Hikaru turned to the pad. Polychrome was stretched out supine on the beach, her wings and legs wide. "Polychrome?"
She lifted her head. "Mmm?"
"I'm reading a draft of a paper, and none of the authors are native English speakers. Can you give me a ha...oof?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Hikaru read the awkward passage: "'The sensitivity stabilizations of the frame and active system'... does that work?"
She thought for a moment. "'... stabilization mechanisms...'? Depends."
As Hikaru entered the suggestion, he said, "That sounds better. Thanks."
She kept her head up. "I", Polychrome declared, "am going to learn to play piano."
Hikaru turned back from the computer and took a deep breath. "Can you?"
"I always wanted to, but first I didn't have the money and then my arm was broken and then there were kids and then there was arthritis. Nothing is in the way now!"
"Aside from not being able to touch a keyboard in more than two places?"
"There's a trick to it."
He pondered the geometry. "I suppose you can touch one white key and a black key not next to it. Also, you have wings."
"No! I mean, really playing. Really, Hikuro. Such ideas!"
He rankled at her dismissal. "They don't even do that in the show, right? Spike is the one at the piano. Or unicorns."
She cocked her head. "I don't know the show, but I can do it."
Why am I going on about that? There's no need for these things to be governed by physics. "Sorry. What was I thinking."
After a short lull, she asked, "What do you think of 'Persimmon' as a name?"
"Sounds more like a name than most I've heard around here."
"What about 'Cilantro'?"
"Not as good. Are you hungry?" Then he realized what she was getting at. "Are you pregnant?"
She smirked. "No, we wouldn't want that without you being here, would we? Just thinking ahead."
I'm not ready for that. At all. Maybe I would be, inside. More energy, no wear and tear. Maybe Celestia would pause the kids for a while now and then. But... what would having children mean? And what would it be like, never having been outside?
Never to feel the real world... never to have felt it. Well, that could be arranged. But it wouldn't happen on its own, and I don't see any signs that Celestia is interested in arranging it. The only ponies who see out are bits of her. Immigrants only get to see our projections into their world.
That's no way for a child to learn how the world works.
"A bit for your thoughts?"
"Thinking about children again."
"Don't. Not yet. We have all the time in the world."
I didn't say I was thinking we should have children! There she goes, overinterpreting. But at least it's not blowing up. "Besides, how would you learn piano that way?"
"Right!"
The problem goes beyond knowing how the world works. It's being wrapped up in a bubble. Swaddled like a baby, and never growing up. Because reality is imperfect. Filtered. Kimiko was imperfect. Polychrome... much less so. Is it really because of simple improvement in the conditions? Or has she changed her? Or, as that official suggested, did Celestia simply make a new person more to my liking? I don't even really know who I'm talking to.
She added, "I've seen a dog wandering around. I think he'd like to be ours. That should keep us occupied for a while, right?"
The shush of hoofbeats on the sand approached. They turned, and found Coconut Cream. "Hey there. Almost time for group meeting. Want to have it here, or at the observatory, or...?"
The 'observatory'. That always throws me, since I think of the real one. Plus, what she has isn't even one yet. But it's all she has...
Polychrome rolled over. "Here's fine. I think it's time I got some exercise again anyway."
She took off and Bright Black watched her go. Well, how nice of her to decide where we'll have our group meeting. Those two do get along like oil and water to each other, don't they?
Then Hikaru looked about him and gathered his papers.
Two hours later, a flurry of 'ciao', 'see you' and even a 'sayonara' came from the pad as their Italian collaborators left. 'Quickstream' Remy looked around the remains of the circle: 'Splits' Chen, 'Mossfuzz' Esmerelda, 'Bright Black' Hikaru, Coconut Cream, and 'Lightning Ball', a new graduate student Hikaru couldn't remember the other name of. "Anything else before we wrap up?"
Mossfuzz said, "Aside from noting how weird it is to hear Twilight Sparkle with an Italian accent?"
Splits added, "Or all of you speaking Mandarin?"
"Aside from that, yes."
Hikaru eye-gestured, having Bright black glance to the sky. Polychrome was back, already circling with Juniper Spray.
Coconut Cream spoke up unexpectedly. "In a few weeks, I expect Japan is going to be allowing people to come here permanently." She hit the sand with a hoof. "To Equestria. Have your brain digitized and run much the same as it does now, only with redundant backups."
Lightning Ball snorted. "I wouldn't want to be the first to try that."
Coconut Cream cocked her head. "You wouldn't be. Many have."
His eyes bulged comically. "Why?"
Hikaru offered, "They'd be dead otherwise?"
He shuffled, embarrassed. "Oh. That'd do it, I guess."
Splits, frowning, asked Bright Black, "Are you going?"
"I intend to, yes."
"That takes a lot of trust."
"I've met some of the same people. I knew one before." At that, Quickstream looked skyward towards Polychrome, and raised an eyebrow. Hikaru nodded slightly and continued, "This doesn't affect the Italians so much, since I'll still be able to come to group meetings." That thought sure came out of order...
Splits shook his head. "I meant, even assuming it works."
Mossfuzz asked Coconut Cream, "Is it you? Were you human?"
Coconut Cream laughed. "No! Nooo. You knew me long before we could do this. But yeah, I should count as some evidence that this is basically not a crazy idea, since you can see I'm roughly as complex as you are, and I don't strain the system. And... I see that each of you has different questions, so how about we split up?" The other members of the group faded away.
Once they were alone, Coconut Cream said, "No, that isn't a trick you'll be able to do here. If you're human, it's basically as big a deal as having a baby."
Hikaru nodded and moved on to the bigger question: "A few weeks?"
"Over 98% likely. Now don't you wish you'd been helping me with the observatory? It'll be a while until we get that finished." She flinched as Polychrome nosedived straight into the lake, splashing them both. "... and here comes the reason."
Hikaru gave Coconut Cream a warning glance, but didn't say anything more. That's not the real reason I haven't been helping much. It's just that the whole observatory seems like a mechanism to make seeing the sky falsely seem more natural, while limiting what we can actually see. I'd rather just have raw camera feeds, than whichever is weaker between raw camera feed and the power of our telescope. Or worse, something made up in the event our telescope is better.
And that's before we get into what she was asking me to do. Pony or not, I'm not a mason.
Polychrome walked out of the lake, shook herself dry, and sat down between them. "I thought that meeting would never end."
Coconut Cream nodded to her. "Got news."
Polychrome turned to her sharply and lurched in her direction. "Really?"
Taken aback, Coconut Cream said, "Yes, really!" She took a moment and evenly continued, "Celestia got a few crucial members of the Diet on board. It should all come through soon. Like, 'two weeks' soon."
Polychrome took a deep breath. "That's excellent news! Now, Hikuro, are you coming?"
Hikaru's eyes widened. "To Equestria? You have to ask?"
She gave him a skeptical look. "It's a big deal, you know? Yes, I have to ask!"
Not a hint of being passive-aggressive - she seems to be simply checking.
"Whoa! Wait! Two weeks? Seriously?" Juniper landed and lowered her voice. "You mean, emigration, right? It's good to go? Permission granted?"
Coconut Cream nodded, qualifying, "Probably, soon."
Juniper took some deep breaths. "Well, this is going to be a busy month. What are you telling dad, grandpa?"
What to tell Mikio?
Polychrome rolled her eyes and replied, "It's still too early to tell about me, since whoever helped save me would still be a criminal."
The truth would only cause trouble. In a way it's like... the ugliness with my brother. Hikaru sighed. No, it's completely incomparable - nothing actually bad happened here.
"What's bugging you?" asked Polychrome.
"My brother."
"Aah." She frowned. "I don't remember him. Care to refresh my memory?"
"You never met, and I never told you much about him." What could I say? I've generally tried not to think about him.
"Is he alive?"
"No." I'll finally be in Japan again, soon. I'll visit him. Be able to thank him, and... whatever else seems appropriate. He got up. "Excuse me. Time for me to go home."
He left the three mares behind.
Hikaru stopped at the hospice suite on the way back from the administrative offices where he'd announced his departure. One last visit, just to see the place. But it wasn't set up like usual - there was a line of wheelchairs at a pad.
"I'm Elspeth Kensington, and I want to emigrate to Equestria." Elspeth paused, then thumbed the control on her wheelchair and rolled away from the pad. Another woman started getting into position.
Hikaru came forward, hesitated. Tasha spied him and approached. "Hello, professor! It's been a while. Did you come by for the filming?"
"The what?"
"We're making an advertisement. Now that they can emigrate, we're trying to get it legal here, not just Japan."
Hikaru listened - the woman now in front of the pad slowly croaked, "I'm Amelia Garrett, and I want to emigrate to Equestria."
Tasha continued, "Powerful, isn't it?"
Hikaru thought for a moment. "Why would someone vote for it?"
Tasha's eyes bored into him. "What?"
"If it becomes legal, then a lot of the people who want it will not vote anymore. And their descendants might not get it. It's political suicide."
"That's what this is for - to convince people who wouldn't."
Hikaru nodded. I suppose that is what advertising is for, in the best case. To actually make a legitimate case for a product.
"So, what brings you up here? Haven't seen you since Kimiko... 'moved onwards and upwards'."
Does she know what really happened, or not? "I... I just wanted to tell you, I'm going. Today."
"Ooh! Want to get in the advertisement? Just take a turn!"
With my doubts, would it be right? He turned a little, to look at the line. But I am going. I really am making the call I'll be telling them I'm making. All right, I'll do it.
He approached the table. The woman there was saying, "I'm going to find Elmer there again, too."
Elmer has been dead for two years. If she's expecting him, she's got some very odd ideas about how this works. Hikaru opened his mouth, closed it. What do I do? This false belief makes it more likely she'll survive, by giving her another reason to go. Once she's uploaded, then it's safe for Celestia to tell her... but... would she? Once she's uploaded, every expectation she could have of him is available, as design constraints for building someone. She could never prove it wasn't him. He could never prove he wasn't him, for that matter. And she would be happier in that lie, just like she is happier from her fervent belief in miracles.
Is this right? I can't tell!
He began to move to the back of the line, but the woman at the front said, "Go ahead, I'd be slow."
He pulled up a chair, glanced at the on-screen script, such as it was - 'I'm (name) and I want to emigrate to Equestria', and went off it: "I'm professor Maeda Hikaru, and I am about to emigrate to Equestria."
A pony pulled the sheet aside. "Could you say what it says? It wouldn't fit the pattern."
"I'm not like them - I'm about to go."
"But you do want to go to Equestria, right?"
"I'm sure you can find a use for it." Hikaru got up. To the people around the room, he said, "I hope and expect to see you all again."
Isaac offered his hand said, "Next year, in Equestria."
Hikaru accepted. This could be the last hand I ever shake - in Japan, it'll most likely be bowing. "See you then."
He turned, and fled towards his fear.