EX@HOW TO GET THROUGH THE 2000S?

A NOVEL "HOW TO GET THROUGH THE 2000S?"

[CHARACTERS AND KEY OBJECTS]

    A： a superpower
    A1 University： a university in A
    A2 University： a university in A
    President AP： the president of A
    AQ： a bar in AT Town
    AT Town： a town of ordinary people in A's capital
    B： a superpower
    B1 University： a university in B
    B2 University of the Arts： a university of the arts in B
    BC： a photographer from B, a woman in her forties
    President BP： the president of B, a woman in her sixties
    BQ： a bar in BT Town
    BT Town： a town of ordinary people in B's capital
    C： a superpower
    D： a small country between A and B
    E： a power
    EC City： a major city in E
    F： a forest on A's frontier, kept off-limits by A's government due to alleged residual radioactivity
    Group G： an anti-government group in A
    Group H： an anti-government group in B
    I： my nickname. I am a professor of history at A1 University, the leader of A's Anti-government Group G, a man in his late thirties
    J： an art student at B2 University of the Arts
    K： an elderly man living alone in AT Town
    The L system： the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation
    General M： a man in his sixties serving in A's military,
    Colonel N： a man in his fifties serving in A's military
    Staff Officer O: a man in his fifties serving in A's military
    Professor P： a professor of law at A1 University, a man in his late fifties
    Q： my ex-wife
    QC： a counselor, a woman in her late thirties
    QP： a prostitute living in AT Town, a woman in her thirties
    R： a rabbit kept by U at her laboratory
    The S system： the system of the human rule securing social rights
    T： an economist in A, an elite bureaucrat, a man in his late thirties
    U： a doctor in A, specializing in gene therapy, an elite bureaucrat, a woman in her mid-thirties
    V： a professor of law at B1 University, the leader of B's Anti-government Group H, a man in his late thirties
    W： an ex-revolutionary in C, a woman in her seventies
    X： a fellow member of A's anti-government group G, an information technologist, a woman in her early thirties
    20XX： the year in the latter half of the twenty-first century when totally destructive means were used
    Corporation Y：a food manufacturing company, a small business in AT Town
    President Y： the president of Corporation Y, a food developer
    25YY： the current year in the late twenty-sixth century
    Z： a fellow member of A's anti-government group G, a strategist, a man in his early forties

Note 1: The letters such as A, B, and C do not have the implications such as America, Britain, and China. From the very beginning, the humans on the surface of the earth went extinct in the twenty-first century. Those who had survived in underground shelters eventually returned to the surface, and their descendants formed new nations, the three superpowers of A, B, and C among them.

Note 2:
Out of the terms not designated by alphabets, the terms "that girl" and "that girl's father" refer to a girl and her father who passed away within a decade following 20XX, leaving behind a significant memoir.

[NOTES ON TERMINOLOGY]
    This novel's terminology is much the same as "EXISTENCE AND LIBERTY," "DETAILS OF EXISTENCE AND LIBERTY," "SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER INTO THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE SECURING SOCIAL RIGHTS," "SENSATIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF IMAGES, "EGOS AND THEIR TENDENCIES, "FACING TENDENCIES FALLING INTO A VICIOUS CIRCLE, and "PARTICULAR THINGS AND GENERAL THINGS." Particular attention must be paid to the terminology of the words "existence" and "survival." The term "survival" is appropriate when extinction is imminent in interspecies struggles. But as far as we, human beings, are concerned, this threat arises from internal struggles―within human society―and so the term "existence" is much more appropriate than "survival."

THE DECISIVE WAY TO REDUCE THE ANXIETY ABOUT THE SELF'S DYING SOONER OR LATER

    In the early summer of 25YY, a year in the latter half of the twenty-sixth century, I strode along a faded path through the forest. The sunlight filtering through the foliage was dancing in the breeze, gently touching my face. Debris from buildings and the edges of what appeared to be bleached bones peeked through the undergrowth. Before long, it came into view. Trees opened up, revealing a grassy field basking in the sun. In the middle of the clearing stood a ruined house, appearing on the verge of collapse. I stepped inside softly lest its roof should fall. The sunlight through the cracks of its walls was creating shafts of light.
    I was a professor of history at A1 University in Superpower A, specializing in the history of ideas and that of science and technology. In the year 20XX, a year in the latter half of the twenty-first century, holders of political and economic power had brought about the Third World War, using "totally destructive means" in the midst of a cycle of retaliation. Even among those powerholders, there had been a hierarchy, and the top echelons had evacuated to robust underground shelters. Of course, it was a handful of humans that robust ones were capable of accommodating. Consequently, the humans who had been left on the surface of the earth, those who had evacuated into flimsy ones, and some other animal species went extinct within a decade following the use of totally destructive means. The humans around here perished within a decade from the radiation immediately released by nuclear weapons―a subcategory of totally destructive means―or from the radioactivity left by them. In 25YY, the forests and fields around here were on A's frontier. Its government claimed there was still residual radioactivity, designating the vast area including where I stood as "Radioactive Exclusion Zone F." However, I confirmed no radioactivity was left. The government must have been afraid that the documents on liberal rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law left around here might inspire movements against de facto autocracy or hollowed-out democracy. That, I was certain, was why it made such a designation. While measuring radiation and confirming again and again that no radioactivity was left, I was secretly unearthing the documents and relics left in this area.
    On a shelf covered in a layer of dust sat a memoir written by a girl and her father. It was handwritten, spanning over dozens of notebooks. Its letters were slightly faded but perfectly legible. The language differed little from modern speech, making the content easily understood. When they wrote it, both the girl and her father knew they would pass away within a few years from radiation-induced cancer. They also knew that she would precede him into death. I made it a rule to protect the memoir with shields against the sun, rain, and wind. I removed them temporarily, put on my gloves, opened the memoir, and photographed its pages. During the years leading up to the early summer of 25YY, the majority of my job in research consisted of unearthing such documents without disturbing them and their surroundings, photographing them, and saving them to my pocket-computer. Knowing how vital the memoir was, and that I could not afford a single mistake, I carried out the task with utmost care. Judging from the part written by her father, it was likely toward the end of the adolescent period, around the age of seventeen, that the girl wrote this:

    Animals live, die, live, and repeat the same cycle. Concerning animals having memories, this repetition of death and life is the same as each of them living forever with the loss of memory and individuality repeated while they replace one another. Concerning animals having no memories, this repetition of death and life is the same as each of them living forever with the loss of individuality repeated while replacing one another. Each of us can replace both animals having memories and ones having no memories. Therefore, each of us lives forever, with the loss of memory and individuality and the loss of individuality repeated, while replacing one another. If the animals on the earth go extinct, in space, which has endless space and time, what are similar to them are generated and undergo evolution, and each of them lives forever with the loss of memory and individuality repeated and the loss of individuality repeated while replacing one another. When you know this, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) is sure to be reduced. However, that anxiety is hardly reduced. Why?
    In that anxiety, most of us attempt to make my self―the self in particular―eternal. However, all of us know that it is absolutely impossible. All the same, most of us attempt it. By doing so, most of us feel more and more firmly that the self is the only thing and an irreplaceable thing, and that there is infinite, vacant time and space after the self's death. As a result, that anxiety goes beyond fierce, becoming absolute. In order to reduce it, first, each of us needs to accept that my self dies sooner or later. While accepting it, let us simultaneously grieve and fear it. In addition, the death of others means a complete farewell to them. I can never talk with them again. Let us grieve and mourn their death. In addition, let us abandon the illusion of heaven, hell, or an eternal soul where we might live forever. Even after that acceptance, grief, regret, or abandonment, not my self―the self in particular―but the self of each of us―the self in general―exists forever, remaining replaceable.
    However, there are numerous ideas that make the self seem irreplaceable. The most refined of them is the following: "The things that are appearing to me are not appearing to you. The things that are appearing to you are not appearing to me. I can make sure that the things appearing to me at present exist. I cannot make sure that the things appearing to you at present exist. There are unsurpassable walls between things appearing to each of us. Each of us is completely confined into things appearing to each of us. Thus, each of us is completely isolated, and we cannot replace one another."
    However, the premise (PPP) "the things that are appearing to me are not appearing to you. The things that are appearing to you are not appearing to me. I can make sure that the things appearing to me at present exist. I cannot make sure that the things appearing to you at present exist" is no more than based on the properties of things appearing as mental phenomena. Therefore, it is impossible to draw the conclusion of the irreplaceability of the self from the premise (PPP).
    Furthermore, when the nervous systems of animals are looked into, it is found that even the premise (PPP) is itself not inevitable and is not an absolute truth. The nervous systems of multiple animals on the earth are rarely entangled with one another. As long as there is no such entanglement, the premise (PPP) hold true. However, should it occur, what would it bring about?
    In the past, the bodies of two humans fused together, entangling their peripheral nervous systems. As a result, the pain of their skins appearing on their somatic sensations appeared to both of them. If the central nervous systems of multiple animals were entangled, it is premised that that entanglement brings about something like "things appearing to you on a visual sensation appear to me. Things appearing to you on an auditory sensation appear to me. Things appearing to you as images appear to me. Things appearing to you on thinkings appear to me..." Thus, it is found that even the premise (PPP) is not inevitable and is not an absolute truth. As a result, it becomes clear that the ideas that we are irreplaceable is no more than an illusion, and it is wiped out.
    There is no barrier hindering us from replacing one another. Therefore, each of us lives forever with the loss of memory and individuality and the loss of individuality repeated while replacing one another. This can be called the "Endless Repetition of Life and Death." This can also be called our "Being Born Again" or "Replacing" or "Becoming" one another. When we know these things, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later is reduced. Knowing those things is the decisive way to reduce that anxiety.

This was written by that girl. Let me provide some further explanation.
    Since ancient times, there have been religions and philosophies asserting the infinite existence of spirits or souls beyond mortal flesh or bodies. In addition, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, there were some works of science fiction depicting the implantation of interfaces into the brain of those who assert the separation of minds from bodies, the visualization of their mental phenomena, and the demonstration of such separation. However, the very act of implanting interfaces in brains itself already premised that everything appearing as a mental phenomenon was caused by the excitements and transmissions of neuronal groups, which are included in things in themselves. Those writers were unaware of such a logical leap, even if only in fiction. All that exist are things in themselves and appearing things on mental phenomena, and the latter are premised to be caused by the former. Without mixing in such religions, philosophies, or logical leaps, the girl, from beginning to end, explained the endless repetition of death and life solely by premising the existence of things in themselves and things appearing as mental phenomena.
    In addition, science, above all, biology, including neuroscience, is making progress after 20XX as well, confirming that sometimes when the nervous systems of two individuals are entangled, what appears to one appears to another at least on somatic sensations.
    Over the decade following 20XX when totally destructive means had been unleashed, in the areas where nuclear weapons had been detonated, most people succumbed to cancer induced by radiation, and the girl to leukemia. Within the decade following 20XX, the humans on the surface of the earth went extinct. After that, those who had sheltered underground returned to the surface and began to create the present world. Then some copies of the part written by her were dug up somehow and found their way into circulation, albeit with the writer's name and age altered. The writer was modified into a woman in her twenties who passed away from leukemia, and its cause into something other than totally destructive means. The fact that the writer's leukemia was caused by some totally destructive means would have been inconvenient for powerholders. In contrast, the content of the part written by her was not modified. It has been a substitute for religions up to the present. It has been reducing the modern people's anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality). Ultimately, religions existed in order to reduce that anxiety. However, they failed to do so. Therefore, they have fallen into decline. Though that girl's name, age, and cause of death were modified, she has been offering the decisive way to reduce that anxiety.
    In contrast, the part written by her father was completely erased. All of it would have been inconvenient for powerholders. If it were to be published, in this modern era when ethics, morals, and so forth have fallen into decline along with religions, it would become a desire and purpose transcending them. We would release their entire memoir including the part written by her father online.
    Ultimately, what I had unearthed here was the entire memoir handwritten by that girl and her father, which was completely untouched by alteration or deletion. Their handwriting style differed, each consistent with their respective ages. Precisely because it was a handwritten manuscript, it survived five hundred years. Had it been stored in internal or external storage devices or printed with digital printers, it would not have survived. Handwritten manuscripts have a durability that spans over a millennium.
    In addition, paper books created through traditional printing methods have a similar durability. Around here lay the remains of libraries, and many paper books were left readable. Among them were some documents that were precious for liberal rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, all of which had been hushed up by autocrats around the world. I dug them up, hid the significant ones in my backpack, brought them back to A1 University, and shared them with trustworthy researchers.
    All the same, the most precious, I thought, was the memoir written by that girl and her father. And so, I was cautiously carrying out its excavation and preservation work. I will excerpt the most significant part from the part written by her father after summarizing the limitations of religions.

LIMITATIONS OF RELIGIONS

    By its own nature, each religion assumes and embraces what transcends this real world such as gods, souls, and spirits―transcendent beings. In a religion, the ways to cope with this real world, including the individuals' ways of life and the systems of societies―real means―depend on transcendent beings. They are nothing more than the products of human imagination, inevitably becoming arbitrary and particular to each religion. The real means that depend on them, inevitably inherit the same particularity. Therefore, religions cannot offer real means common to a lot of individuals or societies, let alone all of them. If some religions assert that their real means are common to all individuals and societies and try to disseminate those means, they can ignite unnecessary conflicts.
    In addition, most religions tend to fall into the extreme belief that they are justified and obligated to destroy those criticizing them or profaning their gods, even with physical violence, bringing about deadly conflicts.
    In addition, it is none other than human beings that can bring about the extinction of living things including themselves, and they are the main cause of the extinction. From this perspective as well,the word "existence" is much more appropriate than "survival." We, humans, need to confront that fact. However, most religions hinder us from confronting it. For a first example, if it is believed that a god created humans, it may lead to the thought: "the god cannot have created what brings about extinction" or "since he created what brings about extinction, he is also responsible." For a second example, if it is believed that those who bring about extinction fall into hell, it may lead to the thought: "they expiate their responsibility simply by suffering in hell."
    Therefore, the real means that are common to a lot of individuals and groups around the world need to be proposed without religions, and so does the way to make existence and liberty compatible. This is a golden rule. This rule is observed in every action we take.
    Simultaneously, we need to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) to a degree. That anxiety causes "the desire to make the self eternal" (= the desire for immortality). Then, some humans try to leave their glory or honor, or achievements in history, acquire political and economic power, and after all, are lost in power struggles, plunging into violent extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, and war. In order to prevent such ramifications, many of us need to reduce that anxiety to some extent and know that the self is already eternal in the sense explained by that girl, and that we do not need to bother to make the self eternal.
    Without religion, we can provide the way to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later, and even individuals' ways of life and the systems of societies common to a lot of individuals and societies. Five hundred years ago, that girl provided the former, and her father the foundation for the latter.

THE DESIRE AND PURPOSE TO REDUCE THE UNNECESSARY, PERSISTENT, LARGE-SCALE PAIN CAUSED BY HUMANS AS GENERALLY AS POSSIBLE

    Following that girl's death, her father penned that foundation. The most significant part would be excerpted:

    It breaks my heart that my daughter, at such a young age, has reached a state of transcending death. In peacetime, youths would have talked about friendship, romance, pleasure, or minor indiscretions. To be sure, her way to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) is not wrong. It has relieved me, too. That anxiety is the most intense kind of pain that human beings ever experienced. She has reduced it.
    Some other kinds of pain are necessary for the genes, individuals, groups, and species of animals, humans among them, to survive and evolve. For a first example, the pain in the skin is necessary to prevent injuries from reaching deeper vital organs and ensure the survival of genes and individuals. For a second example, mental pain such as fear and anxiety makes individuals foresee and escape dangers and ensure the survival of genes and individuals. For a third example, the dissatisfaction of sexual drive ensure the survival of genes, groups, and species. For a fourth example, though the struggle for survival accompanies some kinds of pain, they are necessary for the species of animals, human beings among them, to evolve and exist.
    In contrast, humans cause some kinds of pain that are unnecessary for the existence or evolution of genes, individuals, groups, or species of animals or for liberty. Above all, they bring about wars and use totally destructive means such as nuclear weapons and immutable gene means. In fact, they have unleashed them. Around here, due to radiation exposure, men and women have already become unable to ever bear children. The women who were pregnant have miscarried. Infants are preceding us into death. Of course, we suffer not only the loss of our children but also our own pain. Skin sores caused by radiation rarely heal. The pain persists forever. Multiple cancers are certain to occur even in one individual sooner or later, and we die in agonizing cancer pain. Holders of political and economic power have taken some of the resources and equipment for surgery and gene therapy to shelters, destroying the rest. If they had been spared, they would never have sufficed in the situation that so many people were stranded on the surface of the earth, dying in pain. Painkillers do not work well. On top of that, we are running low on them, so we are sharing what little we have left with the neighbors. Some parents give them to their children and end their own lives. I am sure I, too, will get cancer sooner or later. The cause of my daughter's death was leukemia. In the areas where immutable gene means―a subcategory of totally destructive means―are used, people's immunity weakens, and they pass away one after another from infectious diseases while suffering intense pain, I hear. Totally destructive means kill animals, human beings among them. However, it is not that they die at once but that they die while suffering years of pain. In such pain, I wish at least to reduce the "unnecessary," persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans. Such a desire and purpose is arising.
    However, simultaneously, we also hope to transcend this real world in order to eliminate such pain. Even so, there is no world that transcends this real one. Furthermore, in such pain, we also found that we do not need this real world or one that transcends it, hoping to be nothing. However, the only thing that exists is what my daughter called "the endless repetition of life and death," and it is impossible to transcend this real world or to be nothing. Because of that very endless repetition, such pain persists literally forever. She said a cruel thing. Isn't it an irony? That repetition is a fact of life for animals, human beings among them. In that "endless" repetition, we need to reduce pain not particularly but as generally as possible. Then, I wish at least to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans "as generally as possible." Such a desire and purpose is arising.
    If humans could reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans as generally as possible, what would they hope? Many of them will hope to be born again as humans. That hope is not exclusively unnatural one. Humans have the self's images and have memories, perceptions, associations, feelings, desires, egos, and thinkings. Only those who have had them understand the pleasure of having them. This is just the same as humans do not understand the pleasure of wild animals. Therefore, that hope is not exclusively an unnatural one.
    In addition, that hope is not exclusively an arrogant one. In order for humans to exist, they need to preserve the environment and need to preserve and effectively use natural resources. That environment and those natural resources include various animals, plants, and microorganisms. Thus, the existence of human beings accompanies that of various living things. Therefore that hope is not exclusively an arrogant one.
    In addition, living things will evolve. So will human beings. However, few of them will resist their evolving. In addition, they are born again as other animals. However, the longer human beings or evolved ones exist, the more times they are born again as themselves. However, even human beings or evolved ones cannot stop the drastic change of the earth or the sun. Then, I wish to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans as generally as possible and to ensure the existence of living things including human beings or evolved ones "until the drastic change of the earth or the sun." Such a desire and purpose is arising.
    When the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) is intense, the desire to make the self eternal (= the desire for immortality) intensifies. Such a desire can be called the "Desire to Make the Self Eternal," the Desire for Eternity, or the like. Some humans strive to acquire political and economic power, rule the people, do something great, and leave their glory or honor, or achievements, and thereby to satisfy that desire. Some of them lose themselves in power struggles. Some of them win power. Some of them, by wielding power, plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, and war. In modern times, they cause world wars and use totally destructive means. Here we need to come back to the decisive way to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later offered by my daughter. Then, we will find that the self is already eternal in the sense explained by her, and that we do not need at all to make the self eternal, to unify the self with seeming eternity, or leave something behind in history. For instance, we will find that we do not need to leave behind our glory or achievement or to do something good by believing in a religion or a god. Then, the desire to make the self eternal will be reduced, the desire to acquire power and do something great remaining in history will be reduced, and powerholders' tendency to do unnecessary things and plunge into violent extremes will fade away.
    It is political and economic power that directly cause unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain. Without it, there would be no such pain. Therefore we, need to check it. It is playing into the hands of powerholders for us to escape this real world by hoping to transcend it or by hoping to be nothing.
    However, it is not at all that we need to dismantle all power. In order to preserve nature, to maintain the appropriate population, to stabilize the economy, and to secure our basic livelihoods, some pieces of power are necessary. In addition, our liberty can be violated by not only public but also private power, and in order to restrain it, some pieces of public power are necessary. We do not need to dismantle all power but need to maintain and utilize necessary pieces of public power. In order to do so, we need to democratize and separate public power.
    And again, when totally destructive means are used, the humans on the surface of the earth are not slaughtered at once but are slowly killed while suffering pain over a decade.
    After all, I wish to democratize and separate necessary power, to eradicate totally destructive means, to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by human beings as generally as possible, and to ensure the existence of living things including human beings or evolved ones until the drastic change of the earth or the sun. Such a desire and purpose is arising. It is not entirely impossible to achieve such a desire and purpose. Therefore, they can be called the "Ultimate Desire (and Purpose) (Possible beyond Generation)."
    However, we have little time to do so. All that I can do is inscribe those ideas onto paper, wood, and rock.

The above is an excerpt from the part written by that girl's father. In fact, not only the paper manuscript but also its woodblocks were unearthed around here. In addition, I discovered several diaries and miscellanies containing similar writings by others.
    The realm that girl and her father reached may be accessible only to those on the brink of death. It may be hard for us, who are not facing imminent death to get there. However, it will be understandable and informative for us, too.
    Someone might say the theories by her and her father are a rehash of "reincarnation" or "karmic retribution." However, they do not transcend or escape this real world, nor do they enter mysterious or unreachable mental states. The girl explained the endless repetition of death and life just in things in themselves and things appearing as mental phenomena. Therefore, the part written by her is persuasive enough for modern humans, who have no religions, to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality). Furthermore, her father try to change this real world.
    As was explained earlier, religions cannot offer individuals' ways of life or the systems of societies common to a lot of individuals or societies, let alone all of them. Her father seeks to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by human beings in this real world without religions. In the particular life of an individual, it does not seem that the desire or purpose to reduce pain "as generally as possible" can arise. However, as she writes, animals having memories live forever. As her father writes, therefore, they would suffer pain forever if the present reality on the earth persists. It is unbearable. Therefore, her father seeks to change that reality "as generally as possible." This is a desire and purpose even an individual can have. It is the "egoism" deeply rooted in human emotions and egos. It can also be called the "Eternal Egoism Beyond Generations." Simply put, all that each of us needs to do is live freely without thinking of others or societies. In such a way of life, we can get to the ultimate desire and purpose that her father reached. Or rather, in that very way of life, we would be able to ensure the existence of living things including human beings. In any case, it is far better than the way powerholders profess to take for the sake of the nation or humanity.
    While this might have held true for the pre-20XX era, at least since then, not only religions but also ethics and morals have fallen into decline. They have become not only powerless but also unnecessary. In addition, if they resurfaced, they became tools that supported or enhanced autocracy or totalitarianism. People around the world were fed up with such rhetoric. A desire and purpose such as those set forth by her father would be necessary. We will also publish the part written by her father online.

WHAT IS FORMED BY GENETIC FACTORS AND WHAT IS FORMED BY NON-GENETIC FACTORS

    Now in the year 25YY, human beings have not gone extinct yet. Or rather, those on the surface of the earth once went extinct. In the year 20XX, the holders of political and economic power brought about the Third World War, unleashing totally destructive means in the midst of a cycle of retaliation. A fraction of them evacuated into robust underground shelters successfully and survived. Of course, there was no constructing shelters capable of accommodating billions of humans. Most citizens were left on the surface, and a few evacuated into flimsy shelters. Flimsy ones failed to provide any real protection, and history simply counted them among those on the surface. While "the humans on the surface of the earth" might be a precise term, those "on the surface" and those "on the earth" were sometimes used.
    In the areas where nuclear weapons―a subcategory of totally destructive means―had been detonated, most of the inhabitants died from radiation-induced cancers while suffering agonizing bone-deep pain. However, immutable gene means―another type of totally destructive means―had also been unleashed. They surpassed traditional viruses, infecting every single soul on the surface. Those in the areas spared by nuclear weapons were consumed by these immutable gene means while suffering persistent pain from immunodeficiency and anemia. In the end, the humans on the surface of the earth went extinct. So did some species of higher animals.
    It seemed to have been next to impossible to survive in the facilities other than underground shelters. Those who evacuated into space or the deep sea never returned. That was also miserable. No doubt, they, too, suffered intense pain. However, their pain was not as persistent as that on the surface.
    Once the extinction of those on the surface eliminated any risk of the infection from immutable gene means, those powerholders and their entourage returned to the surface, avoiding the areas where radioactivity remained. It means that we are the descendants of the mean powerholders who used totally destructive means, sheltered underground, exterminate those on the surface of the earth, and survived.
    However, what are necessary to acquire and expand political or economic power―the ability to acquire power, the desire for power, and egos' tendencies to control anything (= controlling tendency), to destroy anything (= destructive tendency), and to show off (= self-assertive tendency)―are not inherited through genes.
    In the decades leading up to 20XX, there was a blind belief in genes and evolution and an illusion that everything is inherited through genes and undergoes evolution, although Darwin who had been the pioneer of evolutionary theory had not harbored or encouraged such belief or illusion.
    The bodies and functions of living things are all formed both innately by genetic factors and environmentally by non-genetic factors. What matters is which of that innate formation and this acquired formation is dominant. Therefore, the predicates such as "being formed by genetic factors" and "being formed by non-genetic factors" need to be modified by the adverbs such as "almost" and "mainly." All the same, if such modifiers are always used, sentences will be complicated. Therefore, they will usually be omitted.
    In addition, what is formed innately by genetic factors is inherited through genes and undergoes evolution. In contrast, what is formed environmentally by non-genetic factors is not inherited through genes and does not undergo evolution but is transmitted through media such as language. But if those words are always used, sentences will be complicated. Therefore, some of them will usually be omitted.
    First, the frameworks and contents of instinctive functions, autonomic functions, and drives are formed by genetic factors and inherited through them, undergoing evolution. Then, how about egos, feelings, desires, and memories? Their frameworks are formed by genetic factors and inherited through them. In contrast, their contents including their abilities or tendencies are not inherited through genes but formed by non-genetic factors. For instance, egos' tendency to control anything (= controlling tendency) is formed not by genetic factors but by non-genetic factors in the formation process of personality from the infant period.
    Accordingly, the aforementioned requirements for acquiring and expanding political or economic power―the ability to acquire power, the desire for power, and egos' tendencies to control anything (= controlling tendency), to destroy anything (= destructive tendency), and to show off (= self-assertive tendency)―are not inherited through genes. They are formed by non-genetic factors as the tendencies to fall into a vicious circle that will be explained later. Accordingly, most of the descendants of the mean powerholders are ordinary people.
    However, except for psychologists, only a handful of scientists and general citizens understood that acquired formation. Why? That is because in human beings, most of what is formed by non-genetic factors is formed by the age of 3, and none of us can remember anything before that age.
    Now, those with the intense tendencies to control anything, to destroy anything, and to show off, the intense desire for power, and the excellent ability to acquire it waged power struggles. Those who won them reconstructed and expanded political and economic power. Furthermore, they hollowed out liberal rights and democratic systems and plunged into autocracy and monopoly (or oligopoly). In the end, the three superpowers of A, B, and C, and numerous large and small countries have been formed anew. In the decades leading up to 20XX, some countries, including some superpowers, were looked upon as democratic, and others as autocratic. In contrast, today, this distinction has blurred, and, in all the countries including superpowers, liberal rights and democratic systems have been hollowed out, and they are more or less autocratic. All the same, they may have been hollowed out before 20XX. Thus, what matters for liberal rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law is not only their being starkly destroyed but also their being covertly hollowed out.

POWERHOLDERS' PLUNGING INTO VIOLENT EXTREMES SUCH AS AUTOCRACY AND TOTALITARIANISM BY USING THE ENSURING OF THE EXISTENCE OF LIVING THINGS OR HUMANS AS A PRETEXT

    Following the extinction of the humans on the surface, the environment temporarily recovered, and the long-feared climate crisis was alleviated. In addition, natural resources temporarily recovered as well, allowing those who returned to the surface from underground shelters to live lives of abundance. However, the following went on rapidly: the autocratization and monopolization of political and economic power, the revival of science and technology, that of the economy, the increase of the population, the deterioration of the environment, the exhaustion of natural resources, the reformation of "military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes," the re-development and possession of totally destructive means. Ultimately, in the year 25YY, we are facing the same problems as those we faced and failed to overcome in 20XX:

(1) the deterioration of the environment on a global scale,
(2) the exhaustion of natural resources on a global scale,
(3) the world population's nearing or exceeding the earth's carrying capacity.
(4) the severe strain on the world economy driven by (1)(2)(3), and
(5) the severe strain on general citizens' lives by (1)(2)(3)(4) on a global scale.

Against (1)(2)(3)(4)(5), we reqire the following:

(1') preserving the environment,
(2') conserving and making efficient use of natural resources,
(3') making the world population appropriate,
(4') stabilizing the economy,
(5') and securing citizens' basic livelihoods.

(1')–(5') largely overlap with ensuring the existence of living things including human beings. From the perspective of human rights, they also deeply overlap with guaranteeing social rights. In order to ensure our existence, it is certain that comprehensive policies need to be planned and implemented. However, some deviations can take place and in fact, currently do so. They are

(6) that while deviating from comprehensive policies, by using the ensuring of the existence of humans or living things as a pretext, powerholders around the world hollow out liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law and plunge into autocracy and totalitarianism, and monopoly (or oligopoly),
(7) that such state powers around the world are isolated, conflicting with one another and risking a world war, and that there are no international organizations or systems capable of effectively resolving these problems or conflicts,
(8) that military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes' develop and produce totally destructive means consisting of nuclear weapons, immutable gene means, and the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits, and that state powers can use them,
(9) and the imminent danger of the extinction of living things including human beings by (8).

We are facing (1)-(9). The following are supplementary explanations.
    In the decades leading up to 20XX, there were conflicts between self-proclaimed democratic states and some blatantly autocratic states. The former harbored a degree of confidence that liberalism and democracy would eventually prevail. In contrast, the latter used (1')-(5') as a pretext and consolidated autocracy and totalitarianism (6). By using that pretext, they received a modicum of public support. Consequently, instead of collapsing, they consolidated their power. Thus, the former and the latter entered into a direct confrontation, plunging into the Third World War and unleashing totally destructive means in the midst of a cycle of retaliation. As a result, the humans on the surface of the earth went extinct. After 20XX, liberalism and democracy were hollowed out, and exploiting (1')-(5') as a pretext became more pervasive. And the comprehensive policies they advocated were biased, and (1')-(5') were far from attainment, and the existence of living things including human beings was in danger. In short, throughout history, the most grave is not (1)-(5) but (6), pretexts.
    Again, though the environment and natural resources had once revived, their degradation or exhaustion went on rapidly. Regarding (1) the degradation of the environment, though the problems such as air pollution, marine pollution, and climate change that already existed before 20XX are severe today, there is no telling what kinds of problems will arise from now on. Therefore, not specific terms such as "climate change" but general terms such as "the degradation of the environment," "the destruction of the environment," "the degradation of nature," and "the destruction of nature" will be used in this book.
    Regarding (2) the exhaustion of natural resources on a global scale, the possibility of developing alternatives for energy resources is non-zero, albeit slight. In contrast, that for food resources is near-zero. In addition, it would go without saying that food resources, including potable water, are the most vital of all natural resources. Therefore, specific terms such as "food resources" and "biological resources" will sometimes be used in this book. In addition, the degradation of the environment and the exhaustion of natural resources will sometimes called the "Degradation (and Exhaustion) of Nature" and the "Destruction (and Exhaustion) of Nature" in this book.
    (1)-(5) are closely interrelated. For this very reason, comprehensive policies need to be planned and implemented in order to realize (1')-(5'). Let alone implementing them, even just planning such policies is an extremely difficult task. Planning them is impossible for a handful of holders of political and economic power, the experts employed by them, or the computers including artificial intelligence systems customized by them. Planning such comprehensive policies requires free, active debates between experts from various fields, both inside and outside of governments, and general citizens. Such debates require liberal rights and democratic systems. Ultimately, ensuring our existence or social rights requires the protections of liberal rights and democratic systems. Otherwise, the policies for (1')-(5') would be biased, even endangering the existence of living things, including human beings. However, few powerholders around the world invite even outside experts, let alone general citizens. This also shows that their proclaimed commitment to ensuring our existence is nothing more than a pretext.
    Since before the Cold War in the twentieth century, there have been potentially problematic complexes, each of which consisted of the military, civilian bureaucrats, scientists and technologists, and public and private enterprises. They became the focus of intense public attention in the early days of the Cold War, and were called "military-industrial complexes." However, each of them has been complexes of those, at least, four groups since that era. Therefore, they will be called "Military-Bureaucratic-Academic-Industrial complexes" in this book.
    Liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law are not only overtly destroyed but also covertly "hollowed out," as was explained earlier. In addition, it is rare for holders of political power alone to plunge into autocracy, but it is usual for holders of political and economic power to cooperate with each other and together plunge or slip into autocracy and monopoly.
    Regarding economic systems, each of the current economic systems is not a pure one such as capitalism or communism but a mixture of pure ones. The dispute over how to mix them or which should be dominant can take place but cannot be as fierce as that between capitalism and communism in the Cold War era in the twentieth century.
    Regarding international systems and organizations, it is not that they do not exist but that they do not function. From the very beginning, most of the above problems are global ones and impossible to solve only by isolated functions of states. In order to solve the above problems, the functions of international organizations or the collaboration between states are indispensable. This also proves that the ensuring of the existence of humans or living things, which holders of state powers proclaim while isolating themselves from the international community, is nothing more than a pretext for autocratization or totalitarianization of state powers.
    Various problems concerning the rapid progress of science and technology, particularly information technology and biological technology, are causing deep concerns. The greatest problems are the following three. (a) Science and technology in general develop and refine totally destructive means. (b) Information technologies are abused by political and economic powerholders. Above all, (b-1) their interests are injected into the process of planning policies, which hinders planning appropriate ones, and (b-2) the results of elections or referendums are fabricated, and liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law are hollowed out. Before 20XX, there were some apprehensions such as the products of information technology such as artificial intelligence might go out of control and control humans. However, powerholders control and abuse them. Simply put, powerholders are a greater threat than those products, which is true in any place and time. (c) Out of the applications of biological technology, advanced medical care is expensive and is only accessible to the wealthy including powerholders.
    It is necessary to clearly distinguish between the following (10) and (20).

(10): The predicaments arising between human beings and nature. Above all, those brought about by the destruction and exhaustion of nature resulting from the overflow of the world population. For instance, the malnutrition and dehydration from the shortage of food and potable water. In this book, the deterioration of the environment and the exhaustion of natural resources will be sometimes called the "Deterioration and Exhaustion of Nature."
(20): The predicaments arising mainly between humans. Above all, those brought about by autocracy and totalitarianism, world wars, and the use of totally destructive means.

When we compare the possibility of suffering (10) and that of suffering (20), we find that the possibility of suffering (20) and being exterminated by (20) before suffering (10) is higher. Also in the twenty-first century, the humans on the surface of the earth were exterminated by (20), and we have not suffered (10). (10) is beyond imagination both in 20XX and in 25YY. However, our readiness for (20) is lower than that for (10) yet. Why? Aren't we harboring the feeling of resignation that because (20) is the nature of human society, we cannot overcome (20)? However, that resignation may be premature. We will not know until we give it a try. We are nothing less than those who make the attempt.
    In addition, aren't we imagining that the pain from (20) is fainter than that from (10)? However, when totally destructive means are used in (20), we will not die at once but will die while suffering pain over a decade. Therefore, our readiness for (20) and that for (10) need to be, at least, equal.
    As for religious, ethnic, or cultural power, the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth in the twenty-first century more or less involved them. All the same, it is not them but holders of political and economic power that mainly brought it about. This applies to anything in any era but all the more so in the modern era.
    After all, in any place and time, it is political and economic power that tortures general citizens directly and most intensely. In addition, in any place and time, powerholders often plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, and war by using thought or faith such as religion, nationalism, ethnocentrism, and economic thought as pretexts. The ensuring of the existence of humans or living things in the modern era is nothing more than one of such pretexts. In this sense, human beings have been repeating the same fiasco. However, since the latter half of the twentieth century, everything has changed in the sense that there is (9) the possibility of extinction by (8) totally destructive means, and that there is the possibility that there is no repetition.
    However, it was the humans on the surface of the earth that were exterminated by the use of totally destructive means in 20XX, and strictly, human beings have not gone extinct. All the same, our acts in 20XX were a catastrophic failure for us. And now, we are on the brink of repeating the same failure. Before 20XX, it was often said that "history repeats itself." However, this phrase has not been heard so often since 20XX. This is because few humans dared to imagine such a repetition. But I will try to talk about it. As a general citizen, I hope such a failure will not be brought about even once. As a historian, it is frustrating to see us repeat the same failure. In order to prevent us from repeating it, we will need to scrutinize it.
    The existence of living things including human beings and the state and dynamics in which social rights are guaranteed can be collectively called "Existence." The state and dynamics in which liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law are protected can be collectively called "Liberty." Autocrats around the world have been forcing us to choose our existence at the expense of our liberty. In contrast, we are asserting that it is possible and necessary to make existence and liberty compatible and carrying out the concrete ways to do so.
    By the way, the language of those who had sheltered and survived became largely homogenized both during their stay in shelters and over the decades following their return to the surface. As a result, the linguistic differences among the present nations and regions are not significant. In this linguistic context, it was easy to spread our ideas and the practices of them worldwide. In fact, those ideas have already become worldwide at least online.

DEMOCRATIZING AND SEPARATING POWER

    Skyscrapers were extending endlessly. All the same, the view of the mountains far away was not blocked. There was little air pollution this day, and the sky was was crystal clear. That was perhaps because it was windy. A glimpse of the sea could be caught between the mountains. The sun was sinking beyond them. From the west to the east, the color of the sky shifted from crimson to pink to light blue. A few peach clouds were drifting gracefully. In 25YY, just like in 20XX, congestion and skyscraping had reached the peak. The only places where the sky could be surveyed in such a way were the rooftops of skyscrapers.
    I had completed the excavation and preservation of the documents and relics, the memoir written by that girl and her father among them, in "Radioactive Exclusion Zone F," and had come back to the capital of Superpower A in earnest. An international conference titled "Mankind's Survival" was to be held at the largest conference hall in the capital. Researchers from universities, governments, and major companies around the world were gathering. It was set to be broadcast live worldwide. The first session was to be held that evening and to start in thirty minutes. Professor P and I had ascended to the rooftop of the building housing the conference hall. Professor P specialized in the comparative study of the constitutions and political systems of states across different eras and regions. I was approaching forty, and he was about two decades my senior. However, we felt a deep sense of friendship. The governments worldwide, which were practically autocratic, strove to eradicate all the pre-20XX documents concerning liberal rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law. In that Zone F there were remains of libraries. I had been unearthing the documents there as well. Out of them, he had been compiling and summarizing those concerning political systems and constitutions.
    He was to deliver a speech from a legal perspective that evening. We reconfirmed the following. Recently, also among the researchers at A1 University, there were many who said, "Human liberty is inevitably restricted for the existence of human beings or living things," catering to the regime. In contrast, until about three years prior, there had been a few who asserted, "Human liberty must be pursued regardless of 'existence'." While the absolute truth, such an assertion was too dangerous under practically autocratic regimes. In fact, those who had maintained it had been assassinated probably by General M, who was the puppet master of the regime. Ever since, researchers had stopped speaking publicly about liberty itself. In contrast, Professor P and I had been arguing that we had no choice but to temporarily use the phrasing that liberty was necessary for ensuring our existence, saying, "In order to ensure our existence, the policies of each state should not be biased, and in order for unbiased policies to be planned, the active debate based on the freedom of speech is necessary." Again, we knew that though liberty was an end in itself, for the time being, we had no choice but to use such phrasing. That evening on the rooftop as well, we reconfirmed that we would not cross that line and would avoid any mention of liberty itself. That was all that we could reconfirm. As for others such as democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, I persuaded him only to explain the prototypes of those which had been hollowed out. In addition, I persuaded him that since our strategies to establish liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation had already been propagated online, we did not need to present them on stage. However, my words of persuasion sounded as if they had been blown in the wind whirling over the rooftop. There was a feeling of liberation in his expression as if something he had long suppressed had finally broken free. He must have been enduring his own inner conflict as well. His hair, which had been thick and full just three years before, swayed frailly in the wind. There on the rooftop for the first time, I noticed that his hair had grown thin. It was 15 minutes before the opening. We headed down to the conference hall.
    First, U, a physician and researcher in gene therapy affiliated with A's government, took the podium. She was in her mid-thirties. In 25YY, most cancers and infectious diseases had been conquered. She was about to overcome the remaining ones. She was the heroine of the world medical community. In addition, she was changing advanced medical care―too expensive for ordinary people―into something affordable and accessible even to them. And so, she was also becoming their champion. She explained those processes in a way that was easy to understand for both general citizens and the scientists or scholars from other fields. Her features were plain and unadorned, just as one would expect of a researcher. Her underlying features, I thought, were subtly refined. Her physique was lean and efficient. Her manner of speaking was simple and unpretentious, and the contents were lucid and free of any superfluity.
    Second, T, an economist and bureaucrat affiliated with A's government took the podium. T and I had been classmates at a junior high school and at A1 University. We were both friends and rivals. His academic record at the junior high school and his research achievements at the university were far superior to mine. As usual, he emphasized that the comprehensive policies should be planned and implemented in order to preserve nature, to maintain the appropriate population, to stabilize the economy, and to secure citizens' basic livelihoods. He actively used artificial intelligence systems to plan those comprehensive policies. He was an idol of the world economic community.
    Third, Professor P stood on the stage. The atmosphere in the hall grew instantly taut. He started to speak with more vigor than usual:

The "comprehensive" policies of countries around the world fail to function not only for citizens' basic livelihoods, the stabilization of the economy, and the maintenance of the appropriate population but also for the preservation of nature, which seems simple. It will be demonstrated by researchers from around the world that those policies are not functioning. Why? they are not functioning because they are biased. They are biased because they are not debated or criticized. they are not debated or criticized because there is no freedom of speech, and there are no fair elections. Ultimately, those policies are biased, endangering the existence of living things including human beings, because autocrats around the world have hollowed out liberal rights including freedom of speech and democratic systems including fair elections. For instance, the main cause of the collapse of communism in the twentieth century was that, because of the lack of free speech and election, economic planning was not debated or criticized and was biased, and that its planners fell into inability because they did not compete with one another. There are numerous such examples both before and after the year 20XX. Certainly, in order to ensure the existence of living things including human beings, we need to plan and implement comprehensive policies. Nevertheless, planning appropriate policies requires free debate and criticism, which in turn demands freedom of speech, fair elections, and ultimately, the protection of liberal rights and democratic systems. In order to ensure not only our liberty but also our existence we need to protect these rights and systems. In addition, in any place and time, holders of political power and those of economic power collude and fall into corruption, injecting their interests into the planning and implementing of policies. In the modern era, the comprehensive policies, which are already hard to plan and implement, cannot become appropriate ones when they are distorted by their interests. Curbing the collusion and corruption between holders of political power and those of economic power, too, requires free speech to expose them, and the investigation and indictment by the police and the prosecution under the strict separation of the three powers.

These were Professor P's words. A wave of murmurs rippled through the audience. It did not stem from the censure on his words but from the concern for his safety that was expressed in whispers such as, "Such remarks will lead to assassination by the regime," and "he had better refrain from such words for his own sake." I, who had seen him on the rooftop, thought no one could stop him this evening. Until now, he had been refraining from open criticisms of the regime. In addition, again, I, too, had been persuading him that since our ways to establish liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation had already been propagated online, we did not need to share them on stage. However, Professor P this evening was entirely transformed. His expression was crisp, radiating a feeling of liberation. Perhaps it could only be expressed by a person who was enjoying freedom of speech, having accepted their own death.
    All the same, Professor P did not cross the line we had been able to reconfirm on the rooftop. He only phrased liberty as a necessity for ensuring our existence. To tell the truth, liberty is not only a means for existence but also a purpose in itself. With their basic livelihoods as a footing, general citizens, beyond that, wish to live just as they choose to.
    The strongest power that can violate liberal rights is the state power involving public armed forces such as the police and the military. In order to secure liberal rights, we need to secure democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, the rule of law, and with them, to restrain the state power and make its parts restrain one another.
    It was the separation of powers that Professor P and I prioritized. Though there were numerous revolutions both before and after 20XX, most of them ended in fail. The main cause of those failures was that they focused solely on democratic systems and ignored the separation of powers and the rule of law. Mere democracy is transient and goes back to autocracy at once. That is because those who won a revolution, a civil war, or a few elections transform into autocrats all at once. Democratic systems are those in which citizens restrain public power directly or indirectly. The separation of powers are very sophisticated systems in which citizens separate the state power into several parts, and make the separated parts restrain one another. Since ancient times, the question of "who watches the watchmen?" has been the ultimate conundrum. The question of "even if some watchmen are watched by other watchmen, who watches the latter?" arises endlessly. The only answer has been "watchmen are separated, and they restrain one another." In order to emphasize this, Professor P calls democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law "Democratic Systems Accompanying Separation" or "Democratic, Separative Systems."
    Concerning the rule of law, both the constitution and the laws in a narrow sense can also be called the "Law." The rule of law means that the judicial power fairly applies the law to both individuals and organizations, including state powers. This fairness in itself does not necessarily lead to the idea that the judicial power prioritizes the restraint on power and its holders over that on citizens. Because the former is so difficult to implement, it is outstanding and precious for citizens. More concretely, it is outstanding and precious that the judicial power applies the constitution to the legislative power, and that it applies the constitution and the laws in a narrow sense to the administrative power.
    The second greatest merit of the rule of law is that it can restrain the arrogance of even the majority of citizens, into which mere democracy sometimes falls. With democracy alone, it is possible for a certain party to acquire the masses' enthusiastic support and political power through a few elections or referendums, suspend the constitution and the democratic systems it provides or ought to provide, plunging the entire state power into autocracy. It is included in this second greatest merit of the rule of law that it could stop the masses from abandoning democratic systems even if they wanted to abandon them.
    Therefore, whether the accuser or the accused are powerholders or citizens, all that the judicial power needs to seek is fairness. However, in order for it to seek fairness and for the rule of law to be strict, the judicial power needs to be independent, and the separation of the three powers needs to be secured. Thus, the separation of powers and the rule of law work in tandem.
    The above never implies that democratic systems are unnecessary. Even if they stand alone, they are still better than autocracy. For instance, though there can be manipulation of public opinion in them, it is better than oppression by armed forces under autocracy. However, when democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law function simultaneously, they are by far better. Also to emphasis this, it would be appropriate to use the term "democratic systems accompanying separation" or "democratic, separative systems."
    Professor P and I had been sharing those ideas over beers at least once a week, sometimes staying up all night. The separation of powers does not only consist of that of the three powers, decentralization, and that of the military and the police. Our talks had never stopped there. And now, something new was unfolding.

SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER BETWEEN THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS ACCOMPANYING SEPARATION (L SYSTEM) AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE GUARANTEEING SOCIAL RIGHTS (S SYSTEM)

    Professor P continued,

It is harmful that a state power is separated between two powers because it compromises the separation of the three powers. In contrast, each state power can be separated not between two POWERS but between the following two SYSTEMS each of which involves the three powers.

After saying that, he pointed at the screen.

[The L system] The system having the function of protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law) in which strict democratic systems, the clear-cut separation of the three powers, and the uncompromising rule of law function.
[The S system] The system having the function of guaranteeing social rights in which human democratic systems, the moderate separation of the three powers, and the moderate rule of law function.

Professor P continued,
The L system can be called the "System of the Rule of Law Protecting Liberal Rights and Democratic Systems Accompanying Separation," and the S system can be called the "System of the Human Rule Guaranteeing Social Rights."
    While there are numerous advantages to separating state power between those two systems, the greatest benefit lies in the following.
    By using the guarantee of our existence or social rights as a pretext and by using public armed forces such as the military and the police, holders of political and economic power hollow out democratic systems, and plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism. This can be called the "Deviation from Social Rights" or the "Deviation from the right to exist (in a Broad Sense)." We, humans, have been suffering the wars, massacres, man-made famines, and so forth brought about by this deviation since the twentieth century.
    When the state power is separated between those two systems, even if the top echelon of the S system try to plunge into violent extremes, public armed forces, which are the strongest power needed to do anything violent, are strictly restrained in the L system, and they cannot use them to do so. Therefore, separating each state power between the L and S systems is the decisive way to prevent the deviation from social rights.
    Furthermore, the separation of state power between those two systems functions not only for the protection of liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation but also for the guarantee of our existence and social rights. As has been explained repeatedly, ensuring our existence and social rights requires planning and implementing comprehensive policies, which should not be biased. Preventing them from being biased requires active debates, which in turn require free speech and fair elections. Ultimately, ensuring our existence and social rights requires liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation, which are strictly protected in L system. In this way, S system can ensure our existence and social rights with what are protected by L system. Therefore, the separation between those two systems is the decisive way to make existence and liberty compatible.

Though Professor P enumerated some other merits of the separation of the state power between the L and S systems, they will be explained later. For autocrats, such a separation would be intolerable. There is only a half of what they have been seeking. It is as if a statue an excavator dug out was missing its upper body. What seekers of power want most is public armed forces such as the military and the police on the one hand and financial power on the other hand. When each state power is separated between the L and S systems, if they acquire armed forces, they have no financial power, and if they acquire financial power, they have no armed forces. The depth of power seekers' disappointment implies the very significance of the effect of this separation. Professor P continued,

Therefore, separating each state power between the two systems of L and S is the decisive way to prevent the deviation from social rights and to make existence and liberty compatible. Democratic systems accompanying separation including this separation of each state power between the L and S systems can be re-called "Democratic Systems accompanying Separation" or "Democratic, Separative Systems." In addition, realizing them can be called "Democratizing and Separating Power,"
    Autocrats say as propaganda that it is impossible to make existence and liberty compatible and urge us to select our existence with our liberty sacrificed. That is no more than their pretext for reinforcing autocracy and totalitarianism. Making existence and liberty compatible is not only necessary but also possible. Separating each state power between the L and S systems is the decisive way to do it. It is not balance or compromise but compatibility. When we are urged to select either our existence or our liberty, let us sneer and say, "Are you stupid? Of course, we take both." Not existence "or" liberty but existence "and" liberty.

The audience had been listening solemnly. Many would feel that Professor P was speaking this while knowing he would be assassinated or tortured. It was as if they had been attending his funeral. Some were sobbing. General citizens around the world who were listening to his speech live would be doing the same.
    At that moment, X, a fellow member of the anti-government group G, came to the side of my seat. She whispered, "An emergency. Come with me." I followed her out of the hall into a corridor. She took me to a window. The hall and the corridor were located on one of the middle floors of the skyscraper. Looking out the window, tens of thousands of citizens had gathered in the park below. Waving flashlights, they displayed banners reading "FREEDOM," "EXISTENCE AND LIBERTY," and so forth. Apparently, some environment conservation groups had also gathered, and they displayed the banners reading "THE PRESERVATION OF NATURE AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN LIBERTY." Its outdoor stage had been occupied, and the banner of "PROFESSOR P" had been raised. Apparently, they wanted to invite him to take the podium there as well. X pointed farther. Behind a small forest, hundreds of heavily armed soldiers had been gathering. Some hold not only rifles or machine guns but also portable missiles. Perhaps they were carrying chemical weapons. They had already attached gas masks to themselves. Were they looking for an opportunity to wipe out the anti-government forces? However, actually, those gathering there were nothing other than ordinary citizens or benevolent groups.
    The speeches in the auditorium were echoing into the corridor. As Professor P had predicted, researchers from around the world began to demonstrate that the policies of the governments worldwide were not functioning. The current lecturer was demonstrating, while using a range of statistics, that his country's policies were not functioning even for conserving and making efficient use of natural resources.
    Beneath the window, more and more citizens are entering the park holding the signs packed with their claims closely related to their daily lives such as "GOVERNMENT NOT EVEN SECURING OUR BASIC LIVELIHOODS," "NO FOOD," "AT LEAST NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN," and "MEDICAL COST REDUCTION." Aside from "liberty," if the "existence" or "survival" that regimes used as a pretext had been actually secured, such a demonstration would not have broken out. General citizens felt it through the displeasure in daily lives that the security of citizens' basic livelihoods, the stabilization of the economy, the maintenance of the appropriate population were far from being attained. They also felt it through the rising costs of food and utilities that natural resources were being exhausted, and that the environment was deteriorating. They did not need proof from scientists. Medicine was progressing, and there were gene therapies, but it was a handful of the wealthy including holders of political and economic power and their families that could access sophisticated medical care. Though it was said that a lot of cancers and infectious diseases had been overcome, they were still the leading cause of death. That is because though citizens could not help relying on basic medical care such as the early detection of cancers and the prevention of infection, whose costs were lower, the very basic were neglected. For citizens, what mattered was not the existence of living things or humankind but their own livelihoods and those of their families not tomorrow but today. If regimes around the world, setting aside the existence or survival that they used as a pretext, had secured citizens' basic livelihoods, such a large-scale demonstration would not have broken out.
    Z, a fellow member of the anti-government group G, came over to this floor from the park. Behind the forest, more and more soldiers were gathering. Some tanks had already been deployed. On this side of the forest, more and more citizens were gathering. Z said in a hurried whisper, "We'll persuade citizens to retreat. You and X will get Professor P to hide himself. We want him to come underground. You'll manage to hide him somehow until we get him there." With that, Z headed for the park.
    X and I headed for lecturers' waiting room where we thought Professor P was. However, we were too late. Between the lectures, a large crowd had gathered around the restroom entrance. They said that Professor P had collapsed. We rushed inside and found him lying on the floor. U, that heroine of medical societies, was leading CPR. An ambulance had arrived, and a team of paramedics rushed to the scene.
    X immediately sent Z the urgent message that Professor P had collapsed. Z had no choice but to relay it to the citizens. It might inspire them to rise up even more. However, Z and his colleagues patiently persuaded them, saying as usual, "The time (for revolution) isn't yet ripe. Please wait just six more months." Thanks to such an effort, the citizens dispersed, and no lives were lost to the oppression.
    At the site where Professor P had collapsed, the paramedics requested a doctor and a family member or a person who knew him to accompany him. U and I complied.

TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE MEANS

    In the end, Professor P passed away. His wife and children colleced his body, presumably home, in tears. U and I were not strangers mainly because she used to do research at A1 University. U proposed that we use a private room of the hospital and discuss the cause of his death. I accepted. All that existed in the room were a ceiling, a floor, walls, a door, a desk, chairs, lights, and a x-ray lightbox, and there seemed to be no listening devices or surveillance cameras. Initially, U explained that the direct cause of his death was cerebral hemorrhage, pointing to the brain scans. I opened the x-ray lightbox and confirmed that there were no listening devices or surveillance cameras hidden inside. U was watching me searchingly. I explained that he had suffered from the arteriosclerosis of cerebral arteries and had taken anticoagulants. While watching me more searchingly, she said, "Could you keep the following between us for now?" Here it came. "I'm the leader of the anti-government group G," I said straight. U was a little startled, but she realized what I said at once. U said just as straight, "I'm a rebel covert from the government' eyes and anonymous to G's ears."
    Those who had some posts in public power and collaborate with anti-government groups by providing information, weapons, and the like could be called "Covert Rebels." Some of them did so anonymously. They were prudent.
    U continued, "I'm collaborating with G, but as of this moment, I'm no longer anonymous." We shook hands. At first, U seemed to think I was an covert rebel just like her. However, I was, far from an covert rebel, a member of G, and what was more, its leader. U looked to be surprised at that. There was no doubt or hesitation in our shaken hands. U said immediately, "A cerebral hemorrhage this extensive and irregular could only be caused by a massive dose of anticoagulants. I examined the metabolites of anticoagulants. That has revealed the concentration was extremely high. It's much higher than that resulting from normal, oral medication. He was assassinated by the government. Perhaps with a spray. In that resting room. The assassin entered it, stood beside Professor P at the washing basin, and sprayed on his face casually. Because the target didn't collapse immediately, the assassin was able to run away easily. I saved that blood data in question and erased it publicly. Expose it timely." I accepted the storage card with that data.
    Not satisfied with that, I asked her, "How are the development and practical use of immutable gene means?" U said, "You and I could be assassinated in any place and time just as Professor P." I nodded. Of course, I knew. U said immediately, "We, scientists, are being urged to research and develop totally destructive means. If we declined it, we'd be tortured and forced to reveal the method to develop them. Assassination is much easier than torture. The only thing that humanities scholars and social scientists have to suffer is sudden assassination without persistent pain. In contrast, scientists and technologists have to face the persistent pain through tortures and the conflict of whether to be villains by developing totally destructive means or suffer torture and die a painful death." Certainly, Professor P and I were mere humanities scholars or social scientists. For powerholders, all they need to do was assassinate and hush up them. In contrast, top-tier scientists and technologists such as U possessed the knowledge and technology to develop totally destructive means, and for powerholders, there was something to gain through tortures.
    In any case, there were few scientists and technologists with firmer conviction and more sophisticated strategy than U's, I thought. Most of them would compromise with powerholders. Therefore, general citizens should not rely on scientists or technologists unconditionally. In any case, it was holders of political and economical power who were hiding behind them that needed to be intensively dealt with.
    Now, U and I confirmed the following. Though we had confirmed them when U had been at A1 University, we reconfirmed it.

    Humans' exterminating the animals having sensations including themselves on the surface of the earth can be called the "Total Destruction," the means that can never cause the total destruction can be called "Non-totally Destructive Means," and the means that are not non-totally destructive means can be called "Totally Destructive Means." In other words, the means including weapons, in which there is, even a little, the possibility of causing the total destruction, depending on the way for humans to develop, produce, and use them and the situation of the usage can be called "Totally Destructive Means." They consist of nuclear weapons, immutable gene means, and the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits.
    There are few means only a single unit of which can bring about total destruction immediately. Totally destructive means include the means a lot of units of which can do it in the cases such as a cycle of retaliation and a simultaneous multiple terrorist attack. In addition, they include the means whose by-products can indirectly do it. For instance, the residual radioactivity left by nuclear weapons causes cancer, infertility, and immunodeficiency, and they can do it.
    It is because of the following reason that the definition of the total destruction contained the words of "having sensations." If it were not for sensations, there would be no memory, emotion, ego, or thinking, or what is called consciousness. Then, however beautifully plants might bloom, no one would admire them. No one would seek existence or liberty, or fear or mourn extinction. Few of us would accept that kind of existence as that of living things. Those who think that plants are supreme beings might be furious. However, if it were not for sensations, they could not even think or feel so from the beginning.
    It is because of the following reason that the definition of the total destruction contained the words of "on the surface of the earth." For instance, it is probable that a few humans escape to some underground shelters or underwater ones or artificial satellites in space, use totally destructive means toward the earth's surface, and return there after humans there are exterminated. Most of us would not recognize it as the existence of humans or living things. In fact, it took place in the years following 20XX. If a few humans escaped to a planet or a satellite in the solar system or those in another system and survived through thousands of generations, they would evolve in a direction different from that of the humans on the surface of the earth or would not undergo evolution. Few of us would accept it as the existence of humans or living things.
    Regarding nuclear weapons, the weapons involving the change of atomic nuclei induced by humans when used can be called "Nuclear Weapons." In the midst of cycle of retaliation, if a lot of them should be used in a lot of regions, they can bring about extinction directly and indirectly by such by-products as was explained above. Therefore, they are totally destructive means.
    Regarding the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits, it might be unexpected that it is a totally destructive means, but the following explanation will be convincing. If humans manipulated a planet or a satellite, that manipulation would never change its orbit. In contrast, if what they manipulate is an asteroid, such manipulation may change its orbit and make it collide with the earth and deliver a catastrophic blow to it or come close to it, slightly change its orbit, and drastically change its climate. Some scientists or powerholders might say that that probability is less than one millionth. All the same, even if it is so, it causes anxiety to citizens. However, it is certain that it is not one millionth but one hundredth depending on human ingenuity and malice or madness. In response to that, some one might say, "Setting aside that ingenuity, those who have that malice or madness are one out of a million." In response to that, it can be said, "one out of a million is enough. If it was one out of a billion, it would be enough. No one could say that there would never be such humans."
    Regarding immutable gene means, they will be explained in more detail. The substance of a gene consists of five kinds of bases and chains connecting them. The permutations of bases, that is to say, "base sequences" decide most of the structures and functions of a living thing. Base sequences sometimes change under natural conditions. This is the substance of "spontaneous mutation." Out of the living things whose genes have undergone spontaneous mutation, only a few that are able to adapt to the environment can survive and "evolve." This is "natural selection." Even when humans manipulate genes, if they only change base sequences in genes, such a manipulation is equivalent to spontaneous mutation, and the living things or means involving such manipulated genes are equivalent to traditional living things and undergo natural selections. In contrast, if humans should change something other than base sequences in genes, what would become of such pseudo-genes? It is possible that they do not undergo any spontaneous mutation. What would become of the pseudo-living things involving such genes? It is possible that they do not undergo any natural selections. The pseudo-genes where something other than base sequences is changed through some manipulations by humans, which possibly do not undergo any spontaneous mutation, can be called "Immutable Genes." The pseudo-living things involving some immutable genes, which possibly do not undergo natural selections, can be called "Immutable Gene Means." It cannot be fathomed how immutable gene means involving immutable genes will act, but I will try to enumerate their possible actions.

(1) Because it is possible that they are not selected in nature, they can reproduce themselves endlessly and drive out living things including human beings. They can even exhaust organic matter on the earth.
(2) Because they can be lighter than traditional pathogens, they can disperse through the air and infect living things more widely and promptly than the latter.
(3) Because they can contain the material things traditional living things do not contain, it is possible that they are not blocked by immune systems.
(4) Because they can contain the material things traditional living things do not contain, it is possible that they are not inactivated by traditional antibiotics or disinfectants.
(5) Because it is possible that their genes do not undergo any spontaneous mutation, they can exert toxicity or remain latent longer than traditional pathogens even in an individual. Therefore, it is even possible that they violate what traditional pathogens have left untouched, for instance, the immune cells of nervous systems or hematopoietic stem cells, which are the sources of immune cells and red blood cells.

    (1)-(5) would be no more than a handful of the possible actions of immutable gene means. All the same, only with (1)-(5), immutable gene means can bring about the total destruction and are totally destructive means.
    Above all, we need to pay attention to the following. In most cases where totally destructive means are used, the humans on the surface of the earth do not die immediately but suffer persistent pain for years or decades before succumbing to death. No one dies painlessly and instantly. For instance, the radiation emitted directly from nuclear weapons and indirectly from the radioactivity left by them intensively destroys genes. They render both men and women infertile. Disordered organs and tissues hardly recover. After years, cancers cluster even in an individual. Surgery, radio therapy, chemotherapy, or gene therapy never catches up with them. People suffer pain such as the despair at infertility, the ache of unrecoverable organs and tissues, and the anxiety about carcinogenesis. After cancers cluster, they suffer agonizing bone-deep pain. The production and supply of painkillers do not catch up with them. In addition, some kinds of immutable gene means ravage immune systems more deeply and widely than traditional immunodeficiency viruses. Numerous infectious diseases that used to be mild and short-lived such as a cold simultaneously erupt, becoming severe and prolonged. The production and supply of antibiotics and antivirals as well as anti-inflammatories no longer keep pace with the skyrocketing demand. People suffer a barrage of severe, persistent pain until the very moment of death.
    Therefore, in order not only to ensure our existence but also to satisfy and materialize the desire and purpose to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans as generally as possible, first of all, we need to eradicate totally destructive means.
    However, an unexpected finding has been made. In order to restrain the destruction of the environment and the exhaustion of natural resources, not only enterprises' activities but also general citizens' daily desires and lives are inevitably restricted albeit partly. In contrast, the eradication of totally destructive means does not restrict any aspects of general citizens, including desires, lives, and liberty. Even if they are abolished, those hidden underground, underwater, or in space only disappear, and citizens do not even notice that disappearance. Or rather, their daily lives become comfortable thanks to the reduction in military spending and the consequent lowering of taxes.
    When a species of living things, with the exception of humans, prospers, that prosperity destroys its own environment and exhausts natural resources. That destruction and exhaustion causes the decline or extinction of that species. That decline causes its own environment to revive, and that species revives as well. That extinction causes other species to revive. These can be called the "Cycle of Prosperity and Decline." We, humans, deviate from that cycle. That is because totally destructive means can destroy living things on the whole earth in a short time and leave no room for those revivals. Therefore, totally destructive means can also be defined as the means deviating from the cycle of prosperity and decline.
    Thus, human beings can exterminate living things including themselves before the drastic change of the earth or the sun. In order for living things including human beings to exist until that drastic change, humans need to eradicate totally destructive means, that is, nuclear weapons, immutable gene means, and the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits. It is too misguided a plot that some aliens' onslaught wipes out living things including humans on the earth. We, human beings, do not need to deal with aliens' onslaught or the drastic change of the earth or the sun. All that humans need to deal with is themselves and their own means. Simply put, all that humans need to care about are themselves.
    In addition, before 20XX, the term "survival" was usually used to designate the existence of living things including human beings. That word may be appropriate to designate that of general living things other than human beings. As far as human beings are concerned, because it is not against the things other than them that they mainly need to struggle for their existence, that word is inappropriate.

After U and I confirmed the above, U brought the conversation back to her own predicament, saying, "It's me that General M is intensively urging to develop immutable gene means, a subcategory of totally destructive means. Even if I refuse, endure torture, keep the secret, and die a painful death, some other scientists will develop them." However, she did not settle for such mediocre realism. She declared, "And so, rather, I've been leading the development of totally destructive means and concentrating on developing counterfeits that never cause total destruction. That's all I can do." I was deeply impressed with her. This was her essence. It was a bold yet delicate strategy. Those counterfeit totally destructive means would save living things, human beings among them.
    Nonetheless, it was pitiful as well. Until recently, she had been concentrating on completely overcoming cancers and infectious diseases and decreasing medical costs. It was pitiful that such a heroine of medical societies should create counterfeits.
    U continued, "I'm piling up the information concerning the totally destructive means other than immutable gene means, too, and I've found that all that the government and military forces of Superpower A are prepared to use are the counterfeit ones developed and produced by me." I sat up straight and blurted, "Are you sure? It's vital." She nodded firmly. It was significant that all the totally destructive means that they were prepared to use were counterfeits made by U. It was essential to keep it a top secret U was a covert rebel planning and executing such a strategy, and that the totally destructive means made by her were counterfeits.
    I wanted to talk more with U, but I had to discuss Professor P's funeral with X and Z. U and I arranged our next meeting, and I headed for my office at A1 University, where X and Z were waiting for me.
    I had been desperate to investigate the cause of Professor P's death and to secure a potent covert rebel, U. It was not until I was in a taxi that the fact that I lost him sank in. I lost not only the locomotive for the establishment of liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation but also my greatest friend. The latter was heavier for me at that moment. It was raining hard outside the window. The wind was howling, too. The military vehicles retreating from that park passed by in the opposite direction one after another, splashing muddy water onto the windshield. The wipers were squeaking. Transience. Vacancy. Now I had to endure them.

GOING UNDERGROUND AND COVERTLY REBELLING

    At that conference, lecturers had been demonstrating further and further that the policies of states around the world were not functioning even for the guarantee of the existence of living things or humans or for that of social rights. And so, A's government shut it down before even its first session could be completed. It was done under the pretext of ensuring the safety of the participants and the surrounding community. Professor P's death was written off as a cerebrovascular disorder resulting from arteriosclerosis.
    I returned my office at A1 University and thanked X and Z for waiting for me. We are fellow members of the anti-government group G. First, we decided that Group G would hold Professor P's funeral after toppling the current autocratic regime.
    Now, X was a woman barely into her thirties. Her expertise in information technology was top-notch. She had developed the foundation of the world's current encryption method in her late twenties. And so, it was not so difficult for her to hack and manipulate the computers including artificial intelligence systems of governments, military forces, and major enterprises around the world. Some enterprises and governments had stolen her encryption method, altered it slightly and created the current one. Because they did so in secret, she remained unknown and never received the credit she deserved. While this might have been unfortunate for her, it guaranteed the safety of anti-government groups around the world, including Group G, and most significantly, including her. To tell the truth, she had wanted to dedicate her expertise in the information technology to peaceful purposes. But for now, she had no choice but to live as a revolutionary and make a peaceful world with her own hands, so that she could finally realize her intrinsic dream. Given her youth, it would be well within her reach to realize it after the upcoming revolution.
    First, she hacked the computers including artificial intelligence systems of governments, military forces, and major enterprises around the world and acquired numerous pieces of evidence confirming the development and possession of totally destructive means, the collusion and corruption between political powerholders and economic ones, their abuse of information technology, and so forth. Furthermore, she developed even newer encryption method, built some networks that could not be violated by powerholders' infiltrations or manipulations, and exposed those pieces of evidence. In addition, she regularly published the documents excavated by me and compiled by Professor P, and surprisingly, she had already released the documents I recently brought back, including the memoir written by that girl and her father.
    By the way, information technology was progressing also after 20XX, and the current "pocket computers" were of the same capability not as "personal computers" but as "computers" before 20XX. The pocket computers with which anti-government groups and covert rebels around the world kept in touch used the networks and software built by her, and so they were safe and secure. If our pocket computers should be stolen, they could not be used without secure biometric authentication. If any outsiders should try to remove internal or external storage, all the data and programs would be eliminated.
    In addition, X hacked governments' monitoring systems, obtained the latest data, and sorted out the members of anti-government groups into those who had been identified by the government and those who had not. Those who had been identified went underground into unknown hideouts for the safety of themselves and their groups. X, Z, and I had not been identified yet.
    As for the funds for going underground and preparing and carrying out the revolution, X and other technologists hacked into the bank accounts of big politicians and siphoned off a small portion of the definitely dirty money transfered from major corporations. Because it was a kind of bribe, those politicians did not dare to pursue the matter. That, too, would be the evidence confirming their corruption.
    Anti-government groups around the world were executing the same strategy in each country under X's leadership. As long as her current encryption method was not unraveled by any powerholders, there could not be any infiltration. However, it would be solved some day. She had already developed even newer encryption method. All the same, it was ideal that the revolution would be completed before the current one was unraveled.
    Z was a man barely into his forties. He had been wandering from one anti-government group to another worldwide. While doing so, he had been honing and carrying out the defense strategy tailored for anti-government groups. Its core was going underground. Now he was shielding Group G with that strategy and sharing its details with the other groups around the world. He was receiving small arms such as rifles, machine guns, portable missiles, drones, and underwater drones from covert rebels inside military forces. He was leading tactical drills with those weapons in underground hideouts. He had acquired tank parts, and he would assemble them into operational tanks and roll them into the theater of the upcoming revolution.
    On the other hand, he was seeking ways to minimize the sacrifice of general citizens. This motivation was born from his experience of witnessing so much bloodshed in failed revolutions around the world. It was because Z had pleaded with them saying, "The time (for revolution) isn't ripe yet. Please wait just six more months," that tens of thousands of citizens retreated from that park, and none of them were sacrificed. I and the other members learned from such an attitude of his toward citizens. On the other hand, under Z's leadership, we were seeking a way to complete it all at once when we saw that the time was ripe.
    The members who had been identified by governments or military forces had gone underground into unknown hideouts. Those who had not been identified yet, X and I among them, did not go underground and made it a rule not to know the hideouts' whereabouts. That was because it was possible that when we were caught and tortured by governments or military forces, we might give up their whereabouts. On the other hand, each of the liaisons keeping contact between the underground hideouts and the surface, including Z, made it a rule to wear a self-destruct device on their wrist like a watch. In it, a poison-tipped stinger was hidden, and some lethal liquid would be injected at a single biometric touch. Each of them voluntarily wore it. Z had once laughed and said, "Because I just don't want to die while suffering terrible pain through torture." All the same, I could not endure even seeing them wearing them. I wished the day to come as early as possible when they could throw away such devices.
    We placed great value on those who stayed in the current governments and military forces and provided us with significant things such as information and arms as "covert rebels." Of course, their betrayals should be hidden from more high-ranking officials or officers of governments and military forces. Some of them kept themselves anonymous to anti-government groups, too, just as U had until this evening. We placed great value on them, too, and respected their anonymity. Whether they are anonymous or not, it was my current job to increase the quantity and quality of such covert rebels. And it was the time when their quantity and quality became sufficient that the time for the revolution would finally be ripe. When we rose, they were to guide us into the main facilities of governments and military forces. In addition, they were to collaborate with us to deactivate and abolish totally destructive means. Those were worldwide movements, too.
    By the way, it was probable that the undercover operatives of governments or military forces would contact anti-government groups while pretending to be rebels. And so, we paid the utmost attention to contacting would-be rebels. Above all, we investigated the nature and strength of their motives for mutiny. Concerning U, too, together with X and other technologists, I had found that she was being urged to research and develop something grave. And so, that talk with her had yielded immediate results. In any case, U was by far the best covert rebel.
    As usual, X had hacked into the government's surveillance footage server and secured that of the restroom where Professor P had been assassinated. Just as U had guessed, a young man pretending to be an attendee nonchalantly stepped into the restroom and stood next to him. Because they used sophisticated devices, modern assassins did not required physical strength or a heavy build, and no one ever suspected them. The man sprayed what appeared to be perfume onto his face. Professor P looked at the man with a hint of surprise. That made it worse. However, he smiled back at once. Perhaps he thought it would be a common game for young people these days. He said something. Presumably, he said, "Excellent perfume!" or the like. His generosity toward general citizens, above all, young people backfired on him. However, he did not collapse at once. That man casually walked away. After coming out of a stall, he collapsed while washing his hands. Everything unfolded exactly as U had predicted. Publicizing this evidence acquired by X is enough to prove that Professor P was assassinated. It would be wiser to put off publicizing that evidence acquired by U until after the revolution. U was a very precious covert rebels. If we made hers public now, she might be put in danger, and the plan of the counterfeit totally destructive means might be ruined. Concerning X's evidence, too, it was advisable to put off its publication until after Professor P's private funeral. If it was made public now, his family's grief would be doubled. Those were the decisions X, Z, and I arrived. As far as those two pieces of evidence were concerned, their publication was put off. As for the others, we always made them public immediately.

ABUSE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BY HOLDERS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER

    As T explained, in order to preserve the environment, to conserve and make efficient use of natural resources, to maintain the appropriate world population, to stabilize the economy, and to secure citizens' basic livelihoods, that is to say, to ensure the existence of living things including human beings or to guarantee social rights, certainly, it is necessary that comprehensive policies be planned and implemented. In order to plan them, (1) the human experts and (2) the products of information technology such as artificial intelligence systems need to collaborate. In such a situation, it is possible that powerholders manipulate and abuse not only (1) but also (2), that they weave their own interests into those policies, and that they assert that those policies are fair because they were planned by (2), which are selfless. In fact, that has been the case since decades before 20XX. It is very hard to plan those policies whether the most prominent of (1), the most sophisticated of (2), or both (1) and (2) in collaboration do their best. The policies into which someone's interests are woven can never function well.
    All the same, general citizens' emotions need to be taken into account. This is because, from another point of view, the major part of the guarantee of social rights is to satisfy general citizens' emotions. Here it is troublesome for us, humans, to have an illusion that (2) can assess general citizens' emotions directly, fairly, or neutrally. However far (2) evolves, (2) never create or have the physical emotions consisting of pleasure and displeasure sensations and drives that the animals including humans have, the mental emotions consisting of feelings and desires, or complex emotions that humans have. In addition, (2) cannot directly assess emotions or take them into account and can only do so indirectly.
    Some details of this indirectness will be explained in this paragraph. The group of the neurons causing a nervous function can be called a "Neuronal Group." The bundle of the axons of the neurons belonging to a neuronal groups is what is called a "nerve." Each of the neurons in a neuronal group has its spatial relative position as a property, and the neuronal group has the arrangement of neurons as a property. When a neuronal group's nervous function is confused if its arrangement is confused, that arrangement can be called its "Significant Selectivity." The neuronal groups causing voluntary movements, autonomic functions, instinctive functions, and physical emotions do not need to have significant selectivity. For instance, motor nerves in peripheral nervous systems do not need to have significant selectivity, and so it is not impossible that the contraction of striated muscles are coordinated by replacing injured motor nerves with some electronic devices and cords. In contrast, the neuronal groups causing the contents of sensations, memories, mental emotions, thinkings, and egos need to have significant selectivity, and they actually have it. For instance, the part of the neuronal group sensing and memorizing the part of the white of an eye of a person excites and transmits and is activated at high density, and that sensing and memorizing the part of its pupil and its contour excites and transmits and is activated at low density. Otherwise, we could not sense, remember, think, or have a feeling about a person's eyes. In order to directly assess those contents, we need to read whether each of the millions of neurons belonging to those neuronal groups excites and transmit, and it is very difficult. For instance, it can be judged whether a person is happy or unhappy by measuring his blood pleasure, pulse rate, sweating, and so forth, but it is very difficult to directly assess about what they are happy or unhappy. In this way, it is very hard to directly assess the contents of sensations, memories, mental emotions, thinkings, and egos. It may be possible to do it about thousands of voters. However, a country have more than a million of voters. It is impossible to do it about all of them. Therefore, in order to assess those contents of general citizens, we have no choice but to depend on indirect ways such as traditional interviews, elections, questionnaires, and statistical processing, including sampling.
    Through such indirectness, there remain plenty of room where Powerholders weave their interests into those policies. They fabricate citizens' opinions and deviate those policies to some directions that serve their interests. What is more, they assert that those policies are fair and are reflecting citizens' opinions because they are planned by (2), which are selfless. Ensuring our existence or social rights, which is difficult under any circumstances, cannot go well with their interests woven into it.
    In addition, conducting and tabulating elections or referendums is depending on (2) more and more. Powerholders manipulate and abuse (2) and fabricate the outcomes of elections or referendums to serve their interests. Furthermore, to make matters worse, they assert that those fabricated outcomes are absolutely fair because they depend on (2), which are selfless. This is a factor hollowing out democracy.
    Though there are various problems concerning science and technology, the gravest of them is the development of totally destructive means. Excluding it, grave problems seem to be focused on biological technology and information technology. All the same, the gravest of them is the development of immutable gene means, which are a subcategory of totally destructive means. Excluding it, grave programs seem to be focused on information technology. All the same, the gravest of them is not information technology in itself but powerholders' abuse of its products (2), as was explained above. Once upon a time, there was a concern that (2) would control humans. However, powerholders control even (2). In short, powerholders are more horrible than (2). This is true of anything in any place and time.
    X and other information technologists of anti-government groups around the world had been disclosing those abuses, too. In the future, the very information technology preventing those abuses needed to be developed. They were tackling its development.
    Most newspaper publishers, book publishers, and private broadcasting companies had gone bankrupt or were going bankrupt due to governments' deliberate regulation of paper and airwaves. The regulation of paper was implemented under the pretext of the preservation of the environment and natural resources, and that of airwaves, under the pretext of national security. Then, the arenas for free speech were left only online. However, governments or military forces often hacked networks used exclusively by the masses while posing as some of them and manipulated public opinion. X and other information technologists disclosed these manipulations as well. In addition, the monopoly of the enterprises including search engine operators was advancing on the global level, and collusion was deepening across different industries. Practically, search engines only returned advertisements of big businesses. Even the fact that they were advertisements was obscured. X and other technologists also hacked those search engines, deleted advertisements, and made free speech return high in the rankings. Presumably, this was an incredibly challenging task. Group G harbored hundreds of technologists in underground hideouts. Some might say that those who were unable to function in society and had shut themselves in merely found new places to do so. But this was far from the truth. They had once been vibrant activists not underground or online but on the surface of the earth. For this very reason, they had been identified by governments or military forces. And so, they had no choice but to stay underground in hideouts. They were also enduring the harsh reality.
    As for patents and business licenses, the former might be necessary for the progress of science and technology, industries, medical care, and welfare, and the latter might be necessary to make medical care, welfare, and food manufacturing serve public health. However, governments colluded with big businesses and granted them preferentially to them. This was one of the causes of the expansion of monopoly.

THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF HORIZONTAL DIVISION BETWEEN WORLD POWERHOLDERS AND WORLD CITIZENS

Those movements of political and economic power were not limited to A but were a worldwide trend and were unfolding on the higher level of international society. The countermeasures against them were not limited to Group G in A but were another worldwide trend and were unfolding on its lower level. Furthermore, anti-government groups around the world were collaborating with one another. In addition, they were collaborating with covert rebels literally covertly. In addition, they were collaborating with most world citizens at least online. There was "the structure and dynamics of horizontal division (between world powerholders and world citizens)" in which the world citizens and anti-government groups countered world powerholders while collaborating with one another in contrast to "those of vertical division" in which the world was nothing more than "international" society composed of states, nations, or countries. For us, the members of anti-government groups, nationalism was nothing more than a relic from before 20XX. And so, we stopped using the words "the nation" and started using the word "citizens," I thought. Among ordinary citizens as well, nationalism went obsolete. We conducted the following questionnaire on our networks that were excluding governments and military forces: the alternative of whether you will choose (1) to be ruled by the government of your country that is autocratic or (2) to be invaded and occupied by the government of another country that is democratic. Most citizens chose (2). However, unfortunately, there was no such democratic government or country in the world. In seemingly democratic countries, democratic systems were hollowed out.
In any case, anti-government groups and citizens around the world were collaborating on the lower level of the structure and dynamics of horizontal division. In contrast, if powerholders around the world should collaborate on its upper level, it would be troublesome for us. Therefore, the lower level kept their collaboration covert.

REDUCING NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISM

    When we finished confirming those and were about to disband ourselves, the void made by the loss of my greatest friend, Professor P, began to tingle again in my heart. X and Z looked the same. We decided that there was nothing left to do but go to Bar AQ, our usual spot in AT Town, and drink ourselves into oblivion. The rain had stopped. Perhaps in the aftermath of what happened a few hours ago, the streets were almost empty. While walking to AQ under the night sky, we confirmed the following.
    In order to bring about the structure and dynamics of horizontal division between world powerholders and world citizens explained above and the selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power that will be explained later, we need to reduce nationalism and patriotism to a degree.
    First, in order to avoid unnecessary disputes, they need to be clearly defined. Patriotism can be defined as the attachment to the whole of a state including the state power whether it is autocratic or democratic. Nationalism can be defined as an idea that regards the whole of a state as essential or sometimes as supreme whether it is autocratic or democratic. Though the term "nationalism" sometimes means the idea that regards ethnicity as essential or supreme, that is to say, ethnonationalism, it means the former in this book.
    It goes without saying that nationalism and patriotism do nothing to solve and sometimes exacerbate the gravest problems in the modern era: the deterioration of the environment on a global scale, the worldwide exhaustion of natural resources, the overgrowth of the world population, and the resulting strain on the world economy.
    In any place and time, powerholders try to fan and exploit citizens and extend their power. For powerholders, the means with which they do so can be anything whether it is national interest, nationalism, patriotism, ethnicity, racism, religion, or hatred toward a specific ethnic, racial, or religious group. In this way, nationalism and patriotism are nothing more than means for powerholders. General citizens do not need to lend an ear to their rhetoric.
    It is not at all that states and state powers are unnecessary, but that state powers need to be democratized and separated, and that nationalism and patriotism are not essential and are sometimes harmful. Organizations, functions, or powers, including state powers, are those whose necessary parts need to be grasped, utilized, improved, and prevented from deterioration. They are not what need to be grasped through emotions and blindly loved but what need to be grasped by perceptions, associations, and thinkings and reconstructed. When the whole of a state is loved or made supreme, even the necessary parts of a state power and their deterioration can hardly be detected. On the other hand, for the holders of a state power, who seek the opportunity to destroy liberal rights and democratic systems and plunge into autocracy, it is inconvenient for the unnecessary or deteriorating parts of the state power to be detected by citizens. Therefore, they fan nationalism and patriotism and try to cover those parts with the image of the beautified whole of a state. First, that image needs to be dissolved. This dissolution is not so hard. All we need to do is look at the reality as it is. From the very beginning, a state power that tends to be identified with a state is nothing more than a component of a state. Even when a state power is focused on, it is already separated into the three powers and needs to be separated between the two systems of L and S. that composition of a state and this separation of a state power help us dissolve the image of the beautified whole of a state.
    In this way, some parts of a state or a state power are necessary. Even when that necessity is focused on, in the era when everything is being globalized, there is no reason for that necessity to surpass that of the globe, the world, international society, international organizations, or world organizations. In addition, if the education concerning the local or ethnic culture is made much of, there is no reason for national education to surpass municipal education.
    Most citizens do not love the whole of a state. In addition, out of its components, they do not love the state power or the holders of the state power. In contrast, they love some familiar pieces of nature, culture, and their fellow citizens. For instance, the attachment to the food, clothes, and arts of the land where they are born and brought up never fades out. Thus, it is not the whole but some components of a state that they love. Such love needs to be called "localized attachment" or the like and to be distinguished from nationalism or patriotism.
    In the past, nationalism and patriotism sometimes promoted anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, liberalism, and democracy to some extent. It was their only usefulness in history. And it was not to a large degree but to a small degree that they promoted them. In other cases, they were useless or harmful. For instance, they often promoted imperialism, autocracy, and totalitarianism.
    Nationalism and patriotism might help solve some of "intra"-national problems, though only to a limited degree, but cannot solve "inter"-national ones. Far from that, they stoke struggles between nations, that is to say, international disputes or wars. A lot of them have been fueled by nationalism and patriotism since the formation of modern nations.
    When an autocratic state power is democratized and separated, it is probable that citizens temporarily have some attachment to the state or the state power. All the same, after a while, they come to realize that significant are democratic systems accompanying separation, a kind of political system. For simplification, states whose state powers are democratic accompanying separation are called Democratic States Accompanying Separation, while those that are not so are called Autocratic States. As for national defense, citizens are unwilling to defend autocratic states. If citizens defend their state truly voluntarily, they do so only when theirs is democratic systems accompanying separation, and it is being invaded by autocratic states. In an autocratic state, the citizens would rather have some other democratic states accompanying separation dismantle their current state power, and reconstruct it by democratizing and separating it on their own or together with them.
    Most world citizens, even when they seem to embrace extreme nationalism and patriotism, are only pretending to do so under intense coercion from autocratic regimes. Once that coercion is removed, they do not even pretend to do so. This was demonstrated by numerous world citizens, including those in Germany, Italy, and Japan after the Second World War as well as those in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
    Seeking national interest is necessary to some extent and is not necessarily harmful. All the same, seeking only seeming national interest is harmful not only to the world but also to the nation itself and does not bring about real national interest. For instance, in developing countries, protecting domestic industries through tariffs can sometimes be necessary. In contrast, doing so in developed countries, including superpowers, impairs the competitiveness of domestic industries in the global economy and leads to economic decline. What matters concerning national interest is whether or not the interest are genuine for that very nation.
    However, perhaps there was no need to list those at such length. For citizens, what matters is not states, state powers, or international society but themselves, their family, and their friends. For those in an ultimate situation such as that girl and her father, what matters is that ultimate desire and purpose. Ideas or emotions such as nationalism or patriotism are half-way ones. It is also protected by freedom of thought and speech to think and speak about nationalism and patriotism. Anyway, it is not that nationalism and patriotism should be eradicated but that when the above are recognized, they are reduced enough for the following to be brought about.

THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF HORIZONTAL DIVISION BETWEEN WORLD POWERHOLDERS AND WORLD CITIZENS AND SELECTIVELY DESTRUCTIVE MEANS-SMAD-ISOLATING POWER-MUTUALLY DISCLOSING POWER

    Today, the historical significance of the so-called "Cold War" in the twentieth century lies in the development, production, and possession of nuclear weapons, which are a subcategory of totally destructive means, the expansion of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes, and the spread of the idea known as "MAD" rather than the conflict between capitalism and communism. The terms "mutual assured destruction" (MAD),"deterrence theory," and the like prevailed during that Cold War. Their core argument is that if several superpowers could destroy one another with nuclear weapons, which were the only totally destructive means at that time, they would mutually refrain from preemptive attacks, thereby preventing world wars. Such ideas are collectively called by the term "Mutual Assured Deterrence" (MAD) in this book. It is partly true that MAD prevented the Cold War from becoming a hot war or world war.
    The core of military strategies during and after the Cold War is not to completely destroy opponents' offensive and defensive forces. While the possibility of opponents' retaliation against aggression would be extinguished if they were completely destroyed, doing so is impossible. This is because some retaliatory means survive underground, undersea, or, above all, in space. In addition, it is impossible to construct a defensive system able to block opponents' attacks completely. The core of the military strategies during and after the Cold War is nothing more than "deterring", simply put, threatening opponents. The critical question, then, is what needs to be deterred.
    Science and technology, above all, information technology are progressing far beyond those in the age of the Cold War, and weapons are able to destroy only the key figures and main facilities of opponents' governments and military forces accurately and selectively. In contrast to the indiscriminately destructive means including totally or massively destructive means, the means that can destroy only the key figures and main facilities of opponents' governments and military forces accurately and selectively can be called "Selectively Destructive Means." They include new missiles carrying old bombs, artificial satellites or spaceships in space, and minute drones such as flies and mosquitoes. For instance, it is even possible that a lot of minute drones are made to memorize the opponent president, prime minister, or commander and assassinate only them. On-site power generation such as solar power is available as a power source. Even if electromagnetic waves are jammed and the communication with headquarters is severed, the systems can be pre-programmed to handle every possible situation. The government and military forces of each state have become able to accurately and selectively destroy only the key figures and main facilities of their opponents with selectively destructive means.
    It is, of course, their own life that the key figures of the governments and military forces including military commanders cherish and protect the most desperately. What they protect the second most desperately are the power they have acquired, and it includes not only weapons and military facilities but also the symbols of power such as the main buildings of the administrative power, the legislative power, the military, and the police. They are more vital to them than citizens' lives. For this very reason, the effect of deterring or targeting the key figures and main facilities of governments and military forces is enormous. In contrast, it is ineffective to deter general citizens, who have no command of military forces. In order to deter invasions, preemptive attacks, wars, and so forth, it is not general citizens but the key figures and main facilities of governments and military forces that we need to deter or target. The governments and military forces of some countries deterring one another by only using selectively destructive means and without involving general citizens can be called "Selective Mutual Assured Deterrence" (SMAD), and if it goes beyond the stage of deterrence, it can be called Selective Mutual Assured "Destruction" (SMAD). Even if the former escalates into the latter, the only casualties are the key figures of governments and military forces. SMAD is all that we need in order to prevent invasions, preemptive strikes, and wars in general. Even a small country can possess selectively destructive means, and with them, can deter superpowers. Of course, a superpower can deter other superpowers. With them, a country can deter even alliances, and of course, an alliance can deter other alliances. Not only general citizens but also governments and military forces around the world have no choice but to admit that SMAD is an effective strategy. From now on, they need to concentrate on the development and production of not indiscriminately destructive means but selectively destructive ones. In addition, those whose positions can influence the policies and strategies of governments and military forces need to lead key figures, saying, for instance, "You can accomplish your purpose by striking high-value targets with selectively destructive means. If you used totally destructive means, the resources that you want would be contaminated."
    From the very beginning, international laws and the constitution and laws of each state need to prohibit the research, development, production, possession, and use of the indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means by any individual or organization, whether public or private, in the world. However, they remained unprohibited. That was because there was no science or technology with which we could develop selectively destructive means in the past. Indiscriminately destructive means are no more than a relic of the past lacking such science and technology. Now and in the future when there is such science and technology, the indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means will be prohibited by international laws and the constitution and laws of each state and abolished. In fact, totally destructive means, in 25YY+1, and all indiscriminately destructive means, in 25YY+5, were banned and abolished.
    When indiscriminately destructive means are eradicated and all the destructive means remaining are selectively destructive means and defensive means, even if a war breaks out as a worst case, that is, even if SMAD (Selective Mutual Assured Deterrence) escalates into SMAD (Selective Mutual Assured Destruction), without sacrificing ordinary citizens, the war can be stopped by powerholders destroying one another. However, that is the worst case. In order to refine the selectivity of selectively destructive means and SMAD, to prevent wars, and to eradicate the indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means, general citizens in the world need to act as follows.
    Again, in contrast to the structure and dynamics of the vertical division between states or nations in "inter"-national society, the "structure and dynamics of the horizontal division (between world powerholders and world citizens)" can exist and function. In history, some anti-government forces in some countries collaborated with one another in order to throw out despotism and bring about some revolutions or to gain independence from imperialist powers. Those were examples of that structure and dynamics of horizontal division. The following is an example as well.
    First, we need to launch a campaign for citizens not to live near main facilities of governments and military forces. This campaign can be called "Isolating Power." When it is launched on global scale, it increases the selectivity of selectively destructive means and SMAD explained above gets larger, decreasing the necessity and possibility that the indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means are used. What the isolation of power prepares for is not the case that totally destructive means are used. If they should be used, general citizens could never survive. That is because it is impossible to construct shelters that can accommodate billions of citizens. The isolation of power is a means that heightens the selectivity of selectively destructive means and SMAD, decreasing the necessity and possibility of the development, possession, or use of the indiscriminately destructive means and all-out wars. Even after totally destructive means are abolished and even while they are prevented, The isolation of power needs to be maintained in order to prevent the use of indiscriminately destructive means in general and all-out wars.
    In addition, not only does the lower stratum of that structure and dynamics of the horizontal division carry out the above isolation, but also the upper and lower strata carry out the following. At least the whereabouts of the supreme military commander of each state such as the president needs to be disclosed to not only the citizens and the public and private power in the state but also those around the world. In addition, when the supreme commander conceals or fabricates the whereabouts, evacuates into shelters earlier than citizens do, or evacuates or hides themselves in the midst of citizens, they need to be deemed as an abandoner of their position and to be replaced. These rules need to be provided in the constitution and laws and to be enforced.
    In addition, if the main facilities of governments and military forces are transferred, the cost of the relocation of the residents around needs to be compensated, at least, partially.
    In addition, in order to make selectively destructive means and SMAD more selective, citizens, anti-government groups, and covert rebels in each state around the world need to mutually disclose the information concerning their own country's government and military forces to other countries. This can be called "Mutually Disclosing Power." With it, the key figures and the major facilities of the government and the military of each country can be targeted more accurately and selectively. This can be said to be the acme of the structure and dynamics of the horizontal division between world powerholders and world citizens. Precisely for this reason, those inside and outside power who leak them will be harshly accused and punished as "traitors." However, when international laws, and the constitution and laws of each state are revised in the following way, they will not.
    From the very beginning, international laws and the constitution and laws of each state need to prohibit the research, development, production, possession, and use of the indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means by any individual or organization, whether public or private. In addition, the revelation of those means by any individual or organization, whether public or private, needs to be encouraged. In contrast, what about the aforementioned selectively destructive means? Seemingly, as far as the locations of selectively destructive means are concerned, they fall under the category of what is called "state secrets." However, a secret is only a genuine one because someone can know and expose it, and otherwise, it ceases to be a secret at all. Selectively destructive means need not only to exist and function in locations such as space and the deep sea, but those locations must also change constantly and randomly, and every effort is made to ensure this. Even if the location of a selectively destructive means is leaked, it takes more than a tenth of a second for it to be attacked. Within that interval, its location has changed, making it practically undetectable and unpredictable. Therefore, even the locations of selectively destructive means never fall under the category of state secrets. This reveals that nothing falls under the category of "state secrets." In addition, the exposure of anything concerning the public powers including state powers by any individual or organization, whether public or private, is one of the liberal rights that should not and need not be restricted for anything. The targets of that exposure include the locations of powerholders and weapons, and the contents of military tactics and strategy. It is possible and necessary for that liberal to be stipulated and protected by the constitution and laws of each state and international laws. Then, accusing and punishing that exposure as treason is deemed as unconstitutional and illegal, and treasonous.
    Furthermore, through the coordination between the structure and dynamics of horizontal division and those of vertical division, the following is possible. The citizens in (1) a state whose state power is autocratic will appeal to (2) some other states whose state powers are democratic accompanying separation to destroy (1)'s state power with selectively destructive means. However, only in this case, if it should become SMAD and if (2)'s state powers should be destroyed, both (1) and (2)'s citizens would be at their wits' end. All the same, if (1)'s citizens and covert rebels and (2)'s state power collaborate very closely, only (1)'s state power can be dismantled, and democratized and separated.
    The selectivity of selectively destructive means and SMAD is enhanced by the isolation of power and the mutual disclosure of power. Such a complex of them can be called "Selectively Destructive Means-SMAD-Isolating Power-Mutually Disclosing Power." This is the decisive ways to reduce the necessity and possibility of the development, possession, and use of the indiscriminately destructive means and wars in general, including world wars, and not to sacrifice citizens but to sacrifice only powerholders even in the worst cases.
    Since the formation of modern nations, most bloody events such as autocracy, totalitarianism, massacres, wars, the use of totally destructive means, and the danger of the extinction of living things including human beings have been brought about in the structure and dynamics of the vertical division between states. In contrast, all the bloody events that can be brought about in that horizontal division are the sacrifice of powerholders in SMAD and bloody revolutions. In order to minimize their sacrifices and to make revolutions bloodless ones, we need to fill state powers around the world with potent covert rebels. In addition, we need to minimize conflicts within the lower stratum of that horizontal division in the way that will be explained later.

TOWNS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE

    Initially, we had sought the above political and strategic effects with the isolation of power. However, the following economic or side effects had already emerged. Until a decade prior, the elite of the government and military forces in each country had lived in the districts adjacent to the main facilities of those organizations. But owing to the isolation of power carried out by us, they relocated to the suburbs, commuting from there to their respective facilities. Some major enterprises relocated to the suburbs as well, and so did their executives and employees. Before long, the middle class including non-elite public officials relocated to the suburbs. Then the land price around those facilities plummeted to less than one fifth. The skyscraping apartments where high income earners had once resided changed into cheap ones, and their rents plummeted to less than one fifth as well. Then, lower income earners relocated around those facilities. In this way, a "town of ordinary people" were formed in the districts adjacent to the main facilities of the government and military forces in each country. However, the residents there were prepared to move to the town's perimeter in emergencies such as wars even without anti-government groups' guidance. Metropolises had already been extremely congested not only on the surface and underground but also on skyscraping levels, with roads and railways hovering high. Through those roads and railways, the elite and middle class who had relocated to the suburbs could easily commute to their respective facilities or to the companies that had not relocated yet. The government had closed the stations and highway exits in the town of common people. And so, residents relied on walking, motorcycles, or traditional bicycles, leaving the streets completely free of traffic jams. The elite and the middle class were bypassing the town on skyscraping levels. A1 University and X's, Z's, and my apartments were also in the town, and our means for transportation were walking. More importantly, the closure of stations and highway exits prevented the government and military forces from intervening in the town. As a result, the town had become a place of freedom and peace for that dark age. Moreover, when the anti-government groups declare, "This is the revolution," the common people are to occupy the main facilities of the government and military forces, and to demonstrate across the squares and along streets in front of them. The above trends were not limited to the capital of Country A and not limited to A but were worldwide ones. For instance, the town of ordinary people in A's capital where we lived was called "AT Town," and that in B's capital, "BT Town." Again, ordinary people's towns were formed beyond capitals and countries.
    Bar AQ was in the midst of AT Town. It had been a haunt for X, Z, and me, and its owner seated us at a table deep in the back. Though we had confirmed the above also over our drinks, there was no one to eavesdrop. There were no listening devices or surveillance cameras, either. When our conversation turned so trivial that it would not have mattered if anyone had overheard it, I received an e-mail from U. She told me that she, too, could not sleep that night. She was to come to Bar AQ as well.
    When she arrived, our conversation had become utterly trivial. U, too, blended into it, and they became what none of us could remember.

COVERT REBELS INSIDE MILITARY FORCES

    Waking up the next morning, I found myself in U's apartment. Somehow, we seemed to have become lovers. She had already made breakfast. The morning sunlight streaked through the air filled with the smell of bread and eggs. We ate them face to face. There were only a woman and a man in the apartment. It meant nothing to be a heroine of medical societies, elite bureaucrat, and potent covert rebel or to be a professor at A1 University and the leader of an anti-government group. I commuted to my office at the university from her apartment, and she commuted as usual to her laboratory. It was in an institute adjacent to the main facilities of the government and military forces, and her apartment was near the institute, being in AT town. She loved ordinary people's towns, and so did I. A1 University had been near the main facilities of the government and military forces since before the formation of AT Town, and my apartment was near the campus. After all, my apartment, hers, A1 University, and her laboratory were in AT Town. In addition, that conference hall and that park were in it as well. And so, it was mostly the ordinary people living there that gathered in the park the day before.
    When I got to my office, X was already there. X pretended to be an assistant researcher of mine and made a part of my office her laboratory. After all, one of the computers in my office and some of the computers administered by Z in hideouts were the bases of the network among the anti-government groups, covert rebels, and citizens around the world. As for the computer in my office, it was ensured that no one but X, Z, or me could operate it.
    X was wearing a complex expression. I wondered if it was a kind of envy toward U, but it was nothing more than my imagination. She told me that Colonel N was waiting to see me. I grew nervous. X had already been on high alert. I wondered if the government's or the military's surveillance extended even to my office. Though we had been assuming and preparing for the worst, if X and I had to go underground, it would damage group G's activity. However, those fears were unnecessary. I entered the room where he was waiting.
    Colonel N was a man in his fifties, some ten years junior to my father. First, he said earnestly, "Everything I'm about to tell you must stay strictly confidential." I braced myself. I wondered if he was a covert rebel such as U or a potential one. He continued, "When I was a major, your father was a colonel, and I was his direct subordinate. We're plotting a coup, although it might have been a revolution. For it'd have toppled and democratized the autocratic government at that time if it'd succeeded. It was exposed by General M who was a colonel then, and your father and mother were assassinated under the cover of the fake accident of a remote aircraft's crash."
    I felt everything made sense all at once. One day when I was a student at A1 University and lived nearby, I got a call saying a private drone had crashed into my parents' house, and that they'd been rushed to the closest emergency hospital. When I got there, they were already gone. My sister had come as well. An official of the company operating that drone, too, had also already arrived there. He apologized for the accident and told us they would compensate us in good faith. In the end, they paid the compensation equivalent to about ten years of a salaried worker's annual income was paid. In addition, we sold the land of our parents' house. My sister and I divided the total sum equally between us. She opened a bakery with her share. It was doing well. With mine, I went to graduate school at A1 University. In addition, I went abroad to study at B1 University in Superpower B.
    Aside from my academic background, that crash of the drone and the compensation for the damage were just a camouflage covering up an assassination. My father was assassinated by the government or the military, perhaps by General M who was rising through the ranks in the military, and my mother was dragged into the incident. I learned that for the first time through Colonel N's disclosure.
    He continued, "My moves weren't detected. I survived. The greatest power broker in the current autocratic government is General M. It's he that not only led your father's assassination but also ordered Professor P's. Countless others were slaughtered, assassinated, abducted, or tortured to death under his direct or indirect orders. In addition, thousands of people are held as political prisoners. None of them went through any judicial processes. I was alienate by him. I was forced to intervene in a civil war in a small country far away. It was literally a muddy battle, and many of my men were shot and sank down into swamps. Some of them were dragged into the depths alive. After returning to A, I was forced to carry out the annihilation of anti-government groups and even to abduct and torture those who were on the slightest suspicion of being anti-government activists."
    In fact, in Superpower A, too, there had been some anti-government groups other than G until years before, but they were annihilated. That was because they failed to value operating covertly and going underground. Some of their activists were held as "political prisoners." As for us, Group G, the members identified by the government or the military went underground in hideouts, whose locations even I did not know.
    Colonel N continued, "I've endured all those. I could do so because I've had a desire to topple General M and the autocratic government and to establish a democratic government some day. I've been waiting for the time to be ripe. You, as the son of Colonel..." He trailed off, his intense gaze fixed on me.
    I thought I could trust him. I said to him straight out, "I'm the leader of Group G." A flash of surprise crossed his face, but he realized everything in a single moment. We decided to keep contact through the secure network created by X. In addition, I also suggested bringing Z into the fold, and he agreed. We would become a potent alliance. Thus, most covert rebels could be looked upon as allies who were on an equal footing with anti-government groups. Furthermore, some of them could be deemed as their members. In sum, they are covert rebels, allies, and members. Colonel N had become one of them that day. U had become one the day before. T would become one weeks later, and O who was the staff officer of A's military would become a few months later.

CONFRONTING TENDENCIES TO FALL INTO A VICIOUS CIRCLE

    The following are nothing more than the brief explanation of spiraling tendencies. As for its details, please refer to "FACING TENDENCIES FALLING INTO A VICIOUS CIRCLE."
    In most holders of political and economic power such as General M, autocrat-type spiraling tendencies as will be explained in the following chapter are formed more or less. Before they are explained, general spiraling tendencies will be explained. In humans in general, tendencies to fall into a vicious circle (= spiraling tendencies) such as the following are formed more or less and in various ways. Simply put, everyone has their own spiraling tendencies. While such fundamental ones should be explained first, a little more intense ones are easier to understand, so this chapter will explain both together. First, fundamental terms will be explained.

[Mothers] Not limited to biological mothers, those who regularly take care of a infant can be called "Mothers." Biological mothers and fathers, mothers and fathers in law, older siblings, grandparents, neighbors, babysitters, or the like can become mothers in this sense. In addition, multiple persons can become mothers. For example, in the case where a biological mother is busy with work, leaving her infant with babysitters, all of them can become mothers. But in most cases, biological mothers become mothers. This stems from realistic rather than idealistic reasons. The point is that mothers do not necessarily take care of their children with the love defined below.
[Mothers' love] Out of the emotions caused in mothers in this sense, the emotion naturally and directly evoked when they encounter their newborn or when they interact with their growing infant can be called "Mothers' Love" or "Natural Love." Defined this way, it turns out that a mere sense of duty is distinct from mothers' love. All the same, the former sometimes serves as a trigger for the latter. In addition, we realize it is not an extreme argument to say that those who overthink what mothers' love lack it. In any case, the above definition by no means implies that overflowing or self-sacrificing love is necessary. Simply put, what is required is ordinary love. Here, overthinking what "ordinary love" is deviates from the directness in the above definition.
[The infant period or the 0 to 3 period] The period when the tendencies of egos are mainly formed by infantile egos' piggybacking and imitating instinctive functions such as being desperate, being clingy, and showing off can be called the "Infant Period" or the 0 to 3 period. On average in humans, it spans the period from ages 0 to 3.
[Infantile spiraling functions/tendencies] Out of the egos whose tendencies are mainly formed by infantile egos' piggybacking and imitating instinctive functions, those which fall into various vicious circles can be called "Infantile Functions Falling into a Vicious Circle" (= Infantile Spiraling Functions), and their tendencies can be called "Infantile Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle" (= Infantile Spiraling Tendencies). Infantile functions include being desperate, being clingy, showing off, controlling anything, destroying anything, being narcissistic, and isolating oneself.
[The postinfant to preadolescent period or the 4 to 11 period] The period when the images of the self are generated and when the tendencies of egos, emotions, and memories are mainly formed by egos' coping with those images, their surroundings, and their products can be called the "Postinfant to Preadolescent Period" or the 4 to 11 Period. On average in humans, it spans the period from ages 4 to 11.
[Preadolescent spiraling functions/tendencies] Out of the egos, emotions, and memories whose tendencies are mainly formed by egos' coping with the images of the self, their surroundings, and their products, those which fall into various vicious circles can be called "Preadolescent Functions Falling into a Vicious Circle" (= Preadolescent Spiraling Tendencies), and their tendencies can be called "Preadolescent Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle" (= Preadolescent Spiraling Tendencies). Preadolescent spiraling functions include the intense anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the intense anxiety over mortality), the intense desire to make the self eternal (= the intense desire for immortality), the self's going grandiose, and the beautification of the self.
[The adolescent period] The period when the tendencies of egos are formed by egos' coping with the tendencies of egos and the abilities of intentional functions can be called the "Adolescent Period." On average in humans, it spans the period from ages 12 to 17.
[Adolescent spiraling functions/tendencies] The egos whose tendencies are formed by egos' coping with the tendencies of egos and the abilities of intentional functions can be called "Adolescent Functions Falling into a Vicious Circle" (= Adolescent Spiraling Functions), and their tendencies can be called "Adolescent Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle" (= Adolescent Spiraling Tendencies). Adolescent spiraling functions include patching up the immaturity of interpersonal abilities and escaping spiraling tendencies.
[Spiraling Functions/Tendencies] The above infantile spiraling functions/tendencies, preadolescent spiraling functions/tendencies, and adolescent spiraling functions/tendencies can be called "Funcrions/Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle" (= Spiraling Funcrions/Tendencies = Spiraling Funcrions/Tendencies).
[Escaping (from) images] It is switching images from ones causing intense mental pain such as anxiety, self-hatred, or shame to others causing less intense mental pain or mental pleasure.
[Patching up images] It is covering images causing intense mental pain with others causing less intense mental pain or mental pleasure. It is included in escaping images.
[Confronting (or Facing) images] It is not escaping or patching up but processing images causing mental pain.

    Seeking its mother's love and care, each newborn becomes desperate, becomes clingy, shows off, controls anything, and destroys anything. These are instinctive functions. However, an infant in the infant period has a primordial ego as it is, and it tries to piggyback and imitate those instinctive functions. As a result, primordial tendencies of egos are formed. These are potential infantile spiraling tendencies.
    However, if its mother's take care of it with love, it is satisfied with the love and care and seeks something else, and those tendencies diminish in the end of the infant period or in the beginning of the postinfant to preadolescent period. In contrast, if its mother's love and care are scarce, it goes on persistently seeking them, and those tendencies do not diminish but can stay intense throughout its life. First, those tendencies that can stay intense throughout one's life are infantile spiraling tendencies.
    In addition, mothers cannot always stay with their infant, it is inevitably isolated more or less and try to cope with that isolation, and the tendency to isolate oneself is formed. If its mother's love and care are scarce, the tendency to isolate oneself is intensified. The intense tendency to isolate oneself, too, is included in infantile spiraling tendencies.
    In each child in the beginning of the postinfant to preadolescent period, around the age 4, the images of the self are generated. A while after the self's images are generated, the finitude (finiteness) of the self is recognized, and the tendency of the anxiety over the self's mortality and that of the counter-desire for the self's immortality begin to be formed. For simplicity in this book, this anxiety is called "Anxiety about the Self's Dying Sooner or Later," and this desire is called "the Desire to Make the Self Eternal," the "Desire for Eternity," or "Seeking Eternity."
    The self's images are complicated. Therefore, there is a gap between the self's images and the world's images. When the intense tendency to isolate oneself is formed in the infant period, that gap is widened and deepened. Many humans tend to reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later by unifying the self with the seemingly infinite world. When that gap is widened and deepened, that unification is very hard. Then, the tendencies of that anxiety and that desire are intensified. Their intense tendencies are included in preadolescent spiraling tendencies.
    Furthermore, they intensify the tendencies of the self's going grandiose, the beautification of the self, narcissism, and so forth. Their intense tendencies are also included in preadolescent spiraling tendencies.
    As for the tendency to be narcissistic, its foundation is formed in the infant period, but it remains latent in that period. It is after the self's images are generated, that is to say, in the postinfant to preadolescent period that the whole of narcissism is manifested. Therefore, the intense tendency to be narcissistic is included both in infantile spiraling tendencies and in preadolescent spiraling tendencies in this book.
    Most preadolescent spiraling tendencies reinforce most infantile spiraling tendencies, and vice versa.
    Throughout our lives, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later and the desire to make the self eternal remain deeply rooted within each of us. But how can the self be made eternal? Since some systematic religions were generated, in such religions, most humans have been trying to make the self eternal by transcending it into or unifying it with the seeming eternity beyond this real world.
    However, it has been difficult to believe in what lies beyond this world. Contemporary humans have no choice but try to unify the self with something within this world or leave something behind. Most humans have children in the belief that they can leave something significant by passing on their genes. In addition, in the belief that they can leave something spiritual, they transmit it to their children, and some of us leave behind a fortune. Some, feeling that love transcends individuals and is eternal, love someone or something hard. Some, sensing that beauty is eternal, strive to engrave it into their works. Some try to leave glory, fame, feats, or the like in history. The ramifications of this last tendency will be explained in the following chapter.
    Whether or not they want to, children more or less emulate the egos, emotions, intentional functions, and ways of life of their seniors, above all, their mothers and fathers. They emulate their spiraling functions, too. Some children emulate the ways of life of their mothers or fathers who value family or work. More concretely, they emulate the skills for housekeeping or a particular profession.
    Some join those who have autocrat-type spiraling tendencies and emulate their functions such as controlling anything, destroying anything, and showing off. As a result, their own autocrat-type spiraling tendencies are enhanced. This will be explained in the following chapter.
    Some rebel against their parents and emulate a way of life that is opposite to their parents. For instance, a child rebelling against strict parents often emulate a relative who leads a more carefree lifestyle.
    While every child rebels against the parental intervention in any period, the rebellion in the adolescent period becomes more intentional and powerful.Rebellion can become the driving force for independence, but too intense and continuous rebellion causes the following. The interpersonal ability to rebel is exclusively formed, and the other ones stay immature. In addition, the way of life that is opposite to the object of rebellion is biasedly formed.
    Now, when infantile and preadolescent spiraling tendencies appear as images (occur to us or enter awareness), they trigger intense mental pain such as anxiety, self-hatred, or shame. For instance, not only are being clingy and showing off hated and alienated by others, but they also cause the intense pain of self-hatred and shame. Above all, we do not want to know it or want it to be known by others that we are clingy and are showing off because we were not loved by our mothers, and that we are seeking honor because we shivered with the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later. In order to reduce such intense pain, when the self's infantile and preadolescent spiraling tendencies appear as images (occur to us or enter awareness) and trigger intense pain, the egos during and after the adolescent period switch images from (1) those images causing intense pain to (2) some images causing fainter pain or pleasure or cover (1) with (2). This can be called "Escaping (the Images of) Spiraling Tendencies." For a first example, everyone in the adolescent period has good looks as they are, and they strive to cover (1) the images of the self's spiraling tendencies with (2) those of such looks. For a second example, most of those who will acquire political or economic power in the future already possess the ability to acquire it to a degree, and they try to switch images from (1) the images of the self's spiraling tendencies to (2) those of that ability. Everyone escapes spiraling tendencies more or less, and the tendency to do so is formed more or less in everyone. Those with intense infantile and preadolescent spiraling tendencies must frequently do so, and the intense tendency to do so is formed. The intense tendency to escapes spiraling tendencies is included in adolescent spiraling tendencies. The more intensely the tendency to do so is formed, the less egos can confront the self's spiraling tendencies, and the more difficult it becomes to reduce them. This is the most vicious circle. It is not that we need to confront the self no matter what but that we need to confront the self's spiraling tendencies, above all, the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies.
    Again, infantile spiraling tendencies, preadolescent ones, and adolescent ones including the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies(' images) can be called "Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle" (= Spiraling Tendencies). It is true that their causes include the scarcity of mothers' love and care in the infant period, the gap between the self's images and the world's images in the postinfant to preadolescent period, and the emulation and rebellion in the adolescent period. However, their greatest cause is the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies formed during and after the adolescent period. It was the adolescent egos that escaped them, and so we are able to remember and confront them as if they had taken place yesterday. Even if we are free from power or powerholders in society, each individual is falling into one's own spiraling tendencies. To be free from them, each of us needs to confront them, above all, the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies. Again, it is not that we need to confront the self no matter what but that we need to confront the self's spiraling tendencies, above all, the tendency to escape them.

AUTOCRAT-TYPE SPIRALING TENDENCIES

    Out of spiraling functions, fiercely controlling anything, persistently destroying anything, widely showing off, being deeply narcissistic, and the persistent desire for power can be called "Autocrat-Type Spiraling Functions," and their tendencies "Autocrat-Type Spiraling Tendencies."
    Not all political and economic powerholders have this type, but most fierce ones have it.
    Its foundation is formed in the infant period. As far as this period is concerned, its main cause is the situation where while love and care are scarce, controlling anything, destroying anything, and showing off were not hated or alienated, or were encouraged. This is often found in violent groups or in the homes of powerholders.
    In th preadolescent period, by the intense formation of the tendency to isolate oneself in the infant period, the gap between the self's images and the world's images are widened and deepened. As a result, the tendencies of the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later and the desire to make the self eternal become intense.
    In the postinfant to preadolescent period and in the adolescent period, the boys and girls with the potential autocrat-type tendencies go through the following process. For a first example, there may be a family member or relative who has won some honor or left a feat, and they emulate their ways of life. For a second example, they may read the stories of some real or fictitious heroes or heroines or historical figures, and they emulate their ways of life. Then, they come to try to satisfy the desire to make the self eternal by leaving some glory or an achievement in history. In order to leave it, they think they must perform something great. In order to perform it, they believe they must control the people. In order to control them, they believe they must acquire some power and money. Then the desire for power and money is intensely formed though they should have been the means to satisfy that desire for eternity. In such a way, it is significant that what were nothing more than means become the objects of desires.
    The means to control others in society can be called "Power" (in a Narrow Sense), and the desire for it can be called the "Desire for Power" (in a Narrow Sense). Those in a narrow sense overlap little with the power and "will to power" advocated by Nietzsche, which have a broad sense.
    The young men and women who have come this far already have autocrat-type spiraling tendencies to some extent. Furthermore, they often admire or join the adults who have this type and have achieved something. Then, they emulate their functions. Then, their pre-existing autocrat-type spiraling tendencies are enhanced. Simultaneously, the abilities of autocrat-type functions are formed as well.
    And after those young men and women are grown up, they lose themselves in power struggles, and this type of tendencies are intensified more and more, and the abilities of this type of functions are honed more and more.
   Now, when the self's spiraling tendencies appear as images (occur to them or enter awareness), they escape them by covering them with the self's images having those abilities. In addition, after they acquire power, their entourages praise them, and their images of the self are beautified more and more, and their tendency to be narcissistic is enhanced. They escape their spiraling tendencies by covering them with those beautified images of the self. Then, they cannot confront their own spiraling tendencies, and it becomes very difficult to reduce them.
    Those fierce tendencies to control anything, to destroy anything, to show off, and to be narcissistic and terrific desire for power formed in the above ways are "Autocrat-Type Spiraling Tendencies." If those with them acquire power, they often strive to extend power and plunge into autocracy and totalitarianism or monopoly. Furthermore, they sometimes try to plunge into world wars and the use of totally destructive means.
    The above would apply to General M as well. In fact, months later, he admitted it and started to confront his own spiraling tendencies.

REDUCING THE ANXIETY ABOUT THE SELF'S DYING SOONER OR LATER AND THE DESIRE TO MAKE THE SELF ETERNAL

The most important point of the spiraling tendencies including autocrat-type ones is the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies, and their second most important point is the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) and the desire to make the self eternal (= the desire for immortality). In addition, outside spiraling tendencies, this anxiety and this desire can be formed intensely in some individuals, and the desire for power and the ability to acquire power can be intensely formed in the same way as in the latter half of the formation process of autocrat-type spiraling tendencies. Therefore, in order to prevent those having the intense anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later and the intense desire to make the self eternal from forming the desire for power and the ability to acquire power and plunging to autocracy and totalitarianism or monopoly, each of us including them needs to reduce this anxiety and this desire. Religions can no longer reduce them. Therefore, we need to reach the decisive way explained by that girl and reduce them. When we reach the decisive way, we know we have already been eternal beings, and that we do not at all need to bother to make the self eternal or to bother to transcend the self into or unify it with what seems to be eternal. For instance, we know we do not need to leave glory, to do something great that will remain in history, or to do good deeds while believing in gods or religions. Then, the desire to make the self eternal is reduced. Then, we can, to a great degree, prevent those with that anxiety and that desire from forming the desire for power and the ability to acquire power and plunging into autocracy and totalitarianism or monopoly.
Nonetheless, some of those in whom that anxiety and that desire are not so intense have the intense desire for power and the ability to acquire power. In addition, even without the intense desire for power, some individuals or groups strive to acquire and expand power and plunge into autocracy, monopoly, and so forth. Therefore, in order to make existence and liberty compatible, while confronting spiraling tendencies and reducing that anxiety and that desire, we need to establish and maintain democratic systems accompanying separation including the separation of each state power between the two systems of L and S and to eradicate totally destructive means in such ways as will be explained later.

MY SPIRALING TENDENCIES

    My spiraling tendencies were formed in the following way. My father pressed me to have power somehow. He often said, "Without power, you cannot democratize a state power. Those without power have no right to talk about freedom or democracy." My mother pressed me to have intelligence somehow. For as long as I can remember, I had been taught by them mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology that were far beyond my age at that time. Since the time I started school, I had also been forced to study for three to six hours every day at home after school. Their intervention extended far beyond education in a narrow sense. All the toys given to me were those which they thought helped develop my mental and physical abilities. And so, I was always looking forward to going to my classmates' homes and playing with them with their toys. The toys there were just those which were usually found in common homes, and they were by no means those found only in wealthy homes. All the same, they looked like glittering, hidden treasures to me at that time. Those classmates sometimes gave me the toys that they no longer wanted to keep. I took them home and hid them. However, they were thrown away whenever my parents found them. In addition, I had no memory of ever being praised by my parents. Even when I won prizes or awards at school, all that they said was, "Are you only on that level? Aim higher." And so, I ripped up and threw away the awards with my name on them on my way home. I gave away the trophies or plaques without my name to the classmates who wanted them.
    Thus, I could not feel my parents' love. In hindsight, their love was very deep. However, the love that matters about the scarcity of love in the infant period is an emotion of other persons' that infants can feel. And so, it can be said that my parents' love was scarce. Perhaps I as an infant had been seeking love. Therefore, in me, out of infantile spiraling tendencies, the tendency to be clingy was formed above all. Even now, that tendency remains as the anxiety about being alone. Though I did not want to be alone on the previous night when I lost Professor P, this feeling was not caused only by that tendency but mainly by losing my greatest friend. In fact, X and Z, too, did not want to be alone at that time.
    Probably, when the self's images were generated in the beginning of the postinfant to preadolescent period, the gap between the self's images and the world's images had been widened and deepened by the isolation from the infant period. Therefore, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later and the desire to make the self eternal became intense. That anxiety was fierce, and I often sobbed and troubled my parents. And so, the aforementioned autocrat-type spiraling tendencies were on the verge of being formed.
    However, the rebellion against my father and the other seeming powerholders occupied me in the adolescent period. For me, not acquiring or wielding power but rebelling against and destroying power forever was showing off, seeking eternity, and reducing the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later. In the adolescent period, I rebelled against not only my father but also school teachers, the police, and gangsters still remaining back then. I had heated debates with T. He argued, "In order to change power, you have to go into it and change it from inside." I argued, "If you choose that path, you'll lose yourself in power struggles, and you'll be buried under the rubble when power is crushed." And I escaped my spiraling tendencies with the images of the self who I thought was rebelling bravely against power. Therefore, I could not confront my own spiraling tendencies, and so my spiraling tendencies were not reduced. This was my most vicious circle.
    For a first example, I had run away from home around the end of the adolescent period. Of course, my parents had been searching for me. I eventually returned home after running out of money and mental energy and being at my wits' end. As I found out after coming home, not only my parents but also the student body president had been searching for me. Knowing it, I said to her, "No one asked you to do that." I cannot forget her sad look at that moment. That look, I think, was one of the triggers leading me into confronting my own spiraling tendencies.
    For a second example, I once secretly took out a classical gun, which my father kept at home as a military man, and broke with it into a crime group's base still remaining back then. That crime group was not a global or national one but a local one. In addition, that pistol was not loaded with live ammunition. I was well aware of that. Even I at that time did not have the nerve to take a loaded gun. Above all, I feared that it might go off by accident. Crime groups such as drug producers and dealers, and prostitution rings had long since been outlawed. And so, they had inevitably been bribing lower- and middle-level public officials, police officers among them. However, their bribes were nothing significant. Nonetheless, for holders of political and economic power, they had utility for arranging prostitution and drugs. And so, powerholders secretly allowed them to persist. Thus, the real problem here too lay not with lower- and middle-level public officials but with powerholders behind them. I did not know that reality back then. One of my female classmates was lured into prostitution by the criminal group. Her family and teachers just turned a blind eye to it. To be honest, she wasn't particularly attractive, and I didn't even have feelings for her. I had always been irritated by the way those guys strut around the town so arrogantly. Though now I do not think the following at all, for me on those days, they were the symbol of those having the intense tendencies to control anything, to destroy anything, and to show off. I had been wanting to mess with them someday. Grasping that gun, I broke into that group's base. Apparently, they mistook me for a reckless plainclothes cop who did not know background connections. They ran away, leaving the clients and prostitutes behind. The clients also ran away while hurriedly throwing their clothes on. Some of them were famous faces seen on television or online. The police had no choice but to step in, and the crime group was crushed. For a while, my family, my school, and I were placed under police protection. On the other hand, the police do not strictly crack down on unorganized, autonomous prostitution. I was warmly welcomed by the prostitutes, and they began to run things on their own. That could be described as a minor revolution in a sense. For the customers, the prices became cheaper. I was treated as a hero by the locals, above all, among the prostitutes. They sometimes offered me sexual pleasure for free while teaching me some tricks. All those made me nearly lose self-control. On the other hand, it was a blunder for my father to let his son take his gun, and he received a disciplinary action though it was a minor one. Rather than blaming me, my father blamed himself for the way he had kept the gun. Seeing my father like that, I think, was the most potent of the triggers leading me into confronting my own spiraling tendencies. Besides, breaking into a crime group's base, even if only a local one, was incredibly dangerous for me. Looking back, I think it is a miracle that I am alive today. As it turned out after my breaking in, the police had already been moving to crush the crime group. If they had intended to desperately resist it, I, who had been mistaken for a plainclothes cop, might have been killed. If I had died, it would have been a stupid way to die for a stupid thing. I did not come to realize this as late as after my adolescence. That lateness also shows how stupid I was, I think.
    For a third example, I sometimes went to strip clubs with a few friends, using the money saved from our part-time jobs after school. At one of those clubs, we ran into a teacher from our school, who was a short, bald, single man in his fifties. We came face-to-face. We, adolescents with developing sexual abilities and desires, and the middle-aged man, who was fading and was not satisfied, stood on completely different ground. The teacher scurried away. Even a child would have known not to spread this around. We decided not to do so. It was me that led us into that decision. I have been interested in world history since those days. He was a history teacher and always looked out for me, even staying after school to answer my questions. However, I accidentally let it slip to one of my classmates. Before long, it became a legend among the students and teachers. He looked at me sadly. I cannot forget that look. It was also one of the triggers leading me into confronting my own spiraling tendencies, I think.
    By the end of the adolescent period, I finally realized that behind seeming powerholders, there are always real ones hidden from view, and that I had rebelled against nothing more than seeming ones. The images of the self I had thought had been brave wavered. The images with which I had escaped spiraling tendencies and that had hindered me from confronting them wavered. And so, I could confront the formation process from the infant period of my spiraling tendencies. Spiraling tendencies are not reduced with guilt or shame. When we confront the formation processes of spiraling tendencies, feelings such as boredom or weariness toward them arise, and they dwindle bit by bit.
    I realized that some parts of power were necessary for not only our existence but also our liberty. In addition, after meeting Professor P and engaging in discussions with him, I realized the importance of democratizing and separating the necessary parts of a state power.
    When I got so far and looked back, I fully realized that in the adolescent period, I had only been rebelling against those who were not real powerholders and hurting them. Even in my thirties, when I remembered that, I was on the verge of screaming from self-disgust. Though there is no technical term for those tendencies into which I used to fall, here they are temporarily called "Rebel-Type Spiraling Tendencies." The difference between autocrat-type and the rebel-type is only in whether they seek power or rebel against it from the desire to make the self eternal. In other words, the distance between an autocrat and a revolutionary is paper-thin. However, when rebel-type spiraling tendencies get to their bottom, they sometimes bring about the following emotions and egos. Of course, it was also in order to prevent suppression or assassination by the current autocratic regimes that we behaved ourselves covertly and anonymously. However, the following emotions and egos were more potent.
    In the endless repetition of death and life explained by that girl, the pain or pleasure in this current life is negligible. As her father hoped, we want to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain as generally as possible that humans can cause endlessly in the endless repetition of death and life. Simultaneously, we want to satisfy our emotions not only in that repetition but also in this current life. Then, the following arises.

There are numerous humans who endeavor to acquire and wield power, to show off, and to leave their glory in history. We refuse to be lumped in with such humans. We want to make the self not only eternal but also one and only. If there are some humans who never show off or leave glory but anonymously establish democratic systems accompanying separation that never regress to autocracy without ever being known to others, they are one and only. There is indescribable pleasure in changing the world or history anonymously. In addition it is thrilling to challenge a hard thing such as making existence and liberty compatible. The harder it is, the smaller the possibility of completing it becomes, and the longer that pleasure continues. Nothing is more convenient than this.

Rebels such as X, Z, U, and Colonel N might have been thinking the same.
    And now, I found from Colonel N's revelation that I was, after all, following the same path that my parents had. It must have been because my parents knew that the democratization and the separation of power required power and intelligence that they pressed me to have them. It was thanks to them that I could have that power and that intelligence, even a bit. However, all that I did to them was inflict meaningless rebellion and intense pain. Those to whom I had brought rebellion and pain had not been limited to my parents but extended to those sampled above. Whenever I remembered this, I thought that I had been stupid. No. "Stupid" was far from enough. "Self-disgust" was not enough, either. How could I describe it? As was described above, I was on the verge of screaming. After Colonel N left, I screamed with the loudest voice. X looked into the room with a worried look. I said to her on the spot, "The greatest power broker of the autocratic government is General M. Colonel N is the most potent covert rebel." Though the contents of those words were, of course, true, uttering the words then was was merely a way to patch up the fact that I had just screamed.

THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE RIGHT PLACE

    Several days after Colonel N came, T came over to my office at A1 University. He was the top-tier economist and elite bureaucrat who had emphasized at that international conference that in order to preserve nature, to maintain the appropriate population, to stabilize the economy, and to secure citizens' basic livelihoods, it was necessary that comprehensive policies be planned and implemented, and that in order to plan those policies, scientists and computers, including artificial intelligence systems, collaborate. He and I were also classmates at a junior high school and at A1 University. He was also from its graduate school, and so he was familiar with the layout of the campus. Skipping any lengthy pleasantries, T immediately began to expose the dark underbelly of the regime:
     "Even if we and artificial intelligence systems plan refined policies, the top-ranking officials of the government and the executives of big companies conspire to weave their interests into AI systems. With their interests involved, the policies that are already hard to plan cannot be planned well, and the guarantee of our existence or social rights and the preservation of nature cannot be fulfilled. While the human staff are losing motivation, AI systems, too, may break down due to clumsy manipulations by those officials. Then, all the data we've painstakingly been accumulating will go to waste. Above all, what AI systems have been learning will vanish. It takes much time even for them to learn something. This is because there are a lot that even they cannot completely foresee, and concerning the foreseeable, they must learn through trial and error. All those learning outcomes, too, may vanish due to the clumsy manipulations by those officials. Even backups do not keep up. We've detected the decisive evidence of a fraudulent manipulation of AI by them. Let's disclose it," said T all at once.
    However, he had borne his own share of patience, I thought. When I pointed this out, he began to talk about his pains. He had been an elite boy since the postinfant to preadolescent period. He had been an all-around genius in academics and athletics, and even partying.
    However, he made an immense effort in mathematics and economics. Even a seeming genius has hidden effort. Up until the Middle Ages, individuals could create something new only with genius and originality. From that point onward, no one could make anything new without absorbing the knowledge and technology piled up in history. He had created new economics with tremendous effort. That effort was being trampled on by the interests of the holders of political and economic power. It must have been frustrating, and what is more, he had endured it for years. Apparently, he was no longer able to endure it. I knew that I could trust him. I revealed my hidden position, and he became a covert rebel, ally, and member of G.
    A while later, he fell silent. He must have been saying to himself, "If we disclose the fraudulent manipulation of AI systems by the government, my immediate subordinates and I will be in danger of being assassinated or captured and tortured." I called in X. T also sought her advice. She said to him seriously, "Then, it'll be obvious who leaked it. If you go through with this, you'll have no choice but to go underground." He said, "I don't mind going underground myself, but what about my parents, my subordinates, and their families?" and he grimaced. This was a tough question. At the very least, those people would be taken away and locked up. Those who were underground in hideouts were all single men and women in their twenties or thirties, and even if they had their families or subordinates, the latter had gone underground with the former. What should those with numerous subordinates do? After a long debate, we decided that we would disclose it just before the revolution. Then, the revolution would gain momentum and be completed at once, and T and his subordinates would not be touched. Later, in fact, the plan went well without trouble.
    Then T and X began to talk about personal matters. I slipped out of the room. Apparently, she had been longing for him for years. In addition, they were both single. The most potent couple in the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system) was born. They brought together the minds of literally the most excellent economist and information technologist.
    Those with high ability and flexibility such as T and X are suitable for the human resources for S systems. In contrast, those with rigidity such as Professor P are suitable for the human resources for the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system). The separation of each state power between those two systems enables the personnel suitable for each system to be selected, ensuring "the right person in the right place."
    It is not so so difficult to unearth each of the two types of personnel. Among the covert rebels I had contacted, there were numerous individuals suitable for either the L or S system.

SELF-DESTRUCTIVE-TYPE SPIRALING TENDENCIES

    My relationship with U continued. Shuttling back and forth between our apartments, we were practically living together. Moreover, we had started to consider marriage. She had never been married, whereas I had once been married and divorced.
    My ex-wife Q had been abused and neglected by her biological mother in the infant period. Her mother had been a single mother, and Q told me that she had not been allowed in the house when her mother had a man over, and that she had had no choice but to sit alone on the sidewalk in front of the house. Though she could talk about such things, she could not utter a word about the direct physical abuse. While there were new wounds on her left forearm from self-injury, there were old scars on her back from burns that I thought had been brought about by the abuse in the infant period. While I had only undergone the scarcity of love, she had suffered the lack of love, the scarcity of care, abuse, and neglect.
    In general, in the infants who undergo the scarcity of love and care, infantile spiraling tendencies such as the tendencies to short-circuit, to be desperate, to be clingy, to show off, to destroy anything, to control anything, to be narcissistic, to isolate oneself are intensely formed. Often in those who suffered the lack of love, the scarcity of care, abuse, and neglect in the infant period, those tendencies are fiercely formed. Some of those tendencies develop into what was called "Borderline Personality Disorder" or "Dissociative Disorder" before 20XX. The fact "she could not utter a word about the direct physical abuse" might be due to what was called "Dissociative Amnesia" before 20XX.
    In such children, even if the self's images are being generated, all that are recollected are the images of the self who is not loved and are abused and neglected, and so they destroy them at random. Therefore, even when they enter the postinfant to preadolescent period, the self's images do not become distinct and the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) and the desire to make the self eternal (= the desire for immortality) do not become intense. This is one of the causes to get the tendency to destroy anything directed more intensely to the self than to other.
    When they enter the adolescent period, most of them start to engage in self-injury more or less. After all, the main cause of such a tendency to destroy the self is

(1) the intense tendencies to destroy anything and to be desperate formed in the infant period and
(2) the faint tendencies of the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later and the desire to make the self eternal that should have been formed in the postinfant to preadolescent period.

    And in the adolescent period, when the images of the self's spiraling tendencies are recollected (occur to them or enter awareness), those images cause the anxiety that is uncanny for them. Then, they tend to destroy those images at random by engaging in self-injury and destroying their bodies. This is included in the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies. Then, they cannot confront the images of the self's spiraling tendencies, and those tendencies are not reduced. This is their most vicious circle.
    The above tendencies can be called "Self-Destructive-Type Spiraling Tendencies." In contrast to the destructive tendencies directed to the self (= self-destructive tendencies), those directed to others in the aforementioned autocrat-type spiraling tendencies are formed mainly through the emulation of their seniors or peers' destroying anything, controlling anything, and show off.
    Concerning Q, though it was clear that her spiraling tendencies belonged to the self-destructive type, after she married me, her tendency to control anything came to the fore. At home, she strove to control everything about her family: our two children and me. However, her control of her home is different from what is called "a lion at home, a mouse abroad," that is, an individual who cannot control anything in the outside society trying to control their family members at home. That is because there is no outside society for an individual such as Q, and their home is everything for them. As far as the tendency to control anything is concerned, the difference between self-destructive-type spiraling tendencies, in which their home is everything, and autocrat-type ones, in which the outside society is everything, is paper-thin. For instance, the difference between Q's and General M's is so. However, the difference between the numbers of their victims is an extraordinary one. For example, her victims were only the three of us: our two children and me. However, the impact on each of us was serious. It will be explained later how her control affected the children.
    Before she married me, her tendency to be clingy came to the fore. Her clinginess was on a completely different level from mine. She literally clung to me 24 hours a day. From the very day we met, she practically moved into my apartment and followed me everywhere, even to A1 University. Such clinginess in a young woman was cute in its own way. I mistook it for love. Again, after she married me, her tendency to control anything came to the fore. She strove to control everything about our two children and me at home. For the children, this control became enclosure or monopoly, which is different from over-protection or over-involvement in both quality and quantity. And so, on occasional holidays when I took them to playgrounds without her, they looked strangely relaxed. They even played pranks they would never have dared to do in front of Q. Somehow, those were piteous sights. The process through which they became so will be explained later. Toward me, she demanded that I remain home by any means on holidays without doing anything concerning academic research.
    Occasionally, Q revealed her destructive tendency to me. I sometimes wrote papers on a pocket computer in between playing with our children. When she found that, she ranted at me, kicked me, and tried to seize and smash the pocket computer. In addition, when I said something that offended her while we were having supper, she would throw dishes at me and grab kitchen knives. Once, a soup cup she threw left a scar on my face that lasted for weeks. I was laughed at by my colleagues at A1 University because of the scar. In such a way, though her destructive tendency was sometimes directed to others, it was fundamentally directed to the self. She was in the habit of taking a bath alone, during which time I was taking care of our children. Meanwhile, actually, she was covertly cutting her left forearm.
    One day while I was considering a divorce, during my absence, she put divorce papers on the table in the living room, took our children, and left the apartment. Apparently, she went back to her mother's house in the suburb. I filed the papers, and the divorce was finalized. It will be mentioned later what became of Q and our two children after that.
    After Q left, I tried to detach myself from her, but in vain. In my mind, her words kept ringing: "You don't know anything about love. Love means not hesitating to sacrifice anything." She often told me such things. They were not true. A love that leads to a sacrifice as a result is acceptable. In contrast, a love that presses any sacrifice on us is a false one used as a means for something. I knew that all too well. However, I could not detach myself from her words. I would said to myself, "Though I advocate democratic systems accompanying separation, a revolution, and so forth, what am I living for at all?" and, "Do I have the humanity with which I democratize and separate power?" In addition, my clinginess, whose intense tendency had been formed in my infant period, fiercely loomed up. More precisely, the anxiety about being alone that lay on its foundation fiercely loomed up. I feared going back to my lonely apartment. Everyone would suffer similar feelings after parting from their lover or partner. In my case, those feelings were reinforced by my intense tendency to be clingy and became fierce.
    I immersed myself in the research of the history of ideas. I immersed myself not only in the research of historical documents but also in the excavation of the documents in that "Radioactive Exclusion Zone F" while confirming no residual radioactivity remained. The tent set up in that zone became my home. I fused myself with nature around there. That girl and her father whom I had imagined often appeared in my dreams. She was staring at me as if wondering, "Who's this queer guy?" I used to have serious debates with her father, but I always lost.
    By the way, dreams directly reflect not the outer situations including others but the self's inner situations including emotions. The dreamed outer situations reflect the self's ideas and emotions about them. That girl and her father whom I dreamed of reflected my doubt and anxiety about myself.
    In due course, time solved everything. I came to think the way most former partners do: "It was wrong that I married her," "How did I marry her?" and, "It was inevitable because we loved each other at that time." In addition, I came to think that it is not with humanity or personality but with necessity and possibility that we democratize and separate power.
    After that, too, I often entered that Zone F to unearth and preserve the memoir written by that girl and her father as well as the documents remaining in libraries. The motivation for me to do so was no longer overcoming loneliness but thinking that this excavation and preservation would be necessary for both myself and the world in the future. In fact, many documents dug up in libraries were used by Professor P and his colleagues. While the part of the memoir written by that girl had already been used to become a substitute for religions, the part written by her father, which had long been hushed up, would be used to become a substitute for traditional ethics and morals.
    And now, I had met U, and we were considering marriage. It is the encounter with an entirely new person, it is unpredictable what will take place in the future, and none of the past experiences will be helpful. This is true as far as love or marriage is concerned. In short, in love or marriage, there is no past, and all that exist is the present and the future.

TENDENCIES TO FALL INTO A VICIOUS CIRCLE BEYOND GENERATIONS

    One day while thinking of my life with U in this way, QC, a clinical psychologist, came over to my office at A1 University. She was a graduate of the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Human Development at A2 University, and was around my age with both of us approaching forty. She and I had had some debates about the history of psychology. Now she was working as a counselor for children at a public organization. She said she was counseling the two children I had with my ex-wife Q, and that she wanted to use my story to help with their counseling.
    Q lived near her mother's house in the suburbs. Apparently, her mother grew older and became mellower to her children and grandchildren, and so Q reconciled with her mother. QC told me that the way for Q to approach her children was different from so-called "over-protection" or "over-involvement." I thought the following.
    Q tends to control her family at home. Now that there are only two children, that tendency has become very intense for each of them. However, what matters is not only her present tendency to control anything. In those children, some spiraling tendencies have already been formed in the following way.
    Humans more or less have various interpersonal desires. In general, those whose spiraling tendencies are intense are alienated and isolated, suffering the frustration of various desires including interpersonal desires. Out of them, those who have become mothers tend to satisfy these unsatisfied desires through their children at home. This tendency is compounded by the tendencies to control anything and to be clingy that have been formed since mothers' infant period. Then, these tendencies, when directed toward their children, become more of what can be called "monopoly" or "enclosure" than "over-protection" or "over-involvement." The children enclosed by such a mother look strangely relaxed when they interact with others in her absence. This was exactly what I felt about those children. Through such monopoly or enclosure, mothers' love becomes scarce. This is because all that matters to mothers is satisfying their desires, which is far from love.
    From the very beginning, love is scarce in mothers with spiraling tendencies, forming infantile spiraling tendencies in their children. Enclosure makes mothers' love all the more scarce, forming the spiraling tendencies in them all the more intensely. In addition, for children, their mothers' spiraling tendencies are easy to imitate, and they actually do so. In addition, under enclosure, they unleash excessive rebellions, and the spiraling tendencies such as those to destroy anything and to control anything are enhanced. Those are "Tendencies to Fall into a Vicious Circle beyond Generations."
    Again, however, mothers do not need to overthink about their love for their children. The aforementioned "natural love" is sufficient.
    Of course, QC knew the above. She not only provided counseling for those children but also recommended that Q get some counseling herself. However, Q had been turning it down. Of course, clinical psychologists, including QC, would never request my intervention. Though the organization to which QC belonged was able to resort to some means to coercively remove the children from their mothers, such intervention was limited to cases of physical abuse. In addition, clinical psychologists themselves, including QC, were reluctant to resort to such means. What else could be done? All they could do was go on persuading Q to get counseling. QC knew this from the beginning. Apparently, she wanted the information I possessed. I told her as much as I could, including Q having been abused and neglected by her mother in the infant period and having been committing self-injury since the adolescent period. Of course, clinical psychologists, including QC, would never disclose it to anyone that I was the source of this information. If it had been years earlier, I would have suffered intense pain in talking about them and could not have done so. Now I was able to. Moreover, I felt that talking about them reduced the pain. I thought that though only for a short time, QC was counseling me unintentionally, and for free, at that. In any case, she would have a hard time from now on. Would she be able to cope with that Q?
    After 20XX, "mental disorders" were narrowly defined, and most "personality disorders" and "developmental disorders" were found to be the aforementioned spiraling tendencies. Therefore, mentality should have become familiar to general citizens. However, counseling and psychiatric fees were a heavy financial burden for them. And so, they tried to confront their own spiraling tendencies without professional help. Since, from the very beginning, all that can directly confront the self is its ego, it would be suitable and effective for them to do so on their own.
    However, the current autocratic governments around the world not only massacred, assassinated, or abducted and tortured seeming anti-government activists but also confined them in mental hospitals under the pretext of fabricated mental disorders. Though such a practice had been carried out sporadically before 20XX, it was active again for the decades prior to 25YY. And so, the concept of mental disorders was broadening again. The psychiatrists and psychologists who protested against those practices were also forced into the same predicament. They were also having a hard time under the current autocratic regimes.
    I wished to topple autocratic regimes and established liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation as soon as possible also for enabling citizens, psychiatrists, and psychologists to freely confront spiraling tendencies. I had sometimes thought that establishing them was also for the sake of Q and our children, but I knew that it was better to dismiss such an idea. When I practically lived in that Zone F while unearthing documents and relics, even I had sometimes harbored the grief of being separated from my children and the wish to do something for them. Each time those emotions arose, I had thought that all that I could do for them was to establish liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation. However, if I had established them with such an emotion, they might have been biased. Political systems needed to be changed not through emotions but by possibility and necessity. Now I was able to detach the purpose of the establishment of them from my desire to do something for my children, I thought.
    In addition, it was not that I was without the revengeful emotion against General M and his subordinates who had murdered my parents and Professor P. However, if I had established democratic systems accompanying separation with such an emotion, again, they might have be biased. Therefore, I had been trying to exclude such an emotion as hard as possible, and now I was able to do so to a great extent, I thought.

PERSONALITIES ARE HARDLY INHERITED THROUGH GENES

    As usual, U and I were practically living together while bouncing back and forth between our apartments. U's biological mother sometimes came over while we were in U's apartment. As might be expected of a biological relation, she possessed excellent looks and keen intelligence. She left promptly after borrowing some money from U. However, it was a small amount of money that she borrowed. Months later, we found that it was in order to see U in good health and feel reassured that she came to borrow it.
    The story goes back several decades. Also after marrying U's seeming biological father, that biological mother saw other men. He left home after she became pregnant with U. Even after U was born, she went on seeing men, and U was taken in and cared for by a woman who was a relative of hers. Even after becoming an adult, U adored that woman as "Mother." That woman will be called U's "Foster Mother."
    She ran a diner in a corner of AT Town. U and I visited it around 2:30, thinking she would not be busy at that hour. There were no other customers as we had expected. As she had enough ingredients, we ordered two lunch sets. They were excellent because of some original twists. Since she was a distant relative of U's, of course, she was nothing like U or U's biological mother. She said about U over the counter, "Not only did she do so well in school but she was also kind to everyone. Though people may say I practically brought up her, she wasn't at all a difficult child, and I did nothing for her."
    Her words unintentionally exuded the depth and kindness of her own personality, even more than that of U, whom she praised. Behind the counter sat a photograph of her and her two daughters, and U as if U had been her daughter and their sister. While gazing at it, I said to myself, "This is different from 'The Ugly Duckling' in two senses. It is not that the child once deemed ugly becomes a beautiful swan, but first, that the child was already beautiful, and above all, that the duck and her daughters were beautiful."
    Whether or not they fall into a vicious circle, egos' frameworks are mainly formed genes. In contrast, egos contents including their tendencies are formed by non-genetic factors mainly from the infant period to the adolescent period. Though the personality of each human individual consists of intelligence, knowledge, the tendencies of emotions, the abilities of intentional functions, and the tendencies of egos, it is the tendencies of egos that occupy most of it. Therefore, the personality of each human individual is mainly formed by non-genetic factors, and it is hardly inherited through genes. This is demonstrated by U, her biological mother, and her foster mother. A little more specifically, U's intelligence, feature, and figure were inherited through genes from her biological mother, and in contrast, she formed her own personality excluding intelligence while protected by her foster mother.
    U and I left the diner and strolled around. When I admired her foster mother's personality, she said, "Some day I want to take Mother (her foster mother) and Sisters (her foster mother's biological daughters) to northern countries to play winter sports." I blurted, "Take me, too." Two years later, those wishes would come true. Now it was midsummer in Country A, and boiling hot. When U groaned, "If it rains, it'll be cooler," and I replied, "In summer, ice lollipops are best," it flashed and thundered, and we were actually caught in a heavy shower. We started to run with great joy, and actually rushed to an ice lollipop specialty shop.

ASSASSINATIONS BY AUTOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS OF ASSASSINS OF ANTI-GOVERNMENT PEOPLE AND PROTECTION OF THOSE ASSASSINS BY ANTI-GOVERNMENT GROUPS

X had hacked the military's intelligence agency as well, grasping an astounding fact: there was a gang of assassins assassinating anti-government figures. That young man who had assassinated Professor P was one of them. They were carrying out assassinations under General M's orders. However, in order to conceal those assassinations and the fact that he ordered them, those assassins, including that young man, were to be assassinated under his orders someday.
X, Z, and I debated this matter. Here is how it went:

X: If we disclose that the assassins are to be assassinated someday, they will defect.
I: Then, they will be assassinated on the spot.
Z: Let us communicate it to them covertly, and have them come underground.
I: Then, the assassinations of anti-government figures will drop drastically.
Z: However, we cannot trust them. Even if they come underground, we must always keep an eye on them.
X: All the same, we can acquire the evidence that particular persons were not killed in accidents but assassinated, and that those assassinations were ordered by General M. We need this evidence.
I: I think so, too. They might not be helpful as allies for the revolution, but they are very valuable as witnesses.
Z: That's right. Though their protection is no easy task, we will do it. That young man will be our best lead.

Then Z and his team steadily carried out this plan. As a result, the assassinations of anti-government figures plummeted. The former assassins, including that young man, became not only refugees but also total defectors, providing us with a wealth of information. Months later, though General M denied that he had ordered those assassinations, they, including that young man, testified he had. They admitted the executions of those assassinations and testified that General M had ordered all of them. Therefore, they, including that young man, were not convicted for those executions, and their real names were never publicized. Such pardons was a worldwide trend, and they applied not only to assassinations but also to alleged crimes in general carried out under the orders of autocrats, as long as the perpetrators defected by the completion of the revolution. For this very reason, we were able to achieve a bloodless world revolution.

REMAINS OF MASSACRES

    X also acquired the following information from the government's secret records and its plans of public enterprises.

Fifteen years ago, a relatively violent anti-government demonstration by about 3,000 citizens broke out in a park in the capital of Superpower A. General M and his direct subordinates, the masterminds of the autocratic government, crushed the entire demonstration. They covered the 1,000-square-meter area, where the bodies of the citizens lay, with dirt to create a raised plaza. Recently, rumors were spreading that a few children playing on the plaza were picking up and bringing home human bones. In order to completely erase the evidence of the massacre, General M was planning to build an entertainment facility on that ground. First, a competitive bidding process will be held to select a company to conduct a surface-level survey of the site.

We set up a dummy company,participated in it, and won the contract. Some members of Group G had been surveyors and construction workers. Along with them, Z, U, and I arrived at the site. I had thought U would be reluctant to do such a gruesome job, but surprisingly, she took the lead in gathering bones. At first, I thought she would recognize human bones at once, but it did not seem that simple. Come to think of it, it was a matter of course. That was because it was only in anatomical dissection classes that most physicians, U among them, directly saw human bones. We worked deep into the night, and it took us seven days to complete. We excavated randomly sampled areas of the site with backhoes and gathered what looked like human bones. We took photographs as well. Upon closer inspection, many neck joints were twisted diagonally upward, and many jaw joints were left wide open. It seemed that they had been struck by chemical weapons, and that they had not died instantly but had passed away in agonizing pain. We filled in the holes we had dug, leaving the ground looking exactly as it had been. We identified human bones at U's laboratory.
    We estimated the total number of victims based on the findings from the randomly sampled areas. It was certain that the number, far from "about 3,000," exceeded 10,000. Even in secret records, they underreported the number. At this point, it was unclear whether the discrepancy was intentional or just the result of some error. In a later trial after the revolution, it turned out that General M had ordered that the victims be buried at once without so much as counting them.
    The midnight excavation did not raise any suspicions. In addition, the survey was accurate. However, in the midst of the commotion of the looming Fourth World War, the construction of the entertainment facility did not begin. After the revolution, a mass grave and memorial was erected on the site.
    Following the revolution, the independent judicial power used those findings as evidence to officially confirm the massacre. However, this site did not make it into history. That was because there were a lot of massacres with death tolls that far exceeded this site's.

WHY?

    Of course, not only research but also education was my duty at A1 University. Though I had been busy with the excavation in Zone F, I taught some classes and sometimes advised students on how to write reports or theses. Some fifteen years before, Superpower A invaded a small southern country. It turned into a prolonged localized war in the dense jungle. About five percent of A's citizens aged 18 to 25 were conscripted for that war, and about thirty percent of the conscripts sent to the front lines perished. Though those deaths were classified as "deaths in battle," they included those from getting lost in the jungle due to reckless maneuvers, the starvation due to insufficient food supply, as well as untreated illnesses. By the way, since these disasters had been caused by the autocrat before General M, he did not harshly suppress the criticism about them.
    A male student compiled the testimonies of the bereaved families of the dead in the war into a documentary film and submitted it to me as his thesis project. In it, a woman in her sixties recounted the following:

One day, a bossy military officer came over to my house. He told me that my son was dead in battle. I remember that he said something like, "He was assaulted in the jungle, and his remains couldn't be retrieved. The government will build up his grave. Would you mind lending us a photo of his so we can make a copy for the memorial? We'll send it back to you by post." But I was in no state to listen to him. I gave him a picture of his at hand. I was unable to go out for a while, but I managed to attend what they call the funeral and burial services. All I could see was his small picture and name in a corner of countless pictures in front of what they call the altar. Before long, I came to hold and even now hold a kind of conviction that my son is not dead and that he lives somewhere in the world. It is not that I have forced myself to think so, nor do I think that I have gone mad. I don't think it is because his remains did not come back, either. It is not that the remains of the dead in battle should be retrieved in order to prevent the bereaved from harboring such a hope, either. Why do I have this kind of conviction that he is alive?

Those were the woman's words.
    I thought it would be better to contain some comments of hers on her son's personality before he had gone to war. I went to see her along with the student. She said the following. The student kept the camera rolling.

My son was a pacifist and opponent of war, I think. He often said that no war was acceptable. And so, I thought he would refuse the draft, preparing to undergo the ramifications that would fall on not only him but also me. Nonetheless, he talked with me about usual topics in his usual calm tone and left for the war.

    I asked her his name and wrote it down. As usual, the student and I made sure that all real names should be kept hidden. Under an autocratic government, it was common sense.

WHAT IS MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER?

    As one of the field trips for my classes on the history of science and technology, I would take students interested in mental disorders to a psychiatric hospital. That is to say, this trip was not compulsory but optional. The majority of the inpatients there had schizophrenia. That was the reality of general mental health facilities. However, fortunately or unfortunately, a male student was assigned to interview a female inpatient there, who would have been diagnosed with "Dissociative Identity Disorder" (= Multiple Personality Disorder) before 20XX.
    The self's images are generated around the beginning of the postinfant to preadolescent period (around the age 4), and in the infant period (before the age 3), they have not become steady yet. If a child was abused or neglected by its parents and suffered intense pain in such an infant period, the self's images sometimes continue wavering and become unstable even after that. Corresponding to unstable ones, the ego sometimes become unstable. The images of multiple selves are sometimes generated, and corresponding to them, multiple egos are about to be generated. However, multiple egos are not completely generated. This chaos is "Multiple Personality Disorder." However, the dramatic, and sometimes dangerous, "multiple personalities" depicted in some novels and films before 20XX are rare. Even rare dramatic ones are triggered by such novels or films or formed through interviews with psychiatrists and psychologists. It would not necessarily be an extreme argument to say that multiple personalities are creations of novels, films, psychiatrists, or psychologists. Looking deeper, the chaos brought about by the intense pain in the infant period cannot become anything dramatic by itself. Though it can become dangerous, it cannot become dramatically so. For example, it may be limited to nothing more than the online harassment of celebrities. All the same, it is fierce. It has the advantage of being hard to recognize as coming from a single person. It may be devastating for the victims. I was grateful that I was not a celebrity.
    Now, the self's images and the ego of that female inpatient were wildly wavering. About halfway through the field trip, the staff of the hospital began to claim that the student's interview had formed multiple personalities in her. Her attending psychiatrist at the hospital said, "At least the personality trying to protect her and the one seeking revenge against her parents have been formed and submerged. If this one surfaces, and the hospital staff fails to stop her, she'll head for her parents' residence even by shattering the room window and throwing herself out. She poses a serious danger to both herself and those around her." However, it was probable that the psychiatrist's attempt to probe into those personalities was itself what had actually formed or reinforced them. Simply put, the psychiatrist might have created the multiple personality disorder. However, the hospital staff came close to shutting down the student's interview. Come to think of it, if she poses such a danger, the hospital should not have permitted any students to interview her from the beginning. However, the student and I apologized to the hospital, and we managed to prevent his interview from being cut short.
    After that, her multiple personalities became latent, leading to her discharge from the hospital. Weeks later, she also stopped attending the outpatient clinic, but the male student went on supporting her. What is more, he re-entered the Faculty of Medicine of A1 University and is now aiming to become a psychiatrist.
    On one such day, he and she came to visit my office together. "We're getting married," he said. She nodded. However, she seemed to grow unstable as the wedding approached. After a while, he said, "To be honest, I've been in love with her ever since the beginning of the interview." This stunned both her and me. It seemed to work.
    As for their later lives, they got married and were doing well. It seemed that her added personalities had faded away. In multiple personality disorder, it is better to wait for added personalities to naturally fade away rather than trying to integrate them. Some psychiatrists or psychologists before 20XX might have said, "In multiple personality disorder, the personalities representing the persons who are needed but missing from the person's real life develop as alternate ones. Unnecessary alternate ones disappear. The personality trying to protect her and the one seeking revenge against her parents disappeared because they had become unnecessary." This is understandable. In contrast, saying, "He replaced her protective personality," is nothing more than a verbal trick. Simply put, what worked was that he paid little attention to her added personalities, and that he himself did not hide his emotions. Anyway, he did a great job in "multiple" senses, I think. First, the majority of those with "dissociative disorder" are women, and she was a charming, slender young woman. And so, if he had rushed things during the field trip, it would have caused problems, but he did not rush. Second, though he went on supporting her also after she was discharged from the hospital or stopped attending the outpatient clinic, he did not rush, waiting for her added personalities to fade away. Third, after they faded away, he revealed his emotions. Thus, he naturally adopted the aforementioned best way to treat multiple personality disorder. Fourth, though re-entering the faculty of medicine to become a psychiatrist seemed to have been overkill, now in turn, she was supporting him financially.

DRUG DEPENDENCE AND ABUSE

    Also in 25YY, in medical care, narcotics were used to treat intense pain such as cancer pain. The use of narcotics outside of medical care was illegal and was supposed to be strictly regulated. However, holders of political and economic power those days tried to obtain those medical narcotics and distribute them through illegal channels to divert citizens' anti-government energy. All the same, general citizens were not so foolish as to fall for such a scheme. As a result, powerholders abused narcotics to tame their uncontrollable mistresses and dissolute sons, or in some cases, to make them disappear into the shadows. And so, many of those admitted to drug-specialized hospitals were those mistresses and sons.
    Every year I took students interested in drug issues to one of those hospitals as a field trip. That is to say, this was not compulsory but optional. Though not many students opted for it, those who opted faced the inpatients not out of curiosity but with sincerity. Thus, making the field trip optional turned out to be a right decision. However, I heard that patients in the withdrawal stage are dangerous for themselves and others, and the hospital, understandably, did not permit students to enter the acute ward.
    One day in such a field trip, the hospital director invited me into his office and presented me with a valuable case study of a patient who had just passed the withdrawal stage. "All the same," he said, "I'll allow you, and only you, to interview her. However, under the present autocratic government, it's advisable not to publish this case even if she herself agrees. Because the executive of a large company who kept her as a mistress using narcotics and the top government officials who collude with him, will pressure us." I agreed.
    That case was as follows: A woman in her late twenties. Narcotic dependence and abuse. A single mother. She was arrested on suspicion of murdering her three-year-old son by injecting him with narcotics. However, she was not prosecuted, officially due to what is called a "lack of criminal responsibility," and she was committed to this hospital. This was probably because powerholders were busy capturing and detaining anti-government figures, and prisons were overflowing with so-called "political prisoners," leaving no room to incarcerate anyone like her.
    Let us go back three and a half years. After her son was born, she was divorced. After he was weaned, she became the mistress of an executive of a large company. At first, he gave her a large sum of money. Before long, though he still took her to first-class restaurants and hotels, he stopped giving her any cash. Instead, he began having luxury food, drinks, and so forth and narcotics delivered directly to her apartment. For the executive, it was likely the best way to toy with his mistresses using drugs and then dispose of them in the shadows. Eventually, though food deliveries stopped, she could not complain, fearing that her supply of narcotics would be cut off. In addition, because she had been hiding the fact that she had a child, she could not ask him to send food just for him. Though she was taken to luxury restaurants and hotels and could eat, her son was left at home with nothing to eat. She stealthily hid the food served in restaurants in plastic bags, taking it home and feeding him. Of course, that was not nearly enough. Her son began to waste away. His bowels stopped moving, and his stomach just bloated up. He even started vomiting up the food she brought home. Before long, he did not even have the strength left to cry. Unable to bear it any longer, she injected her son with her own narcotics. A single dose for her who was a regular user was, of course, an overdose for a three-year-old child who had never taken them before. At first, her son experienced a brief euphoria, but soon his breathing slowed and stopped. She panicked. Hearing her cries, neighbors called the police, and she was arrested on suspicion of murder. However, she was not prosecuted and was instead committed to this hospital.
    I interviewed her just after she had passed the withdrawal stage, and the IV drips had been removed. The hospital director provided a small private room on the south side of the building. Soft light filtered in through the lace curtains of the window. Even through the lace, the greenery outside could be seen. Apparently, such a simple view felt fresh to her. Gazing at it, she began to speak calmly at first:

    Police officers asked me why I had not worked even a little and said that I could have earned enough at least for my son's meals. But any decent job doesn't pay until the end of the month. My only choices were to cling to my current patron or find a new one. Then, officers asked me why I hadn't turned to welfare or social services. However, the administrative procedures were slow, and they did not seem to provide money for my son's meals right away. And I was terrified that if I went to the public organizations or took my son to a hospital, they would find out my drug use.

Those were the woman's words. It is true that under the current autocratic governments, medical care and welfare had gone almost ineffective, lacking both flexibility and urgency. In fact, there were a lot of tragedies such as her family's. She continued now with tears welling up slightly in her eyes:

My son's eyes were vacant. He did not even have the strength left to cry. He must have been in such pain. I could not help injecting him with my own narcotics.

For her at that moment, narcotics were the only thing she could think of to alleviate her son's pain. An idea like, "She had the ability to think such a thing. She should have gone through the judicial process instead of being committed to a hospital," would have been unthinkable in a state where neither the separation of the three powers nor the rule of law was established, and the judicial power was not independent. The idea like, "At the very least, she should have made the dose just a fraction of her own single dose," might have been unthinkable for a mother who wanted to alleviate her son's pain as soon as possible.
    After the state power was democratized and separated, and the judicial power became independent following the revolution, she chose the path of returning to society instead of spending the rest of her life within the walls of asylums. Of her own free will, she entered the judicial process, asserting that she had been responsible for her actions. She was indicted without detention while remaining an inpatient. In court, she spoke sincerely about her ego and emotions when she injected her son with narcotics. That hospital director published her medical records with her consent, and I published this book with her consent that I could include this chapter in it. These led to the formation of a support group for her. The court of first instance sentenced her to a suspended five-year prison term for involuntary manslaughter. The prosecution under the new post-revolutionary government decided not to appeal, and the first-instance ruling became final. The judge pointed out the inflexibility of the systems of medical care and welfare under the former regime. Because that executive had been doing the same to his other mistresses, he was arrested, detained, and prosecuted. She was discharged from the hospital, working a regular job both during and after her suspended sentence.
    After autocracies around the world collapsed in the world revolution, there was no one left to produce or distribute illegal drugs underground, and so narcotics were no longer used for anything other than medical purposes. If there had been underground productions or distributions of narcotics, would she have been able to succeed in staying off them? As a historian, I knew how hard it had been to stay off them since the onset of their epidemic before 20XX. However, it was unimaginable to us how heavy it was on her to lose her son, and so was whether or not she would have succeeded in staying off them.
    Incidentally, alcohol, too, is included in the drugs in "drug dependence and abuse." I may have alcohol dependence even if it is without abuse. Perhaps having a job keeps me from continuous drinking or withdrawal, and I have no choice but to keep working for the rest of my life. One day, I shared all of this with that hospital director. Then, he replied with a smile, "Certainly, it's better for you to go on working. However, even if you have alcohol dependence, it's probably only mild." But a moment later he told me the following with a serious look on his face:

The current dictatorship is trying to reduce citizens' alcohol consumption by exaggerating the harms of heavy drinking and the horrors of withdrawal far beyond reality. Ironically, this causes citizens to keep drinking out of excessive fear of withdrawal, counterproductively leading to an increase in their overall alcohol consumption. All that we wish to do is inform the public of the reality of those harms and horrors.

These were the hospital director's words. This wish would come true months later.
    Furthermore, the following became clear years later. There had been a prediction like, "If autocracies collapse, (1) per capita alcohol consumption and (2) the rate of alcohol dependence will increase." But that prediction turned out to be wrong. Under autocracies, what was oppressed in society manifested as the increase in

(3) home drinking by those living with their families, being "a lion at home and a mouse abroad," or domestic violence

and

(4) home drinking by those living alone.

After the collapse of autocracies, (3)(4) reduced, and

(5) Social drinking

and

(6) Drinking out in bars by loners
increased. In the end, (1)(2) did not change. In any case, the decrease in (3) was welcomed by most citizens.

NATURAL AGING OF BRAINS

    Every year, I took my students to a medical and welfare complex specialized in "natural brain aging" as a field trip for my classes on the history of science and technology. This was compulsory.
    The average life expectancy was beyond 90. As was explained earlier, most cancers and infectious diseases had been overcome. However, the sophisticated medical care such as gene therapy was too expensive for ordinary citizens to afford. And so, it was holders of political and economic power, high income earners, and their families that pushed up the average life expectancy. They had overcome and were overcoming cancers, infectious diseases, heart diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases. It is the materially affluent people in this way who were accommodated in such a medical and welfare complex. Then, what about their mental lives?
    Before 20XX, there had been some expectations that humans would be able to overcome not only those diseases but also "aging" and that it would not be completely impossible to defeat death. To be sure, the aging of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems had been contained to some extent. In contrast, the aging of the nervous system, above all, the central one, or simply put, the brain could hardly be restrained. This is not to say that dementia remained unconquered. It had been contained to some extent. All the same, the brain aged naturally even without dementia. We could not stop such natural aging of the brain.
    Because of natural brain aging, most humans' memory and thinking capacities fall below half of their peak when they reach the age of 100. They can recognize their family members who visit once a week, but they often fail to recognize those who only come once a month. They can no longer read or write. When watching movies or dramas, they can understand and laugh at jokes in individual scenes, but they can no longer follow the overall plot. The basic drives for food and water, of course, remain. But unless they rely on intravenous drips or tube feeding, they cannot feed themselves without nearly one-on-one care.
    Of course, the students did not provide actual hands-on care for the elderly there. Instead, I had the students interact with the elderly in some way. Most of the students played musical instruments, encouraging the elderly to sing along with them. All that the elderly could sing were those which had been popular when they were young. If the students had only played modern songs, they would have lost the hearts of the elderly. And so, the first part of the field trip became a kind of study of the history of popular music. Up to this point, students were having some fun getting along with the elderly.
    However, those who interacted with the students up to then were the relatively active elderly, who were under the age of 100 from the facility―not a hospital―on the first and second floor. From this point on, what awaited the students was the observation of the real hospital on the floors above. To be sure, the hospital was built like a hotel with many windows allowing soft light to filter through the curtains. Flowers were arranged here and there. If some other things had stayed out of sight, everyone could have savored something like eternally flowing time.
    Those "other things" were human beings, some shouting gibberish, some fighting with each other and being stopped by staff, some wandering with bruises from fights or falls peeking out from under their bandages, others sitting in the same place all day long. But they were still those who were able to come out into the halls. Once we entered the hospital rooms, this is what we saw. Most, of course, lay in bed all day long. Some of them were reduced to skin and bones with their skulls looking eerily large. Others were not only tethered to but also buried into tubes and machines. Most of them showed vacant eyes if they made eye contact.
    After that, we had a discussion back at the university. It usually went on as follows:

AA: Perhaps we don't need to extend the average life expectancy, and welfare, including medical care, doesn't need to make progress any more.
BB: If general citizens witness those people, they might think it's a blessing to be in the lower- or middle- income group, believing that high wealth only buys prolonged suffering through unwanted medical care.
CC: But we need to improve the medical care for the lower-income group and decrease its cost.
DD: In contrast, that kind of elderly care for high-income earners or their families should be made more expensive. Then, the patients or their families hoping to receive it will dwindle, and so will that kind of pain.
EE: The profit generated from that cost increase could be redirected to reduce the cost of medical care for low- and middle-income groups.

Here do not forget that what needs to be increased was not the cost of the medical care in general but that of "that kind of elderly care for high-income earners or their families."
    I happened to share those discussions with U. Then, she easily sorted them out by saying, "We can lower all medical costs." Though I thought that the background of those discussions needed to be considered, we were facing a graver problem at that time.

COUNTERFEIT TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE MEANS

    Now, U had to ramp up the production of those counterfeit totally destructive means she had developed and to watch and protect them lest it be found that they were counterfeit ones. U had to spend most of her time at her laboratory. I, too, began to stay overnight with her. Because it was not a military facility, intelligence agency, or rigid public organization, I was not blamed or suspected. In her laboratory, she had a private room complete with a bathroom. There was a gorgeous bed, too, which never appeared to be for a researcher's nap. She had been served with sumptuous midnight snack and breakfast, and we shared them. They were enough for both of us. Both U and I enjoyed the nights and mornings there. It was on the top floor of a super-skyscraper, and we could look over the capital. In the morning, we could see the sun rising above the mountains far away, and the sunlight streamed into the room. Beneath, we could see that park where citizens had gathered that evening. The trees there grew lush and green. Cutting through mountains and skyscrapers and making the park a sandbank, a great river was flowing seaward. Before 20XX, boats carrying inland crops and inshore products sailed up and down, I read. Now I could see some dredgers sailing under bridges. In the end, a large part of the capital was built up on the river basin. In the Third World War of 20XX, biological weapons including immutable gene means left the city deserted. The offspring of those who had sheltered underground reconstruct most structures. They changed even the course of the river. Its embankment became overly tall and solid. Building such an embankment was the only piece of success in the city planning. There was no record of flood. All the same, the embankment was no taller than a three-story structure and much shorter than a skyscraper. And so, we could see through the river to some extent from here.
    Now, U had been forced to develop the following immutable gene means, a subcategory of totally destructive means, by General M.

(1) Change something other than base sequence, make them free from spontaneous mutation, and make them have permanent infectivity and toxicity.
(2) Make them lighter than traditional viruses and make them have the infectivity with which they infect humans even through daily conversations, without cough or sneeze.
(3) Make them have the resistance to any of the current antibiotics and disinfectants.
(4) Make them proceed from alveolar cells to the bloodstream and evade immunity from beginning to end.
(5) Make them free from spontaneous mutation and thereby make them infect and kill blood stem cells months or years after infection, exhaust red blood cells and immune cells, including B cells and T cells, and bring about the deaths of the humans on the surface of the earth through anemia and immunodeficiency.
(6) It is essential to make them infect all humans. It is unnecessary to make them infect other species, but it is permissible for them to infect some other species of mammals.

In contrast, U had not changed anything other than base sequences of genes and had already developed and was now producing those which had a bit of the infectivity of (2) but which had none of (1)(3)(4)(5)(6). Then, powerholders would be satisfied with that infectivity even years after going into underground shelters to prevent infection. They would wait for the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth after a long incubation period. But nothing expected would take place. It would be years later that they would find our plan and be outraged. We would have plenty of time to complete the revolution by then.
    However, some tests to ensure their safety were still necessary. Of course, U had tested her products on artificial organs or tissue. We had better test them on real humans, we thought. U had already tested them on herself. And some members of Group G, Z, X, T, and I among them, took on the test. U, X, and T showed symptoms no worse than a mild cold. Z and I showed no symptoms at all. Remembering an old pre-20XX saying, 'Fools never catch colds,' I couldn't help but laugh, thinking that aside from Z, I must simply be a fool.
    After that, U tested them on some mammals. Please pay attention to this. We tested them on animals after we had done on humans. This was the reverse of traditional ones. This was not because we had the spirit of self-sacrifice but because U trusted herself, we trusted U, and U had the policy that the more important the means was, the sooner they should be tested on important subjects, and that if anything serious should happen to the subjects, we should start to improve it immediately. Most of those tests on mammals ended with something no worse than a mild cold. U had kept Rabbit R. U tested them on it as well. Then, it suffered from eye inflammation, losing its sight. Though it had once been said that rabbits' eyes were red, it was not that its pupils were red but that its whites were bleeding. As U came close and spoke to R, apparently, it identified her by smell and voice, staggering and snuggling against her. She hugged it and sobbed, "Sorry."
    However, R did not lose its sight. Its eyes recovered, and so did its sight. U cried and laughed with joy. Then we found that R had suffered from eye inflammation by another pathogen, and that it was me, who was a newcomer, that had carried that pathogen. Usually, experimental animals were strictly isolated to prevent them from being affected by factors unrelated to the hypothesis. In contrast, R was a personal pet of U's. She should have investigated the etiology of its eye inflammation sooner. Even the greatest medical researcher could have such a blind spot. However, we were certain that the counterfeit totally destructive means developed and produced by her would function perfectly as counterfeit, that she would perfectly overcome cancers and infectious diseases, and that she would decrease medical cost. Months or years later, those convictions were proven correct.
    A few days after the recovery of R's eyes, General M and some military technologists came over at midnight. I heard they took out those counterfeit ones in gigantic cooling boxes, fully convinced that they were handling genuine ones. Because U and her subordinates had been informed of the schedule of the removal, and I had heard it from them, I stayed far away from U's laboratory. I was anxious that they might find out that they were counterfeits. All the same, the pain of not being able to see her, even for one night, was more intense. She said that General M had looked at her with lecherous eyes. However, I thought we should put up with it if it kept them from finding out they were counterfeits. In fact, it was not found out until the completion of the revolution. In addition, no true totally destructive means were used around the world. The world became peaceful. However, still later, General M brought U and me as well as X and T what ordinary partners could never even imagine.

COLLUSION AND CORRUPTION BETWEEN POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWERHOLDERS

    Now, Z, X, and I frequented Bar AQ in AT Town once or twice a week as usual. Colonel N sometimes came. T often came. U rarely came because she was busy inspecting some military facilities even after those counterfeit totally destructive means were moved out. She officially oversaw those means, practically preventing them from being exposed as counterfeits. In addition, she frequently inspected some other military facilities as well, confirming that no other totally destructive means were ready for use. And X, too, often hacked the computers, including artificial intelligence systems, of military facilities and confirmed the same. That confirmation was vital. U and X would continue it. Yet, U came back to that laboratory every night, and I stayed there overnight.
    Among AQ's regulars, there was Y, the president of Corporation Y in AT Town. I had passed by Co. Y's combined office and factory before. It was a three-story, small building sandwiched between skyscrapers, conspicuous. Indifferent to its surroundings, it stood facing the great river flowing through AT Town. Co. Y was a small food processing company, wholesaling to diners and bars in AT Town, and also to Bar AQ. I sometimes talked with him. Though he was a company president, it was a small one, allowing me to talk with him frankly.
    One day he began to grumble, "The collusion and corruption between high-ranking government officials and the executives of big business are rampant. Co. Y once developed a technique to disinfect and preserve food for a long time and retain water soluble vitamins through alcoholic fermentation. I endeavored to get the patent for the technique and the license to produce and sell its products, but in vain. The reason they gave for denying me was that alcoholic fermentation should only be permitted for producing alcoholic beverages. But it was nothing more than a pretext. Those high-ranking officials sold our technique to large food companies, and they're using it. What's worse, they're using it only for luxury foods. I'd have used it for everyday foods." He said this with an expression and tone full of resentment. I could understand his resentment. It is because he could not use the technique he himself had developed, large companies used it, and the masses could not receive its benefits.
    The pursuit of profit by economic power, in itself, does not matter much. In addition, as long as monopolies or oligopolies are prevented, and free competition is unfettered, a capitalist or market economy does not matter much. What matters the most is the collusion between political and economic powerholders. It sometimes matters even if it does not go up to the level of "corruption." In any case, "collusion" includes corruption. Such collusion sometimes drives the autocratization of political power and often prompts the monopoly of economic power. Furthermore, it often leads to the expansion of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes.
    In the ending part of the second millennium and the beginning part of the third millennium, some of the major power were perceived as democratic, and some others as undemocratic. All the same, not only the latter but also the former plunged into the development, production, possession, and use of totally destructive means, drastically transforming the nature of a world war and bringing about the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth. This was because the following (1)-(4) took place under the cover of liberalism and democracy in the former, and under the cover of nationalism, totalitarianism, or religion in the latter. After 20XX, liberalism and democracy were hollowed out, religion faded away, and the following (1)-(4) took place under the cover of nationalism or totalitarianism.

(1) the collusion including corruption between political and economic powerholders
(2) the monopoly of economic power
(3) the expansion of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes (4) military expansion, above all, the development and production of totally destructive means by those complexes

These (1)-(4) proceed even in seemingly democratic countries, and military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes go on expanding by themselves and producing totally destructive means whether they are necessary or not. After 20XX, in all the states around the world, including superpowers, democratic systems were hollowed out. Then, (1)-(4) accelerated all the more. After all, (1)-(4) persist under conventional political systems, including both autocracy and traditional liberalism and democracy.
    As will be explained later, when each state power is separated between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system), the "military-civilian" part belongs to the L system, and the "academic-industrial" part is under the S system. Therefore, each military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complex is dismantled.
    Furthermore, through this separation, the general collusion between political and economic powerholders can be more strictly restrained in the following way. It is the department which should belong to the S system that grants patents, business licenses, and subsidies to public and private economic power. This department has been a hotbed of the collusion between political and economic powerholders. In contrast, it is the police and the prosecution which should belong to the L system that investigate and prosecute that collusion before the judicial power. Traditionally, however, that department that should belong to the S system and the police and the prosecution that should belong to the L system were both embedded into a single administrative power. As a result, they themselves colluded with each other whenever it was mutually convenient. When each state power is separated between the two systems of L and S, the police and the prosecution belonging to the L system can investigate and prosecute that department belonging to the S system more strictly, and the collusion between political and economic powerholders can be restrained to a great extent.
    Now, the abuse by political and economic powerholders of the technique President Y had developed was illegal, and so was the collusion between them causing that abuse. However, since the government had not permitted Co. Y to produce anything with that technique, this production and the sale of its products were, regrettably, illegal. And so, President Y clandestinely produced and wholesaled those products to some diners or bars in AT Town, Bar AQ among them. I, too, tried what he named "THIS IS THE REVOLUTION," which he said was made from rice bran but was palatable. It tasted good. I had not expected that bran could be this good. By using President Y's technique, the parts of biological resources that had been dumped or used for something other than human food could be edible. It might be a crucial breakthrough to overcome food shortages. The current governments and large companies were using such a technique only for the production of luxury food.
    U and I discussed President Y's technique as follows.

The current governments and large companies worldwide tend to rush headlong to the manipulation of atomic nuclei, genes, and asteroids. Even without such a manipulation, humans can overcome food shortage and guarantee social rights with simple and natural biological technology. In any case, out of the manipulation of atomic nuclei, genes, and asteroids, nuclear weapons, immutable gene means, and the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits are totally destructive means, and the eradication of them need to be prioritized.

In the end, we reached this usual conclusion.

LIMITS OF THE CAPITALISTIC OR MARKET ECONOMY

    Among those listening to Y's complaints in Bar AQ, there was a businessman in his thirties working for a large company. He said passionately, "After all, the market economy is the best economic system. The government must never intervene in the economy and should leave it completely to free competition." He was a neat, clean-cut man with a look of keen intelligence. However, he either did not know or turned a blind eye to the following.
    The theoretical core of the capitalistic or market economy presupposed the environment, natural resources, population, market, investment, innovation, and economic growth that were limitless. That was because the core was established during an era when their limits were latent. For instance, in that era, a significant number of markets were located in so-called colonies, and even their limits were hardly recognized. It was even less recognized that there are limits to the available environment and natural resources, the population that can be sustained by them, and consequently, the market itself. Now that it is clear that none of them are limitless, it is evident that that core does not completely work.
    In addition, the theoretical core of the capitalist or market economy presupposes trial and error. For instance, the major part of free competition and automatic price adjustment is trial and error. However, after the latter half of the twentieth century, it is possible that there are no re-trials after certain errors. For instance, though extreme, if the struggles for natural resources go fierce in the market economy, bringing about wars for national interest and leading to the use of totally destructive means in a cycle of retaliation, human beings will be exterminated, and there will be only an error and no re-trials. The humans on the surface of the earth witnessed such an error in 20XX. But this is an extreme example. There are numerous examples in which re-tries are, if not impossible, highly difficult like global food shortages and pandemics. We need to prevent the trials that can lead to such errors.
    Since well before 20XX, governments or central banks have intervened more or less in the economy, and so the current economy is not a genuine capitalistic or market economy or a communist one but the mixture of some parts of them and some others. What is disputed now is not which economic system to select but how to mix them or at most which should be dominant. Both citizens and economists need to recognize it. The dispute concerning how to mix them has already been active and will be more and more so. However, it will never be as fierce as the past dispute between capitalism and communism.
    However, those are genuine limits or defects of the capitalistic or market economy. In contrast, some interventions in the economy by using its seeming or exaggerated limits or defects as pretexts bring about the decline of the economy or the aforementioned "deviation from social rights" as follows.
    As was explained earlier, political and economic powerholders collude and mix their interests into economic policies. This collusion and mixture develop inconspicuously under various pretexts. And they stifle the free competition, which is one of the merits of the capitalistic or market economy, bringing about the decline of economy. Simultaneously, political and economic powerholders join forces to plunge into autocracy and monopoly, bringing about the deviation from social rights.
    Developing countries sometimes need to raise tariffs to protect their domestic industries. In contrast, if developed ones do so, it reduces the international competitiveness of domestic industries, sometimes leading to the decline of their economy and even jeopardizing their status as developed ones.
    In the twentieth century, so-called communists deviated from the intervention in the economy and the security of laborers' rights, defied liberal rights and democratic systems, plunged into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism, and brought about endless suppressions, massacres, man-made famines, and the like. This was a dire example of the deviation from social rights.
    Both now and in the future, some powerholders will use the seeming or exaggerated limits or defects of the capitalistic or market economy in the deterioration of the environment, the exhaustion of natural resources, and the overgrowth of population as a pretext for plunging to autocracy or totalitarianism and monopoly. This is the most chilling example of the deviation from social rights. As stated repeatedly, this does not work for our existence and social rights, including the economy.
    When each state power is separated between the systems of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system), all those disputes are limited to the S system and its surroundings, and liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation are protected in the L system, making existence and liberty compatible, including the economy. Simply put, it is best to dispute economic problems only in the S system and its surroundings.

LIMITS OF TRIAL AND ERROR, AND DEVIATION FROM THE CYCLE OF PROSPERITY AND DECLINE

    From the very beginning, not only the economy but also human lives themselves, including daily ones, and science and technology, are trial and error, and so are living things'. And the evolution of living things is a grand process of trial and error. Spontaneous mutation is a trial, and the deaths or inabilities to reproduce of those who fail to adapt to the environment in natural selections is an error.
    When some non-human species prosper and overpopulate, they destroy and exhaust their own environment and that of some other species. The destruction and exhaustion of their own environment lead to their own decline or extinction. If they do not go extinct but merely decline, their own environment revives, which in turn leads to their own revival. Even if they go extinct, the environment of those other species revives, and so do they. This process can be called the "Cycle of prosperity and decline." This cycle is a grand process of trial and error as well. It presupposes the survival and revival of a fraction of living things of the same or different species. This premise is significant.
    Human beings seem to deviate from that cycle. All the same, not all human functions and means deviate from it. For example, industries have destroyed the environment and exhausted natural resources. If humans do not restrain or improve them, they go on destroying and exhausting them, inevitably leading to the decline of humans and their industries. But following this decline, the environment and natural resources recover, which in turn allow humans and their industries to revive. Therefore, industries do not deviate from that cycle. Though industries are massive destructive means, they are not totally destructive means.
    In contrast, totally destructive means deviate from the cycle of prosperity and decline and trial and error. This is because they leave no room for the aforementioned survival, revival, or re-trial. As far as totally destructive means are concerned, there is a decisive limitation to trial and error including the cycle of prosperity and decline. Totally destructive means can also be defined as the means deviating from the cycle of prosperity and decline.

INTRA-SPECIES EVOLUTIONS TO A WEAK SUBSPECIES THAT CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT MEDICAL CARE AND WELFARE

Among the regulars at Bar AQ, there was a physician practicing in AT Town. We sometimes talked, and one day he poured his heart out:

Years ago during my research on gene therapy, government VIPs pressed the professor who led our laboratory to research the gene manipulations that reduce general citizens' destructive and controlling tendencies and the desire for power. That can never be done on the grounds not only of ethics but also of practicality. Egos' tendencies such as a controlling one (= the tendency to control anything) and a destructive one (= the tendency to destroy anything) and mental emotions' tendencies such as that of the desire for power are not formed by genes or inherited through genes. They are formed by non-genetic factors as (the aforementioned) spiraling tendencies mainly from the infant period to the adolescent period. They can never be altered by gene manipulations. Our professor refused to conduct such a research. Then, he was abducted by the military or the government, it seemed. I do not know what became of him afterward. Under the present autocratic government, we cannot perform truly necessary and viable research. And the gap between the medical care available to ordinary citizens and that available to the rich is staggering. And so, I quit research and became a practitioner in this town of ordinary people.

Those were the words of that physician. He and I confirmed the importance of distinguishing what can be inherited through genes, undergoing evolution and what cannot. Then he explained this:

Evolution in a narrow sense is the transformation from one species to another. It takes place over tens or hundreds of thousands of years. Human beings, too, evolve in this sense, becoming another species tens of thousands of years later. In contrast, we can assume the evolution from one subspecies to another within the same species, which can be called "Intra-species Evolution." It can take place in the time of hundreds or thousands of years. As a form of it, owing to the advancement of medical care and welfare, human beings are certain to undergo some intra-species evolutions to a weak subspecies that cannot exist without them.

These were the words of that practitioner. I agreed with him, saying:

Under the autocratic government, owing to an inadequate social system, ordinary citizens cannot get sufficient medical care. Since they far outnumber the wealthy, that intra-species evolution will not be so apparent. But in the future, the social system will be improved, leading to sufficient medical care. And so, that intra-species evolution is inevitable.

He groaned, "It's so difficult." I muttered, "What are we supposed to do?" He said, "However, we can't restrict medical care and welfare. The clinical staff have no choice but to do their best." I said to myself:

The desires to live a long, healthy life and for one's family and friends to do so are earnest, and so we cannot stop medical care and welfare from advancing. Therefore, it is the destiny for human beings to undergo some intra-species evolutions to a weak sub-species that cannot exist without medical care and welfare. We have no choice but to cope with it. We cannot help accepting its challenge. When we separate each state power between the systems of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system), we can restrain the collusion between public organizations on the one hand and the private organizations for medical care and welfare and their pressure groups on the other hand. Then, we will be able to restrain the excessive services for high income earners and redistribute them to middle and lower income earners. By doings so, we will be able to cope with that intra-species evolution.

GENES AND EVOLUTION

    Genes and evolution can be summarized as follows.
    What forms the structures, functions, tendencies, and abilities of living things is divided into the genetic factor and the environmental one. In addition, they are formed not exclusively by one of them but interactively by both of them. All the same, what matters is which of the two factors is dominant. Therefore, strictly, the modifiers such as "almost" and "mainly" need to be attached to the terms such as "innately formed" and "environmentally formed." However, when they are always used, sentences will be complicated, and so they are usually omitted.
    As is unexpectedly overlooked, what is formed innately by genes is inherited through them, undergoing evolution. It is wrong to think that everything is inherited, undergoing evolution. What is formed environmentally by non-genetic factors is not inherited and does not undergo evolution. In an individual's body, it disappears when the individual dies. But it is stored in other individuals' memories and communicated in human society through media such as spoken words, written words, and signs. Then, let us look through what is formed innately by genes and inherited through them, undergoing evolution, and what is formed environmentally by non-genetic factors and communicated through media.
    First, sensations, pleasure or displeasure sensations, drives, autonomic functions, and instinctive functions are formed innately by genes and inherited, undergoing evolution. Then, how about memories, feelings, desires, egos, and thinkings of human beings? Their frameworks are formed innately by genes and inherited, undergoing evolution. For instance, the neuronal groups enabling them are innately formed. In contrast, their contents including abilities and tendencies are formed by non-genetic factors and are not inherited and do not undergo evolution. What matters in power struggles, autocracy, totalitarianism, and monopoly are egos' tendencies to control anything, to destroy anything, and to show off, the desire for power, and the ability to acquire power, and they are formed environmentally in spiraling tendencies (= tendencies to fall into a vicious circle).
    As for spontaneous mutation, we tend to view them positively because they can lead to evolution. However, when vital genes undergo spontaneous mutation, most of the living things having such mutated genes cannot adapt themselves to the environment and cannot exist or cannot leave their offspring. This is the substance of natural selection. A very few of them can adapt to the environment, leave offspring and undergo evolution, creating new species or subspecies. We should recognize this harshness before proceeding to artificial selections or gene manipulations.
    Before human beings started gene manipulations, they carried out "artificial" selection on the other living things they called crops or livestock in contrast to "natural" selection. Artificial selection is promoting some other living things' evolution in a direction that benefits humans. As long as no genes are manipulated, artificial selection does not pose great problems.
    Moreover, even if humans manipulate genes, if they only alter base sequences, it is equivalent to a spontaneous mutation, and the living things or means involving those manipulated genes are fundamentally no different from traditional living things and do not pose grave problems.
    In contrast, when they alter some elements of genes other than the base sequence, what happens? Most of such pseudo-genes do not function as parts of living things, let alone as genes, and are degraded and excreted from the body or blocked by the immune system. However, probably, the pseudo-genes in which something other than base sequence are altered by humans with their ingenuity are not handled in that way. The living things or means involving such pseudo-genes are the aforementioned "immutable gene means," a subcategory of totally destructive means explained earlier. In short, "Out of genes, do not change anything other than base sequence."
    In any case, living things evolve. So do human beings. For instance, as was explained earlier, it is certain that human beings undergo some intra-species evolutions to some subspecies that cannot exist without medical care and welfare. Even taking that into account, few modern humans will resist their evolution. Therefore, the ultimate desire and purpose explained by that girl's father involve "evolved human beings." Even if the term "human beings or evolved ones" is not used, the mere words "human beings" or "humans" refer to human beings or evolved ones.

THE DEVIATION FROM EVOLUTION

    Again, the frameworks of human beings' memories, feelings, desires, egos, thinkings are inherited through genes, undergoing evolution. In contrast, their contents including abilities and tendencies are formed environmentally by non-genetic factors and are not inherited through genes and do not undergo evolution. Moreover, the contents of civilizations, including ideas or thoughts, the arts, science and technology, and social systems, are not inherited through genes and do not undergo evolution. For example, autocracy or democracy and the methods to develop and produce peaceful or destructive means are not inherited through genes and do not undergo evolution. They are communicated through media such as spoken words, written ones, and signs. In this case, the only things that are inherited through genes and undergo evolution are physical mechanisms for communication such as mouths, larynxes, hands, and the nervous systems controlling them.
    And those contents produce totally destructive means, becoming unfit for the existence of living things including human beings. In such a situation, the only condition for humans to become fit beings for existence through evolution is that concerning totally destructive means, spontaneous mutations and natural selections evolve the physical mechanisms for communication that can only communicate the way to eradicate them. Even this is staggeringly unrealistic. However, there is an even more decisive threat. As was explained earlier, though evolution presupposes trial and error, if totally destructive means should be used, there would be only one error, and there is no re-trial. Therefore, humans deviate not only from the aforementioned cycle of prosperity and decline but also from evolution.
    From the very beginning, in traditional living things, those contents are meager, most things concerning their existence can be inherited through genes, and natural selection, the survival of the fittest, and evolution have been functioning directly to them. In contrast, in human beings, those contents are substantial, and they function considerably indirectly to them. Again, humans deviate not only from the cycle of prosperity and decline but also from evolution. If evolution is looked upon as a game, humans are ignoring its rules or playing outside the stadium. Though humans have been elaborating the theory of evolution since the nineteenth century, have they realized that deviation?
    Again and again, those frameworks are inherited through genes, undergoing evolution, and those contents are not. Practically, we cannot change those frameworks. In contrast, it is not entirely impossible for us to change those contents, in this situation, into those which can eradicate totally destructive means. We are simply those who try to make that change. What will be the result of this trial?

LONELINESS

    Bar AQ was mostly frequented by single men and women, and some old men and women living alone were seated at the counter. I sometimes talked with them while sitting there. Among them, there was K. He said, "When I was young, I worked and played hard. My regular job was checking the safety harnesses for the longshoremen. I was admired by young men, and they said, 'The ones you checked are reliable.' I took them out for nights on the town. I also had my share of women and gambling. One day my wife and children left me. We're not divorced but are living completely apart. After retirement, young men came to see me, but their visits grew fewer and farther between. Although there are some social security and some savings, there are few human relations. There's only loneliness. I believe loneliness is the most pressing and poignant pain in human life. Although I don't want to drink, all I can do is pass the time in bars." A while after my ex-wife and children had left me, I, too, had thought that loneliness is the greatest pain. I had even said to myself, "If I were dead, would this loneliness evaporate?" Some religious groups and salespeople took advantage of people's loneliness. Concerning my loneliness, the job of excavation in that Zone F eased it. The owner of Bar AQ said over the counter, "Single men and women stay a long time. They linger. When I was young, I didn't welcome elderly singles. But now that I'm getting up there in years, I can understand how they feel. You can stay as long as you like." He paused a few seconds. "But please order at least one item an hour," he said to K and me. I understood the reality that forced him to say so. The number of customers in diners and bars had been dwindling under the shadow of an impending war between the superpowers.
    After a while, the rumor spread K was hospitalized. I heard he had felt food getting stuck when swallowing.
    The owner of Bar AQ and I went to visit him. He lay on a bed in a shared room. He was on an IV and had a tube in his nose. We shook hands with him, but his hand was slightly trembling, there was little strength in it, and his voice was faint. Afterward, an elderly female doctor called us into another room, saying, "He likely has esophageal cancer. It'd be best to transfer him to a larger hospital in the suburbs. It's not too late for early detection and immediate surgery. However, he doesn't have health insurance. Large hospitals will never admit such a patient. To begin with, without insurance, no one can afford the cost of a major surgery, to say nothing of gene therapy." Perhaps K had canceled health insurance on retirement. The applicant himself or one of his family members must be present for the procedure to re-enroll in insurance. Thus, the government discouraged citizens from canceling health insurance. In any case, insurance cost was too expensive for us all. The doctor continued, "We'll be in trouble if he doesn't pay the medical bills here, either. If anyone pays his back premiums, they can get retroactive coverage. As long as he gets insurance, he'll be able to afford the medical bills anywhere. According to the clerks, this hospital is willing to wait for the payment until he gets insurance."
    We came back to K's bedside, and the three of us were at a loss. Then an elderly woman in her sixties and a woman in her thirties showed up. Apparently, K's wife and daughter came over after hearing the rumor. They told us that they had completed the re-enrollment process. They spoke proudly as if they had finished a major task. However, as long as the applicant himself or one of his family members was present, it was not such a major one. In addition, since he himself would pay for both the insurance and the hospital bills, his family bore no financial burden whatsoever. He said to his wife in a faint voice, "I'm sorry." She said to him nonchalantly, "This is the last time." K gave a wry smile with a sigh, the wrinkles on his forehead and mouth deepening even further, as if saying, "You could at least let the past slide after all these decades." Even now, I cannot forget his face at that time. This is because he did not cry or show his anger but gave a wry smile.

LIBERTY OF PURE MENTAL FUNCTIONS

    In the end, K was transfered to a large hospital in the suburbs, underwent immediate surgery, and was safely discharged. He came over to Bar AQ once a week. He drank less alcohol than before. He was cautious in swallowing food. He started talking about his recent life at the counter. The owner and I listened to him, but did not interject. He said, "When I was young, I thought that I wouldn't mind dying if I could no longer work or play. After retirement, I felt lonely. Now that I've survived cancer, I'm glad to be alive. I think so every morning I wake up. They say, 'Man cannot live on bread alone,' but I think that's a way of life while one is young. Every day, I buy inexpensive ingredients and cook them for myself. Now it's a joy to try cooking in my own way. It's fun, too, sometimes to eat unique dishes, imagining their recipes in this bar. It's also a joy to debate new recipes or processing methods of new food with President Y. I cook for myself, sometimes cooking experimentally and discovering something new. Plus, the results are not so bad. That alone makes life worth living." Perhaps those emotions and ideas were partly the reaction to the fasting before and after the surgery. All the same, I thought he was good at thinking of and talking about human life.
    However, a young man in his twenties seated at the counter said, "Is that all that we live for? It makes you feel lonely, doesn't it?" K was not listening to him. I thought the young man was slow to understand because he ignored K's words: "They say, 'Man cannot live on bread alone,' but I think that's a way of life while one is young." Then a woman in her forties who clearly looked like a believer in a particular religion started to say to K, "Let's make our life more spiritually rich. …" Apparently, she was a follower of the religion originating from the man credited with the saying: "Man cannot live on bread alone." These days, religions had declined, but a handful of them remained. K's quotation of the saying seemed to fuel the woman's religious enthusiasm. In turn, that young man said to her, "That's up to each of us." Then she began to preach to him, and he began to argue back. Their voices faded into the background, and a thought crossed my mind:

    From the very beginning, the liberty of pure mental functions such as thought and belief cannot be directly violated. It can be violated indirectly by violating the liberty of physical functions such as life and body and more indirectly by the threat to violate it. Such violations were carried out mainly by religions during and before the seventeenth century, by imperialism and nationalism during and after the seventeenth century, and by communism or totalitarianism in the twentieth century. After 20XX, such stark violations were no longer prominent. Abductions, incarcerations, and assassinations were carried out in the shadows. Naturally, they were carried out without undergoing any judicial processes.
    Second, the pure mental functions of citizens were induced in certain directions through political and economic powerholders' covert online manipulations. While there were various methods of such manipulations, only the most serious of them will be explained here. Political powerholders and the economic powerholders administering searching systems colluded and manipulate search rankings to suit their own interests. For example, they configured search engine algorithms to relegate websites defending democratic systems accompanying separation to around the hundredth item of search results, even if their tone was moderate. It was easy for powerholders to make technologists rig the searching systems to downgrade the results for the queries with the key words such as "freedom," "liberty," "democracy," "separation," and "rule of law." Developing countermeasures, however, recently proved relatively easy for X and other information technologists, and they hacked those searching systems to delete the items of the websites for government propaganda and major corporate advertisements.

    Now, the dispute was ending with that young man's words, "It's better to avoid religious topics." However, if religions disappear, a grave problem remains. Humans have the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality), and that anxiety forms the desire to make the self eternal (= the desire for immortality), driving them to acquire and wield power and to leave glory. Some of those who have acquired power try to expand it and to plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, war, and massacre. Therefore, that anxiety needs to be reduced. Today, religions can no longer reduce it. Then, we need to seek some ways to reduce it such as the way that girl sought.
    When I was thinking this, a man in his fifties said calmly, "Even if religions decline, in order to prevent social confusion, some common values are necessary, aren't they?" Then that young man said to him, "Common ones are unnecessary." In any case, no one should impose their values on others. Values are what each individual needs to seek and what it is better for some individuals to talk about with one another. This dialog sometimes deepens individuals' values. Meanwhile, K was nodding at the counter, or rather, nodding off.

LIBERTY AND INDEPENDENCE

    Even under the autocratic regime, because speech was free within the bars in AT Town, a variety of opinions were being exchanged. Some of the regulars said something like this:

Though I do not uphold autocracy, when the environment, natural resources, and economy are tightened up this way, I believe we need powerful leaders planning and implementing bold policies.

Hearing that, the following thought came to mind. But I refrained from saying it at that place and time. I said it just before the revolution. By saying it, we would be able to completely prevent powerful leaders from emerging, becoming autocrats or charismatic rulers, and destroying the fruits of the revolution.
    In the broad course of history, powerful leaders often bring about disastrous consequences such as oppression and warfare. Some of them incite the people with stirring speeches. In addition, the longing for powerful leaders often goes hand in hand with nationalism and totalitarianism.
    In contrast to the broad course, in its minor tributaries, powerful leaders sometimes seem to provide citizens with few modest benefits. But what matters there is whether or not those seeming benefits are real ones such as real national interest. For example, it matters whether trying to protect their domestic industries by raising tariffs will lead to the real benefits for those industries or whether that policy will reduce their competitiveness in the international economy, leading to the decline of the very industries. To be sure, in developing countries, the protection of their domestic industries is necessary. But in developed countries, it is certain to reduces their competitiveness. In addition, what matters is whether a tax cut is progressive or regressive in practice. However, it is difficult, it seems, for citizens to see through or foresee those details, and they seem to have no choice but to entrust them to specialists. However, even if such delegation is necessary, it is so only in the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system). In the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system), it is unsuitable. In addition, as will be explained later, those "specialists" are different from "powerful leaders."
    Among holders of political and economic power and a segment of the middle class, there are some thoughts and speeches that seek powerful leaders and scorn the voice of the "masses." Those thoughts and speeches underestimate the general citizens' ability to analyze and synthesize political, economic, and social issues. However, what matters is not only such underestimation. For political powerholders, those thoughts and speeches are convenient to violate liberal rights and democratic systems, reinforce state powers, and plunge into autocracy. For economic powerholders and a segment of the middle class, they were convenient to piggyback on political powerholders and strengthen their economic power or increase their gains.
    As for individuals' tendencies of egos and emotions, most of those expecting powerful leaders have an intense tendency to be dependent on others and a small one to be independent as individuals. In addition, most of those with a intense tendency to control anything (= a controlling tendency) and a intense one of the desire for power do not depend on other powerholders or do rebel against them. Therefore, we cannot help saying that most of those expecting powerful leaders have a small tendency to be independent, a large one to be dependent, a half-way one to control anything, and a half-way one of the desire for power. Such dependent, half-way individuals tend to be incited by powerholders and to let them run wildly. The countries or societies with a lot of them tend to fall into autocracy or war or to decline.
    For the individuals who are liberal and independent and the societies composed of them, powerful leaders, to say nothing of autocrats, are not only unnecessary but also troublesome. General citizens need to elect not leaders but the members of L houses in L systems, the members of S houses, and the heads of the administrative powers in S systems. What is necessary in the L system is the rigidity with which liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation can be protected. What is necessary in the S system is the ability to analyze and synthesize society and nature. That rigidity and this ability are different from leadership, and rigid persons and specialists are far different from powerful leaders.
    And the aforementioned "ultimate egoism" should not be forgotten.
    On those grounds, rather than living for societies or nations while expecting or depending on powerful leaders, living for the self and immediate family members and friends while remaining independent of everything also works to the advantage of societies, nations, and the world.
    Those arguments might seem to be extreme ones, and I myself think that some parts of them are. But, again, voicing them just before the revolution served as a safeguard preventing autocrats or charismatic rulers from looming up at its climax and destroying its fruits.

OTHERS' FREEDOM IS MY OWN FREEDOM

A regular of Bar AQ said this.

When others' freedom is violated, it means that my own freedom can be violated. And so, in order to protect my own freedom, I need to protect not only mine but also others'. Others' freedom is my own.

No more did I need to say, I thought.

THE RIGHT AND DUTY TO DISOBEY UNCONSTITUTIONAL, UNLAWFUL ORDERS

A few veterans also frequented Bar AQ, and one of them shared his experience such as this:

I was once ordered by General M to suppress, capture, detain, and torture anti-government dissidents. Having dedicated myself purely to national defense, I felt a deep, strong reluctance to implement those orders. None of those actions went through judicial processes. They violated even our current, imperfect constitution, and broke several other laws. Furthermore, even our current, imperfect constitution guarantees the freedom of thought and speech, meaning those actions were a violation of that freedom. I want the constitution to explicitly state that public servants, including soldiers and police officers, have the right and duty to disobey unconstitutional orders. It would make things much easier for them.

Also about that, I did not think I needed to say any more, but someone said this:

If that happens, won't organizations break down into chaos, and won't politics stop functioning altogether?

That is mistaken. It is the judicial power that needs to rule on what is unconstitutional or illegal. The chaos only takes place because it lacks independence, failing to decisively rule on unconstitutionality or illegality. After the world revolution, each state's constitution stipulated this right and duty as follows: "Everyone, including public servants, have the right and duty to disobey unconstitutional or illegal orders." With the separation of the three powers accompanied by the separation between the L and S systems, the judicial power achieved complete independence, enabling it to rule decisively on constitutionality and legality. Then, no chaos took place. Or rather, those who issued unconstitutional or unlawful orders simply ceased to exist in the first place. That was because even if they issued them, it was obvious that the judicial power would invalidate them, and so lawmakers and bureaucrats no longer wasted their effort on useless actions.

IT IS TOO PRESUMPTUOUS

    QC, that counselor, too, sometimes came over to Bar AQ. I heard from her that she had been able to provide Q, my ex-wife, with counseling, and that she had held the fifth session that day. She said, "We came to the finding that if she stopped self-injury, something productive might begin. After a while Q said, 'I will make tonight the last time of self-injury and stop it from tomorrow.' I accepted her intention." I thought about it and said to her, "If you go on intending to stop something from tomorrow, when the next day comes, you'll just intend to stop it from tomorrow again and never stop anything." Then she said, "Even just intending so shows her progress, doesn't it?" I blurted, "Certainly." In fact, I thought so. Considering what Q used to be, it was tremendous progress.
    Days later, QC came over to Bar AQ in tears. She told me that Q was dead. She said, "That night, apparently, Q drank alcohol, overdosed, self-injured, and took a bath, just falling asleep and bleeding out." With tears streaming down her face, QC continued, "Q must have self-injured hard to make it the last one. I could not foresee it. I was mistaken. As you said, if we intend to 'stop something from tomorrow' we cannot stop anything forever. I should not have accepted such a dangerous and ineffective behavior." My heart ached for Q, thinking that she would have had a future if she had stopped self-injury as QC said days before. While thinking so, I said to QC, "It is also right that even just intending so is a progress, which you said. You are not mistaken. It is only that the way for Q to injure herself happened to be a hard one." I had no choice but to say so. Before long, QC got back on her feet. Now we must take the children left behind into account. What could I do for them? My paternal feelings started to rise again.
    Days later, QC came over to Bar AQ with a calm expression this time. She said, "I will not only counsel the children but also take them in and raise them." I was so startled that I knocked over my glass. She wiped the countertop for me as if she were taking care of a child. Given my current situation, I could not say anything. I was in no position to say, "I will leave it to you" or "Are you serious?" QC seemed to read my bewilderment, saying, "This has nothing to do with Q's death, your being their biological father, or my having been counseling them. They are truly cute. And so, I became their mother." I still could not say anything. Before long, she said, "I must rush, they are waiting for me," and went home.
    The paternal feelings that had surged within me lost their place to go and turned into self-mockery. Saying or thinking that I had better not stand out now was nothing more than rhetoric to cover up my wretchedness. However, after a while, I thought so from the bottom of my heart.
    In the end, the aforementioned "tendencies to fall into a vicious circle beyond generations" was severed. Decades later, the boy became an excellent legal scholar while adoring Professor P. The girl became an excellent counselor following in the footsteps of QC, who was her mother. Of course, the present and past of their biological father and the past of their biological mother remained concealed. They, the children and their mother, paved their way with their own hands. It is too presumptuous for me to stand out there.

THE DEEPEST AND MOST ENDURING LOVE

    A female nurse in her fifties sometimes came to Bar AQ. While the owner across the counter and I by her side were listening, she shared her experience:

Gene therapy is the star of modern medicine, and I chose to follow that path. For instance, that for cancer is inserting genes inactivating oncogenes or activating tumor suppressor genes into the patient's genes, and those inserted ones need to completely fit for the patient's. You can even say that they are completely tailor-made. And so, gene therapy is extremely expensive. Though nurses' work consists of plain and ordinary tasks such as drawing blood, giving IV injections, and administering IV drips, the compensation required in case of a single miss is also extremely high, putting nurses under intense pressure. Not many nurses are willing to take on such plain, high-pressure work. And so, the ones who take it on end up suffering from overwork. I have continued it without ever getting married or starting a family. I have been busy with the job. However, I sometimes feel a profound emptiness, and it has been persisting lately. First, even if doctors and nurses save lives, under these autocratic regimes, countless people are being killed by massacres, assassinations, wars, and misgovernments. In such a world, does medical care have a meaning? Second, and perhaps more importantly, gene therapy is extremely expensive, and so it is available only to powerholders, high-income earners, and their families. It is only a select few that advanced medical care is saving. When I consider those, I feel tremendous emptiness. To shake off that emptiness, in my youth, I went out partying, and had my share of romances. But I am no longer young. There are limits to partying and romance. I am not completely alone. When I go home, my mother is there. However, of course, she is getting older. She probably doesn't have much time left. If my mother passes away, I will be completely alone. Perhaps the only reason I have made it this far is that I have my mother. Come to think of it, it is embarrassing to be so dependent on my mother at my age.

Those were the nurse's words. Both the owner and I had been listening to her.
    Certainly, most of those who were independent of their parents and had started their own families would have thought that the life such as hers was lonely. I, too, thought so if only slightly. But I reconsidered. The common, natural love between a child and their mother is different from the egos and emotions that form the aforementioned spiraling tendencies. The former is the deepest and most enduring love. The life embracing it is deeper than that exchanging superficial, fleeting loves.
    When I said this thought to her, she said, "I have come to feel that deeply lately, although I didn't want to accept it when I was younger." After a brief silence, she said, "And I have discovered something: every person has parents. Even if they have no children." Somehow, the remark led me in a strange direction. Even an autocrat had their parents, so did that General M. Come to think of it, it was a wonder that we citizens knew nothing about his parents. Was he concealing them? Or had they been hiding themselves? Or had he killed them?
    Before long, the nurse said while downing her whiskey and water, "I have no idea what will become of me once my mother is gone." I started to worry, perhaps unnecessarily, that she might say, "When my mother dies, I'll die too." A happy-looking young couple sitting nearby happened to overhear her and tried to chime in. They probably wanted to say something like, "There are plenty of people left to meet." The owner stopped them. Sure, there might be some new meetings, but in her current state, they would not even cross her mind. She continued, "Sure, the deepest and most enduring love is that between a child and their mother. The most serious thing in life is loneliness. All the same, my mother is still alive. I will make the most of now." With that, she started packing up her things to leave. The owner said, "Forget about the bill today. It's my treat," but she left more than enough money on the counter and walked away with a light step.

A TINY REVOLUTION

    Every time we came to Bar AQ in AT Town, we found that the aforementioned "the isolaton of power" was developing in a broad sense. More and more frequently, the top echelon of the government, military forces, and large enterprises took out AT Town's prostitutes or hostesses to upscale entertainment districts in the suburbs. All the same, always late at night or early in the morning, the former went home, and the latter came home to AT Town. The distinction between prostitutes and hostesses nowadays had blurred, and their sexualities were diverse. All the same, they can be called "Women" or "They."
    After 20XX, the world saw a resurgence of not only the autocracy and monopoly by political and economic powerholders but also unorganized crimes and organized ones such as drug manufacturing and trafficking, and prostitution and its solicitation. Until a few years ago, (1) high-ranking military and police officers accepted bribes from (2) organized crime groups, turning a blind eye to (2) and keeping (2) alive. However, the bribes were not enough to satisfy (1). In addition, (2) became a burden for (1). And so, (1) crushed (2).
    Then Prostitutes or hostesses looked for customers online on their own. With no brokers, their earnings skyrocketed. In addition, they were now able to choose their own customers. In other words, they could flatly turn down anyone who was unpleasant or troublesome. Furthermore, "sexually transmitted diseases" had been overcome, and simple contraception had been developed. And so, their medical expenses were not so large. As a result, they were the de facto rulers of the current entertainment districts. Some of the upscale restaurants and hotels in the suburbs had also been bought out by their alliances.
    Though they went to the upscale entertainment districts in the suburbs outside AT Town and made good money, most of them were still living in this town. In their off-hours, they would eat and drink in the diners or bars here. Not a few of them were in Bar AQ. They gave their attention only to those who seemed to pay well. Though I did not look like one of them, perhaps I looked like a good listener. I had become a sounding board for their grievances, and so had Z. Most of them were single mothers. They came back to this town early in the morning, ate and drank a bit in diners or bars, came home after sunrise, took their children to nurseries, came home and slept, woke up before sunset, picked up their children from nurseries, fed them, put them to bed, and headed for the upscale entertainment districts outside this town.

LIBERAL RIGHTS THAT SHOULD NOT AND NEED NOT BE RESTRICTED FOR THE SAKE OF ANYTHING OR ANYONE

    Furthermore, they were often entangled in the scandals of the government and military elite. While prostitution itself was illegal and scandalous, the behaviors of some of the elite―above all, General M's―went beyond prostitution or a scandal. A prostitute said, "Though M paid well, he tied us down and did whatever he wanted. It went beyond what is called sadism, and he restrained us using what looked like medical equipment or drugs in a hospital-like room deep within his office. He was nothing but a pervert." I did not think so. Perhaps he had a very meticulous personality, and he was extremely wary even of the objects of love or sexual drive. All the same, it was illegal and scandalous to abuse his office within the military in such a way. At least, X, Z, and I considered uncovering it.
    Originally, liberal rights are the rights to resist the intervention by public powers, including state powers and public armed forces such as the military and the police, and are not the ones to do anything to private powers or general citizens. Originally, the liberal right of speech is the right to disclose and criticize the unconstitutional and illegal behaviors by holders of public powers and the flaws of public powers themselves and is not the one to criticize general citizens or expose their private lives. The liberal right of speech about general citizens is not an absolute liberal right but one of those which can be restricted under certain conditions. In contrast, that about public powers and holders of them is one of absolute liberal rights, that is, those which should not and need not be restricted for anything or anyone.
    Then what about exposing or criticizing the private lives of holders of public powers? Their private lives seem to have nothing to do with public powers. However, if exposing and criticizing them should be restricted, holders of public powers would restrict the speech about their public functions under the pretext of protecting their private lives. Therefore, as far as holders of public powers are concerned, the right to expose and criticize their private lives also needs to be an absolute one. By the way, this does not apply to their subordinates, family members, and friends who are merely entangled with them.
    What about the deliberate publication of disinformation and negligent publication of misinformation about public powers and holders of them? Here, too, if they were restricted, the publication of ordinary information could be restricted. Therefore, the right to publish any information about public powers and holders of them, including disinformation and misinformation, needs to be an absolute liberal right.
    After all, the liberal right of speech and expression about public powers, including state powers and public armed forces such as the military and the police, and holders of them―including the disclosure and criticism of their private lives and the deliberate publication of disinformation and the negligent publication of misinformation―needs to be one of absolute liberal rights, that is, those which should not and need not be restricted for the sake of anything or anyone.
    In contrast, the freedom of private property and that of contract can violate social rights through (1) destroying the environment, consuming natural resources, and violating the rights of laborers, and so those rights sometimes need to be restricted for the guarantee of social rights. Strictly speaking, speech and expression use media such as paper and electromagnetic wave and public spaces such as parks and streets and can cause (2) the destruction of the environment, the consumption of natural resources, and congestion. However, (2) is far less serious than (1). Moreover, out of (2), the (2) by the speech and expression about public powers and holders of them is next to nothing. Therefore, the liberal right of speech and expression about them not only should not but also need not be restricted for anything or anyone, and it is still an absolute one. In addition, as stated repeatedly, this right is necessary for the guarantee of social rights as well.
    This by no means implies that it is recommendable to expose the scandals or private lives of powerholders or to publicize disinformation. What needs to be exposed and criticized is embedded into the depths of power structure. Also, citizens do not have the time to indulge in the scandals or private lives of public figures. In addition, they are not so foolish as to be unable to discern facts from disinformation and misinformation.
    Together with the liberal right of speech and expression about public powers and holders of them, that of pure mental functions, and that of life are absolute liberal rights, that is, those which should not and need not be restricted for the sake of anything or anyone. Everyone is free to think and say anything or nothing in police stations, courts, or prisons. In the modern world where death penalty had been abolished, the liberal right of life should not have been restricted by anything or anyone, but autocratic governments and military forces around the world were violating it through massacre, assassination, and torture outside judicial processes.
    Even under the current autocratic regimes, prostitution was a crime, and that at public expense was all the more so. Though it was the police and the prosecution that should have investigated and prosecuted it, they were the puppets of powerholders, and it was no use inducing them to investigate them. In addition, without knowing his true nature, some subordinates or citizens probably idolized General M. And so, at least Z, X, and I had planned to uncover those behaviors by General M while ignoring similar ones by other officers.

A SINGLE MOTHER'S LAMENT

    However, days later, that plan evaporated in the face of a more critical crime. That day, I was in Bar AQ with Z. Among the prostitutes frequenting Bar AQ was QP. She was a single mother, but she had lost her only daughter to a traffic accident two years before. She broke down in tears, and some other prostitutes were rubbing her shoulders. As Z and I went over to them, they said QP was telling them that General M had killed her daughter. We sat down near QP and listened to her. She sobbed, "Two years ago I was practically a mistress of General M's. My daughter was annoying for him. He must have killed her by faking a traffic accident. The customer who I took last night happened to be one of M's men. When I brought up the murder, he sneered, 'That often happens.' Is that all a life is worth to them?"
    QP was getting drunk and rough. Though we really understood her feelings, I said to myself, "If she goes to the police to accuse General M, they may investigate this bar, bringing dire consequences." Apparently, Z was thinking the same. Some other prostitutes, Z, and I decided to take QP to the park near the harbor and sober her up.
    At first, she staggered while the other prostitutes wrapped their arms around her, but before long, she began to walk on her own. The park perched slightly above the piers, and we could look out over the harbor. While both the sky and the sea were pitch dark, skyscrapers were reflected on the sea, shining and rippling. Passenger boats and piers were illuminated. Young couples were looking over the sea reflecting light while sitting on the edges of piers with their legs dangling. Night breeze was cool.
    That harbor had some piers used only by the military, and they were off-limits and could not be seen, but a security barrier and a check gate piercing it were in sight. Apparently, military duties for the day were ending, and a lot of men in plain clothes were coming out of the gate, including several well-dressed men. Z whispered in my ear, "That is General M." An elderly man was walking, flanked by those several men. I mumbled, "You have a good sight." Z continued, "Burn his face into your mind." However, I could not see it well because of the distance.
    Then we heard a voice behind us, "That is M." Looking back, we saw QP gazing down at her daughter's killer. Then she began to stagger toward him. The other prostitutes stopped her and pulled her in the opposite direction. She resisted but their power prevailed.
    We went back to the benches where the security barrier and check gate were out of sight and sat, looking over the sea. Some passenger boats were returning to the harbor from the open sea. Fortunately, no military vessels were in sight. Before long, she fell asleep with her head cradled in the lap of one of them.

WARS OF LOCAL INVASIONS LIMITED TO NATURAL RESOURCES

    Now, the spark igniting the Fourth World War was struck. Superpower B invaded Small Country D, which was wedged between Superpowers A and B and was abundant in food resources. The pretext proclaimed by B's President BP was that "A is abusing D's natural resources. B must preserve them." But the pretext was also a fact. The term "food resources" means not only the food stored in storehouses but also farmland, pasture, orchards, fisheries, and so forth where food can be sustainably produced and the fertilizer, fresh or sea water, sunlight, and so forth that are necessary for them. Human beings continued to make progress in some fields of biological technology such as manipulations of genes and cultured meat also after 20XX. However, the increase of food production through them was insignificant. Though the world had seen countless famines or food shortages before 20XX, they were all localized, and the global limit of food production had not yet been exposed. In the summer of 25YY, that limit had already become clear, and the global food shortage was impending. These days, the most important of all natural resources was not oil, gas, or metal ore but food resources. And so, Superpower B employed the strategy of "wars of localized invasions limited to natural resources" consisting of (1)(2)(3).

(1) They do not use totally destructive means but only use conventional weapons. This is because the food resources which they want to seize can be contaminated if they use the former.
(2) They leave the evacuation routes for the people living where food resources are produced or make new ones discreetly. This is because doing so overtly can provoke their backlash.
(3) If any military forces are dispatched from other countries, they fight back, but if unarmed rescue teams are dispatched, they do not obstract them.

Through (1)(2)(3), they can seize or occupy only the coveted food resources, driving out the unwanted people living there without massacres. The people evacuate to where food resources cannot be produced, temporarily surviving through the aid from other countries.
    In history, those who invaded and conquered other nations or regions massacred, enslaved, oppressed, or ruled those remaining there, but they never so deliberately and cunningly evacuated the residents. In the coming era, where food resources are insufficient and vital, such a strategy will sometimes emerge.
    I went public with the revelation that B's government or military forces were intentionally employing such a strategy. Furthermore, I added, "It is better for the government not to intervene in it militarily. Please do not invite a world war or the use of totally destructive means with military intervention. Please dispatch only an unarmed aid team."
    Then, A's government sought to appoint me as the head of the aid team. Surprisingly, that General M came over to my office at A1 University in plain clothes to persuade me to accept the position. I was suited for it in that I was not high-ranking military officer or bureaucrat. But I was an extremely inconvenient person for powerholders including General M. However, he and his subordinates did not know it at all.
    He said courteously, "At this stage, we should not go to war. It's premature. Only you'll be able to lead the aid team and evacuate those people peacefully. No others can do it." His statement's real meaning, I thought, was that I must buy time for them to prepare not only to go to war but also to win it. I thought he was a genuine seeker of power because he humbled himself to those whom he wanted to take advantage of, and I felt that though most seekers of economic power would have such a personality, the holders of political power including military officers who had it were the most horrible. He was dressed as casually as he could. He had been accompanied by some guards who were also in plain clothes but clearly seemed to be professionals, and the secretariat of A1 University was thrown into a quiet commotion. And so, he left them outside the gate. That could also be looked upon as courteous, magnanimous, or self-confident. I thought it was different from the mere humility of economic powerholders, and I felt that a political powerholder or military man such as him was truly horrible. Initially, I declined the offer. Then, I felt that he began to try to instill a different kind of horror into me. I accepted the position for my own future and that of Group G.
    After General M left, X feared he might have left behind listening devices or surveillance cameras, and using her self-made detector, she examined the areas where he had walked and sat. She inconspicuously scanned hallways as well. We did the same not only when suspicious people came around but also every day and night. Nothing suspicious was found. We trusted X's technology with hardware as well.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE REFUGEES AND THE STAFF BLURRED

    U, X, and Z offered to accompany me to D. I thanked them, but I persuaded them to stay, saying, "You have heavy responsibilities here in this superpower."
    I came to the site with a convoy of thousands of trucks. They were loaded with all the things we thought were necessary like outdoor gear, medical supplies and equipment, drinking water, highly nutritious food, excavators for digging wells, pumps for drawing groundwater, portable toilets, and mobile clinics. They were accompanied by outdoor survival experts, medical staff, and equipment operators.
    In the late summer of 25YY, vast farmland sprawled as far as the eye could see. Glancing around, I could not help understanding the reason for the invasion. Yellow-green wheat was swaying in the wind under the blue sky and white clouds. Dragonflies were beginning to fly. Do you see what this means? The wheat was just a step away from turning golden, but it was still yellow-green and unready for harvest. The refugees could not even flee with any harvested crops. I wondered if President BP of Superpower B had calculated the exact timing of the invasion, but I assumed she had rushed it just before the harvest.
    Fortunately, high summer was over, and it was growing a little cooler, but it was still hot. Only dragonflies were flying as if enjoying a cool breeze. The refugees did not adopt "scorched earth tactics." What is more, they were weaving their way through farm roads without entering the fields. The sight was pitiful. Though what they were protecting would be occupied and seized by B, I thought the respect for food resources was deeply rooted in their hearts.
    The disabled, sick, and elderly were being carried on stretchers or on their juniors' backs. We had anticipated that. Wheelchairs and nursing robots could not navigate farm roads or mountain roads, which were not paved, and they soon halted because there was no power supply. Though there were some paved roads even on the farmland, they were congested with trucks carrying necessities, portable toilets, and mobile clinics. Wheelchairs and nursing robots were useful only in cities. Though we had anticipated that, the refugees and their caregivers still endured immense hardships.
    B's military helicopters or drones sometimes flied overhead. Perhaps they were scouting out how far the refugees had evacuated. Their roars shook us to our core. Every time they flew over, the refugees shuddered, and their children cried. And so, at the end of the line of the refugees, we hoisted the vast banners that literally read, "THE VERY END." Then, all that flew overhead were dragonflies.
    There were ex-soldiers of D among the refugees. They said with a complex expression and tone, "A while after the battle between B's military forces and D's started, some of D's soldiers surrendered and were integrated into B's. Others turned down the surrender or integration, fighting against D's soldiers absorbed into B's armed forces. We chose to desert D's and to be refugees. Though any of those ways is dangerous, ours seems to be the least dangerous." Neither D's soldiers who had been absorbed into B's armed forces nor the ones who had deserted D's could be blamed, I thought. Neither of them had any choice but to act as they did in order to survive. The only one to blame was President BP, who planned and executed the strategy of "wars of invasions limited to natural resources." I said to them, "Now that it's hard for us to survive, let's save dealing with the past for the future." In addition, I told the members of the aid team to immediately inform me without saying or doing anything if they found anyone who seemed to have been D's high-ranking military officers. After all, none of them were found. Presumably, they managed to blend in with B's soldiers, but they could not be blamed, either.
    After a while, we plunged into a wild, barren terrain that could never be turned into farmland―a region where even B's army dared not pursue us. As we trudged, the elevation increased. And so, the refugees looked out over the farmland that had been the source of their lives. I thought it was cruel, but there was no other route. B's military forces had already spread through the farm roads. Dark military vehicles dotted the carpet of yellow-green wheat bathed in sunlight. At this sight, the elderly had faint tears welling in their eyes. Literally, they had been cultivating the farmland since they were children. Some younger refugees tried to encourage them saying, "We will return there," or "We will retake that." I said to myself, "There will be new land to cultivate," but refrained from saying it to them at that time.
    We reached barren mountainous land that B would never claim. We were able to set up camp. Thanks to outdoor survival experts, tents began to spring up everywhere across the valley. We had brought drinking water and food with us, and if we run short, more would be delivered by trucks and helicopters shuttling back and forth. All the same, both the refugees and the staff would want to take showers and wash their grimy clothes. Also, maintaining hygiene would help prevent the spread of infectious diseases to some extent. For these reasons, we drew up groundwater with excavators and pumps.
    First, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, and the young children stayed there with their families. They were left with sufficient supplies and staff. The further we proceeded, the more the number of the refugees and staff who stayed grew. Mountains rose ahead, and looking back, we saw tents everywhere across the valleys.
    A's government had assured me that the number of the refugees would not exceed a million. If the assurance had been correct, the refugees could have survived even the winter in the mountainous terrain. However, that number had already exceeded two million. I said to myself, "A's government's sloppy as well." In the modern era, even a small country boasted a population of over ten million. Where would the able-bodied overflowing from those valleys head? Those refugees, the staff, and I debated and decided to head toward A for the time being.
    While the adults trudged silently, most of the children muttered and sobbed. Among them, there was a girl wailing. I learned that she was crying because she only then found that she had left a doll behind, and that it was apparently the keepsake of her deceased parents. A woman around thirty came along, took a doll out of her backpack, and handed it to the girl. She stopped wailing. Though it could not replace that keepsake, she apparently felt something within that woman. The woman hug her and sobbed. A man who looked like her husband said, "Our daughter was killed by a stray bullet in the fighting before the evacuation. We could not even bury her. That doll is her keepsake." I found myself wondering what the late girl would have thought if she had seen this. That woman's inner conflict was unfathomable. There might have been an ego intending to fill the void left by the loss of her daughter, an ego seeking a substitute for her own daughter, or a feeling of self-hatred for harboring such an ego. But something that simply could not bear to see a child in pain was deeply at work, I thought. This might be an instinct in human beings as well. In any case, her inner conflict remained unfathomable. Her husband offered to join the aid team as an extra member. After a while, the woman recovered her usual self, becoming an extra member and taking care of orphans, including that girl. Or rather, by this time, it had become difficult to even tell the staff, including me, apart from the refugees.
    For the time being, we had been heading toward Superpower A. We discussed where we would head from this point on. I had a plan. That "Radioactive Exclusion Zone F" was within days' walk. I had already confirmed a few key facts. First, there was no residual radioactivity. Second, we could pick wild fruits and vegetables and non-toxic mushrooms. Third, we could pump up uncontaminated groundwater. In addition, we might even be able to hunt deer and rabbits. I proposed that plan. Most of them agreed. Or rather, there was no other choice.
    We entered a vast pasture. It might not be long before B's army came over to occupy it. The locals also seemed anxious about it and sympathized with us. Some of them even provided us with fresh beef for free. We grilled it outdoors, turning it into a modest, impromptu barbecue. The children were delighted. The adults, including me, felt deeply apologetic for having nothing to give in return.
    We pressed on day after day, pacing ourselves with frequent rests. Even more than the refugees, it was the staff who needed rest. It was no wonder. Because most of them were city dwellers. As for me, my years of excavation seemed to have built up my toughness, so I didn't feel much fatigue.
    Fortunately, there were few harmful animals, birds, or insects. Though the peak of summer was gone, it was still hot. Under the blue sky stretching endlessly, it was our only solace to see dragonflies skimming over the grass. Both the children and the adults found joy in watching them. Some children said, "They are like drones." I said to myself, "It is not that birds or insects have imitated our aircraft, but rather it is the opposite. But that is not worth arguing about." As might have been true in the decades leading up to 20XX, dragonflies could not be found even in the suburbs, not to mention a city.
    Among refugees was BC, a world-renowned news photographer in her forties from B. She had been filming the civilians involved in the battles in D. In the midst of the filming, for some unknown reason, B's army had severely damaged both of her eyes, leaving her completely blind. Now, with a blindfold covering her scars, she managed to walk on her own with a cane. She never let go of her camera.
    I took her to some grassland where children were running after dragonflies. Suddenly, she squared her shoulders, tucked her chin, and brought the camera up to her right eye that should no longer have been there behind the blindfold. Simultaneously, I felt as if a flash of light had sparked from the empty space where her eye used to be. She must have been capturing some images through children's cheers, grassy scent, and the sunlight and wind caressing her skin. She clicked the shutter over and over again. Some of the pictures were embraced by refugees and spread among them in sheer wonder. What moved them might have been the empathy shared as fellow oppressed humans. But that is not all. Paradoxically through senses other than sight, she was literally groping her way toward a new visual art in the dark. It was the birth of a "Blind Cameraperson" (BC). We strode and strode. BC strode surrounded by children.

THE LAST SUPPER

    Arriving at Zone F, we found that wild fruits had grown profuse, hanging heavy on the branches beyond our expectations. The trees were lush, the sunlight filtered through the leaves, and the temperature was moderate. Birds with beautiful feathers and crests and large butterflies flew gracefully. Rabbits raised their ears, and deer cocked their heads, but they were not so cautious. Those were sights never found in common forests. They were too beautiful. The area in Zone F I had excavated was beautiful as well, but it had a calm beauty that was felt familiar. This difference was due to the fact that Zone F was vast and diverse. There were few animals, birds, or insects that were harmful to humans.
    Presumably, during the decade following 20XX, only plants and microorganisms survived, and animals went extinct from radiation. Then, pollinator-dependent plants might have gone extinct. As the radioactivity gradually subsided, herbivores such as rabbits and deer, and pollinators such as birds and insects―animals situated lower on the food chain―returned here. Then, pollinator-dependent plants revived. A crater that seemed to have been created by a nuclear explosion had become a lake where tiny freshwater fish were swimming in schools. Sooner or later, carnivores―animals positioned higher up the food chain―would come back. This meant that this area in Zone F was under formation as a forest, and that the timing of our evacuation happened to be fortunate.
    We cheered with joy and began to dig wells with excavators. We were already used to the task. We also started to craft ladders for clipping fruit and traps for catching rabbits and deer. We soon got used to those tasks as well. Each adult or child bit fruit of appropriate size and softness for them without peeling. By the way, those who could not eat solid food, such as babies and the sick, were still in those valleys with their families, where there remained sufficient supplies and staff. Regarding rabbits and deer, after, as we called it, "euthanizing" them upon capture, we roasted them whole, skinned and disassembled them, and held them by the bone, biting into their flesh. Both fruit and meat were delicious. We devoured lean meat and fat all at once. The hides and bones were hung out to dry. They might be useful for something later. Heads, hearts, large blood vessels, trachea, lungs, and digestive tracts were buried in the soil. They might become fertilizer later. Wild plants and mushrooms were also available. They were cooked into soup, tasting good. Regarding mushrooms, unfamiliar ones were left untouched for fear that they might be toxic. Outdoor survival experts said they were unnecessary in that forest. Medical staff said those diets would be much healthier than urban ones. I said to myself, "Even though we did it after 'euthanizing' them, I will not tell U that we roasted rabbits and deer whole."
    The ones remaining in those valleys began to join us. Within weeks, countless communities were spontaneously formed. Each of them consisted of dozens of refugees and staff. No power, law, or money was necessary on that scale. Since natural resources were abundant, no one needed to struggle for them.
    I started to make wine from wild grapes in the community that I belonged to. By supplementing it with dry yeast for baking, a batch large enough for all its adult members was fermented in a week or so. Initially, we started to drink it stealthily so that neighboring communities could not find out. However, we ended up building a bonfire and drinking around it. The firelight brought the people's faces into relief. It was hard to tell if their faces were red from the alcohol or the glow of the fire. Though the wine was murky because I could not filter it, it was good. Those who could not drink much had soon fell asleep. The heavy drinkers who had been latent during the evacuation revived. Of course, there were not a few women among them. Some of them stripped down and danced. Some men and women talked loudly about the future of this forest. One of them declared, "We will change the name of this forest from 'Zone F' to 'F Forest.'" As the banquet went on, most chatted about this and that. But regrettably, the wine was already running low, for dozens of men and women had joined us from neighboring communities. As we sat in a circle, drinking and eating, someone cried out, "This F Forest is ours." Cheers echoed through the woods.
    For a while, you will be able to get by on hunting and gathering alone. You will start agriculture and livestock farming sooner or later. However, beasts may come over sooner than that. Or rather, they may already be lurking somewhere. Stay alert. Even if they do not come over, infectious diseases may spread. Though they are not as devastating as totally destructive means developed and used by human beings, do not let your guard down against microorganisms. Your forest is still young. You will witness the real food chain, struggle for survival, and symbiosis from now on.

EVE OF THE FOURTH WORLD WAR

    I had already immersed myself in winemaking in "F Forest." I wanted to make it using only the yeast inherent in wild grapes, without reinforcing it with dry yeast. However, university summer break was over, and I had to get back to my teaching job. More importantly, I had to get back to my underground work―the world revolution. For these reasons, I stepped down as the head of the aid team and let someone else take over. Since the news had spread that there was no residual radioactivity in F Forest, that the refugees had all moved into it, and that B's armed forces posed no threat to it for the time being, several individuals vied for the position, and one gladly took it. From the very beginning, as a historian, I had begged the refugees to preserve what seemed to be the documents and relics from before 20XX, and they had done so flawlessly. A's government did not blame me for leading the refugees into "Radioactive Exclusion Zone F," which we dubbed "F Forest." The day after that first drinking party, I quietly headed for A's capital, taking a shuttle truck.
    Upon arriving there, I was forced to realize that, despite all our efforts, the world stood on the eve of the Fourth World War. I said to myself, "So, A's government and military forces didn't blame me. They couldn't afford to." Life in F Forest had been like a dream, but I soon returned to the reality of the eve of the Fourth World War.
    As described above, Superpower B had already occupied the areas abundant in food resources in Small Country D, which was wedged between A and B. Superpower A had also been invading other adjacent countries. In addition, each of those two superpowers had allied with some countries, dispatching its military forces to them, and some skirmishes had already broken out between the allies of those two camps. Superpower C, the only remaining superpower, was staying neutral for the time being, but its movements were ominous, keeping A and B on close watch.
    The governments of A and B had long been autocratic, and they were now becoming increasingly so. Each of them declared a wartime system and suspended its constitution, elections, legislative power, and judicial power, which, from the beginning, had been hollowed out and had not been functioning. In Superpower C, though its state power had been democratized decades before, its democracy had been quickly hollowed out. Now, its state power was blatantly becoming autocratic.
    Classifying autocracy, Professor P called some military officers completely seizing political power "Military-running-alone" Autocracy, and called some civilian officials' completely controlling and abusing the military "Civilian-abusing-military" Autocracy. Nevertheless, he also emphasized they were two extremes of a continuum, and so there were numerous intermediate forms. In A, while General M held de facto political power, President AP remained the formal head of state, and its autocracy was an intermediate form leaning toward the former. It was convenient for General M to leave civilian officials in the foreground because he could make them bear the brunt of criticism, if any. In B, though president BP was from B's military, she had left the military and disguise herself as a civil servant ten years before, making its autocracy an intermediate form leaning toward the latter. In any case, in major countries worldwide, a few civilian or military officers completely controlled and commanded military forces, thereby acquiring the power to go to war and to use totally destructive means.
    The holders of political and economic power at least in A, B, and their respective allies held up winning war as the supreme goal, incited nationalism and patriotism, and exaggerated seeming national interest, all of which were nothing more than pretexts for them to expand their power and plunge into autocracy and monopoly. If that expansion of power had remained within each state, a precarious balance would have been maintained between nations, that is, inter-nationally. Powerholders around the world would have tacitly accepted that balance. If the balance had not been disrupted, no world war would have broken out. However, powerholders inherently sought to expand their power beyond national borders. B's President BP had ordered the invasion of D, a small nation wedged between A and B. Furthermore, BP had posed a threat to F Forest, which was within A's territory. A's General M, of course, was responding to that. Furthermore, he might not stop at a mere reaction, but could even drive toward world domination or destruction. In any case, the disruption of that strange balance was why we found ourselves on the eve of World War IV. The same must have applied to the eve of past world wars. What mattered was what to do on that eve. In our case, it was to complete a world revolution.
    As expected, it was the day after my return to A that General M showed up at my office again. After praising my achievements, he pressured me to accept the position of the administrator for F Forest this time. His true intention was likely to use me to bolster its defenses. I told him that I was occupied with my teaching duties this semester and requested that I be allowed to reconsider the offer toward its end. This was because I was certain that the world revolution would be completed, and autocracies around the world would be overthrown, by the time the semester ended.

EXPLOITING NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISM, THE POPULATION PROBLEM, AND NATIONAL INTEREST

    In most countries worldwide, holders of political and economic power revived, incited, and exploited nationalism and patriotism, which had lain dormant. However, the way to incite and use them was increasingly sophisticated. For example, President BP increased the number of stories featuring concerned patriots in elementary school textbooks. In contrast, General M often spoke fossilized cliches like, "Men sometimes have to fight for the country in order to protect their families." It went without saying that no war served anything. That was the only time when some members of Group G whispered, "In order to protect our families and friends, we, men and women alike, need to assassinate General M." Those words were not rhetorical but literal. In fact, some of the members of Group G, including me, had lost our families and friends to his orders. If Z and X had gotten serious, Group G would have been able to assassinate General M. However, if we had done so, some of us would have been sacrificed, and the "bloodless" revolution we had been seeking would not have been accomplished.
    In addition, the population issue was exploited. In order to restrain the world population, an unexpected number of intellectuals acquiesced in

[group AAA] the sufferings caused between human beings and nature such as natural disasters, large-scale man-made disasters, famines, food shortages, and pandemics on the one hand and
[group BBB] the sufferings caused between humans such as wars, massacres, the development and use of indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive ones on the other hand.

Citizens were critical of those intellectuals. Powerholders, who were cunning, pretended they had not acquiesced in such measures. In the end, through the global ones in group AAA and the local ones in group BBB, the world population was barely restrained to the earth's carrying capacity. Now, the most significant point was this: Since group BBB had been local, it had not brought about extinction. If it had spread worldwide, leading to the use of totally destructive means in a cycle of retaliation, some species of living things including humans on the surface of the earth would have gone extinct. In fact, 20XX had witnessed this. What is meant here is not that group AAA could be neglected but that the effort to prevent group BBB was, compared with the endeavor to prevent group AAA, far too meager. For example, the government of a large country distributed low-energy (low-calorie) diet food in a food shortage. It went without saying that energy intake was the most important during a famine or food shortage. The astonishment, fury, and despair of those to whom low-energy food was distributed were unimaginable. It was far from a joke. Doctors and scientists worldwide fiercely criticized the government. That was important. All the same, they should have criticized the powerholders around the world who went on developing and possessing totally destructive means at least as fiercely as they condemned the distribution of low-energy food in a food shortage.
    From the twentieth century onward, it could not be denied that the effort to prevent group BBB was far more meager than the endeavor to prevent group AAA. Perhaps that was because humans had a kind of resignation that group BBB was the nature of human society and could not be helped. In contrast, anti-government groups around the world thought that that resignation was premature and tried to demonstrate that it was possible to eradicate totally destructive means.
    Nationalism and patriotism, and struggles with the population issue sometimes collaborated in a bizarre way. In Superpowers A and B, some powerholders openly made statements like, "Our people are superior to others in both cultural and biological aspects. If we wage war and exterminate others, the population issue will be solved, and superior human beings, cultures, and genes will survive." They were too naive. They did not mention anything about the possibility that that attack could lead to a cycle of retaliation. In contrast, higher-ranking powerholders such as General M and President BP undoubtedly fully recognized the possibility. Therefore the situation remained the "eve" of a world war.
    Now, as for "biological aspects," they are inherited through genes and undergo evolution. However, as was explained earlier, while the evolution from one subspecies to another requires hundreds to thousands of years, that from one species to another requires tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. Therefore, all that is different is the external appearance such as the color of skin, irises, and hair, facial features, and physique. Intelligence and temperament are not different. As for "cultural aspects," while the framework forming culture is inherited through genes and undergoes evolution, culture's contents are not inherited and do not undergo evolution but are communicated through media. In the modern era, the communication between different human societies takes only seconds to fractions of a second, leading to less and less significant difference in cultural aspects. On these grounds, so-called "superiority" does not arise between human societies in both cultural and the biological aspects. Citizens and most powerholders around the world knew that. For this very reason, those statements were eerie.
    However, even more eerie statements sporadically surfaced anonymously online: "Had it not been for the extinction of humanity on the earth's surface following 20XX, the population would have increased much more, the natural resources would have been exhausted even further, and you would be suffering far greater pain. So, it is not so bad to annihilate those on the surface." They emerged not only anonymous but also under the guise of ordinary citizens. However, in the end, they drew few reactions across the entire network. What is more, the few reactions were along the lines of: "I hate any kind of pain." and "Never mind that. Just worry about what to eat today." Given the circumstances, such reactions were ever so natural.
    In contrast to nationalism and patriotism, which were mental or emotional, powerholders had often appealed to "national interest," which seemed to be practical, as the pretext for going to war, and many were now doing so. The pursuit of national interest itself does not matter much. The most critical question is whether some powerholders are displaying seeming national interest in order to maintain or expand their power. For instance, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the question was whether they were brandishing tariff hikes and the protection of domestic industries in order to win elections. In 25YY, the question was whether they were exaggerating the significance of securing foreign natural resources in order to expand their power through warfare. In fact, President BP did so fiercely, and General M persistently.
    However, in a situation where food resources were being exhausted on a global scale, to describe what was at stake, powerholders should have used not the term "national interest," which were complex, vague, and greasy, but the simple word "food."

MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES

    Selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power have already been explained. They are decisive ways to prevent world wars and the development and use of totally destructive means in the structure and dynamics of horizontal division between world powerholders and world citizens. This chapter will focus on military technologies.
    There had been a theory breaking the balance of "MAD" as early as in the end of the second millennium when MAD had been in its heyday. It had had the nickname containing the title of a movie prevailing those days, but in short, it had been a "missile interception system," and all that had been new had been extending where to intercept missiles from within the atmosphere to outer space. Recently, a theory that was allegedly groundbreaking emerged at least in Superpowers A and B. It was like, "The interception of missiles within the atmosphere is less expensive and more secure than that in outer space. Refocusing on the atmosphere, we have developed a system capable of intercepting all the missiles from enemies. With this system, we can completely contain the aggression and retaliation with missiles from enemies." While that was plain and simple as a theory, would it actually function? Perhaps it was nothing more than a strategic bluff. In any place and time, powerholders often feigned the advancement of their military technologies as a means of intimidation. Some covert rebels (covert informants) informed us that the actual interception rate was confirmed to be less than ten percent per missile, adding that the top echelons of the government and military were also informed of that low rate. Later, that information proved accurate, and our SMAD functioned flawlessly.
    In addition, powerholders regarded the technologies involved in shelters as military ones, placing too much trust in them. Certainly, they had made great progress. No matter how far they advance, it goes without saying that it is impossible to construct shelters that can accommodate billions of citizens worldwide. Most citizens, including the lower and middle ranks of governments, military forces, and enterprises, have no choice but to be left on the surface of the earth or to flee into flimsy ones. If totally destructive means should be used, though those who evacuated into robust shelters might survive, they would represent only a tiny fraction of human beings. It has already been explained that we cannot look upon such survival as our existence. We, a global coalition of anti-government groups, devised a strategy to utilize powerholders' overconfidence in their shelters: completing a world revolution while they were in shelters and preventing them from striking back by shutting down all shelter exits.
    In addition, we had been groping for a strategy that would take advantage of another form of powerholders' overconfidence. By 25YY, the communication technologies between shelters and the surface of the earth, too, had advanced. With them, in case no totally destructive means were used, powerholders around the world were confident they could control the remnants of the governments, military forces, and enterprises left on the surface. In contrast, we were certain that if powerholders sheltered underground, the remnants on the surface would defect all at once to anti-government groups and citizens. In the end, our confidence proved accurate. Powerholders only believed in science and technology and did not understand human emotions. The abandoned who were not taken to shelters and were left on the surface would never obey those who had forsaken them.

THE FIRST AND LAST SHOWDOWN

    Now, on the eve of the Fourth World War, I thought as follows.

    At present, even if the parts that powerholders overstate to use as pretexts are excluded, the deterioration of the environment, the exhaustion of natural resources, and the world population's surpassing the earth's carrying capacity, which is dwindling under these conditions, are impending. Above all, food shortages, which are inevitable due to the stark limit of food resources, are impending. Historically, numerous famines and food shortages have broken out, yet they were invariably localized and never on a global scale. Though they seemed global in 20XX, sufficient food resources were left available. In the present world, the room for their development is left only within three "radioactive exclusion zones." While that F Forest has been confirmed to be free of residual radioactivity and possesses a relatively large acreage, the others, even if confirmed to be free of it, have small acreages and cannot produce much food. What is more, that F Forest is now saturated with those refugees from D. In the past, high hopes were placed on biological technologies such as gene manipulations and cultured meat. However, the increase of food production through those technologies has never outpaced the growth of the world population.
    In these situations, some of the aforementioned "wars of local invasions limited to natural resources" have already started not only around that D but also around some other countries rich in food resources. The present war is not over national interest, territory, religion, ethnicity, ideology, or the like, which are complicated and vague, but over food resources, which are plain and vital for our existence. How could humans have waged wars for what is not vital for our existence? Those wars could have been avoided. Even the First, Second, and Third World Wars could have been avoided. The wars from now on will be fought over what is vital for our existence. They are genuine wars. That is to say, the impending one is the first war. We human beings have no choice but to complete a world revolution on the very eve of the war, to eradicate totally destructive means, and to establish and maintain democratic systems accompanying separation around the world. Otherwise, there would be no existence, not even war. That is to say, the impending one is the last war. Ultimately, it is the first and last war. Preventing it on its very eve is the first and last showdown.

PREVENTING INFIGHTING

    Anti-government groups and covert rebels around the world took action just as had been planned and agreed. Most citizens did not live near the main facilities of governments and military forces―the isolation of power. Even in ordinary people's towns, they were moving to the peripheries. Citizens, anti-government groups, and covert rebels around the world had been disclosing to one another the information concerning the government and military forces of each country―the mutual disclosure of power. Above all, the high-ranking bureaucrats and military officers inside governments and military forces who were able to collect precious information―covert informants―were providing the latest intelligence. Of course, they knew that if totally destructive means should be used, those left on the surface of the earth would go extinct. First, those unlikely to be taken into shelters desperately disclosed information. Even those likely to be taken there were disclosing information because the potential lifestyle there disgusted them. Anti-government groups around the world disclosed information not only to one another but also to governments and military forces. Thereby governments and military forces would be able to destroy only one another―SMAD (Selective Mutual Assured Destruction). In addition, anti-government groups around the world had declared that overt or covert rebels from governments and military forces would never be accused after revolution and would maintain better treatment than before when they wished to remain in public service―the recommendation of rebellion with immunity. In addition, those who were inside governments or military forces and at the positions able to influence their policies or strategies―covert strategy inducers―induced them by saying, for instance, "Even without the use of totally destructive means, you can selectively destroy rival governments and military forces. In addition, if you should use totally destructive means, the very natural resources you are fighting for would be polluted. Accordingly, you need not and should not use totally destructive means." For the same reason as the above, they induced them without giving in. In addition, we recommended that as many countries as possible remain neutral―the recommendation of neutrality. Above all, we targeted Country C, the only remaining superpower.
    Against those preparations made by anti-government groups and citizens, if it had been a time of peace, powerholders would have deployed every means to suppress them. However, in such a situation where they were plunging into a world war, they could not manage to suppress us. Or rather, they were too busy preparing to shelter underground. Above all, they seemed to be so in the selection of those taken into shelters, and there was some infighting. Our strategies and preparations also included cornering powerholders into such situations as they could not afford to suppress domestic anti-government groups or citizens, but we had not expected them to unfold so flawlessly.
    Some of those preparations had been planned by a few anti-government groups in 20XX as well. However, none of them had been carried out. Why? That was because anti-government groups had disputed with each other both within each country and between countries over political and economic systems. This time, however, we were preventing that same infighting by the following principle:

Each state power would be separated between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system). In the L system, strict liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation would be protected. It would be debated in the S system and its surroundings in each state after the revolution

whether the economic system should be capitalism or communism, or their mixture;
if it is their mixture, how they should be mixed;
how the monopoly (or oligopoly) of enterprises should be addressed;
how public enterprises should be addressed;
whether welfare systems, including the medical care system, should be based on high welfare and high taxation, low welfare and low taxation, or a hybrid model;
whether public powers should actively intervene in the preservation of the environment and the conservation and efficient use of natural resources, whether they should be left to the market economy, or whether they should be based on a hybrid model;
whether the government should be a big or small one, or where it should be in the continuum between them;
and so forth.

It is best to debate those questions only in and around the S system. Debating them in the entire state power where the L system and S systems are intermingled causes unnecessary infighting. That is to say, separating each state power between the two systems of L and S also had the effect of reducing such infighting.
    Furthermore, in each country around the world, the anti-government groups put their draft for the provisional constitution to a public vote, even if only online. Those drafts were approved by a two-thirds majority respectively. Again, those votes were carried out only online. However, X and other technologists developed and ran the program that made it possible for citizens to inspect the details of the voting and tallying process. Thereby the voting and tallying became far more secure than the deceptive ones manipulated by the current autocratic governments. Of course, for new―not provisional―constitutions and governments, paper ballots need to be used together with electronic voting, and they need to be kept as proof at least during the tenures of the elected representatives. That necessity was provided in those provisional constitutions as well.
    Now we were ready.

PLAN FOR THE ACTUAL REVOLUTION

    U, T, X, Z, Colonel N, and I gathered in my office at A1 University and confirmed that those preparations were completed. Furthermore, we reconfirmed the plan for the actual revolution as follows:

(0) Around the world, anti-government groups and covert rebels (covert strategy inducers) continue persuading governments and military forces that they do not need to use totally destructive means. All the same, General M will use the counterfeit ones―the counterfeit immutable gene means developed by U―while believing they are authentic ones.
(1) A's Group G covertly informs the other anti-government groups and covert rebels around the world that A's General M will use totally destructive means but that they are actually counterfeits.
(2) A's covert rebels (covert informants) detect the signs that General M and his direct subordinates are sheltering underground and preparing to use (the counterfeit) totally destructive means and relay this intelligence to Group G.
(3) Group G informs anti-government groups and covert rebels around the world that General M is about to use (the counterfeit) totally destructive means.
(4) Around the world, anti-government groups ask general citizens and public officials to keep out of the main facilities of governments and military forces because they are about to be destroyed. In addition, covert rebels inform the top echelons of governments and military forces that General M is about to use totally destructive means.
(5) Immediately after that, the top echelons of governments and military forces around the world evacuate into shelters. General M and his direct subordinates have already evacuated.
(6) The top echelons of A and B, and their allies destroy one another's main facilities of governments and military forces.
(7) General M is the only one to resort to totally destructive means. This is because the top echelons of governments and military forces around the world believe the ones used by General M to be enough to exterminate the humans on the surface of the earth. In addition, they know better than to become villains by using unnecessary ones, realizing that it is best to evacuate to shelters without hesitation.
(8) The top echelons of governments and military forces bound for underground shelters have promoted the vaccination allegedly effective against immutable gene means to lower and middle ranks left on the surface of the earth. Given the very nature of immutable gene means, such a vaccine cannot possibly exist. No one will trust it. In addition, top echelons have dangled modest pay raises and promotions before lower and middle ranks. But the latter never obey the former for such meager rewards. Lower and middle ranks, abandoned outside shelters, defect all at once with the onset of our revolution, becoming overt rebels.
(9) While top echelons are in shelters, anti-government groups and overt and covert rebels around the world occupy the main facilities of governments and military forces, whether they are destroyed or not.
(10) As promptly as possible, anti-government groups and rebels deactivate all the totally destructive means outside shelters. In addition, all shelter exits are completely sealed off from the surface's side, ensuring that those inside cannot counterattack or unleash totally destructive means inside shelters onto the surface of the earth. Furthermore, we even eliminate any possibility of their remotely controlling indiscriminately destructive means in general. After that, we publish that what General M believed to be totally destructive means and used is a counterfeit.
(11) In each country, the provisional constitution already recognized is promulgated, establishing the provisional government based upon it.
(12) In each country, the election and referendum with paper ballots are carried out, bringing forth the new constitution and government.
(13) Around the world, provisional or new governments not only deactivate totally destructive means but also start to eradicate them.
(14) The international conference for the eradication of totally destructive means is convened.
(15) The organization for their eradication is established.
(16) Totally destructive means are eradicated as rapidly as possible.
(17) Indiscriminately destructive means in general are eradicated.

    We reconfirmed (0)-(17). They had already been confirmed online with anti-government groups around the world. Even so, I wanted to see the leaders of the anti-government groups of Superpowers B and C and confirm them not online but in person. I decided to visit B and C ostensibly as an academic in my capacity as a professor at A1 University.
    Then, in my office, we held a feast to toast the eve of the revolution. I had kept beer and wine chilled in the refrigerator for this feast. I had brought back and aged some of the wine made in that F Forest. As the drinks flowed, X said casually, "Let's take a commemorative photograph." U was drunk and said bluntly, "If he travel to B and C, he might never come back, and so we'd better take it now." Furthermore, X said, "I'll decorate our webpages with it." Z and Colonel N blurted, "Are you crazy? If the government identified us, it's a catastrophe." X said soothingly, "It's very easy to make our faces and body shapes unidentifiable. Just picture the six of us standing on a ledge of a skyscraper in front of the rising sun. Our faces will be pitch black because of the background of the sun. I'll make the skyscraper unrealistic. Our body shapes will be concealed in puffy clothes and hats." We would be able to trust X in editing images. All agreed. X set a camera to a make-shift tripod and held its remote controller. X and U stood in the center with their arms around each other's shoulders. T and I stood by them, and Colonel N and Z flanked us. From the camera's perspective, our final side-by-side formation from left to right was Z, myself, U, X, T, and Colonel N. Depending on our heights, we formed a letter M against a rising sun. We imagined that there was a panorama of a metropolis in front, a vast sky overhead, and a rising sun behind. Z and Colonel N looked like Renaissance statues of warriors. X said, "If you are tense, it'll look like we're about to jump, So loosen up, okay?" Then, we all laughed and relaxed, allowing the shutter to click. In fact, through X's technique we were not identified by the government. It ended up looking just like a movie poster.

GRASPING WHAT WE ARE FEELING

    Before heading to Superpowers B and C, I met Staff Officer O of A's military in my capacity as a researcher at A1 University. Though he was not a covert rebel at this point, even within the autocratic government and military forces, he had been advocating the unnecessity of totally destructive means and the necessity of something similar to our SMAD. At this time, his argument of those ideas carried a sense of urgency. Furthermore, he said some high-ranking officers in B and C shared the same ideas.
    He grunted, "I have been explaining the unnecessity of totally destructive means to General M as well. Although he has been pretending to be persuaded, I don't know what he is going to do. I, too, might be assassinated." I said, "I'm not just worried about that. I'm also afraid General M will take you to a shelter." Officer O, too, seemed to have feared that. I said to myself, "Now is the time." I revealed my real identity. He willingly agreed to join the covert rebels and become a member of Group G. In addition, we decided that I would introduce him to Z securely online. They were certain to make a powerful alliance. In addition, we decided that he would introduce me to the most significant like-minded individuals within the governments and military forces of B and C. In addition, he granted me the credentials as his special envoy to approach them alongside my capacity as a professor at A1 University. When I revealed the strategy involving counterfeit totally destructive means, he was initially astounded but burst out laughing a moment later, sputtering, "Dr. U is a titan."
    In Superpower B, first, I met with those significant individuals, and they became covert rebels, informants, and strategy inducers in much the same way as Officer O.
    Next, I met with V, an old friend from my days studying abroad at B1 University. Now, he was a professor of law at B1 University on the surface, but underneath, he was the leader of anti-government group H in B. He had interacted with the late Professor P, and we shared the documents concerning world constitutions and political systems he compiled. He was almost a mirror image of me. The only clear difference was that he was a person who could balance work and family. What was more, he had five children, which was rare these days.
    Getting back to business, Professor P's only weakness had been that his expressions were too complex for general citizens to grasp. Therefore, V and his colleagues had rewritten his summary plainly enough for citizens to understand without its contents changed. The rewritten document became the foundation of the provisional constitutions and the subsequent new ones around the world.
    As for that strategy for the actual revolution, anti-government groups around the world, including G and H, had communicated well with one another, and so we almost did not need to confirm it. As for those significant individuals in B introduced by Officer O, V had already tried to contact them, and we decided that V would collaborate directly with them from this point on.
    Only one question was left for us to debate. There was more than one anti-government group in B, and Group H had been collaborating with the other groups. Lately, a religious group began to show a few anti-government movements, and whether to collaborate with it had become a matter of debate for B's anti-government groups. Before 20XX, some religious groups piggybacked on revolutions and occupied the cores of new governments, ultimately plunging or sliding into religious autocracy. We needed to prevent the repetition of such blunders. Of course, the principle of the "separation of politics and religion" had been stipulated in provisional constitutions around the world. V said, "After sufficiently confirming that the group respects the principle, we may collaborate with them." I said, "Our preparations are sufficient, so we don't need the assistance from such a religious group. In addition, they'll have evacuated into their own shelters during the actual revolution, meaning they wouldn't be of any use." Later, my prediction proved accurate. More accurately, it was only the group's executives that evacuated into the shelters.
    After having confirmed those important things, we went out drinking at Bar BQ in BT Town, B. It was a town of ordinary people and almost a mirror image of AT Town, A. I had frequented the bar together with V and other peers in the days when I studied at B1 University, but we did not have enough money to drink much. So, we did not get drunk. We did not that night, either. That bar was close to B2 University of Arts, a top-tier art university in B, and so a lot of art students used to frequent it. But that night, there were few art students or other customers, perhaps because of the impending war. Only J, a female art student in her early twenties, was eating alone. She seemed familiar with V.
    She was brought up by a single father, a poor painter. She traveled with him around B, making sketches. Until she reached the upper grades of elementary school, she was only allowed to draw with charcoal and was forbidden from coloring. After that, she was allowed to use watercolors. For the first time in her days of high school, she was allowed to try oil painting. She was accepted into B2 University of Arts, and was highly evaluated by professors until her third year. However, in the final year, they started to criticize her paintings with comments like, "Nothing more than amateur work," and "You had better give up painting if you, at your age, can only paint like that." She seemed to have often talked with V about those comments.
    V and I, after a few drinks, went to J's apartment to look at her works. She set out in front of us three pieces condemned by the professors. "Wonderful," I thought. The left painting showed a path cutting through fresh greenery, leading to a grassy field. In the middle of it stood an abandoned house. I felt an urge to walk down that path. It looked exactly like the path leading to the memoir by that girl and her father. In the middle painting, shafts of sunlight filtering through foliage hit an old wall. Looking at it, I felt an indescribable nostalgia. In the right painting, under a blue sky and white clouds, a vigorous rabbit leaped out of a grassy field. I felt a desire to leap just like that, momentarily making me forget that we had roasted real ones whole in that F Forest. What made the professors at the art university condemn them? J had been wondering about it for months, and V for days. Now, so did I. I seemed to be on the verge of the answer. She did not realize what those who viewed her paintings, including herself, felt or what impressed them, for example, an urge to walk down that path, an indescribable nostalgia, and a desire to leap just like that. Without a doubt, she was a master of painting what she felt as it was. However, painting is different from photography. All that a photographer needed to do was cut out what they felt. In addition, also in painting or sculpture, there was a method in which while painting, carving, or molding something at random, a creator and viewer would select whatever impressed them most deeply. However, the method of art and music after 20XX tended to go back to that in and before the nineteenth century, with a renewed focus on meticulously constructing images and melodies, and so was her method. In this method, it was better to grasp what impressed the creator and general viewers and to emphasize it or at least to prevent other elements from interrupting it. In each of her current paintings, while it was not so bad that there were multiple elements impressing us, they were disrupting one another. I told her my thoughts frankly. They appeared to ring a bell within her.
    After all, what the art of this type requires is (1) rich, sharp emotions, (2) the ability to grasp the objects of emotions and focus on them, and (3) the skills to represent those objects. J possessed excellent (1). Her father had had excellent (2)(3), but poor (1). Perhaps (1) is developed only during or before the adolescent period. So, her father concentrated on cultivating her (1) by taking her on journeys. And all the while, her father must have envied her (1). My father, too, had harbored that kind of envy, I thought retrospectively. Apparently, he had envied me for my tendency to rebel against power straightly.
    After that, J painted those pieces anew. Later, she gave me that original painting of the path, and I hung it on the wall of my study. It also appears on the cover of the very book you are reading. Without a doubt, the sharp notch in the upper left of the opening of the greenery draws viewers' attention. The final painting of the path does not have such a notch, and it is worth about an average worker's lifetime earnings. All the same, I like the original one. Perhaps this feeling stems from my memory of unearthing the memoir by that girl and her father in F Forest. There, I may have seen what is similar to the painting of an old wall. In addition, I may have glanced what is similar to that of a leaping rabbit on the meadows leading to F Forest during that evacuation. Later when I happened to pass along the path leading to the abandoned house in F Forest, I found a notch such as the one in that painting.

MIXTURE OF PRETEXT AND FAITH AND PARTIALITY OF FAITH

    When I was about to depart from B for C, surprisingly, B's President BP sought a meeting with me. The president was a woman in her sixties. I consulted V about the meeting. He advised me, "Don't be fooled by her; she is an 'affable autocrat and strategist.'"
    By the way, before 20XX, female autocrats were widely considered rare. However, the post-20XX world proved otherwise. As was explained earlier, the requirements for an autocrat―egos' tendencies to destroy anything, to control anything, to show off, and to be narcissistic, the desire for power, and the ability to acquire power―are not formed innately by genes but formed by non-genetic factors mainly in spiraling tendencies. Therefore, it was only because women had rarely been given the opportunity to join power struggles that there had been few women among autocrats in history. However, even in 25YY, that opportunity seemed to be given more to men than to women, and the gender ratio of autocrats was approximately two to one. All the same, that ratio had been narrowing since 20XX, and from 25YY on, it might go on narrowing. However, this argument was fruitless. The ultimate goal was not at all to narrow that gender ratio, but to establish the democratic systems accompanying separation that could nip autocrats in the bud.
    Now, she invited me to her private residence, sounding like she used it for confidential meetings. A woman in her thirties, identifying herself as a secretary of BP, and an elderly male driver came to collect me in front of the hotel where I was staying. She was based at BP's private residence and was currently in charge of managing the art collection gathered by BP, I heard.
    The car drove through the estate's gates. The garden was overflowing with plants from the mint family in full bloom. The main building was as robust as a medieval European castle, yet no armed personnel or weapons came in sight. The car pulled up just in front of the front porch, and the secretary ushered me in. We walked through a long, dim archway, emerging into a dazzling hall. The interior was lavish and magnificent. Furthermore, famous post-20XX artworks that almost anyone in the world would recognize at a glance were displayed. The secretary gave me clear explanations of several pieces. Of course, she was far more well-versed in art history than I was. The exhibition featured not only works by artists from B, but also masterpieces from around the world. Among them were even several pieces from A. This was perhaps due to General M's indifference to art. Before long, President BP appeared alone, and the secretary took her leave.
    I was shown to a lavish table in a corner of the hall. While personally serving tea and luxury confectionery, President BP said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to handle that evacuation in D, but I couldn't tolerate A's abuse of D's natural resources. Also, I can't overlook its ban on entering F Forest by concealing the fact that there was no residual radioactivity." Judging from her tone, the preservation of nature and the existence of mankind sounded not only like the pretext to establish autocracy or totalitarianism but also like a faith for her. That is to say, pretext and faith had fused to some extent, becoming almost inseparable. Perhaps what had initially been a pretext was becoming a faith. It was possible that what starts as mere pretense becomes a habit.
    No human lives only on pretexts. Everyone needs something like faith, belief, values, purposes, and reasons for living, and without them, one would feel empty. For the past autocrats, communism, socialism, nationalism, or ethnicity was not only a pretext but also a faith. Even economic powerholders have a shard of faith that their goods or products bring not only profit but also humankind's progress or happiness. Even that Q, who was an autocrat at home, had a faith like, "Love means not hesitating to sacrifice anything."
    In the end, our meeting ended up without either of us gaining or losing anything.
    That night, I met with V at that Bar BQ. There were no customers but us. That fact deepened our sense that a world war was impending. J was nowhere to be seen, either. We were certain that she was painting those pictures anew in her apartment, and we felt we should also prevent the war for her sake, as well as for her works.
    I briefed him on my meeting with President BP, saying, "That type of autocrat may be more troublesome." He said, "Exactly. Most citizens were fooled by her until a few months ago. However, owing to the exposure of her various dark sides, including your revelation of her strategy limited to natural resources, citizens have lost faith in her. She directly planned and ordered that strategy. In addition, she directly ordered that both of the eyes of BC, a news camerawoman, be blinded. We uncovered that as well." Anti-government groups around the world, including G and H, had been contacting one another closely. So, of course, I had heard who had ordered that strategy. In contrast, it was only now that I learned who had ordered the blinding of BC. I found it indescribable that a female president would target a camerawoman's eyes so specifically.
    Then I realized something and said to V, "She is now bent on annexing F Forest as well. She was trying to pry its information out of me in that meeting." He added to my words, "Furthermore, I think she was trying to co-opt you to make you an administrator of F Forest and turn F into a launchpad for an attack on A." Both General M and President BP were genuine holders of political power who were superficially humble to those whom they want to exploit. I said, "Shall I exploit her while pretending to be co-opted by her." He said, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. The public has already woken up to her dark sides. All we need to do is move forward just as planned." Come to think of it, the only difference between General M and President BP was this: he was raging on the surface as well; she was calm on the surface, but dark things were flowing beneath. For those of us who were used to him in A, she was more terrifying than he was.

WHAT CAN BE MADE COMPATIBLE AND WHAT CANNOT

    What often matters about faith is balancing between opposite concepts and a tilt in that balance, it seems. For instance, regarding existence and liberty, if their balance tilts too far toward existence, human beings head for violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism, and if it tilts too far toward liberty, existence is in danger, it seems. Autocratic governments tilt toward existence, and anti-government groups tilt toward liberty, it seems.
    Yes. It only seems so. Actually, it is not so much as that autocratic governments tilt toward existence as that they use it as a pretext for them to plunge into violent extremes. And as far as existence and liberty are concerned, they are fundamentally not opposite concepts but what need to and can be made compatible. For example, ensuring existence requires planning and implementing comprehensive policies. In order for policies not to be biased, active debates are necessary, requiring the liberal right of thought and speech and fair elections.
    We have sought to make existence and liberty compatible. All the same, strictly speaking, there remain in them some parts in which compatibility is impossible. In those parts, we have no choice but to commit existence and liberty to balancing, making it possible that they tilt toward one of them. For a first example, in order for us to preserve the environment and natural resources, governments have no choice but to restrict freedom of private property to some extent, often bringing about some tilts. For a second example, in order for us to stabilize the economy, governments have no choice but to more or less intervene in it, sometimes breaking the balance.
    Sooner or later in history, not without some sacrifice, the true intentions such as autocracy and totalitarianism hidden behind pretexts are exposed and fade away, and the biases of faiths are revealed and rectified. However, with this sooner-or-later stance, that sacrifice only multiplies. For instance, in 20XX, the exposure that the "existence" or "survival" displayed by holders of political and economic powers was nothing more than a pretext was too late. In addition, the revelation that their faith, if any, was biased toward existence came too late. These delays were one of the causes of the humans on the surface of the earth going extinct.
    However, rushing everything brings about significant sacrifices as well. At this point, a guideline for deciding what we need to do right now has been found:

What can be made compatible needs to be done right now. What cannot be made compatible and requires balancing needs to be done after a thorough consideration and debate.

For example, concerning existence and liberty, we immediately need to establish liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation including the separation between the L and S systems, and in the L system, we need to protect strict democratic systems, the clear-cut separation of the three powers, and the uncompromising rule of law. After that, within and around the S system, we need to have a thorough discussion concerning how to guarantee social rights, which require balancing.

NEUTRALITY

    Also in Superpower C, I met the significant individuals introduced by Officer O and, in turn, introduced them to C's anti-government groups. Then I went to meet W, a legendary female revolutionary. C had once been democratized through a revolution. She had been one of its leading figures. However, after that, its democracy was hollowed out, and autocratization set in. This was because the government established after the revolution focused exclusively on democracy and neglected the separation of powers and the rule of law. Though W emphasized their importance, the other leaders ignored her. Soon after that, W retired from politics, which spared her from the current autocratic government's suppression.
    It took only a few hours from C's capital to W's hermitage by rail, bus, and finally on foot. Nature remained untouched along the bus route. The landscape featured one of the tallest waterfalls in the world. Though the train and bus would have been congested with sightseers in peacetime, only a few locals were on board. The bus climbed a mountain road and cut through a forest of towering conifers. The waterfall could be seen below. A lot of delicate streams of water were threading through rock, wind, sunlight, and rainbows. As the bus climbed higher, it grew a bit chilly.
    At the bus stop, I did not forget to note down the times of buses going back to the railway station. I climbed up the mountain road on foot. Before long, the view opened up, bringing me to a secluded village.
    I met W in her hermitage, which was as weathered as I had expected. She was a woman in her seventies. As I had expected, she rambled on. The conversation turned to Professor P. As I had expected, she said, "Considering his personality, he could not help but say those things. In any case, I never imagined he would be assassinated before me." However, she suddenly began to say, "Before the revolution, he and I once fell in love." This news left me unable to do the math, but perhaps he had been in his early twenties, and she in her late thirties. Come to think of it, I remembered hearing from him that he had studied abroad in C. She talked about him as if he had been still young only yesterday. I was getting tired of such talk. I had come to ask her for her collaboration. I could not afford the time to perform "three visits to the hut," an ancient idiom known only to historians or a literary scholars.
    After what felt like a long time to me, she said of her own accord, "You and your colleagues make much of the separation of powers and the rule of law, paying sufficient attention to prevent a revolution from ending up as mere temporary enthusiasm. I appreciate it. P would have done the same." The eyes staring into me then were not those of a passionate revolutionary but a seasoned one, I thought. To my relief, she had kept track of our movement even while living in seclusion. She would come back to the stage, I thought. I said sincerely, "Presently C's government appears to maintain neutrality, but C's military forces may suddenly invade A and B and seek world domination taking advantage of the turmoil of the world war and the revolution. I implore you to ensure that C's government including its military maintains neutrality even in the midst of the revolution." Then W locked her eyes on me. They were the eyes of a revolutionary honed in the sandstorm of history, I was certain. She said sharply and clearly, "Understood. I will do it." I said, "Glad to see you," preparing to make my exit. Then her eyes suddenly turned into those of a solitary, aging soul. "I feel lonely," she said. "Stay a little longer."
    Outside the window, a mossy garden stretched out. It must have been cultivated by her own hand. The lush moss was gleaming in the sunlight. I said, "A brilliant garden." At that, she ushered me outside, skipping like a child, and explained how to grow moss. The types of moss were different depending on the sunlight. If I asked K―that old man living alone in AT Town―how to cook for himself, I bet he would explain in the same way as she did. However old a person was, the joy of discovery or prototyping would never fade away, I thought.
    On the way back, I took another route from the bus stop. The bus climbed up and down a mountain road. The sun had not sunk. I stopped at an observation deck on the way. There were few sightseers there as well. A sturdily built monastery once stood on the site. Unable to withstand 1,500 years of exposure to wind and rain, it had long since collapsed, and the site now served as an open-air lookout. Yet, the view of the valley below must have remained unchanged just as it had been millennia before. A precipice stood to the west, allowing me to feel like I was looking down at the setting sun. The wind blew up from the valley. The sky was too broad to be covered within a human's visual field. Now I deeply felt that the longing for the sky was desperate for us living in the abyss among skyscrapers in the modern era, when the congestion and skyscraping reached its peak both horizontally and vertically. The observation decks on skyscrapers were full of those wanting to simply gaze up at the sky when it was fine, whether it was hot or cold. They sometimes made long queues to go up there.
    Now I tried to look up at the whole sky at a single glance. It was quite a challenge. Come to think of it, I had simply swept my gaze from the west to the east. Instead, I strained to sweep it in every direction. I could not do it while standing. It was only by lying on the bench that I could do it for the first time. Eventually, I thought most animals crawling on the earth had evolved to attend not to the sky but to the ground. In contrast, perhaps the animals whose natural enemies were birds could look up at the whole sky at a single glance. So, I let it go and imprinted the setting sun onto my eyes. If I had not gotten that answer from W, I could never have afforded to make such a casual but precious attempt. After the sun had set, the desire to crawl all over the earth overflowed, across cities and deserts alike.

HIDEOUTS

    I came back to A, went straight to the office of Officer O, and briefed him on the success of the negotiations with the significant individuals in B and C. Then he said, "After General M and his direct subordinate descend to shelters, and the revolution is completed, as promptly as possible, we need to deactivate the totally destructive means and completely sealed off shelter exits. We need to further refine that process together with some covert rebels inside the military." We had them, Z, X, U, and T come there, and all of us did so.
    Colonel N needed to keep an eye on General M until the very end―even into shelters. In order to avoid arousing General M's suspicion, he was extremely cautious, and we made it a rule not to contact one another easily. That was an operational risk we both expected.
    The only remaining question was how to prevent key covert rebels, U, T, and Officer O among them, from being taken into shelters. In order to prevent that, we decided that they would go underground into the hideout built and managed by Z and his colleagues just before General M and his direct subordinates descended into the shelter. X and I decided to act together with those covert rebels.
    The members of Group G who had not been identified yet by the government, including U, X, T, Officer O, and me, had made it a rule not to know the whereabouts of the hideout. That was because in case we were captured and tortured by the government or military forces, we might spill the secret. However, in the situation that General M and his direct subordinates were about to shelter underground, we were certain that there would no longer be any danger of our being captured.
    Sooner than expected, the time came. Some covert rebels informed us that General M and his direct subordinates were about to descend into the shelter. It would be only a few hours later that (the counterfeit) totally destructive means would be unleashed onto the surface of the earth.
    U, X, T, Officer O, I, and some other members came into the hideout for the first time. It had been built deep under AT Town, right near the main facilities of the government and military forces. We realized the location was a perfect blind spot. In the end, the isolation of power we had maneuvered proved effective here as well. Moreover, in the actual revolution, we would be able to occupy those main facilities all at once. We tapped into public utilities for essential electricity and water.
    The living conditions in the hideout was surprisingly good. It even had gyms and saunas. X and I reunited with those who had had no choice but to come underground because the government had identified them. Thanks to those facilities, they were healthier than they had been before coming underground. Apparently, there were even tanning booths, leaving them with an impressive tan.
    Z and his colleague who had been the liaisons between the underground hideout and the surface took off those self-destruct devices. They would no longer be necessary. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
    The countdown had begun. We fell silent. It was as if we could hear one another's heart thumping. I was certain it was caused not by the anxiety about plunging into a world war but by the expectation for a world revolution. In those compelled to live underground, I thought there was also the hope of seeing the light of day.
    X and other technologists issued messages to the world: "The main facilities of governments and military forces around the world will be destroyed within hours. Please evacuate from there. Those who have already evacuated, please move further away." In addition, in each country, the covert rebels covertly transmitted to the top echelons of the government and the military: "A's General M will use totally destructive means within a few hours." The top echelons would shelter underground all at once. In addition, in each country, the anti-government groups secretly alerted their covert rebels, "Please discreetly evacuate from the main facilities of the government and the military lest you be taken into shelters." Those evacuations were carried out all at once. The main facilities of governments and military forces around the world were deserted all at once. The top echelons of governments and military forces around the world sheltered underground, and some covert rebels followed them in order to keep an eye on them. For instance, in Superpower A, General M and his direct subordinates sheltered underground, and Colonel N and his colleagues followed them. Those living in ordinary people's towns such as AT and BT, which were near those main facilities, moved as far away as possible. X and other technologists confirmed those evacuations. They had long since been hacking governments' surveillance cameras as well, making this confirmation possible. We, too, decided to move to the far side of the hideout, away from those main facilities.

BOTH YOUNG AND OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE; THEY JUST FADE AWAY

    Right at that moment, Officer O received an emergency call from the military's deputy commander. The deputy commander had been a covert rebel all along. Fortunately, he had not been taken into shelters and had become the top of the military remaining on the surface of the earth. I heard that he had something urgent to discuss with us in person. The military headquarters was roughly a fifteen-minute walk from our hideout. Z and I headed there along with Officer O. The headquarters, of course, would be destroyed. Time was running out.
    Several armed soldiers were still standing in front of the headquarters building. The soldiers, left behind on a deserted street between skyscrapers, looked like abyssal fish. Of course, we were not armed. Seeing us in plain clothes, they looked more startled than we were. Though hesitant, they attempted to perform body checks on the three of us. But the deputy commander came over immediately, waved them off, and ushered us inside.
    The corridors and stairs were swarming with soldiers of all ranks running with boxes full of electronic devices and papers. Of all moments, the elevators were apparently out of order. I realized that was why the evacuation here was delayed. We also took the stairs. Fortunately, the deputy commander's office was on the fifth floor.
    We entered his office and sat down at an improvised meeting table. There appeared to be no sign of listening devices or hidden cameras. The deputy commander pointed to the screen and spoke rapidly yet clearly:

General M assured the safety of the military personnel remaining on the surface by promoting the vaccination against immutable gene means. But no one trusts such a vaccine. In addition, he promised them pay raises and promotions before descending into the shelter. He still believes those left behind on the surface will follow his orders. That is naive. Promises of safety from an unreliable vaccine or meager pay raises and promotions will never make those left on the surface obey those who fled underground. Every single member of the military personnel left on the surface has defected. I have been a covert rebel from early on, so I knew about your plan. I also knew that if General M found out about it, the plan might be ruined, and that it was better not to reveal the full extent of the plan to anyone who had only just defected and could not yet be fully trusted. However, General M has descended underground, and the sealing of the shelter from the outside is almost complete, containing any action from underground. Once the sealing is complete, we won't have to worry about any counteroffensive from underground, and he will be trapped there for good. However, in each country, only the top-ranking figures who have descended underground will be able to control the weapons that destroy the main facilities of enemy governments and military forces. There will be no way to stop the destruction of those main facilities in major nations, including A. The military personnel left on the surface must evacuate from military facilities at once. Then, they will find themselves face-to-face with civilians. The civilians might overreact, even resorting to lynching us. We decided to evacuate unarmed and in plain clothes. However, not a few, including me, are well-known to civilians. So, I need you to tell the citizens through the anti-government network that the surface military personnel have defected from General M and have joined the side of the people. They won't believe it if it comes from us, but they will trust you. In addition, I want you to suggest that military rebels worldwide adopt this same strategy. The shelter is almost completely sealed off from the outside to prevent any action from underground to the surface. By the way―or rather, crucially―some of those taken to the shelter are important covert rebels who are aiming to capture General M. So, destroying or permanently sealing it is out of the question. We seal it off reversibly, that is, in a way that we can reopen it. As for reconstruction, even if main military facilities are destroyed, the defensive means and selectively destructive means can be restored quickly. Furthermore, the military personnel remaining on the surface will collaborate in the deactivation and eradication of totally destructive means.

A great deal of crucial information was delivered in a very short time, but Z, Officer O, and I understood it all perfectly, impressed by the meticulousness of the deputy commander's strategy. Z and Officer O, online, suggested that military rebels around the world adopt the same strategy. In most countries around the world, the sealing of shelters from the outside had already been completed. Furthermore, anti-government groups declared that military officers remaining on the surface defected from top echelons in shelters, and these remaining officers began to evacuate from military facilities unarmed and in plain clothes. In A as well, the sealing of the shelter was completed. V directed X to declare the complete defection of the surface military, and X immediately did so. The evacuation began at this headquarters as well.
    While V and Officer O were confirming those worldwide actions, I asked the deputy commander, "If the provisional or new government offers you a promotion, would you accept it?" Then, he said, "I am at an age at which I should have been retired long ago. It will be my final mission to evacuate the staff, seal the shelter, restore defensive and selectively destructive means, and deactivate and abolish totally destructive means. For now, I just want to live calmly with my wife. I will think of the rest later on." From the bottom of my heart, I thanked him for staying at his post until now, and for taking on these missions now. As we were departing, the deputy commander turned to Z and me and said with a mischievous grin, "Both young and old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

WILL THE SUN RISE AGAIN?

    Z, Officer O, and I came back to the hideout and found that all members had already moved to its perimeter. However, U began to insist, "I failed to check the safety of experimental animals' facilities. I will go back to my lab." Certainly, if experimental animals should go out of the lab, it would be dangerous for both humans and the animals themselves. But now might not be the time to mind that. Officer O was stunned, losing words. Z flatly said, "You can't." X was hacking the surveillance cameras in and around the building housing U's laboratory. She had already confirmed that the main facilities of the government and the military, and their surroundings were deserted, but she had found that those main facilities were protected by perfunctory drones and robots. Now she confirmed that there was not even a single drone, robot, or the like in and around that building. In any case, it was well apart from those main facilities, and so it would not be destroyed. Z, too, gave in, saying, "All that's left is to follow the plan. You can do whatever the hell you want." Officer O burst into laughter.
    U and I went aboveground to her deserted lab, confirming the robustness of the supply lines to the experimental animals and the stockpiles of supplies such as oxygen, water, and food. They were sufficient.
    U carried out that Rabbit R, in a cage. Only then did I realize that this, too, had been her purpose. We decided to take a detour, walking through safer areas further away from those main facilities to get back to the hideout. I carried the cage.
    We strolled through the autumn of 25YY. In a deserted city, what had never been perceived came into perception. Down in the abyss of skyscrapers, the evening sunlight bounced off the glass windows multiple times, illuminating the rows of ginkgo trees. The yellow of the ginkgo leaves took on a reddish hue, standing out in relief. The fading of the color's brightness told us the sun was setting. U said, "Will the sun rise again?" I said to myself, "That was not a precise expression 'Will I see the sun rising again?' was a precise one. But hers was interesting as solipsism."
    The sun had set. The neon lights were out. Most of the windows on buildings were dark, but apparently, the power was alive, and a few scattered windows still glowed―perhaps with lights left on. We strolled on the deserted main street. Not a single person, car, or robot was in sight. We walked right in the middle of the roadway. With the streetlights dead, our only light source was the twilight. Then, up ahead, a flicker of firelight came into view. U clung to me. As we strolled on, we found what it was. Several homeless people had made a bonfire in the dead center of the wide roadway and were holding a drunken revelry. It made sense, I thought. It was now or never for something like that. Apparently, they had gone out onto those streets after X had confirmed they were deserted. They would be safe because they were far away from the main facilities of the government and the military. One of them said to us, "Wont' you drop in and have a drink with us?" and another of them said, "You are brave to take a walk with your pet at a moment like this." How could he say that? We were doing the exact same thing. I wanted to have a drink, but U grabbed my hand and dragged me away. We passed that conference hall, entered that park where citizens had gathered months before, and stepped onto the grass. It would be easy to guess what we were about to do.
...
In a world where overcrowding had reached its peak, an experience like this was only possible at such a time. We had expected to be alone. But there were a few couples who had the same idea. But the lawn was so vast that we did not get in one another's way. The only thing that bothered us was R's restlessness. The prickliness of the grass and the night breeze felt rather pleasant. Under the night sky.
…

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PARTIES

    Buildings have all collapsed, and rubble spreads endlessly. I look for humans but in vain. All that spreads is rubble. The sky clears and expands endlessly. However, not a single bird flies. I clamber over the rubble and reached a riverbank. The water is crystal clear and flows with a murmur. However, not a single fish swims. Looking upstream, I find a woman standing on an islet in the river. Her hair and long dress are streaming in the wind. I step closer. Then, for a split second, it looks as if her body were being torn apart. However, only the hair and the dress are blown in the wind, dancing away. There is no one here, either.
    My pocket computer was vibrating. That was a dream. Why did I have such a dream. Certainly, it was the reflection of my anxiety about being alone. It was also a reflection of my lack of confidence in what I had been doing. In this case, it was better than overconfidence, I thought.
    The sun had risen again. What was more, it was already high overhead. It was 11:45 am. Neither U nor I had meant to oversleep in such a way. We had planned to lie on the grass for just a moment, and then go back to the hideout to help with the revolution. I opened my pocket computer. There were dozens of missed calls from early this morning. It was still vibrating. I answered the video call. Z's face flashed onto the screen, shouting, "What are you doing? Looks like you're lying in the park. Were you sleeping in? The revolution is complete. It was a bloodless world revolution. SMAD also worked perfectly. Everything has gone as planned. There's nothing left for you to do here now, but you're going to feel left out if you stay there. Come to Parliament Square." Z passed the phone to X. X seemed to have not only led the revolution but also gathered information around the world. She said, "Strictly speaking, it was a bloodless, synchronized world revolution. Although there was a disturbance in C, it was contained. That W showed up and contained it." I heard that Superpowers A, B, and C had destroyed one another's main governmental and military facilities. Our SMAD worked perfectly. This park was one and a half kilometers away from those facilities. Apparently, we were sleeping too soundly to hear the explosion or collapse. U was woken by my voice on the phone, but she was drowsy. She appeared to have a mild cold. Perhaps it was from the night wind, not from those counterfeit totally destructive means. Later, she confirmed it on her own. I did not have even a cold. That old local saying, "Fools do not catch colds," kept echoing in my mind. We headed for Parliament Square. In the park, the leaves of the metasequoia trees were turning golden-brown. I felt a strange hesitation to leave the autumn park.
    According to X, who went on collecting worldwide information even in the midst of the revolution, the lower- and middle-ranking officials or officers in governments and military forces, who were left behind by top echelons, defected from them to anti-government groups and citizens all at once. This was just as we had expected. It could never have happened that the abandoned―those left out of shelters―obeyed the abandoners. Those belated rebels would also be treated well, though not as well as those who had been covert rebels since before the revolution. However, those belated rebels included nominal heads of state such as President AP in A and prominent business leaders. They can be called "puppets." This term conventionally means those who hold moderate power but are manipulated by those with stronger power.
    Ultimately, in all the countries in the world, revolutions unfolded exactly as planned, and they resulted in a bloodless, synchronized world revolution as a whole, and our SMAD worked perfectly. However, our only concern had been coming true. According to X, the supreme commander of C's military forces who had sheltered underground had ordered his surface forces to invade and occupy A and B. Presumably, their intention had been to take advantage of the conflict between the parties and to seek world domination, while distracting citizens from domestic anti-government movement by directing it outward. This had been the very thing that a third party to a conflict would often pursue. If it had succeeded, it would have been the greatest "taking advantage of the conflict between the parties" in history.
    On a second thought, the behavior of U and I in that park might be a kind of taking advantage of the chaos. However, as stated repeatedly, the success of a revolution lies in its preparation, not in the revolution itself. We had made such thorough preparation that the revolution was a success. I would like to say to the future revolutionaries, "Never launch a revolution without preparation." However, given the context, I know this sounds like a mere excuse for oversleeping in that park, so I will not say any more here.
    To get back to C's supreme commander taking advantage of the conflict between the parties, in order to prevent it, I had consulted W in C. W recognized its foreboding signs and exposed the supreme commander's intention to distract citizens from their anti-government movement. She addressed C's citizens and military officers remaining on the surface, declaring, "As far as this case is concerned, we need to disregard other nations and focus on democratizing and separating our own state power." C's military forces left on the surface did not obey the supreme commander but followed W and C's anti-government groups and sealed off the shelters more tightly.
    W stood behind the citizens and anti-government groups until the promulgation of the provisional constitution. She kept the promise she had made to me. Ultimately, C's current revolution became one of the revolutions achieved through the collaboration of old and new anti-government forces. However, thanks to W, it placed great importance not only on democratic systems but also on the separation of powers and the rule of law, ensuring it would not repeat the mistakes of the past.

BLOODLESS REVOLUTIONS

    U still had a slight cough, but she seemed to be getting her energy back. To get to Parliament Square, we had to pass through AT Town, that town of ordinary people. It was already regaining its everyday rhythm. Garbage collection had resumed, and the streets were becoming clean again. Even between the skyscrapers, the midday sun filters through, casting spots of light on the street trees and the curbs of the sidewalk. The ground-floor diners were already open, getting more and more crowded. The roadways were swarming with cars and robots. On the sidewalks, aspiring artists were already showcasing their art or playing their music. There was almost no trace of the eve of a world war. Perhaps this was due to the resilience of ordinary people. Both U and I had been without food since last night's dinner, except for some water. However, we refrained from stopping by a diner to eat before reaching Parliament Square.
    We arrived at Parliament Square. The main facilities of the government and the military around the square had been destroyed. Powerholders around the world who had sheltered underground had mutually destroyed the main government and military facilities of powers, including Superpowers A, B, and C. U's lab had not been destroyed because it was relatively far away from them. We had not expected our SMAD to work so well. Dozens of members of Group G, several rebels, and hundreds of citizens from AT Town were putting up a gigantic tent. It would accommodate the provisional government. They were no doubt tired even without any direct combat. They appeared to have been working since midnight. We felt a kind of remorse and skirted the square. However, people found us and came over to us. They seemed to think we had been working behind the scenes. As a result, we were walking as if making a triumphant return. I said frankly, "I'm sorry to have overslept," but apparently, they thought I was merely being modest.
    Z and several other members were standing and talking in front of the tent's facade. Z found us and said with a grin, "We're stunned you, masterminds, were able to sleep in the midst of this great revolution. Are you guys made of Iron?" I was about to say, "Because our preparations were so thorough, the revolution succeeded even while your so-called 'masterminds' were fast asleep. A revolution must never be a sudden, frantic outburst. In a revolution, preparation is more vital than mere momentum or raw energy. We have shown history just how much preparation truly matters," but I thought those words would sound like a mere excuse at that time, and so I did not say them. Now I write them here.
    The people of AT Town were providing hot meals. President Y of Co. Y had brought us his food products, manufactured with his signature technology, to be used as ingredients for the hot meals. Z had intended to purchase the products and handed over cash to him, but he had not receive the money, I heard. The members of Group G other than us had finished their breakfast and even lunch. We finally got our first meal of the day. It was very good. It also contained that food product named "THIS IS THE REVOLUTION." Taking account of the hardship of President Y, the advertisement on this historic stage was permitted, I thought.
    News organizations, which had long since been suspended, were starting to broadcast. In the end, while devouring our brunch, we watched the peak of the revolution in a video replay, which had been brought about and immediately broadcast in the morning:
    The people from AT Town, who appeared to have come on foot, surged through the main gate―already wide open―and into the square. A tank, which had been assembled underground, followed the crowd into the square. It was an old-fashioned tank, as if it had been dragged straight out of the pre-20XX era. People strode alongside it, and more and more people from the main street outside were heading for the square. They were all captured by a telephoto lens as the focus shifted fluidly. In the end, this scene was all that the tank served. Z, who had brought it to life, was sitting on its hatch, smiling shyly. Dust rose, and the morning sunlight penetrated it. A nice image, I thought. We had sought a bloodless revolution that would not leave shocking footage. However, a bloodless revolution itself created brilliant footage, I thought. No one around the world had engaged in or witnessed a single fight, or gotten a single scratch. This was a literal bloodless world revolution.
    However, the following footage gave me a chill. Several persons started to clamber up the tank, and Z reached down to pull them up. The tank ground to a halt immediately. I screamed, "Idiots! If they get hurt, the bloodless revolution will become a bloody one." It hit me that I had forgotten it was just a recording. On screen, they climbed up safely. Z politely stopped others from climbing, and the tank rolled forward again. Those who had climbed thrust their arms into the sky. Cheers echoed across the square and the main street. Z got out of the hatch and had them hold onto some of the protrusions on the tank. Z must have anticipated such a situation and gone so far as to confirm those protrusions. He and his colleagues had made preparations so meticulously that they kept the casualties of this world revolution at absolute zero. They were true revolutionaries, I thought.
    The camera work and image editing by the newly revived media were, I thought, excellent. Even under oppression, they might have checked their machinery and polished the lenses. Before long, the cameras entered the crowd. Some waved at them. At this point, the people in the suburbs outside AT Town also arrived, I heard, but I could not tell them apart from those from AT Town.
    Then I noticed that some of the new residents in that F Forest had come all the way. Among them, the girl who had been given that doll and the woman who had given it to her were striding forward. The girl was hugging it close. I wondered whether they should join the demonstration of Countries D, B, A, or F Forest that would be independent in the future. Then I noticed that I, who had criticized nationalism and patriotism, was more obsessed with nations than them. Probably, they came here because they had happened to get a ride on shuttle trucks. On a second thought, since it was a world revolution, it did not matter which country's they joined.
    In the middle of the video replay, the "triumphant return" of U and I flashed across the screen. My hair was matted, and my clothes crumpled. I grunted, "I'm not photogenic." Since I had been carrying R's cage, I could not walk with a light step. U was striding with a light, crisp step. U's make-shift ponytail was swinging literally like a pony's. Her step was more like a fawn's. She would have been angry if she had heard this, and so, I said to myself, "She doesn't look like she is over thirty." She had written a book titled "How to Get Healthy in a Minute a Day," introducing a way to walk called "U-step" that reduced the impact on the brain and prevented us from stumbling and slipping, and a way to jump called "U-jump" that combined strength training and stretching. Both of those methods had become famous. That U-step itself was light, but her walk on screen was even lighter. She saw it and looked away saying, "Fiasco!" It was perhaps too light. By the way, R became famous as the first rabbit that had ever made a triumphant return in a revolution.
    The footage of revolutions around the world had been compiled. Also in Superpower B, the revolution had unfolded without a hitch. Finally, that President BP surrendered and emerged from her underground shelter to the surface. She looked exhausted, and there was no affability of an "affable autocrat and strategist" that she used to be. She, too, must have had her own share of inner conflicts. The crowd tried to drive her into a corner and break her spirit. Then, V patiently persuaded them not to go too far. It was only V that was able to have the patience, I thought. By the way, those artworks at BP's private residence were not taken to shelters, and neither was that secretary. Then she defected. Though the outer walls of the residence were vandalized with graffiti in the midst of the revolution, she protected those artworks. Months later, the residence became a national museum with the artworks in the hall and the graffiti on the outer walls untouched. That long archway became an exhibition space for more artworks, and the secretary became its curator. Years later, the paintings by that art student, J, and the photographs by that blind camerawoman, BC, found a permanent home in the hall of the museum, displayed along with historic artworks. Or rather, they themselves became historic ones.

DE-CHARISMATIZATION

    That speech by W in Superpower C had been aired as well. It was far from eloquent but rich in the substance that we needed to establish not only democratic systems but also the separation of powers and the rule of law. Days later when the establishment of C's provisional government was aired, W was no longer there. Perhaps she had hurried back to her hermitage to water the moss in her garden.
    W had no desire or ability to be charismatic. So did U, Z, X, V, T, Colonel N, Officer O, Professor P, and I. We need to exclude charismatic individuals. Though they can be locomotives for enthusiastic revolutions, after that, they plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism, devastating the fruits of revolutions. The pre-20XX history had repeatedly witnessed that devastation. It was rarely witnessed after 20XX. That was because there were few successful revolutions from the beginning. The anti-government groups around the world including Groups G and H excluded charismatic individuals. The indicator for that exclusion was the tendencies to control anything and to show off, out of spiraling tendencies (= tendencies to fall into a vicious circle). Simply put, we excluded those who "liked to stand out."
    In addition, we refrained from so-called "oratory." Since it is rooted in the freedom of speech, it cannot be legally banned, and so, we chose to simply abstain from it. It is permissible to explain the content of constitutions, laws, and policies. In contrast, speeches should not be those that only stir citizens' emotions. In the past, "great" politicians' addresses became famous, but they only stirred citizens' emotions and lacked substance regarding political systems or policies. Though modern autocrats around the world often delivered similar addresses, citizens were bored with them, and they remained obscure. In this revolution, the only speech that became famous was that one by W in C. Looking back before the revolution, that speech by Professor P became famous as well. However, both of them had the substance that we needed to establish not only democratic systems but also the separation of powers and the rule of law.
    Some might ask us, "Don't you have any kind of political ambition or desire for fame?" To that, we could answer, "It is the last and supreme kind of ambition or desire to establish democratic systems accompanying separation in which no one could satisfy that traditional kind of ambition or desire. Now we are savoring the satisfaction of that supreme kind within each of us. Is there a pleasure more intense than that?" In addition, as stated previously, "There are numerous humans who endeavor to acquire and wield power, to show off, and to leave their glory in history. We refuse to be lumped in with such humans. We want to make the self not only eternal but also one and only. If there are some humans who never show off or leave glory but anonymously establish democratic systems accompanying separation that never regress to autocracy without ever being known to others, they are one and only. There is indescribable pleasure in changing the world or history anonymously. In addition it is thrilling to challenge a hard thing such as making existence and liberty compatible. The harder it is, the smaller the possibility of completing it becomes, and the longer that pleasure continues. Nothing is more convenient than this."
    However, we could only say that in the immediate aftermath of a triumphant revolution. Everyone had been suffering oppression for centuries. Though it might sound microscopic, for instance, I lost my parents and Professor P, my closest friend. Z and the other liaisons had no choice but to wear those "self-destruct devices" for years. Colonel N needed to keep an eye on General M, still remaining with him in the underground shelter. In addition, more than a thousand so-called　"political prisoners" in A were taken into shelters by General M and had not yet been liberated. What matters here was that their number―about a thousand―was too small. Most of them were killed and buried in the dark immediately after they were captured. Though the world revolution was a bloodless one, over the course of about 500 years following 20XX, about a hundred million humans around the world had been killed in the wars between autocratic regimes and through the massacres and assassinations by these regimes. That death toll did not include those brought about by autocratic governments' mishandling of food shortages, natural disasters, and pandemics―man-made disasters. When these were included, the death toll caused by autocratic regimes amounted to more than a billion around the world in the span of just five hundred years after 20XX.

INCONSPICUOUSLY AND STEADILY MAINTAINING DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS ACCOMPANYING SEPARATION

    U looked like she had blown away that cold. She hurriedly ate her brunch and took R back to her lab, going to confirm the deactivation of totally destructive means. That deputy commander, Officer O, and other rebels within the military had already deactivated them, and U confirmed that deactivation. X and T had already been working on starting up the artificial intelligence system when U and I reached the square. The AI system had been deep underground, and there had been no risk of its hardware being destroyed. Also, even in a blackout, it could run for several days on battery power. However, anticipating a longer blackout, T and X had intentionally shut it down before going to the hideout to prevent any errors caused by an abrupt shutdown. They hurried to start it up for world reconstruction. Experts were too busy to be intoxicated with the success of the revolution or to play the part of charismatic individuals. The other staff must have been equally exhausted. Even without actual combat, they had bustled about in expressing gratitude to rebels, guiding citizens, setting up tents, and so forth. I recommended they take a nap. In fact, Z slipped into a small tent and began to snore.
    In these ways, this revolution unfolded without a hitch around the world. As stated repeatedly, it was because we had steadily prepared and planned for years. It proceeded so seamlessly that we sometimes thought that such preparation and planning might have been unnecessary, and that we might not have needed to corner powerholders to that extent. However, it would be problematic for an idea like, "If autocracy should revive in the future, we could cause a revolution in the same way as in 25YY" to spread. Before the current revolution, totally destructive means had not yet been abolished. So, the top echelons of governments and military forces around the world sheltered underground all at once out of the fear of the use of totally destructive means. Therefore, the current revolution proceeded seamlessly around the world, becoming a "bloodless," "synchronized world" revolution. However, in the near future, totally destructive means would be eradicated. So, it would never happen that those top echelons would shelter all at once. Consequently, the revolution such as that in 25YY would never take place.
    Accordingly, in each state, we need to maintain democratic systems accompanying separation inconspicuously and steadily in order to prevent even the slightest trace of autocracy from looming up. Democratic systems accompanying separation have their own inherent features to maintain themselves. For instance, free speech can disclose and criticize autocratic behaviors by politicians, and fair elections can remove those politicians from power. By making full use of these inherent features, we need to maintain democratic systems accompanying separation inconspicuously and steadily. Even if a fraction of democratic systems accompanying separation were to collapse and a hint of autocracy were to emerge, leading to another reform or revolution, it must not end as a mere flash of temporary enthusiasm, and we need to maintain democratic systems accompanying separation inconspicuously and steadily. Such an inconspicuous and steady effort is indispensable. This was confirmed by anti-government groups and citizens around the world again and again.

PAPER BALLOTS

    Finally, in all the countries around the world, not only provisional but also new constitutions and governments were established. The counterfeit totally destructive means developed by U only caused mild, cold-like symptoms in a handful of people. It was also made public smoothly that they were counterfeits and that General M used them in the full belief that they were authentic. Up to this point, General M and his direct subordinates were underground in shelters, showing no response.
    Since before the revolution, it had been agreed within Group G that U and I would not stay in A but head for the world in order to eradicate totally destructive means. After the completion of the revolution, U and I were stationed in EC City in Country E where the headquarters of the Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means was located. But in order not to confuse the events in each country with those in international society, it is better to first explain the process of the establishment of the provisional and new constitutions and governments in each country.
    As mentioned earlier, since before the revolution, in each country, its provisional constitution had been approved by a two-thirds majority of voters, even though the voting was conducted entirely online. After the revolution, it was promulgated, and the provisional government was established based on it.
    As for the composition of the provisional government in each country, regarding the legislative power, the traditional Upper House became L House of the L system (the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation), and the traditional Lower House became S House of the S system (the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights). That did not cause significant problems. This meant that as far as the legislative power was concerned, the separation between the L and S systems had already been made to some extent. Regarding the judicial power, as long as its independence was secured, its separation was not necessary, and most of the judges remained in office. Regarding the administrative power, the police, the military, and the diplomatic department concerning national defense and collective security were incorporated in the L system, and the other departments in the S system. With the exception of the top echelons who had evacuated to and were now isolated inside the shelters, the personnel of those departments had defected by the time the revolution concluded, thereby retaining their positions or even securing promotions.
    Now, regarding the approval of the new constitution and the election of the new government, no matter how secure and strict it is, electronic voting alone does not suffice. It needs to accompany paper ballots, and they need to be kept untouched as evidence at least while the elected officials are in office.
    Before the revolution, autocratic governments had been restricting (1) paper-manufacturing, printing, and book-binding industries and (2) the generation of radio wave. The restriction of (1) had aimed to suppress the free speech of the press and other publishers, and that of (2) that of private broadcasting companies. While (2)'s revival was rapid, (1)'s was slow. All the same, we could not postpone (0) the referendums on constitutions and the elections of governments. Nor could we do without paper ballots. So, all the states around the world managed to carry out (0) accompanying paper ballots. As a result, (1), which had languished under autocratic governments, flourished along with some other industries and created new jobs. However, it was not often that (0) took place. What would (1) produce or provide during the intervals between (0)? That question should be answered by the specialists in the guarantee of social rights within S systems such as T. Past governments had strictly restricted cross-sector entry―the entry of the enterprises within one sector into another―in order to protect the monopoly (or oligopoly) within each industrial sector. T and his colleagues abolished such restrictions. Then, within those once-protected sectors, monopoly was dismantled, and free competition was promoted. As a result, the overall economy was further boosted. For instance, (1) entered (3) some subsectors of the pharmaceutical industry and the food processing industry. In fact, (1)'s technology could be applied to (3). The claim that (1) could not carry out hygiene management proved to have been nothing more than the pretext for (3) to achieve monopoly and for the politicians of past governments to acquire bribes. In fact, (1) was capable of hygiene management. As a result, drug prices, medical cost, and food prices decreased further.

DETAILS OF SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER BETWEEN THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS ACCOMPANYING SEPARATION (L SYSTEM) AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE GUARANTEEING SOCIAL RIGHTS (S SYSTEM)

    Finally, in each country around the world, through referendums and elections, the new constitutions clearly stipulating democratic systems accompanying separation and new governments based on them were established. Those democratic systems accompanying separation included separating each state power between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system). The components of such a state power can be listed as follows, taking A's as an example.

The judicial power
  The supreme court
    The judges including the chief judge: Appointed by L House and S House with priority given to L House
The system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system)
  The legislative power inherent in L system (L House)
    The chairperson: elected by the members
    The members: elected through a single-member district system
  The administrative power inherent in the L system
    The committee in L House commanding and supervising the military:elected by L House
      The military
        The head: appointed by L House (Z was appointed)
    The committee in L House commanding and supervising the prosecution and police: elected by L House
      The prosecution and police
        The head: appointed by L House
    The committee supervising and inspecting the eradication of totally destructive means in the state: elected by L House
      The organization supervising and inspecting the eradication of totally destructive means in the state
        The head: appointed by L House (Officer O was appointed)
    The diplomatic committee concerning national defense and collective security: elected by L House
      The diplomatic department concerning national defense and collective security
        The head: appointed by L House
The system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system)
  The legislative power inherent in the S system (S House)
    The chairperson: elected by the members
    The members: elected through a multi-member district system
  The administrative power inherent in the S system
    The head: elected through a nationwide district system (T was elected): This head appoints the head of the following departments.
      The department for the economy
      The department for the preservation of nature
      The department for the adjustment of labor-management relations
      The department for welfare including medical care
      The department for education and culture
      The department for science and technology(X was appointed as its head)
      The department for finance and tax
      The diplomatic department concerning international relations other than national defense and collective security
      Some other departments

    The following are the basic details of this separation. As for its more in-depth details, please refer to "SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER INTO THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE GARANTEEING SOCIAL RIGHTS."
    First, most crimes constitutes the violation of liberal rights such as the liberal right of life, body, and private property, and the protection of liberal rights mostly takes the form of the investigation and indictment of crimes by the police and the prosecution, the adjudication of them by the judicial power, and the enforcement of punishment by the administrative power. In addition, most invasions constitute the violation of liberal rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, and the protection of them takes the form of national defense and collective security. In contrast, the guarantee of social rights mostly takes the form of the provision or coordination of services such as medical care and welfare by the administrative power. In addition, the violation of social rights mostly arises from the administrative power's negligence to provide or coordinate these services. and citizens can bring that negligence to the judicial power, and the latter adjudicate it.
    As for the judicial power, the judicial function for guaranteeing social rights, which is mostly the adjudication of the negligence of guaranteeing social rights,is different from that for the protection of liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation, which is mostly the adjudication of the violation of liberal rights. However, when compared with the specialty required for the entire judicial functions, the specialty required for each of those functions is not so different from each other. Simply put, the judges who can adjudicate the violation of liberal rights can adjudicate the negligence of guaranteeing social rights. In addition, there is little risk that the judicial power will plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, and the deviation from social rights. In addition, each judge or court is independent within the judicial power. On these grounds, the judicial power does not need to be separated between the L and S systems.
    In contrast, concerning the legislative power and the administrative power, that difference of specialty is large, and that risk is significant. Therefore, each of them needs to be separated between the L and S systems.
    As for the legislative power, when it is separated between the L and S systems, the legislative power inherent in the L system can be called "L House" and that inherent in the S system "S House."
    In the provisional government, the traditional Upper House became L House, and the traditional Lower House S House. That did not cause significant problems, meaning that the allocation of purposes and functions between upper houses and lower houses had already become resemble that between L houses and S houses. In other words, it suggested that as far as the legislative power was concerned, the separation between those two systems had already been put into practice to some extent. Provisional and new constitutions stipulated not only the purposes and functions of each house but also the superiority of each house required to fulfill their own. For instance, A's stipulated, "Regarding bills to protect liberal rights, political rights, democratic systems, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, L House has priority in introduction. If S House passes a different version, L House's bill becomes law upon being repassed by a two-thirds majority. Regarding bills to guarantee social rights, the S House has priority in introduction..."
    Concerning electoral systems, a single-member district system is appropriate for L House, and a multi-member district system for S houses. Their outline was provided by the provisional constitution, L house and S house of the provisional government passed the election law based on it, and the first elections for the new government were held.
    As for the administrative power, the public armed forces such as the police and the military belong to the administrative power of the L system. This is because most crimes are the violation of liberal rights, and most invasions are the violation of liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation. Once they are incorporated in the L system, most of the remaining administrative power resides in the S system. This is because all of the following functions―redistributing wealth through fiscal policy, promoting or restricting economic activities, guaranteeing workers' rights, coordinating labor-management relations, promoting healthcare and welfare, providing children with baseline education, preserving the environment, and conserving and effectively utilizing natural resources―converge on guaranteeing social rights.
    The more compartmentalized the administrative power of the S system becomes, the lower the efficiency of administration becomes, and the higher the public costs and taxes become. In addition, compartmentalization makes it more difficult to plan and implement the comprehensive policies to guarantee social rights. Consideration was given to making the bold choice to make S's administrative power a unified organization, but it became a challenge for the future.
    In contrast, in the L system, not only the three powers of the legislative, administrative, and judicial powers but also the two armed forces of the police and the military need to be separated. This is because the police and the prosecution need to investigate and prosecute the military's unconstitutional and illegal actions. It is separate committees in the L House that supervise the police and the prosecution on the one hand and the military on the other. Concurrent membership on those committees needs to be prohibited. In fact, it was banned even on the stage of the provisional government.
    When the administrative power is separated between the two systems of L and S, so is the diplomatic department. One needs to deal with the national and collective security, and the other with all other international relations.
    As for education and culture, concerning adults, they are completely free to enjoy or create whatever they desire, and it is the L system that protects this freedom as a subcategory of liberal rights. In contrast to adults, what right applies to children? The right for children to receive baseline education or for parents to ensure it for their children is a subcategory of social rights. Providing children with baseline education is an aspect of the guarantee of social rights. The legislation and administration necessary for it reside in the S system.
    As for the education of the local cultures in a particular district, if the majority of the residents hoped to teach these cultures to their children, the department of education and culture in the municipal administrative power of the S system needs to promote such education.
    Again regarding the judicial power, the following can be noted. The L system requires the functioning of strict democratic systems, the clear-cut separation of the three powers, and the uncompromising rule of law. In contrast, the S system requires human democratic systems, the smooth separation of the three powers, and the moderate rule of law. Most of the lawsuits brought by citizens and the indictments brought by prosecutors to the judicial power fall under the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Penal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The S system has the power inherent to it to suspend the indispensable services it has been providing, which will be explained later. However, in the rare cases where that power is ineffective, the S system has no choice but to prosecute the individuals or enterprises that are acting illegally like abusing welfare and not complying with the regulation for the preservation of nature. In addition, citizens can sue the S system for the negligence of the guarantee of social rights. Therefore, the judicial power needs to function in the S system though not as strictly as in the L system.
    The authority to ultimately adjudicate on the deviation from the separation between the L and S systems is vested in the judicial power. For instance, if either the L or S House preempts legislation that should have originated in the other, the latter can appeal to the judicial power, and it needs to adjudicate on that deviation.
    In order to protect the independence of the judicial power, the question remains as to who should appoint or elect the justices of the supreme court. The appointment of them by the head of the administrative power has caused too much harm. Direct election by citizens is a viable alternative. If that is what they wish, it should happen. If not, the following option would be the most appropriate. Election by the legislative power carries fewer disadvantages than appointment by the administrative power. As explained earlier, the judicial power needs to function strictly in the L system, whereas such strictness is less critical in the S system. More importantly, it is one of the L system's purposes to protect the rule of law, including the independence of the judicial power. Consequently, the legislative power needs to handle the election and appointment of them, giving priority to L House in the L system on this matter. For instance, the following is appropriate. L house needs to elect them earlier, and if S house does it differently, and then L house does it with a two-thirds majority, L house's election needs to become the legislative power's appointment.
    Concerning the separation between the L and S systems at subnational or supranational level, in municipalities as large as small or medium-sized countries, a relatively moderate one was implemented. In small and medium-sized municipalities, a still more moderate one was introduced. Thus, the more gigantic the targeted power is, the more strict this separation needs to be. How to separate international or world organizations will be discussed later.

EFFECTS AND PROBLEMS OF SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER BETWEEN THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS ACCOMPANYING SEPARATION (L SYSTEM) AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE GUARANTEEING SOCIAL RIGHTS (S SYSTEM)

    The effects of separating each state power between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system) were already materializing around the world, as outlined below.

[The right person in the right place, the electoral system suitable for each system, and the expulsion of political parties in the L system]

    As explained earlier, strict, rigid individuals such as Professor P are suited for the personnel of L systems. In addition, L systems need to minimize the influence of political parties. For these reasons, single-member district systems, which make it easier for citizens to scrutinize personality and elect independent candidates, are suitable for the elections to L houses in L systems.
    In fact, around the world, these electoral systems were adopted in L systems, leading to the election of individuals such as those who had been struggling for the protection of human rights even under autocratic regimes.
    In contrast, talented, flexible individuals such as T and X are suited for the personnel of S systems. In addition, in elections to S systems, candidates need to present to citizens the policies they intend to implement upon election, and they are allowed to form political parties that can present similar policies collectively. Furthermore, as far as S systems are concerned, it is also permissible to present "populist" policies―flashy policies that cater to the masses. That is because the guarantee of social rights is, to get straight to the point, satisfying citizens' desires. In addition, as far as S systems are concerned, it is also permissible for the administrative power (S's)and the legislative power (S house) to collaborate and form "ruling parties." For these reasons, multi-member district systems, which make it easier for candidates to present their policies widely and form political parties, are suitable for the elections to S houses in S systems. Of course, national district systems are suitable for the elections to the heads of the administrative powers of S systems.
    In fact, around the world, these electoral systems were adopted in S systems, leading to the election of experts such as economists and information technologists who had been seeking "comprehensive policies" even under autocratic regimes. In A, T was elected as the head of S's administrative power. Indeed, the masses tended to distance themselves from an elite man such as T. However, the tendency was stronger to entrust specialists with planning and implementing difficult policies. Such a tendency is appropriate as far as S systems are concerned. Furthermore, even T, who had been poor at and averse to forming factions, went on to organize a political party, which became the ruling party.
    In contrast, all that each L system needs to do is inconspicuously and steadily protect liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation according to the constitution, while excluding political parties as strictly as possible. However, it possesses public armed forces such as the military and the police, which are the strongest and direct power to plunge into wild extremes such as autocracy, totalitarianism, and war. Then, there remains a slight possibility that nationalist, totalitarian, or militarist political parties will agitate the masses, secure a majority in L House in the L system, and completely seize those armed forces, plunging into violent extremes. However, "the last resort" that will be explained later will prevent this.

[The guarantee of social rights]

    It seemed that the separation between the L and S systems was initially for the protection of liberal rights. However, it was also for the guarantee of social rights. It may be argued that the latter is more significant. All the same, it had been emphasized since the beginning that we need to secure liberal rights also for the the guarantee of social rights.
    Around the world, with the liberal right of speech protected by L systems and human democracy inherent in S systems, S systems started discussing "comprehensive policies" with citizens and specialists and carrying them out. Then, the biased and rigid policies planned under autocratic regimes turned into flexible ones. As a result, citizens' basic livelihood improved well beyond the basic level; the economy started growing past mere stabilization; the preservation of the environment and natural resources was promoted.
    In addition, through free research, scientists found that the world population was not surpassing the earth's carrying capacity, as was insisted on by autocratic governments, but that there was still room for increase, albeit small. This finding was an unexpected outcome of free research, even for us. In such a way, it was confirmed that most of what autocratic governments insisted on was nothing more than pretexts for plunging into autocracy. In addition, it was foreseen that the growth of the world population would be curbed further by the improvement of citizens' quality of life.
    On those grounds, each state power needed to be separated between the two systems of L and S in order not only to protect liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation but also to guarantee social rights or the existence of living things including human beings.
    In addition, around the world, past governments' abuse of information technology was exposed, and preventive technologies against such exploitation was established. X made a great contribution to such technologies around the world despite remaining in A.
    Concerning (1) healthcare and social welfare around the world, (2) past governments had colluded with (3) medical institutes and welfare facilities; the subsidies for (3) had become excessive; A large excessive part had been brought about in (1); a significant portion of the benefit of that part had gone into (2)(3)'s pockets. The heads such as T of the administrative powers in S systems around the world exposed those corrupt practices, made that part clear, and eliminated the subsidies for it. As a result, excessive spending in (1) was eliminated, leading to a further reduction in public costs. This subsequently lightened the tax burden on citizens and stimulated economic recovery. Consequently, the subsidies for the necessary part of (1) were increased, reducing citizens' out-of-pocket costs and improving the quality of (1). Simply put, citizens became able to receive better (1) at a lower cost according to necessity. Ultimately, citizens' fury at economic inequality subsided. It was the disparity in medical care arising from economic inequality that enraged citizens the most. The gap in luxury was endurable. In contrast, the disparity in health and life expectancy for themselves, their families, and their friends was unendurable.
    Concerning (0) the collusion and corruption between (PP) political and public power and (EP) economic power, (PP-L) the police and the prosecution that should belong to the L system investigate and prosecute (O). In addition, (PP-S) the bureaucrats that should belong to the S system collude and are corrupted with (EP). Without the separation between the L and S systems, (PP-L) and (PP-S) also tend to collude, and so (0) can hardly be curbed. With this separation, the collusion between (PP-L) and (PP-S) is minimized, and (PP-L) become able to investigate and prosecute (PP-S) more strictly. As a result, (0) is minimized.
    In fact, once the separation between the L and S systems was completed, (0) was significantly reduced around the world. For instance, through the collusion and corruption between past governments and certain large companies, the latter had monopolized privileges such as patents and the licenses for business and manufacturing. That collusion and corruption was eliminated by the separation between the L and S systems, and it became easy for small and medium-sized companies and start-ups to obtain those privileges. As a result, the dormant technologies of these companies were put into practical use, promoting free competition. Consequently, general prices dropped, further enriching the daily lives of citizens. For instance, that small Co. Y in AT Town became able to patent its technology and was allowed to manufacture with it. This allowed it to greatly contribute to resolving food shortages and eventually grow into a large company. Young developers were competing to join Co. Y and struggling to overtake President Y's technology. He was also struggling to surpass theirs, I heard.
    Concerning education, in order to strengthen their autocracy and monopoly, holders of political and economic power around the world had deliberately neglected baseline education of citizens' children and strained to widen the gap between the elite's abilities and citizens'. As a result, a paradoxical "hereditary" inequality had been maintained in which the elite's children became elite adults even after their parents' economic support ended. While the education of adults needs to be enjoyed with their liberal rights, the provision of baseline education of children is an aspect of the guarantee of social rights. Through the separation between the L and S systems, the department for education and culture in S's administrative power in each country became able to exclude politicians' interference and take immediate action to improve baseline education. As a result, it was found that within a matter of months, the disparity of general abilities between the elite's children and citizens' was narrowing. This was because children's development was faster than expected. Furthermore, in the near future, the gap would narrow, free competition would be promoted, and the economy would strengthen.

[Eliminating the pretext and power for sliding into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism, preventing the deviation from social rights, and preventing the harms that the S system tends to fall into from reaching the L system]

    The primary purpose of separating each state power between the two systems of L and S has been to prevent state powers from plunging into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism by using the existence of living things or human beings or the guarantee of social rights as a pretext, that is to say, the deviation from social rights.
    Furthermore, from now on, (1) the environment will deteriorate, (2) natural resources will be depleted, and (3) the world population will surpass the earth's carrying capacity. In these situations, (4) the economy and citizens' daily lives will face increasing strain. Therefore, the possibility will persist that powerholders will use coping with (1)-(4) as a pretext to slide into (5) violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism. However, as repeatedly emphasized, (5) never works for any purpose, including coping with (1)-(4). Coping with (1)-(4) is nothing more than guaranteeing social rights. Using it as a pretext to slide into (5) is nothing more than the aforementioned deviation from social rights.
    As explained repeatedly, it is certain that in order to guarantee our social rights or existence, comprehensive policies need to be planned and implemented. All the same, without active debate based on the liberal right of speech and fair elections and referendums, policies are biased, endangering our social rights and existence. Thus, not only liberty itself but also existence requires liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation. When each state power is separated between the two systems of L and S, policies are actively debated through the liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation protected by the L system and the human democratic systems inherent in the S system, minimizing the bias of policies and maximizing the compatibility of existence and liberty.
    From a practical perspective, when a state power is separated between the two systems of L and S, the S system does not possess armed forces, which are the strongest power to plunge into (5). On the other hand, the L system cannot use the guarantee of social rights as a pretext. In this way, both the pretext and the power to slide or plunge into (5) are eliminated.
    In fact, immediately after this separation was completed, the respective personnel of the L and S systems around the world understood their own roles, L's officers never publicly argued the guarantee of social rights or our existence, and S's officials never publicly discussed national or collective security.
    Even if (5) were necessary, that necessity would lie only within the S system. When a state power is separated between L and S, (5) is prevented from extending to the L system. Furthermore, the S system tends to fall into not only (5) but also other harms such as the tyranny of the majority, populism, that is, catering to the masses, and the manipulation of public opinion. The separation between the L and S systems prevents the harms in general that the S system tend to fall into from extending to the L system.

[Preventing those embracing the ideas concerning economic systems such as communism and capitalism from plunging into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism]

    Though it is included in the aforementioned prevention of the deviation from social rights, the prevention concerning economic systems requires special explanations. In the 20th century, communists plunged into autocracy and totalitarianism and crushed liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law, going far beyond mere oppression to bring about atrocities such as massacres and man-made famines.
    In communist countries, owing to the lack of freedom of speech and fair elections, economic plans were not actively debated and became irrelevant. In addition, for the same reason, the planners of economic plans did not compete with one another, fell into incompetence, and failed to plan relevant ones. This irrelevance of economic planning was one of the main causes of the collapse of communism. That is, communists failed in the very domain that was supposed to be their strength. Also in order to ensure sound economic planning, liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation should have been protected.
    In addition, the powers embracing communism and those embracing capitalism clashed, bringing about the "Cold War" and a staggering arms race including the development and possession of nuclear weapons, which was the only type of totally destructive means at the time. This military expansion consumed a significant portion of financial and physical resources. This constituted the main cause of the collapse of communism along with the irrelevance of economic planning.
    Disputes over economic systems could have been unfolded within and around S systems. The separation between the L and S systems enables us to limit such disputes to the S system, to limit military forces to L systems, and to prevent the whole of a state power from plunging into violent extremes such as waging war and developing and possessing totally destructive means. The separation between the L and S systems would have been necessary at least since the 20th century. If this separation had been realized in 1940, there would not have been the Cold War or the staggering development and possession of nuclear weapons in the 20th century, thereby preventing the development of totally destructive means in the 21st century, and ultimately averting the use of them in 20XX.
    Between the end of the Cold War and 20XX, the antipathy against and abhorrence of communism had remained among citizens. There was no such emotion after 20XX. In addition, the fury at economic inequality, which was lurking in any place and time, was building up. Accordingly, the possibility of communism's resurgence in 25YY was higher than that between the end of the Cold War and 20XX. However, unless the choice of economic systems is extremely restricted as it was under 20th century communism, the economic system will not be a pure one out of communism, capitalism, and the like but the mixture of some parts of some of them. Disputes will arise concerning how to mix them, but they are not as fierce as when urged to choose a pure one. In other words, they become fierce when urged to choose one of them. In fact, in some countries after the world revolution, communism became substantially dominant. This was a direct result of the outrage at the economic inequality before the revolution. However, the separation between the L and S systems limited those fierce disputes to S systems and their surroundings, preventing liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation that were protected by L systems from being touched. If it had not been for this separation, those countries would have repeated the same failures as 20th-century communism.

[The prevention of the collusions and corruptions between political and economic powerholders]

    As repeatedly stated, concerning (0) the collusion and corruption between (PP) political and public power and (EP) economic power, (PP-L) the police and the prosecution that should belong to the L system investigate and prosecute (O). In addition, (PP-S) the bureaucrats that should belong to the S system collude and are corrupted with (EP). Without the separation between the L and S systems, (PP-L) and (PP-S) also tend to collude, and so (0) can hardly be curbed. With this separation, the collusion between (PP-L) and (PP-S) is minimized, and (PP-L) become able to investigate and prosecute (PP-S) more strictly. As a result, (0) is minimized.
    In a capitalistic or market economy, pure profit-seeking and free competition do not pose a significant problem. First, what matters is economic inequality, poor working conditions, environmental degradation, and the exhaustion of natural resources. Solving those problems is nothing more than guaranteeing social right. The S systems need to actively function for it, and the separation between the L and S systems never hinders that function. Out of the remaining problems, the major one is the collusions and corruptions between political and economic powerholders, and their plunging together into autocracy and monopoly through those collusions. This problem has been solved in the above way.
    On the other hand, in communism, economic planning in itself does not pose a significant problem. The problem is that communism impairs liberal rights and democratic systems, and that owing to this impairment, economic plans are not actively debated and tend to be irrelevant. This problem is solved by the separation between the L and S systems since liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation are strictly protected in L systems.
    Ultimately, this separation solves the problems of both the capitalistic or market economy and the communistic economy.
    These (0) collusions and corruptions between (PP) political and public powers and (EP) economic powers, (EP)'s monopoly, and the formation of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes through (O) were developing in the dark, making themselves less conspicuous than the stark autocracy of (PP). Thus, they seemed to citizens outside to be liberal and democratic. Therefore, in the decades leading up to 20XX, not only starkly autocratic powers but also seemingly liberal, democratic powers plunged into the development and possession of totally destructive means and the use of them in a cycle of retaliation in that year, bringing about the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth. Concerning state powers after 20XX, liberalism and democracy were not merely superficial but entirely hollowed out. One of the main causes of these ramifications was (0) the collusions and corruptions between (PP) political and public powers and (EP) economic powers. This separation minimizes (O) in the aforementioned way.

[Increasing the efficiency of S's administrative power and reducing public expenditure and taxation]

    Within each state power, if left unchecked, the administrative power tends to bloat, increasing public expenditure and taxation. To counter this trend, efforts emerge to curtail the administration's expansion. This cycle has been repeated since before 20XX. The main cause of the increase in public expenditure is (1) the increase in the military expenditure by the military expansion through the formation of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes and (2) the excessive compartmentalization of the administrative power. The countermeasure against (1) will be explained in a later section. In this section, that against (2) will be explained.
    First, a distinction needs to be made between the terms "separation" and "compartmentalization" (or "ramification"). The division with mutual checks can be called "Separation," and the division without mutual checks can be called "Compartmentalization" or "Ramification." In general, as an organization is separated or compartmentalized, the expenditure to maintain it increases. Nevertheless, essential forms of separation need to be maintained at the cost of a certain increase in expenditure. In contrast, unnecessary forms of separation and all forms of compartmentalization need to be minimized. As we have seen, the separation of a state power between the L and S systems and the separation of the legislative, administrative, and judicial powers within each system are essential. In addition, within L's administrative power, the separation between the police and the military is indispensable. In contrast, within S's administrative power, neither separation nor compartmentalization is essential. An organization that has no need for separation or compartmentalization has been ramified into multiple departments, spanning finance, industry, labor relations, medical and social welfare, environmental protection, and natural resource conservation and utilization. This ramification has been one of the main causes of the increase in public expenditure. In addition, this ramification has made it hard to plan and implement "comprehensive policies." On those grounds, in each state power, S's administrative power needs to be integrated into an organization without internal separation or compartmentalization.
    In this way, separating each state power between the L and S systems can introduce necessary separation, eliminate unnecessary separation and compartmentalization, and ultimately reduce the overall number of division, increasing the efficiency of S's administrative power and reducing overall public expenditure. Furthermore, combined with dismantling the military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes and reducing military expenditure, which will be explained in a later section, this separation leads to an even greater reduction in overall public expenditure.
    The integration plan had been developed by T since before the revolution. He was initially elected online as the head of S's administrative power in the provisional government. Of course, some bureaucrats within that administrative part resisted the plan. Then, he worked out the plan further and proposed it to the citizens during the election for the new government. He was formally elected as the head of S's administrative power and implemented the plan. In addition, he contributed to the dismantlement of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes. As a result, the unification and the dismantlement reduced the state's public expenditure to about two-thirds of its original level.

[Preventing the use of military forces except for national defense or collective security, preventing wars driven by national interest, and dismantling the practical heads of states]

    It is the L system that commands and mobilizes military forces. In contrast, the S system cannot do anything with them. Therefore, the S system cannot wage a war for any reason whatsoever. If it intended to initiate a war, it would be one driven by "national interest," including aforementioned "local wars of invasion limited to natural resources," but it could never actually do so. It has no choice but to share limited resources through diplomacy in the international community. On the other hand, the L system can mobilize the military only to protect liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation, that is to say, for national defense or collective security. In this way, the separation between the L and S systems prevents the use of military forces, except for that for national defense or collective security. Above all, it prevents wars driven by national interest.
    Even if a state power is separated between the L and S systems, if any individual or organization that could control both of those systems remained, it could trigger any type of war. However, since in this separation, the administrative power and the legislative power are completely separated, there is no room for the practical head of state such as a "president" or "prime minister" who used to hold at least the entire administrative power. In other words, it dismantles the practical head of state. Concerning the "formal" or "symbolic" head of state, it will be explained later.
    Now, we know that it was a mistake to allow such an individual or organization total control over the entire administrative power, which should have been separated between the L and S systems. In addition, no practical head of state is needed. In fact, in each state immediately after the world revolution, the separation of the state power between the L and S systems was completed, leaving no room for the practical head of state and bringing about no disruption due to their absence. It is one of the merits of this separation to have dismantled practical heads of state.
    Just before the revolution, a world war was impending. However, General M's use of (counterfeit) totally destructive means drove powerholders into underground shelters. This allowed a synchronized revolution to sweep the world, enabling us to establish democratic systems accompanying separation, including the separation between the L and S systems, worldwide. After that, the world's S systems strove to share limited natural resources through diplomacy in the international community. Foreign troops from the world's major powers withdrew to their home countries. Most of the destructive means, with the exception of defensive ones and selective destructive ones were abolished. Even in the short term, every country generated a massive surplus in its military budget, leading to significant tax cuts, an economic revival, and an immediate upgrade to citizens' daily lives. From the following fiscal year onward, budgets with deeply slashed military spending were approved, further elevating citizens' standard of living.

[Dismantling military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes, and eradicating totally destructive means]

    In order to eradicate totally destructive means, this was the most critical driving force. So-called "military-industrial complexes" had existed since before the Cold War but drew intense attention at the beginning of the Cold War, leading to the coining of the term. Even by that time, each of them had already evolved into a complex consisting of (1) military forces, (2) the civilian bureaucrats controlling (1), (3) the scientists and engineers developing munitions, and (4) the corporations manufacturing them. Accordingly, they could be re-called "military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes." (1) sought military power, (2) sought bureaucratic authority, (3) sought academic prestige and glory, (4) sought corporate profits, and each of those complexes expanded by itself if left alone. Therefore, military expansion, above all, the development and production of totally destructive means proceeded at an staggering pace.
    Against this, the separation of each state power between the L and S systems offered a decisive countermeasure. This separation placed (1)(2) in the L system, and (3)(4) under the S system, thereby dismantling each of those complexes. But a closer look revealed this. With this separation, (2) were placed in the L system to directly control (1). In stark contrast, (5) new civilian bureaucrats, who were placed in the S system to administer (3)(4), came into the spotlight. (3)(4) were not controlled or administered by (1)(2) but administered by (5). The purpose of (3)(4)(5) was promoting not destructive but peaceful, creative science, technology, and industry. (3)(4)(5) were independent of (1)(2) through this separation. (3)(4)(5) had both the right and the duty to refuse (1)(2)'s request to develop or produce indiscriminately destructive means. In these ways, each military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexe was dismantled with (5) wedged between (1)(2) and (3)(4). Furthermore, practical heads of state such as presidents and prime ministers was dismantled, there was nothing or no one controlling both (1)(2) and (3)(4)(5), and each of those complexes were completely dismantled.
    A few years after that dismantlement, (1) became military forces with selectively destructive means and defensive ones and without indiscriminately destructive ones, and (3)(4) became independent institutes or enterprises. A minority of (3)(4) shifted toward the development and production of selectively destructive ones and defensive ones, but the majority entered and activated non-military industrial sectors.
    After the world revolution, the research, development, production, and trade of indiscriminately destructive means including totally and massively destructive means were banned in international laws and the constitutions of all the states on the earth. Through the separation between the L and S systems, according to the constitution, the S system has both the right and the duty to reject the L system's requests for collaboration in developing or producing indiscriminately destructive means. On the other hand, the S system can accept its requests for developing and producing selectively destructive ones and defensive ones. This separation does not hinder such collaboration between the L and S systems.
    In the end, it became clear that military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes were the greatest barrier blocking the eradication of totally destructive means. In 25YY+1, with unexpected swiftness, the dismantlement of those complexes through this separation led to the eradication of totally destructive means. Furthermore, in 25YY+5, all the indiscriminately destructive means were eradicated. This reduced overall armaments and decreased military expenditures. This dismantlement of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes, combined with the aforementioned reduction of the compartmentalization of S's administrative power,significantly decreased general public expenditure and taxation. This and the aforementioned activation of non-military industrial sectors lifted the overall economy beyond expectation. Ultimately, citizens' daily lives reached the highest standard in history.

[The power inherent in the S system to suspend indispensable services, multiple civilian control, and the last resort]

    The services that supply or manage water, electricity, gas, fuel, food, medicine, finance, and communication networks are indispensable, not only for general citizens but also for public armed forces such as the military and the police. It is S's administrative power that provide those services not only to general citizens but also to public armed forces. It is not clear whether or not this ability to provide those services is a subcategory of "power," which can be defined as a means to control humans. In contrast, suspending those services poses a great threat to anyone, clearly falling into a subcategory of power. This power is inherent in the S system, posing a grave threat not only to general citizens but also to public armed forces.
    This power inherent in the S system to suspend indispensable services had already been at work in the midst of the world revolution. In each country around the world, the top echelon of the government and the military had escaped into underground shelters, and most of the lower and middle ranks who had not been taken there defected. The public armed forces in A defected smoothly, thanks to the encouragement of defection by Group G and covert rebels such as that deputy commander. However, in a few other countries, their public armed forces did not defect so smoothly. In each of those countries, the relevant section―a potential part of S's administrative power―suspended the services that were indispensable for those forces. Consequently, they were rapidly weakened, and their personnel defected all at once, though belatedly.
    This power inherent in the S system to suspend indispensable services was used against public armed forces this time, but it can be used against any individuals or organizations, for instance, the businesses that do not preserve the environment and the individuals that abuse welfare. All the same, it is significant that this power is effective even against public armed forces. This separation between the L and S systems, for the first time, makes this power effective.
    Of course, public armed forces and the civilian officials controlling them are restrained by top-level civilian ones in the administrative power in the L system. In addition, they are restrained by the legislative power and the judicial power through the separation of the three powers and the rule of law within the L system. Furthermore, with this separation, they are restrained by the S system with its inherent power to suspend the indispensable services. These can be called "Multiple Civilian Control" in contrast to the traditional civilian control.
    It is constitutional for public servants not to comply with unconstitutional orders or requests and not to participate in unconstitutional acts. It is unconstitutional for public armed forces to run amok and to be abused. Accordingly, it is constitutional for the S system to execute this power.
    As stated earlier, there remains a slight possibility that nationalist, totalitarian, or militarist political parties will agitate the masses, secure a majority in L House in the L system, and completely seize those armed forces, suspending the constitution, the legislative power, and judicial power and plunging into violent extremes. Even so, as long as some humans, whether they are military or civilian, exist, this ability to provide indispensable services remains intact, and so does the power to suspend them. This remains true all the more for gigantic organizations such as public armed forces. In this way, this power remains intact until the very end. Public armed forces running amok or being abused is an extreme situation. For these reasons, the exercise of this power in such a situation is the last resort.
    In the situation, the purpose of this power sublimates into protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation, and it turns out that the S system that needs to guarantee social rights protects what the L system needs to protect with the power derived from guaranteeing social rights. This is the only contradiction in this separation and the greatest paradox of political systems. However, only in that extreme situation , they arise and will be exquisite contradiction and paradox.
    These are the acme of the separation of powers.

[Problems]

    Now, let us move to problems.
    As was explained earlier, practical heads of states are unnecessary. "Formal" or "symbolic" heads of states is seemingly necessary on ceremonies or festivals. But ceremonies are not essential, and nor are formal ones. They can be abolished. In contrast, if citizens were inclined to enjoy some festivals accompanying symbolic ones, they could survive. Given that festivals are a form of culture, the head of the department for education and culture in the S system is suitable as such a symbolic head of state.
    In the festivals hosted or sponsored by the departments that should have belonged to the S system, some officers of the military or the police that should have belonged to the L system have provided live music or staged air shows. This separation never hinders such collaboration between the L and S systems, which is clearly peaceful. However, if the majority of citizens abhorred it, both of the systems would need to refrain from it.
    This question may arise: "How should we deal with the legislation or administration spanning both of those systems?" However, an unexpectedly few pieces of legislation or administration spans both of them. For a first instance, when widespread violence endangers the lives of a lot of individuals, dealing with the violence means the protection of a liberal right, and in legislation, it is necessary to refine criminal laws within the L House, and in administration, it is necessary to reinforce security in a narrow sense in L's administrative power. In contrast, for a second example, when severe malnutrition caused by poverty endangers the lives of a lot of individuals, dealing with the malnutrition and the poverty means the guarantee of a social right, and in legislation, it is necessary to refine social security laws within the S House, and in administration, it is necessary to improve social security in S's administrative power.
    In legislation, what clearly spans both of those systems is the resolution on the whole of a budget and the ratification of a comprehensive treaty. Concerning these matters, in each state, L House and S House can have equal authority, and in fact, this was stipulated in the constitution.
    In the responses to the emergencies such as natural disasters, famines, and pandemics that should be dealt with by S's administrative power, the police or the military belonging to the L system sometimes need to collaborate with it. In such cases, it is necessary that the S system be able to request collaboration from the L system, that the L system be able either to comply with the request or to reject it, and that if the L system complies, it not do more than what is requested. In fact, these principles were stipulated in the constitution of each state. Military sanctions in national defense and collective security exclusively rest within the jurisdiction of the L system. In contrast, for economic sanctions, the S systems also need to function. As far as economic sanctions are concerned, the reverse of the above is appropriate. In fact, this was stipulated in the constitution of each state.
    Nonetheless, concerning whether a public function lies under the jurisdiction of the L system or that of the S system, a few ambiguous ones that cannot be stipulated in constitutions can remain. In addition, it is probable that some individuals or parties forcefully bring those functions under their jurisdiction to serve their own interests. Concerning such ambiguous ones, the judicial power needs to assign them to one of those jurisdictions by reading between the lines of the constitution, which is the very essence of the rule of law. In fact, this was stipulated in the constitution of each state.
    From now on, other problems will arise and will be debated. However, those problems will be limited to minor details. On the other hand, the above effects will persist, and unexpected ones will arise. When compared, the effects will outweigh the problems, and the framework of this separation will be maintained while its details are modified.

HOW TO HANDLE THE REMAINS OF ATROCITIES

    A's General M erased all the traces of massacres each time he committed them. In addition, he killed most of the political prisoners and erased the traces of their tortures and killings, taking some of them alive with him as he went underground into shelters. B's President BP, though she had erased the traces of massacres, hurriedly went underground, leaving the traces of the tortures and killings of political prisoners. In some other countries, the traces of massacres remained. How should we deal with those remains of atrocities? Ultimately, the legislative power of each nation would codify the answer, but prior to that, the interested individuals from around the world decided to gather at a conference hall in Superpower B to hold a discussion. It might serve as a reference for debates within the legislative powers worldwide. Out of the individuals I have already mentioned in this book, Z and I from A and V from B participated in it. V became the moderator. The discussion unfolded as follows.

A participant (1): In order to prevent a relapse into autocracy, we need to keep the memory of its misery alive. Therefore, the traces of those atrocities should be preserved and opened to the public.
A participant (2): But there may be some who imitate those atrocities or are inspired by them.
A participant (3): Especially for children, the impact could be immeasurable. I believe it is better not to expose them to such things.
A participant (4): It is better to expose children to them to some extent and then to have them engage in discussions under the guidance of teachers.
A participant (5): However, the teachers' role in those discussions is too significant. If handled poorly, the debates could easily veer in the wrong direction.
A participant (6): After all, it is better not to show them to anyone under the age of fifteen.
(This opinion was widely shared. From this point on, even when they were made public, the audience was restricted to those aged fifteen and over.)
Z: Some of the methods used in massacres and torture could be repurposed for indiscriminate destruction. Those should not be made public. Ultimately, we must be selective about what is disclosed. (This opinion was widely shared.)

After the discussion had unfolded to a certain extent, V proposed an inspection of a facility in B where a lot of political prisoners had been tortured and killed. All the participants agreed and set out for the inspection.

    President BP had used captured anti-government activists as subjects for neurological experiments, simultaneously using those experiments as a means of torture and massacre. At this facility for experimentation, torture, and massacre, conditions remained exactly as they had been immediately after President BP had fled to shelters and abandoned it. However, the facility was kept at low temperature and low humidity to prevent the corpses from decaying. The inspectors slipped into the cold-weather clothing provided for them. At first, they were startled by the whiteness of one another's breath. But as they moved forward, they found that that was the least of their concerns. Primitive restraints lay scattered across the hard beds and the floor alike, but there was few equipment that might have served for neurological experiments. Hundreds of bodies had been dumped into tens of large containers. Restraints remained on their limbs, and electrodes and devices were still attached to their heads. It seemed that they had been racked with the torture in which they had been forced to see and hear one another being racked. It was clear that this had not been human experiment but torture and massacre. Some faces stared directly back at us. How could I describe their expression? All the descriptions that I could find were that their eyes were staring into the void or that their mouths left agape in a frozen scream. When I saw those, I could not help feeling for a moment that assassination would be an easier way out. But I reconsidered. Autocrats might have tried to drive the masses into situations where they had to compare the amounts of pain. Without comparing the amounts of pain, let us reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by humans. In this case, let us eliminate both assassination and torture.
    We left the facility and headed back to the conference hall. Stepping back into the light and warmth outside, everyone felt a sense of relief. V, Z, and I expected that the participants' opinions, which had leaned toward disclosure before the inspection, might shift even slightly toward non-disclosure. But our expectation was off. When we returned to the conference hall, most of the participants were silent, with solemn expressions on their faces. After a while, a citizen from B finally spoke as if squeezing the words out, "After all, we must document that tragedy through photographs and release them to the public." The participants began to nod. Without that inspection, we would not have been confident of that. Another citizen from Country B spoke up immediately, "Once we have recorded it all, let's give the victims a proper burial." V said, "The records were already made when anti-government groups occupied the facility. Let's immediately pressure the new government to ensure the victims receive a proper burial." Without that inspection, the burial of them would have been further delayed, only prolonging the grief of the bereaved families.

UNDER THE SUNSET SKY

    After passing the first major climax, the World Revolution, U and I got married, and so did X and T. As the memory of those victims remained so vivid in our minds, we couldn't bring ourselves to hold wedding ceremonies or receptions, and we chose to only file the marriage papers.
    My sister got married as well. She was three years older than me and in her early forties. When I had rebelled against power at random in the adolescent period, she had distanced herself from me. But after I stopped at-random rebellion, we got back in touch. After I met U, my sister sometimes joined us to sit down for a meal together. Her husband was younger than both her and me. My sister would go on running her bakery, while her husband kept his office job. Apparently, they did not intend to have children.
    After the revolution, the four of us―U and I, and my sister and her husband―visited my parents' grave together. On the way back, the four of us had a meal at a small local restaurant nearby. Of course, before the revolution, my sister had not known that U and I had been members of Group G. She said that she was startled on hearing that for the first time after the revolution. After a while, she said reflectively, "I'm sure Mom and Dad would be happy to know that." Such a conversation would be possible only between siblings, I thought. It brought home to me the fact that siblings remained siblings no matter how many years flew by. At first, her husband seemed to find it difficult to talk with U and me, and we didn't force the conversation either. But before long, we all began to feel at ease with one another.
    Personal stories aside, the farmland occupied by Superpower B was returned to D. Even after that, most of the refugees lived in F Forest, and eventually, it became independent as a nation. In the past, "countries of immigrants" often became famous, but this one might well earn a reputation as "a country of refugees." I was invited to its independence ceremony. I was about to be treated as a figure such as one of its "founding fathers," and that evacuation as an event such as "Exodus." Instead of those, I asked for the preservation of the documents and relics including the memoir by that girl and her father and the deserted house containing them. That remark did not come out of modesty. As a historian, I felt the preservation of the documents and relics was of utmost importance, and for me as an individual, they were like the memorials of my younger days. And in the future, I thought new, significant documents would be excavated.
    The memoir by that girl and her father and that summary by Professor P, which had already been made available online by Group G, were also published as paper books by private publishers.
    Group G's funeral of Professor P that had been scheduled for after the revolution was held solemnly in our own way. There was no point in expressing the resentment against past autocratic regimes. In fact, no one expressed it. V from Superpower B and W from Superpower C came to join us. They, too, spoke few words. After that, V headed for A1 University to give a lecture. W, as usual, hurried back to water the mosses in that garden. I saw her off to the airport. The aircraft nowadays could fly to the other side of the earth in a few hours, and she was on a day trip. However fast aircraft flew, as long as they did not fly at the speed of light, the time sensed by human sensations would not change. For the first time, I found that the encounter between her and Professor P had been a historical one. Now, I found myself hoping she would live a long life, looking forward to the day we could meet and talk again. If she were to pass away, I would feel a profound loneliness.
    After that, I went to Professor P's home to bring his remains back to his family. His wife, in her fifties, and his son and daughter, both in their twenties, lived there. There, too, no one expressed any resentment. His wife said, "He never talked to us about political or social affairs. To me, he was an ordinary husband and to our children, an ordinary father." His children were currently working for private companies and were ordinary office workers. They said, "His books are selling well, but we'd rather have him here, alive."
    I had brought a jacket of Professor P's as well. He had worn it at his usual discourses and that address in the International Conference Hall. It had been left in the waiting room for lecturers. I pulled the jacket from my bag and held it out. His wife took it, sobbing. After a while, she said to me, "I hope you will wear it." I said to her, "I am grateful for it, but it would be best for his son to wear it." To tell the truth, I had been wondering whether to return it to his family or auction it off. It might be more truly valued through an auction. Furthermore, it would be more cherished when auctioned off by his family than by Group G or me. In addition, Professor P might be remembered longer through a delayed auction. So, I stealthily told his son to take an auction into consideration.
    For now, his son tried it on. His son's features and physique are similar to his. However, his son could not be his substitute. It did not mean that his son's intelligence and knowledge were inferior to his. It meant that his son's personality was distinct from his. However, it did not mean that his son's personality was inferior to his. It only meant that his son's personality was distinct from his.
    It was on foot that I came back from his family's home. Under the sunset sky, I walked alone along the sidewalk of a bridge spanning a vast river. The roadway was packed with cars, but the sidewalk was wide and uncrowded. I could take my time walking. The void inside me created by losing my best friend, Professor P, began to throb again. Up to now, this void and throb would have been drowned out by the revolution. That girl says, "This repetition of death and life is the same as each animal having memory lives forever with the loss of memory and the loss of individuality repeated while replacing one another." All the same, the death of a person is also a complete parting from them. It is acceptable that we will die someday, but parting is extremely hard. Will I indulge in such thinking for a while?

BELATEDLY

    However, the climax was not over yet. Another surge was still to come. New governments around the world saw that the present was the best opportunity to totally abolish totally destructive means and dispatched representatives to EC City in Great Power E. U and I were sent from A. Some governments sought to establish an organization for peace in general whose purpose was unlimited to the total abolition of totally destructive means. However, history had seen the failures of such organizations before and after the year 20XX. For the time being, most of them sought to establish an organization whose purpose was limited to the eradication of totally destructive means. Thus they tried to prevent other challenges from frustrating the eradication of those means.
    During the general assembly aimed at establishing such an organization, the representatives held the elections of the members of its provisional council and the secretary general of its provisional secretariat. To the council, they elected both the nations possessing totally destructive means, including superpowers A, B, and C, and several non-possessing great powers. As that secretary general, I was elected. It seemed I was regarded as a person who would never compromise on anything. But I had made my share of compromises, I thought. For instance, I had held back from exposing General M's scandal. However, when it came to establishing and maintaining liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation, eradicating totally destructive means, and confronting tendencies to fall into a vicious circle, I had never compromised and I never would. When I shared this entire thought process just as it was during my inaugural address, the representatives from each country laughed as if to say, "This guy is as uncompromising as ever."
    The organization's provisional name became the Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means. Its charter needed to contain the framework of the organization's structure and authorities. In 25YY, the only international organizations that remained were those for telecommunication, health, nature preservation, and so forth, which posed little threat to holders of political and economic power. The organizations for collective security and disarmament, which were the most important, had been hollowed out and rendered virtually defunct over the preceding centuries. They did nothing more than leave behind a sense of resignation toward the powerlessness of international organizations. They did not even serve as a reference. The structure and powers of international or world organizations seemed to be in an uncharted territory. However, Professor P, V, I, and our colleagues had already long been debating them. We had been arguing that democratic systems accompanying separation including the separation between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system) would work effectively in international or world organizations as well.
    The anti-government groups, provisional governments, and new governments around the world had thought that the eradication of totally destructive means would be possible just in the wake of the world revolution and that it would be hard if the window of opportunity was missed. So, the general assembly resolved, and immediately promulgated and implemented a "provisional charter" containing "all the totally destructive means on the earth should be eradicated within five years," "the provisional or new governments should not only keep nuclear weapons and immutable gene means deactivated but also immediately start safely disposing of them," and "the manipulation of asteroids that can cause any detonations should be stopped immediately." In the new constitution and laws in each state around the world, it had already been stipulated that indiscriminately destructive means including totally and massively destructive means should be eradicated in the state and that the state should collaborate with the other states and international organizations to abolish and prevent them. Furthermore, this organization, too, needed to evolve into that for the eradication of all indiscriminately destructive means, and this was stipulated in the provisional charter.
    After that, a desire to visit a historic site arose within me. It was a stone monument excavated from what used to be the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a monument, it had been set up after the first use of totally destructive means in 1945, had survived the second use in 20XX, and had been excavated.
    Now, it was being exhibited in the memorial museum built at the excavation site. That museum was swallowed into the chasm between skyscrapers, and so, of course, no traces remained of the first or second devastation. The stone monument was enshrined within a large glass case. One of the docents explained its inscription to me. I, as a historian, knew that it could be translated into "please rest here in peace, for we will not repeat the same mistake." Furthermore, everyone knew that we had already repeated that mistake once, and that we were on the verge of repeating it yet again. When I saw the inscription being covered with the grime of time, I could not help whispering, "Belatedly." It had been more than six hundred years since a totally destructive means had been unleashed for the first time.

PILING UP UNILATERAL ABOLITIONS

    However, something unexpected came to light. Since before the world revolution, anti-government groups and rebels around the world had thought that if we missed the opportunity right after the revolution, the eradication of totally destructive means would be impossible, and that a series of international conferences, charters, and organizations for that abolition would be indispensable. However, that was not necessarily the case.
    We had distinguished the following two approaches. The mutual abolition and prevention of something through some international functions or organizations had been called "Mutual Abolition," and the voluntary and unilateral abolition and prevention of something by each state "Unilateral Abolition" or One-Way Abolition. With selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power explained earlier, totally destructive means are not only unnecessary things but also massive burdens requiring immense expense and labor to maintain. In addition, there is always the danger of their spinning out of control due to unpredictable accidents or breakdowns. It is much more advantageous to simply dispose of them unilaterally right away. It is far better to exclusively reinforce the aforementioned selectively destructive means and defensive means than to reinforce indiscriminately destructive means such as totally destructive means and massively destructive means. Even small countries can possess selectively destructive means. With them, they can destroy the key figures and the main facilities of the governments and military forces of superpowers. In this way, small countries can deter even the greatest. The state powers possessing totally destructive means cannot help deriding their past policies and strategies. Totally or massively destructive means are nothing more than relics of the past. It is advisable for everyone to abolish them unilaterally. In fact, the provisional or new governments possessing totally destructive means not only deactivated them but also were disposing of them voluntarily and unilaterally. They had been doing so even before the international conference. Even at this time, most totally destructive means were disposed of. Their eradication would be brought about within months.
    In addition, it turned out that the long-held claim like "technically and for safety, totally destructive means cannot be abolished at once" had been nothing more than a pretext for holding them. All the same, expectation for unilateral abolitions had existed since before the revolution. However, no one had expected that unilateral abolitions would be piled up thus, that its accumulation was so powerful, or that was enough for total abolition. It was the only and welcome miscalculation.
    However, without selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power explained earlier, the necessity of indiscriminately destructive means including totally destructive means and massively destructive means would have remained though slightly, and the accumulation of unilateral abolitions would not have proceeded so smoothly. In addition, without the dismantlement of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes through the separation between the L and S systems explained earlier, such complexes would have resisted abolition, and the accumulation of unilateral abolitions would not have proceeded so smoothly. After all, the decisive way to eradicate totally destructive means is the accumulation of unilateral abolitions with selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power and the dismantlement of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes through the separation between the L and S systems.
    Then, the importance of the international or world organization for the eradication of totally destructive means diminishes. However, it has the significance as a precedent for international or world organizations for other or broader purposes that would arise from now on. I had been seeking such organizations even then.

EXPERTS

    The experts appointed by the general assembly and I refined the definition of totally destructive means and the structure and authorities of this organization that should be stipulated in the draft of its charter. Furthermore, we needed to refine the details that could not be stipulated in its charter. For instance, we decided that the department for inspection should consist of (1) the division for the inspection of the manipulation of atomic nuclei, (2) that of the manipulation of genes, and (3) that of the manipulation of asteroids. For each of the heads of (1) and (3), we found a suitable candidate among those experts and obtained their informal consent to take office. For the head of (2), the vast majority of them were of the opinion that U was the most suitable. I thought so, too. I consulted on it with her at the hotel where we were staying. U had wanted to come back to the research to completely overcome cancers and infectious diseases and to reduce medical cost. Certainly, that would be the dream of medical researchers. However, I persuaded her into taking that position by arguing that science and technology needed to establish their branch that could restrain themselves. However, it came with the condition of a ten-year term of office. Even after ten years, she would be in her mid-forties, and it would be possible for her to realize her original dream. Besides, she had already paved the way to realize it, and some others would be able to do it, I thought. However, I kept this thought to myself. Days later, I thought that the content of the persuasion of "science and technology need to establish their branch that can restrain themselves" hit the mark.
    Furthermore, I came to a sobering realization: the very people best equipped to devise the methods for restraining totally destructive means were those with the greatest capacity to develop them. Then this organization would need to enhance the self-restraint of the scientists and technologists within it, I thought. That self-restraint would need to endure long after their departure from this organization. Therefore, the organization would require a strict ban on their transfer to private companies on the one hand, and their lifetime employment and the further increase of their remuneration on the other hand. Then, I would also need to reconsider U's term of ten years. Though she could be trusted, it would set a bad example. I could not bring myself to tell her the revocation of the term for days, although I even told her that I had roasted rabbits and deer whole in that F Forest. However, days later, she offered voluntarily to remain in that office indefinitely. In addition, years later, she continued her medical research while remaining in that office and realized her dream together with some other medical researchers.
    Just as U set about establishing the inspection technology in earnest, something utterly unexpected took place in A that would directly affect U. A's General M had forcibly relocated more than a thousand of "political prisoners" into shelters and held them hostage, and now he was demanding U and X in exchange for them. U and I had no choice but to go back to A and stay there for days.
    I asked V in B to assume the office of deputy secretary general, to refine the draft of the charter further, and to submit it to the committee and answer questions on behalf of me while U and I would be in A. He accepted it. I thought that he was far better suited than I to refine the draft charter further. In fact, V and his colleagues had rewritten what Professor P had summarized into text that was clear and comprehensible, and their text had become the foundation of constitutions around the world. It might be better for V and his colleagues to rewrite the draft of the charter of this organization, I thought. I even thought that it might be more prudent to hand over the post of secretary general to V.
    V had become the president of B1 University after B's preliminary government had been established. He would be holding both that presidency and the deputy secretary generalship concurrently. The General Assembly and the Council approved his appointment as deputy secretary general, decreeing further that he would succeed me as secretary general in the case that I failed to return. As for U's successor as the head of (2) in the case that she failed to return, she asked a renowned medical researcher from C, obtaining his consent.

DETAILS OF THE ERADICATION OF TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE MEANS

    By the way, concerning separating each state power between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system), it was found that it was first advocated during the Cold War. After the world revolution, for various purposes, V and his colleagues had been excavating the remains of universities from before 20XX, located in what is now B. Among them, they unearthed some documents concerning that separation, which revealed the following. The pioneers who first advocated that separation were the jurists at the university; that notorious Communist Party consigned them and their writings to oblivion; those jurists sought that separation as a means to prevent the autocratization and totalitarianization of communism, the clash between capitalism and communism, the intensification of the Cold War, and the devastating arms race. Certainly, if that separation had been realized across nations around the world at the onset of the Cold War, it would have ended quickly, and there would not have been staggering military build-up leading to the endless development of nuclear weapons, which had been the only totally destructive means those days. As a result, the humans on the surface of the earth would not have been exterminated in 20XX. This separation had been necessary at least since the onset of the Cold War.
    That excavation was almost completed, and so V was able to come to EC City and act as a deputy secretary general―the temporary but de facto secretary general.
    When I confirmed the following online together with V, I was about to depart for A, and he for EC City.

    Totally destructive means are, first, nuclear weapons (1), second, immutable gene means (2), and, third, the manipulation of asteroids altering their orbits (3).
    As for (3), human manipulations can alter their orbit and make them collide with or come close to the earth. Such a change can be caused through accidents during the exploration or development of resources, even without human intention to alter them. Therefore, when we explore or develop asteroids, we need to find methods that ensure their orbits remain unaltered, even under worst-case accident scenarios. If we fail to do so, we need to ban any form of asteroid manipulation.
    As for (2), even U would reveal the development method if she were to be tortured. However, even without it, other scientists will discover the method sooner or later. Therefore, we need to clearly distinguish immutable gene means and the other genetic means, and to completely ban the former, from the stage of research and development. In short, it is that "out of genes, don't change anything other than base sequence." On the other hand, it is advisable not to restrain the genetic means other than immutable gene means too strictly. Above all, concerning gene therapy, what is most earnest is general citizens' desire to live a long and healthy life, for their family members to do so, and to prevent their children from dying young. This desire can be fully satisfied with the genetic means other than immutable gene means or with the biological ones other than genetic ones. This needs to be explained to general citizens. As for (1), the weapons involving any nuclear reactions, whether they are nuclear fusion or fission, can be defined as Nuclear Weapons, and need to be eradicated. There remains a question. What should be done about nuclear power plants, submarines, ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites that are seemingly for peaceful purposes? They still remain even in 25YY. In themselves, they do not seem to be totally destructive means. However, if they should be hacked and manipulated online in the midst of terrorism or war and go out of control or explode all at once, they might cause total destruction. In addition, if they should go out of control due to accidents or natural disasters, they would cause massive destruction if not total destruction. In addition, since it is relatively easy to develop nuclear weapons from them, they are also also a "precursor to totally destructive means." Above all, alternative energy sources to replace nuclear power have already been developed. On those grounds, they need to be eradicated. This is a task for the future.

We confirmed the above. V said, "I will do my best until you and U return." I thought and said to V honestly, "It may be better for me not to come back, because you are more suitable for refining the draft of the charter." Then V laughed as if to say, "You really are a man of no compromise."

NO EXTRA-LEGAL THINGS

    The key figures of the former governments and military forces around the world fled into their respective shelters, and that very act became their undoing. Preliminary and new governments around the world sealed off every entrance and exit to shelters and made shelters and the surface world feel like two separate universes. Those who fled into shelters found themselves isolated as if at the ends of the earth. Though it had been the top echelon of each country's former government and military that fled into the shelter, a new upper echelon and new lower and middle ranks were formed even from the past top one. The latter were filled with frustration like, "Why the hell do we have to be stuck in such a place?" The former had no choice but to yield to the frustration of the latter. Those who fled into shelters started to surrender and loomed up from the chasm of the earth.
    However, some powerholders even delivered addresses from the shelters to the citizens on the surface, desperately attempting to justify the former regimes. Regarding it as a matter of freedom of speech, the preliminary or new governments of those countries did not bother to issue point-by-point rebuttals. It was enough to simply re-investigate and publicize the cruelty, inefficiency, and wasteful spending of the former regime. Powerholders could not refute what the figures showed.
    However, A's General M proved to be a tough nut to crack. He had taken more than a thousand so-called political prisoners into the shelter, holding them as hostages. He was demanding U and X in exchange for them. In other words, as far as A was concerned, the shelter and the surface had never been separate universes from the very beginning. The shelter and the surface remained connected by the lives of the hostages. General M, who seemed to have been isolated in the shelter, still held a window for breakthrough to return to the surface and reclaim control over the world above. Once he gets a hold of U and X, through torture, he would likely force U to develop true totally destructive means this time, and X to take control of the world's communication networks. These days, techniques for torture had advanced significantly. Even U and X would eventually be forced to reveal their technologies. General M must have been sure that with their technologies, it would be possible to return to the surface and rule the world once more. A tenacious man. He was nothing like those average powerholders who immediately humble themselves and surrender. In addition, with over a thousand hostages inside, the environmental degradation and resource depletion within the shelter would be significant. If he could just trade them for U and X, things would be much easier. A clever man. In addition, both of them are captivating women. However, if they had not been, he would have chosen them, solely for their technologies. He was not the kind of man to be swayed by emotion. If the targets of the exchange had not been U and X, I might have said to myself, "A worthy opponent."
    U, X, Z, T, and I deliberated together online. U said, "It might seem like a trade-off of two for a thousand, but if X and I fall into General M's hands, she will be forced to control the world's networks, and I to develop immutable gene means, a kind of totally destructive means. Ultimately, it might endanger billions of humans. Many people will think so. However, the development of immutable gene means needs rare resources and specialized equipment. There must be very little of either inside the shelter. General M's strategy will not succeed so easily." X said, "It is impossible for me alone to transform the shelter's system into something capable of controlling the world, and even if it were possible, it would require an immense amount of time, effort, and resources." T said, "There is also the issue of exchanging other resources. This entire case is far from being resolved by the current hostage exchange." Z said, "We need to refine our strategy further. A consultation with Colonel N is also necessary."
    In any case, the resolution of this case would require extra-legal measures. If Professor P had been alive, what would he have said? He would have said something like this.

After an extra-legal emergency breaks out, and an extra-legal countermeasure is taken to cope with it, we need to reflect on our failure to anticipate it and to amend the law to stipulate that emergency and that countermeasure. By doing so, we need to minimize extra-legal things. Otherwise, legal loopholes widen, liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation are hollowed out, and the possibility increases that holders of political and economic powers plunge into autocracy, totalitarianism, and monopoly. For instance, though it is the police that need to function first in a hostage crisis, as far as a large-scale one is concerned, it is necessary that the police be able to request the collaboration of the military or transfer command to the military, and that this be stipulated in the constitution and laws in each country. Otherwise, the possibility increases that the police, the military, or the civilian bureaucrats controlling them run amok. Furthermore, even after those efforts, with the anticipation that some unanticipated extra-legal things remain, it is necessary that the emergency conferences be held that necessarily include the chief justice of the supreme court and the chairperson of the L house in the L system (= the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation), that the countermeasures to cope with them be decided, and that this be stipulated in the constitution and laws in each country. Otherwise, again, legal loopholes widen, liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation are hollowed out, and the possibility increases that powerholders plunge into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism.

    In fact, after this case was resolved, the outline of the above was prescribed in the constitution, and its details in laws, in each country around the world.
    U and I arrived at A. We had expected various scenarios, but we never imagined such a "homecoming." According to the above principle, the following officials gathered: the chief justice of the supreme court and the chairperson of L house as essential officials; as other officials, the head of the police, the chairperson of the committee in L house supervising the police, the head of the military (Z), and the chairperson of the committee in L house supervising the military; as the parties concerned, U and T, and T and I as family members of theirs. In this situation, T was not as the head of S's administrative power, and I was not as the secretary general of that organization. Some experts such as information technologists were invited. In addition, the designers and builders of the shelters were invited, and they said, "A construction passageway for the workers still remains, and we can descend to the main structure of the shelter in minutes. That was confirmed. All the same, a firefight might break out in the final section of that passageway." This was the most valuable piece of concrete information. Z said, "If the defection within the shelter is completed, combat could be avoided, and the shelters will be seized."
    Z was desperate to get in touch with Colonel N in the middle of this meeting, saying, "Wait a minute. I'm about to get through to Colonel N." X and several other technologists joined Z. Even after the revolution was complete, Colonel N went on keeping a close eye on General M and seeking an opportunity to capture him. After descending into the shelter, we exercised utmost caution and avoided making easy contact. However, this emergency altered the situation all at once. We needed to hear Colonel N's plan at any cost. He was also trying to contact us. We got through.

INTO THE CHASM OF THE EARTH

    He appeared in a close-up on the screen. He had looked drawn from the very beginning, but now he appeared even more so. He looked straight into the camera and said clearly, "I know this is a cruel ask for U and X, but I need you to agree to the prisoner exchange. The exchange will be our first and last chance to release over a thousand hostages and capture General M. Underground, a large number of soldiers have already covertly defected and are prepared for an open mutiny. I absolutely guarantee U and X's safety." U said without hesitation, "I will come. I trust your strategy." X said, "With that plan, I will go even into the chasm of the earth." U and X locked eyes, and the decision was made. The other officials hesitated, probably because they did not know Colonel N or the depth of his insight.
    Then Colonel N and Z formulated the plan: Colonel N together with the rebels would launch a lightning-fast mutiny in the shelter, and once the Colonel made contact, Z and his men would descend promptly to provide backup.
    Neither U nor X seemed to feel much anxiety or fear about falling into General M's hands. This was because both of them were confident that the plan made by Colonel N and Z would succeed. T and I also had that confidence, but theirs was firmer. Perhaps it was a confidence born from the objective thinking they excel at. They worried more about the people worrying about them.
    U and I spent a night alone together, and so did X and T. As for X and T, that was, of course, a private matter. As for U and I, it unfolded in this way. In that nostalgic former laboratory of hers, holding Rabbit R in her arms, U remained quiet, as might be expected. She appeared to be pondering something. As I was wondering if even someone as resolute as she was harboring her own conflict, she said, "It is possible to develop a means that can neutralize immutable gene means. However, it is also nothing more than an immutable gene means. And the means that can neutralize it is also nothing more than an immutable gene means, repeating the same cycle. So, we have no choice but to eradicate immutable gene means." I muttered in my mind, "To think of such a means at such a time ... what a mind. If this operation fails, and she is exploited by General M and forced to develop..."
    Furthermore, she said nonchalantly, "It is better for you to forget what I just said ." I could not say anything. I muttered in my mind, "Neither U nor the world had any need for me tonight."
    The following night, the hostage exchange began. As U and X headed toward the shelter entrance, the media from all over the world had unleashed a barrage of blinding lights. We wondered how they had found out about the case. But there was no doubt that this was a historic moment. Layer upon layer of lights washed over them, leaving them literally dazzled. Through those layers of lights, U, first, and X, ten minutes later, departed underground. Both of them charged ahead as if to say, "The chasm of the earth is better than this." And then, there was nothing.
    Those who were released in the exchange were broadcast worldwide. For once, it was painful to see the joy of others. U and X might have been glad to see them. I was not a party but nothing more than a family member of one of the parties. I felt that deeply.

FAREWELL, MY FRIEND

    Z and his men were tied up with the preparation for descending to the shelter. T and I sat and waited in a corner of the temporary command room set up for this operation. Colonel N's contact was more overdue than we had anticipated. Medical staff advised us to take a nap, but we could not. The honest feeling of both T and I was, "It is arrogant of M to take away even the modest happiness found by an ordinary man and woman. It has nothing to do with politics or society. Why do we have to go through this?" However, in order to maintain our composure, we tried to considered new terms of exchange. But, no matter how we looked at it, all that General M truly wanted were U and X. There was no way M needed a historian such as me, a specialist in the history of ideas and that of science and technology. As a seeker of the world revolution, democratic systems accompanying separation, and the eradication of totally destructive means, I was far from needed but was nothing but a nuisance for M. M did not need an economist and specialist in the guarantee of social rights such as T, either. Even if M ever needed T, he would do so more than ten years after he and his subordinates returned to the surface. He would need developers of totally destructive means and information technologists, but they were precisely what U and X were, and there was no one else on earth who could surpass them.
    While T and I were having such a conversation, Colonel N contacted us, saying, "Everyone underground has defected from General M. We have safely secured U and X. M is on the run. I will be in pursuit of him." Z and his men rushed to the shelters, and so did T and I.
    When we got to the main structure of the shelter, we found U and X sitting on chairs and wrapped in blankets. This was not at all a happy ending where U and I embraced each other, and X and T did the same. X said, "General M has run away. Perhaps he is heading for the control room of totally destructive means. There are no immutable gene means but some nuclear weapons." U said, "Rebels secured that control room and started to deactivate totally destructive means. It's OK, but Colonel N...," her voice choked. X said, "Colonel N is chasing General M. But in this hunt, the hunter is the one in danger." A defected soldier said, "When I was saying to colleagues, 'General M headed for the control room with a new type of gun in hand,' Colonel N was no longer there." Did General M try to destroy himself along with us? No. He was not such a self-destructive person. This time, presumably he try to take totally destructive means hostage. The Colonel was chasing a man in that state of mind. the Colonel would try to capture the General alive. the General would not hesitate to kill the Colonel. The Colonel was in grave danger. The control room of totally destructive means was being secured by not only rebels but also another unit from the surface. However, the route leading to the control room was not guarded. Z and I, together with dozens of defected soldiers and those from the surface, rushed along the route. U and X went straight to the hospital for a comprehensive medical checkup. T accompanied them.
    We rushed along the route while lighting our way with flashlights. Though the route was twisting like a labyrinth, the defected soldiers ushered us with confidence.
    We heard a conventional gunshot, and then a strange sound that defied description. We pressed on further.
    In the middle of the dark corridor, a person was lying face up. It was Colonel N. Z and his men hurried on ahead. Colonel N's weathered bulletproof vest, his sternum, and his ribs had all been blown through, and the right half of his heart was gone, leaving a cavity about 10 cm in diameter and a pool of blood. There appeared to be no damage to the shelter's walls, ceiling, or floor. Presumably, it was a gun capable of mainly destroying living tissue. For his own security, General M must have used that new type of gun to avoid destroying the shelter. Colonel N's conventional gun lay abandoned on the hallway floor. Though a few red streams had crept across the floor, there was almost no blood left to flow.
    I hurried ahead as well. I spotted someone crawling on the hallway floor, surrounded by Z and his men. It was General M. Shot in the lower left leg, he was dragging a trail of blood behind him. The leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Presumably, in an attempt to capture him alive, Colonel N shot General M's lower leg with his conventional gun. For the General, there was no reason to keep the Colonel alive. Perhaps even as he fell, the General aimed straight for the dead center of the Colonel and shot with that new gun. If the Colonel had not needed to keep the General alive, the General would have been the one shot dead. Z and his men had already seized both that new gun and his conventional sidearms. Z and his men called for medics and began administering first aid to stop the bleeding. General M was writhing in pain, making it difficult to stop the bleeding. When medics arrived, they administered a sedative to him.
    Z and I returned to Colonel N's body. Seeking the opportunity to topple General M's autocratic regime, Colonel N had been keeping a close eye on him. And at last, he accomplished it. At the same time, he passed away. We could not share either joy or sorrow, nor do anything together. When I looked back, Z was saluting. For Z as well, this would be the first and last time he would ever offer such an archaic courtesy.
    After lowering his salute, Z expressed his remorse, muttering to me, "I wish I had said to Colonel N, 'If there is any risk to the hostages, yourself, or your men or if there is a threat of the use of totally destructive means, then kill General M.'" This would be the extreme dilemma in hostage situations. The separation and collaboration between police and the military were explained earlier. Concerning this case, the police ceded the command to the military.
    Since the police was relatively accustomed to hostage situations, they had already established protocol for approaching that dilemma or would predetermine their approach for each case. In contrast, the military was not so accustomed to hostage situations. Even if the police ceded the command to the military, they should have advised Z that he at least predetermine his approach. The collaboration in this sense should have taken place.
    Thus, General M survived. Colonel N died to protect his life in a way. Z also protected his life in another way. Months later, I would make the most of this life.
    Along with the police, Z and his men started to investigate the shelter, including the control room of totally destructive means. More specifically, they carried out the confirmation that there were no remaining holdouts, the investigation of weapons, including totally destructive means and new types of guns, the collection of the evidence of the murder of Colonel N, and above all, the deactivation of totally destructive means. That Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means would confirm that deactivation. Their experts were already on their way here. Additionally, the former Chief of Staff O and his subordinates from that organization of this country are also heading here.

TRANSCEND YOUR VENGEFULNESS AND HATRED AND LIVE FOR YOURSELF, NOT FOR THE VICTIMS OR THE PERPETRATORS

    Leaving Z and his men behind, I headed for the surface along with the majority of the defected soldiers. Unlike the rebels on the surface, they endured the confined space for a long time. It was just before dawn when we reached the surface. In the early winter of 25YY, our breath rose in a faint white mist. Naturally, no skyscrapers were in sight around the shelter. From the east to the west, the color of the sky shifted from crimson to pink to light blue. A few peach clouds were drifting. It seemed to be both a paean to the soldiers who returned alive to the surface, and an elegy for Colonel N who mouldered away in the chasm of the earth. It reminded me of this as well. At that time, I had looked up at such a sky, but that had been in the evening, and before I lost one of my best friends. At this time, I looked up at such a sky, but this was in the morning, and after I lost another of my best friends. I could not help thinking that this is a perfect contrast and a cruel irony. The moment this idea crossed my mind, I wondered if I had lost my sanity.
    Perhaps the soldiers' minds were also occupied with thoughts of Colonel N, and they seemed unable to openly express any joy about their returning alive. Those who have families were contacting them secretly. Surprisingly, many were completely alone, with no family, relatives, friends, or lovers to contact, huddling together. Perhaps their friends or lovers were not on the outside, but among their own colleagues. Sexuality and gender these days had transcended what they had been before 20XX and were becoming increasingly diverse. Even superior officers were among those gathering in this way. Apparently, rank and gender no longer mattered. A young soldier, who looked to me like a man, said, "We've seen enough of the ends of the earth. So, let's head fo the far reaches of space next." Smiles finally broke across their faces, quickly erupting into roars of cheers. The people around threw them perplexed glances. A young soldier, who looked to me like a woman, muttered, "Those with families would never understand."
    General M had been brought aboveground, and was being carried on a stretcher to an ambulance. I headed there. Z, his men, and several police officers were guarding him. He was still under sedation. Of course, he was alive. Citizens had also come over around the shelter. They were now hurling insults at him.
    At that moment, a woman with a knife forced her way through and stabbed General M, who was still on the stretcher, right in the abdomen. Even Z and his men seemed to have been caught off guard by the woman. They restrained her. Without the awareness that he was sedated, she screamed, "There was no need to go as far as killing children." A stir ran through the crowd. The accompanying medics looked at the stab wound and said, "The wound isn't deep." The blade had only slightly penetrated the blanket and clothes surrounding him. He only let out a faint groan and showed no signs of waking from the sedation.
    On looking closely at the woman, I found that she was QP who had alleged her daughter had been killed by General M. Z seemed to have recognized her as well. The Police superior officer barked to her, "The prosecution and the police are busy right now with organizational reform. Please don't get in the way of those reformations." I said to myself, "That's better left unsaid," and said to her, "Transcend your vengefulness and hatred and live for yourself, not for your daughter, a victim, or General M, a perpetrator." She stared at me. After a while, she nodded. The morning sun reflecting off a building's window caught the tears in her eyes and on cheeks, making them sparkle. Z handed the knife back to her. It was a fruit knife. There was barely a trace of blood on the tip. Even a scrap of apple peel remained at the base of the blade. Taking a sheath from her pocket, she slid the knife inside and tucked it away. An elderly man in the crowd said, "I did not see anything." Others nodded in agreement. She started to walked away. The citizens were making way for her. The young police officers tried to follow her, but that superior officer stopped them.
    Those words had slipped out of my mouth. They were not wrong, I thought. But everyone would take years to transcend vengefulness and hatred and live for oneself. So would I. It would be premature to say such words to a family member of a victim at this stage. Though QP accepted them, such words should not be uttered prematurely.
    Still, I wondered why I, who had lost my parents, Professor P, and Colonel N due to General M, was not so vengeful or hateful toward him. I did not harbor any complex idea that it was the ultimate revenge to let them live and to make them suffer mental pain. Perhaps It was because I had been concentrating on the achievement of the world revolution, the establishment of democratic systems accompanying separation, and the eradication of totally destructive means. Without this concentration, I might have become someone like QP. I might be fortunate because I was spared the struggle against my vengefulness and hatred.
    In addition, I thought the following idea reduced them. The fundamental cause of the autocracy of General M and other autocrats lay within us who had allowed the political system of autocracy to exist. If we had established democratic systems accompanying separation around the world centuries earlier, there would have been no autocratic governments and military forces, wars, oppressions, massacres, assassinations, abductions, tortures, man-made famines, and man-made worsening of natural disasters and pandemics. To borrow the phrase of "Hate the sin, love the sinner," I would say, "Hate the political system, love the autocrat," After all, what we need to reform first is political systems, not individuals, societies, states, international society, politics, economics, economic systems, or power in itself.
    In the end, Group G, the provisional government, and the new government had issued pardons to every member of the old regime, save for General M. This trend was not just limited to A, but was worldwide. Months later, new governments would come under criticism from victims' families over the pardons. How should they respond to it? A somewhat difficult challenge was left for new governments. However, in order to prompt defections and achieve a bloodless revolution, it was necessary to pardon all of the officials who had defected, without holding them accountable for their behaviors in the past government. After all, thanks to those pardons, defections took place all at once, and the bloodless world revolution was achieved. In the substance of the revolution, certainly, it was a bloodless one, although the blood of Professor P and Colonel N was shed before and after that substance.
    Now, General M was admitted to an emergency hospital for the time being. Colonel N's funeral was held by the military, led by the defectors who had abandoned General M to join Colonel N. Z, of course, as the head of the military became that of the funeral. X, T, U, and I attended the funeral as well. Shortly afterward, U and I headed back to that organization in EC City. Here is what I heard as the secretary general of the organization. As for General M, a prosthetic leg was fitted below the knee of his left leg. Artificial organs, including prosthetic legs, arms, and artificial joints along with their fitting techniques and rehabilitation technologies, were advancing further and further. He would be able to walk in a month. In addition, while his rehabilitation was underway, the prosecution and the police of A would investigate and prosecute him concerning his numerous atrocities such as oppression, massacres, and assassinations. After that, he would be transferred to the Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means and investigated concerning the attempted use of totally destructive means in that shelter. What had been committed before that organization and its provisional charter were established could not be prosecuted, but what was committed after that could be prosecuted to the judicial power, which was under formation, of that organization. After that, he was to be transferred back to A, where he was to stand trial. In any case, there was no death penalty in modern times. He was certain to face a life sentence in A. The punishment in A would take actual effect.

HE WAS ALIVE

    Many of those who had been designated as "political prisoners" and had recently been held as hostages were reuniting with their family members or friends. However, those who had been sedated with psychoactive drugs during their captivity remained unidentified and accommodated in temporary facilities. However, as the sedation began to wear off, their identities were gradually being established. I looked through the list of those people.
    And there he was. He was alive. The son of the woman recorded in the documentary made by that male student was alive. I immediately called the student, and together we went to the facility where he was being accommodated.
    He was a man in his forties, and though he was still groggy from the sedation, lying in bed, he was able to speak. He began to tell his story. The student kept the camera rolling.

If I refused the draft, something terrible would happen. Not only to me but also to my mother and all our relatives. Trying to look calm, I went off to war. Once I stepped onto the base, I realized how brutal the situation at the front really was. There were more coffins than beds for us. What's more, I learned that more men were lost in the jungle than were killed in battle. I secretly hatched a plan with my fellow conscripts. A plan to desert from the military of our own country. We slipped out of the base at midnight and wandered through the jungle. We realized the trek was even more grueling than the combat itself but managed to keep going. The sun rose. It would all work out, we thought. But we were not so far from that base of A's. We were spotted by A's military. Since the others had guns, they were shot dead on the spot. Carrying no gun, I was spared, sent back to Country A, and held as a political prisoner.

    The autocrats who had preceded General M had been atrocious as well, I thought. They had anticipated a need for future hostages and kept non-aggressive individuals alive. General M took over them while adding new captives of his own. However, I did not say any of this to either of them. The student and I brought the son back to his mother's house.
    As we stepped through the doorway, the mother noticed the student and me immediately, but she stared at her son for a few seconds. He walked up to her. She, with heavy tears streaming down her face, grabbed her son's face in her hands as if to confirm even the content of the skull was her son's. His face contorted. He was crying and laughing at the same time. They could not said anything. The student kept his camera rolling, but his hands were trembling. When I watched the recording later, the footage were also a little shaky. After a while, the mother looked at the camera with a smirk and said, "I told you. He was alive."
    On the way home, the student muttered, "That smirk is too much," and he seemed to delete that portion. I recommended not deleting it, saying, "I think that's the best part. It shows the toughness of the ordinary people." I also recommended that he follow the son's life. The time had finally come when we could talk freely about anything, whether it was pacifism or any other idea.
    A few years later, the student joined a broadcasting company, becoming a reporter. The son obtained his teaching license, becoming an elementary school teacher. The reporter filmed him teaching a class. The teacher shared a bit of his own experience with his schoolchildren and said, "Sometimes, doing nothing is the best way to live." I thought that it was very like a pacifist to add the adverb "sometimes." But such a philosophy might be difficult for elementary school children to understand. In addition, it might be better not to suggest a passive way of life to elementary school children. In fact, he faced some criticism from their parents for those remarks.
    I thought as follows. Though general citizens can sufficiently carry out the isolation of power, defection and the mutual disclosure of power are beyond their reach. However, it is the best way of life for general citizens not to participate in or cooperate with war or autocracy and not to rebel openly. In fact, both the mother and her son survived. If he had refused the draft, they might not have survived. If he had not escaped from the base and had been forced into combat, he would have died in the war. If he had escaped with a gun, he would have been shot dead. If he had been considered as an active and influential anti-war or anti-government figure, he would have been killed immediately after capture. If she had publicly claimed her son was alive and actively searched for him, she would have been assassinated, and he would have been killed.
    But all of those were nothing more than remnants of the past now. Now that liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation have been established, citizens are free to say anything to powerholders.

SHE WAS DEAD

    While U and I were preparing to move into the staff dormitory of that organization in EC City, her foster mother suddenly showed up. She said that U's biological mother was dead. First of all, U froze. Her biological mother meant that woman who had been gallivanting around. Her foster mother and biological mother were distant relatives, but they were also childhood friends, visiting each other frequently. Her biological mother said, "Your mother looked like she was not feeling well, but she would not go to the doctor. By nature, she was a doctor-hater. She had a long-standing aversion to doctors. I did not seen her for a while, so I got worried and went to her apartment to check on her, only to find that she had passed away." Neither U nor I knew what to say. Her foster mother continued, "The truth is, your mother had been worrying about you all along, saying, 'I just hope she does not end up neglecting her own health while caring for others'. However, she often said, 'If I said anything like that, others would think I was a opportunistic parent who only changed her tune once her child became a great person. So, all I can do is borrow a little money from her just so I can see for myself that she's doing well.' Your mother had been secretly knitting gloves and sweaters for you ever since you were a child. But she could never bring herself to give them to you. I always said, 'You should give them to her, instead of being so stubborn.' Your mother always said, 'I guess someone like me has no choice but to keep running down this path of pleasure-seeking,' and went out to gallivant around. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a ruptured esophageal varix. Looking back, she had been drinking heavier and heavier lately. She looked more worn out from drinking than from just partying. The estimated time of death was before that hostage exchange. I believe the autopsy results are accurate, as the autopsy was conducted under the new government. While I was organizing your mother's room, I found these," and take several hand-knitted children's sweaters and gloves out of her bag. Each of them was in a handmade transparent package. U's foster mother continued, "Once she knew that you were together, she knitted and wrapped these beautifully, saying that you would need them for your children. I brought them just as they were without opening the packages. They're all handmade by your mother," and handed them to U. The ribbon-tied packaging and the items inside exactly looked like what a girl aged three to ten would love. U picked them up and initially whispered, "How cute," but before long, her tears began to wash the packaging.
    With the sweaters and gloves kept in their original packaging, U placed them into the boxes for moving, saying, "I would dress our children in them." After all, her biological mother must have been a person where all of (1) sexual drives, (2) romantic love, (3) friendship, (4) love for one's spouse, (5) love for one's children, and (6) love for one's grandchildren were rich as emotions toward her contemporaries or juniors. It is best to be able to satisfy all of (1)-(6), but it is very tough. When some of (1)-(6) are unsatisfied, we will try to compensate them with or immerse ourselves in some others in (1)-(6) or something other than (1)-(6). For instance, some of us compensate (1)(2) with (3), others compensate (4) with (5), and still others immerse themselves in play, hobbies, or work.
    U's biological mother explored (1)(2) to a great extent, I thought. Though I wished to write (1)(2) in general, I lacked both the experience and the ability to capture and write (1)(2), I thought.
    U, U's foster mother, the biological children of U's foster mother, and I held a small funeral for U's biological mother. The ashes were to be brought back to the staff dormitory in EC City. We rented a small room at the municipal crematorium. The building stood among the deciduous trees on a small hill. There was a traditional chimney, but no smoke was visible. Perhaps any soot and ash was being filtered out. The trees appeared taller than the chimney. A cold winter wind blew through. The winter sun cast long, thin shadows of the trees onto the dry dirt road. Those shadows were also swaying. Even without their leaves, the vitality of the trees stood out.
    The casket was made of wood, for cremation, but it was decorated with modest metal and plastic ornaments. We placed the flowers we had ordered into the casket. Except for U, we tried to quickly cover the body with the flowers. But U kept her mother's face uncovered. Come to think of it, doctors must be used to seeing the faces of the deceased. At the very end, U gazed at her mother's face for several minutes. Even U must have had no memory of what had taken place before the age of three. Furthermore, in U's case, there was likely almost no mother-child relationship with her biological mother. Perhaps U was trying to create it. Perhaps she was trying to create a mother-child relationship that had never existed, within things appearing as mental phenomena. U had both a foster mother and a biological mother. Though their ways of showing love were different, both of them had deep love. U often said, "I am fortunate to have two mothers." But I did not think that it was that simple. But it was presumptuous of me, who had made my own parents unhappy, to think such a thing. The sight of my parents' lifeless bodies in the hospital resurfaced in my mind. The regret of making my parents unhappy came flooding back. It was presumptuous of me to say to those who still had their parents, "I failed to make my parents happy. It hurts. You should make your parents happy." In addition, it was presumptuous of me to say to myself, "Being good to someone else's parents is my way of making it up to my own." Regret is regret. It is irreversible. Regret is the irreversibility. U did not seem to have such regret. From such a perspective, U was fortunate, I thought. In any case, I could not fathom U's current mind. After a while, she reached out her hands toward the casket lid, and so the hands of the five of us closed the gate that would never open again.

HOW TO GET THROUGH THE 21ST CENTURY

    When U and I departed again for that organization in EC City, X and T came to the airport to see us off. As we said goodbye, U and X hugged each other and wept. Aircraft these days can reach major world cities in just a few hours, and we could come back whenever we need to. T and I could not help laughing at their dramatic behavior. But they, who had descended to the chasm of the earth and returned alive together, must have had emotions which no one else could understand. I felt that we should not have laughed.
    Though the ascent after takeoff might be steep, little acceleration or tilt was felt. U was already fast asleep in her seat. The sun had already set. When I looked past her silhouette and out the window, the deep blue sky was crystal clear. The horizon appears to be tilting significantly. This was the first moment I realized we were actually ascending. As I always thought, while balancing sensations adapted to the laws of physics, visual sensations were left behind.
    U, Rabbit R, and I moved into the staff dormitory on the grounds of the Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means in EC City, E. As for its charter, the draft refined by me and my team was further polished by V and his colleagues, and made easy to understand for general citizens. Then it was submitted to the committee, where it was deliberated and approved. And after my return, it was submitted to the general assembly, where it was deliberated, approved, and finally put into effect. In addition, the provisional council members, secretary general, and name of this organization became the formal ones.
    After that, V departed for B, saying to me, "Make sure you write it so ordinary citizens can easily understand. I had a bit of a hard time rewriting yours." What Professor P had written had been hard to understand, and now I knew that what I wrote was no different. This was a challenge, I thought.
    And on January 20, 25YY+1, less than half a year after the revolution, totally destructive means were eradicated. Former possessor states vied with one another to dispose of them. This organization managed to monitor and verify this simultaneous and rapid disposal. The very last of these totally destructive means was a nuclear weapon, and it remained in B. The images of the destruction of what could be called its "detonator" were broadcast to the entire world. You might say, "It is too anticlimactic." That was right. The eradication of totally destructive means was so simple. This was the moment that proved the true power of what we called "the accumulation of unilateral abolitions."
    By the way, I also continued the work as a historian―unearthing documents. Also before the Third World War of the 21st century, there was pursuit of the ways such as those we chose. However, those ways were far ahead of the reality of the 21st century. At least the initial stages of those ways needed to be grounded in the reality of the 21st century. For instance, they should have pointed out the danger of inciting the masses with policies that seemingly served national interest but in reality did not. In addition, they should have titled their books not "HOW TO GET THROUGH THE 2000S" but "HOW TO GET THROUGH THE 21ST CENTURY." Then, we might have prevented the Third World War and the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth.
    Now that democratic systems accompanying separation had been established and totally destructive means had been eradicated, I found myself thinking this again and again:

That girl's father said, "I wish to democratize and separate necessary power, to eradicate totally destructive means, to reduce the unnecessary, persistent, large-scale pain caused by human beings as generally as possible, and to ensure the existence of living things including human beings or evolved ones until the drastic change of the earth or the sun. Such a desire and purpose is arising. It is not entirely impossible to achieve such a desire and purpose." The desire, purpose, and guess were realized, and would go on being realized. In other words, far from getting through the 2000s, the existence "until the drastic change of the earth or the sun" would be possible. That was because now that democratic systems accompanying separation were established and totally destructive means were eradicated, nothing would hinder such existence. Of course, humans would evolve. However, few would resist our evolution.

THE NECESSITY OF THE ERADICATION OF TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE MEANS

    Now, the staff dormitory stood on a corner of the organization's grounds, and U, Rabbit R, and I lived in a room in it. We had brought R's cage as well. While we were away at work, we had R stay in that cage. Of course, we put food and water in it. We made sure there was enough to last even if we worked overnight. The development of the technologies and equipment for inspection was currently an urgent priority for the organization. So, U was by far busier than me, and I was usually the one who got home first and let R out of the cage. It went back into the cage on its own to use the bathroom. It also started to warm up to me a little.
    A few days after the eradication of totally destructive means, Former General M was escorted to this organization after the completion of the medical treatment and rehabilitation in A and the interrogation and indictment by A's police and prosecution. The following was a brief summary of that investigation and indictment. Regarding the overt oppression and massacres, M had no choice but to admit that they had been carried out under his orders, and he was subsequently indicted. In contrast, regarding the assassinations, M claimed that he had not ordered them. However, M's former subordinates including that defected assassination squad verified that all their actions had been under M's orders. In the end, M was indicted for most of the recent assassinations including those of Professor P and the daughter of QP in AT Town. For the assassinations more than ten years before including those of my parents, M was not indicted due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. After being interrogated at this organization regarding the attempted use of totally destructive means, M would be transferred back to A to stand trial in its courts. In today's world where the death penalty had been abolished, a life sentence in A was a certainty.
    The organization's judicial building was still under construction. However, a temporary detention center had been completed, and M was incarcerated there. For a temporary facility, it was remarkably well-built and more luxurious than our dormitory. Of course, he was under heavy guard. For we must prevent M not only from escaping but also from being assaulted. At this point, interviewing M was taking up about ten percent of my workload. M entered the interview room in handcuffs. Those days, handcuffs had become so advanced that they offered detainees almost complete freedom. They were able to scratch their itchy eyes, ears, and even backs without any trouble. As long as they were provided with computers, they were also able to engage in writing activities.
    Now, regarding the motive for the attempted use of totally destructive means, since the death penalty did not exist in the modern world, and a life sentence was certain upon transfer back to A, M said without hiding anything, "To be honest, I felt conflicted about resorting to totally destructive means. When I found that the means I had used were fake, to be honest, I felt somewhat relieved. But that feeling was fleeting, and my usual ego quickly took over. Since before descending to the shelter, I have harbored this idea. That is, if my power were ever threatened, I would strategically retreat there, exterminate the humans on the surface of the earth with totally destructive means, and then return to rule the surface. Also after descending into the shelter, that ego remained unchanged, and the only change was the addition of the strategy to task U with the development of authentic totally destructive means this time, and X with the creation of a system to survey human activity on the surface from within the shelter." Also before the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth in the 21st century, some powerholders had harbored the same ego. In M's case, even with that conflict and even after descending to the shelter, that ego was unchanged. In any case, they harbored the ego to maintain and extend their power even through exterminating the humans on the surface of the earth. Are we allowed to avert our eyes from that by labeling it as insanity?
    It might be only M that was able to recognize and talk such an ego, I thought. I even thought he might be able to confront the self's tendencies to fall into a vicious circle. However, after that, some autocrats from other countries recognized and expressed the same ego in different ways. For instance, in B, V interviewed Former President BP, and BP expressed it in an easy-to-understand way:

I am sure autocrats around the world had reached a not overt but tacit agreement on this:

We induce someone else to use totally destructive means and frame them as a villain. They will use immutable gene means alone, only eliminating the humans on the surface of the earth. Then, the infrastructure there will remain, making things easier when we return there. Nevertheless, we will destroy one another's main facilities of governments and military forces. Then, the surface will become a safe place. A's General M is the fittest as the villain who use totally destructive means. We will promptly evacuate underground to shelters just before he use them. After the humans on the surface of the earth go extinct, we will return to and rule there. With only those who evacuated underground surviving, the population will have plummeted. Therefore, the environment and natural resources will promptly recover, remaining abundant for generations. Thus, we need neither fight nor cooperate with one another. We can rule the earth exactly as we please. This is the very paradise.

This was what Former President BP admitted to V. Again, it was agreed upon not overtly but tacitly. It was probable that the extinction of the humans on the surface of the earth in the 21st century had been brought about in the same way. In 25YY+1, some autocrats finally admitted it.
    Here, we should not avert our eyes from it by labeling it as "horrific," "inhumane," or "insane." It is the following that we need look straight at.
    There is no telling what powerholders will think or do. Or more precisely, there is no telling what a human will think or do once they grasp power. Only in the era when science and technology were not so advanced and there were no totally destructive means, humans could afford to say something like, "It is usual or is the nature of human society for those grasping power to plunge into despotism, to commit massacres, and to wage wars. In the modern era, there is no telling what those grasping power will think or do with science and technology and totally destructive means. Therefore we need to eradicate totally destructive means with

the accumulation of unilateral abolitions with selectively destructive means-SMAD-isolating power-mutually disclosing power and the dismantlement of military-bureaucratic-academic-industrial complexes through the separation of each state power between the two systems of L and S.

explained earlier. In addition, we need to establish and maintain liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation and eliminate the possibility of the rise of an autocrat.
    I reconfirmed the above during my interim report on the interview with M at the General Assembly of this organization.

SEPARATING A WORLD ORGANIZATION BETWEEN THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS ACCOMPANYING SEPARATION (L SYSTEM) AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE GUARANTEEING SOCIAL RIGHTS (S SYSTEM)

    Within the Organization for the Eradication of Totally Destructive Means, it is the General Assembly that makes a final decision on its charter, its composition, the outline of inspections, and the pros and cons of military and economic sanctions, and it is equivalent to the legislative power (L House) in the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system). It is the Council that determines the specifics of military sanctions, organize the military, and appoints commanders, and it is equivalent to a committee in L House or the administrative power in the L system. The Secretariat does not have armed forces but carry out inspections, and it is equivalent to the administrative power in the L system.
    From now on, as a first step, the direct election of the General Assembly by world citizens will be necessary. However, the representation from states will also be necessary. Then the General Assembly will need to be separated between two houses of the one elected directly by world citizens and the other composed of the representatives from states. As further steps, the direct election of the Secretary General and the demotion of the Council to a committee will be necessary. In such a way, there is endless room for the development and improvement of international or world organizations.
    In the past, an international organization was no more than an "international" body composed of the representatives of nations, and all the components that were conceivable were a general assembly consisting of those representatives and the council, committees, or secretariats elected by the general assembly. In an era when all that could be envisioned was the structure and dynamics of the vertical division between states, such a limitation may have been inevitable. An international organization is fundamentally one making states units and consisting of states. In contrast, an organization where the part not consisting of states is dominant can be called a "World Organization." For instance, an organization where the part directly elected by world citizens is dominant can be called so.
    Once the structure and dynamics of horizontal division between world powerholders and world citizens take root to some extent, the direct elections of international organizations by world citizens become possible, and so does the evolution of international ones to world ones.
    On the other hand, the possibility of a broad and multi-functional international or world organization having a lot of functions including the protection of liberal rights and political rights and the guarantee of social rights of world citizens has come into view. If such organizations were to emerge henceforth, they would become significantly massive and powerful.
    Simultaneously, some of us would envision such an organization plunging into violent extremes such as autocracy and totalitarianism. While we have undergone the fierceness of state powers plunging into violent extremes, that of an international or world organization doing so defies imagination. Here, what comes into view is the necessity of restraining a broad and multi-functional world organization and making its parts restrain one another not only with liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the traditional separation of powers including that of the three powers, and the rule of law but also with the separation of it between the system of the rule of law protecting liberal rights and democratic systems accompanying separation (the L system) and the system of the human rule guaranteeing social rights (the S system). The separation of a world organization between those two systems is much the same as that of a state power, and it is possible. That is, the separation of a world organization between those two systems is not only necessary but also possible. Looking at it this way, it has turned out that this separation has existed not only for state powers but also for world organizations.
    However, this necessity of separation seems to be limited to the case where the necessity of a broad and multi-functional world organization comes into view. However, we may be too late if we wait until that necessity comes into view. Before the genuine necessity comes into view, it is probable that someone fabricates some false necessity, constructs a gigantic international or world organization and plunges into violent extremes. Therefore, before the necessity comes into view, the world citizens need to understand the necessity and possibility of restraining not only a state power but also such a world organization and making its parts restrain one another with liberal rights, democratic systems including political rights, the separation of powers including that of the three powers and that between the L and S systems, and the rule of law.

CONFRONTING THE TENDENCY TO ESCAPE SPIRALING TENDENCIES

    While climbing toward or standing at the peak of power, most powerholders rarely confront the self. So, citizens must never, under any circumstances, loosen their restraint on them. In contrast, after their downfall, former powerholders sometimes confront the self. Furthermore, they sometimes offer insights that are helpful to us, and we can put them to good use.
    M gradually started talking about personal matters as well. One day, he said, "I had no father, and my mother was loveless. She would alternate between intense interference and extreme neglect," and began to describe the formation process of autocrat-type spiraling tendencies ―the very type I had expected of him. He continued:

In this way, the prototype of tendencies to fall into a vicious circle (= spiraling tendencies) was formed by adolescence. In the adolescent period, the tendencies to control anything and to destroy anything were intensified through imitation.

His narrative up to this point had unfolded exactly as expected. And now, the unexpected began.

But that was not all. My classmates and teachers always said to me, "You control anything," "You show off too much," "You are too clingy," and "You are too narcissistic." I was alienated by them. I think I noticed a faint sign of my own spiraling tendencies. Even the faintest sign of spiraling tendencies brings intense mental pain such as anxiety, self-hatred, and shame. I don't want to know and don't want others to know that because I was not loved by my mother, I sought love and became clingy, or that because I was shuddering at the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality), in order to reduce the anxiety, I tried to do something great by acquiring and wielding power and thereby leave my glory in history. Therefore, in the adolescent period, when the images of my spiraling tendencies loomed up, I escaped them by switching from them to the images of my seeming merits. My looks were not good, but my physical ability was extraordinary, and my mental ability was excellent. In fact, I was an all-around athlete, and my academic performance was not bad. At least, my classmates and teachers admitted that. So, I escaped the images of my spiraling tendencies by switching from them to the images of those seeming merits. Then the tendency to escape the self's spiraling tendencies was formed in me. So, I could not confront the self's spiraling tendencies. So, the self's spiraling tendencies in general were not reduced. This is the most vicious circle. The main cause of spiraling tendencies are not the scarcity of mothers' love or the imitation of seniors but the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies formed in and after the adolescent period. Above all, humans need to confront the tendency to escape them. I was not convinced by the idea that the main cause of spiraling tendencies was the scarcity of mothers' love in the infant period. When I saw that the main cause of spiraling tendencies in general was the tendency to escape them formed during and after the adolescent period, I felt convinced. The formation process of spiraling tendencies due to the scarcity of mothers' love took place before the age of three, and so we have no memory of it. In contrast, that of the tendency to escape them unfolded during and after the adolescent period, and so we can remember it as if it took place yesterday.

He spoke the above in a burst and said as if a child had been begging for crayons and paper, "From now on, I will confront the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies. I want to write down that process." I said clearly, "There is no guarantee you can write it after you return to A. Write it while you're here in this organization. I will publish it. All royalties will go to the welfare of detention centers and prisons around the world." We also agreed that I would provide him with a computer that could not go online and could not be used as a weapon, and that as he completed a chapter, he would save it to a traditional external storage device and hand it over to me.
    The next day, M said, "I sought power. You rebelled against it. This is the only difference between you and me." At that moment, I agreed. However, upon closer thought, he was actually different from me. He was significantly late in life to confront spiraling tendencies, but once he started to, the process of the confrontation was remarkably swift.
    A few days after that, he said the following.

Autocrats such as my former self cause persistent, enormous pain. It makes me shudder to think of being tormented when I am born again in the repetition of death and life. So, I want to eliminate any possibility of autocrats' looming up. As part of that effort, you democratized and separated state powers and eradicated totally destructive means. There is still more to be done. It is to make it possible for those with the potential to become autocrats to confront their own spiraling tendencies, above all, the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies. That is all I can do right now.

He spoke this in a burst. As far as this was concerned, its content happened to be similar to what was written by that girl's father. The rest of what he said in EC City were unlike anything else, I thought.
    I was glad that he was alive. But if I were to say that aloud, the families of his numerous victims would surely condemn me. Above all, was I not also one of the victims' family members? And besides, was I not a best friend to Professor P and Colonel N, both of whom were killed by him? He seemed to sense my inner conflict and said, "I, too, am sometimes tormented by guilt. But nothing new is born from guilt or from a mere desire for atonement. I do not want to be tormented by autocrats such as my former self after being reborn. Therefore, I want to eliminate the possibility of autocrats looming up," and began typing on the computer I had already provided.
    He was not a mere autocrat. Nor was he a mere person who was tormented by guilt for his atrocities. He overcame the autocrat in him. Moreover, he is trying to leave behind a way to overcome it for future generations. If I became an autocrat or sinner, I would like to do the same. If his current emotions and egos were to change, they could be praised, I thought.
    By the way, almost simultaneously, V in B interviewed that former President BP. BP had begun going through a process similar to M's, I heard.
    As for me, I felt (1) a kind of guilt toward those who had been killed by him―including my parents, Professor P, Colonel N, and their families―about praising him in this way. Of course, I felt (2) a kind of hatred toward him who had killed them. Concerning my parents, I felt (3) a kind of regret about having rebelled pointlessly and tormented them. Concerning Professor P, I felt (4) a kind of regret that the assassination might have been prevented if I along with Z had forced him into hiding immediately after his lecture at the international conference hall. Concerning Colonel N, I felt (5) a kind of regret that as Z had said at that time, we should have issued to him a clear directive to kill M if there was an imminent danger to the hostages, himself, or his subordinates or a risk of the use of totally destructive means. Simultaneously, I had (6) a kind of inconsistency that if Colonel N had killed M, none of these writings by M would have seen the light of day. For me, the most painful things must have been (3)(4)(5)(6). So, I must have escaped them by bringing (1)(2) foreground. First, I would like to confront (3)(4)(5)(6).
    A few days after that, M said the following.

Those who have intense tendencies to control anything, to show off, and to destroy anything believe they must be the ultimate powerholders. For them, submitting themselves to the more powerful or aligning with equals is a humiliation. So, they eschew submission or alliance. The expansion of power and the resulting massacres and wars are brought about because powerholders' tendencies to control anything, to show off, and to destroy anything are half-way ones, leading to submissions or alliances. In this case, half-way ones is a harm. However, humans end up with half-way ones. To tell the truth, I too have been a half-way man, resorting to submissions and alliances. Therefore, the tendencies to control anything, to show off, and to destroy anything, all the same, need to be reduced.

I could not help admiring this. However, it was better not to write it halfway, I thought. If he wanted to write it, he needed to emphasize the part after "half-way ones is a harm." I thought. However, in the end, he did not write it, perhaps forgetting it.
    In addition, M said the following about religion.

When powerholders seek eternity and try to make the self eternal, if there is still a god there, it is probable that they even envy it, that they try to be it or to surpass it, and that their tendencies to control anything, to show off, and to destroy anything are enhanced. They can become more terrifying in gods' presence than in its absence. Though gods are nothing more than human inventions, if they cause such harm, now may be the time to kill them.

For a moment, my thought couldn't keep up with his. After a while, I thought this. Such a harm as M pointed out is not limited to powerholders. In the humans in the postinfant to preadolescent period, it is inevitable that the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later (= the anxiety over mortality) and the desire to make the self eternal (= the desire for immortality) are formed more or less. After that, humans need to reduce that anxiety and that desire without presupposing what transcends this real world while confronting spiraling tendencies in such ways as that girl did. Since religions presuppose what transcend this real world, modern humans cannot believe in them completely but believe in them only incompletely. Such incompleteness increases that anxiety and that desire and hinders the above process of reducing them. Therefore it is better for modern humans to abandon religions. However, it is nothing more than the manipulation of images and based on the the liberal right of pure mental functions to abandon or embrace religions or gods, to be a god, to transcend a god, and to kill a god. It is based on the liberal right of speech to express those ideas. So, it is the violation of liberal rights to oppress those who carry out that expression. I thought that it was necessary to confirm this. However, in the end, M did not mention religions in his writings. This was perhaps because he did not think they were grave problems.
    Months later I published his work. As I had promised M at that time, all net profits from the publication were automatically allocated to welfare expenses for detention centers and prisons around the world. There was some criticism directed at M, the author, and me, the publisher. However, there was almost no criticism regarding the content of the work. Or rather, it received a great deal of praise. All the same, the foundation of its content came close to the memoir by that girl and her father, the democratic systems accompanying separation summarized by Professor P, and the tendencies to fall into a vicious circle summarized by psychologists. However, that was merely the result, and he did not read those books and imitate its content. In addition, while it is the foundation of the content that came close to them, the terminology and style became quite different. As a result, his work became easy to understand for those who tended to seek political and economic power, prevailing, above all, among them. Of course, I merely had his work proofread by experts and published it, and I did not alter its content at all. Of course, he decided on its title as well. It became "HOW TO MAKE ME THE LAST AUTOCRAT."
    At almost the same time as M began writing, that former President BP, who was also in prison, began writing as well. BP began it at the suggestion of V, and he would publish it, I heard. The following is a part of BP's manuscript, which he sent me.

The process forming intense spiraling tendencies―the tendencies to control anything, to destroy anything, to show off, to be clingy, to be narcissistic, and to isolate oneself, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later, the desire to make the self eternal, and the desire for power―within me was not so different from those within others. But within me, the emotions and egos to love a man, to build a home, and to bear and raise children remained yearning. At the same time, the tendency to control anything and the desire for power grew more and more intense, fueling a deep conflict within me. My promotion within the military was rapid. In the process, I fell in love with several men, but all of those relationships crumbled rapidly. Each time a relationship did so, I buried myself into power struggles, climbing the ranks. I even brought about the downfall of some of my former lovers. I once banished a couple of married officers who seemed to enjoy a happy domestic life. I even summarily dismissed an officer who uttered a hint of his home while on duty. It was not that I was truly seeking the happiness of a home. Again, the pursuit of power and that of home conflicted in me. I feared my spiraling tendencies such as those to control anything and to destroy anything. I was anxious about them. Even so, I like to think I have always tried to minimize civilian casualties. In fact, the number of casualties under my government was far lower than those of past dictators or General M. However, there is no denying that my method of destruction―for instance, that local war of invasion limited to natural resources, those tortures, and that injury of the eyes of BC―was insidious. My spiraling tendencies loom up not as magnitude but as insidiousness, driving me into the chasm of fear and anxiety. So, whenever my spiraling tendencies loomed up as images, I escaped them by covering them with the images of my pathetic, pitiable self who sought a home but could not create it. Only then did I allow myself to believe that I was a miserable, pitiful person. In other words, I took advantage of that conflict. From now on, I would like to confront such a tendency to escape spiraling tendencies.

After reading the above, I thought the following. BP's confronting her own tendency to escape spiraling tendencies reached a significant level. However, BP seemed unable to accept the coexistence of (1) the emotions and egos to seek power, work, and pleasure and (2) those to seek love, home, and children. In addition, for BP, (1) and (2) were nothing more than what conflicted. It is better to accept the coexistence of (1) and (2). In addition, (1) and (2) do not necessarily conflict. Furthermore, (1) and (2) sometimes coexist naturally even without the effort to balance them or make them compatible. The natural coexistence applied to, for instance, Professor P, V, and U. They would not feel themselves balancing them or making them compatible.
    In addition, the acceptance of the coexistence of (1) and (2) does not require so much as confrontation. It is not at all that we need to confront all the things that we run into. In addition, again, it is not at all that we need to confront the self no matter what. It is only that we need to confront the self's spiraling tendencies, above all, the tendencies to escape spiraling tendencies.

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEING HAVE OVERCOME INDIVIDUALS' LOSS OF MEMORY AND INDIVIDUALITY

    I headed home later than usual that night. The staff dormitory was located in a corner of the organization's grounds, and it was close by, but I had to walk outside to get there. It snowed during the day, which was rare around here. I was used to the sight of the roads and buildings still under construction, but those covered in snow looked so fresh. It was cold but bracing. I could step on fresh snow on unpaved roads. This crisp crunch was rarely felt in a modern city. This was a perk for the staff of a newly founded organization, I thought. Before me lay a path of fresh snow illuminated by street lamps, and looking back, I saw my footprints.
    The night sky was clear, but since the organization was located in a major city, no stars were visible, I thought. However, Venus caught my eye. "The only star capable of piercing the glare of a major city," I whispered.

However, its blinking ceased, replaced by a constant, haunting glare. It turned out not to be Venus. It was closing in. It was closing in, gaining speed. It was a missile.

I tried developing the plot for a movie or novel with such a sudden twist. Something like science fiction in the 20th century would make a comeback. The recent world revolution might also be dramatized more or less and turned into a movie. It might be a little more thrilling if it were depicted from Z's perspective rather than mine. It might also be intriguing if depicted from the perspective of U, X, V, W, or even M or BP. In the world until a few months before, humans, including U, X, Z, T, and me, could not afford to say or express such jokes or fictions. We could be glad that we could afford it, I thought.
    As I got closer to the staff dormitory, I found that my breath was white under the bright light. The lights in its windows were proliferating. I could really feel a new organization coming to life.
    When I opened the door to our home, a good aroma of food came wafting out. Unlike usual, the room was already warmed up. When I entered the kitchen, U was running the water, humming a song she said she had made as a child. On the table was a spread of home-cooked dishes she seemed to have put her heart and soul into. She said in a crystal-clear voice, "I'm pregnant. I'll be taking some time off for maternity leave, perhaps in autumn." Rabbit R perked up its ears. Without thinking, I struck a pose of triumph or success that had been popular when I was a kid but was totally outdated now. I had not done anything like that since my teens. She laughed at it.
    We ate together. I felt my heart dancing, and my taste buds smirking. We gave R a little bit of the greens. It looked slightly confused as it chewed on them. I found myself getting overprotective, worrying that something might happen to her and our baby. She still seemed to want to stay up and do things. But I seemed to have completely forgotten that she was a doctor, and I presumed to send her to bed early. As I was doing the dishes, the following random things occurred to me.
    That girl say, "... each of us lives forever with the loss of memory and the loss of individuality or the loss of individuality repeated while replacing one another. ... When we know these things, the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later is reduced. ..." Certainly, that anxiety is reduced. All that animals with memories, including human beings, should resign themselves to are the loss of memory and the loss of individuality. We can get over anything else, even death in the way shown by that girl. But still, the loss of memory and individuality hurts so much. They are also a complete parting from specific persons. If I die, I will be completely torn away from U, the embryo, and R. It hurts so much. Even if I am reborn and meet someone else, she will not have U's individuality. Now that I have met U and known her individuality, I don't think I can ever love anyone else. Perhaps that is what love is. It is because R has a memory as it is that it has grown a little attached to me. If R dies, its memory of me will be gone, too. That makes me feel lonely. If I die, my memories of my father, my mother, Professor P, and Colonel N will disappear, too. It goes far beyond loneliness. My parents may born under helicopter parents on a planet in another system, rebelling against them. Professor P and Colonel N may be born under autocracy on a planet in another system, going underground to democratize and separate state powers. But saying something like that may set off a misunderstanding. What that girl and her father tried to say is different from "reincarnation" or "karmic retribution." That girl from beginning to end explained the endless repetition of death and life in this very real world. Her father tried to change the real world. Striving to change reality brings about the strength to live even in times of peace. If it were not for reality left to change after the establishment of democratic systems accompanying separation and the eradication of totally destructive means, I would feel an unbearable emptiness. So would U, X, Z, V, and T. As was explained earlier, for me, there is a grope for the separation of world organizations between the two systems of L and S. For U, there are the complete conquest of cancer and infectious diseases, the reduction of medical cost, and the development of the science and technology that can restrain themselves. M and BP are confronting the tendency to escape spiraling tendencies and trying to document the process of confrontation. X is seeking the peaceful use of information technology. T is making S's administrative power an organization. Z needs to explore a lifestyle that allows for adequate rest. K, that elderly man living alone in AT Town, is attempting to cook in his own ways. For President Y, there is an endless cycle of developing new technology to leapfrog the newcomers, who had only just surpassed his own. J, that art student, is searching a new theme. W, that former revolutionary, may discover a spontaneous mutation of moss. That son, who proved to be alive, is seeking his own pacifism. The citizens of what was once F Forest and is now Nation F are implementing countermeasures against infectious diseases and constructing sewage systems. That girl who was given a doll and the woman who gave it to her, QC and her children, and that nurse and her mother are unfolding their own respective mother-child relationship. For the blind photographer BC, there is a literal fumbling search for visual art through senses other than sight. That deputy commander is creating a new life with his wife in their later years. QP, who stabbed M, is transcending vengefulness and hatred and living for herself. Above all, while each of us is living this life, we wish to satisfy our desires and reduce our pain. Simply put, for each of us, this life is everything. All the same, we need to grasp and argue general things as well. Unless we grasp general life and death, we cannot grasp the endless repetition of death and life or reduce the anxiety about the self's dying sooner or later. Unless we grasp general state powers, we cannot democratize and separate state powers around the world. Unless we grasp general spiraling tendencies, we cannot explain general confrontations with them. I am almost done with the dishes. We more often make discoveries when we let our thoughts wander into associations while doing something else. I have made a small discovery. It is the job of a psychologist to explain general spiraling tendencies and confrontations with them. Even if an individual does not grasp general ones, they can confront their own spiraling tendencies. We are free to ask others or refer to the literature. However, when it comes to confronting the self, others and literature are almost of no help. For it is only egos that can confront the self directly. In addition, the choice of words doesn't matter. It does not matter whether we use the words of "confront," "face," or "not escape," or "the self," "I," or "myself." However, "the self" and "egos" need to be distinguished. It is egos that grasp the self. What is similar to that has already been said by Descartes. After I am done with the dishes, I go to bed. U is already asleep. I am starting to feel sleepy, too. Again, all that animals with memories including humans should resign themselves to is the loss of memory and the loss of individuality. We can overcome anything else. In fact, we have overcome some things. I am a bit grandiose right now, I think. That is because I am so happy about U's pregnancy, I think. It is cliched to say that it is okay for life to be like this sometimes. Now it is better to stop thinking and rethink all those matters tomorrow. It is better to sleep at once. But I cannot sleep. It may be better to cast away rigid or biased ideas and start thinking from scratch. But we may be able to make use of some of them later. The experiences I have had until now are probably something that few people ever go through. Even if I do not die, my memories go on fading away. All that I can do is what that girl's father said. I will write down what I have experienced. By repeating transmitting, storing, taking in, thinking, transmitting ideas, humans may have overcome even individuals' loss of memory and individuality. U is sound asleep. Somehow, I cannot sleep. Sooner or later, I will be able to...

PRIVATE, DAILY SITUATIONS, PERSPECTIVES, AND DESCRIPTIONS

    In the early summer of 25YY+1, I stepped on a faded path through the forest. The sunlight filtering through the foliage was dancing in the breeze and gently touched my face as well. Debris from buildings was gathered, and bleached bones were buried. Before long, it came into view. Trees opened up, revealing a grassy field basking in the sun. In the middle of it was the house of that girl and her father, and it was preserved just as it had been. In front of it stands a transparent message box, where visitors were able to leave their messages to that girl and her father. It was already filled with messages, and sunlight filtering through the leaves were flickering over them. I had brought a first edition of this book with me. Being the first edition, it did not include personal events after the early summer of 25YY+1. It was a paperback, and so it was not bulky. It went through the case's slot. At the very moment, the thought flashed through my mind that I would like to go back to 20XX-1 and do exactly what I had done in 25YY. In this case, if time were to simply go back to 20XX-1, an endless loop would be all that remained: the backward flow of time, 20XX-1, 20XX, nuclear mushroom clouds, the extinction of humans on the surface, the return of humans to the surface, autocracy, massacres, wars, 25YY, demonstrations, the early summer of 20YY+1, the backward flow of time, 20XX-1, 20XX, nuclear mushroom clouds, and so forth. This was too hard to endure, I thought. Such a daydream only flashed through my mind for a moment. I could not afford to indulge in that. We still had so much to do. This book would never end up with such a daydream. We would go on writing how to get through the 2000s, the 3000s, and so forth. Make haste. The final boarding time for my return flight was 5:15 p.m., local time in A's capital.
    However, a man in his fifties called out to me. He had read the first edition of this book. He even knew that I was its author. He was also a writer, his books were bestsellers, and I had read them, too. He brought his books to put them in the message box, but he seemed to be hesitating over whether to actually do it. I said to him, "You could put in the first edition, the revised edition, the third, and so on," but he remained silent. After a while, he said the following.

My greatest theme has been mental pain such as anxiety and fear. Loneliness is the greatest pain in life. You've written that in your work as well. But the loneliness of you, K, or that nurse is nothing more than that during a part of life. Certainly, for most humans, pain, including solitude, would be temporary, coming and going in waves. I'm an ugly man with a long torso and short legs and a bloated face. My ability of interpersonal functions is meager. I'm a cranky eccentric. With no romance, marriage, or friendship, I'm completely alone. I've lived my entire life in the depths of solitude. I suspect people read my writing just to savor the sense of superiority that there is someone with a life more miserable than their own. This must be the reason why my books have become bestsellers. Now I think this. What I wrote failed to delve deep enough into pain. That is why, I think, the readers were able to savor the sense of superiority. From now on, I will delve to the core into pain and write. Then readers will be far from savoring the sense of superiority. What I write may not sell, but I don't care.

    Faced with these words, I found myself utterly speechless for a moment. I put off my trip until tomorrow, and we decided to grab a drink at Bar AQ in AT Town.
    No sooner had we entered AQ than a heated debate about pain erupted between us even without a word exchanged with the owner or the regulars I had not seen in months. The debate moved on to how to overcome pain. However, he said decisive words like, "Pain that can be overcome is not ultimate pain." Struggling, I said, "However, even if we cannot overcome it, just trying to do so will reduce pain. It is best not to give up until the very end." Then he let out a mocking laugh. However, seconds later, he fixed me with a sharp gaze and fell silent. Something seemed to have flashed across his mind. It is said that in general, writers never reveal their plots to anyone except their editors until the work is actually published. Perhaps that is one way to protect their copyright. Certainly, without the protection of copyright, literature and the arts would lack both originality and creativity. Even within him, writers' instinct to guard their copyright seemed to be alive and well. Our debate ended there, the owner and some regulars, too, joined in, and the conversation became rambling. He was especially popular in ordinary people's towns. Some of the regulars asked for his autograph. He complied calmly.
    His new book was published a few months later. It is selling even better than his previous works. I gave it a read. It must have been a new development for him. Indeed, private, daily situations, perspectives, and descriptions dealing with mental pain were innovative and excellent. However, its content was coming close to that of the memoir left by that girl and her father, I thought. Though I had been skeptical of the saying before 20XX, "Great minds think alike," but as far as pain is concerned, it might hold true. However, in the current world where totally destructive means had been eradicated and states powers around the world had been democratized and separated, the situation where the humans on the surface of the earth would go extinct in a decade, which had been nothing more than a daily one then, was too extraordinary. Such a situation could possibly overwhelm and blur the content. in times of peace, as far as pain was concerned, private, daily situations, perspectives, and descriptions would be appropriate. The content of that girl and her father's memoir could be brought to life by using such situations, perspectives, and descriptions. I would like to read and compare their memoir and his writing.

References

DETAILS OF EXISTENCE AND LIBERTY

SEPARATING EACH STATE POWER INTO THE SYSTEM OF THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTING LIBERAL RIGHTS AND THE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN RULE SECURING SOCIAL RIGHTS

SENSATIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF IMAGES

EGOS AND THEIR TENDENCIES

FACING TENDENCIES FALLING INTO A VICIOUS CIRCLE