MeikAI

**Day 2: Saturday -meikAI-** (2日目: 土曜日 -溟海-, *2-Nichi-me: Doyōbi -meikai-*; lit. **Day 2: Saturday -Sea-** or **-Dark Sea-**) is a chapter featured in *AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES*.

It is the fifth chapter of the Red Route. It covers Kaname Date and Mizuki Okiura's investigation of a new lead regarding Shoko Nadami's murder, as well as the discovery a new victim of the New Cyclops Serial Killings.

## Case File Synopsis

Date Psyncing into Mizuki healed her muteness. Date asked Mizuki about the figure that he saw in her Somnium, but she claimed to not know who it was.

Date took Mizuki to Bloom Park. New developments suggested that the culprit used the old subway lines to move the body. A suspicious car was identified, owned by Renju Okiura, the ex-husband of the victim and Mizuki's father. On a tip from Mizuki, she and Date headed to Sunfish Pocket. They were greeted by a horrifying sight: Renju Okiura's corpse hanging from the ceiling.

## Story Summary

### ABIS HQ, Psync Control Room, Saturday

Date concluded Psyncing with Mizuki, successfully having healed her aphonia. They proceeded to move to the Psync Control Room to discuss the events of the Somnium. Mizuki explains that she did in fact see a figure past the merry-go-round, where the silhouette appeared in the Somnium, but did not know who that person was, leading to her sneaking into the column. Date asked Mizuki who sent the NILE message to meet up at the park, but she refused to elaborate; Boss informed Date that they've been through her phone, but all contents were wiped, making it difficult to tell who could have sent it.

Pewter informed Date that Psyncers are simply watching the subject's dream through a third-person view while the dream is actually a first-person experience, using the metaphor that the subject is "the author, director, and actor," while the Psyncer is "merely the audience." He also explains that his consciousness during Psyncing is sent into the Somnium, leading Aiba's "self" to be Psynced. He stated that not all of Aiba's abilities are transferred to Somnia. He additionally explained that the figure inside the Somnium is someone Mizuki saw, but that all experiences in Somnia are not exact recreations of the event. Lastly, Date asked Pewter who he thought the culprit was, and he simply jokes that the culprit could be Date himself.

Boss expressed how pleased she is with Date's success in healing Mizuki, and tells him to protect her. Boss asked Mizuki why she was holding the ice pick, which she explained that she pulled it out of Shoko's eye; she recalls that the eye was not present in her eye socket. With all questions exhausted, Boss told Date to go back and investigate Bloom Park once more.

### Bloom Park, Saturday 8:13 PM

Date returned to Bloom Park with Mizuki to look for more leads into the mysterious figure Date saw in Mizuki's Somnium. Mizuki declares that the figure was standing in the rain with no umbrella, watching her. She also recalled a memory from when she was four years old. She observes that Bloom Park was where all of the happy memories with her family stemmed from; where she saw her parents smiling, and how it's quite ironic that the place where her happiest memories were made is now the place where her saddest are.

Soon after starting to investigate, Mizuki curiously wondered what was behind the bushes outside the gate to the merry-go-round area. Aiba investigated the area and finds that it leads to an old subway that was not in use anymore due to the chemical plant explosion. Date questioned if the track goes aboveground at any point and Aiba finds it does- then searching to find if any cars were driving on that surface the night prior. Aiba picked up that a black SUV was there last night- owned by Renju Okiura.

### Driving, Saturday

Date drives with Mizuki to locate Renju immediately. Mizuki insists that the figure she saw was NOT Renju, and she expressed her anger towards Date for thinking her father could be a murderer; Date assured her that he also doesn't want to believe Renju is the murderer. Date brought up the NILE message again, which Aiba was able to recover. It came from Renju, reading "Mizuki, Daddy got caught up in something serious. Please come to Bloom Park's merry-go-round right away. Daddy needs your help. Please, do as I say." Mizuki reluctantly confirmed that it was the message she got, but kept quiet, as she didn't want to implicate Renju as a suspect. Mizuki insisted that the person who sent the message couldn't had been Renju, and that he couldn't had been the one driving his car.

Soon after, Date gets a call from Boss, and Date informs her that Renju is now a suspect. She confirms that Renju doesn't have an alibi for the time of the murder, but they had to release him due to protocol, as he wasn't a suspect at the time. Renju claimed he was at home at the estimated time of Shoko's death, although he has nobody to back up that story. Date stated he's heading towards Renju's home, but Boss informs him that he's not there. After trying to figure out where Renju might be, Mizuki suggested that he may be at Sunfish Pocket. Date changed course and drives towards Akihabara.

### Sunfish Pocket, Saturday 10:20 PM

Mizuki and Date headed to Sunfish Pocket to look for Renju. They walked in and found Renju's body hanging from a hook in his mouth.

## Trivia

### Etymology

* The name meikAI (溟海) translates to either "**Sea**" or "**Ocean**," but could also be translated as "**Dark Sea**" or "**Dark Ocean**." This is in reference to Renju Okiura, whose kanji in the name "Okiura" mean "open sea" and "beach/seacoast." Renju has various aquatic allusions, particularly with his maid café Sunfish Pocket, and the attribute of "**Dark**" is seemingly in reference to his death.

### References to Media and Pop Culture

* During the investigation segment inside the Psync Room, if you examine the "Locker," Date asks Aiba what's inside it, to which she replies with "Sometimes, a cleaning lady is hiding inside." This is ***potentially*** a reference to *The Jetsons*, a cartoon family sitcom show where the robot housemaid, Rosie, lives inside a closet.

## Navigation

Hitomi Sagan • Mayumi Matsushita • Renju Okiura • Mama • Shoko Nadami • So Sejima • Moma Kumakura • Rohan Kumakura • Cyclops Serial Killer