The World of Kuro

7/28/2019 The World of Kuro

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The World ofKuro

Te concerns o the rst hal o the 21st century did not reallychange, but now almost the whole world has them. Energy andecology became the two recurrent themes, appearing in everydebate and the international media, pointing out the worseningclimate and the conficts over energy resources. Emergingcountries like China or India did not have the chance to pollute

as much as their Western neighbours, international regulationsout o the Kyoto protocol having orced them to limit theiremissions since 2020. o limit the inexorable deterioration o theozone layer and the melting o the icecaps, leading to a rise o thesea levels, governments had to concentrate their eorts towardsalternative and renewable energies, thus provoking major crisesin certain industrial sectors which were loath to orgo theirslice o the cake. With planetary warming and many climatedisturbances, no population could continue to calmly reute themore alarming reports and to consume resources as they sawt. Several coastal populations watched in horror several Pacicatolls were threatened by tidal waves. Climate change made someplaces too dangerous, causing the migration o thousands o

people who le their homes to become ecological immigrants.

Luckily, several advances in nanotechnology allowed thecreation o new materials, batteries, engines, uels, biomass andprocessors, ending the dependency on oil and drastically cuttingdown greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the pressure o oil-producing countries, these alternative power sources opened

up new markets, allowing the countries that had rethese new power sources to claim much needed prot

particularly began to re-emerge aer years o an ecrecession, made worse by a huge population growth aarable land. Conversely, the Middle-East, already multiple water wars, suered rom the loss o oil revenuworld moved to cheaper and more sustainable powerEven today, despite international programmes o mawater desalinisation by complex biotechnological proorder to aid the poorer populations o the world, Middleand Arican countries are still the greatest victims o pwarming.

Amid multiple regional conficts seeking to get

the ew remaining resources, recyclable uels or arabextremist struggles, as well as deepening tensions India, China and Russia; Japan took on the role o the mo Asia. Quite determined to carve out an Asian Presuccessive Japanese governments endeavoured to ma very active diplomacy, not hesitating to get closer neighbours. Preerring to make allegiances with Chinao the United States, the Empire o the Rising Sun invthe Aosis Alliance, an organisation working on severalto combat and anticipate rising sea levels. Trough Aosset up numerous partnerships with China. Aer the buseveral coastal dams and the creation o new biomateriawould consolidate levees in major cities, Japan used its i

to directly insinuate itsel into the Chinese space progTis news immediately thundered amid the Western coespecially the USA, which quickly suspected Japan o to use China as a military partner. Fears o having Japanits army in deance o Article 9 o its constitution, and helping China retake aiwan, caused violent debates in o the UN. Piqued, the Japanese government removed all

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eastern border. Given the paranoia and tension in easternrelations, this was analysed by the Panasiatic Federation sensorsas being a nuclear strike. Programmed to respond automaticallyin case o a nuclear attack, the Articial Intelligence in ChinasBorder Deence Centre launched a nuclear response at its twoenemies India and Japan. wo long range several gigaton nuclear

missiles began speeding towards both countries beore anyonewas really aware o what was going on.

Te rst missile did not fy very ar. Suering a majormalunction it exploded directly over North Korean soil. Teexplosion caused thousands o deaths, the destruction o allelectronic equipment (androids included) and irradiated mosto the country. As or the second missile, it reached Japan, butnever exploded. Every monitor recorded the missile reach theJapanese archipelago beore vanishing amid an unexplainedelectromagnetic storm. As or the Japanese, who on that day werein the middle o electing a new government, they just saw a brightfash in the sky. Tis blinding light fashed or only a moment,

aer which a violent wind appeared, encompassing every islandin the archipelago. Tis electromagnetic storm caused a two-hour short circuit in all Japanese electric installations, rying thecontrol mechanisms o two airliners that were liing o at okyoAirport at the same time. Tey crashed in a neighbourhoodnear the landing zone, reducing hundreds o both the airlinerspassengers and the neighbourhoods citizens to ashes.

Tese were the only victims o the devastating attack. Manycitizens werent even aware o it.

Te international community was quick to condemn the

actions o the Panasiatic Federation, but China was unapologeticabout the incident. It accused Japan o having a secret anti-missile shield, which had been revealed by the unortunatemissile launch. Such a deence could only have been developedto protect Japan rom a nuclear exchange, and with such adeence, they must obviously be intending to launch attacks otheir own. Te grudges and doubts o certain Western countriessoon resuraced, as they also accused Japan o wanting to builda new army and changing the balance o nuclear power with itsnew shield. In the dreadul political mess, Japan was incapableo either justiying itsel or explaining the disappearance othe missile. Unortunately, without an explanation rom Japan,Chinas accusations began to look like the only possible truth.

Japans position became even more complex due to the resultso the Nipponese elections. Te conusion and rhetoric over themissile attack prevented a new government claiming a majorityin the May 4th election, compelling the country into a kind oorced coalition between two political movements.

Te various opposing countries demanded that Jathem the shield technology, continuing to believe thatmeans or Japan to protect itsel while preparing togetIndia or a massive attack on the Panasiatic Federation. Io justiying itsel and determined not to submit, JapanWith the support o Europe and the US, China asked

resolution to orce Japan to release this technology tothe balance o power. Aer all, i every country had thesnuclear war would no longer be a threat and Japans roer this technology proved the country to be an enemypeace. Te UN resolution passed, but Japan still reusedto international pressure. In response, China declared only should all nations reuse to trade with Japan, butinternational blockade should be set up to enorce this d

With electromagnetic traces still lingering throterritory, and Japans reusal to accept a thorough sits military orces, the Panasiatic Federation urther Japan o having hidden nuclear weapons. Te suggest

Japan had broken Article 9 o its constitution and thenon-prolieration treaty was enough to convince the reworld that Japan was indeed the villain that China clto be. A large fotilla o international ships set sail to bthe Japanese islands. Further, this new internationaldeclared that all air trac in or out o Japan would be shwithout warning.

Te oreign stranglehold on trade has lasted more months. During which time rationing and shortage phave began to aect the poorer sectors o the populahad been done in the past, the Emperor renamed Japan

in order to arm Japans willingness never to yield beenemy, and their readiness to embrace a new age. Sbecame Shin-Edo.

But or how long can Japan hold out? Aer one oministers was assassinated by a aiwanese separatist athe name o Japans liberation, can it be long beore tenboiling point again? How ar will the oreign orces go, eChina, when aer 6 months Japan remains resolute? Wconsider an armed engagement to orce Japans contrthe Japanese government telling the truth when it clato know anything about a possible anti-missile shieclimate o growing hostility and rationing, how long

present government hold out beore giving way to extresubmitting to international demands?

But what really happened on May 4th 2046, the day othe event that Japanese now call the Kuro Incident tooIn a country where great questions have been answeadvances made, where biotechnology has compartme

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society, where androids walk besides men, where ood is cloned,and where nanobots foat in your blood, this is not a questionthat Japan can answer. Meanwhile, her borders are blocked bycountries demanding an answer to this very question. But thereis still no answer orthcoming.

Now Japan can only count on its own resources in orderto subsist. Power ailures constantly remind the populationo the consequences o the Kuro Incident, made worse by theimpossibility o trade or communication with the rest o theworld. But while most Japanese watch the ships that prevent themrom leaving or anything entering, others realise that somethingelse has changed.

Te Kuro Incident somehow opened the door to strange,unexplained phenomena. Even as the Wind o the Gods, as thecontinued meteorological unrest has become known, still ragesover the Archipelago, creating storms, rains and typhoons, mosto the inhabitants o Japan are only worried with what they will

do tomorrow, but others understand that they are now shut inwith the dark. For some there is no longer any doubt: the spiritshave returned, and they do not appear to mean well

The Whisper of

the KamikazeSeeing is more important than watching, the rule is to see

without seeing, to perceive without fxing our attention, to senseand not parry or respond to an attack, the inner eyes are the onesthat see.

-Miyamoto Musashi

A Country of RitesJapan was always ollowed many spiritual belies, some deeply

ingrained in the population. In the same way that the Shintoreligion is part (almost unconsciously) o the countrys culture,

these belies are ubiquitous among the Japanese populationinfuencing, in an oen intimate ashion, the relationshipsbetween people. Most o these superstitions are concerned withthat most important o taboos: death. Coming rom centuries-old belies connected to the diseases carried by corpses, thistaboo is still present nowadays and gives birth to many ears.Similar ears arise rom the taboos concerning blood which stem

rom the bleeding at birth. In Shinto, the soul o the deceasedis stained by his own death, and only purication rites canallow it to orget its wrath and become benevolent. Tus all othe individuals that have to work with death (rom coroners toslaughter-men working in abattoirs) are sometimes consideredto be dierent to the majority o the populace who do not. It

is as i their close contact with death has made them unclean.Even in 2046, many o the rights held by Japans population areunocially denied to these people. Some banks even reuse toopen accounts or them.

Among the many Japanese superstitions, a notable one isthe unease concerning the numbers 4 (shi, pronounced thesame way as death) and 9 (ku, which also means suering). Itis useless to look or a parking space or a hotel room with thenumber 4, there are none. Tere are also no brands o car or anydevices with 4 in their signs. It is also unadvisable to sleep withyour head turned north (this is the direction in which the deadare buried), to put your chopsticks in your rice bowl (a reerence

to the unereal rite) or not to hide your thumbs when passingbeside a hearse or a graveyard.

Even i the population only occasionally visit the templesand shrines, and rarely show an overwhelming belie, mostpeople still ollow the old rites and traditions as amiliar habits.Everybody has Shinto lucky charms at home, such as a protectivewooden arrow. Shinto estivals (or Matsuri), o which there areseveral throughout the year, are simply seen as popular estivities.Few insist that they really believe in spirits, the kami or even theaerlie. Even though, since the Kuro Incident, unexplainedthings stalk out o the shadows, everybody preers to ignore

them and put their aith in science or more mundane theories.

A World of SilenceSix months later the question remains: what happened on May

4th, 2046? By what miracle did the Panasiatic Federation missilevanish into thin air, leaving behind only a ew electromagneticdisturbances? oday, most o Japan just watches the blockadeand doubts the good aith o either its government or o theinternational community. Te rest silently watch with growingdread the strange occurrences that keep happening across

the archipelago. Tose who have not yet had such encountersthemselves do their best to dismiss the reports. Tey reason thatnothing that can drastically change their lives is as obvious as theinternational pressure o the blockade and the everyday hardshipsit causes. Aer all, it is easy to ignore the strange incidents whenthey are just some short lines in the corner o the newspaperdownloaded into a fexible screen.

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The World of Kuro