Visitors to the Cyberpunk Garden complained about harassment from a robot, so Lili Ling sent engineer Ken Takahashi to look into those disturbing reports. Sure enough, no sooner had Ken arrived at the garden, then an ominous robot approached, and began scanning him with a blinding laser beam. The robot spoke in a threatening voice: “I am now master here...you must pay my fee to visit and to use the portals...pay now or I will eject you from the garden!”
Ken pulled his engineering tablet from his pocket, and quickly analyzed the situation. With a grimly determined voice, he addressed the robot: “Ah, I see you have been sent here by Hyde Rival...who apparently has joined with Yakuza in their extortion and protection rackets. Well, you will not succeed...I know how to counteract your bullying!” Ken typed some code into his tablet, then paused to watch how the robot would react.
Suddenly, the scanning laser went dark. The robot lost his booming voice. Then Ken again spoke to the robot: “I could have destroyed you, but instead have left you mobile enough to return to your master. Leave at once, and do not return!” The robot complied, leaving the Cyberpunk Garden free to welcome visitors once again.
Ken returned to the consortium office, where Sara and Lili were waiting to congratulate him. Sara asked: “How on earth did you know how to deal with that robot so quickly and successfully? I've never seen anything like that before, it was amazing!” Lili chimed in: “Indeed it was! We knew you were really good at diagnosing situations and taking corrective measures...but we didn't realize just how far your amazing capabilities seem to extend...please tell us more....”
Ken gathered his thoughts, then responded: “Well, I suspected this might happen, so I did quite a bit of research ahead of time...and also I should mention that I do have...well...some inside knowledge...but let met explain....” They all sat down, and after looking around to make sure they were alone, Ken continued: “As you know, I am...like both of you...Asian American...but there is something more...my ancestors include both Japanese and Chinese...and part of that line earlier came from Korea...indeed, although I'm a bit hesitant to admit this...some of my ancestors, as well as living relatives even today...are Yakuza members. I myself disavow any support for them, their goals, their methods...in fact, they disgust me.”
He paused long enough to notice his audience somewhat spellbound with his narrative, then continued: “However, some of my cousins...we were close as kids, back when my American family returned to the old country to visit relatives...so we've kept in touch over the years. As far as I can tell...none of them are actually current Yakuza...they don't have the infamous tattoos...and their little fingers are still intact...but they do sometimes warn me of potential threats...but secretly, and at risk to themselves...so please...PLEASE...don't reveal this back channel to anyone.”
They all sat quietly in stunned silence for several minutes. Finally, Lili whispered: “Wow, what a story! Well, your secret is safe with us...none of this chilling information will leave this room...and if need be, we can create an android guard to accompany you.” Sara nodded in agreement, and they all got back to work – but this astonishing adventure haunted their thoughts for several days!
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