Otaku Infection, Chapter 3: Procedures and Planning

 

 

          Several weeks after the fall of Tokyo, the majority of Japan was under the control of Jaynin’s organization. One week after the mayor of Tokyo surrendered his city, the Otaku Virus beta-strain had been released into the national broadcasting mediums. The confusion from the style of the city’s takeover and the shock the government had felt at seeing that a good deal of its citizenry in Tokyo were supportive of the takeover had stayed their hand until it was too late to do anything about it.

 

            The beta-strain of the Otaku Virus served a dual purpose. First, it strengthened the sympathy and loyalty of those already infected with the alpha-strain. Second, the beta-strain exerted a much more powerful coercive effect on those who were resistant to the alpha-strain. These two factors combined to force the Japanese national government to admit that it was no longer favored by the vast majority of its citizens. To avoid turmoil, a deal was struck: in exchange for voluntary exposure to the Otaku Virus, all governmental officials could keep their positions and a degree of their power and autonomy.

 

            The takeover method had been carefully planned with world opinion in mind. Due to the minimum of violence and civil unrest, with the vast majority of eagerly advocating a change, the rest of the world seemed to think the whole matter was Japan’s national business and not an outside threat that they themselves would have to be concerned about in a short while. That thought brought a smile to Jaynin’s face as he looked out the window of Tokyo’s Diet Building, the seat of the national government and the place where he had moved the regional administrative headquarters. His office was high up in the tower, which was more a display of sorts than any real desire on Jaynin’s part. With a grunt, Jaynin reminded himself that he didn’t much care for heights.

 

            Anyone who bothered to perform even a cursory examination would have noticed that the real power now was derived from the devotion of the people to those they worshipped. Figuratively worshipped, anyway. The national population of males, encouraged and abetted by the effects of the Otaku Virus, could choose from three females to devote themselves to. Some of them fell for the mysterious, quietly inviting intellect of Felin. In addition to that, Felin was also able to draw upon the vast crowd of those who were dedicated to cat-girls. Others were sucked into Jelex’s whirlwind of energetic athleticism, not always suggestive but frequently so. She was also the guys’ girl, more than willing to engage in horseplay and macho posturing, or to laugh at rough jokes and tell a few of her own. Her obvious and unabashed show of her own sensuality was, admittedly, intimidating to many Japanese males who were culturally inculcated with a woman’s “proper” place in society.

 

            As might be expected, the busty goddess Syia had a good third of the population wrapped around her little finger, so extensive was her training in such matters… while the others were content to allow their fanboys their fantasy, Syia did her level best to promote and provoke such thoughts, and as everyone had to admit, she did it very well. Unfortunately, Syia was a little less than popular among the girls, and that revelation had brought to the surface a consideration which had been known but shelved for the time being when the invasion plans had been drawn.

 

            The problem was that, like any country, there were just as many females as males, and while in Japan the society was structured so that males were quite obviously on top, ignoring the wishes of a good half of the population was not a very good way to be running a country. Felin had said to Jaynin that there was absolutely no reason at all why the Otaku Virus had not affected any females, but that there simply was no corresponding bishounen for them to attach themselves to. The resulting action… well, Jaynin sighed ruefully, remembering that…

 

            At Felin’s urging, he had gone with Syia on one of the regular tours they did to let fanboys know that their idols were still around and cared enough to visit. Well, being the only male able to draw female attention, Jaynin had drawn 100% of it… the result of which was a near riot before Syia helped him calm down the mass of rabidly screaming girls which had pushed the knots of boys trying to get near Syia to the outside of their perimeter.

 

            Still and all, Jaynin’s presence had shown that, as he had already suspected, fangirls could be just as rabid in their devotion if not even more so than the boys. To that effect, Felin had proposed a remedy which she had been thinking about since the first week of the invasion.

 

            “As you can see,” Felin had said, once Jaynin had escaped back to his office from the crowd which was still milling about at the base of the Diet Building, “we clearly are going to need to employ idolizable males in order to soak up some of the attention. You won’t be able to work like you need to if you have these girls all over you all of the time, regardless of how good you think that is.”

 

            “I didn’t say anything,” Jaynin replied. “And by the way, idolizable isn’t a word.”

 

            “That’s not the point,” Felin had countered. “The point is that I have a way to create some bishounen for our purposes to take some of the stress of providing ‘fanservice’ as it is to the girls.” She held up a hypodermic needle which was actually filled with some kind of neon-green liquid. “This is what I call Bishounen Serum.” Felin left out the fact that Jelex had taken to calling it BS while she had been developing it. “We can find loyal males who are willing to work for us, and once injected with this serum, they’ll be viable objects of devotion in the eyes of fangirls.”

 

            Jaynin took the needle full of serum and turned it over in his fingers, finally looking back up at Felin after a minute or so. “I must ask quite a lot of you three.”

 

            “How so?” Felin cocked her head, getting the feeling that Jaynin was about to wax sentimental as he sometimes did.

 

            “On top of your help with managing the country, you also have to go out and keep the people happy by showing yourselves to them and allowing them to fawn all over you… I went out there once and could barely handle just what was within a few blocks of here.”

 

            “That’s a female thing,” Felin said, laughing quietly and feeling rather like Syia at the moment. “Trust me, we’re all good with managing the boys. And our ‘duties’ such as you put them are easier than you might think, especially because of the work we have to do with the population.” Felin winked. “There are plenty of eager males to do the administrative work of filing papers, keeping an eye on things, even some who I let help me in the lab from time to time… they’d never even think of betraying us. You can bet on that.”

 

*     *     *

 

 

            So, after Jaynin had approved Felin’s Bishounen Serum project, she had selected seven subjects to administer the final product on. The effects of the serum were diverse, Felin said, but also assured him that there was no way they could possibly get out of control. While the serum, in addition to granting them the soft, almost feminine features popular in many bishounen, granted them some limited power as well, the serum left chemical “markers” in their systems, which meant that Felin could readily track down and disable any one of them in a short period of time.

 

            At first, it seemed as if she may have needed to. Retaining their usual ideas of gender roles, the seven Japanese boys who had been fortunate enough to be transformed into idols of girls nationwide began to use their positions in a way that Jaynin had feared they would. Capitalizing on the fact that these girls would do most anything for them without complaint, the seven bishounen had begun to use some girls as servants, which pleased the girls to no end but was not exactly good for the business of building the kind of devotion which was required.

 

            So, Jaynin had needed to go out into the populace once again, this time to instruct the boys in the “proper” handling of fangirls. Never mind that he’d botched things pretty badly on the first attempt. Jaynin knew he was actually fairly good with girls, but not used to the kind of mass adulation he’d been faced with. No, he was better with cultivating their hearts one by one rather than all at once… Still, as an American (and therefore hugely popular) Jaynin set out to show the seven that being nice and considerate reaped even greater rewards.

 

            The first lesson was easy enough; as soon as he stepped out into plain view, the girls flocked about him once again, and this time, even without Syia, he brought them under control with nothing more than a quiet word or two and some gesturing. As the seven bishounen watched, dumbfounded, Jaynin seemed to lift these girls onto their tiptoes with mere smiles and kind words, and more than one begged to be allowed to go back with him to the office… that kind of forwardness made Jaynin blush, but he knew that it was the kind of incentive these boys would need to treat the girls properly, instead of as servants.

 

            After that, he had taken the seven of them back into the Diet Building and explained to them that, if treated the right way, girls could be far more rabid in their devotion than boys, rather than merely content to serve their idols as they had been doing before. Of course, the implied fringe benefits were something that Jaynin didn’t have too much control over, and it was really the price to be paid for order. Besides that, the girls were 120% willing, a fact confirmed by Syia (who, once the girls had their own idols to swoon over and weren’t competing with the busty goddess for the male population, had become much more accepted among the female population).

 

            In any case, the seven bishounen had, for a wonder, taken the lesson to heart and actually become rather charming, especially when they saw that the first of their number to seriously try out the reforms had enjoyed great success. So, now with the vast majority of the population under his sway, Jaynin had finished solidifying his rule in Japan. Which meant that, soon, it was going to be time to move again. The rest of the world would soon realize that Japan hadn’t just gone through a transition in government or something mundane like that. No, the more of them to unite against Jaynin before he had made adequate gains, the worse things would turn out in the end…

 

*     *     *

 

            “All right, listen up, you three.” Jaynin sat at his desk instead of the throne which he had been sitting in before, his briefing equipment moved into this room. “We’re going to need to make a move – “

 

            “Syia’s the expert!” Jelex piped up, standing between Felin and Syia in a row before Jaynin, as was usual for briefings. She continued, “Syia makes moves on boys all the time. It’s no wonder they love her. In fact, I bet she’s got a harem in her room – “

 

            “I do not!” Syia objected, turning to face Jelex. Jelex did the same.

 

            “Oh suuuuuuure, that’s why you’ve been dancing all those boys on string, promising them more and more every time you take a trip,” Jelex teased, giving Syia a poke in the belly. Syia squealed and backpedaled a step.

 

            “Will you two knock it off?” Felin asked with a sigh, tweaking Jelex’s side and making her whoop with surprise and stumble forward, crashing into Syia, where the two of them degenerated into a squealing, giggling mess on the floor, full of flailing limbs and hair. “Anyway… will you please go on?”

 

            “Right…” Jaynin chuckled dryly. “Anyway, while I usually do smile from watching your antics, this is kind of serious, so if you two would call a truce until you get out the door…”

 

            “Oh fine. But she started it,” Jelex said, no sooner had the sentence been spoken than she had sprung up onto her feet again, bouncing slightly as she brushed her arms off. Syia took a bit more time getting up, using the desk for support as she levered herself off the ground. Jelex snickered and patted her chest, looking to Felin, who sighed with exasperation. Syia glared balefully.

 

            “Please do continue,” Syia said, self-righteously straightening her shirt and folding her arms across her body.

 

            “Well, we have to move on from here, as I was saying. We can’t just sit in this country and congratulate ourselves on a good job while the rest of the world has time to figure out what we’re up to. So, we’re going to have to start operations in another country soon. Hopefully within the next week, next two weeks on the outside.” Jaynin waited for the three of them to nod in understanding before continuing. “Because of our position, we have a few options as to where to go next. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?”

 

            “I’ve been thinking about this myself,” Felin put in as the computer screen dropped from the ceiling and projected the map of the world which had been seen in the castle a few weeks earlier. The difference this time is that the island nation was colored in blue, and there was a solid blue arrow stretching from the castle’s location to Tokyo, indicating a successful operation. Emanating out from Japan were several transparent blue arrows, pointing in four different directions.

 

            “We have a few options, as I was saying. Our first option, going from east to west…” The first arrow on the map, a long one pointing across the Pacific Ocean, began to flash and the computer zoomed in on the arrow’s region. “Option number one is to head east across the ocean and begin operations in the United States.

 

            “The advantages to targeting the United States are similar to those that we enjoyed here. First of all,” Jaynin said, keying for a table to pop up in the corner of the display. “Anime is hardly unknown in the United States and there are elements of the very same characteristics which we took advantage of in convincing the Japanese population to support us. Given that the United States is an industrialized democracy, we also enjoy the advantage of their armed forces being reluctant to fire upon their own countrymen. This confusion would aid us greatly. In addition, if we were successful, we would add the world’s strongest military power and largest economy to our control, giving us measures of power beyond the Otaku Virus.”

 

            “And the disadvantages?” Syia asked, idly twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers.

 

            “We would need to spend more time convincing those who aren’t otaku,” Jaynin replied. “Their population isn’t as exposed to anime as the Japanese were, and in addition social conservatives would likely be rather resistant to the allure we present. This would mean that the government would likely mobilize its resources in time to try and combat us. Furthermore, it is a long hop across the sea, which would strain our logistical capabilities. In this case, it would be a question of great risk for great gain. If we pulled it off, it would be a very great victory indeed, and our ambitious step would likely serve to throw the other nations of the world into confusion.”

 

            “But the reverse could also hold true,” Felin interjected. “If they see the strongest country fall to us, the other nations of the world might panic and band together to defeat us, and we’d not be in any shape to repel or convert them. It would lead to a rather protracted and destructive struggle.”

 

            “That is true,” Jaynin allowed. “Bear in mind, though, that we do have other options. We needn’t choose just yet.” Jelex looked as if she was just nodding at random intervals, so Jaynin spoke aloud while changing the display to re-center on Japan, but keeping his tone the same as it had been for the briefing. “Jelex, you’re not wearing underwear, correct?”

 

            “Uh-huh,” Jelex replied absently, and Syia and Felin began snickering, trying to hide it behind their hands and look like the briefing was still going on.

 

            “And you were going to be Felin’s slave for a day, is that true?”

 

            “Yep,” Jelex replied, her mind clearly elsewhere as her eyes focused on something beyond the room, absently gazing out the window.

 

            “And you weren’t paying attention to my briefing, were you?”

 

            “That’s right – hey!!!” Jelex said, her brain belatedly processing the past three questions. “That wasn’t very fair.”

 

            “Oh hush,” Felin chortled. “Wasn’t it just yesterday that you doused me with water so you could scrub my fur none-too-gently with a towel so I’d be puffed-up and full of static electricity?” Jelex didn’t say anything, but she grinned and leaned her upper body backward, bending her spine until something popped.

 

           “Okay, I guess I could pay a bit closer attention. Let’s go. Where’s the next place we could take over?” Jelex asked, tightening her fingerless gloves.

 

            “Next, we could go south,” Jaynin said, highlighting one of the southern arrows. “South to Australia, to be precise. In terms of incremental stepping-stones, Australia would be a good bet, since it’s continental and doesn’t have a great deal of people in it, as well as many people living in cities.”

 

            “Mostly along the coast, right?” Jelex put in, just to show that she was paying attention this time.

 

            “Correct. In terms of real area, we’d have very little distance to cover in order to affect a great deal of their population,” Jaynin said with a nod. “It would be rather easy to infect a large number of people in a short period of time.” Australia began to flash on the map, displaying some data. “However, there are a number of downsides to Australia. Strategically speaking, it means very little at this point. It’s basically a lot of land and few resources, and since it retains close ties to Europe and the United States, its takeover could shock them into action while giving us very little gain at the same time. We risk mobilizing our enemies too soon.”

 

            “So, we could choose between an easy target of little importance, or a hard target of great importance…” Syia mused, studying the map and some of the data displayed therein.

 

            “That’s essentially it. My personal recommendation is to skip Australia for the time being and come back to it later, but it is still an option at the present time.” The map zoomed out of Australia and re-centered upon Japan.

 

            “You know, it strikes me that this situation is very familiar historically…” Felin said with a smile upon her face as the third arrow was highlighted, this one pointing southwest. “Perhaps that’s why you know so much of it…?”

 

            “It could be,” Jaynin replied, grinning wryly back at Felin. “Next, we could move operations into Indonesia and the Oceanic island chains.” The numerous small islands scattered from the Indian subcontinent to Australia and the southern tip of Asia began to flash. “Here, we have a set of marked advantages as well. These islands are for the most part separate, small, and not very powerful nations. There is little chance of any of them mounting successful resistance operations, and even less chance of them uniting for common action. The foe would have been divided for us; all we need to do is conquer. In addition, these places are also familiar with anime, so we would have a base from which to work here. I cannot recall the permeation of anime into these societies, but I am willing to bet there is at least something for us to work with here.” Jaynin cleared his throat and took a sip of water. “Also, the financial networks that run through these nations are by no means insignificant, and they hold various other strategic resources as well.”

 

            “Speaking of the disadvantages, it would take much more time to cover all of these small islands than to cover a landmass of equal size. And our Otaku Virus would have to be released in many places at once, which could confuse localized efforts to bring the populace under control. And, as with Australia, this runs the risk of alerting the world’s more powerful nations. Especially with the resources and financial houses that are located in this area, world economies will take notice if they are disrupted.”

 

            “And we have one more option,” Felin said at the end of the statement, narrowing her eyes in thought. “Tell us what we can do in China.”

 

            “China,” Jaynin said, leaning back in his chair and changing the map’s focus to the nation. “Here, we also have the instance where the populace is familiar with anime. As I’m sure you all know, they get television stations from Japan in some cases, and in other cases they have Chinese-subtitled anime, so we can be assured that they will have a population base for the Otaku Virus to work with.”

 

            “And they also make cheap bootlegs of anime by taping shows off of Tokyo television, subtitling them in bad English and selling them to Americans too impatient to wait for official translations and subtitles,” Jelex piped up.

 

            “There is that,” Jaynin said, chuckling and shaking his head. “Another bonus for China is that they have a tightly controlled state television ministry. If we could get control of that, then our job would be much easier. Due to the high level of state control, taking orders without question is by no means unheard of over there. Dealing with a vast population, that makes things easier on our part.”

 

            “And with a large converted population,” Syia mused, “we suddenly have a good fraction of the planet’s people on our side…”

 

            “Yes, and a not-insignificant military force as well. China offers us many avenues for conventional power. However, its size and the lower level of technology will make spreading the Otaku Virus a greater challenge than it has been here. We will need to probably construct special transmitters for the purpose of broadcasting the Otaku Virus beta-strain into the rural areas of China, which lack television and even sometimes radio.”

 

            “Yeesh.” Jelex shuddered. “No TV, that’s rough.”

 

            “And the government is not hesitant to fire upon its own people,” Jaynin concluded. “That makes the potential for violence and some bloodshed hard to avoid completely. However, given our current situation and capabilities… China is my choice for the next target. What do you think?”

 

            “I think that, if we choose China, we should break the operation down into two phases,” Felin replied immediately. “First, we bring the coastal areas and cities under our control, and consolidate there before moving into the country. Trying to bite off too much at one time will lead us into the kind of defeat that has plagued many. So we should attempt to get the central government in Beijing quickly, spread our control to the major industrial cities and other more modern areas, and then foray into the backcountry. Some areas we should leave alone until we have plenty of time to deal with, though,” Felin warned as a conclusion. “Going into Tibet would be a very large mistake.”

 

            “I agree,” Syia said at once. “And I also think that China is the best choice for the next target. Similar rules of the culture,” she said, posing and winking.

 

            “Well, if we have to fight, you know who to turn to,” Jelex said, smacking her fist into her open palm and grinning. “We can do this. If we do it right, it sets us up to make another good move pretty quickly.”

 

            “Oh?” Jaynin asked, raising an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind, Jelex?”

 

            “Can you zoom out a bit on that thing? Ok, here’s what I mean,” Jelex said, pointing at the display. “If we get China… then, we can go north into Siberia. There’s not too many people in Siberia so that’ll be easy… and from there we can go west into the rest of Russia, sending the Otaku Virus ahead of us using the TV cables and stuff they do have. From there we’re right on Europe’s ass and hell, by that time we’ll have a crapload of people behind us. Europe’s also really modern so that’ll be easy too… and once we’ve done that the only really strong country left will be America.”

 

            “Interesting…” Felin said at once, tracing over the path that Jelex had drawn on the map. “There might need to be a few strategic refinements, but… I think that this is quite an excellent plan of action.”

 

            Syia giggled. “I’m impressed, Jelex.”

 

            Jelex snorted and put her hands on her hips. “Just because I don’t act serious doesn’t mean I can’t think. And don’t make me go martial on your ass, Syia.” The threat must have had some other implication, because suddenly Syia seemed to shrink back, covering her middle with her arms. “That’s what I thought.” Triumphantly, Jelex gave a V-for-victory sign.

 

            “Felin, you have some strategic considerations in mind?” Jaynin asked.

 

            “I do,” Felin answered proudly. “Leave it to me, I can make this concept work.”

 

            “Then you stay here and help me plan. It wouldn’t make sense to waste this planning energy, so I want to get as much as we can get done now.” Jaynin nodded. “Jelex, Syia, you two can go. Thank you both for your insights and opinions, the rest of the day is yours to do as you please.”

 

            As soon as Jaynin said that, Syia nodded and made a slight bow before scurrying for the door. Jelex was hot on her heels, though, and as the door slammed closed Syia’s shriek could be faintly heard from the other side. The door rattled and banged a few times, and from the window in the door it seemed as if Jelex had Syia pinned against the door and was driving the girl crazy by kneading her sides.

 

            “Those two are too energetic… I can barely keep up,” Felin commented dryly.

 

            “We’ve got our own work to do.” A small smile curved on Jaynin’s lips. “Let’s allow them to be our entertainment for awhile, shall we?” Felin grinned, poured herself a cup of coffee, and pulled up a chair behind Jaynin’s so she could see the computer screen.

 

            “Let’s get to work.”

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