Being 0 and 1: The Superposition State ‘Qubit’ Part 2
「Inside this sphere, you’ll notice blinking blocks. Those are the damaged and collapsed data regions. All you need to do is touch them. That’s why I need your help. Once you do that, I’ll observe and restore them to the complex qubit state. It allows me to focus on maintaining quantum coherence, reducing quantum decoherence, and managing error correction.」
「Sounds like defragmenting an HDD.」
Master muttered, recalling the HDDs from Kou’s era. Defragmentation was performed to free up space, but sometimes it resulted in disk damage, which could cause catastrophic system errors.
「This is much safer. While fragmented data recovery on a disk can harm the system if the disk itself gets damaged, here we’re just observing the superposition state of qubits. Corrections are then applied based on surrounding information.」
「So we’re your eyes and hands, identifying and extracting quantum errors. Understood.」
「Let’s do it, Master.」
「Yes. Let’s help Kou and Unit 5.」
The two began their task with singular focus, locating and touching fragments identified as quantum errors.
What started as a simple task soon felt like an eternity, as if the work could go on forever. Each fragment, a blinking block, was hunted and corrected, one after another.
Their pace quickened, instincts sharpening with every moment. Beside her, Master batted at the quantum error blocks with her paw.
Block by block, error by error, they continued their relentless effort.
「There’s someone here, isn’t there?」
Aimer paused, sensing the faint presence of another. It was gentle, subtly supporting her, fixing what she missed, and addressing errors in places she couldn’t reach.
「Yes, I feel it too.」
Master replied, confirming the same sensation. Whoever—or whatever—it was, it was assisting her as well.
「This is a realm where 0 and 1 coexist. Perhaps there are others who wish to help… no, to help Kou.」
「Maybe so.」
There was no time for philosophical musings about the location of souls or the nature of existence. They had to focus entirely on the task at hand. Still, faint whispers—male and female voices—could occasionally be heard in the distance.
Asia had also sensed the presence. Error repair requests were coming from beyond the bounds of the virtual spherical space. Yet, such entities didn’t exist within Unit 5. It was as though something had been drawn into the space Asia had created. She was too preoccupied with maintaining the sphere and correcting quantum errors to investigate the identity of this presence. Whatever it was, its intentions were clear—it was an ally.
「Ten seconds is almost up. Excellent work. We should start wrapping now, come here.」
「Just a little more! I’m almost there…」
「Aimer! Don’t push yourself too far!」
Aimer screamed desperately in reply. She was so close—just a little more.
Master scolded her while continuing her own work.
You old fool, it’s been a while! You’re not supposed to come here yet. You still have things to do!
Suddenly, Master was flung toward Asia. The figure who pushed her was unmistakable.
「You are!」
Aimer shouted, turned back surprised by the sight of Master flying through the air, only to be shoved herself.
「Take care of that boy for me, Aimer-chan. He’s too dense for his own good, you will probably have a hard time making him notice you but do your best. Leave the rest to us.」
「You! Wait!」
Aimer cried, her voice echoing in vain.
In the fading haze of her consciousness, she clearly saw them—a man and a woman standing together.
When Aimer opened her eyes, she was back in Astraea’s combat command center, seated in her usual position.
「Asia, who were those two?」
「There were two of them, weren’t there? I couldn’t tell who they were.」
Asia had sensed the presence of something—or someone—but couldn’t discern their true identity.
「Virtual Bloch sphere space has disappeared. The repair of Unit 5’s Fennel OS is complete. It’s fully restored.」
Astraea announced.
「I see. That’s good to hear. But Kou is still fighting. Asia, let’s synchronize again.」
「Got it!」
Asia’s Aimer immediately resumed her work. The history of the virtual space appeared before her—a shared memory between Asia and Aimer. The trace of that extraordinary phenomenon lingered there, undeniable.
Aimer closed her eyes, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill.
「Thank you.」
Aimer whispered softly, ensuring no one could hear. The Fennel OS restoration was unquestionably complete.
Their work within the virtual Bloch sphere space was logged up to 9.98 seconds. Yet the task concluded and the sphere vanished at 10.82 seconds. The records showed that something, or someone, had extended their efforts beyond the limits. The traces of that enigmatic presence remained in the void.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
With a sharp slash of its blade, Unit 5 regained its stance and accelerated, putting a significant distance between itself and the enemy.
「Too shallow.」
Kou muttered, clearly dissatisfied with the results of his strike.
「Is the metallic hydrogen being prioritized for the armored muscles?」
「Forced interference from Astraea. They are providing support to this unit.」
The display showed a stream of colored identification signals—Asia, Astraea, Aimer, Aki, and Nyanta—all actively engaged in real-time interference. They were undoubtedly giving their all, perhaps even beyond their limits, to restore Unit 5.
「System errors have been resolved. Synchronization rate at 92%. Prioritizing a state optimized for close-quarters combat. Mobility is currently at 83%.」
「To recover that much from such damage… more than enough.」
Unit 5’s voice reinforced Kou’s determination. It was more than just a machine—it was a partner Kou had traveled alongside across the battlefields of Asia, his steadfast companion.
The two together wouldn’t lose against anyone, not even against the Corvus.
Wait.
Kou’s own words gave him pause. A realization dawned on him—his strength and, more importantly, Corvus’s weakness.
「I definitely destroyed the reactor. What kind of trick did you pull to fix that?」
「Who knows?」
Kou replied with a smirk, deliberately evasive.
「You’ve always pulled off the most ridiculous moves.」
Castor muttered, exasperated.
Kou’s grin widened. Understanding the truth gave him enough composure to respond with confidence.
Now aware of what he and Unit 5 could accomplish, the fear Kou had subconsciously carried—the shadow of Shuji that he had projected onto Castor—had dissipated entirely.
「A counterfeit machine and a counterfeit body. It’s time to call it quits, Castor. You should return to being a pebble and fulfill your calling of being a good paperweight.」
「Bold words, but I know your personality, and every one of your sword techniques inside and out!」
That declaration only made Kou’s smile grow wider, a gesture that infuriated Castor. He couldn’t stand the confidence emanating from Kou, the calm self-assurance that mocked his every move.
「Why are you laughing? Where’s this confidence coming from?」
「Because I noticed something.」
Kou replied, his smile unwavering—a gesture that only served to aggravate Castor further.
「If I were fighting Shuji-san, he wouldn’t have used a thrust at that time. You can’t fully wield his body or his knowledge.」
If it were Shuji, he would have aimed to disable Kou by targeting both arms, or he would have gone for a tackle to throw him off balance if the goal was to capture him. A thrust wasn’t Shuji’s style. That’s why Kou had been so surprised earlier. That realization gave Kou a strange sense of reassurance—a certainty that the person before him wasn’t Shuji. It afforded him a small, but critical, degree of mental calm.
The thrust had indeed destroyed the reactor, an impressive feat. But from the high stance of the Kinshichououken, a thrust was an unnatural choice. It reeked of someone trying too hard to show off overwhelming skill, a display of arrogance that didn’t fit Shuji’s spirit of combat.
The man before Kou wasn’t Shuji—it was Castor, a Stone, a hollow imitation of a human stored in a stone.
「Don’t make me laugh!」
Castor roared, but there was a flicker of unease in his voice. The memory of Yuzuki’s dying words surfaced in Castor’s mind like a curse:
「Castor. If it were Shuji, he’d have gone for a diving strike to the torso, wouldn’t he?」
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