kscans

Chapter 206 - Interlude: The Council

In the end, Dean was forgiven by Ney.

However, though he was forgiven, he would now have to work for Ney. It was a situation not unlike that of a spy. Whether he was truly forgiven was difficult to judge. If Scorpion deemed him useless, there would be no point in him being a spy. At that point, Ney would abandon him too.

And if Ney deemed him useless, she could use the evidence from before to condemn Scorpion. Anyone could guess what kind of retaliation Scorpion would exact then. Dean now found himself in a situation where he had to endlessly walk a tightrope that could snap at any moment. One had to wonder if this was any better than being sent to a dead end.

But this was his punishment for using the Foundation's name. It was possible he had received such orders from Scorpion, but he could have chosen a method that didn't involve using the Foundation's name. Dean had tried to steal the technology using the simplest method. This could be called his just deserts.

And so, the situation would remain as it was until the day of the next Council meeting.

At the Council, Ney would state that Aphrodite was a company she invested in, giving them an indirect warning to keep their hands off. Until then, Ney would be busy and would not be attempting to conquer the floating island. It must have been a very stressful time for her.

But those busy days were about to end. The Council meeting was tomorrow.

The Council would be held in a conference hall within the Central Management Bureau, "Central," located on Earth.

Although only blood relatives of the Foundations could participate, and while it was called a council, its decisions held absolute authority and were impossible for anyone outside the Foundations to overturn.

That said, they didn't make unreasonable decisions. It was a proper meeting where they always took a majority vote, and when opinions were split, they would discuss the matter until a satisfactory agreement was reached.

A single car headed for the venue. Inside were Ney and her father.

Of course, Ney was not wearing her usual fantasy-inspired armor, but a black suit with pants. Her hair was not in its usual ponytail, but simply tied back. It was a natural appearance for the real world.

The two sat facing each other in the back seat of the car. Ney's father, while looking over documents provided by other Foundations, posed a question to Ney.

"Regarding the agenda item, or rather, the report you're submitting, Ney. Is this true? I hadn't heard anything about it. Are you sure it's alright? This is a surprisingly delicate matter, you know."

"Yes, there's no problem. Besides, I have an excellent assistant."

Ney said this and showed him a small earphone. It was possible to receive outside information during the meeting. There was a restriction to use communication devices specified by the Council, but conversely, that was the only restriction.

"Diite, was it? I spoke with her once via communication, and she certainly seemed capable. Well, very well. You are an adult now. From now on, I must gradually entrust you with the operation and management of the Foundation. Think of today as your debut, and do your best without fear of failure. No matter what happens, I will support you."

"Yes. Thank you. Speaking of which, I heard you also have an agenda item, Father."

"Ah, the construction of a new colony is beginning, and I need to discuss matters related to that. This time, it's just a report that it has started, but all the groundwork is quite a hassle."

"Indeed, laying the groundwork is a lot of work."

As they had this conversation, the two headed towards Central in their flying car.

At the Council venue, several members had already gathered. Ney and her father moved to their usual spot.

At this meeting, Ney would explain that she was an investor in Aphrodite. She had laid the groundwork and set traps for this purpose. It was not Ney who had done it, but primarily Diite.

Normally, Diite would not do such things. She was an AI who lived solely for the virtual reality, so she was fundamentally hands-off when it came to real-world matters.

But this time was different. She could protect the spaceship Aphrodite, the virtual reality, and herself, but the players and NPCs were another matter. To protect those people, real-world power was necessary. In exchange for that power from Ney, Diite was lending her own.

Diite herself felt she was the one asking for a favor, but since Ney also treasured the virtual reality, they could be called business partners with aligned interests.

Ney spoke to Diite through the earphone. The earphone had a built-in microphone that could pick up even the faintest voice. Since it was set to only pick up Ney's voice, she could communicate with the outside world just by whispering.

"It's about to start. Are you ready?"

"There's no problem. If anything happens, I'll back you up with everything I have, so you can rest assured."

Hearing the same words her father had spoken, Ney gave a wry smile. They must think she was likely to cause some trouble. It was a sad assessment, but she resigned herself to the fact that it couldn't be helped.

Blood relatives of the Foundations began to gather in the circular hall. Ney, having just come of age, was a newcomer. There were no new faces after her, just the usual crowd.

Ney's eyes found the member from Foundation Scorpion. It wasn't the head of the Foundation, but his son. He was in his late thirties, but since the head of Scorpion was ill, he could be considered the de facto leader.

He had a slightly flabby build and wore gaudy jewelry that could even be called tacky. From Ney's perspective, he was not a type she could bring herself to like.

Today's chairman, from Foundation Aquarius, declared the start of the meeting. The monthly Foundation Council had begun.

The Council proceeded dispassionately. The agenda for each Foundation had already been provided in documents. The process was mostly just following along with those. They would ask a few questions here and there, present some issues, and move the discussion forward. No particular problems arose.

Then, just before moving to the final document, the one concerning Ney's Aphrodite, the representative from Scorpion raised his hand.

"May I have a word?"

The chairman, though with a puzzled look on his face, prompted him to speak.

"Scorpion is permitted to speak."

Here, individuals were addressed by their Foundation name, not their personal one. This was due to the fact that no matter how many people attended, their words became the words of the Foundation.

"Actually, there is one agenda item I would like to raise."

Expectant gazes from the Foundation members turned towards Scorpion. The members here loved this kind of sudden trouble. Most of them were bored to tears, so as long as the sparks didn't fly their way, they welcomed any trouble that erupted around them.

"You are all familiar with the virtual reality ‘Another Frontier Online.’ I wish to call for a vote to suspend the operations of the company that manages and operates it, Aphrodite."

The Scorpion representative said this matter-of-factly, his expression unreadable. But a stir went through the room. Murmurs of questioning why he would do such a thing now.

"Are you being serious?"

Chairman Aquarius asked Scorpion. His face was so bewildered that even Scorpion was bewildered by his reaction.

"Is there a problem?"

"Well, a problem is not the word…"

At a loss for an answer, Aquarius looked towards Libra's seat, where Ney was sitting. In place of her equally bewildered father, Ney lightly raised her right hand.

"I would like permission to speak."

"Yes, please do."

Aquarius permitted Ney to speak with a look of relief. Scorpion was even more confused. He had not anticipated that the newcomer Ney would speak up.

Libra was known as the Foundation that valued fairness and harmony. Not only did they manage the judicial and police systems, but they were also known for mediating disputes between the Foundations. For Scorpion, it was nothing but strange for Libra to say something at this point, and for the daughter, not the head of the Foundation, to be the one to speak.

"It seems there was a mistake on our part. I gather that the documents were not sent to Scorpion-dono. My apologies, but I will send them again, so I would ask that you please confirm them."

"Documents…?"

Scorpion must have intended to raise a new agenda item after all the others were finished. But the other Foundations knew that there was one more item remaining on the agenda. Ney was supposed to report on it, but Scorpion had suddenly brought up a different topic. And what's more, that topic was content that clearly picked a fight with the final agenda item. The other Foundations must have been nothing but confused.

Ney operated a holographic keyboard in front of her. She resent the agenda documents via email. Scorpion operated his own holographic keyboard in the same way. And then his brow furrowed.

"My apologies. Unbelievably, it seems there was a delay in the mail. I have just now received a large number of emails. Please wait a moment."

An email delay. Such a thing was impossible in this era. But in reality, it was happening. And a few seconds later, Scorpion's brow furrowed even more.

"Regarding the investment in Aphrodite and the rights to its technology…?"

"It seems to have arrived safely."

The content of the agenda document Ney had sent was this. The investor in Aphrodite was Ney of Libra, and she owned all of its rights. As a newcomer to the Council, she had remained silent until now, but recently, there had been many problems, such as being threatened for her technology and being hacked, so she decided to announce her involvement. These two points were the main content.

For Scorpion, this was not just a bolt from the blue, it was as if a waterfall had come crashing down on him.

"The document was just completed yesterday, so it seems its submission was overlooked. My apologies, Scorpion-dono."

"Ah, ah. No, there is no need for an apology. It seems my mail client was acting up, and I just now received a large number of emails. I had received your email yesterday. I am the one who should apologize."

Ney was apologizing with a serious face, but it was, of course, a lie. She had sent the email, but had done some work to prevent it from arriving. Diite and Relic had handled that.

She knew that Scorpion would propose the suspension of Aphrodite's operations as a new agenda item without preparing a document. This was to show him in a bad light to the other Foundations. Ney said nothing, but she had likely succeeded in creating the impression that Scorpion was up to something with Aphrodite. She had also established an impression of who was at fault. This would work to Ney's advantage in the future. It could be said that she had seized the initiative.

"Aquarius-dono. May I proceed with my agenda item now?"

"Permission granted. Please continue."

Ney gave a word of thanks and began to explain the document.

"…And for these reasons, there has been a great deal of unauthorized access to the virtual reality recently. I would like to declare myself as the owner to put a stop to these activities."

"So if a blood relative of a Foundation is publicly announced as the investor, the unauthorized access will cease. Indeed, that seems likely to be the case."

"Furthermore, there are those who have recently been making threats, demanding technology. I am growing rather weary of this. I did not wish to use the Foundation's name to drive them away, so I had been responding politely, but I am reaching my limit."

Several of the members present nodded at her words. It was common practice for them to engage in various business ventures without revealing their Foundation's name. Many Foundations believed that such experience was something one should have before coming of age. They must have had similar experiences.

"For these reasons, I would like you all to understand that I am the investor in Aphrodite."

This was not something to be voted on, but a simple report. It was just a story to check the Foundations, telling them to keep their hands off.

Of course, there was one party who could not back down.

"However, Libra. Don't you think monopolizing that much technology is problematic? And you say you are an investor, but is that really true? Aphrodite is a mysterious company whose colony location is unknown. I cannot be sure if what you are saying is true."

"Are you suggesting that I am lying?"

"Not at all, but this document alone is insufficient as proof. We could, if we so desired, rewrite official documents. I am not saying you went that far, but I would like more convincing proof or an explanation. For example, which colony is the company in? As an investor, you would naturally know, wouldn't you?"

Dean had not told Scorpion that Ney knew everything. He had been instructed to tell him that he was in negotiations with the investor. That was why Scorpion was trying to bait Ney into making a mistake.

"It is not in a colony. The servers are loaded onto a spaceship, and that serves as the company. It is currently in stealth mode in Earth's orbit. The nature of what is being developed is such that I wanted to ensure perfect security, so I had them do it that way."

Gasps of admiration arose from the Foundation members at Ney's words. They didn't know if it was true, but it was a plausible story. And Scorpion knew that it was correct. Scorpion's understanding was that a spaceship that had fled a hundred years ago had returned, and that was correct. But if he revealed that in this place, Scorpion would not be able to monopolize the spaceship. It was not his to begin with.

Moreover, if he were asked to produce evidence that it was the escaped spaceship, it would be difficult to respond. The information was from Prison, but if the source was questioned as being suspicious, it would be over. Scorpion did not let it show on his face, but he exuded an air of displeasure.

"I understand the company's location. Then what about the monopoly on the technology? With that much technology, and this is a highly disrespectful thing to say, but for a young person like you, not even Libra itself, to be the investor and hold all the rights seems a bit too heavy a burden to bear."

His goal was to monopolize the technology, but first, he had to separate Ney from Aphrodite. That must have been his plan to break her down. He began his attack on Ney's youth. It was a mere quibble, but when asked if she could manage it properly, her age was indeed something that made one wonder.

"I am indeed a novice. I am sure there are many areas where I lack experience."

"Then—"

"But you need not worry. I have entrusted the management of Aphrodite to others. I am merely providing the funds, and the management and operation are left to Aphrodite's leadership. They are trustworthy people, so I can assure you there is nothing to worry about."

Scorpion was at a loss for words. If he were to question whether that person was trustworthy, it would be like saying Libra had no eye for character.

As Scorpion remained silent, Ney opened her mouth again.

"Scorpion-dono speaks of monopolizing the technology, but to be frank, I couldn't hand it over even if I wanted to. The developer who created it has already passed away, and it has now become a black box. A mechanism has been installed that will destroy it if tampered with, so we are currently analyzing it with great care. I believe we will be able to provide the technology once the analysis is complete. Unfortunately, it is said that it will take several decades, so we will have to ask you to wait."

A black box. Simply put, it meant that its internal structure was not visible. The explanation was that they were using the virtual reality's technology, but they didn't know why it operated the way it did. This was a setting, or rather, a lie decided by Diite.

It was true that the developer was already dead, and Infinity was expanding on its own, so it wasn't wrong to say it was becoming a black box. At this point, only Esha could probably analyze it. However, it wouldn't be destroyed, and they weren't analyzing it.

Being told this, Scorpion couldn't just give up.

"Then let us assist with the analysis. It is not a matter of simply increasing the number of people, but it would be a waste to use that technology only for a game, wouldn't it? Let's form an analysis team right away. That way, we can analyze it faster."

This time, he shifted to a form that would benefit all the Foundations. His intention must have been to increase his allies. And it had a certain effect. Many Foundations wanted that technology. If they could get a piece of it, they would undoubtedly agree with Scorpion.

"That would be a bad idea."

"…And for what reason might that be?"

"I believe you know what happened to those who meddled with that game. It is not the company Aphrodite that is doing it. If you tamper with the black box itself, it automatically retaliates. That is why we are proceeding with the analysis so cautiously. If you increase the number of people, it will retaliate against a corresponding number. I would like you to understand that we are managing for now because a few excellent employees are handling it."

What happened to those who had hacked Aphrodite or "Another Frontier Online" was a well-known story. All their information would be exposed, and they would be socially eliminated. A voice from another Foundation said that they couldn't leave such a dangerous thing unattended, but Ney retorted that they should simply not hack it. And she added more.

"By the way, the Foundations are no exception. It does not consider the opponent when deciding on retaliation, so you should be careful. Oh, changing the subject, the identity of the recent hacker is about to be revealed. Considering the amount of unauthorized access, the retaliation will be quite severe. Unfortunately, even I cannot stop it."

"…What did you say?"

As Scorpion spoke, he seemed to receive some kind of email. He looked at it, and his eyes widened. And a voice from Diite reached Ney's earphone.

"Relic-kun used something he planted in Prison long ago to shut down the colony's functions. Of course, the people are safe. But the security is in a sorry state now. They can't complain about anything that's done to them. In about ten more minutes, the information from Prison will be sent worldwide. Please relay that to Scorpion-kun over there."

Diite sounded delighted as she contacted Ney.

"This is just a hypothetical, but if a Foundation were to do such a thing, it might do something like shut down the functions of a colony it owns. Since there are people there, it probably wouldn't shut everything down, but it might disable security and indiscriminately transfer all the information stored there. If that were to happen, it would be a disaster."

Ney's words came at the perfect time. And the cold eyes she showed Scorpion for just a moment. Scorpion's face contorted as he looked at the woman a decade his junior. But in contrast, Ney smiled.

"Scorpion-dono, for these reasons, the technology of that virtual reality is a bit dangerous, so I would like you to leave it to me. It was originally mine, and I see no problem with that, but what do you think?"

Ney was undoubtedly asking Scorpion. But what would happen if he said no? There was no need to imagine.

"I-In that case, I will leave that virtual reality to Libra-dono. And I apologize. I'm sorry, I did not know it was your company and said things like suspending its operations. I would like you to consider it unsaid."

"Yes, of course. Oh, by the way. Recently, I was approached for negotiations by a gentleman named Dean, and upon investigation, it seems he was an agent of Scorpion-dono."

"D-Did he do anything rude? If there was anything, I will have a stern word with him."

"No, he was very gentlemanly in his dealings with me. If anything comes up in the future, please send him. It is easier to deal with someone I know."

"I-I understand. If anything comes up, I will send Dean. I-Is, is everything all right now?"

Most of the people here did not know what he meant by "all right." Only Ney would know. Ney simply smiled and gave a bow without answering. Then she informed Chairman Aquarius that she had finished speaking.

"I see. There were a few things, but this concludes the agenda. Are there any new items?"

There were no new agenda items, and the Council was adjourned. Then, Diite's voice reached Ney's ear again.

"What, he folded so quickly? Then I will stop this as well. I was hoping he would put up more of a fight. I will tell Relic-kun to restore everything. Well then, good work, Ney-kun."

Ney laughed a little and stood up from her seat. People from the other Foundations gathered around her. They probably wanted to hear more about what had happened. "Looks like I won't have time to play the game today," Ney thought with a hint of dissatisfaction as she began to talk with the people who had gathered.