2075: Meister Titano's Counterattack
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From "Terror of Mechagodzilla" screenwriter Yukiko Takayama comes a brand-new sci-fi novel (『メカゴジラの逆襲』の脚本家・高山由紀子が書き下ろす”新作”SF小説)
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2075: Meister Titano's Counterattack (二〇七五 マイスター・タイターノの逆襲 Nisenshichigo: Maisutā Taitāno no Gyakushū) is a short story written by Yukiko Takayama with illustrations by Shinji Nishikawa. Yosensha published it in volume 5 of Tokusatsu Hiho on December 15, 2016. The story is set 100 years after the events of Terror of Mechagodzilla, also written by Takayama, and sees a cobalt-mining company convert Titanosaurus into the cyborg "Meister Titano" and revive Katsura Mafune under the new identity of "Lady Kei." It is an unofficial continuation not authorized by Toho, and thus avoids using the names of any of the film's characters.
Plot
In 2075, a company has built a deep-sea excavation factory at the bottom of the Izu-Ogasawara Trench for cobalt mining. The miners are robots possessing advanced artificial intelligence, led by a gargantuan cyborg dinosaur called Meister Titano. The Doctor, the company's general manager and the man in charge of shutting down obsolete robots, grapples with the question of whether they can be said to have souls.
A robot from the humanoid U-Type series, Little-1 (One), visits the factory library to read the history of life on Earth; a picture of a dinosaur reminds him of Meister Titano. Inspired by a past conversation with his leader, who described life on the land to him, and overflowing with curiosity, One decides to swim for the surface. He manages to see the sun just before the Doctor shuts him off for abandoning his post. The Doctor is left shaken, believing the experience of meeting the highly intelligent Titano caused him to hesitate before pressing the kill switch. The company decides to liquidate all of the U-Types, believing they hew too close to humanity's image and will naturally start to find their lives lacking in comparison. The vice-president notes the Doctor's reluctance to terminate One, but the chairman brushes it aside, joking that the man is only human and can't be expected to react instantly. Afterwards, he begins to research Titano, whose history dates back to 1975, and the scientist who found a way to control him.
After the company shuts down the U-Types, Titano encounters their bodies and releases a mournful, furious roar.
Lady Kei (L.K.) awakens in a hospital, her memories hazy. Upon seeing a patch of skin that was repaired after being seared by a heat ray, she remembers the day she begged for her lover to kill her - and that she is a cyborg. The Doctor meets her at a hotel; her nurse informs her that he is responsible for her resurrection. He brings her to the cape on the Miura Peninsula where she used to live with her father, and they descend to a palatial practice zone for freediving. L.K is clad in a swimsuit, and the Doctor wonders whether her beauty is engineered or natural. L.K. is distracted by her memories, particularly those involving a research vessel and the control system her father built for Titano. The Doctor admits that he knows everything about L.K. due to happening upon her files in the factory's central laboratory, and embraces her, affirming that she still has the soul of a human.
Back in her hotel, L.K. reflects on the days events and wonders, despite his kind words, why the Doctor has brought her back. Just then, a powerful tremor strikes the hotel, knocking her out. She is brought to the factory, where hundreds of screens show a rebellion by the deep-sea robots, led by Titano. L.K. loses consciousness again before she can see him clearly. His army sets Tokyo and Yokohama ablaze, with the cyborg focusing his wrath on Haneda Airport and a maglev bullet train station. Bombers attack him as civilian casualities mount.
The Doctor explains to L.K. that the tremor at the hotel was the result of explosions set off by the robots, as well as the cause of the rebellion and its leader, who she knows well. She's surprised at Titano's violence, remembering him as a peaceful creature; the Doctor clarifies that he now possesses the intelligence of a human. She realizes that the Doctor brought her back as a contingency if Titano revolted. He shows her the destruction the monster is causing, and adds that while he knows One wasn't trying to start an insurrection, merely displaying the curiosity of a child, the situation is now so out of control that Titano must be stopped. Supersonic waves, his weakness as a purely organic creature, have proven ineffective, but L.K.'s cyborg brain was once used to control him entirely. He confesses his deception, but maintains that she has a human's soul and vows not to let her die. She agrees to surgery to extrac the means to stop Titano from her circuits.
L.K. awakens from surgery alone and takes a submarine to the further depths of the trench in pursuit of a faint signal. Titano attacks the vessel, generating a whirlpool that tears it apart. Titano, fatally wounded from the battle on the surface, picks her up and recognizes her. As the water pressure crushes her, she apologizes for betraying him again, but tells him they can now be together forever at the bottom of the ocean.
Appearances
Characters
- The Doctor
- Lady Kei (L.K.)
- Board of directors
- Chairman
- Vice-president
- U-type excavation robots
- Little-1 (One)
- Shinzo Mafune (allusions)
- Akira Ichinose (allusions)
- Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens (allusion)
Monsters
Gallery
The front cover of Tokusatsu Hiho volume 5
Trivia
- Although "2075: Meister Titano's Counterattack" states that Meister Titano's control mechanism was installed inside L.K., Katsura instead controlled Mechagodzilla in Terror of Mechagodzilla.
- There are no references to monsters besides Meister Titano in the story, even Godzilla or Mechagodzilla.
External links
Comments
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