Project Rhealization

**Project Rhealization** (レアリゼーション－計画, *Rearizēshon Keikaku*?), abbreviated as **PR**, is a top-secret government-run project, run and managed by Hemerides to create the first Highly Adaptive «Bottom-up Artificial Intelligence (Bottom-up AI)». The Japanese government intended to use these AI for both medical and military purposes, as since both their medicinal and defense technology is behind the West's.

The name '*Rhealization*' is formed from the acronym **R. H. E. A.** (**R**ational **H**euristic **E**xistence **A**ctualization), in reference to the project's goal of turning artificial human Fluctlights into «Rhea».

## Background

The events of the Cold War that drove the Soviet Union and the United States close to war had come to an end, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in general. As such, the world had developed a *general* dislike against putting men out to war. However, countries that focused mainly on their military, specifically, the United States, kept stockpiling arms.

However, due to Japan's market not being capable of sustaining the domestic production of weapons from scratch as a result of export prohibitions, Japan was forced to either import or co-develop weapons with America. Despite this mutual cooperation, America claimed the cutting-edge technology for itself, while the weapons sold to Japan lacked key features, such as control software for fighter jets. Thus, feeling anxious about relying on Americans for their core defensive capabilities, some military officers and technicians decided to create a technology that would entirely belong to Japan.

## History and Development

### Creation and Conception of Project Rhealization

In order for Artificial Intelligence to replace humans, the Rhealization Project was planned. The scientists at the top decided that in order to make the AI into efficient human beings and not just simply AI, they required a certain nurturing environment and a certain upbringing for them to understand and display human-like qualities. This, in turn, would be used to explain the eventual progression into bringing them into a new stage where history itself could be replicated as closely as possible with information, and then using the genetic templates created to attempt to recreate humans from long ago in order to better understand their motivations and eventual choices in life. If possible, this would allow for the recovery of lost histories and to fill in gaps in history with the highest accuracy or even uncover the brilliance of generals, kings, and philosophers of humankind.

### Invention of the Soul Translator and Initial Experimentation

After the events of the 75th Floor, Akihiko Kayaba was forcefully ejected from his own game by an unforeseen glitch after he was stabbed in the back by Shiranami. However, he was simply amused and later, reached out to Nanairo Arshavin, who had a week earlier called him to invite him to participate in Project Rhealization. The head of Hemerides, Seijirō Kikuoka, introduces Akihiko to the Rhealization Project and highly intrigued, Akihiko agrees to co-develop the fifth-generation FullDive device known as the «Soul Translator» (STL), with Takeru Higa and Nanairo Arshavin.

The scientists at Hemerides believed that in order to create a truly adaptive «bottom-up» Artificial Intelligence, it required the complete and total replication of the so-called '*human consciousness*' which they believed resided in a quantum field nestled within the microtubules of neurons which they dubbed «Fluctlight». For this purpose, the «Soul Translator» was invented which had the ability to not only read a human's «Fluctlight» but has the ability to copy it. Additionally, the developers also created a special quantum supercomputer, dubbed «**Quantum Particle Gate Crystallization**» (量子粒子門晶化, *Ryōshi Ryūshimon Shōka*?) shortened to «**LightCube**» (ライトキューブ, *Raitokyūbu*?) with the capacity of storing millions of qubits worth of Fluctlight data, allowing it to serve as a medium for the storage of replicated Fluctlights.

Initial tests proved that it was quite nearly impossible to replicate an aged human's Fluctlight as the cloned Fluctlight could not handle the fact that they were not the originals, thus resulting in their mental collapse after an average of three minutes. After a week of brainstorming, an alternative plan was created. The staff attempted to limit the memories of the cloned Fluctlights, as a Fluctlight without memories of any personal information, such as a name or address, was unlikely to experience an existential crisis about being a copy that would lead to its collapse. However, this plan also proved to be a failure, as learning is a form of memory, thus losing the memory of successfully executing an ability would lead to the loss of the ability.

### Secondary Experimentation

Ultimately, it was decided that the cloning of an aged human's Fluctlight is impossible and as such, the target was changed to newborns, as they had not accumulated any memories yet. This plan was successfully implemented by scanning the Fluctlights of twelve newborns. According to Takeru, Fluctlights — especially those of newborns — lack the kind of physical differences that genes have, meaning that a newborn Fluctlight clone would not have a specific personality. This allowed the creation of a «Soul Archetype», which could then be inserted into the virtual world where it could grow and develop into a new individual.

### Creation of Underworld

The world for nurturing the Artificial Fluctlights needed to be nearly equivalent to the level of modern society in order not to cause issues with their development. However, even the Soul Translator was incapable of completely recreating an entire world. As such, it was decided to bring the level of the civilization in the virtual world to a past era, to a time when science and philosophy were just discovered, making it easier to nurture the AIs under certain conditions and to prevent them from realizing that their world is fake. However, as the people behind the project were oblivious to the cultural and societal norms of the past era, they instead came to a consensus that the creation of an original setting for the world with limited space and customs dictated by the staff would suffice for their goal. Any potential issues could then be resolved by explaining away them as so-called '*magic*'.

Although creating a virtual world within the Soul Translator mainframe would not require any 3D data, customizing the world would be a tedious effort. This was where Akihiko came in. Using the same advanced Cardinal System he had used to create his masterpiece of «Sword Art Online», he created the villages and landscape of the new virtual world. This data was then converted to mnemonic visuals via the STL, creating a dual-layered world that was constantly synced with a server that contained the data for the world itself. Now self-sustaining, Akihiko left the Cardinal System in charge of balancing the newly-created world, dubbed «Underworld».

### Development of Underworld

Firstly, sixteen artificial Fluctlights were created and nurtured in two farming families, with NPCs fulfilling the role of other villagers. However, the first-generation AIs could not be raised by another AI, hence six Rath employees, two experienced volunteers, Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yūki, volunteered to enter Underworld and raise the AIs to the age of eighteen (with the Fluctlight Acceleration (FLA) rate set to 1:1461, meaning one day in real-world equates to four years in simulation). Afterward, the employees were logged out by simulating their death via an “epidemic” and their memories of their brief stay in Underworld were suppressed. After the volunteers logged out, the initial sixteen AIs — four boys and four girls in each of the two families — formed their own families with ten children each (making a total of 96 AIs after two generations).

As part of initial testing and world-building, the developers at Rath had programmed the AIs with the basic instinct that '*This land is your country*'. They hoped that the AI would just assume it was there and carry on as if it *actually* existed. However, after three generations, cracks began appearing as suddenly the AIs were observed to have the thought of '*Who made this rule? Perhaps I should be King of my own home*'. With this, unrest, riots, and civil wars erupted (the first generation were pre-programmed to understand this information as fact, while the next generations born within Underworld either accepted or rejected this information which was not entirely accounted for since this is a new concept field the researchers are analyzing into).

After around 60 years of simulation (or fifteen days in reality), the AIs developed new trains of thought as mentioned earlier. As such, they created five basic encompassing cultures to establish their world into five nominal countries; Kiyotō, which is based on China, Japan, and Korea, Raktavi, which is based on the Indian subcontinent, Ibrizaraf, which is based on Arabia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Levant, Albatigrum, which is based on Mediterranean Europe with heavy influences from Ancient Roman culture, and Svarbyrdheimr which is based on Scandinavia.

### Problems Pertaining to Underworld's Development

Even as codes, a series of numbers, the problem of the eventual biological impairments induced by the Fluctlights inbreeding with each other was predicted to become a major issue before the twentieth generation. In addition, the need for the creation of entirely different societies demanded a greater yield of people that did not currently exist within Underworld nor was it feasible to generate the greater yield so quickly in the early stages of Underworld's development.

This issue was resolved with the creation of 1,450 non-playable characters (NPCs) who were able to intermingle with and even procreate with the pre-existing Fluctlights. The first generation of Fluctlights was pre-programmed with the skills and obedience needed to establish nations with powerful Fluctlights as their respective leaders. However, the second generation of NPCs and Fluctlights did not inherit this precognition of inherent roles as their parents had and this would eventually culminate into discontent at the status quo leading to many uprisings from the peasantry and the lower-ranking Fluctlights, especially from the Fluctlight descendants who were ill-fit to inherit the responsibility of kings.

The next issue that arose is the fact that Fluctlights are basically humans and they have the ability to commit crimes. While a framework of laws exists in the form of the Precincts, Imperial Law, and a noble's Judicial Authority, none of these laws are absolute. With the exception of the «Seal of the Right Eye» which activates when a Fluctlight has the thought of committing the most heinous of crimes as listed in the Precincts and Imperial Law (the former is unchangeable while the latter may have differences between laws depending on the region the Imperial Law governs), these laws do not hinder a Fluctlight from breaking them.

### Initial Player Testing

While they have successfully laid the groundwork, they do not have people with enough experience and time to properly test and utilize the virtual world they have simulated since everyone within the company is a technician and scientist who cannot integrate themselves properly into the environment. Thus, they bring in Ayanami Shiratsuyu who not only led the vanguard in order to clear SAO but has an excellent general understanding of VRMMORPGs since she has records of playing and succeeding across multiple games without too many issues, SAO and SBO being prime examples. She accepts because this is another way to earn money besides her job as an idol.

## System Mechanics

The world of Project Rhealization and in turn, the world of Underworld, runs very differently from other virtual reality universes.

### Menu

Unlike other virtual reality worlds, Project Rhealization has no menu. Instead, something functioning similarly to a status window called an «Iris Window» can be called out for any object and person by using four fingers to draw a half-circle seal (so that the fingers trace a rainbow) before tapping the target that one wishes to inspect. However, as the «Iris Window» is a basic form of «Sacred Arts», calling out the window for larger objects is considerably more difficult than for smaller objects and requires sufficient practice and knowledge in the «Sacred Arts». The «Iris Window» shows the ID and current and maximum «Life» values of the targeted object, as well as the item's «Priority» Class if the item is a weapon, or «Object Control» and «System Control» Authorities if the target is a sentient being.

As a menu does not exist, an item storage feature does not exist either, meaning that all items need to be carried by hand, while clothes and weapons can be equipped the same way as in real life, instead of via a menu. Logging out manually is also impossible due to this, and it is presumed that only an Administrator can log a player out from within the game.

### Stats

The stats for any object or living being can be viewed by calling out an «Iris Window» for them. Everything in «Underworld» has a property called «Life» while humans also have stats called «Object Control» and «System Control» Authorities and certain items, like tools and weapons, have a property called «Priority». The OC and SC authorities were implemented during the beginning of the simulation at the suggestion of Professor Akihiko, as he thought that a measurement of aptitude to use weapons and magic was necessary in order to really observe how society develops within the simulation.

#### Unit ID

The «**Unit ID**» (ユニット•ID, *Yunitto Aidee*?) is a parameter that every object and living creature has. This ID is typically alphanumeric and is seemingly ordered by the sequence in which that object was created in a specific category. The Unit ID usually begins with a string of characters that identify the category they belong to. For example, «NH», which stands for «Non-Human», precedes any unit that has the aforementioned characteristics.

Additionally, Human Units (the letter H is their beginning code) also have a Unit ID that can be seen when bringing up a Stacia Window. This Unit ID is preceded by a string of characters, which identifies the beings they are.

These IDs, for both Objects and Living Units, can be utilized with Sacred Arts for various purposes, such as locating a Unit or modifying one of a Unit's many parameters.

#### Life

The «**Life**» (天命, *Tenmei*?) shown as «**Durability**» in the status window, is the name given to the durability or HP value of an object or living being in Underworld. Unlike in RPGs, a user's «Life» is not displayed in their interface and can instead be checked by calling out an «Iris Window». The maximum amount of «Life» each individual has is increased with age, peaking for humans at around twenty years old, but starts decreasing after the peak of one's lifespan is reached. Each object and living being have different amounts of «Life» available, which seems to depend on the lifespan of their real-world equivalents, for example, insects and flowers have far less «Life» than trees and rocks. «Life» measures the current state of each object and depends on the conditions the object is kept in.

Most objects in Underworld do not disappear immediately after running out of «Life». Most of them start a new count of Life as shards, fragments, or carcasses, though the «Life» of such broken objects decreases at a far greater rate and disappears completely, without a trace, once the «Life» reaches zero again.

For food, «Life» gradually decreases with time, but the rate at which «Life» decreases increases greatly in hot weather and, once the «Life» of food runs out, it becomes rotten, causing various illnesses if such food is eaten. For clothes, «Life» controls various defects and stains and will drop rapidly if the clothes are not washed.

For any living beings, «Life» drops at a rapid rate if injuries and illnesses are not treated in a timely manner. Bleeding is especially dangerous to a person's «Life», as it causes a constant decrease, making «Life» recovery rituals useless until it is sealed. Bleeding can be stopped by either sealing the wound, for example with cloth or any similar material, or by using «Sacred Arts». Fatigue in the world is treated as an illness, thus a person's «Life» drops with extensive running, holding on to large weight, or anything else that leads to fatigue. A user becomes weaker as their «Life» decreases, even resulting in the user becoming unconscious when it reaches a critical level. Although there is no other way to control one's maximum «Life» aside from Administrator-level rituals, the currently available «Life» can be restored via medication and «Sacred Arts» rituals (the most effective being risky «Life» transfer rituals), though they cannot increase it beyond the maximum limit.

When a person's «Life» reaches zero, white arrows of light rain down on the said person, causing the insides of their head to be shaved away bit by bit, in other words, the system begins deleting the person's «Fluctlight». A dead human can still be revived unless important parts of the «Fluctlights» are shaved off before the ritual takes place. A resurrection can never be done perfectly, as the bits of «Fluctlight» that are shaved off until the ritual is cast cannot be restored. In a best-case scenario, the revived person will only have lost their memories of the past few days.

#### Object Control Authority

«**Object Control Authority**» (オブジェクト客体管理権限, *ObujekutoKakutai Kanri Kengen*?) abbreviated as *OCA*, is a parameter that determines what kind of tools, weapons, and armor the person can wield. A person needs to have an Object Control Authority equal to or higher than the item's «**Priority**» class to be able to wield the item properly. Swords that have a higher Priority than a person's Object Control Authority cannot be used to perform «**Secret Techniques**», i.e. Sword Skills, and they will feel far heavier than they should be to the user. A sword's Priority determines the maximum hit combo of Sword Skills that can be used with it and higher Priority items are also capable of breaking lower Priority items. The Object Control Authority parameter can be increased by killing any creature that is capable of moving, even other people, but a larger increase in the parameter is awarded for killing creatures from the Cimmerian Fields (and vice versa).

#### System Control Authority

«**System Control Authority**» (システム制度管理権限, *ShisutemuSeido Kanri Kengen*?), abbreviated as *SCA*, is a parameter that determines what «Sacred Arts» rituals one can use and their success rate. Like Object Control Authority, System Control Authority can be increased by killing any creature capable of moving, creatures from the Cimmerian Fields providing a bigger increase, or through steady use of the rituals, even if they are not performed successfully, but with a bigger increase with successful difficult ritual usage.

### Features

#### Sacred Arts

*Main article: Sacred Art*
«**Sacred Arts**» (神聖術, *Shinseijutsu*?) are System Commands in Project Rhealization that residents of Underworld believe to be magic rituals. In reality, they are just words used to arrange thoughts and guide the emotions of the caster to make use of one's imagination power. Because of this, the imagination of the user may either improve or decrease the effectiveness of an art.

#### Secret Maneuvers

*A list of all known sword styles and their secret maneuvers can be found here.*

«Secret Art Finishing Moves», usually shortened to just «secret moves», is the name that Aunkai residents have given to Sword Skills existing in Aunkai. As part of the production, Akihiko Kayaba implemented all of the sword skills from the original Sword Art Online via his Cardinal System created for the management of the Project Rhealization server.*[citation needed]*

Secret moves work quite similarly to the Sword Skills in SAO. A Secret Move is activated by assuming a certain stance with one's weapon, called an opening motion, which triggers the activation of a certain pre-programmed move which cannot be stopped midway. However, one major difference between Secret Moves and Sword Skills is that the highest possible consecutive hit combo of a Secret Move, unlike Sword Skills in SAO, is limited by the wielded sword's priority.

#### Incarnation (Skill)

*Main article: Incarnation*
«**Incarnation**» (心意, *Shin'i*?) refers to a secretive art within the Underworld which enables an individual or group to alter the state of the world through imagination and will.

## Server and Mainframe Composition

To store the Artificial Fluclights and mnemonic visual data of the Underworld, a powerful quantum computer, «Quantum Particle Gate Crystallization», also known as «LightCube» was created. The LightCube, measuring five centimeters, is a construct made from praseodymium crystals, capable of housing hundreds of millions of qubits of data, makes it possible to store the data of a Cloned Fluctlight.*[citation needed]*

The mainframe of the Soul Translator comprised of a cluster of hundreds of thousands of systematically arranged LightCubes, each storing a single Fluctlight, are connected to a center of a massive cube that stores the extensive «Mnemonic Visual» data of the Underworld residents.*[citation needed]* The Cluster — measuring three meters each side — is covered by a metal shell, which makes the cluster look like a simple rectangular box.*[citation needed]*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Volume 1, Memories of Evil, Part 13
2. ↑ Volume 1, The Torch's Inheritance, Part 14
3. ↑ Volume 23, Chapter 2, Part 4