Window 5, 'the Sword Country': More People Raise Tags, as Treaty Confirms Observation Data Is Exempt

The Dimensional Survey Division announced on the 15th that during a roughly 80-minute opening late on the 14th at Window 5, "the Sword Country," the number of people in the marketplace on the other side seen raising wooden tags toward the window had grown further beyond what was confirmed during the three openings previously reported on the 5th. A division technician said, "This time, multiple groups across a wide area of the marketplace were each raising tags. It's becoming harder to explain as mere coincidental crowd behavior at this scale." Still, according to the window keeper's log, there was no major change in the design of the tags or how they were raised, and the division again held off upgrading its official assessment beyond the previously reported "signs of awareness."

Regarding the same-day interim agreement on the Window Treaty, TDA director Makoto Hiura, asked at his regular briefing on the 15th about how observation data from stable windows such as Window 5 would be treated, explained, "We have a clear confirmation from the negotiating parties that the treaty's military-diversion ban applies to window rigs and stable-window-related technology themselves, not to the observational data they produce." At talks previously reported on the 7th, Nordia Union representatives had raised the point that the handling of "signs of awareness" data touched on the treaty's verification procedures; Hiura maintained the division's existing position, saying, "The scope and pace of data disclosure will continue to be a scientific decision made by the Survey Division, separate from the treaty."

A division technician, referring to the previously reported outlook that the "third week of October" would coincide with King Kaie III's visit, said, "Whether the 14th's increase is building toward that, or is a development that ends on its own, still can't be judged." Technician Toru Yuzuki, who has handled the case, said, "It's true there have been more moments where the people in the market look like they're trying to convey something to us, but seeing isn't the same as understanding. We'll keep counting without rushing."

The division says what is happening at Window 5 differs in nature from the previously reported (11th) procession of lights and sound recorded at Window 1, "the Lit City." A division technician explained, "The Lit City's procession looks like part of life over there — whether it's directed at us is unclear. The Sword Country's tags are clearly being raised facing the window, toward us. We're being cautious about the word 'aware,' but on direction alone, this gives us more to go on than Window 1 does." Given that distinction, the division plans to keep observing Window 5 as a separate, priority case for now.

Window-room recordings can't resolve facial expressions on those raising the tags, officials say. Technician Yuzuki said, "We can't yet tell whether they look angry or happy — the resolution just isn't there. I don't want to fill in words with imagination." Private vendors of window merchandise, including the Tomoshi Window Café, have already approached the Survey Division about designing goods modeled on the Sword Country's tags, but an official said only, "We're not yet at the stage of judging whether commercial use is appropriate."

The window keeper's log for the early hours of the 15th noted, "I didn't finish counting the tags before the tea in my cup had even gone cold." The increase is expected to be added to materials for November's outside-expert review panel, chaired by Etsuko Kajiura.