Book 8 Afterword
[Mobile Temp] Afterword [File 10]
With that, this is Kamachi Kazuma.
It’s been a while since a Vampire/Zombie novel, but we’ve finally reached the 8th one. This time, we left fictional Kukyou City to visit Japan’s capital of Tokyo. When I was trying to think up the most obvious landmark and the worst case scenario, the first thing that came to mind was being trapped in an elevator dangling precariously from Japan’s tallest broadcast tower.
I’m sure someone out there is discussing the worst ways to die right now, but it really is a fruitless discussion. At the same time, talking about execution methods is supposed to prevent crime. And a simulator is a way of learning about different forms of doom so it can be avoided or reduced. Wow, that means daydreaming can protect society. Maybe everything has its uses, but the world is such a strange place.
Also, the theme this time was aliens.
I tried to come up with a reason why aliens with superior technology would come all this way to attack a broadcast tower, so I ended up going with something similar to the laser pointer or drones that have become a familiar nuisance for pilots these days. (Not that being familiar does anything to solve the problem.)
You can actually find a lot of things that could easily be mistaken for UFOs or aliens. I remember that being the biggest surprise when I was doing research for this volume. Humans are such sinful creatures.
As a story, I aimed to include something as tricky as aliens while still getting back to the basics by making Erika and Ayumi look good while Satori confronted a disaster or conspiracy. The younger sister may have stood out a lot this time while looking after the weakened older sister. This shows just how many weaknesses Vampires have, doesn’t it? They seem to really need some decent urban infrastructure to get by.
For another power balance reversal, you can compare JB and Freischutz to Satori and Maxwell.
The human is more replaceable than the machine, the machine stands at the center, and they act as a group instead of as individuals. And when they sense danger, they will actively cause a disaster to kill their foe in advance.
I put Satori’s choice at the very, very end this time. Responding in kind would be one way of going about this, but how will Satori face this problem? I hope you are looking forward to finding out.
I give my thanks to the image illustrator Mahaya-san and my editors Miki-san, Onodera-san, Anan-san, and Nakajima-san. First, you build up the foundation and then you tear it down. I could not have written this story without having those images of Ayumi an Erika as a foundation. Thank you very much.
And I give my thanks to the readers. This is another away game after Las Vegas, but how did you like it? By the way, do aliens work for you as a serious topic for horror stories? Just like ghost photographs have become a thing of the past, I wonder if the development and spread of flying cars will leave people unsurprised by UFO sightings. Regardless, I get the impression that fear of unknown technologies is shifting away from being the work of aliens from a far-off planet and toward being the work of earth-made AI societies or unmanned weapons. I just hope they can forever remain in the world entertainment just like zombies, bloomers, and the lost continent of Mu.
And I will end this here.
When the entire family is caught in the disaster together…does it feel too cozy?
-Kamachi Kazuma
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