The Perfect Insider: Chapters 1-3

By MORI Hiroshi

Shiki Magata, who could answer a ten-digit multiplication in a flash in kindergarten and instantly do mental arithmetic of cubic roots, was thrust into the media limelight as a “girl prodigy.” Since her teenage years, Shiki has been a genius programmer at the pinnacle of computer science.

At the age of fourteen, the name “Shiki Magata” became even more sensationally known worldwide when she was arrested for the murder of her parents. After being diagnosed with multiple personalities and acquitted of all charges, Shiki has been confined to her room at the Magata Research Institute on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean. She has never once left the room in the fifteen years since.

Because Moe Nishinosono, a freshperson at N University, had a personal connection with Shiki, Sohei Saikawa, Associate Professor and Moe’s mentor, is about to go on a seminar trip to the campground on the island where the Magata Research Institute is located. When Saikawa visits the facility at night at Moe’s invitation, a nightmarish incident occurs.

Suddenly appearing from a strictly locked room that has been monitored by state-of-the-art technology is the corpse of a woman. It has both arms and legs severed, clad in a wedding dress ...

This book is the first volume of a three-volume English edition of “The Perfect Insider,” a monumental masterpiece that changed the history of Japanese mystery novels and is the origin of the 17 million-selling “MORI Mystery.” The “S&M (Saikawa & Moe) series,” about the master-disciple detective duo most favored by readers in the history of Japanese mystery, begins here!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387824496

Book preview

The Perfect Insider

Why, then, do humans make exchanges? The reason lies in the brain. The brain is an organ that exchanges information. It has analogies that allow it to exchange and equate completely different things. It can see and hear symbols and language. In other words, electromagnetic and sound waves are equivalently converted in the brain to generate our symbolic activity. The smell of money would not be possible if food and money could not be exchanged and substituted. The use of analogy to simulate the target world is, in fact, derived from the human brain, which has become large and redundant. The extra circuitry of one response to one signal creates a subject of likening and an object to be likened, substitutions occur, and simulations are attempted. Thus, this surplus became a metaphor, gave rise to abstraction, and became the object-oriented way of thinking.

This excerpt is from Introduction to Object-Oriented System Analysis and Design (written by Atsushi Aoki)

List of characters

[The Magata family]

Sachiro Magata: Doctor of Engineering

Michiyo Magata: Linguist, Sachiro’s wife

Shiki Magata: a genius programmer, Sachiro’s daughter

Kishio Kurimoto: a roommate of Shiki’s

Suma Sasaki: a roommate of Shiki’s

Michiru Magata: a roommate of Shiki’s

Miki Magata: Shiki’s younger sister

Seiji Shindo: Director of the Magata Research Institute, Sachiro’s younger brother

[The Magata Research Institute]

Yumiko Shindo: Seiji’s wife

Tomihiko Yuminaga: a doctor

Sumie Yuminaga: a nurse, Tomihiko’s wife

Yukihiro Yamane: Deputy Director of the Magata Research Institute

Chikara Mizutani: the chief programmer

Ayako Shimada: a programmer

Toshiki Mochizuki: a guard

Satoshi Hasebe: a guard

Deborah: Institute Management System

Michiru: a robot

P1: a wagon-type robot

[Other persons]

Setsuko Gido: a magazine journalist

Sohei Saikawa: Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, N University

Momoko Kunieda: Research Associate, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, N University

Fukashi Hamanaka: a graduate student, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, N University

Moe Nishinosono: a freshperson, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, N University

Chapter 1: The White Interview

-1-

It is summer now. She remembered that.

Surrounded by faceless concrete, no sign of the season reached the room. Nowhere in the building was a window to look into the outside world. History and time were artificially inscribed here. It was neither cold nor hot.

Perhaps, there are no non-human creatures, animals, or plants, in this place, she thought.

There was really nothing in that small room, which was so pure white that it was too bright. The air was purified and less dusty. She could find nothing but an artificial silence. One inorganic chair made of aluminum was placed there, and she sat down on it.

Ahead of her, a large display was embedded in the wall. The screen showed some pure white space, similar to the room she was currently in. When she looked up, a small camera was staring at her like an owl.

The images on the screen were not that of this room. She could say because she was not in the picture.

She waited for a while, doing nothing.

She left her bag outside the room. It contained a notebook computer and a camera, but the man outside told her that it was a rule that anyone could not bring anything into this room. The man was the boss of the building. He was friendly, and she felt kindly toward him.

The image on the display changed. A woman dressed in white entered the room shown on the screen. The figure’s outline was vague, partly due to the whiteness of the room. As the camera’s iris adjusted automatically, the figure was soon clearly visible.

The woman in the display sat down in the chair and turned to her. The figure looked much younger than she had imagined.

Hello, the woman’s voice came over the speakers. ‘What is your name, young lady?’

My name is Nishinosono. She answered. Nice to meet you. Umm, I’m ...

Ah, I know your family name. What is your first name?

Moe.

Moe-san? What kanji characters is the name written with?

It consists of the letters indicating ‘budding’ and ‘painting,’ respectively.

How old are you?

I’m almost twenty years old, Moe replied. She had many questions prepared, but the woman on the screen was unexpectedly leading the conversation.

How did you get here? The woman asked.

I came by helicopter.

The director’s helicopter, wasn’t it?

No, it was not. Moe shook her head. Well, Dr. Magata ... you know my father, don’t you?

What do you get when you multiply 165 by 3,367? The woman asked abruptly.

It’s 555 thousand and ... 555. Six 5’s in a row. Moe answered quickly. Then she was a little surprised. Why did you make me do those calculations?

I have tried you. I guess you are good at calculations. The woman smiled a little. But it seems that your multiplication by seven is not your strong point. It took you a while to get the last digit. Why?

I’m not bad at it. Seven is my favorite number. Moe crossed her legs to calm herself.

No, you seem not aware of it yourself. When you first learned the multiplication tables, you must have had difficulty with the column of seven. Was that when in kindergarten? Or was it when you were younger? Of course, seven is a unique number. You don’t have any siblings, do you? Of all the numbers, only seven is lonely.

Moe was indeed an only child.

Umm ..., may I ask about your story? Moe tried to pick up her pace. I mean, about my father ...

You have a quick mind. You’re also decisive. And ... The woman said, staring at Moe. You have the trait of leaps in thinking. That is your greatest talent. So ..., I met Dr. Kyosuke Nishinosono four times sixteen years ago, once in the United States ... You were there with us then. I asked the doctor your name, but he did not answer because you started crying. You were wearing a red dress and a ribbon on your head. It was sixteen years ago on March ... 16th. The place was Champaign.

Do you remember that? Or ... Moe asked in surprise.

Or since you come here today, I could do my research in advance ... You think so, right? The woman answered quickly. That is a meaningless question.

How many years have you been here? Moe forced herself to ask another question.

Do not ask questions about what you know. The woman smiled again. Such an introduction is useless in a conversation with me. You need not use conjunctions. I am not interested in context. Saying so, the woman combed her long hair back with one hand.

Is it true that you killed your parents? Moe immediately asked another question.

So, you are quick to address. You are also very insightful and observant. The woman said in a slow tone. It was a low voice without inflection but crisp. How about your parents? What were they like?

Moe instantly tried to hide her expression.

I know that your parents both passed away. The woman continued indifferently. You believe yourself that you have come to see me about it. But I have no information about your parents that would satisfy you if I were to tell you about them. Dr. Nishinosono was gentle. I never met his wife. I am asking what your parents were like to you. You saw that plane crash, didn’t you?

You seem to be able to read my mind. Moe chose her words with increasing caution toward the opponent.

There is no such thing as a mind. The woman smiled again. You are now trying to talk about the human psyche. Very well, let’s have a little talk about it ...

May I ask who you are? Moe said honestly the question that suddenly came to her mind.

Ah ... this is a surprise. You really do have a brilliant mind. Saying so, the woman widened her eyes a little and was silent for a moment. That is what we call the sharpness of human thought. You must have just now suddenly thought of it, right? It’s wonderful ... That is something a machine cannot do. No artificial intelligence could ever come up with a question like who I am. But you met and talked to me, and in just a few dozen seconds, you intuited the gap between me and the woman named Shiki Magata you had constructed in advance, and you unconsciously uttered that question. That quickness of access cannot be imitated by a machine. That is important. I am Shiki Magata. I am not another personality that you may find suspicious.

Dr. Magata, why did you murder your parents? Moe asked the same question again.

I cannot answer the question of why. Ms. Magata answered with a smile. I can tell you how they were killed, though. I mean, because I witnessed it ...

Why is it that you cannot answer that?

Because I don’t know it. I can imagine it, but none of the answers seem appropriate. I would like you to ask the person who killed them.

Doctor, are you saying that you did not kill them? Moe leaned forward.

No, I didn’t. At least, in my consciousness, that is the truth. When your parents died in the accident, were you interested in why it happened? Were you then ...