74. First Colonization Project

74. First Colonization Project 1

Since the light cruiser Crain, which transported Ichijō and the others back to Earth, will likely return to Agirakana tomorrow, I plan to head to Earth myself shortly.

Before the major expedition to the neutron star—the source of Zeno—some dozen years ago, there was a discussion about the evacuation of Ain and Earth-born humans, and it was decided during that conversation to acquire precise genetic information from Earth's biosphere.

Apparently, the plan is still proceeding as scheduled—drones are said to be circling Earth, gathering genetic information. From past operations, I’ve heard that, tentatively, we’ve already secured data on roughly seventy percent of Earth’s known species. Apparently, we’ve nearly covered all organisms of substantial adult size, so at least that’s one thing we can rest easy about. Meanwhile, progress on acquiring human genetic information via AMR and Solar System Cruises is also substantial—allegedly, we’ve already compiled data equivalent to thirty percent of the Japanese population, meaning that even if clones are produced, the genetic makeup of the Japanese people won’t face extinction due to low numbers.

I’m aware that, to me, my identity as an Agirakana now outweighs my identity as a Japanese person. When I die, I’ve already instructed Maria—present-day Maria—to bury my bones next to her cherry tree in the private residence garden, and to plant a sapling of a Somei Yoshino on top. This is part of the immigration and evacuation plan, which may come across as rather harsh to Earth-born humans.

As for the departure plan from Earth, I’ve already outlined the general direction during the previous meeting. Ultimately, Ain and Maria will finalize the details, but I’ll think through some specifics myself.

With that in mind, I projected the three-dimensional map of the Second Layer onto the monitor on my office desk, and began considering what should be the first test case—the initial phase of the immigration plan.

First, the destination for the immigrants. It will likely become, in the future, an Earth refugee shelter—Refuge.

“Now then, where should we build the first immigrant village?”

And so, with the casual air of someone designing a civilization or urban simulation game, began a series of idle calculations.

Perhaps recruit up to fifty thousand people per year for the first decade and see how it goes? Since Japan hasn’t established diplomatic relations with any other nation, the first immigrants will inevitably have to be Japanese. Fifty thousand a year—that’s the size of a mid-sized regional city in Japan. That should be manageable at first.

Basic infrastructure—housing, electricity, gas, water, and sewage—will be provided. The rest, however, will have to be self-sustained. The settlers themselves will surely agree to that. That means primary industries like agriculture and aquaculture will be crucial. Most simulation games work that way, after all. Whether it’s appropriate to use simulation games as a reference is debatable. But for now, it’s just a rough draft from an amateur’s imagination.

Agirakana had never had currency before, but with labor compensation and morale maintenance for the immigrants at stake, a new currency was becoming necessary. Allowing the unrestricted use of Earth’s currency would simply transfer individual asset disparities from Earth to the new settlements. One could argue it was unavoidable to some extent, but a glaring disparity at the very start of a new life was another matter entirely.

There’s a possibility that trade might begin with the Alze Empire in the near future. At first, it would likely be barter-based, but if we establish a common currency as a shared metric of value, any imbalances could be corrected simply through exchange rate adjustments—no need for complex negotiations. We might as well create a new currency. Perhaps we should try paying the Bio-oids a wage. After all, these particular ones are perpetually at 100% morale—no need to maintain it, strictly speaking. But still, teaching them to spend something on themselves, for their own sake, might be an essential part of becoming Agirakana citizens.

What else is needed? Education and healthcare, perhaps. Healthcare is no issue—already covered.

Among the immigrants, there’s likely a fair number of young people, so education should follow Japan’s model, excluding peace education. For now, a partnership with Japanese educational firms could work—online instruction, perhaps, until things settle.

At present, there's no need to collect taxes from immigrants—but while we won't go so far as to call it a conscripted bio-android system—let's still imbue the arrangement with a head-tax-like obligation, something akin to a civic duty. Perhaps a few years of mandatory service?

Mandatory education from age six to eighteen, followed by a three-year military service obligation from eighteen to twenty-one—perfect for physical conditioning, really. For those who've already passed their service age, let's impose an equivalent social service requirement. Maybe make university—true higher education—available only after completing military service. It'll likely deter applicants if we spell that out in the recruitment guidelines, but then again, we don’t want people showing up who have no intention of fulfilling any obligation at all.

Since all instructors in educational institutions or military service will be bio-noids, incidents of bullying should be unlikely—seems like a decent arrangement, wouldn’t you say?

Among the immigrants accepted, there will inevitably be those who can’t adapt to this way of life, or who raise complaints. Such individuals will be swiftly repatriated—this time, back to Japan.

If there’s an issue in the recruitment guidelines, clearly state the intent to return them, and send them back with a modest sum in Japanese yen. Since repatriating someone who’s renounced Japanese citizenship would cause complications, let’s designate a ten-year trial period. That way, they can remain under long-term residency status while still holding Japanese nationality. To ensure those sent back don’t feel ostracized in Japan, perhaps we should arrange employment through Ichijō’s corporate holdings. Using Ichijō’s network as a kind of safety net seems like a reasonable solution.

Among the immigrants, spies from various nations will undoubtedly be among them—but as long as they’re within Agirakana, I don’t see much harm they could do. Since penetrating the core is impossible, there’s nothing particularly secret to protect. Gathering information at the periphery and sending it back home would only serve as free advertising for the immigrants; it might even be better to have them come here in the first place.

As for the health of accepted immigrants, let’s establish reception facilities across Japan, conduct checkups and treatments there, and then transfer them to spacecraft bound for Agirakana. That might attract a significant number of applicants, though. Five locations—Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo—should be sufficient.

Hmm… wait. Yes. That’s it…

It’s perhaps in poor taste, but as I began to spin ideas around like a game, it started to feel oddly enjoyable.

"Captain, I brought you coffee. What’s the matter? You seem in good spirits today?"

Maria arrived with a freshly brewed cup. Apparently, something had been showing on my face.

"Thanks. What do you think about the immigrants?"

"Well, if their numbers reach around ten billion, I believe we could easily accommodate them within Agirakana by simply expanding the existing mid-tier housing plants—no issues at all."

"Does that mean the immigrants won’t have to work?"

"Yes. Since Agirakana provides food, shelter, and clothing free of charge, labor doesn’t seem necessary."

"Then they’d just eat and sleep from morning till night. That kind of existence would ruin a person."

"Not entirely sure about that, but if left alone, they’d probably start doing something—anything, really. Say, creating content for entertainment, or producing artistic works."

"Could happen, if they’re competent. A society of a certain scale would inevitably develop such things. Especially if basic needs like clothing, food, and shelter are guaranteed—then the proportion would rise significantly. If we support such efforts to some degree, we might end up with something worthwhile. Or rather, we’d have to get something worthwhile out of them."

"Is that approach acceptable? Also, I’d like to impose some kind of obligation on the immigrants toward Agirakana—something to that effect. I’m considering a short-term military service. What do you think?"

“On the surface, it might make sense as a form of physical conditioning—but if you're asking whether they’d actually be useful as soldiers, I’d say no. Even with nanomachines for physical enhancement, customized for the average Earth human, they’d be utterly ineffective.”

“Harsh opinion, but you’re probably right. Still, I think some degree of loyalty to Agirakana might develop in time.”

“Possibly. On the other hand, they might just break down under the strain of such rigorous training—could end up counterproductive.”

“A difficult problem, indeed.”

Hai Fan: “Servant of the Dark, me. —Ascend the ladder of evolution—”

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