So far so good, but there was always a catch when it came to these things but I concluded that it would be faster to just listen to the whole report rather than interrupt it with my questions.
“Miss Ashley Tanaka requested that the discussion be held at a location of her choosing, because she distrusted the authorities after she had been treated by them.”
“The location she chose was a hotel room at the Clarion hotel next to the American Embassy which Ryouta found suspicious.”
Not good, they might be baiting us to infer a connection with the American government which might not be there.
“However, what was more surprising was the presence of another individual at the meeting. As per Ryouta’s request I will now be playing a recording of the meeting that took place as that will make the situation clearer.”
The somewhat awkward hologram of Ryouta disappeared, and in its place appeared an old-fashioned VR headset.
“The recording had been made through Alicia Barnier’s eyes so it is advisable to wear that headset to get a first-hand authentic view of the meeting. I can, of course, create an AI-generated approximation of the meeting instead. When you are in the recording you will be able to also hear the thoughts of Alicia Barnier and Ryouta but please remember that those thoughts could not be heard in the outside world.”
I felt a bit silly wearing a virtual reality headset while being in virtual reality but I just wanted to get this over with. Maybe I should have just asked about what conclusions Ryouta had reached, but I hoped there must be a reason why he wanted me to experience the meeting “first-hand” instead.
I was in a living room, and I could hear the sound of tea being made. Frustratingly however I could not change my field of vision. Alicia turned her head and I could see outside through a window. The top of a double-decker bus could be seen, so this was probably the first floor.
Alice turned back forward and Ashley Tanaka was seated there with a frown on her face and with her arms and legs crossed. The kitchen sounds stopped and an old gentleman wearing an apron over a suit came towards us carrying a plate with some tea and freshly baked star-shaped cookies.
Alicia removed her mask to sip on some tea and then put it back on and quickly chomped on one of the cookies. The tea was bitter but the cookies were excellent, and I could taste them through Alicia’s senses which had also been recorded. Who would have thought that a former prime minister could have made such excellent cookies or maybe it was just that Alicia’s sense of taste was still childish.
“Alicia, ask her who he is. You should pretend not to know him.”
“You don’t need to tell me that but okay.”
Alicia looked towards Ashley for some kind of explanation, but Lord Blair answered in her stead.
“Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Eric Blair. I am a friend of Ashley Tanaka.”
“The former Prime Minister?”
“Yes, although I have been working as a sort of consultant since then.”
“So are you working for Miss Tanaka as a consultant, Mr Blair?”
“Close enough. I am here as a friend. This hotel suite is where I currently live and since Miss Tanaka wanted a safe place to meet…”
Alicia took out a notepad and a pen.
“Then, if you are going to be present for the meeting, I am going to have to note down your presence as well as any comments you make which are relevant to the conversation.”
This time it was Tanaka who responded.
“All of the evidence and accusations I have made against the BLP’s virtual reality program and human experimentation are public, so I don’t understand why you’d need to meet me for that.”
“There is a lot of conflicting information about Albion Online that I cannot base a case on, and the accusations you have made, if true, are quite serious. I am collecting testimonies for a potential case against the project. Whether or not you choose to cooperate is your choice but if you are serious about your claims, rather than trying to whip up a media frenzy, then this is the moment to help us in this investigation.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to leave but this will undermine the case against Albion Online.”
Ashley sighed.
“Alright then what do you want to know?”
