The shining moon slid over the equator, bringing twilight to the world of U.
The streets of U, twisting and winding like a huge river, were more crowded than usual today. A curious excitement hovered in the air; everyone seemed restless. Countless online news stories were being broadcast in different languages.
“…In just a few moments, at 20:25 U Standard Time, Belle will take the stage in Spherical Stadium for her largest concert yet,” one of the announcers said.
U’s city was made up mostly of two kinds of modules—skyscrapers and parks—but lots of other modules existed, too. One was the Spherical Stadium module.
“As many as one or two hundred million ASes around the world are said to be watching, a record for a new talent in the past six months,” the announcer continued.
From up close, it was clear that the stadium was formed from many clusters of smaller units. Spectators entered the sphere through the gaps between the units, each of which had multiple windows. The windows were shaped like smartphone screens, with Ases inside them. These were the stadium seats.
The multitudes of ASes were waiting eagerly for the show to begin.
At last, the start time arrived.
With a loud rumble, the sphere’s yawning interior gradually darkened. The units drew together, narrowing the gaps between them. Finally, there came a deafening roar; the gaps closed entirely, plunging the inside into blackness. A red line like the equator hovered in the dark.
The concert was beginning.
Music began to play.
An enormous teardrop hovered in the center of the sphere. The spectators watched this strange scene with bated breath, curious to see what would happen. The surface of the drop quivered with tension as something inside began emitting light. A constellation of lights accumulated inside the drop.
Finally, the glowing teardrop exploded like the Big Bang.
Behind the eruption of water, a mysterious, shining form appeared.
It was an enormous dress, thirty feet tall or more, woven from delicate beads.
Emerging from the very top of the dress was Belle—that is, me.
“Wowww…!!”
The cheers of ASes rumbled like an earthquake. A mosaic of light shone from the countless windows of the audience seats. The beads of my dress changed color as they caught the light. They were special light-sensitive beads. It was an incredible costume; everything from the headpiece to the high heels had been made by top designers.
I floated in midair, shifting colors as the light refracted off me. Parts of the dress began to break off like a multistage rocket: first the big parts, then the tiny beads, one by one. The beads started swirling like a whirlpool, transforming into the undulations of a virtual ocean.
Three baby whales wearing headphones appeared and floated slowly toward me. These whales were top-class dancers who we’d hired for the concert. One of them beat the ocean’s surface in time to the music with her tail, sending out beautiful ripples. Another did the same, the ripples intersecting. The third baby whale sent a powerful spray of water out through her blowhole.
Then it was my turn.
I surrendered myself to the rhythm like the whales had, twisting my body and beating the surface of the water. Beautiful ripples flowed outward. I twisted and beat the water again, the ripples overlapping. Then I soared upward, like I was the water spouting from the whale’s blowhole.
The whales joined in again and began a coordinated dance around me.
I started to sing.
The flashes of cameras in the audience reached my dress, changing the color of its beads kaleidoscopically. It was inexpressibly beautiful.
The colors were a collaboration of me and the designers and the audience, without whose phone cameras this spectacle would not have existed. I think it felt so special because unlike most things in the digital world, where reproduction is the norm, it could never be re-created.
I belted out the last notes of my song.
“Ooooooooooooh…!!”
Thunderous cheers shook the stadium.
The flashes faded, leaving only the red line in the darkness. The intro to the second song began. The next set, a graphical projection of a steel frame, slid toward me from above and below. During the blackout, Hiro’s AS—who had produced the whole show—came skidding toward me.
“Incredible performance, Belle. Ready for the next song?”
“Yeah.”
Hiro’s AS tossed me the scrap of cloth she’d been holding. It fluttered around me, transforming into a patchwork dress. It was designed by the same person who concocted the bead dress using light-reactive fiber.
Suddenly, I heard a strange bang.
“Oh…”
The gaps in the stadium opened ever so slightly.
“Who’s opening the doors without permission?!” Hiro’s AS screamed.
A group of figures slipped through the tiny crack between the units. One was in the lead, followed by a pack of ASes. They squeezed between the units, almost scraping the walls. The spectators were clearly upset.
“Get out, assholes!” Hiro shrieked with redoubled fury.
The AS in the lead seemed to be running from the group behind it.
“Is it being chased?” I asked.
The group followed the arch of the sphere’s equator. The pursuers split into two groups.
“What the hell is that?!” Hiro asked, craning her neck up.
Comment bubbles from U’s global hive mind popped up instantly:
Lóng
dragón
龍
naga
Dragon
Dreki
Ejderha
“A dragon?”
A hideous monster AS that lives in U.
The creature had two horns, a long snout, and sharp fangs and claws. It looked just like a stereotypical dragon, and it appeared quite violent. But its crimson cloak with a standing collar and the white frills protruding from the cuffs of its suit brought to mind some sort of young nobleman. These two extremes existed in a strange balance. The gaze I glimpsed between locks of its long, curly hair struck me as deeply mysterious.
The pursuers were all dressed in white battle suits lined with red. They looked like the very picture of righteous heroes.
The Dragon rushed upward, his cloak flying, then twisted midair and plunged down. The tricky maneuver shook off his pursuers, but now the second group, who had split off a moment earlier, flew toward him.
The AS in the lead, who was wearing a stone mask, hurtled forward fearlessly.
The opponents crashed head-on into each other, and a shower of crackling sparks erupted.
The Dragon delivered a series of punches so swift I could hardly follow them with my eyes. The pursuers recoiled like so many scattered pebbles. Light like ice crystals shot from them, and they went still. The force of the blows had destroyed their data, freezing them.
I stared at the Dragon in a daze.
“Amazing,” I said.
“Who is that?” Hiro’s AS asked. Comment bubbles answered right away:
Showed up out of nowhere at U’s martial arts hall a few months ago
He’s been breaking the record for most consecutive wins
He fights dirty tho
“What do you mean?”
The Dragon landed on a wall unit and switched directions, attacking the group of pursuers he’d shaken off earlier. Without giving them a chance to escape, he knocked them out, one after the next. Crystal images appeared, meaning they were frozen.
He ruins the matches.
He attacks until his opponent’s data gets corrupted
It’s like he’s trying to vent his anger
I stared at the Dragon, dumbfounded.
“Oh!” I gasped, noticing the patterns all over his tattered back. “What are those…?”
He’s showing off his bruises, so obnoxious
I looked more closely.
“He has that many…?”
The band of pursuers had swelled. Their leader with the locs gestured, and a dozen or so headed forward, shouting in unison.
Although the Dragon had no one on his side, he turned instantly in their direction, slicing his hands through the air with dazzling speed. The pursuers flew backward.
“Ahhhhh!”
Every last one of them collapsed in a heap. Their leader stared in shock at the decimated troops, then let out a bizarre howl and flew chaotically at the Dragon.
A second later, the Dragon’s powerful fist slammed into his face, followed by an uppercut. The AS with the locs was sent flying, their body arched backward from the impact.
“Who’s chasing him?” Hiro’s AS asked curiously.
The Justices.
“Justices?”
They claim they’re the keepers of justice and order in U.