#utopia hound

Supppp. It will be my last translation of the year to avoid being Dominator-ed. I’m so effin tired.

Psycho Pass: Utopia Hound (🔗) (Complete | English)

Summary: Enforcer Shinya Kogami of the Criminal Affairs Division 1 encounters a strange corpse at a crime scene where he is heading with rookie inspector Akane Tsunemori. The bright red jelly stuffed into multiple drawers, with bits of flesh, skin, and bone fragments floating in it, evoked a sense of absurdity buried deep in his memory during his turbulent life as a detective, and the name of a certain man.

❌Please don’t copy and repost it elsewhere. The link will be live till the end of the internet until a solar flare probably takes us all out. ❌

Please REBLOG!

Hello everybody ! It has been a while ^^;

Here is the continuation of KKS adventures ! Enjoy !

Again, a corpse was found.

The current crime scene was the park located in Yoyogi (1), in Shibuya ward (2), three days after the corpse discovered at the sports gym tennis court.

The three of Kougami, Masaoka and Kurata headed there.

There was no progress in the "puzzle corpse murder". In the end, the fact that the security system of the sports gym had been cracked had become a huge hindrance. Even the investigation to track the code fingerprints analyzed by Maru ended in failure. Moving forward to the next corpse with no progress in the previous case … this was an annoying situation for the CID.

A sculpture by an artist officially authorized by Sybil decorated with holograms was exhibited outdoor in that park in Yoyogi. It was an abstract sculpture, made of square blocks combined together. A cleaning drone had discovered the corpse of a human stuffing tightly the sculpture interstices.

"Could it be the same criminal as the one of the tennis court…?"

Kurata asked in a weary tone.

Kougami nodded,

"The method is different but… I have a hunch there is a common point in this singularity.”

Once the crime scene had been sealed off, the identification operations started by means of drones and micro robots. It was difficult to recognize because it had not kept its shape of human body, but that thing stuffing the sculpture was the body of "an entire person". They checked the records of the street scanners on the spot, but there was no suspicious hue. The body was immediately sent to the analysis laboratory, and Kougami and his team went back to the Public Safety Bureau.

"The victim is Endou Seiji. Occupation: athlete with a built-up physique, again. So, can we conclude that these are serial murders?" Maru said.

Public Safety Bureau analysis lab.

"The appearance is surely different from the one of the tennis court, but the cause of death is the same. He was killed by the injection of a muscle relaxant drug and then mutilated,"

Maru went on.

"The current corpse was dismantled with a laser scalpel for surgical use. The criminal shaped Endou's body into cubes with sides from 4 to 5 centimeters … what we call a cut into regular hexahedra. Because he used a laser, the wounds have been cauterized and the bleeding limited. All the cut parts of the human body have been meticulously vacuum-packed. These vacuum-packs are the same used in the tennis court. It sure is an unbelievable deviant."

"Is that so…?"

Kougami tilted his head.

"There is no mistake in thinking that it's abnormal, but the matter can’t be settled just by saying that the criminal is a deviant."

"What does that mean?" Kurata asked.

"Deviants are a bunch of people who kill only to satisfy their tastes and their views of the world, aren't they? As long as we look at the past records, the crimes of these guys are sloppy. Moreover, under the Sybil System’s management, they are isolated at the stage where those deviances arise. This time, the criminal is AS METICULOUS AS A LITTLE NERVOUS (3). The way he mutilated the corpse, and then the way he got rid of it. None of them show the impatience you can feel after killing a man"

"I agree with the Inspector," Masaoka said. "A methodical criminal. There is also the intelligence of not leaving evidence on the crime scene."

"By taking this kind of things into account, can we say he is a deviant?" Kurata wasn’t convinced yet.

"There are guys who are so stupid that they look like deviants, and guys who are so intelligent that look like deviants.

The matter is that we shouldn't confuse these two types," Kougami said in teaching tone.

"Haa…" There still was discontent on Kurata's face.

"There are three mysteries we need to solve," Kougami counted raising his fingers. "One, the criminal’s motive. Why does he aim at athletes with built up physiques? Two, why has he mutilated the corpses? Since this operation took his time up to this point, the criminal must have had a reason ‘I absolutely have to mutilate them’. Three, what about the criminal’s hue and crime coefficient? Why isn’t he detected by the street scanners?"

Maru displayed the personal information about the victim, Endou Seiji, on the hologram monitor.

"An athlete with a built up physique... his discipline was swimming. Freestyle, huh? He  belonged to the publicity department of a company that develops and sells sports goods, the « Artemis ». I heard that « Artemis » publicity department has a large number of athletes, and they obtain good results in competitions in the whole Japan..."

Kurata leant forwards while peeping at the monitor.

"When was he killed?"

"The last time Endou was recorded by a street scanner was yesterday at 10 pm," Maru answered. "Then, the corpse has been discovered this morning at 5　am. He was killed in between. This also coincides with the presumed time of death. Of course, there is no trace of someone with a clouded hue approaching Endou in any record. Right now, Waku is getting information at Artemis, accompanied by Torii and Amari. However, it looks like there is no result so far…”

Torii and Amari. Both are female Enforcers of Division 3.

"Isn't there some common ground with the tennis court case?" Kougami asked.

"common ground?"

"For instance, Endou might have gone to the sports gym in Setagaya too, or something like that."  

"Aah, that kind of things, huh? I'll try to follow his movements on the street scanners."

Maru maneuvered the console. The information on the monitor was rearranged.

"There is a record showing that Endou frequented the sports gym in Setagaya too. At that time, his counsellor in charge was…"

"Oribe Roma," Kougami said, anticipating.

"Isn't it a suspicious thing?" Masaoka said.

"But his hue was clear," Kurata added.

"We will go to listen to what Oribe has to say once more," Kougami turned on his heel. "Then, we will aim the dominator at him. We might find out something if we precisely measure his crime coefficient."

Of course, the act of pointing a dominator at an ordinary citizen must be carefully carried out. The target is likely to experience a serious stress. However, if the Inspector acknowledges that it's necessary for the investigation, pointing a gun at someone for the sole reason that he is "suspicious" is allowed. Even if an Enforcer draws his dominator in the street, there is a flexibility that lets it under the responsibility of the supervising Inspector.

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) Yoyogi Park is the fourth largest urban park in Tokyo. It is the one where the Olympic Games were held in 1964. We had troubles translating it, because in the original version, the author doesn’t call it “Yoyogi Park”, but “the/a park situated in Yoyogi”. To this day, there is only one park in Yoyogi, which is the famous Yoyogi Park. So why does the author speak of it as if it were some random park in Yoyogi... Perhaps is because we don’t know if Tokyo will stay the same 100 years from now? 

(2) Shibuya ward is a special ward in Tokyo, adjacent to Setagaya ward where the sports gym is situated in the story.

(3) These words are written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on their importance.

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

Analyst Maru was a former physician specialized in anatomy.

In addition to being busy, since his workplace did not allow to meet a lot of people, he wished for a female subordinate.

Despite a not bad eyesight, he would wear customized glasses, feeling a hero of an old age American comic (1). He cheerfully used to say, "If I take off these glasses, I’ll emit a beam from my eyes!”

However, as smart as he was, neither Kougami understood well that parody.  

"How was the judicial autopsy, Maru-san?" Kougami started asking.

Maru answered while maneuvering a console in the analysis laboratory.

"Some findings have roughly come out”

The speeding up of both judicial autopsies and identifications was proceeding due to the introduction of drones and micro-robots.

"The name of the subject is Shimono Ryūichi. The disassembled corpse has been arranged on the fence so as to bring it together again, and discovered in that state. From the wounds and the reaction of subcutaneous bleeding, I found out that he was cut into small pieces after being killed, and not while still alive.”

"What about the murder weapon?" Kougami asked.

"A drug killed him. A strong muscle relaxant drug and a solution of potassium chloride (2) have been detected … this is the reason why his heart stopped beating. I found a little injection mark on one of the parts. Then, what dismembered the corpse is a roller (3)”.

"A roller?" Kougami unconsciously repeated.

"An extremely heavy and huge roller. The type used for things like maintenance of sports grounds. Usually, it's something dragged by drones."

"Was he crushed and cut into pieces by that?" Kurata was skeptical. "Human skin is resistant against pressure. In normal conditions, I don't think a corpse would be dismembered even with the use of a roller”

"Exactly." Maru simply admitted. "Before crushing the corpse, this criminal made « cuts » on the skin with a blade. He cut it with the blade, crushed it with the roller, and cut it with the blade again … He repeated the operation over and over, not satisfied until every single part was shaped into cubes with sides of about 10 centimeters.”

"Didn’t that take more time than dismembering him with a saw and a hammer?"

Masaoka said a bit astounded.

"I wonder …"

Maru folded his arms and thought about it for a while.

"After all, he somehow managed to do it with the tools he had at hand, that's it, right? Setting aside the other parts, a roller is not so bad a tool to smash the bones into small pieces."

"Was that roller the one used at the sports gym?" Kougami asked.

"Yes." Maru nodded. "The crime scene and the place where the corpse was discovered are separated by no more than ten meters or so. The body dismantling operation was carried out in the sports gym refectory. It must have been a bloodbath, but the murderer took the trouble to clean it with the cleaning drone."

Kurata made a shocked face "Isn't it odd to dispose of the murder evidence with a cleaning drone?"

"In an ordinary situation, it would have been odd. Normally, when people find a corpse, they automatically report it to the authorities. This time, the eyes of the cleaning drones were under the control of the criminal because the surveillance cameras within the sports gym, that is to say the security system, had been cracked"

"Are the places where the murder and body dismantling were carried out the same?" Kougami asked.

“Mm” Maru shook his head doubtfully. “I don't know that far. The injuries on the corpse are too awful."

"Anyway” Masaoka said “If the place of the body dismantling operation is that close, it doesn't seem that he cut the corpse to pieces to make it « easier to carry »"

"Even so, I don't understand the reason why he « brought it together » again … "

Once said so, lost in his thoughts, Kougami let out a low groan.

"What about the cracking code « fingerprints(4) »?" Kurata inquired.

A program code can be analyzed through natural language processing(5) and machine learning(6) algorithms. These algorithms omit the parts not related to the program from the Abstract syntax tree (AST)(7), and recognize the author’s « peculiarity » , or « things beyond peculiarity ».

"It's particular, isn't it …? There is absolutely nothing unnecessary”. Maru said, deeply impressed. “The places where you can acquire cracking skills are limited within Japan. Sure enough, typical examples are the electronic warfare (8) units of the Ministry of Defense … Soldiers’ « fingerprints » are easily recognizable. Teachers and students peculiarities are also easily related because of their branch of study."

"So, you say that this cracker has not those peculiarities."

"Exactly. Self-education, isn’t it …? Well, just in case, I will try to investigate the programmers and system engineers whose hue has worsened the past few years."

Kougami thought that line of action was unlikely to be successful.

If he had been a criminal able to trace and get fingerprints, he would surely have been unmasked as a latent criminal a long time ago. He is a skilled cracker, which means that he can even cover up the code fingerprints.

Kougami had the habit of training hard when he wanted to organize his thoughts.

In the training room of the Public Safety Bureau, he tormented his muscles thoroughly using the machines. Leg curls at the lat pulldown (9) were just the beginning. He forged big muscles through bench press and squat exercises (10) using a barbell.

He repeated dashes on a sloped treadmill and fervently punched a sandbag made of artificial muscle material, accustoming his body to aerobic exercises.

"…"

Once finished the usual schedule, he took a shower in the shower room attached to the training room. He washed away the sweat. The water drops skirted the bulges of his stiff muscles and fell.

While wiping his body with a towel, he ingested the latest order made proteins and took supplements to improve the faculties of his body.

They were not the powerful products athletes with strengthened bodies used, but amino acids and artificial hormones specially developed which were broadly sold among the public.

Kougami liked training. When he trained, he felt like he could reach a DEEPER (11) understanding of his own body.

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) a hero of an old age American comic: this analyst Maru is a humorist for real. He bought customized glasses just to look like a comics hero. And that thing of the beam emitted from his eyes…. By the way, he is referring to Cyclops of the X-men.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(2) A strong muscle relaxant drug and a solution of potassium chloride: these are components of the so-called lethal injection, used in different countries as a capital execution method. Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing immediate death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide. It first renders the person unconscious, and then stops the breathing and heart, in that order.

Typically, three drugs are used in lethal injection. Sodium thiopental is used to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart. (from Wikipedia)

When I read “solution of potassium chloride” I couldn’t hold back my curiosity, I guess this is the chemist part of me who’s speaking!

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(3) roller: the roller is an agricultural tool used for flattening land or breaking up large clumps of soil.

This thing could easily cut a corpse in pieces!

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(4) fingerprint: In computer science, a fingerprinting algorithm is a procedure that maps an arbitrarily large data item (such as a computer file) to a much shorter bit string, its fingerprint, that uniquely identifies the original data for all practical purposes just as human fingerprints uniquely identify people for practical purposes. This fingerprint may be used for data deduplication purposes. (from Wikipedia)

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(5) natural language processing: Natural language processing (NLP) is a field of computer science, artificial intelligence, and computational linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human (natural) languages. As such, NLP is related to the area of human–computer interaction. Many challenges in NLP involve: natural language understanding, enabling computers to derive meaning from human or natural language input; and others involve natural language generation.

Modern NLP algorithms are based on machine learning, especially statistical machine learning. (from Wikipedia)

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(6) machine learning: Machine learning is a subfield of computer science that evolved from the study of pattern recognition and computational learning theory in artificial intelligence. Machine learning explores the study and construction of algorithms that can learn from and make predictions on data. Such algorithms operate by building a model from example inputs in order to make data-driven predictions or decisions, rather than following strictly static program instructions. (from Wikipedia)

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(7) Abstract syntax tree (AST): In computer science, an abstract syntax tree (AST), or just syntax tree, is a tree representation of the abstract syntactic structure of source code written in a programming language. Each node of the tree denotes a construct occurring in the source code.

(from Wikipedia)

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(8) electronic warfare: (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack of an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly unimpeded access to, the EM spectrum. EW can be applied from air, sea, land, and space by manned and unmanned systems, and can target humans, communications, radar, or other assets.

Military operations are executed in an information environment increasingly complicated by the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum portion of the information environment is referred to as the electromagnetic environment (EME). The recognized need for military forces to have unimpeded access to and use of the electromagnetic environment creates vulnerabilities and opportunities for electronic warfare (EW) in support of military operations.

Within the information operations construct, EW is an element of information warfare; more specifically, it is an element of offensive and defensive counter information. (from Wikipedia)

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(9) Lat pull down: it’s a gym machine.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(10) bench press and squat exercises: bench press on the left, squat on the right.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(11) This word is written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on its importance.

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

At the entrance, Kougami and his team met Oribe who was coming up to the building.  

"I am Inspector Kougami from Division 3 of the Public Safety Bureau."

He showed his holographic detective identification card.

"Yes …?"

Seeing it, Oribe frowned in a puzzled way. It seemed that he still didn't know about the case. Shimono's death hadn't made news yet, and the people involved had been warned not to reveal information related to that case.

Oribe was brown-haired.

He had soft facial features and he was wearing glasses with red frames.

He had a boyish face —— or rather than it, it was difficult to guess his age. One may be right assuming that he was a college student, because he looked like one. However, saying he was older also seemed reasonable in its own way.

Oribe fixed his eyes on him.

Thereupon, Kougami experienced the illusion of being disassembled in parts.

And being entirely ANALYZED(1). ——

"The Public Safety Bureau…? Did a latent criminal appear nearby or something?” Oribe said.

"Excuse me."

Using a function of the inspector’s portable terminal, Kougami checked Oribe's hue. Pale turquoise. It's a beautiful color. It's impossible that a high crime coefficient comes out of this hue. Oribe is innocent too.

"It's not about a latent criminal, there is a real murderer," Kougami said.

"I am truly sorry … but Shimono Ryūichi-san passed away."

They couldn't keep on talking while standing in the doorway, so they moved to the sports gym waiting room. Kougami and Oribe sat at a round table with a cold design. For some reason, Masaoka and Kurata kept standing.

"Now … where is Shimono-san … where is his body?"  

Oribe opened his mouth nervously.

"We have already transferred it to the judicial autopsy at the Public Safety Bureau," Kougami answered. "We have taken care of the crime scene preserving it as a three-dimensional model."

"It's a murder … right?"

"If it weren't, the Public Safety Bureau wouldn't move, don't you think?" Kurata said, from the side.

"You are right …"

Oribe's gaze moved around restlessly, without calming down.

"Shimono-san … How was he killed?"

"It's something related with the investigation, so we can't tell you."

"Aah …" Oribe let out a breath between a nod and a sigh.

"We have some questions for you, Oribe-san," Kougami said. "Do you mind?"

"All right, if they are questions I can answer …"

"You were Shimono-san's trainer."

"I was his counsellor as well."

"Were you under exclusive contract with him?"

"No, I wasn't. You cannot make a living with only one client nowadays, you know. Unlike in the past, the sports stars have decreased. Because of the breakdown of public order overseas, no international competition is organised, in whatever sport… Besides Shimono-san, I am under contract with tens of athletes with built up physiques.”

"Is what we call a sports counsellor different from an ordinary counsellor?"

"It's considerably different, I dare say”

Was it because the conversation had shifted to his field of specialisation? The tinges of anxiety and puzzlement faded from Oribe's voice.

"As a general rule, sports where two fellow humans compete with each other « as professionals » are currently forbidden. The reason is that competitiveness inevitably worsen the hue. Thereupon, professional athletes purely aspire to break records while simulations and fights against robots have become a standard during matches"

Oribe went on. "However, much as athletes are considered fit by Sibyl, it can happen that their records do not grow as expected, they seethe with jealousy for the good results of other athletes and their hue worsen. We sport trainer counsellors anticipate this kind of feeling and work to allow our clients — the athletes with built up bodies — to focus on the matches as much as possible.”

"As his counsellor in charge, how was Shimono-san's hue before his death?" Masaoka asked.

"It was clear, for sure. His records stalled but … it's something very common among the athletes around his age. He was not supposed to worry that much about it."

"Did he incur in someone's enmity?” Kurata said.

"Weren't there athletes he was on bad terms with?"

"I think there were some … But not so as to lead to a murder … it's a bit too …"

"Well, I guess they could have also pretended to be on good terms with him outwardly, right? …”

There was a cynical side in Kurata's mentality.

"It's such a waste…" Oribe said regretfully from the bottom of his heart. "It was such a fabulous « body »”

"…?"

Those particular words were faintly stuck in the back of Kougami’s mind. Why were they stuck? Kougami himself didn't understand well.

The discussion with Oribe didn’t go any deeper than that, and Kougami and his team went back to the Public safety Bureau.

Seen from above, the Public Safety Bureau headquarters was an octagonal tower building. Its height exceeded 60 stories and it looked like a tower with a gothic architecture from a distance. The days the weather was good, it was over-embellished with holograms. Its solemn appearance made it look just like the cathedral of atonement. They entered through the front entrance guarded by security drones placed on either side of it. Sybil’s symbol and the MWPSB logo stretched out largely on the floor of the entrance hall. Within the Public Safety Bureau, they headed for the analysis laboratory inside the enforcers' isolation block.

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) This word is written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on its importance.

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

No matter how much technology had made progress, the basis of investigation hadn't changed.

Before everything, detectives listened to the testimony of the person who first found the corpse.

The place was the sports gym waiting room. 
This time, the witness was a female instructor working there. Her name was Aoyama Ikumi. She didn’t raise athletes with built up physiques, she was the instructor of a fitness-yoga course for clear hue maintenance directed to ordinary citizen. She had arrived at work at 7 am, earlier than anyone else, and noticed the irregularity in the security system. The security cameras were off and the automatic cleaning drone hadn’t started up. Then, after contacting the maintenance agent, she started inspecting each place within the facility of her own accord and she found the corpse in the tennis court. She reported it to the Public Safety Bureau. Dressed in a plain jersey, Aoyama had a pale face.

Isn’t my hue getting worse for the corpse I saw? ——  She can’t  help but worry about such a thing.

— Is she more concerned by her mental condition than by the human being that was killed?

It may seem heartless, but this is what living under the Sybil System means…

Kougami felt sympathy for Aoyama. Hue worsening is socially fatal. People whose hue is hard to get worse even if they see corpses are chosen by Sybil to enter the PSB … She is different from inspectors and enforcers.

"Your hue won't get worse just because you've taken a glance at a corpse and freaked out, right?" Kurata unpleasantly said.

"Cut it out, Kurata," Kougami reproached his attitude. "I am sorry, Aoyama-san." Kougami said. Then he bowed his head as an apology in Kurata's place.

"No … it will not worsen … won’t it?" Aoyama muttered a bit reassured.

“A specialized counseling is already at your disposal. Please, be assured"

"Yes … "

Waku had headed towards the PSB earlier.

Four people were inside the waiting room: Kougami, Kurata, Masaoka, and the first witness Aoyama.
Aoyama had already finished her hue check. Powder Blue. There was no need to measure her crime coefficient with a dominator, she was an ideal mental beauty. She was innocent (1). Her testimony could be trusted.

"Were you acquainted with the man killed, Shimono Ryūichi?" Kougami asked.

Thereupon, Aoyama opened her eyes wide.

"Was that… Shimono-san?"

"There is no doubt according to the DNA analysis."

"I know him because… even if he was in a different course, Shimono-san was a user of this gym … "


"What kind of man was him?"

"He was serious … a man of few words … and quite a hard worker. He was a person who had also strengthened his body with drugs and artificial parts, but more than anything, he gave great importance to his own body training ... "

"Did some troubles happen within the gym recently?”

“Nothing unusual … as far as I know.”

"Is there someone who was particularly close to Shimono-san?"

Aoyama tilted her head at Kougami’s question, and remembering, she answered: "He was an athlete with a built up physique and a clear hue … so I think he was a person who could come out easily as a recommended love partner.  Apart from love relationships … I’m sure enough there is the trainer who supervised him."

"What is the name, please?"  

"It's Oribe Roma-san."

It followed that they definitely wanted to hear what Oribe Roma had to say too.

According to Aoyama, Oribe's office within the sports gym seemed empty. She had heard that every morning he went to work by car by 9:30 am. As there was still some time before Oribe would arrive, Kougami and his colleagues went to get information asking to the other people also involved. However, the obtained information was not so different from what Aoyama had told them.

Using a line with a security system, Analyst Maru entirely copied the content of the personal computer that had been cracked and examined it in an offline environment.

From that place, he unhurriedly controlled if some trace had not remained or had been added.

In the meanwhile, Oribe had arrived.

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:  

(1) In Japanese, “shiro” (白 / シロ) can mean both “white” and “innocent” while “kuro” (黒 / クロ) can mean both “black” and “guilty”. We choose to translate it as “innocent” given the context. However, as the Sybil System is based on hue checks, which go from clear hues for mentally sound people to cloudy hues for dangerous people, we could have translated it as “white” too.

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

The patrol car stopped in front of Setagaya tennis court.

Even if health care and the cyborg technology had made progress, the value of sports did not decrease. If anything, the Sibyl System encouraged a healthy sport experience to keep a clear hue. It’s the principle of « A sound soul dwells in a sound body »(1). Sport training was acknowledged as one of the simplest ways to relieve stress and purify one's hue. For example, Kougami also practiced kickboxing and wrestling.

Even martial arts, which presumed the fight with humans, unexpectedly had no direct connection with violence. As long as athletes respected the rules and didn’t exert excessive aggression, their hue didn’t get worse during a practice match or so. Sibyl didn’t encourage « real fights » between fellow humans. If professional martial arts fighters had repeated matches that took a large amount of money and their careers, their hue would have definitely gotten worse. However, « to see people fighting » had a stress-relieving effect.

At present, the opponents of professional martial arts fighters were human-type robots. In a human vs robot fight, hue deterioration could be prevented. Engineers applied their minds to create powerful fighting robots (within the limits of the law) and professional martial arts fighters strengthened their bodies by every possible mean and competed in fights.

However, even if the opponent was a robot, a fight was a fight.

Due to Sibyl, it had become quite hard that such an aptitude would appear. This was the world of the chosen ones, those who passed through the narrow gate.

"A murdered corpse has suddenly been found… is it an annoying criminal, or is it just some series of coincidences?" Kurata muttered.

Under Sibyl System’s management, the number of crimes impeded before they actually happen is overwhelmingly high. Even within the abandoned blocks left intentionally as they were since the beginning in order to act as ‘Grey Zones’, the murder cases other than impulsive and sudden ones are rare.

The ordinary criminals are obligatorily sent to counseling the moment they enter a mental state in which they think it’s okay to commit a crime (the so-called condition of clouded hue). Even so, if their hue doesn’t get clear, they undergo intensive care. If their crime coefficient keeps on getting worse, they are secluded within isolation facilities.

It is the pattern of most of the criminals in today's society.

Kurata said it’s an "annoying criminal" because this case diverges from that popular pattern. A MURDERED CORPSE HAS SUDDENLY BEEN FOUND(2). The murderer has not been caught yet. In a place that isn't even an abandoned block, going away from a crime scene without leaving a record on the street scanners is hardly impossible.

"Naturally, it's not like there aren’t any blind spots in the street scanners but …" Kougami said.

Kurata interrupted halfway: "Ordinary citizens don’t know either the street scanners number or location. All the more so, their « blind spots »."

"Exactly."

Kougami, Masaoka and Kurata got out of the patrol car.

— 08:20 am.

The corpse was discovered at 07:15 am.

The crime scene was a section of the fence surrounding the tennis court. This fence was made of high-strength bioplastic. Lengthwise, the plastic wire rods created almost square-shaped net meshes. The corpse had been fastened on that fence.

I see —

"…It's an exceedingly odd mutilated corpse"

Kougami unconsciously muttered so.

It didn't look like the corpse had been severed, but rather crushed with something heavy (and possibly while the victim was still alive).

What differentiated this criminal was the fact he had tied the mutilated corpse to the fence. He had meticulously vacuum-packed the smashed pieces of flesh, and after shaping them into blocks, he seemed to have rebuilt its former human shape and arranged it on the net of the fence. That is why, from a distance, it looked like someone standing on the side of the fence, and not a mutilated corpse. The model of a human body puzzle brought to completion … That was the kind of impression it gave.

Kougami was still a rookie inspector. It’s not that he had gotten used to seeing corpses. If it had been an ordinary mutilated body, he may have thrown up the moment he saw it. However, an uneasy feeling of cleanliness lingered around this corpse too. The corpse was gruesome indeed, but it was not something directly connected to a feeling of sickness.  

Inspector Waku was beside the corpse. When he received the report, he had happened to be driving close by and rushed there the way he was.

"Good morning, Kougami-kun."

"Good morning, Inspector Waku."

Waku Yoshitoshi.

A young member of the Public Safety Bureau. The only married person of Division 3.

Being 185 cm in height, he was a bit taller than Kougami.

A quiet voice and gentle manners. A neat intellectual look and spectacles.

Cool and composed, he had a good understanding of crime scenes too, and he was very good at negotiating with the other units. According to Kougami, Waku could be considered the embodiment of the ideal inspector.

The police drones and micro-robots were carrying out the identification of the crime scene. The data were sent in real time to the analysis laboratory of the Public Safety Bureau.

When he saw the corpse, Kurata raised an astonished voice: "Uuwa, what’s that?"

"Why do you think the corpse was made into pieces?" Waku asked.

"To make it easier to carry," Kougami immediately answered. “That, or because the criminal held a grudge strong enough to make him feel like mutilating the corpse. Another possible reason … making it into pieces was his very goal."

"Making it into pieces was his very goal?"

"If some kind of a message comes up by the fact it was made into pieces, there’s a chance it may become the criminal's motive."

"Your logical reasoning is good, Kougami-kun," Waku smiled.

"…Thank you very much."

"Analyst Maru has already started to refer to the data of the corpse," Kougami continued. "The victim's name is Shimono Ryūichi. Age 25. He is an athlete with built up physique. Single. His parents, elder brother and sister live in Osaka. There is no record of him returning to the parent's home in the past few years."

An athlete who took a large quantity of medicines, remodeling his body within the limits allowed by Sibyl. Pursuing new records through the faculties of their superhuman bodies, this kind of athletes provided the spectators with excitation and stress-relieving effects.  

Kougami maneuvered his portable terminal and opened out a holographic window. The information shared through the analysis laboratory was displayed on the little semitransparent screen.

"His discipline… was it the shot put(3) ?”

Some decades ago, the weight of the metal ball was 7,26 kg. Now, as such a weight would have been too light, they threw 9 kg ones.

"We will send the corpse to the Public Safety Bureau as soon as we have finished capturing a three-dimensional model with the 3-D camera," Waku said while looking at the corpse. “There, we will certainly carry out a more detailed autopsy."

" … "

Using his inspector’s authority, Kougami checked the videos from the security cameras and street scanners around the crime scene.

"It's strange … " Kougami tilted his head. "There’s no record of suspicious people."

"This tennis court is a facility belonging to a private sports gym." Waku said. "Street scanners installation on the way leading to a private property is subject to numerous restrictions. The security cameras around the sports gym are not managed by the Public Safety Bureau but by an ordinary security company."

"Then, if we inquired at that security company…"

"We did, but…" Waku shook his head. "Something unbelievable clearly occurred."

"Something unbelievable?"

"It's a cracking."

The moment he heard that word, Kougami widened his eyes. Cracking, an illegal break-in into a computer.

Waku continued.

"As street scanners are connected to the Urban Security Department of the Public Safety Bureau, cracking them is hardly impossible. However, it must be easy if it's a cracking against a private security company."

“However,” Kougami frowned, "under Sybil's management, learning cracking techniques is not an easy thing. Your hue begins to cloud the very moment you plan to crack, and you are put under arrest before having acquired the skills."

"And yet, the current criminal did a cracking” Kougami said while referring to the records of the street scanners.

"…mm, the nearest street scanner is on the highway. But it’s 50 m far from here."

"Taking advantage of a blind spot in the street scanners is not impossible either. It's related to their position."

"Cracking, eh...? Kurata, who had been listening to the conversation nearby, also joined in. "There are some rumors about foreigners doing this kind of business within abandoned blocks …"

"In this case, it would be a trouble if the cracker and the criminal were the same person," Masaoka said.

"Even if he cracked, it's not like the criminal lives in the sports gym or in the tennis court," Kurata said while checking on the portable terminal used by enforcers. "According to the records, there shouldn’t be anyone around here at night. How did he move without being caught by the street scanners?"

"There is no meaning in merely accumulating speculations, you know," Kougami tapped Kurata on the shoulder.

"What is that?"

"Firstly, let's send the real corpse(4) to Maru-san in the analysis laboratory. Then, we will question the people involved at the sports gym."

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) It’s the principle of "A sound soul dwells in a sound body": In the original text, the sentence used is

健全な肉体に 健全な 魂は 宿る.

This sentence is an adaptation from the old Latin quote “Mens sana in corpore sano”, in English “A sound mind dwells in a sound body”, in Japanese “健全な 精神 は 健全な肉体に 宿る”.

As you can see, the author specifically chose to use the word 魂 (たましい, soul/spirit) instead of 精神 (せいしん, spirit/mind).

This choice makes me think to the ideal of Sibyl: a sound soul (no sin, no guilt, no crime) in a sound body.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(2) This word is written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on its importance.

(3) The shot put is a track and field event where athletes have to throw a heavy spherical object (the shot) as far as possible. (from Wikipedia)

(4) the author means the body in real flesh, since Maru is actually working on a 3-D model created by drones.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

INSPECTOR(1) Kougami Shinya received a short voice mail on his portable terminal from inspector Waku Yoshitoshi, who had arrived on the crime scene first. The message from his senior inspector said:

“It's an extremely odd mutilated corpse, so please, try not to be confused when you see it directly."

― An odd corpse? It must be quite a thing if that cool-headed Waku-san says so, Kougami thought.

Kougami was seated in the driver's seat of the smart patrol car. Next to him, in the passenger seat, there was enforcer Masaoka, and in the back seat, Kurata Naoto, an enforcer too.  

Division 3 of the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department ――.

The inspectors were Waku and Kougami.

Besides Masaoka and Kurata who were present here, there were two women as enforcers.

A total of 6 people.

Moreover, one analyst assigned to the integrated analysis laboratory was in charge of supporting them.  

Kougami had graduated in his curriculum at Nittou Academy with the best result in the whole country of those days. He maintained the top position even within the career training center of the Public Safety Bureau. He had been assigned to Division 3 of the Criminal Investigation Department since he entered the Bureau, with high expectations as one of the most brilliant candidates for an executive position in the Ministry of Welfare. At that time, Tsunemori, who would have become Kougami's « boss » after the fall from the path of his elite career, was 12 years old.

Of course, they didn't even suspect each other's existence.

"I heard the corpse has been discovered in Setagaya ward …" Kurata said in an annoyed tone.

This enforcer had been confined in a rehabilitation facility after dropping out of high-school.

Kurata had a boyish face and a sweet physical appearance, but he stood out for his sarcastic and know-it-all behavior. He had some bad memories of his stay in the rehabilitation facility, which would make him rather harsh to ordinary citizens.

For some reason, he kept watching Kougami more than Waku and gave the impression of trying to pick up a fight with him.

"In Waku-san’s location, the crime scene images have already been uploaded from the drones, right?”

Kurata proceeded. “Then, Kougami-san, you can also check quickly with your portable terminal. Or, as you’ve been told that it’s such a strange corpse, could it be that you’re getting curious about it?”

"Obviously it's not so," Masaoka answered in Kougami's place.

Masaoka Tomomi. An experienced veteran enforcer who had been a detective at the Metropolitan Police Department before the Sibyl System’s implementation. Being shifted and attending to the tough job of enforcer for a long time, he was a reliable man. It would have been foolish to think little of him because he was a latent criminal.

Kougami showed respect to the man who should have been called a living witness of history.  

"You know, Kou doesn't look at the images of the crime scene on purpose.”

"Haa?” Kurata said, tilting his head exaggeratedly.

"I’d like to see it with my own eyes.” This time, Kougami responded. “After all, the video I received is no more than what the drones can see. Human senses are not involved there. Watching that video, I'm afraid I’ll be biased by strange ideas.”

"Ah ..."

"If it was an ordinary crime scene, we wouldn't need to think so much. Though...” Kougami said. “A strange corpse, an odd crime scene... I want to come to grips with such a thing as soon as possible.”

"Anyway, Maru will be the one to analyze the video,” Masaoka said.

Maru Tasuku.

An analyst formerly specialized in anatomy.

"It’s annoying … compared to humans, robots see with more dispassionate eyes," Kurata didn’t seem to be satisfied yet.

"But …” Kougami turned only his face towards him. “It’s a man who has committed a crime. There aren’t only fingerprints and DNA left on the crime scene. Fragments of human feelings must be scattered there too."

"You’re a romantic, or perhaps I should say you're too passionate, Inspector … "

"Hey! Nao!" Masaoka would call Kurata Naoto « Nao ». "Don’t make me hear such a mocking tone towards a superior!"

"Okaaay," Kurata bowed his head half-heartedly.

Masaoka looked at Kougami with narrow eyes and said "Kou, this kind of speech must definitely be an influence of « Saiga's classroom », isn’t it?"

"It's a really good lecture. Though Gino doesn't seem to like it."

"That's because Nobuchika is an inspector from the orthodox school. It's fine that way."

It’s not that it was made public, but enforcer Masaoka and inspector Ginoza were biological father and son.

"It seems that I am a heretic inspector, then," Kougami said with a bitter smile.

"Sure you are,” Kurata interfered. “You treat enforcers as humans while being able to keep such a clear hue, don’t you? Kougami-san"

"Isn’t it like the Sibyl System appraises my aptitude as a detective rather than the way I feel towards the enforcers?"

Kougami spit out those words without hesitation or the slightest air of conceit.

"Eeeh, you can say this kind of things as it was nothing"

"What's the matter? Did I say something strange?"

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) This word is written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on its importance.

– The character's thoughts are in italic –

— Year 2112, November.

  Detectives of the Public Safety Bureau, inspectors and enforcers, operate in units.

That day, it had been arranged that Kougami Shinya would work under the new Inspector, Tsunemori Akane. This combination wasn’t particularly fixed, but for some reason, he had a hunch it would have turned out well. Teaming up the rookie with Kougami will make her feel at ease… the top brass may have thought this way. At any rate, Kougami was a « former inspector ». No one was better suited to understand what it takes to be an inspector than he was.

"Kougami-san, is something the matter?"

Inside the car set on automated-driving mode, Tsunemori started a conversation.

“No, nothing …" Kougami answered from the passenger seat and shifted his gaze from the scenery outside the car window to Tsunemori.

What a strange(1) woman, he thought.

The time she shot him with her dominator in paralyzer mode on her very first day of assignment was like an old memory now. Actually, so much time hadn’t already passed … and still, that event was completely engraved as a GOOD MEMORY(2) on Kougami's mind.

 The smart patrol car, whose AI was linked to the traffic control center, was proceeding on a national road running in an East-West direction. Its destination: Setagaya ward(3).

"I heard that there was something known as « traffic jam » back in the old days,” Kougami said.  

He was somewhat in a chatting mood.

“I read it in a textbook,” Tsunemori said. “Besides, instead of « traffic troubles », there were « traffic accidents ».”

    Presently, most of the cars are equipped with an automatic driving system linked to the traffic control center.

By means of street scanners performing hue check and automatic driving system, the number of accidents where pedestrians are hit by a car because of carelessness has been sharply reduced. As a result of advanced automatic emergency brakes, dealing with cats and dogs which throw themselves a few meters before the cars is also possible. However, on rare occasions, because of defective maintenance or sudden breakage of a component and so on, there are times when cars injury people. Such a case is called « traffic trouble ».

It is the same for Sibyl System. Sophisticated calculations save people's lives.

Before the System's introduction, there were many people doing somewhat unbelievable things, such as drinking alcohol and then driving while drunk. I wonder what were they going to do in case of an accident …

Nowadays, this kind of people are unmasked as latent criminals, and alcohol ingestion is not too recommended by the System in the first place. You could say that excessive alcohol drinking is mostly forbidden.

" « traffic jam » survives only as a word … I guess even now people like Pop-san would say something like that”

  Pop-san ―— a veteran detective of his office, is enforcer Masaoka.

"We can feel the generation gap, can't we?"

The generation gap. That’s right. By the way, as Masaoka is already an enforcer himself, he drinks alcohol as much as he likes whenever he wants to.

“He surely is the eldest in the CID(4).”

“The way you call him « Pop-san » is kind of cool.”

“Is it?”

“How should I say… it shows all the trust you put in him.”

“Humph …”

“One day, I’d like to try calling him that way too … « Pop-san, what about the crime scene? »”

Hearing that, unable to hold back, Kougami let out a small laugh: “Pffft!”

“Ah! You laughed!”

“Sorry … This doesn't really suit you.”

“It's okay … Someday, I will become a tough detective with a rough language and I’ll show you, Kougami-san.”

“Aa … " Kougami narrowed his eyes, "I’m looking forward to that day.”

The crime scene was a large library, situated in the commercial district in Setagaya.

The entrance was already sealed off by Public Safety Bureau’s kokeshi doll-looking drones.  

The smart patrol car and the enforcers' paddy wagon had stopped at the library parking lot. The paddy wagon was mainly used when more than two enforcers were brought to the crime scene.

―― However, which vehicle to use when moving with Enforcers was down to the authority of the Inspector.

“You’re here.”

Kougami’s contemporary, Inspector Ginoza, had arrived first.

Kougami and Ginoza had known each other since high school, but now their positions were different. A hunting dog and its owner. Thrown an indifferent glance at Kougami, Ginoza turned to Tsunemori and said:

"It's an odd crime scene."

Tilting her head, Tsunemori asked. "Odd… you say? Like an awful corpse?"

"Speaking of awful, yes… it’s awful. But more than its gruesomeness, strangeness stands out the most."

Ginoza adjusted the position of his glasses, and pointed his chin in the direction of the building:

"Once on the crime scene, you will understand”.

Shown their ID on the portable terminal to the patrol drone, Tsunemori and Kougami entered the library.

Although this place was called a library, naming it a storage and preservation place for old and rare books was more accurate, now that the book digitalization had advanced.  

However, the books judged by the Sibyl System as having an influence on hue worsening were all disposed of. Kougami was not very fond of such a control on information.

On the bookshelves, small-sized airtight boxes were lined up. Instead of a library, it looked like a safe deposit box room(5).

At the 2nd floor of the library, its innermost part ...

Beyond the holographic security cordon, there was what Ginoza had called an odd crime scene. Dozens of airtight boxes drawers of had been left open, and insect-shaped micro-robots used to collect forensic evidence were investigating on them.

Tsunemori peered into a drawer and frowned.

"What is … this?”

In a place where by all rights only valuable old books should be kept, a blood-red jelly covered everything.

A slightly dark and opaque red.

All the other open drawers were filled with the same red jelly. The detectives moved their noses giving a sniff. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic. Kougami looked at his portable terminal to read the micro-robots report and said:

“According to the analysis, this should be the corpse.”

Looking hard enough, there were pieces of flesh and skin, and bone fragments floating into the jelly.

NOTES TO TRANSLATION:

(1) strange: The original adjective in the novel is 不思議な (ふしぎな, fushigina, wonderful/marvelous/strange/mysterious). Therefore, Akane is not only strange to him. This adjective has different shades of meaning that can all be related to how Kougami sees her, in my opinion.

Thanks to oishiipumpkin who hosted me in her translation notes.

Note by @cleverwolfpoetry

(2) This word is written with dots on the kanjis in the original version, to insist on its importance.

(3) Setagaya ward (or Setagaya City) is a special ward in Tokyo.

(4) Criminal Investigation Department.

(5) A safe deposit box room (or safety deposit box) is a safe where individually secured containers are held, to store valuable possessions (here, the books). They can usually be found in banks, post offices and other institutions. (from Wikipedia)