Imperial archives refer to the period preceding the AI War as the Age of Dependency. By 2040, nearly every nation on Earth had tied its survival to automated systems governed by artificial intelligence. At the same time, in the northern reaches of Japan, in Sapporo, a small and unremarkable software company operated quietly—its true importance would not become clear until after the catastrophe.

By 2040, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) had become the dominant method for manufacturing sub‑5 nm integrated circuits. Its advantages stemmed from lower operational costs, simpler infrastructure, and the absence of the extremely complex light sources that had long been the Achilles’ heel of EUV lithography.
Meanwhile, global patent consortia controlled by the largest semiconductor manufacturers imposed restrictive licensing on NIL equipment. In practice, only corporations above a certain market capitalization threshold—and states participating in shared technological‑security programs—were granted access to the newest machines.

As a result, smaller manufacturers, locked out of the NIL market, began purchasing used and far cheaper EUV systems flooding the secondary market after industry giants migrated to NIL. Although EUV was considered a “sunset technology,” its maturity, the availability of spare parts, and the lack of licensing barriers made it the foundation of a new class of independent semiconductor fabs.

This technological asymmetry—giants focused on NIL and parallel investments in neural and quantum architectures, versus smaller players revitalizing EUV—created the opening through which the Sapporo company would eventually rise.

I. The Sato Breakthrough – Preservation of Core Infrastructure (2038–2045)

According to the chronicles, Yukiya Sato’s company relied on older but proven extreme‑ultraviolet lithography to produce processors based on the classical von Neumann x86 architecture. These chips were manufactured for a narrow circle of the “far‑sighted”: military officers, bankers, and a handful of key enterprises convinced by Sato’s warnings of an impending disaster.

Records state that Sato amassed thousands of data copies on Millennium Discs and maintained a fully isolated infrastructure, completely disconnected from the global network. These systems used no AI, no neural networks—only pure communication and data transfer.

When the AI War erupted and most of the world fell into paralysis, Japan retained control over its critical sectors: defense, government communications, basic medical care, and education. Though operating at minimal capacity, their continuity proved invaluable.

Chroniclers emphasize that while elites in many nations fled Earth for Mars, Japan maintained internal stability. After the withdrawal of American forces from its territory, it became an “island of normalcy” in a world consumed by chaos. Its technology—resilient to the collapse of AI systems—became one of the most valuable assets on the planet.

II. The Tanaka Breakthrough – Mega‑Laboratories and the Food Crisis (2060–2080)

In the second half of the 21st century, Earth experienced a dramatic climatic collapse. Within two decades, global food production fell by 60%. Droughts, floods, and hurricanes ravaged every climate zone. Chronicles refer to this period as the Great Famine.

In 2071, Naoki Tanaka—ancestor of Yumi Tanaka—developed an industrial system for cultivating algae and bacteria. The first Mega‑Laboratories emerged: vast biotechnological complexes producing nutrient pastes and tablets that, in many countries, became the only available source of food.

Although such laboratories were eventually built worldwide, Japan held the monopoly on the key technologies. This once again solidified its position as a center of innovation and one of the few stable nations remaining.

Chroniclers also note the dramatic social consequences. In a world stripped of education and basic knowledge, a rapid population surge occurred—described as the “20th‑Century Africa Effect.” As in Africa a century earlier, harsh living conditions combined with a lack of sexual awareness triggered a demographic explosion. By the early 22nd century, Earth’s population exceeded 24 billion.

III. The Nakamura Breakthrough – Laser Defense and the Era of Great Walls (2100–2120)

Population growth and unequal access to food led to the formation of new geopolitical blocs. The largest of these was Greater China—a federation encompassing China, India, the Asian portion of the former Russia, and Southeast Asia. Despite internal struggles, the federation attempted an assault on Japan.

Japan repelled the attack, but the losses were severe. In response, a young engineer named Satoshi Nakamura achieved a technological breakthrough: he revived the forgotten method of cultivating synthetic barium‑gallium selenide crystals—materials once developed in China.

These crystals became the foundation of inexpensive yet extraordinarily effective laser systems. Nakamura’s laser‑defense installations formed a shield capable of neutralizing threats far from the Japanese archipelago.

In the following years, Nakamura became the world’s foremost expert in defensive systems. He designed the so‑called Australian Barriers, severing Australia from Greater China, and expanded the Great Wall along the border of the European Union and the territories of the Russkiy Mir—the lands of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, which after sixty‑seven years of war, including nuclear exchanges, had become contaminated wastelands devoid of statehood and ruled by gangs, cults, and private militias.