Spiral

"In the name of Spiral, I am The Crowd! Fifth of the Flame-Chasers, I greet you both!"

Vill-V settled her top hat back on her head, placed her right hand over her chest, and dipped into a slight bow. Her gaze passed over Eous and Griseo.

At the video store, Belle stared at the screen. Meanwhile, Eous trotted around Vill-V on his little legs.

She was sizing Vill-V up. Belle could feel it. Unlike the previous two, this "Vill-V" seemed distinctly more human.

She was willing to talk... or perhaps she was simply much smarter. She had even revealed quite a bit of information.

"En-nah, en-nah?"

Belle did not speak and give herself away. Instead, she had Eous voice a few pointed questions.

Grace's gaze was more obvious still: the wary, curious scrutiny of someone looking at a kindred spirit.

Vill-V raised an eyebrow and scooped up Eous with interest. Then she tilted her head. "Miss, staring at a lady on the sly is rather rude, you know?"

Back at the video store, Belle's expression froze for a moment. Vill-V tapped Eous and smiled. "Interesting. A neat little gadget. It even has a sensory synchronization module..."

"En-nah, en-nah? Are you part of Griseo's family?"

Realizing she had been found out, Belle stopped pretending and asked outright.

"Family? Strictly speaking, the 'me' here isn't. Aren't you her family now?"

Vill-V tucked Eous back into Griseo's arms.

"Well, I don't have much time. We can talk another day... First, let's see what trouble you've run into."

"Hello, I'm a senior engineer at Belobog Heavy Industries." Seeing Vill-V turn to her, Grace met her gaze.

"Oh? A senior engineer." Vill-V's eyes lit up. "Then where's your work? Let me see it."

Grace pointed to one side. Vill-V looked down and saw Grater lying disabled on the ground, an aggrieved expression on her display.

"So she's your work. Sorry, I hit her a little too hard."

"It's fine. She's my child! An update to her logic core put her in a rebellious phase, and she ran away from home."

"Oh? So she's a mechanical construct with self-awareness and feelings of her own?"

Vill-V's eyes brightened. She walked over to the disabled Grater and began examining her.

Crouched beside Grater, Vill-V's eyes shone brighter still.

After all, even her original self had never built a machine capable of feeling...

Of course, the Previous Era had managed it with Prometheus.

They did say geniuses recognized and gravitated toward one another.

Grace forgot all about their surroundings and etiquette. She sat cross-legged beside Vill-V and said, "Well, I want to make a child with feelings, one who can pass the Forbidden Fruit Test, but I keep failing."

"The Forbidden Fruit Test?" Vill-V's fingers stopped. She turned to Grace. "What's that?"

"Huh? You don't know about the Forbidden Fruit Test, Miss Vill-V?"

Grace blinked, then explained, "The Forbidden Fruit Test is the rule New Eridu's authorities use to decide whether Intelligent Constructs have human rights. If they pass, they're no longer 'things.' They're 'people.'"

"They legally... recognize a 'thing' as a 'person'?" Vill-V spoke softly, as if confirming something hard to believe.

Grace nodded, unable to understand her reaction.

Vill-V fell silent for a while.

As she understood it, New Eridu was like her own era—a world facing its end.

At heart, New Eridu was dancing against a backdrop of Despair.

In the Previous Era, anything could be sacrificed to fight Honkai and stay alive.

MANTIS Surgery, MANTIS, the Tragedy of Binding... Life was the cheapest thing of all. When humans themselves could die at any moment, who had the luxury of debating whether a creation counted as "human"?

She did not mean to criticize the Forbidden Fruit Test or the granting of human rights to things.

She knew they were products of "social governance philosophy."

A city built on the edge of a cliff needed such things to maintain stability.

Death was close to everyone. Perhaps the authorities were simply putting on a brave face...

Politics stayed stable, capital made money... It was a policy that benefited both sides.

"It's a good thing. At least you still have the breathing room to think about questions like these." In the end, that was all Vill-V said, her tone flat.

From Griseo's arms, Belle watched through Eous. She felt there was something behind the genius magician's words.

Grace nodded and went on. "I've upgraded my children's logic cores many times, but whenever I simulate the emotional module, the system crashes.

"They can learn and imitate, but those feelings... aren't real."

After a long while, Vill-V finished examining Grater's core chip. She dusted off her hands and spoke to Grace.

"Give up. I can't speak for other machines, but your child will never pass the Forbidden Fruit Test."

"Why?" Grace blurted out, startled.

"The answer is simple. To both you, her creator, and the authorities, this child is... a tool, at her core." Vill-V looked at Grace, something unreadable in her eyes.

What Vill-V meant was that Grace should change her perspective and try looking at things from the authorities' point of view.

The Forbidden Fruit Test was merely a show of compassion put on by those at the top.

Just as Bangboos were barred from passing the Forbidden Fruit Test for reasons of self-interest.

The few Intelligent Constructs granted "human rights" only gave the others false hope.

"Well, I've fixed your child!" Vill-V stood and clapped the dust from her hands. "I envy you! You get to make such an adorable child, while all I can make are Divine Keys!"

"What are those?" Grace asked, puzzled.

"Just a few useless little gadgets."

Vill-V waved a hand, her tone utterly casual, then turned toward Griseo.

Griseo sat on Mr. Knight's shoulder, the faint light of the Hollows reflected in her sky-blue eyes.

"Little one, what colors do you see?"

Griseo nodded softly and pointed toward the unfinished building where Grater had first been. Through its gaps, they could see one low-level Ethereal after another.

Vill-V tilted her head and watched for a moment. A smile slowly spread across her face.

"What peculiar-looking creatures!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that the final performers are in place, the climactic finale is about to—begin!"

Vill-V planted a foot on a chunk of rubble and leaned forward slightly, like an actress waiting for the spotlight before taking the stage.

Then she raised a hand and swept her magician's top hat through the air. The hat burst apart, releasing a shower of points of light.

The lights exploded among the ruins. Flames leaped skyward, and smoke filled the air.

But that was only the opening act. More weapons unleashed a barrage—at some point, several machine guns had appeared all around them.

Vill-V stood atop the rubble, both hands raised high as though conducting a symphony.

As the flames died down and the smoke slowly cleared, the building, the Ethereals, Vill-V, and the machine guns... were all gone.

All that remained was a stretch of ruins scoured clean and an enormous crater blasted into the ground.

At the video store, Belle stared at the screen and finally asked, "Griseo, what did your big sister Vill-V used to do?"

Griseo tilted her head, thought carefully, and said, "Big sister Vill-V... in eight parts."

"Huh?"

Belle fell silent. What did "in eight parts" mean?