Asakura's Report - Chapter 1

Translated by: Sweiled

1. Please DO NOT take my translations and use them for whatever reason, without my permission.
2. Please DO NOT publish my translations elsewhere without my permission. Please kindly link back if you want, but DO NOT copy and paste them.

Translator's Introduction:
The style of writing found in Asakura's Report is quite unique. Its purpose is to prepare us for the 2008/09 tour Requiem et Reminiscence II, but the story is not told from the main character's point of view. Rather, it was "written" by his friend, Asakura, who played a huge role in this story. The main character's real name was not mentioned anywhere in the reports and Asakura simply refers to him as "yatsu". Yatsu is normally used between men, and especially if you're talking about someone you're looking down on, or someone you're close to. Real names of events and organizations/groups that took part in WW2 were used in the reports, and I've tried my best to keep it in its original form, with its English equivalent put in a bracket beside it.

Another interesting feature of the Asakura's Report is the way it is written. Though it is a report, it does not tell the story from the start to the beginning in sequence. It jumps here and there and purposely withholds certain information, keeping you in suspense until the next part is revealed. If you don't get the story after reading the first part, don't worry, not many people did. XD Just continue on to the second part, and you should get a clearer picture of the story. Each new part is essentially expanding the information mentioned previously, repeating them at times, and then right before it ends, it leaves behind a new clue for you to ponder about.

As always, feel free to mail me if you spot any mistakes. ^^ Many thanks to Gekka for her help with the terminologies and for her various suggestions. Happy reading!

Here is written the proof of “One Man’s” existence

“That war changed everything for us.”
  The once-peaceful history of the town was burnt to the ground and the people lost sight of the future. War took away with it not only the people’s “hope” but also their “memories”.
  May 1946, the end of the Second World War in Europe… A year has barely passed since. With the fall of Berlin, the Third Reich [1] became, in reality, a defeated nation. The end of a conquered nation is bitter [2] indeed. The former capital lay in ruins and was overrun with enemy soldiers; the people had practically no rights at all.
  As part of their war booty, the victorious Allies divided the lands of Germany into a few parts and claimed each as their own. Even after a year had passed, the innocent citizens were still denied (the luxury) of dreaming, let alone (dreams of) freedom. Though the battle was won, the ugliness of men (was not contained, but only) spread further… The war might have ended, but is there no end to men’s foolishness? Perhaps the oppressive subserviency (imposed on the citizens) at the end of the war is the true lasting horror of war. The road to recovery for a defeated nation is endless, and arduous…
  It was during this war that the abominable incident occurred. I will reveal the truth here, so that the concealed tragedy does not disappear into the shadows of history, and also to leave behind evidence that the man who was once my best friend did live (in this world). A person like me who has betrayed a friend has no right to talk of justice… but at least (let me do this) as atonement.
  At that time, he died as a man, and had lived as a man. With a broken body he fought, so that the next generation would remember him as a human. And he was certainly more human than anyone else…

[1] Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), which established a totalitarian dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945. (taken from Wikipedia)
[2] 悲惨 bitter; catastrophic; cruel; dire; disastrous; distressing; wretched; miserable; tragic

ЯR Project

My name is Asakura Ryuuichi. I am Japanese. I was abroad in Germany studying Robotics Mechanical Engineering when I was dragged into the war; I was invited to join a German corporation, which was said to be the only organization for Robotic Engineering in the world, as technology research staff during the war. I was captured by the Allies when the war came to an end and was under investigation for a year. Unable to charge me with any wartime responsibility, I was found innocent and released. At last my war had come to an end too. But the one-year investigation did not lift away the heavy weight on my chest. Because not a single inquiry was ever made into that case.
  I became involved in a project while I was in that company. The project was top-secret, known only by a handful even amongst the military, and records of it and the facilities were completely destroyed before the war ended. Thus, the name of the project did not come up during the investigation. Even now, after the war has ended, no stories of it have been mentioned in history… But it certainly existed.
A top-secret project led by the military and that corporation. It went by the code name “ЯR” and was a foolish act that trespassed against God.

1944. World War II---

The great war that divided the world largely into 2. The European front moved the main battlefield from Africa to mainland Europe, and the war was entering its final stages.
  At first, the Axis forces, mainly the Third Reich and the Kingdom of Italy, gained the upper hand during the war, but the tide turned in the Allies’ favour with the Axis’ loss in North Africa. On a mid- to long-range strategy, the Allied forces, consisting mainly of America, England and the Soviet Union, were slowly closing in on the Third Reich, who had been invading Western Europe.
  At this last stage of the war, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) (High Command of the Armed Forces) badly needed “tireless, inexhaustible military strength” to fight back the Allies who were winning by the sheer force of numbers.
  “The flow of events” [1] – that is perhaps a justified reason. A number of inhumane experiments of drugging soldiers and brainwashing them in order to strengthen the military power were held repeatedly. But they did not get the results they wanted… It was during that time that the “ЯR Project” was carried out in absolute secrecy.
At first, as its purpose was to “compensate for the lack of soldiers”, a robot weapon was developed. But its actual use (in combat) was limited, not to mention its adaptability on the battlefield, and success was nowhere close at hand.
  Then they turned to bio-humanoids, a human-enhancement technology which was for medical use. The plan was to turn a living human being into a cyborg so that it will not only look human and move like one, but it will also possess higher strategizing skills, perceptiveness, and a more precise judgment than an ordinary human being.
Turning a human body into a weapon… Although we were in the middle of a war, even the military could not acknowledge publicly this most extreme of inhumane acts, and it was developed under utmost secrecy. Many living human bodies were needed for the experiment and development (of this cyborg). Patriotic enlistees, soldiers from surrounding countries, and draftees from the conquered nations were sacrificed to this project.
  He was there with them. No, I shouldn’t say that he was. I dragged him into it. Lost in greed, I threw away that which was important to me.

[1] Literally, the flow of the world.

Humanoid Assault Weapon Type 2 (Zwei)

This was recorded on the karte (medical record) in the laboratory at that time. A cyborg weapon created from a living human body, it was named “Humanoid Assault Weapon Type 2 (Zwei)”. As the prototype, the first experimental subject that was successfully turned into a cyborg was called “PROTO”.
  The activities of the prototype showed great promise on the battlefield. He had the appearance of a human, and could act and move like one [1]; his strategizing skills, perceptiveness and judgment far surpassed that of a human’s.
  But PROTO suddenly disappeared on the battlefield. Was he destroyed? Or did he disappear because of a breakdown? The real reason was not known, but on his karte was recorded “Missing in Action”.
Whatever the reason was, with the successful development of PROTO, they made plans to mass produce Humanoid Assault Weapon Type 2 (Zwei). I joined this project as additional staff to the laboratory to help prepare for the mass-production.
  I was sorting out the data on PROTO when I first saw his face in a photo. It was a face I had seen before. He looks like someone I know… No, I should say that it was his face. As if they are exact replicas of each other.
PROTO bore a striking resemblance to my one and only best friend. My friend was Japanese-German, and we did everything together from back to the time when we were still students. Me and him, and Maria… If not for the war, our friendship would have continued forever as it was. He was my friend and rival, someone I could call family.
  Of all the things I could have done, I (chose) to betray him. Changed him into a (living) weapon – Humanoid Assault Weapon Type 2 (Zwei). A human that is unlike a human. Yet not a machine either. Eventually he became the feared apostle of massacre known as the “Nibelungen Demon” [2].

[1] Literally, it goes something like “memory of action and movement is made possible”, so I’m not sure if it’s the robot himself “remembering” or can memorize human action and movement, or if it meant that the researcher could input human-like action and movement into the robot’s “memory”. Whatever it is, I just translated the result, so to speak, which is a robot that can move and act like a normal human.
[2] Nibelungen God of Death, Nibelungen Death God, Reaper of Nibelungen… Take your pick. XD I chose Demon because of the fear the name arouses in you, rather than the others which sound very much like a translation, in my opinion. ^^; Plus, demons are supposed to be fallen angels, so I thought that an apt comparison too.

From PROTO to ZERO

The 4th Independent Tactical Guerrilla Force was formed for PROTO and was dissolved along with his disappearance… or so it was thought. But a few months later, he who had become the replacement for PROTO returned to the army as PROTO.
  The PROTO that returned differed not a bit in looks to (the original) PROTO, even his voice and characteristics were similar. No matter how you look at it, it was PROTO. That was to be expected. All of PROTO’s superior skills and memories were planted in him. The memories and consciousness he had as a person were erased, and all of PROTO’s data were written into his (program).
  The OKW concluded that the PROTO that returned was the real PROTO. It was a malfunction [breakdown] that caused him to leave the battlefield. After that he returned to the army by himself after completing self-automated recovery – so (his disappearance) was explained away in the records.
  The 4th Independent Tactical Guerrilla Force, which was thought to have been dissolved, regrouped (lit. continued). The Combat Support Force [1] - the 4th Independent Tactical Guerrilla Force which belongs [2] to the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich [3]. Officially known as “The 4th Independent ‘Mechanized’ Guerrilla Force”, A.K.A “GHOST”. The name of the team leader was changed from PROTO to ZERO.
  PROTO and ZERO. The coincidence that set off this tragedy was like the cruel trick (fate played upon us). Filled with greed, I made use of his situation and his feelings, and having lost all rational thought then, my foolish desires put this tragic story in motion…

[1] (SS) 特務師団: The SS-Verfügungstruppe (The Combat Support Force) (short: SS-VT) were combat divisions of the SS, trained according to the regulations of the German Armed Forces. They were the precursor of the later-developed Waffen-SS (German for "Armed SS", literally "Weapons SS"), which was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel (SS) , a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to an elite powerful force that served as the Führer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men, (both on the frontlines and as political police) managed to exert as much political influence as the regular German armed forces. (taken from Wikipedia)
[2] It could also be “The 4th Independent Tactical Guerrilla Force that operated alongside the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich”. But since the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich is a large division, it seems more likely that the team was formed under it but did not operate along with it. (Hence the word “Independent” in their name)
[3] The SS Division Das Reich was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during World War II. (taken from Wikipedia)

Source: gackt.com

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