80. Recruitment for Immigrants Begins

Contrary to public sentiment, the temporary reception center for immigrants was steadily taking shape above.

"Sorry about that, Ichijō—"

Ichijō, who had just returned from the eighth floor and was sipping green tea at his desk, offered a brief apology.

Ichijō’s presence at his desk on the eighth floor usually meant he had something to say—or wanted to be spoken to. It seemed cruel not to respond when he was clearly waiting for me to initiate conversation.

"Ehehe, things are going nearly smoothly on that front."

"Nearly?"

"Local civic groups have been showing up near the construction site, interfering with the work. Mostly shouting slogans in front of truck access points—workers are getting frustrated."

"Hmm. That’s quite a problem. And yet your department’s supposed to be civilian-run, isn’t it?"

“Well, since we’re flying the Nichia Group banner, anyone can tell this is an Agirakana matter.”

“Seems like some citizens are developing a dislike for us, somehow.”

“I asked Ain to collect biological data from those folks—ran a full identity sweep. Turned out seventy percent held Japanese citizenship; the remaining thirty percent were either possibly Japanese or had no nationality listed.”

“Predictable. Well then, Ichijō, keep pushing forward. Try to hold it together—wouldn’t want any accidents. Might be wise to increase security presence at the site, if possible.”

“That’s already been arranged.”

“Typical of a businesswoman—no loose ends. Anything else troubling you?”

“Not exactly troubled, but another company competing with our operations seems to be ignoring production costs and actively poaching our clients.”

“Ah. Ignoring production costs—that’s dumping, isn’t it. That’s quite the move. The big hardware you’re using is mostly made by Agirakana, so it’s practically free, and your fixed costs are barely more than facility maintenance and personnel expenses, right? Competing on price with something like that—now that’s almost admirable, in a way. Let them keep dumping; their customers will be happy enough. Just leave them be.”

“Yes, so I plan to let them collapse on their own, at their own pace.”

“You won’t run into financial trouble on your end, but if you do, there’s always cash available here. Just say the word anytime.”

“That’s unlikely to happen, but if it does, I’ll be sure to ask.”

Seems like things are starting to smell a bit off from several directions. Since Ichijō’s got security detail, I doubt anything drastic’ll happen—but still, better to give a heads-up to the ground troops handling the perimeter.

“Tell the infantry up top to keep a close eye on Ichijō’s protection, Ain. That’s the reason for this.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you, Ain-san.”

Honestly, we at Agirakana aren’t suffering any direct harm, so we don’t see this as much of a problem. But we can’t fathom what they’re trying to achieve by interfering with us.

Is it really that they imagine the world without Agirakana—just like ten years ago—would let them resume their old grip on everything? If so, well… that makes a certain kind of sense, I suppose.

Frogs scrambling at the bottom of a well, unaware they’ll soon be buried back in—just like that. Once they know the earth is about to close in, they’ll desperately claw their way upward, pushing others aside, yet still unable to escape the well’s depths; and even if they did, they’d shrivel and die in moments. We act on nothing but our own good intentions—blind to the fact that they’re the only rope left, the only lifeline. Pathetic, really.

After this whole sequence of events, I suppose I’ve grown a little tired. Something odd just slipped into my thoughts.

Half a month passed after that exchange with Ichijō.

Agirakana has already built two passenger-cargo ships modeled after solar system cruise liners, intended for transporting immigrants. Unlike cruise ships, these vessels lack entertainment facilities, allowing a comfortable capacity of twenty thousand per ship. They can connect Earth and Agirakana via the hyperlane gate in a one-way journey of twelve hours. Considering the movement of people and goods, a round trip every three days is feasible. Additionally, on the Agirakana side, preparations are underway at the spaceport located at the base of the external shaft: temporary housing and medical facilities for incoming immigrants, construction of an elevator and elevator station leading to the outermost Second Layer—supposedly their new home—and the building of transport vehicles to move settlers from the elevator station to their final destinations.

Among the immigrant reception centers currently under construction near the five major cities, the first one has been completed up to the superstructure only.

The location, apparently, was once a mixed-use shopping complex—home to cinemas and other amenities—funded by Amur, a conglomerate entertainment company formerly under the Nichia Group’s umbrella, situated about thirty minutes west of Shinjuku via private railway. It had been acquired outright and repurposed into an immigrant reception center. On the surface, it resembles a corporate training facility.

The center can accommodate five thousand people. A sizable building, yes, yet the capacity is surprisingly low. Here, those selected for immigration to Agirakana undergo physical examinations—selection, in effect, proceeding by process of elimination.

After the physical examination, they are to have their housing type—single-family home or apartment—determined, along with a provisional occupation. Agirakana will provide housing that most closely matches the individual’s stated preference. Should the chosen occupation require specific materials, Agirakana will procure and supply what is available. For those selecting a profession entirely new to them, Agirakana will conduct a week-long vocational training simulation. Agirakana’s preference is to steer newcomers toward agriculture or fishing, though they will accommodate other viable options as well.

After spending about ten days within the center, the settlers were temporarily disbanded, each attending to the disposal of their assets and completing administrative formalities before reconvening at the center five days later. From there, all would travel together to ports such as Yokohama, board pre-arranged spacecraft, and proceed toward Agirakana.

Upon arrival at Agirakana, individuals identified with abnormalities during the prior physical examination would receive treatment at the newly established medical facility at the Spaceport, designed specifically for incoming immigrants. Prosthetics and artificial limbs were fabricated and issued on-site for conditions such as limb loss.

Since last week, Agirakana has been publicly announcing the commencement of immigration applications via the network, outlining application procedures and immigration criteria.

Applications for immigration are completed by registering through biometric authentication devices installed at select branches of Nichia Group enterprises across the country, signing one’s name and address on a document stating intent to emigrate, and submitting it on the spot.

As of now, the number of applicants has already surpassed one hundred thousand—the first intake quota—and is comfortably approaching five hundred thousand. The first cohort is scheduled to begin receiving immigrants at the center one month from now. In just over a month, the first immigrants will be stepping onto Agirakana soil.

Eligibility criteria for this round of immigration are as follows:

1. Applicants must be male or female, aged between eighteen and forty, holding Japanese nationality. Eligible individuals include the applicant, their spouse, and any first-degree blood relatives of either the applicant or their spouse. (Applicants may opt out, including themselves.)

Conditions at the destination settlement include:

1. Housing, food, and utilities at the destination settlement—including heating and lighting—shall be guaranteed by Agirakana.

2. In exchange for any labor performed, compensation shall be issued in Agirakana’s new currency.

3. To purchase any other goods—such as entertainment-related items—payment must be made in Agirakana’s new currency.

4. The exchange rate between the new currency and yen shall be one-to-one for the time being. The maximum amount of Japanese yen permitted per individual is one million yen, all of which must be exchanged into the new currency.

5. Upon relocation, each individual shall receive a sum of currency in the millions. An equivalent amount shall be provided for each child born in Agirakana.

6. Any individual deemed unsuitable by Agirakana within ten years of relocation shall be forcibly repatriated to their home country.

With the Primary Core destroyed, the issue of Arsenian blood purity—once a condition for immigration—had become moot. However, for selecting future applicants, it was decided that, during the Immigration Application Procedure, biological information would be read and, in descending order of Arsenian genetic information, the first batch of applicants matching the recruitment quota would be chosen as initial immigrants. Furthermore, anyone found to have engaged in Anti-Agirakana Actions would be deemed automatically ineligible for immigration.

The conditions for immigration, while theoretically open to deeper consideration, are not elaborated upon in detail.

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As of July 4, 2020

『Grab the Galaxy in My Hands!』Part Two, planned for 14 episodes—about 7 written so far. Will post when consolidated. Thank you!