2

Agirakana walked ahead of me toward the apartment building’s elevator lobby, and then—why, I don’t know—pressed the up button.

“????”

We stepped directly into the arriving elevator, and then she pressed the button for the top floor—the rooftop.

Apparently, the rooftop of this apartment building was normally inaccessible to people; the entrance from the elevator lobby was locked with an electronic door. But she said, “Just a moment,” placed her hand on the door, and moved the handle a few times—whereupon the door opened on its own, and she stepped out onto the rooftop. I had no choice but to follow.

A few steps ahead of where Agirakana had stopped, the air shimmered like heat haze. Before she could register it, a disc had appeared—about ten meters in diameter, three meters thick at its central bulge, dull silver, reflecting light with a muted gleam.

What is this? A flying saucer? UFO? A UFO landing on the rooftop of a low-rise apartment building with barely any room to spare. On closer inspection, it hovered slightly above the surface—so perhaps not a proper landing?

If a real heavy object had landed on our rooftop, the building might have had a serious issue.

Agirakana moved toward the disc.

“Ah, Agirakana-san? That’s a disc—a flying saucer—a UFO! A UFO!”

On the rooftop of a low-rise apartment building facing a moderately busy street, a silver UFO. Is no one noticing? What on Earth is going on? Isn’t it not a UFO if it’s not flying? Is it a UFO just because it’s floating? What would you call it once a UFO has landed? Lost in idle speculation about reality—then,

“Among humans on Earth, only Mr. Yamada could accurately perceive this disc in its current state. There is no danger. Please follow me.”

She spoke, advancing further toward the disc. And then, without warning, Agirakana simply vanished from sight.

Is it possible that the surreal becomes mundane when it’s too close at hand?

Steeling myself, I stepped forward toward the disc—and suddenly my vision blurred. Before I knew it, I was inside a silver room.

Hmm? Is this inside the UFO from just a moment ago?

The floor, not the ceiling, emitted light—bright enough to read by.

I was in a circular room about five meters in diameter, with a ceiling height of roughly three meters. Along the outer edge of the room, several indentations resembling mannequins were set into the surface. Facing them were six seats arranged in two vertical rows and three horizontal rows—high-backed, like barber chairs, though they looked more like they’d been plucked from a mid-century design catalog.

“Please take any seat at random. We’ll be departing shortly. After departure, we’ll activate full-perception mode, so you’ll be able to enjoy the view.”

I sat on one of the seats, as instructed. The seat, as expected, was a recliner—its backrest automatically tilted backward, adjusting my body to a slightly elevated position. Surprisingly comfortable, the contours fitted my back like a well-worn jacket.

The room dimmed for a moment, then brightened again. Before he realized it, the walls, floor, and ceiling had vanished—himself lying on a reclining seat floating in open space, and beside him, Agirakana lying on another reclining seat.

"Exit the atmosphere temporarily, orbit Earth, and return to the departure point we just left."

Even as it was being asked, the disc continued its ascent, the white clouds receding far below.

The sky above turned indigo, and as the body shifted slightly downward, the horizon began to reveal Tokyo Bay, the Kanto region, and eventually the entire Japanese archipelago in a single view. Looking up again, the blackness of space was scattered with stars—occasional flickers, perhaps satellites, glinting in the void.

Rising higher still, we passed over the eastern reaches of Eurasia, skirted India, the Arabian Peninsula, Africa, then crossed the vast Atlantic, traversed both North and South America, and finally cut across the Pacific—before realizing, without much fanfare, that we’d returned to the starting point. Checking the clock, it had taken perhaps a full hour? The seatback had smoothly reclined back to its original position.

“How was it?”

Agirakana, having turned her seat toward me, asked for my impression.

“I was surprised, but not as much as I thought I’d be. So, basically, you’re some kind of alien—or at least, you’re connected to aliens. And I, a mere human, was abducted by an alien in this disc? That’s the gist?”

The phrase “alien person” sounded absurd even when I said it aloud, but there it was—out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“The answer to your first question is YES. I’m perhaps a bit different from what Mr. Yamada calls an ‘alien,’ but your current understanding will suffice. As for your second question—no, it’s not abduction. We do nothing without Mr. Yamada’s consent.

This disc, then, is used to communicate with our mothership, currently operating near Jupiter.”

“Huh, so there’s a mothership too. And what exactly is a mothership?”

“Yes. A mothership is a fairly large spacecraft, specialized in constructing and manufacturing various things—what you might call a construction vessel. Right now, it’s engaged in a certain construction project.”

“So where did Agirakana come from?”

“I myself hail from the planetary-class vessel Agirakana.”

“A planetary-class vessel?”

“Yes. A spaceship of planetary scale. In fact, it’s larger than Earth—its diameter is twelve thousand kilometers, to be precise.”

Something about it’s unclear, but, eh, whatever. There was a spaceship once called "Earth," right?

"So, what exactly does being the head of the organization mean?"

"You’re being appointed captain of the planet-class starship Agirakana."

"Wait—captain of a starship bigger than Earth? Captain?"

"Agirakana is a starship, so captain is the proper title."

"A starship?"

"We refer to any interstellar-capable transport vehicle as a starship. Among these, armed vessels with military registration are called interstellar vessels, and particularly large ones are designated starships."

"Military registration? What does that mean?"

"Agirakana is a planet-class starship, part of the Arsen Interstellar Kingdom’s Starfleet."

"Why can a civilian like me become captain of a warship?"

"Regrettably, the United Kingdom was utterly defeated in its war against the extraterrestrial lifeform known as Zeno—and ceased to exist. The Arsenians are presumed extinct. Only the planet-class starship Agirakana remains. There may still be remnants of the United Kingdom surviving somewhere in this cosmos, but none have been confirmed outside of Earth.

For that reason, I am not a living Arsenian, but rather a synthetic lifeform—what is called a bio-android or bioid—designed to resemble one.

Currently, Agirakana is operated by a management AI and ourselves bioids. However, without explicit directives from the Arsenians themselves, we are not permitted to initiate aggressive combat actions against hostile forces. This is due to the upper-tier regulations of the United Kingdom—something we cannot alter, even if we wished to."

This time, we intended to welcome Mr. Yamada—considered a descendant of the Arsenians—as captain, and request that you amend the upper-tier regulations to grant us clear directives."

A biological robot! That’s a surprise. Anyone would think this person is human.

"So you're saying it hasn't been confirmed anywhere besides Earth? Does that mean Earth is connected to the Arsenians?"

"Undoubtedly, Arsenian genetic information has been incorporated into the genetic information of Earth humans. It’s likely a mixture that occurred at some point in the past. We’ve identified the individual among Earth’s seven billion who carries the highest concentration of Arsenian genetic material. Therefore, we are proposing this person as the legitimate heir of the Arsenians—the one authorized to modify the upper-tier regulations—and thus, we wish to appoint them as captain of the Agirakana."

"Is that me?"

"That’s correct. Mr. Yamada is the Earth human with the highest concentration of Arsenian genetic information among over seven billion people on Earth."

To locate the individual carrying Arsenian Genetic Information, we dispersed nanobots across Earth approximately ten days ago.

These nanobots were absorbed by every human on this planet. If the host possesses a quantity of Arsenian Genetic Information above a certain threshold, the nanobots activate within the body. Below that threshold, nothing happens—they simply self-destruct and are excreted.

Any nanobots not absorbed by Earth humans have likewise self-destructed within twelve hours of dissemination.

Once activated, the nanobots multiply to a set quantity within the host, working to heal and normalize any physiological abnormalities. They also stimulate the host’s neurochemical secretion centers, enhancing mental stability.

Furthermore, if the quantity of genetic information exceeds the threshold recognized as descended from the Arsenians, a specialized biological organ will form within the host, detectable by our proprietary sensors. From the host’s perspective, this organ enhances motor functions and other physiological capabilities.

Explanation, continued.

So, when you said I was the human on Earth with the most Arsenian genetic information—does that mean there are others like me? Perhaps they weren’t qualified enough, or perhaps they declined the captaincy.

Regardless, that’s why this person came to me.

My vision has improved recently, and my health is excellent. I don’t know exactly what this special organ is, but it’s probably not dangerous.

Besides, I’m currently unemployed—a lazy, idle sort. I have some savings, but no particular attachment to my current lifestyle.

This, for me, isn’t exactly a terrible offer, is it?

“I understand. I’ll accept this proposition.”

“Thank you. I was certain you’d say that.”

Huh, this person’s smile is kind of cute, isn’t it?

Wait a second—wasn’t there something that struck me a moment ago?

‘Military?’ ‘Hostile faction?’ ‘Attack operation?’ Hold on—just a moment!...

Final work: *Myself, the Familiar of Darkness—Ascend the Ladder of Evolution*

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