Volu 14, Chapter 13: Noah’s Ark
I made a promise
And I will keep it
Even if I had not made the promise
I would keep it
Automaton Noah supported Mikoku in the corridor.
She used her gravitational control to hold Shino’s body in the air.
“Mikoku-sama.”
The person she spoke to had lost consciousness.
Her condition was due to exhaustion and the hits she had taken from Sayama.
She had been bearing with it, but she had suddenly found herself unable to continue on.
That was why she had lost consciousness.
Noah was already carrying out the instructions Mikoku had given her.
And Noah herself had been given another command.
This command had been given to her long ago by her creator.
“————”
She recalled the past.
She thought back to so very long ago when she had been surrounded by everything.
December 24, 2005
Noah rembered it. She even rembered the dates.
“Before” December 25, 1986
In the world nad Top-Gear, she had been created for the coming new world. She was ant to protect the world filled with residents of the other Gears once Top-Gear had subjugated those other worlds.
She was an ark that protected the Concept Cores which supported the world and, even if the other Gears opposed them with their own Concept Cores, she could easily subjugate them and protect the people from the spreading flas of war.
She was a boat of salvation equipped with a facility for creating concepts so that she could oppose any and all threats and, more importantly, so she could give the people a life of plenty.
She had been guaranteed all capabilities and had been given every kind of power.
However, she had a single flaw.
For so reason, she had been unable to create concepts in Top-Gear.
Her creator seed to have realized why.
“Before” September 12, 1988
In addition to the research and developnt of the concept creation facility, a plan was underway to increase Noah’s knowledge and abilities.
She would learn the knowledge, history, and combat techniques of UCAT and every Gear.
“Before” October 10, 1988
When mastering the Nagata-style techniques, she t a girl nad Tatsumi who was the family’s heir.
She sparred with the girl a few tis to confirm her skills, but the girl would get oddly angry when Noah held back so as not to injure her.
“Before” December 24, 1988
Her creator had a child. The child moved back and forth between the two sexes and her na included “life” in its aning.
A friend of her creator’s back in Low-Gear apparently had a child as well.
Two children were born on the night before the celebration of the holy one’s birth.
Her creator comnted that two holy ones had been born.
December 23, 2005
Noah rembered another child born that year.
That child was Mikoku.
“Before” July 14, 1989
Alex brought a crying Tatsumi to see the chanical dragon takeoff and landing zone.
“What is justice?” Alex asked. “I wonder if I have my own version of it inside .”
“Before” November 3, 1990
Noah asked her creator a question.
“Am I a failure? Is that why I can’t create the concepts? Over.”
Both of her creators told her that was not the case.
Based on her statistical analysis if human facial patterns, their expression at the ti was a mixture of troubled and joyful.
“Before” November 5, 1990
Noah beca painfully aware that so percentage of her giant body was wasted space.
She often suggested giving up on the concept creation facility and instead building more residential space for people to live. She had suggested building the facility known as a church, just like the one her creator had built.
She liked the ringing of the bell.
Its ring was a fluctuating sort of data that she could not create with her synthetic electronic sounds and it was much louder than other musical instrunts.
It was ideal.
It made a unique sound that no one else could emulate and it also carried far into the distance.
“Before” March 25, 1991
Noah wanted to be like that.
However, she had a flaw. Her concept creation facility was theoretically complete, but it would not function properly for so reason.
She had nothing that only she could do.
She had the Concept Cores corresponding to the ten Gears, but the other Gears had those as well.
A great many people could be evacuated into her residential areas and she could act as a final stronghold in an ergency, but she did not want to make use of that power.
“Before” September 18, 1991
“I want to do sothing good. Over.”
Noah knew that Top-Gear would invite Low-Gear to Top-Gear once the world’s ti of destruction arrived.
Low-Gear contained reservations for the other Gears. At the eting between Top-Gear and Low-Gear representatives, so had said the Gear reservations needed to be inford of Top-Gear’s existence and a plan to deal with them had to be determined before the ti of destruction arrived.
“Before” January 10, 1992
Low-Gear’s representative agreed to reveal the truth in order to keep the other Gears from joining the concept war between Top-Gear and Low-Gear.
They agreed to do so by three years before the ti of destruction which was April of 1996.
“Before” March 10, 1992
Her creator’s child was apparently being bullied at kindergarten.
Noah could not go outside.
Mikoku had cried because she had not been able to protect Noah’s creator’s child.
Noah had no way to help, but she learned that Mikoku was a kind child.
Mikoku’s parents had made a certain expression. Noah statistically determined it was a slight smile.
“Before” March 20, 1993
Noah gained a single joy.
The concept creation facility was remade and the negative concepts were to be created.
Low-Gear would reveal Top-Gear’s existence in April of 1996, so it was expected refugees from the other Gears would arrive then. With “stiff” expressions, the higher ups had decided Top-Gear had to prove its superiority by building a place for any Low-Gear residents that arrived.
Noah was overjoyed.
Her creator also made a “stiff” expression, but the creation facility inside Noah was remade and – theoretically – all of the flaws had been dealt with.
“Before” December 25, 1993
One more thing was added to the creation facility: a bell.
The bell would indicate the completion of the concept creation. It would inform everyone that the world had changed.
This was sothing only Noah had.
She wanted to try ringing it right away.
This was hers alone. It was the physical proof of sothing only she could do.
“Before” February 18, 1994
Noah had a thought.
“Is it still not ti for the world? Over.”
Was it still not ti for the worlds to gather?
Was it still not ti for the world to change?
Helping that along was sothing only she could do.
Creating, protecting, and supporting the beginning, ending, and everything afterwards was her job.
The great army inside her was to reach out if soone reached their hand into the sky.
The great armor outside her was to protect any precious people trembling in fear.
“Is it still not ti for the world? Over.”
“Before” April 18, 1994
Mikoku and Noah’s creator’s child played a lot with the daughter of the Tamiya family.
Her creator’s child dressed as a boy outside but as a girl inside Noah.
“Before” December 24, 1995
The ending ca suddenly.
Noah did not known exactly what was happening.
Theoretically, her concept creation facility should have been perfect, but for so reason, she lost control of the negative concepts being created and they began to activate.
“Before” December 24, 1995
It happened in an instant.
In that instant, Top-Gear was flipped toward the negative side.
By the ti Noah worked to suppress the negativity by surrounding it in the positive concepts, the number of survivors was only in the triple digits.
The only survivors were those who had been lucky enough to be wearing anti-concept equipnt at the ti, so they were all scientists, their families, or soldiers in training.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Noah and the researchers worked to control the negative concepts.
However, those people collapsed and then the enemy arrived. Enemies had arrived from Low-Gear to destroy Noah.
Noah feared those enemies.
She had great power to defend herself or to protect the new world.
However, the people of Low-Gear were also those she was ant to protect. Also, Low-Gear contained the residents of many other Gears, so losing them would be a problem for the people behind them.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Noah asked her creator a question.
“What am I supposed to do? Over.”
Her creator replied while holding her child.
“Don’t worry.”
She then asked a question.
“Do you rember the song I taught you?”
Noah answered that she did rember. Yes, it remained in her mory.
December 24, 2005
Noah recalled what her creator had said.
“Before” December 25, 1995
“You are probably going to be alone, but the ti is sure to co when you will beco a creator. The ti will co when you will know you should change the world.”
Noah could not believe it. Top-Gear was being destroyed, so that was not a possibility she could believe in.
But this woman was one of her creators. It would make sense for her to know things that Noah did not. More importantly, she had been the one to create that church bell and Noah’s interdiary terminal was modeled after her.
“Before” December 25, 1995
“If you have changed the world, you can sing the song I taught you. That song praises the birth of a holy person, so it’s an appropriate song for the creation of a new world. So…if you ever finish singing that song, please ring the bell. Ring the bell that signals the arrival of a new world.”
“Understood,” replied Noah. “Over,” she added.
“Before” December 25, 1995
After that, her creators invited in a Low-Gear man and left her.
When her creator left, she spoke so only Noah could hear.
“Take care of the new world.”
Noah agreed to do so.
“Before” December 25, 1995
The only Top-Gear residents in range of Noah’s scans were her creator and her creator’s child.
Noah determined even her creator had little ti left.
The end was coming for the people who had created her.
It would not be surprising if that ant the ending had co for her, their creation, as well.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Noah was enveloped in light and closed off her consciousness as she felt the end arrive.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Noah stopped her clock at December 25, 1995 11:59 PM.
December 24, 2005
The automaton nad Noah had records of the ti before she had reactivated the day before.
Her main body had been active and experienced that ti.
However, ti had remained stopped for her herself, so she only needed to add about ten years.
After all, she had yet to fulfill a certain command.
That was sothing only she could do.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 24, 2005
Winged Noah’s clock was stopped at December 25, 1995 11:59 PM.
December 25, 2005
Noah recalled what had happened after being dropped into the void.
Unknown
How much?
Unknown x10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000…
How much ti had passed?
Unknown x10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000…
The positive concepts were no longer within Noah.
Unknown x10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000…
The negative concepts had not stopped activating.
Unknown x10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000…
Ti passed and more ti passed.
Unknown
At one point, sothing higher than Noah’s sleeping consciousness activated. Even when greater than 99% of her functionality was asleep, so preservation functions remained active and they attempted to record what her sight devices saw without waking her.
December 25, 210050077 BC
She saw the sky.
This was not her main consciousness. It was her unsleeping subconscious in her nerve terminals. They left her consciousness to awaken naturally and simply recorded everything that happened.
The earth, sky, and ocean were there.
There were forests, mountains, and winds. The stars and the sun swapped out in the sky as day and night ca and went.
December 25, 8331 BC
Finally, an unnatural change occurred near the inland sea visible in the distance.
People had begun to move.
December 25, 6698 BC
A village was ford and lots of people were visible.
There were only about one hundred of them, but it was far more than zero.
December 25, 2517 BC
The village grew larger.
December 25, 1865 BC
The number of people grew even more once they built boats to catch lots of fish.
Small-scale conflicts broke out from ti to ti, but it was not enough to produce any deaths.
December 25, 1032 BC
People started living on the neighboring plains and mountains.
The terminal consciousness on the surface could not access Noah’s massive collection of knowledge, so it did not know where this was.
It knew this was so kind of world because there were people, but it did not know what world it was.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 25, 1032 BC
However, Noah’s terminal consciousness realized that this was not a new world at all.
It was Low-Gear.
It did not know how this could be Low-Gear.
Regardless, the geography and weather were identical to those in the records, so this had to be that old world.
It did not know why, but this was Low-Gear.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 25, 1995
Noah’s creator had told her to make the new world herself.
Noah would not wake until then.
December 25, 58
Finally, the village disappeared and was remade.
December 25, 423
Conflict arrived and it was built again.
December 25, 795
It grew.
December 25, 1018
Large wooden ships travelled to the city.
December 25, 1241
The ground was smoothed off, roads were built, and…
“————”
December 25, 1580
Noah awoke slightly.
When a castle was built inland, she heard the ringing of a bell.
December 25, 1612
However, the ringing soon stopped and only Noah’s surface continued recording.
She was inside a concept space.
No one ca to visit her.
However, her terminal consciousness found a sudden visitor at one point.
December 25, 1911
It was a one-ard man.
Sothing rembered him.
That sothing was the terminal consciousness near the elevator bulkhead door toward her stern, which was now her bottom.
That terminal consciousness had once welcod him in.
The small thought circuits of the terminal consciousness did not know what that ant, but her creator had given her instructions long ago.
When he arrived on a chanical dragon, she was to let him inside.
And so Noah’s terminal consciousness let him inside.
It had been a long ti since she had last carried out one of her creator’s commands.
He looked slightly surprised when she flashed her lights as a greeting.
“Are you welcoming in? You are…as nice as always.”
According to her records, he had searched inside her and she had footage of him bowing his head toward a dropped sword.
From there, a small series of events began.
1911
He visited a few more tis. Her terminal consciousness could open and close the door, but she could not hold a conversation because her consciousness had not woken.
But after a short period of ti, he stopped visiting.
December 24, 1983
However, sothing strange happened.
The one-ard man visited again, except he had both arms and had grown younger.
Noah’s terminal consciousness did not know what to make of it.
Also, sothing even more incomprehensible happened.
Her creator visited with the forrly one-ard man and she too had grown younger.
Her terminal consciousness welcod the two of them in.
Her own consciousness had not woken, but the two of them had searched through her and been amazed.
Her internal terminal consciousness had been a bit happy because it felt like they were praising her.
However, they only visited for a short ti.
At one point, they stopped visiting, and…
December 24, 1995
“—————”
All of a sudden, Noah’s consciousness nearly woke.
The negative concepts were throbbing inside her.
She sensed danger.
There were two dangers.
First, she was worried she would be unable to entirely contain the negative concepts if they fully activated.
Second, a full inspection of her external records revealed that she was indeed in Low-Gear and she did not know why.
She was in the Gear that had destroyed Top-Gear.
However, she did not fully wake. After all, this was not the new world.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 24, 1995
While still not fully awake, Noah worked at analyzing her data.
She read through the massive piles of data, linked it together, and detected similar pieces of information, but she still did not wake.
She still had no one to be her master.
Also, she could not accomplish her goal.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
She was told to ring her bell.
She had the bell and she wanted to ring it.
But could she create a new world?
“Before” August 10, 1990
She often played shiritori with her creator. It was ant to increase her vocabulary.
That was where she learned the word “goal”. A “goal” was sothing to be accomplished and “ans” were used to accomplish it. One had a goal because they had the ans.
December 24, 1995
So Noah had a thought.
“I will create a new world.”
Was that the ans or the goal?
She did not know.
She did not know because she had no reason.
But when she searched, she found a reason.
“Before” November 5, 1990
She liked the ringing of the bell.
It made a unique sound that no one else could emulate and it also carried far into the distance.
“Before” March 25, 1991
Noah wanted to be like that.
“Before” December 25, 1993
One more thing was added to the creation facility: a bell.
The bell would indicate the completion of the concept creation. It would inform everyone that the world had changed.
This was sothing only Noah had.
She wanted to try ringing it right away.
This was hers alone. It was the physical proof of sothing only she could do.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
She was told to ring her bell.
“Before” December 25, 1993
She wanted to try ringing it right away.
“Before” December 25, 1993
She wanted.
“Before” December 25, 1993
Wanted.
December 24, 1995
What only she could do beca her “goal”.
December 24, 1995
Her creator’s command beca the “ans” to accomplish her “goal”.
Her ans and her goal were the creation of a new world and the ringing of the bell.
Goal. Goal. Goal. Lilac. Cosmos. Snapdragon. Oh, that ended on an “n”.
She had ssed up like that a lot in the past too.
“Before” August 16, 1992
Noah’s creator rubbed her head.
She asked her creator why she was being praised for losing a ga of shiritori.
“You like the nas of flowers, don’t you?”
When she agreed, her creator gave her an illustrated encyclopedia of flowers.
She opened it in order to learn the nas and not ss up anymore, but she beca fascinated by the shapes of the flowers.
“Before” August 19, 1992
This ti, she lost with dandelion.
She was praised regardless.
December 24, 1995
Noah reconfird that her creator’s command was the “ans” to accomplish her “goal”.
December 24, 1995
With her creator gone and Top-Gear, the base of the new world, also gone, that command took top priority.
She had been tasked with creation.
She wanted to create.
But, she thought. What am I supposed to do?
But at one point, the world suddenly grew a lot noisier.
October 27, 2003
The Concept Cores she could sense in this world began to move and demonstrate their power.
It mostly happened to the east, but…
March 29, 2005
She sensed that power to the west, near what would have been Mount Hyono on Top-Gear’s map.
July 24, 2005
She sensed more of that power near Kurashiki.
March 29, 2005
Once, a helicopter passed by near her.
May 11, 2005
Noah thought she might be able to do it.
“Before” December 25, 1993
She wanted to try ringing it right away.
May 11, 2005
If soone gathered the positive Concept Cores, they would activate them and send them out of control, but wouldn’t that an releasing the activated concepts and remaking this world?
December 24, 2005
The result she had hoped for had arrived the night before.
Three survivors of Top-Gear had visited her with all of the positive Concept Cores.
They had not been her creator, but they had been worth listening to.
They had all rembered her and she had rembered them.
Strangely, despite so much ti having past, the three of them had only aged by about ten years.
However, it really had been them.
One of them, Mikoku, had asked her to do sothing.
While holding Tamiya Shino’s remains, she had asked Noah to bring the girl back to life.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
She was told to ring her bell.
“Before” December 25, 1993
She wanted to try ringing it right away.
December 24, 1995
Noah reconfird that her creator’s command was the “ans” to accomplish her “goal”.
December 23, 2005
I see, thought Noah in front of Mikoku.
Yes, she also thought.
“A new world, you an? Over.”
To bring everything back to life would be to bring her creator and everyone else back to life.
Was this why her creator had tasked her with creation?
Noah agreed and the philosopher’s stone creation was sure to go well.
The concept creation facility worked properly and it contained all of the original positive Concept Cores. She could sense that she would be able to create a concept without them activating beyond control.
However…
December 23, 2005
Soone stopped her “ans” and “goal”.
They were from Low-Gear’s UCAT and they were the children of those who had destroyed Top-Gear long ago.
If she was stopped, she could not return the world to its original form.
If she was stopped, she could not sing her song or ring her bell.
She could have resurrected everything that had been lost, so why was Low-Gear interfering again?
December 23, 2005
Noah did not like this.
This was what only she could do.
She silently begged them not to stop what her creator had asked her to do.
December 24, 2005
But she was stopped after all. She was unable to pull the bell’s cord.
Fortunately, she had regained accurate data on the positive Concept Cores and she knew that the concept creation facility would work properly.
December 24, 2005
Currently, Noah was creating the positive Concept Cores inside herself.
Once that was complete, she could combine them with the negative Concept Cores and create the resurrection concept.
She would not let anyone get in her way.
Creation was the task given to her by her creator. Once everything was resurrected, everything she was to protect would return.
Anyone who would get in her way was her creator’s enemy and would essentially erase what she was to protect.
December 24, 2005
So Noah entered combat mode.
She knew who her enemy was: this world’s UCAT.
It would be okay.
Everyone would disappear regardless when she created the resurrected world.
She would first destroy the world and secure her safety. If she could then bring everything back to life, she could create a happy world where everyone was equal.
“It will be okay. Over.”
December 24, 2005
Noah muttered the words her creator had spoken to her.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 24, 2005
Noah thought about Mikoku.
That girl had solidified her goal for her.
She had been unable to protect that girl in the past, but the girl had still co to rely on her.
“Before” December 25, 1995
Her creator spoke to her.
“Take care of the new world.”
December 23, 2005
Mikoku asked her to do sothing.
While holding Tamiya Shino’s remains, she asked Noah to bring the girl back to life.
December 23, 2005
Noah replied.
“A new world, you an? Over.”
December 23, 2005
It all fit together.
Her goal, her ans, her desire, and what she should do all fit together.
The destruction of Top-Gear had split everything apart and made it uncertain, but after so much ti had passed, it had been brought together by her creator, herself, and Mikoku.
December 24, 2005
Noah moved forward.
Mikoku was her current master, her creator’s command lay at the foundation of it all, and she would fulfill her own and Mikoku’s desires.
Mikoku would be able to resurrect the world.
Noah would be able to ring her bell.
December 24, 2005
Winged Noah’s clock was stopped at December 25, 1995 11:59 PM.
December 24, 2005
If she rang her bell, would her ti begin to move once more?
No, if she changed the world, the world would be utterly remade.
She too would disappear, but…
“I will have moved from stopped to ‘disappearing’. Over.”
When that ti ca, she could ring her bell.
December 24, 2005
Noah held Mikoku in her arms.
She had made up her mind.
She understood what she should do, so she gave the command to her main body.
Her entire body went through its greatest evolution and all of her armants and armor were deployed.
She used her greatest speed to reach this world’s UCAT headquarters where her greatest enemy would be.
She would not let them escape.
With her speed, it would take less than half an hour to travel from Osaka to the mountains of Tokyo.
She would destroy them to keep them silent and then bring everyone back to life.
That was what only she could do.
And…
“We can all be together. Over.”
In the new world, they could all gather below the ringing bell.
Her creator, her enemies, and everyone else could all be together.
December 24, 2005
Noah continued on.
She flew through the night sky to tune the world that was worn down from all it had lost.
She then realized that enemies were fast approaching from behind using the original Concept Cores as weapons.
The enemy is here, she sadly thought.
She would prefer not to lose them if possible, but…
“————”
They approached.
December 24, 2005
This was Noah’s first battle after passing through such vast spans of ti.
She shifted into combat mode.
December 24, 2005
Noah spoke while carrying Mikoku and Shino to her bow.
“Awaken, my two servants. The enemy is here.”
December 24, 2005
Noah changed her main body’s na to what her combat form had been designated when it was designed.
She was now the great dragon that enveloped the entire world and fought to protect it.
She was the Leviathan.
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