And Then There Was No Data Processing

~ The Four Hardships of the Stargate Project ~
By: Agatha Mutchi (a.k.a. Chintaro Takechi)

Chapter 1: The Uninvited

At the end of that winter, ten invitations were sent to Stargate Manor, a vast estate in the countryside of northern Texas. The addressees included financial bureaucrats from various countries, investment fund managers, and one old man.

Son... A man who once swept the global financial world under the banner of the information revolution. But now, he was just an old man carrying the wreckage of an investment myth, and many frowned at the mere mention of his name.

The invitation read as follows:

"I will show you, one last time, a vision that will change the world."
--S.

However, there was no explanation of that 'vision' whatsoever.
It was also unclear who the host was.
The only thing that was clear was that those gathered at Stargate Manor did not trust each other at all.

Stargate Manor was originally a facility used by a telecommunications company as a training center, and it now stands quietly at the edge of a certain power grid in Texas. It is a futuristic building that feels out of place in such a remote area. Security was unusually strict, and a heat-resistant gas-cooled server room was installed in the basement.

That night, when the ten guests arrived, they were greeted by a calm and collected man who called himself the caretaker, Mr. Edge. He addressed each person by a codename and assigned them to rooms in the mansion as if they were pieces of a puzzle.

Son was called 'Legacy'.
The old gentleman from the Bank of Japan was 'Sovereign'.
The lady from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was 'Mirage'.
And the young analyst sent from OpenAI was 'Model 3'.

After being told the rule that they must not pry into each other's backgrounds, everyone was gathered in a dimly lit round-table conference room.

In the center of the room, a single, massive hologram was floating.

"The Stargate Project"
...A $500 billion myth to expand AI data processing capacity to the greatest extent in human history.

Edge announced in a smooth voice.

"The requirements definition for this project is simple. Power: 5GW, Cooling water: 2 million tons per day, Budget: $500 billion, Scheduled completion: 2032. Furthermore... today, I would like your evaluation regarding the true structure of the project."

The group murmured. 5GW of power is equivalent to more than two Three Mile Island nuclear reactors. Securing a supply of cooling water would require redesigning the river. 2032... That is a timeline where, in reality, no one would live to see the results.

"Evaluation?"
Legacy, a.k.a. Son, muttered.
"What good is an evaluation? No one is lending money anymore, are they?"

"That is the mystery."
The woman called Mirage whispered.
"This project is no longer receiving funding from anywhere, so how is it still surviving..."

At that moment, the lights in the mansion flickered and went out.
Then, the hologram display switched.

[Cash flow: Unknown]
[Power source: Undecided]
[Governance structure: Non-existent]
[Valuation profit: Fictitious]

"...What is this?"
Model 3 stood up, turning pale.

"This is not a project."
Sovereign said in a trembling voice.
"This is a conspiracy."

And then, the first death occurs.

The next morning, the body of the caretaker, Edge, was discovered in the cooling room of Stargate Manor, frozen solid.

In a project carrying the dreams of the largest AI infrastructure, someone had their life taken by the cooling system.

Who killed him?
Who is hiding the truth?
And why, did no one become able to process data?

The clock hands stopped, the GPUs fell silent, and only the plan continued to pretend it was still moving.

Chapter 2: The Vanished Unrealized Gains

It was at the breakfast table that the scent of death began to drift through Stargate Manor.

The body of the caretaker, Mr. Edge, was found frozen in the cooling room during the night. Someone had locked him in. Liquid nitrogen for server cooling takes a life with a 0.1-second error. In other words, this was not an accident, but a murder based on clear intent.

"What did he know? That is the question."

"That is the question," said Model 3, a young analyst from OpenAI, as he took his seat.
He turned his pale face toward the digital display on the round table.

【Vision Fund: Unrealized Valuation Loss -8 Trillion Yen】
【NAV: Net Asset Value - Unestimatable】
【Credit Rating: Not Updated (Under Surveillance)】

"Isn't this internal SBG data?"
Mirage frowned.

"No," Model 3 shook his head.
"This is the financial model for the Stargate Project submitted as a fictitious entity. For some reason, the Vision Fund's valuation gains are being funneled into this."

Silence fell.

"In other words, you're saying past investment failures were being painted over with a new myth?"

"Yes. There is a possibility that the phantom valuation gains held by SBG were being transferred to the projected earnings of Stargate and used to back the issuance of bonds."

"Backing a phantom with another phantom?"
The code name 'Sovereign,' formerly of the Bank of Japan, muttered lowly.
"That is no longer economics; it is a magic trick."

In the afternoon, in the library of Stargate Manor, Legacy... or rather, Son, opened a thin report.
"AI Sovereign Nexus: On the Valuability of the Stargate Project"

On the cover, the names BlackRock, MGX, and SBG were listed side by side.

"This is...? It's written here, but nothing is written at all."

　The page certainly had numbers lined up on it.
　2030, operating profit of 1 trillion dollars. ROE (Return on Equity) of 30%. Valuation multiple of 40x.

　However, the 'power supply source' that was the premise for those numbers was blank　.

'Without power, there is no profit. Without profit, there is no valuation. Without valuation, corporate bonds cannot be issued. In other words... This is a financial forecast where only the valuation gains were written down first.'

　Legacy closed the document.
　Deep wrinkles that told of his age were etched into his forehead.

'This labyrinth called Stargate is a prison inhabited by the Minotaur of phantom valuation gains. We stepped inside believing in those valuation gains, and now we are beginning to lose our lives.'

　At night, another anomaly occurred.

　The Stargate project plan displayed on the central hologram suddenly began to flash red.

[ALERT: Vision Fund Exit Strategy Failure]
[REMARK: Last Known NAV Calculation—May 2022]
[NOTE: No Verifiable Assets Found]

'The NAV... was last calculated in 2022...?'
　Model 3 raised a trembling voice.

'Since then, no one has seen an exit.'
　Sovereign muttered.
'Just like this manor.'

　At that moment, the mansion's emergency battery flickered, and the lights went out again.

　Someone had moved again.

　Before the next victim appears, we must uncover the truth behind this 'Valuation Gain Murder Case'　.

Chapter 3: Map of Stargate Manor

'This mansion is not built according to the blueprints.'

　The first to notice this was the one with the codename 'Mirage'.

　Stargate Manor was originally designed as a data testing facility for a military communications company, and it was said to have been renovated later for AI-related investment conferences and top-secret engineer summits. But the blueprints were, by any measure, intentionally falsified.

'The angle of the hallways, the routing of the wiring, and this sealed Server Room B.'

　Model 3 muttered while comparing the blueprints with AR glasses.

'There is something in this room.'

2:00 AM. As the emergency lights flickered faintly after the power outage, they descended into the basement.

There are three server rooms in the basement of Stargate Manor. A is in operation, C has been decommissioned, and B was treated as 'sealed'.

However, the lock on the door to server room B, which should have been sealed, had been broken.

'Someone is already inside...!'

The moment they stepped inside, the security system let out a low hum, and the exhaust fans began to spin erratically.

In the center of the room stood an old host computer. Beside it, a paper blueprint resembling an ancient document was placed inside an envelope.

【Project: Stargate Sovereign Simulation Layer】
【Purpose: Generate Projected Profit for Unverifiable Asset Bundles】
【Note: Do Not Disclose to Auditors.】

It was written clearly.

This project is a mechanism that pours virtual valuation gains, known as future value, into non-existent assets, and issues debt—corporate bonds—based on them.

'Is this... an engine for fabricating valuation gains?'
Model 3 froze.

'No, this is a credit-creation fraud structure using AI.'
Sovereign whispered.
'Stargate is not a business plan. It is a financial labyrinth with no exit.'

But at that moment, another death occurred.

Mirage was suddenly shoved from behind and fell onto the wiring rack.

A high-pressure cooling pipe pierced through the gaps in the metal frame, and her body was instantly enveloped in coolant vapor, freezing her before she could even utter a word.

She had gotten too close to the truth.

Someone had stopped her.

And once again, a red warning appeared on the central control panel's hologram.

【New Calculation Triggered】
【Recalculating Projected Profit Margin: 37.6%】
【New NAV Estimated: +6 trillion yen】

'...Does the project continue even if there are deaths?'

'No.'
Legacy (Grandson) said quietly.
'This is a plan that cannot continue unless it produces deaths.'

Stargate Manor was not a data center.
It was a financial instrument that extended its life through the valuation gains of the dead.

Chapter 4: AI, Electricity, and the Desert Trap

Mirage's frozen corpse was carried out from the underground cooling unit of Stargate Manor. Ironically, the very device meant to cool the AI had taken the life of the one who had come closest to the truth.

"Someone is trying to hide the contradiction of the project's inability to generate power."

Legacy (Grandson) muttered in a cold voice.

The next morning, Model 3 returned with a document.
It was a report on the Texas blackout that occurred in the southern United States in 2021.

《TexGrid Collapse Report》
Estimated damages: $2 billion to $200 billion
Affected areas: Entire state of Texas / Kansas / Missouri / Louisiana / Northern Mexico

"Building an AI campus in Texas? That's insane."
Model 3 said with a hint of anger.
"Everyone knew what happened during this blackout. To still submit a request for a 5GW connection is nothing more than a fantasy that ignores reality."

"Perhaps they had already factored in that it would be impossible to connect."
Sovereign said quietly.
"Because it is impossible, it is not evaluated. And what is not evaluated is not recorded as a loss..."

"In other words, the more unfeasible a project is, the more beautiful it looks on the books..."

But why did they flee to the UAE instead of the United States?

The investigation shifts its stage to the desert.

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi. The first commercial nuclear power plant in the Arab world was a 5.6GW giant that took ten years to complete.

Model 3 displays the UAE government's announcement on the screen.

[Current surplus electricity: Zero]
[New construction planned: Expected to be operational in 7 to 10 years]
[Energy for AI campus: Method of procurement undecided]

"Even in this country, electricity cannot be generated immediately."
Legacy lowered his eyes.

"Let alone building a nuclear power plant exclusively for AI... That may be a myth, but it is not a business."

At that moment, the communication hologram in the mansion activated.

[Voice connection: Under SBG management, Three Mile Operation]
[Subject: Application for facility restart approval]
[Note: Change procedure in progress for the purpose of restoring the image of the former name]

"D-don't tell me, even the Three Mile Island nuclear plant?"
Legacy said in a trembling voice.

"Just because you change the name of a nuclear power plant doesn't mean the memory of a meltdown disappears."

That night, the expressions of the participants gathered in the cafeteria were tinged with obvious impatience.

"At this point, a murder case is just a trivial detail."
Sovereign said, tilting his wine glass.

"The problem is that this Stargate concept itself is a castle in the air without the foundation of electricity."
"A data center without electricity is the same as a radio station that cannot reach its listeners."
"No matter how magnificent the studio is, it is meaningless if it cannot broadcast."

"Even so, why didn't anyone stop it..."
Model 3 muttered.

"We couldn't stop it."
Legacy stared into the void.
"Everyone was intoxicated by the word 'future.' And before we knew it, we were investing in a dream that had no funding, no responsibility, and not even electricity."

And the next morning, another warning was displayed.

[WARNING]
[Power Supply Verification Failed]
[Projected Cashflow: Uncalculable]

Finally, the core of the AI campus was determined to be unable to receive power.

But even so, no one tried to stop the alarm.

Because everyone knew.

This project didn't even need electricity.
All it needed was the illusion of a future...

Chapter 5: The Renamed Corpse

The document was left at the control terminal in Server Room B.
A restart plan for the latest Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The cover of the envelope was marked as follows.

"New Liberty Nuclear Center"... Toward a fresh start of trust

"Isn't that Three Mile Island?"
Model 3 tilted his head.

"They just changed the name. To feign the legitimacy of the restart."
Sovereign said while reading the documents.

"Moreover, it is explicitly stated as a backup power candidate for the Stargate project."

Legacy (the grandson) traced a thin label stuck to the back of the document with his finger.

"TMI-1... Three Mile Island Unit 1. The twin reactor to Unit 2, which caused the accident. Do they intend to run it...?"

However, that attempt to change the name only resulted in more deaths.

Night. A new body was discovered in the courtyard of Stargate Manor.

The person lying there was an anonymous consultant involved in energy policy.
Codename 'Anvil'. A large man who spoke little, but was always calm.

However, the situation at the time of discovery was bizarre.

Stuck to his face was a Live label.

Moreover, it had been torn from the restart application for the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

“He is a corpse whose name has been changed,”
Model 3 whispered.
“Just like the reactor. Changing its name, being reused...”

Returning to the room, Legacy began to monologue.
“I tried to overwrite the failure of the Vision Fund with the AI myth.
As long as the projected future earnings were large enough, investors would follow.
I believed that. No, I wanted to make them believe that...”

“But now that we know there is no power, even cash flow calculations don't hold up. An AI without electricity is like a poet without poetry.”

“Poets starve, but AIs freeze,”
Sovereign said coldly.

“How many lives have been frozen by the word 'projected earnings'? Mirage, Edge, Anvil... And surely, more will follow...”

That night, the Stargate Manor hologram issued a warning once again.

[ALERT]
[Facility Load Exceeded]
[Reactor Simulation Loop Activated]
[Naming Override: “Liberty Gate”]

“Liberty Gate...?”
Model 3's face turned pale.

“Could it be that the name 'Stargate' itself was a name change from the very beginning?”

“The original plan was the TMI-1 backup data center.
It was a temporary DC using waste power from the accident reactor...
Was it rebranded to raise funds?”

The truth began to emerge.

The Stargate Project was a corpse with a changed name, wrapping the ghost of a nuclear accident in the mask of an AI myth.

Its essence was a deceptive play that had no intention of providing power,
no circuits to process the future,
just sticking new labels on past losses,
and presenting them to the audience of the market.

And those who learn of it die, one by one.

Chapter 6: The Fugitive's Oasis

The desert covers everything.

Sins, ghosts, and unrealized gains alike.

That night, in the operations room of Stargate Manor, Model 3 was decrypting communication logs from Abu Dhabi, UAE. The security was lax, almost as if it were being displayed on purpose.

[Project Stargate-UAE]
[Location: Abu Dhabi – Al Dhafra Region]
[Power Source: Pending]
[Expected Delivery: 2032]
[Notes: Political risk minimized. Branding secured.]

"So this is where you ran to."
Model 3 spat out the words.

"You can't get power in America. Operation is hopeless even at Three Mile Island. So, the next choice was a country with slow-moving royalty and nothing but abundant cash."

Legacy nodded in silence.

"Abu Dhabi still hasn't forgotten the price of a dream. They'll think even a hologram that doesn't power on is the future."

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
A giant concrete tower looming over the quiet coastline of the Gulf.
Ten years to complete. 5.6 GW output. It's the perfect scale for an AI campus... provided there is surplus power, that is.

However, the latest local report states the following:

[Current Load: Fully Allocated]
[Grid Export: 0]
[New Plant Construction: Pending feasibility study]

In other words, there is no surplus power in the current UAE to support an AI data center.

Moreover, new construction requires a minimum of seven years. The earliest operation date is 2032.

"Is Stargate once again collecting investments backed by a future that doesn't exist?"
Sovereign made a bitter face.

"And in 2045, twenty years from now, when the ASI is born..."
Model 3 looked up.

"If my grandchild is alive then, they will be 88 years old."

Who can take responsibility until then?
Who is going to accept a promissory note worth 75 trillion yen, or rather, 200 trillion yen?

The answer was obvious.

No one.

"This project has no power. Funding is unstable. The person in charge is elderly. And there is no successor."

"A quadruple hardship."
Legacy muttered quietly.
"It is rare to find a collapse so perfectly arranged."

Model 3 suddenly recalled a certain phrase.
It was a short phrase that an MGX executive had said to him.

"In the deserts of the Middle East, even the wreckage of dreams is buried quickly."

And that night, in the courtyard of Stargate Manor, the phantom fourth deceased person appeared.

A person who did not exist in the records and was not on the participant list appeared from the blind spot of the surveillance camera and vanished again.

It was as if the future itself had come here, revealed its form, and then fled.

Chapter 7: The Successor in the Shadows

"...If he is gone, who will take over?"
Silence fell upon Model 3's question.

In the hall were Legacy, Sovereign, Model 3... and one unknown shadow figure. An uninvited guest who was not listed on the roster and whom no one knew who had called.

That person leaned against the wall panel and smiled faintly.

"No one will take over. No one would take such a thing."

The Stargate Project. The nominal business owner is SBG.
However, SBG as a corporation was already nothing more than a ghost of valuation gains, lacking the ability to make autonomous investment decisions.

Legacy spoke in a low voice.
"Essentially, a business is the transfer of responsibility.
But this concept has no takers.
Financially, ethically, and politically."

"Are there any... successor candidates?"
When Model 3 asked, Sovereign sighed.

"Some reports whisper the names of young executives in the AI investment division. But they have never even fulfilled their accountability to shareholders."

"In other words, effectively zero...?"

"To be precise, there are names, but no will to accept responsibility.
This is an organization in form, but in substance, it is an empty vessel."

At that moment, the hologram updated again.

【Leadership Succession Plan: None】
【Designated Authority: Deferred】
【Governance Override: Not Defined】

『Succession Plan: None』
『Designated Responsible Party: Deferred』
『Governance Authority: Undefined』

『……You've got to be kidding me.』
　Model 3 muttered.

『It doesn't exist. It never did.
This plan was never intended to be executed.
It was just a story to inflate valuation gains.』
The shadow figure finally spoke.

『There is no future for this Stargate.
We just needed the atmosphere that someone was there.
It's like investing in an empty chair.』

　Model 3 shouted.
『But that’s… that’s fraud!』

『No.』
　Legacy said quietly.
『It’s a faith-based business for the future.』

『People build temples even when they know they will end.
And no one ever tries to look behind the altar.』

『This plan was that temple.』

　Then, the hologram suddenly began to flicker.

【NOTICE】
【Heir Identified: N/A】
【Project Continuity: Simulated Only】
【Reality Override Engaged】

　In other words, this plan was no longer reality; it was merely being continued virtually.

　The shadow figure left these final words.

『No one will inherit this plan. No one can.
Because the inability to inherit was the very essence of this structure.』

　And he left the room in silence.

　No one knows who he was.
　But for some reason, everyone knew. That was the true successor. The only survivor who refused the seat called responsibility.

Chapter 8: In a World Without Electricity

　The heart of Stargate Manor, the project management room.
　There were no windows, the air was cold, and only the passage of time was abnormally fast.

　And there, not a single piece of data was running.

『This is…』
　Model 3 touched a rack where the sound of CPU coolant circulation had stopped.

『Every device is just pretending to be powered on.』
『Why…?』
『A fake project only needed a landscape that was powered up.』

The hologram activates.

[Power Supply Status: Unmeasurable]
[Power Plant Connection Status: None]
[Supply Schedule: Undecided]

What floated onto the screen was a void of an operational plan.

Model 3 suddenly fixed its eyes on the string of numbers.

"Is this a cash flow forecast?"

[Year 1-3: Projected Profit]
[Year 4: Cash Flow Difficulty]
[Year 5: Business Divestiture or Restructuring]
[Year 6 and beyond: Not listed]

"What is the basis for the parts marked as profitable?"
"...Valuation gains"
"What about power costs?"
"...Not listed"
"What about cooling costs?"
"...The notes say it's not a problem because it's a desert"

Sovereign covered his face.

"This is no longer a quantified delusion."
"It's not a plan, it's a poem. It has neither rhyme nor reason."

Legacy (Grandson) muttered as if to himself while sitting in his chair.

"For the past ten years, I have believed in numbers."
Valuations, multiples, future value, NAV... I thought those were the truth.
But I overlooked one thing.
That numbers are meaningless if there is no electricity running through them."

"Equipment that isn't running generates no revenue."
A server that isn't cooled is just a box of iron."

"The electricity that supports it was the only true value."

At that moment, the final power outage visited Stargate Manor.

All the emergency lights went out, the hologram vanished, and the building's air conditioning stopped.

What remained was a deep, deep silence.

As everyone stood frozen, Model 3 opened its mouth.

"…This is the true end of Stargate, isn't it?"

The ghost-like afterimage of the hologram displayed one final sentence.

[The final valuation gain was an illusion]

And then, the light vanished completely.

Chapter 9: The Closed Gate

Stargate Manor was cold and silent.

No one spoke, no one moved; only silence rang out.

The Gate had closed.

The gate that was once supposed to lead to the 'future' had now become an entrance to the memories of the dead, through which no one would ever pass again.

Model 3 gently placed on the desk what was considered the final version of the Stargate Project presentation materials. A binder that had once been distributed at an investor briefing, detailing the future of that day.

[2032 Goal]
■ World's largest AI processing capacity
■ Fully autonomous energy circulation system
■ Latency-zero cloud nation concept
■ Projected annual revenue: $3 trillion

'...Everything was just words.'
Model 3 muttered.

'Yes. No electricity, no power plants, and all the premises for revenue were fictional... The only thing that existed was the future that was spoken of.'
Sovereign continued.
'But as long as it was being spoken of, funds flowed, people moved, and the market dreamed. A future that you know will never be realized is the most profitable kind.'

At that moment, Legacy (Grandson) spoke up.
'What I held was no longer a company.'
'It was a machine that told stories of the future.'

'An AI myth with no substance, imaginary valuation gains, infrastructure that didn't conduct electricity, and only the fiction that everyone tacitly accepted remained.'

'But finally, no one believed it anymore... That is why this gate closed.'

Model 3's voice trembled.
'Then, what were we doing? To uncover the truth? Or perhaps...'

'No.'
Sovereign shook his head.

'We were gathered to witness the moment this project ended.'
'As if...'

'...like witnesses at a funeral?'

On the stone monument in the courtyard, characters of unknown origin appeared.
Illuminated by the final afterglow of the emergency lights, they stood out in white.

[Here stood the Gate to the Future.
But the future never came.]

'Here stood the Gate to the Future.
But the future never came.'

　And then, the last door slowly closed.

　The central control room of Stargate Manor.
　With the automatic locking, all communication was severed.

　Light, sound, and data were all cut off, and only memory stood silently in the void.

Chapter 10: And Then There Was No One Left to Process Data

　The cooling system hummed quietly.

　The server room was empty. Racks without power. NVIDIA chips that were never activated.

　And the logs were being deleted line by line, in silence.

【System Check: No Tasks Pending】
【Power Source: Undefined】
【Operator: Not Assigned】
【Mission: Irrelevant】

　No one remained at Stargate Manor.
　Only one thing was still alive: the auxiliary AI for monitoring records.

　The AI had no name. But it alone witnessed everything.

　The record of the final night began to play.

　It showed Legacy (the grandson).
　He sat slowly in a chair, talking to himself in front of a hologram that displayed nothing.

“Humans need stories. Perhaps storytelling was humanity's only capital for continuing to accept certain losses amidst an uncertain future.”

“I spoke of the future. Valuation gains, visions, Stargate... And by the time I realized that not a single person had actually processed any data, it was too late.”

　The final report was generated by the AI's automatic protocol.

【Stargate Project Final Status】
■ Power Connection: None
■ Return on Investment: Impossible
■ Successor: Absent
■ Corporate Bond Redemption: Unfulfilled
■ Valuation Gains: May contain false components
■ Business Entity: Executing automatic dissolution process

【Conclusion】
　This project was never executed.
　And no one had ever processed any data.

　Model 3 finished moving all records to an encrypted archive drifting like a cloud, and finally performed one manual operation.

　It was the delete button for the project.

【Delete Project: Stargate】
【Confirm: Y/N?】

　After hesitating for a moment, he quietly chose 'Y'.

And then, the hologram vanished without a sound.

The next morning, stock markets opened as usual somewhere in the world.
The SBG ticker lit up for a fleeting moment, then immediately halted trading.

The media reported.

"The AI bubble has entered a plateau for the time being."
"The Stargate Project will move to a new structure following reorganization."
"Meanwhile, many of those involved remain silent."

But in truth, there was no one left who could tell the tale.

And the cooling system alone, as the final witness, recorded this:

"There was no one here. But humanity had certainly invested in the future."

Curtain Call
And then no one could process data.

Episode 2: And Then No One Could Connect to the System

Rintaro Takechi