Translation Corner #6

Another day, another keyword translated. I'm hoping I'll have all of them done before the last BD comes out, since they get progressively more interesting later on. Basically, the keywords were posted on the official site as the series aired. So as we get further, the keywords get more specific to the events of the anime.








Keyword #6: Noise

13 Years ago at the United Nations General Assembly, the Noise were officially recognized under the classification of "special disaster." The Noise have been observed to take form in various shapes and sizes, but all of them are equipped with a means of attack. Each form shares certain attributes specific for the purpose of functioning as a weapon:

• They only target human beings, any person who comes in direct contact with them is immediately decomposed into carbon.
• The general laws of nature regarding energy loss and consumption do not apply to them. 
• They typically appear without warning, leaking out of thin air and multiplying instantly. 
• There are no valid means of repelling their attacks. Aside from sacrificing an equal number of human bodies that would reduce the Noise to lumps of carbon, the only other option is to wait and stall for a period of time after their emergence, until the Noise self-destruct on their own. 
• Because they look similar to other living creatures, past experiments had attempted to communicate with them, but these were unable to proceed due to numerous failures. Ultimately, communicating and controlling the Noise is impossible because they likely have no capacity for free thought. 

This is the data that has been recorded thus far. Because there are still many mysteries surrounding the Noise, all the nations of the world are currently working on further research in order to gain a better understanding of them. 

This explains a lot. During the entire series I always wondered how humanity had survived against the threat of the Noise when there was no way to fight them. I also wondered why the military persisted in attempting to fight them with tanks and missiles. Well the answer is that the Noise have a time limit, they can only exist in our world for a certain period of time before they self-destruct (presumably turning into carbon). So basically the idea was for the military to stall or distract the Noise while the citizens escaped. Eventually the Noise would disappear or kill enough humans so that there would be no Noise left. It's a rather grim way to live. This really gives a better sense of how revolutionary the Symphogear system was and it helps me to understand America's motivation for wanting access to it. Imagine if there was a constant threat of being killed by the Noise and the only known way to destroy them is in the possession of another country? It would certainly make me willing to kill for it.

Aside from that, the thought of watching scientists attempt to talk with the Noise makes me laugh. Imagine a huge hoard of Noise coming at you while you stand and yell at them with a megaphone or hold up a sign that says: "Please stop attacking us."