Early in the morning we had a review on what happened during the Navex in the classroom with the other units. The one in charge of this was an enforcer named Captain Ito Jin who had been the one to teach us navigation, and he was apparently trained as a Ranger many years back. He had done several missions in Taiwan rescuing and defending escapees from the country so he was very experienced.
"Now, team leader Shiho, tell me again how you got injured."
"Sir, they were climbing up ahead and I was lagging behind. Then it rained so I slipped and-" Shiho tried to explain but she was cut off.
"Your team left you behind, is that what I'm hearing?"
"No sir, they were waiting for me at the top while I was-"
"In other words, your team left you behind." Cpt. Ito cut her off again.
"No one on the team should be more than five meters aways from the next person in the group. As I have said before in the lesson, you should be as close as possible to help as quickly as possible at all times." He iterated. "No one! Should. Be. More! Than! Five meters away from the next person. It's your responsibility as team leader to maintain command and control, and not be pulled about by the rest of your teammates."
Shiho turned red and faced the floor. The team remained silent as he said this. Certainly it was told to us somewhere in the lesson in passing, but I think it didn't really register in our minds at the time the importance of his words. Even Natasha was unusually serious.
"Sir, I was with her." Kaoru said meekly.
"One person is not enough. If the both of you fell, the people in front can't get to you. If someone in front falls, the people behind can't get to them. All of you!"He shouted, "Should be together so that the team does not get split up."
The other groups were silent as Cpt. Ito scolded us, then he pointed to the team D and he made sure that this was drilled into their minds before they set off, as well as the rest of the groups.
Out of consideration Shiho was allowed to sit due to her injury, but the rest of us were left standing in attention as punishment. We couldn't complain, it was our fault and we did feel bad as we thought about how the situation might have been prevented, and it dawned on us just how dangerous it could have been in another scenario.
"The rest of you dismissed. As for you guys, I want to talk to you further."
Team D left to go to the drop off point while the rest of the groups left silently. Cpt. Ito sat down as he turned to us standing Infront of him.
"What you guys did was irresponsible. It could have been dangerous in an actual mission. This is your first exercise and it is designed to be quite safe so I won't fault you, but let this be a reminder that there usually aren't any redos or second chances later on. Clear?"
""Yessir!"""
"Now," he continued, "tell me about the rest of the exercise. What are your impressions?"
"Sir?" Shiho asked.
"The Council is trying to get me to make a sort of Ranger course for you guys." He explained, "Taking into account your ages, as well as the geography and ecology of the island, I can't do that on this island. I can't do a proper navigation exercise at the standards of a Ranger course, but being a Ranger isn't just about navigation."
He pointed at a map that hung on the wall of the island.
"The island doesn't have thick forests, doesn't have enough animals to hunt, it's too small and not tough enough. That's why I suggested taking you out of the island for your training. However, the Council is against this direction. I need to know your views and your capability."
We looked at each other, and were at a loss to answer.
"Sir, to be honest, it was relatively easy. Other than Shiho injuring herself, we could have made it back in three hours instead of five." Natasha said surprisingly.
"Oh? Easy huh?"
"Yes sir. This island has only so few landmarks it makes it easy to triangulate. Furthermore, as you said, survival training also requires learning how to hunt and live off the land, it's impossible to do here other than fishing."
The island was just that, an island. Seafood aplenty. But according to Cpt. Ito, he used to catch lizards and snakes during Ranger course, as well as foraging for edible plants and mushrooms. The island was called the 'island of flowers' before Exiles called it their home, and was a pretty famous tourist spot. It was sufficient enough for basic Infantry training and the likes, but for Rangers or Scouts training it wasn't very good, much less training for Artillery or Tanks.
That's why during conscription after a three month course on the southern half of the island, Exiles would be given training on the mainland. But for us whose training started far younger and of a far more secretive nature, we couldn't just go through the standard program or it would defeat the entire purpose of keeping it secret.
Cpt. Ito was given the task of handling this conundrum and this exercise was meant to test the feasibility of training on the island. Of course he knew it was impossible from the outset but the Council was hopeful given our relatively young age that it might be possible. But as Natasha said, it was too easy. The training we required could not be done on the island.
Since the island was mainly covered in grass and short trees, navigation was a relatively simple task which was useful for an introduction but not as full fledged training course. Of course now the conundrum would be how to train us to a satisfactory standard, the Council will have to make a decision soon. And based on what Cpt. Ito said, we might have to leave the island to do so which would then alert the entire island that something fishy was taking place.
Furthermore the exercise, while safe, should have been very difficult for an Exile of our age. But given our biological augmentations, it wasn't really that difficult. We didn't realise just exactly how much our augmentations mattered but the result was clear as day now.
"As such, I strongly recommend that the course must be held outside of the island." Natasha finished.
Cpt. Ito nodded gravely as he listened to her argument. He pulled out a cigarette and walked to the window and lit it as he thought about what to do. He explained that the training involved airborne as well as amphibious operations, both of which are not exactly very discreet forms of training on the island.
"I propose," She continued, "that we train in Singapore under the guise of an 'Exchange programme". Singapore has a very similar structure to us in terms of the handling of their Exiles. Furthermore, like us they are all conscripted at the age of ten, but they also begin theoretical training as young as six."
Then in Singapore, we train along with their armed forces in secret. Since it's a different country it would be easier to do so and various arrangements can be made to keep it secret, she finished. Of course we stared at her, she had shown particular skill in the Social Sciences before but never told us she also had in depth knowledge in international politics. Its a pity she behaves like an airhead most of the time.
In any case Cpt. Ito grimaced a little. Naturally her argument made plenty of sense but a proposal to exchange Exiles was a particularly touchy subject. For one although our system was very similar to theirs, we had different views on the treatment of Exiles. Singapore was too small to hold their Exiles somewhere else like Japan, and hence had developed a method to socially integrate them. Being a small country already meant it was relatively easier to police, and they did have a reputation of being a nanny state since their independence. Exiles could be policed with relative ease there. Also their population was far smaller than ours numbering at about 6,000.
Japan on the other hand had always been very conservative and very unwilling to change, especially on the subject of Exiles. Naturally policing and enforcing a growing population of Exiles over forty seven different prefectures with our economy was hardly a viable option.
Nevertheless, Natasha's proposal was so far the best option that resolved every single problem so far. The problem now was how to convince, never mind the Council, but the country to allow this. Still, Cpt. Ito said he would think about it as he dismissed us.
When we went back to our room, we began questioning Natasha about her proposal, and more importantly how she came to know about the situation in another country.
"Well~I used to travel a lot~" was her infuriating answer.
"I used to travel lots," said Kouta, "remember nothing of it."
"Not my fault you're stupid~"
"Say what!"
We had a good laugh about it as we agreed with Tasha much to Kouta's frustration. In the afternoon, we had several more lessons while team D was out. This time it was on sourcing potable water, which was a very essential skill. Rain was good, but if you wanted to drink from a river or a stream extra considerations and care had to be observed. Snow was also a good source of water, and we learnt how to build a basic distiller to get some clean water sometimes from the sea or puddles on the ground.
Rivers and lakes were actually dangerous because predators would often wait by them for prey, but here on the island it was generally safe.
After this as the first group we were brought back to camp for our second augmentation, this time the process took longer than before.
Shiho was in for an hour more because they had to heal her ankle first, but after a full day we emerged from the tanks and proceeded to do some physical tests.
We could feel significantly different from before, and because of that many of us had trouble walking as we put too much power into our strides. Strength wise we could push a maximum of thirty five kilos despite weighing about twenty, and we had no trouble with carrying our own weight for about an hour continuously. We could even run a kilometre in under seven minutes.
It was such a drastic change. In fact we had about the same strength as an Exile twice our age.
The weight to strength ratio would decrease over time of course, as we got older our strength would seem more normal rather than absolutely crazy. At about fifteen, weighing about fifty kilos, we should be able to lift a maximum of seventy kilos even if we were to look rather scrawny.
Still it was times like this where the severity and danger of the mission was really drilled into our heads.
I asked Me Rikka, who was overseeing this, about the ethics of sending us to war.
"Well Hotaru, it's hard to explain. I for one don't think it is. It was in fact more Komachi's idea, so that we could force the program into existence."
"Force the program?"
"Yes. Initially S-42 was an institution designed solely on social reintegration. But it was hard to get the geezers in parliament to agree, even with a trump card I had prepared. Komachi had the bright idea of proposing the idea of further genetically modifying Exiles for covert missions. She didn't even consult me about it."
Ms Rikka shook her head as she recalled the events.
"Of course they lapped it up quickly, the Ethics Committee too approved of it, those bastards."
They have the gall to call themselves ethical, she muttered under her breath.
"Well with the growing problem with our neighbours, I can see why they were so quick to agree though. There have been reports of China doing the same for some time now though unconfirmed, so they've been itching to try it out."
"So the government knows it's a problem but they're doing it anyway?"
"Yeah, they don't come by the island at all so they've no idea what it's like here. To them, you're just adults who fortunately have the appearance that could deceive anyone. Perfect for a covert mission." She sighed again, "The whole plan for social reintegration too worked in their favour to disguise yourselves as actual children, didn't think they'd hijack the plan like this though."
When I told her about Natasha's proposal she looked defeated for some reason.
"Really, life is difficult enough handling the normal people, you Exiles just make it worse."
As the rest finished up their tests, Ms Rikka tapped me on the head and softly rubbed my hair.
"I think Komachi is rushing too much trying to force it, she's desperate and perhaps it was my fault for riling her up so much. I know you guys are adults but frankly I can only see you as children. Can you at least try to behave as such?"
"I don't know Ms Rikka. I feel plenty old."
Sighing, she began packing up her things to leave.
"I'm all for the social reintegration plan, but you guys are making it hard."
"In what way?"
"Matter of fact is, you are very different people. An Exile typically behaves like someone on the spectrum, mostly harmless. Not quite exactly but its a good enough comparison. The problem comes in how people view you guys."
"How they view us? Don't they just view us as criminals and animals?" Oftentimes that's what the other older Exiles would tell me. Even Kou was very wary of the outsiders.
"Well...yes and no. It's a lot more complicated than that. In the early years, this phenomenon was new so people didn't really know what to expect. Now a typical Exile behaves differently but still tolerable in the eyes of the common people, but about five percent of the population were different in a dangerous way."
Ms Rikka looked out in the distance as if remembering painful thoughts.
"Sensationalist media made the Exiles look collectively dangerous and potential criminals. Most people did not see the Exiles as such, but there were enough people that did and this minority can make a lot of noise. The government, or at least most governments, operate on the lowest denominator so they had no choice but to treat you as such, just to be safe."
"The lowest denominator huh?"
"Yeah, they would all like to claim they have the most competent people in the civil service and government, but the reality is that the civil service is a place filled with turkeys who stuff their heads into the ground at the first sign of trouble and the government officials are concerned more with being seen doing something, rather than actually doing anything."
"And the nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
"Exactly. They don't like people deviating from the norm. In other parts of the world there is still some leeway, but the Japanese people are all conformists. I think it's a good thing, but also a bad thing."
"So then why do the Exiles think the Outsiders think less of us?"
"Well, here's an analogy. Someone is saying bad things about you, but you don't know who it is. They seem to know things that most people shouldn't know about you, and it seems to be very widespread. Wouldn't you suspect everyone from your best friends to total strangers?"
"So it's just a paranoid view on things?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say paranoid since there is an element of truth to it, but most people outside wouldn't think much about the Exiles, but because of a minor few paranoid people constantly espousing things like how 'Exiles are dangerous' and stuff like that it just became the common consensus even if most people don't actually believe it, and Exiles for the most part do not know who to trust owing to the fact that they have been hurt before."
"They have?"
"Well it's not exactly common knowledge, and most people try to forget about it. Do you know about the Hamamatsu Summer Protests?"
"Of course, it was a protest against the exploitation of the poor by the corrupt government at the time."
"Yes and no. It was actually started because a few people were exploiting the Changed, as Exiles were known back then, but later became more about the poor people. Many Exiles suffered during this time, and it was because of this that I guess their impressions of the people outside aren't very good even today, but it has softened a little."
"Softened? How bad was it?"
"It was bad enough that in the beginning the Exiles did not want anything to do with the mainland. Now this was troublesome because the entire plan behind Exile Island was that it would be good for the economy and hinged on business between the island and the mainland to be self-sufficient. The island almost got shut down because of this until the Council all but forced the Exiles to do business with the mainland. Since then, some trust has been regained and the younger Exiles who did not live through such times do not see the Outsiders in such a bad light, but I think Exiles still tend to look upon the Outsiders negatively."
It made sense to me, that this was all just a convoluted misunderstanding between the Outsiders and Exiles. But then what about the Enforcers? Their actions didn't seem in line with what Ms Rikka was saying. From my point of view they were rather abusive people.
"The Enforcers are a different problem altogether. They are trained to treat each and every Exile as if they were attempting to escape. Again it's the 'lowest denominator' mentality. The enforcers are also chosen from people who are single and without children and are repeatedly trained to see you as adults rather than children, so that they won't show mercy just because you look like a child."
"Is that such a good idea, I mean won't this affect them psychologically when they leave the island?"
"Ahahaha...yes it actually is a problem. I don't agree with this action either, but I can't make them change their minds. The stubborn defence ministers and generals in charge who do not know what's happening on the ground give the orders, and they are advised by idiots who do not really know what they're talking about. Can you expect that things would turn out differently?"
"If they're so incompetent, why are they in power?"
"Because they are incompetent." Ms Rikka said while chuckling to herself. "As you said, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Anyone who is remotely more competent than anyone else will stick out like a sore thumb and he or she would be quietly removed. Of course you can't be more incompetent than everyone else or you'll stand out in a different way, so in the end it balances out so that everyone is just incompetent enough to remain in power. This is true for almost every government, not just our own."
Even though I have to play this silly game, she muttered to herself. As she started to walk out, she looked back and shook her head.
"The plan is a good plan, I don't like it but it's our only option I think. By next year we should have hashed out an agreement with the Singapore government. I think they'll very likely agree."
With that she turned away and left. As for me, I was left with more questions than answered as I followed the rest back to the dormitories in silence.
