Clockwork Planet: Volume 1

  — Click, clack, click, clack

  The gears turned and turned.

  Systematically, mechanically, inexorably.

  They marked the march of time effortlessly just by fulfilling their function.

  Even if a clock were to stop ticking, it wouldn’t matter.

  Even if the cogs of time became broken or twisted, they would surely simply continue to turn.

  Systematically, mechanically, inexorably.

  Click, clack, click, clack —

  Prologue / -- : -- / Reconstruct

  I know this is sudden, but—

  The world had already collapsed long ago.

  Whether it be a meteor strike, an alien invasion, a mysterious pandemic, or a nuclear war—

  Since antiquity, people all over the world had imagined various scenarios for the end of the world. Every time a doomsday scenario was announced, hysteria would manifest from delusions and spread rampantly; yet in the end, nothing would happen. The fact that nothing happened would cause people to worry that it or something else was simply yet to come, and so the cycle would repeat. The whole thing was just like a dog chasing after its own tail.

  However, reality was not as dramatic as fiction.

  No giant meteor came and shattered Earth.

  No aliens came from the ends of the Milky Way to conquer it, either.

  All diseases, no matter how intractable or peculiar, could only accept eventual defeat when faced with human medicine.

  And finally, humanity wasn’t foolish enough to destroy itself with nuclear missiles.

  The actual “End of the World” had required neither fantasy, nor catharsis, nor romance. There was absolutely no space for such things to exist in this reality which, though inane, remains indisputable.

  In conclusion,

  One day, the Earth suddenly died.

  Thus it was announced, without a single anomaly, aberration, or portent. The scientists had concluded that such was the Earth’s lifespan. It was estimated that the Earth had five billion years left. However, their calculations were off by just those five billion years. Would you believe it?

  What a clown-fest that was.

  Everyone was left flabbergasted at the scientists’ hopeless incompetence, but there was nothing anyone could do. After all, regardless of whether the calculations were on point or not, the Earth’s lifespan couldn’t have been extended any more than the hands of Time’s clock could have been reversed.

  Earth, being a planet and not a star, didn’t enjoy a magnificent finale in the form of a supernova explosion. Its finale wasn’t a spectacle of widespread panic at a great disaster caused by colliding tectonic plates, either. The reason was simply that the stored energy in the Earth’s core had dissipated over time, causing its activities to grind to a halt. Like so, the planet quietly died over a span of about a hundred years.

  During that process, nothing changed. As boring reality hopelessly carried on, human history on Earth came to an end.

  —Now then, let’s talk about what happened afterwards.

  An industrious bunch who had given up on Earth created a giant fleet of spaceships and left the solar system in search of a new world. Like a science fiction movie from times past, they began their space opera of wandering through the dark universe in search of a planet like Earth.

  They didn’t even know where they were heading, nor were there guarantees that they would surely and safely arrive anywhere. To begin with, one could hardly call humanity’s spacefaring technology perfect. Becoming spacedust was far more likely.

  No one knows what happened to those who set off on that dangerous journey. In the end, were they able to successfully chart a new chapter of human history?

  Bon Voyage.

  On the other side of things, apart from those who set off into space, the vast majority of humans stayed on Earth. There were researchers who struggled on boldly as befitting of humans, but all their efforts were for naught. Just as the dead can’t be resurrected, the planet couldn’t be resuscitated.

  There were a hundred years left before the Earth would die. Humanity resigned itself and made peace with its fate atop a planet that was dying a drawn-out death.

  The time left was too short for humanity to take counter-measures and too long to maintain a sense of urgency. The depletion of Earth’s resources and energy forbade humanity from even having one last war.

  Even at this late stage, reality still didn’t become as dramatic as fiction.

  —However, thirty years after the Earth had died...

  Reality, which had become hopelessly dull, handed the stage over to a certain man.

  He was not a scientist. Neither was he a politician, nor a prophet. Of course, he wasn’t a magician who conjured up a convenient miracle, either.

  Did people lend their ears to the words of that man, whom they knew absolutely nothing about, because they were tired of despair? —Or, was it because they had given up hope?

  Regardless, the words that came out of his mouth were so absurd that they managed to shock humanity, which had been enveloped in an air of resignation.

  “I’ve created a blueprint on how to carry on all of this planet’s functions with only gears.”

  He was a clocksmith. The man who called himself “Y” held such a colossal amount of data in his hand that it was inscrutable as he declared this to the world.

  “Just watch. I’ll recreate everything in the world with just gears.”

  On that day, reality surpassed fiction for the first time.

  The man christened the blueprint of innumerable gears thus—

  “The Clockwork Planet.”

  A thousand years later...

  ●

  Before I knew it, I’d come back to my senses.

  Hey, are you crazy? Do you really, truly understand what you’re attempting to do? Okay, calm down and rethink this. You can still turn back . Something this foolish shouldn’t be attempted just because you simply got caught up in the heat of the moment. For starters, what’s in it for you?

  (What’s in it for me...?)

  In other words, a return. What Naoto Miura lusts for that matches the risk he’s taking.

  On the roof of a high-rise building, Naoto crouched down amidst its water tower and air conditioning units and concealed his breath. While doing so, he restrained his rioting heartbeat and steadied his breathing.

  (Do you even have to ask?)

  It’s obvious. I’m doing this for her sake.

  It’s because I want that super-cute girl. Well actually, I don’t know what she looks like, but she’s definitely cute, so it’s not a problem.

  I’ll definitely nab you. I’ll squeeze you tight. I’ll put you on my knees and pet your head, and I’ll rub you all over and play with you mercilessly.

  Alright, steel your heart. Don’t be afraid. Use your head. Be cool. Don’t hold back. If someone gets in your way, tear them apart, even if they’re the president.

  Naoto slapped his cheeks and fired himself up.

  He confirmed the situation.

  Right now, it was nighttime, approaching midnight. The illumination that filled the streets flooded over the edges of the rooftop and surfaced against the night sky. It was like a torrent of light that washed away the darkness.

  The Light Gears shined brilliantly as they turned, converting gravity into light. Blotted out by the illumination, the stars couldn’t be seen in the night sky. Only the gray moon and the “Equatorial Coil” that revolved around it due to its gravitational pull were visible.

  “Now then...” Naoto made sure to keep his back firmly against his cover as he looked down from the shadows at the main street below. The sight that spread o
ut beneath his eyes was “the District of Clocks,” Akihabara.

  This district, which had flourished as a hub for electronic merchandise in the distant past, was still bustling along at the forefront of entertainment as the capital of hobbies. It was filled with anime, manga, and games, as well as gears, mechanical parts, and automata components. Stores ranging from large retailers to tiny shops were strung together in this district of entertainment.

  Naoto recalled that he used to dream of splurging on a “sacred pilgrimage” here someday, but the thought of that didn’t entice him much now. After all, he had gotten his hands on something much better—and he’d continue acquiring much better things from now on as well.

  “Alrighty, it’s about time now,” Naoto muttered as he pulled back.

  He picked up a cable that had been left sprawling on the ground and connected it to the fluorescent-green headphones he wore on his head. The cable connected to an amp, and from there a mixer, an effector, and a noise controller. In addition, countless microphones were also attached to the setup.

  Naoto flipped the switch to the equipment on and then sat down, crossing his legs. After letting out a low groan, the equipment began to work. Naoto’s blood boiled with excitement as his heart thumped in his chest.

  He focused on his hearing. Then, he then called on her.

  “—Marie, are you ready?”

  “—Of course. Who do you think I am?” What answered him was the elegant voice of a young girl. Her tone was haughty and arrogant, yet somehow not unpleasant. Her voice, which sounded typical of someone of high status, struck Naoto’s ears.

  “I’m counting on you, Meister.”

  “That’s also a given. Make sure you finish your job as well.”

  “Understood.” Naoto nodded.

  He then changed the voice line by manipulating the controllers. “—Halter, how are things on your end?”

  “—Geez, I’d gotten tired of waiting. I’m good to go whenever,” the low, thick voice of a man answered Naoto hoarsely. “More importantly, how are things on your end? How are you feeling? You’re the key to all this, you know. We’re counting on you to keep it together.”

  “I’m fine. No problems here.”

  “Let’s get this done and over with already, then. When you get back, this old man will treat you to a meal, ’kay?” Halter added a whistle to his chipper joking, making Naoto crack a faint, wry smile. Naoto was thankful to Halter for trying to ease his nerves.

  Finally, Naoto switched the voice line again, this time to the last member of the team. “—RyuZU, are you ready?”

  “—Master Naoto, allow me to advise you that asking the obvious is what idiots do. The level of your brain is already regretful as it is, so I believe it would be best if you at least pretended not to be an idiot.”

  Naoto was answered by a sharp and wicked tongue. The words that snapped the listener’s heart in two came from the voice of a young girl—her voice was high and clear, like the sound of a music box.

  Naoto smiled gently and closed his eyes. “Y’know, RyuZU.”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “I love you.”

  “—I think it would be better if you died, you pig.”

  “Squeeee!”

  Naoto’s shoulders quivered as he laughed. The sweet abuse was exquisite. Bam bam bam. Naoto smashed the console with his fist like he just couldn’t get enough of that abuse. Then, he stood up.

  “Okay. Now then, I guess I’ll sing a bit.”

  Naoto faced the microphones that were lined up by his feet.

  “I’m starting the countdown. Three, two, one—”

  As he counted down, he raised both his hands into the air. Surveying the sight of Akihabara before him, he swung his right arm down to the rhythm his ears picked up, like a conductor leading an orchestra through a symphony.

  With a smile on his face, Naoto declared, “—Start!”

  ●

  Immediately after...

  A severe earthquake struck with a radius of thirty kilometers centered on the Akihabara Grid. All lines of communication were cut off, and the internal “Resonant Gears” began to operate outside of regulations. The group of gears in the Core Tower that regulated the city’s functions demonstrated unprecedented behavior.

  It wasn’t just a normal failure, nor was it a malfunction due to the machinery degrading over time. Even though the entire system was running normally, for some reason it wasn’t responding to input from its superintendent.

  Then, five minutes after the situation occurred... the previously suspended lines of communication suddenly resumed operation.

  Everyone was simply watching the situation unfold before them, unable to do anything, when they were assaulted by an excessively enthusiastic “proclamation of criminal responsibility.”

  “Ladieees aaannnd gentlemen!! Along with the foolish and banal ordinary citizens who are neither gentlemanly nor ladylike, good evening! Pardon me for disturbing you while you’re enjoying your weekend night!”

  What was transmitted was an altered voice of ambiguous age and gender, and it stopped those who heard it in their tracks.

  “As for who I am—it’s embarrassing, so I’m excluding, omitting, and cutting it out! I’m gonna blush, dammit! Try asking me again after you’ve earned more of my favor! Frankly, it’s way past my bedtime, so I want to drink my bedtime cocoa, take a shit, and go to bed, but I can’t, ’cuz check this out!”

  The boy behind the voice left his listeners behind as he rattled on and on in a one-way conversation determinedly like a drunken disk jockey.

  “Ah-ah-, did you know? Since a thousand years ago, we’ve been reproducing the meteorological phenomena, gravity, geothermal heat, and everything else on Earth with gears. —Nooow then! If what’s inside your heads isn’t dog shit, you’ve probably considered this possibility once, or haven’t you?!”

  It can’t be.

  The few relatively sharp individuals among all those who had stopped thinking quietly gulped as they grasped the situation. A terrifying thought that was simply too hard to believe came to their minds.

  No way no way no way, could something so preposterous really happen?!

  As if to betray their desperate hope for denial, the voice continued on even more enthusiastically than before.

  “Yaaaaaaaaay! Those of you who thought, ‘No way!’ Ding dong ding dong, you’re absolutely right! The final answer is preciiisely that impossibility!”

  Impossible.

  But it was also true that if that was the case, then everything about this abnormal situation would make sense.

  The lines of communication had all ceased functioning at the same time. The resonant gears continued to broadcast this live proclamation of criminal responsibility. The city’s functions had become disconnected from the superintendent’s control. These facts led to only one conclusion.

  The person behind the voice affirmed their suspicions in a pompous and delighted tone.

  “Today! Presently! As of right now! I’ve seized control of all the gears that make up the Akihabara Grid! Yay!”

  —Currently, this planet was being reproduced by gears.

  The system that operated with the earth’s gravity and harvested the energy from the moon’s gravitational pull was composed of as many gears as there are stars in the universe. What kept the gears chugging along was a design that was unbelievably intricate to the point of being sublime.

  However, now that the original blueprint had been lost, there was no one who understood its overall structure. It had taken several hundred clocksmiths working directly with the gears just for humanity to reach the present state of finally being capable of simply maintaining the system.

  However...

  The system’s designer—the man known as “Y”—undoubtedly understood the system’s entire structure.

  “Y” was the ultimate, supreme genius in all of human history. But at the same time, he was without a doubt human. The man was neither a god
nor a demon, nor a convenient magician. Therefore, it should theoretically have been possible for someone else to accomplish what he had.

  If one seized control of the gears, they could manipulate this planet’s environment by using the gears’ enormous energy output as they saw fit. Such a power would be almighty on this planet that was being reproduced by gears.

  It would be equivalent to the authority of God.

  “Now then! To super-celebrate this incredible feat, I’ve prepared a lovely present for everyone today. Don’t wet yourself from the excitement, ’kay?!”

  Those words made the blood of those who understood the situation freeze from fear, and even those who didn’t understand grew uneasy from a sense of foreboding.

  Please, please let nothing happen.

  Paying no heed to their wishes, the voice continued on delightedly.

  “Umm, right now it’s February eighth, 00:12 a.m. The temperature is thirty-two degrees Celsius. But did you all know? Originally, the average temperature in this region was about five degrees Celsius around this time of the year. A defect that popped up in reproducing the environment is what’s causing everyone to suffer these sleepless, sultry nights. And so!”

  The jestful voice sang brightly, but the words conveyed by that voice were a lethal blow to all, bar none. “Let’s balance the account for how hot it was up to now. In short, I’ll be lowering the temperature around Akihabara Grid to just a measly negative 150 degrees over seventy-two hours.”

  Everyone was left speechless.

  What did the idiot behind this voice just say? Balance the account? Negative 150 degrees? There was no debate necessary; such a temperature would be far too low for humans to survive.

  This declaration wasn’t simply on the level of causing people to figuratively petrify from fear. Akihabara itself would literally freeze over.