01x01 - Terzetto" / "A Distant Road Home

[bunniefuu]

-This is a story before we got smarter…

-And became confused.

-Mysteries solved.

-More puzzles.

-The incident ended.

-With a huge aftermath.

-A story…

-About becoming more human…

And learning about humankind.

-Detours.

-Stops on the way.

-Foolishness.

-We now know they were all necessary.

-The answer was always there.

-The answer was the world itself.

-The answers were in the questions.

-The story had already begun.

-With a fixed conclusion.

-If the past can be changed…

The present is a changed future.

I knew everything.

But I didn't know what it meant.

It took a long time…

To get where we are.

But everything was necessary.

-To understand…

-What had happened until now.

And this is how…

-The story starts.

-The story starts.

TERZETTO

NIGASHIO SHOPPING STREE

Haunted mansion?

You know,

the house over the tunnel on the cape.

People see signs of activity

even though it's deserted.

Is it thieves? Homeless squatters?

What do they mean by signs of activity?

Light flickering in the rooms

and strange noises late at night.

The management firm found

no signs of intruders.

The circuit breaker was untouched.

No use of gas or electricity.

Then rumors started flying around

that it's the ghost

of a girl who hung herself

or a blood-sucking vampire.

Curious trespassers got arrested

and traffic accidents happened.

And thus the management firm

got a warning from the police.

That's why they want Mr. O to investigate.

Otaki Factory to the rescue.

We offer solutions in home repair

and all things supernatural.

We're just a small, local factory.

Have we ever even seen a ghost?

Our ghost detector

only catches radio waves.

We can also catch

visible light and infrared rays.

Something is causing

the suspicious noise and light.

We keep waiting for a miracle.

If there ever was a miracle,

it ended years ago.

Miracles don't happen.

A major renovation was done by the owner

who disappeared 50 years ago.

The management firm cleans it

every other month.

Is that a hunch?

I read the file.

The owner liked to travel.

London, Bombay, Auckland, Cairo.

He was impulsive and disorganized.

The file had his personality too?

It's obvious.

Paleontology. Natural history. Morphology.

Molecular biology. Organic chemistry.

Evolutional developmental biology.

Non-Euclidean geometry. Topology.

Category theory. Abstract geometry?

Folklore. Archaeology.

He gets bored easily.

Thin body stature and this tall.

Involved in irregular activities?

Died with a secret.

Died? He's just missing, right?

It's the power of deduction.

Sit quietly and you'll predict correctly.

It's a wild guess.

If you have doubts,

I can predict your dinner.

We already had chicken cutlets.

Your lunch in two weeks then.

That's not too hard.

It's pork cutlet at Mitsuyo.

Brazil's new dish.

You sure like Brazil's set meals.

There's no good fish in town

because of the red tide.

Everybody eats meat.

Mitsuyo runs out of chicken cutlet.

We look for somewhere else to eat.

We see a light. It's Brazil.

Brazil envies Mitsuyo's popularity

and creates a new menu…

What are you talking about?

A secret room.

A fish tank? For a mermaid or something?

That's it.

A crystal radio? Where's its power source?

It doesn't need any because it converts

radio waves into energy.

Where are they playing this song?

Look, Yun.

A shark. Normally, Kiheiji would be

on top with Tametomo on the ship

surrounded by tengu.

Tengu or birds, I guess.

Kaiju, monsters that bring bad luck.

"The enraged eyes of the monster

are red reflections in a polished mirror."

"Its fangs, a thousand blades

planted upside down."

You're very studious. Good for you.

-Literature major?

-No. Science.

"Gojira"?

Radio waves?

Fluorescent light often lights up

under high-voltage cables.

That light reacted to radio waves

from an animal's cry.

An animal that emits radio waves?

Like an electric eel?

We're basically following something

that emits radio waves and flies.

It's heading to the sea.

-An accident.

-What should we do?

Let's take a different route.

Okay.

We had to stop for a moment

because of an accident.

We apologize for the delay.

I'm going to be late.

Misakioku. This is the final stop.

Disembark here to go to the Old Tsuguno

District Office or Nigashio Lighthouse.

One bus every two hours?

You must be Professor Sasamoto's student.

Thank you for coming all the way here.

I'm Yamamoto from the district office.

I'm Mei Kamino.

I didn't bring my name card.

No problem.

I heard Professor Sasamoto is in Hawaii.

For an international conference.

I'm here on his behalf.

I wish I were in Hawaii.

I'd like to travel overseas,

but I have to keep an eye on this place.

Let me check.

It's an old machine,

so they're sometimes blurry.

They look fine.

The photo has to follow certain rules.

The building looks quite old.

It's been renovated,

but it was built before the w*r.

Here we go.

ENTRY PERMI

Follow me.

An alarm? What for?

We don't know.

It was installed years ago,

but it never rang until now.

We found the manual.

Apparently, it received an unidentified

signal that needs to be confirmed.

We must consult

with Professor Sasamoto, our adviser,

for matters that require

such scientific expertise.

I see, so that's why he sent me.

This situation is dictated

in Section One of the manual.

"When the warning alarm is set off,

immediately contact the adviser."

"Compare the output

from System Five with Diagram Three."

"If they're consistent, submit a report

and continue monitoring the situation."

What's the unidentified signal?

This.

Music?

We started recording it 28 hours ago.

It's the same song over and over.

It's like Showa-era pop

or music from another Asian country.

This song activated the alarm

for the first time in decades.

We have to submit a report if this song

is consistent with this graph.

MEASUREMENT RESULTS

We have no idea

what to make of this graph.

Power spectral density?

I think it's the frequency component.

They look similar,

but there's too much noise.

It's hard to say without

any specifications on precision.

Where are you receiving this signal?

I have no idea.

It's connected to those cables.

What's on the other end?

This is the wiring diagram of the room

from when we renewed the equipment.

But it's not on here.

It's late,

but should we call the contractor?

"Otaki Factory"?

We lost it.

Nothing more we can do.

Should we go back?

What is it?

The music in the mansion

is being transmitted from here.

Misakioku Radio Observatory.

We did some work here a few years ago.

Hey!

I'll go check it out.

Check what out?

-They know we're here?

-What?

It's from this facility.

Security cameras?

A drone?

No… Geostationary satellite?

This is Otaki Factory.

Hello? This is the monitor room

at the Misakioku observatory.

I'm calling about a strange signal.

Why call us?

Because I believe you're in charge.

What makes you say that?

It's in the instructions.

Whose instructions?

It says so in the manual.

It's someone else's decision?

Well, yes.

What's your demand?

"Demand," you say?

We want to inquire about a machine.

What's the model?

JJ…

JJ? Jet Jaguar.

What are you up to?

JJSX Type 1.

JJSX?

I think

it's the communication cable we installed.

It's just a coincidence then.

My overactive imagination.

Let's start over. Otaki Factory.

How can I help you?

I've been telling you…

Hello there.

What are you doing?

Monitoring radio waves…

Your friend?

Sort of…

I got cut off. He was so weird.

Why don't we call it a day

and continue tomorrow?

Look at the time.

I'll give you a taxi coupon.

From the newsroom to Matsuo.

Otaki Factory.

Here it is.

Work robots, supplements,

accounting software, and AI.

What a strange company.

Is this him?

"Programmer"?

"World champion, pioneer of new fields."

What an impressive background.

Assistant AI Naratake?

"Supports your work on the computer."

"It is now free of charge."

Yun Arikawa and Kato…

-Haberu.

-Haberu?

Occupation?

We're company employees…

They're handymen. Essentially jobless.

I asked you.

I can answer more accurately.

Yun Arikawa, age 24.

What else would you like to know?

-Who are you?

-Yun Arikawa.

No, you. You speaking.

A program designed by Yun Arikawa.

We want to speak to you directly.

All right.

But what it says is more accurate.

Human memory and logic are unreliable.

It's your memory, right?

Let's get out of here! Haberu! Yun!

Chief!

They can go.

Radio waves from Misakioku? I see.

I knew there was something fishy going on.

-It's "shechi."

-"Shechi"?

You know, the search for alien signals.

You mean SETI.

SETI.

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

That's what I said.

They're waiting for messages from aliens.

The mystery radio waves are from UFOs.

UFOs?

Complete Jet Jaguar ASAP.

Let's protect world peace.

I didn't see any antennas

for space communication.

They want us to do some maintenance work.

Go there tomorrow and snoop around.

For what?

For anything suspicious.

India?

(INDIAN FOLK SONG)

As such

loss of symmetry occurred

as biological evolution progressed.

Radial symmetry is more prominent

than bilateral symmetry

which is to be expected

considering the early spherical forms…

What?

What's this? Naratake?

The thing from yesterday.

Let's see…

I wish it'd speak in Japanese.

Access to speaker and microphone.

How did it hear me

without microphone access?

Can I trust this software?

-First question.

-It's a virus!

I'm not a virus.

I'm communication AI Naratake.

Would you like to uninstall me?

Definitely.

I cannot uninstall myself.

Then why ask?

I'm an advanced AI with personality.

If you uninstall me,

you'll be cursed.

In what way?

Temper tantrums. Poor blood circulation.

Goodbye.

No! Give me another chance.

It's so hard to delete.

Please give me a name.

A name?

Pelops II.

Hello from Pelops II.

This computer has little space for me.

Let me organize the data inside.

It's suddenly fluent in Japanese.

Your name is Mei Kamino.

Searching public databases and SNS

to create your profile.

You are apparently no danger to society.

-Of course not.

-Why did you name me Pelops?

I had a dog named Pelops.

I see. It's nice to meet you, Mei Kamino.

Right…

OTAKI FACTORY

Hello.

Is anybody here?

What's this?

Jet Jaguar, a robot we're developing.

It's really strong.

I'm Sato from Misakioku.

-About last night's call--

-I heard.

Haberu!

121, 122, 123…

He's not listening.

Hey!

Yes?

Mr. Sato from Misakioku is here.

It's about last night's call.

Go check it out.

Okay.

Jet Jaguar.

I hear that old man is a real crackpot.

He's hooked on the occult

and has caused uproars about

aliens and underground civilizations.

He invested all his personal assets

to build a robot to protect Earth.

Why do we do business with him?

He may be crazy,

but he's apparently a great engineer.

He owns world-famous patents.

He has connections overseas?

Yes. But Misakioku

has only worked with him once

five years ago to install those cables.

I guess this is a dead end.

-The basement?

-Yes, based on the records.

We connected it

to an underground transmitter.

We never touched the machine itself.

There's no more information.

Anything else?

No. Thank you.

Everything looks suspicious here.

A two-hour wait.

Too bad that I got off early.

I'll call a cab.

Kamino?

Mei Kamino, right?

-Who are you?

-We went to high school together.

Barbell!

Forget that nickname.

You work here?

No. I'm still in graduate school.

I'm doing a favor for my professor.

I see. Waiting for the bus?

-Want a ride?

-Yes!

OTAKI FACTORY

That was you on the phone?

It was a weird conversation. Who was that?

My partner. He's definitely weird.

He better get his act together.

You should choose your friends better.

You're one to talk.

Or do you have your act together now?

Me? I've always had my act together.

Are you still researching

imaginary creatures?

Yes. Fishes that swim through time.

Butterflies in the fourth dimension.

Is it good money?

It's about understanding this world

by studying things

that don't exist in this world.

From the basement?

Do we even have a basement?

Yes, we actually do.

By the way, how long

have you been working here?

Around three months.

It's about time.

I'll show you something interesting.

Okay…

That rascal might be

the one that's misbehaving.

What?

PLAY WITH JET JAGUAR

Its face is weird!

Jet Jaguar? It looks stupid.

Totally stupid.

Drop-dead!

I thought you wanted

to protect peace in the universe.

No need to rush.

Community service comes first.

-A bird?

-A plane?

It's flying so low. Isn't it a drone?

Hey, Yun.

Miracles are miracles

because they don't happen.

What is this place?

Why the hazmat suit?

You'll see.

I bet you're the type that creates

more work for yourself.

Has anyone told you that?

Officially, this place doesn't exist.

It's a former black military facility

that's been abandoned and forgotten.

So you're not here

and you don't see anything.

What is this?

Like a brittle maple leaf

Decaying in the cold wind

The cry of a cuckoo

Are you waiting for a boat in Komagata?

I will not forget you

So I will never have to recall you