Prologue

Blizzard

Every now and then, a thought blew through her mind like a violent gust of

wind: I never wanted to turn out like this.

“So based on the victim’s testimony, how many centimeters of snowfall are in

his room now?”

“About forty-eight centimeters before we applied the suppressant. The

blizzard is pretty terrible, so he’ll probably start exhibiting hypothermia

symptoms once the suppressant wears off.”

Much to her surprise, the Brebis Égarée Hospital didn’t reek of disinfectant.

Echika walked down the hospital wing’s corridor with her eyes fixed on the

two men ahead of her. One of them was a doctor clad in a white coat, and the

other was her partner, Benno Kleiman.

Benno was a twenty-five-year-old German man with squarish facial features

and short, tidy beige hair. His overall appearance gave a somewhat neurotic

impression. Two weeks had passed since he’d started working with her, but the

only thing Echika knew about him was that he had a girlfriend two years his

junior.

He continued. “…So we will connect to the patient’s Your Forma and attempt

to trace back the virus’s infection source.”

“I am aware of the procedure, yes. Brain Diving, correct? You trace back the

personal history and Mnemosynes recorded in his Your Forma to find where he

was infected… I have to admit, though. It’s my first time seeing a selfpropagating

virus that induces illusions of a blizzard.”

“That’s what the doctor in Washington, DC, said, too,” Benno replied.

“‘There’s no doubt that this is a new strain.’”

“DC was where it showed up initially, right? I’m glad we weren’t the first case.

We’ve learned how to handle it effectively through precedent.”

The Seine River flowed serenely outside the window. Rays of cold winter

sunlight sparkled against the water’s surface in an almost irritatingly calm

fashion.

“That said,” the doctor started, before pausing to stifle a yawn, “I’m sure you

two have it worse, but I’ve hardly gotten any sleep. I really hope you can

resolve this as quickly as possible.”

“Why don’t you leave the Amicus to handle the workload at night?”

“We’re letting them take the reins wherever possible, of course, but we don’t

want to overwork the poor things.”

“Poor things?” Benno asked, raising an eyebrow. “They’re just machines. You

lose out by not using them when you can.”

“Oh, I see, you’re a luddite. Well, personally, I’m an Amicus sympathizer, so I

can’t help but feel for them.”

Benno shrugged awkwardly and moved away from the doctor, approaching

Echika. Based on his expression, she could tell he was about to give her his

usual warning.

“Listen, Hieda. Only broach as far as their surface Mnemosynes. Find how

they were infected and look for clues on who did it.”

Yep, same old, same old…

“With all due respect,” Echika said, “I’m a Diver. It’s your job as my aide and

Belayer to decide when to pull me up. What I mean is, how deep I go is up to

you, not me.”

“I’m only saying this because whenever I try to reel you back up, you drag me

down there instead. You’ve almost fried my brain three times from the strain

already. Are you trying to kill me or something?”

“I’ve gotten people sent to the hospital before, but I’ve never killed anyone.”

“Makes sense no one works with you for long.” Benno spat the words out

bitterly. “Now listen to me, Little Miss Genius. While we were out investigating

something else, our colleagues were working their butts off, Brain Diving to

trace the source of the infection. You better produce results.”

“I always do.”

“Fine, let me rephrase that. Produce results without breaking your partner.

You follow?”

Having said his piece in a clearly one-sided manner, Benno walked back to the

doctor. Echika exhaled hard. He loathed her, to an almost refreshing extent. Not

that she made any effort to make herself likable. This meant her relationship

with him could only keep getting worse, but she didn’t mind.

After all, as unpleasant as it was to admit, he was right. Their partnership

wouldn’t last long anyway.

The doctor led them to a luxurious hospital room, where a young French man

was sleeping in a dull, undecorated bed. He was the source of the viral infection

in Paris. In addition to Echika and the other two, a nurse Amicus robot stood in

the room. Its appearance was modeled on a woman in her thirties, with a wellfeatured,

tidy face. It was a mass-produced model she’d seen quite often.

“Thank you for coming,” the Amicus said with a sociable smile. “We applied

the suppressant twelve minutes ago, and the patient’s condition has been

stable since. He’s already consented to Brain Diving.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Monsieur Ogier,” Benno said, flashing his ID badge.

“I’m Investigator Aide Benno Kleiman from Interpol’s Electrocrime

Investigations Bureau, and this is Electronic Investigator Echika Hieda. In

accordance with International Criminal Procedure Code Article 15, we will

exercise our authority to connect into your personal Your Forma.”

“He’s comatose,” the doctor said, snickering. “Was there a point to that?”

“It’s standard procedure. We get complaints sometimes if we don’t say it.”

“Let’s begin, Benno. Jack in.”

Echika reached into her coat pocket to produce her Lifeline—the Umbilical

Cord, a threadlike cable with connectors on both ends. Echika and Benno each

took an end and plugged it into the connector ports embedded in the skin on

the nape of their neck.

“Next, the Brain Diving cord.”

At Echika’s instructions, Benno plugged the Brain Diving cord into the boy’s

neck and tossed the other connector over to her. This one was a good deal

thicker than the Umbilical Cord. She plugged it into a second port on her body.

This manner of connection was colloquially known as a triangle connection, the

most basic form of attachment that the Brain Diver needed to investigate

someone’s mind.

“Hieda, what about the antivirus infection cocoon?”

“All green. It’s operating normally.”

“Then get going.”

Echika jerked her chin back; the next moment, she was plummeting into the

infected boy’s mind. The wintry trees of Luxembourg Gardens filled her field of

view, and the fluffy pleasure of stuffing her cheeks with a pain au chocolat from

a bakery flooded her taste buds.

The name of Paris’s index case—the first person to be diagnosed and the

source of the infection—was Thomas Ogier, a student at Grande École, an elite

French institution specializing in technology and the sciences. According to his

surface Mnemosynes—which detailed records of his activities over the last

month—having breakfast in this park was part of his everyday routine.

After eating, he would get in a carpool, which would make his heart race a

little with excitement. This began a day’s worth of fascinating research.

As the car sailed past the cityscape, advertisements of the latest Bluetoothequipped

sneakers, improved sleep earphones, and carbon-fiber sportswear

flew into his field of vision. They all sparkled and shone. These were all products

Ogier would likely be interested in.

Echika continued her free fall, letting his emotions flow past her without

allowing them to settle in. As she viewed his Mnemosynes, she traced his

footprints through the network, from his purchase history through e-commerce

sites to his browsing history in video-streaming services. She checked his social

media accounts by forcing open his registration info. As an aspiring engineer, he

had strong interest in technology. Because of this, he’d taken a prolonged leave

from work on All Saints’ Day to go to America, where he’d toured Rig City and

Clear Solution Inc.

But she discovered no clues pertaining to the virus. His mailing apps were

mostly full of exchanges from his family and friends, and even the few

advertisements she found there seemed innocuous.

I see, thought Echika. It’s just like the electronic investigator from Washington

said…

Even when they’d Dived into patient zero there, the investigators had found

no traces of either the culprit who’d infected them or even the virus’s method

of infection.

By this point, she’d finished browsing through the surface Mnemosynes, but

Benno wasn’t pulling her up yet. Their processing speeds were so disparate that

his monitoring couldn’t keep up with the rate at which she Dived. Echika

continued to plummet, accelerating with every second.

No good.

She sailed past the patient’s surface level, into the depths of the medium

layers of his Mnemosynes—when suddenly, she felt something jolt in the nape

of her neck.

“Aide Kleiman!”

She jerked her head upon hearing his name shouted. Her field of vision

dissipated, and she found herself in the hospital room again. Benno had

crumpled to his knees, the cord yanked out of his neck. The doctor hurried over

to him, but he was already unconscious and completely limp. The Amicus nurse

bolted out of the room, its expression alarmed.

Aaah. It happened again.

Echika stood rooted in place, not terribly surprised by what had transpired.

She had thought Benno would probably reach his limit any day now, and sure

enough, today was the day… Echika pretended not to notice the stinging in her

heart.

These kinds of malfunctions occurred when a Diver’s and a Belayer’s

processing speed didn’t match. Their abilities hadn’t been equal to begin with,

so Benno forcing himself to work with her was bound to wear him out

eventually.

Echika was used to seeing her partners break down.

Before long, several nurse Amicus hurried into the room. They brought in a

stretcher and carried Benno away. He would probably get out of this with a

week of hospital stay. That’s what always happens, Echika told herself as she

silently stifled the guilt bubbling up from the pit of her stomach.

“I’ve seen investigator aides exhibit these symptoms before,” the doctor

standing next to her said.

Echika took a silent deep breath as she felt his condemning gaze.

“Which one of them was it?” she asked. “Clidat? Algren? Cerbère, maybe?

Who else was there…?”

“Enough.” The doctor’s eyes had long since filled with disdain. “They told me

that there was a genius out there who fries all her partners’ heads and sends

them to the infirmary. That’s you, isn’t it? Electronic Investigator Hieda.”

She already knew how to give him the answer he wanted. What he wanted to

hear was something along the lines of, I’m not doing this on purpose or No one

enjoys seeing their colleagues suffer. Those kinds of lines, full of transparent

goodwill.

But no number of pretty words could sweep away the facts. That was

something she’d learned all too well a long time ago.

“Benno will recover. The Your Forma will mend his cranial nerves, and he’ll be fine,”

 Echika said, her face expressionless to an almost cruel degree. “I’ll be taking my leave, 

then. Thank you for your cooperation with the investigation.”

She walked out of the hospital room, not regarding the doctor, who stared at

her as if he couldn’t believe what she’d just said.

Tracing the information Your Forma records to find clues that would solve

criminal cases.

That was an electronic investigator’s—Echika Hieda’s—job.

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