Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Origin of Their Names

INSIDE a small ramen shop in the city of Forest Grove,
the TV attached to the wall was showing the evening news. A female anchor was
interviewing the chief scientist of NASA. The topic? The four cubes currently
surrounding Earth’s atmosphere.

“Dr. Ford, had there been any changes with the four
cubes?” the anchor asked.

“We still have gotten no reaction, sad to say,” the
doctor said with a serious expression on his face.

“There really is nothing I can say more about it. Except
that these cubes are definitely not a danger to us.”

“Tomorrow will be the sixth month since these cubes
appeared. Some religious groups are treating these cubes as a message from God.
Some alien enthusiasts believe they are spaceships and that eventually,
extraterrestrial beings will come out of it. Dr. Ford, don’t you think it’s
time that NASA shares their findings with the public?”

The female anchor said that in a way that didn’t really
leave the doctor any leeway to refuse. If he did, the public opinion would
definitely be against him. After all, unknown things always evoked fear.

These cubes were made of unknown materials and they had
been hanging above everyone’s head for almost half a year now. Even if nothing
had happened, it still filled people with trepidation. It might be fine today,
but something could still happen anytime in the future.

Besides that, until today, these so-called experts had
only said vague things about these cubes. How could anyone feel assured of
that?  

A dark expression crossed the doctor’s face. It’s
apparent that he didn’t like the anchor’s way of questioning. But that only
lasted for a second, and his expression quickly changed to normal.

“We are conducting thorough research on these cubes.
Whether or not they pose danger, we still currently don’t have sufficient data
to make a conclusion. But I assure you, once we have enough data, NASA will
immediately publish it as soon as we could.”

[That scientist is lying, master.]—a young boy’s voice
said inside the mind of the teenager sitting in the corner, slurping noodles.

Rei, who wasn’t really paying attention to the news,
lifted the bowl of ramen and drank the remaining soup. A timely burp escaped
his throat after that.

[NASA already detected something from those cubes?]–Rei
asked.

[Yes, master. They released signals starting this
morning. It became stronger and stronger as hours passed by.]

[Heh. Cato, maybe someone you know will come.]—Rei said
in a teasing tone.

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He referred to the voice in his head as ‘Cato’. He was
the one who gave the voice this name. Well, not exactly, since he really didn’t
speak the language. The right term should be ‘suggested’. Cato was the one who
gave himself that name. Rei only provided the meaning.

Growing up, people around him only referred to him as
‘Patient Zero’. So he asked Cato to look for a name that could mean ‘Zero’ in
the Japanese language. It’s actually quite funny when he thought of that day
when the both of them gained a new name.

A thin boy looked up at the blue sky above. He tilted his
head. This was the first time he had seen the sky. He didn’t expect that it
could actually be this blue. Even the tall trees and the wild flowers around
looked interesting.

He took a deep breath, feeling the wind on his face. So,
this was how the outside world looked like.  

[How about something Japanese? From my analysis, that’s
master’s race. You can honor your ancestry, even if just by a bit, by having a
name of Japanese origin.]

The boy was silent for a second. He had been together
with this voice for a month now. If not for this voice, he probably would be
dead by now. At first, he thought he had finally gone crazy after all the
experiments they subjected him to. It probably took a week before he accepted
he wasn’t crazy. There’s simply another entity suddenly living inside his head.

“I do. But it’s not the same language. So, it’s
bearable,” Rei said with a shrug. “And I think it’s quite funny.”

Besides, he wanted a reminder of all the things that had
been done to him. A name would be pretty good. This way, he wouldn’t ever
forget his goal of revenge.

[Your sense of humor is indeed unique.]—the voice said.
[Then, how about the name ‘Rei’? The kanji for the number ‘zero’ is read as
‘rei’.]

The boy’s lips curved up in a smile. “I like that. And
you? I think you also need a name for yourself. How about a name that means
all-knowing? Since, you know, you know everything.”

[Ehem. I don’t actually know everything. I only know
things that can easily be found on this planet’s Internet. But excellent
suggestion, master. If that’s the case, then I’ll take the name ‘Cato’. It’s a
Latin name meaning knowledgeable.]

“Cato. It has a nice ring to it,” the boy- no, Rei said.
“Nice to meet you, Cato.”

=====

And that’s probably the official start of their journey
together.

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