Justice at Delphi - The Fall of Sibyl

Chapter 1

Doubt can only be removed by action.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Akane closed her eyes and took a deep breath in the hopes of staving off a headache. She could feel it building like a thunderhead on the horizon. The dull ache was slowly intensifying. Once again, she and Inspector Shimotsuki had butt-heads over a case. The inspector's lack of compassion nearly bordered on cruelty. Everything was so black and white to her. She's just like Ginoza before he became an enforcer. She would have laughed at the thought if her head wasn't throbbing.

More importantly, Akane had the distinct impression Chief Kasei had something to do with Shimotsuki's lack of cooperation on the case.  Sibyl had no doubt found a new tool to serve its ambitions. Another complication. Sighing, Akane opened her eyes and stared sightless at her monitor. Sibyl was always up to something. Rarely, did it bode well for their society. She'd have to be extra vigilant if she wanted to throw a spanner in the works.

"Is something wrong?" Ginoza's voice broke into her turbulent thoughts.

She looked up to see him striding into the office of Division 1. Akane offered him a wan smile and shook her head. "No. I'm just a little tired."

"You shouldn't push yourself. Remember it's up to enforcers to do the dirty work." He lectured, sounding more like an inspector than an enforcer. It brought a genuine smile to her lips. There was so much about him that had stayed the same and so much that had changed. His eyes were kinder now. The tension that had guided his every decision was gone. She hated to think it, but being a latent criminal suited him.

He was more his own man now than he'd ever been. There was a calm acceptance of life as it was that he'd lacked before. His disillusionment possessed a different quality than Kogami's or Masaoka's. Then again, Akane reminded herself, hadn't he always been a little cynical? He may have been labeled a latent criminal by the Sibyl System, unfit to live among society, but she would trust him with her life. A high crime coefficient hadn't made him any less the man he used to be.

What did that say about Sibyl?

"When did we forget how to be human?" The words slipped out of her mouth, surprising both of them. It wasn't the kind of thing an Inspector working for the MWPSB should be saying.

"What? Tsunemori--"

Akane shook her head. "It's nothing. I just have a lot on my mind lately." She rose and stretched, her muscles tight. She'd spent hours working on the report for their latest case. 

"Tsunemori, are you sure you're okay?" The concern in his voice touched her.

She slipped her purse over her shoulder and nodded. "I think I just need a work out and a good night's sleep. I'll be fine." She patted his shoulder on her way out. She could feel the steel of his prosthetic under his trench coat. A constant reminder of that night and what they'd lost. The plain truth was, Akane was not fine. She hadn't been for a while. Despite her clear hue, Akane did have doubts about the system. The kind of doubts, if privy to them, Sibyl would judge her harshly for entertaining.

She'd never been able to reconcile the belief that people with a psycho-pass outside of regulation values were all monsters. While she agreed not all enforcers were as trustworthy as Ginoza, she couldn't deny there were distinct differences between latent criminals. She'd seen enough of the dark side of humanity to know the difference. The level of violence humanity was capable of was still shocking despite her years of experience.

Akane entered the PSB's gym and quickly changed into her workout clothes. She needed to spar and work off the pulsing tension that was swiftly becoming a full-blown headache. She cranked up the difficulty setting on the sparring bot. She needed to keep herself sharp. As she dodged the first attack and countered with a swift jab, Akane could feel the tension start to drain away. Her mind always felt clearer when she sparred.

A cool, calculated focus settled over her as her body moved fluidly at her command. For a few brief moments, there was no Sibyl, no doubts, no past, no pain. Just her focused mind and her body's laser precision. She moved across the mat attacking and defending with a coordinated grace that would have impressed a prima ballerina. When the sparring bot hit the mat, Akane was drenched in sweat, but free of the ache in her head.  A pity it couldn't free her from the ache in her heart. A memory of the first time she saw Kogami spar rose to the fore of her mind. She'd been in awe of him even then. The raw power of his body had been incredible...in more ways than one.

Her mouth twitched at how flustered she'd gotten back then. Even now, the memory brought a heat to her cheeks that had nothing to do with her recent exercise. She missed him terribly. Despite Sibyl's judgement, she knew Kogami was a good man. Was he tormented and traumatized by his past? Yes.  Did he often make rash decisions? Undoubtedly. But was he a monster like Makishima or any of the other criminals Division 1 had pursued?

No.

No matter what those pickled brains thought, Akane knew in her heart the kind of man she loved.

Neither he, Ginoza, Masaoka, Kagari, or Kunizuka had been depraved killers. They did not number among the deeply disturbed individuals who would terrorize innocent people. They weren't perfect, but that didn't mean they weren't good. People like Mika Shimotsuki with low crime coefficients may have been deemed good by Sibyl's standards, but were they? The blatant discrimination applied to those with high crime coefficients had become normalized. Before Sibyl, discrimination based on someone's social status was criminal. Now, it was almost encouraged in an effort to preserve one's own psycho-pass.

Was this the kind of society inspectors and enforcers fought to protect?

Life wasn't perfect before Sibyl, but was creating a society regulated by a collective of criminally asymptomatic brains the solution? Safety over freedom? Convenience over justice? They may be relatively safe physically, but what about the soul of their society? Could they consider themselves just?

Akane sighed and took a drink from her water bottle. The cool liquid soothed her parched throat. Questioning Sibyl had sent many an inspector to a dark place. Questioning the system was wrong. However, wasn't it human nature to question? To be curious? Would that not make man's nature inherently bad according to Sibyl? If not for man's inquisitive nature, society would not have progressed this far. 

Dismissing her swirling thoughts with a shake of her head, Akane went for a shower. The clarity she'd achieved while sparring was fading. There was only one way to dispel her doubts and that was to take action. Fortunately, Akane knew exactly where to start.