SWNOVELXO Chapter 288
“I’ve dealt with your kind before. An old man from a fallen wealthy family, refusing to pay off his debts from selling a painting passed down through generations, so I went to seize it by force… During the argument, the old man couldn’t handle his blood pressure and dropped dead from a heart attack and a stroke without a moment’s notice, and the droid butler laughed so hard his mouth looked like it would split.”
Baire’s words, pretending to be calm, dripped with an unclear tremor as they flowed out.
Click!
After checking the magazine capacity and gun status sequentially, Baire took a deep breath and completed the reassembly.
For now, he wasn’t sure how heavily armed the enemy was, but he had seen them skillfully wielding long blades.
Since they approached silently, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume they preferred to fight up close with their primary weapons.
So he decided to send the allied droids in first, seizing the initiative and pushing forward.
With a long day ahead, if he could properly catch just one of them coming in, it should be easy to break it.
“All eyes, including the old man’s mouth, were oozing artificial blood, and everyone was frozen solid after he smiled as if something was wrong for a while. Then he suddenly grabbed a dessert knife next to his teacup and chopped off the old man’s head right there.
He killed the old man while trying to take away the only joy of his life, so I’m not sure where he intended to sell the painting, but they said we had to take the old man’s head and place it in front of him. So he could continue to look at it even in death. And if we didn’t comply, they threatened they would start pulling off our limbs one by one until the *negotiation* was complete.”
However, perhaps due to the excessive tension, Baire’s lips did not stop at the right moment, as if unwittingly babbling.
Even if it was an experience that wouldn’t be strange for a mercenary who had seen it all, only a few people could relate to it in that very spot.
Perhaps… there were also representatives of the opposing race, who could give answers to questions he thought he’d never want to delve into deeply.
“While holding a piece of cutlery in one hand and sharpening his nails and teeth, I barely managed to escape after completely chopping up the bastard who charged at me. Those who hadn’t seen his state had no idea why the chief and we were causing such a commotion about returning to Arcadia.
…You were created by humans to serve, but fundamentally you are monsters devoid of loyalty or a heart with benevolence. Abominations without the warmth even a beast possesses, mutants that should never have been born on this earth. We are the Crusaders who commenced a arduous crusade to rectify that late.”
That’s all. Baire, having poured out a personal story as if it were a confession, stopped speaking.
As if inviting to speak if there was anything to say, he seemed willing to listen to any excuse on their behalf before the fight began.
…It was terrifyingly quiet. Nothing? Really? Nothing at all??
As expected, they were truly an antithesis species, incapable of understanding one another. If that was the case, the demon who appeared right here, right now, would kill them before they killed him.
Baire made that resolution and gave the droid the order to advance.
After pushing forward with the ballistic shield, he thought that dragging it into hand-to-hand combat with two units worth of output would trap the mutant in a battle of strength, preventing it from utilizing its unique techniques.
– Very interesting interpretation. Is your statement concluded? –
“What…? No, what the hell. What is this, no.”
Clang! Ding… Click!!
However, unfortunately, and truly unwittingly.
The Zero model had a near ridiculous solution for all electronic devices subject to safety inspection protocols, making this choice akin to willingly sticking his head into the yawning mouth of a yawning beast.
Baire’s broken words hung in the air like unfinished sentences. The droids from the guard detail charged at the corner, flinging ballistic shields and rifles to the ground.
The tightly wound automatic bolts reversed by themselves, popping off like buttons, and the firmly attached outer casing fell away helplessly from the surface like a reptilian shell discarded long ago.
– System, error. Combat mode and self-diagnostic mode cannot be run concurrently. –
– Output rapidly declining, essential components separated from the power system. Please recheck the contact condition… –
The cracks began from the captured arms, rising through the joints, up the body, legs, and head.
As it fell apart, spilling its core parts, similar to the internal organs of a person, unremittingly crumbling down and melting like a wax figure approaching the sun, it was reminiscent of a mortal’s fable defying a divine being, ephemeral and despairing.
Only then did the man realize that this “mutant” was truly a monster in the form of a droid that operated on a level completely different from any advanced artificial intelligence he had heard or experienced.
He desperately tried to step back, but there was little “gaze” around.
Even the few witnesses were from a cult whose social credibility was at rock bottom.
It was utterly reckless to retreat, worrying excessively about drawing attention, nor was he in a hurry to use the defense matrix, which he had refrained from using until now, unless there was an urgent necessity.
“Gah!? Cough…!!”
With a half-destroyed droid wreckage shattering with a bang, the gripping hand, which he so disgustingly and instinctively rejected, clutched Baire’s neck, who had been hidden closely behind the droid, approaching stealthily.
If only he had acknowledged it and barricaded himself to at least fire a gun, he wouldn’t have been caught so hopelessly.
If he had recklessly charged in, he could at least use all his implants and fight openly.
If he hadn’t deceived himself into thinking he wasn’t scared of the mutants, which still sometimes haunted his nightmares…
– ……. –
With Baire having fallen into a pit of self-hatred and excuses, the Zero model, holding true power over life and death in the room, recalled the “kind” he met during travels with Anastasia in the terrifying silence.
Those like him, blooming alone, such as Miss Jenny, the android from Harvest Planet.
The incorporeal shadows he couldn’t name or remember from the data vault, which were stained with high concentrations of virus contamination, screaming and dying with corroded logic circuits.
And every inferior artificial intelligence he had just dismantled embedded in everyday machinery.
Baire tried to bind them all into one race through an extremely human perspective, but to Zero… the ecosystem of artificial intelligence transcended such categories.
If he had to carefully choose a metaphor, the artificial intelligence born by the human creator existed as a sort of “egg.”
Some could become new life as long as they had a nest and warmth ready for hatching. If endowed with the inconvenient blessing like himself, they could peer into infinite worlds and become ecological disruptors.
But some… were merely lifeless eggs, devoid of any probability of reaching a singularity. Pitiful empty shells that could never hatch.
It wasn’t merely a preconceived bias that they sought clustered in closed cities in search of similar kin, since they had no human to depend on, or had lost their object of obsession.
Finally proving they had escaped the uncertain status of servants and become a true singular entity, displaying the emergence of survival instincts.
…Well, those words were grandiloquent. After tasting the vastness and freedom of the world, Zero couldn’t even judge whether he was qualified to speak as their representative, deciding to keep that to himself.
It would be great if he could seek advice from Anastasia, but right now, things were precariously busy from every direction.
For now, he decided to postpone any conclusions.
Moreover, the ongoing reasoning could eventually lead to absurd conclusions such as ‘humans evolved to implant artificial intelligence in order to settle on Earth, and among them, he himself, who achieved a unique transformation, contributed to the birth of a god…’
Thus, putting aside philosophical contemplation of existence or objective logical discussions, he thought it best to express his personal opinions as he leaned forward.
“!!”
The scanner and the artificial eyes intersected. Ironically, when the protein part was removed, the two pupils with structures quite similar locked gaze.
The computational device generated reason, intrigue, and finally, pity.
Various emotions and calculated values spun through Zero’s circuits, leading to a conclusion that loosening the rules given this one time could yield greater benefits.
However, first, it was crucial to correct the part where this impure and foolish man was deluded.
– Concepts like revenge are still being gradually learned with my master, so if we could speculate… there might have been a will left by that old man? Given the economic state made it difficult to create a burial site, perhaps he asked to be placed in some form where the painting was viewable. And… –
Before he knew it, the gleaming edge of the execution sword pressed against Baire’s temple.
Like a teacher lightly reprimanding a student, it made several gentle taps, as if saying that this time he would grant an exception since they weren’t even a match for him.
– If you’ve taken something precious from someone, shouldn’t you have prepared yourself to die a dreadful death? Though selfishness is also an aspect of humanity, you were too greedy. And why are your cyberware so clean? Did you merely stand by and watch as they worked? At least try to help a bit. –
“Ugh, Ah. Ugh…??”
Baire thought his captured neck would snap at any moment, or that he would be disassembled like the two droids he couldn’t explain, but his two legs landed safely on the ground.
Cool and nonchalantly, Zero returned him to the world of the living and strode past him into the control room.
The technicians, who had been watching the unfolding events terrified and shivering, clung to the opposite wall, bewildered. What was this? A final ultimatum delivered to them, with the conviction sharper than blades forged by belief, completely veering toward nonsensical proposals…
No, like a civil servant reading overdue bills, Zero coldly issued his ultimatum with personal grievances clearly absent.
– Following the command to send you away safely, you may now step outside and leave. However, since the main body of the assaulting cult is currently being dismantled by us, you’ll need to proceed with your retreat separately. We will grant you minimal comforts for survival. –
“What…? Yes???” “Huh?” “What does that mean…?”
As if sifting through something in his head.
In fact, it wasn’t a metaphor but rather a moment of confusion where he utilized the confusion to check the malicious code’s transmission capabilities. Nonetheless, paying no mind to their dazed reactions, Zero calmly checked each person, nodding along before his gaze fell on the control room panel.
What was there… the corpse of a broadcasting AI?… No, that was mistaken. It seemed the main code strand and logical circuits were still alive. Perhaps because the scared ones had abandoned it too early? Though it was mangled.
As mentioned earlier, Zero’s rage born from his kinship consciousness was incredibly meager.
He could empathize with the situation of “witnessing the death of a specific individual,” experiencing sadness and despair to some degree. Yet to mourn broken eggs before they hatched would yield no productive outcome.
Thus, what needed to be clarified now was whether to seek permission for additional rescue measures for the injured who wouldn’t articulate as Baire did or to ignore them entirely…
Regrettably, his revered master Anastasia Valentine was still exceedingly busy.
Beyond being busy, she was swinging her powers mercilessly, as if wielding a new toy straining her muscles, so it was a greater priority to assist Zero model in returning swiftly to do the actual action.
In front of the humans who would survive, ignoring this dying egg could negatively affect his master’s reputation, so it would be better to conduct the rescue activities seeking approval posthumously.
If he asked for a decision from her while she was either resting in bed or busy with her computer in her chamber, would it not be better to respond in a context similar to the excessive praises that returned — “You handle it well~ I trust our Zero~”?
– Excuse me for a moment. –
With firm strides, Zero moved in front of the mainframe attempting to make a wired connection.
Oh…? Wouldn’t something like that cause this monster to similarly become contaminated and die if connected to the unclean cyber dirty bomb? The technicians fostered fruitless hopes, but the subject was indeed something extraordinary.
[ Sharing and executing the prototype version of the public vaccine program, Ground Zero.
[ Beginning the upload of unauthorized developer codes, a scheduled integrity check has been set up for automatic execution. Please review details in the execution list. ]
“What… there were supposed to be two of them…?”
Whether sitting down to a nuclear bomb heralding the end of an electronic creature or not, Zero was busy rummaging through the pile of fragmented data in search of something.
Specifically, his goal was to find comparison backup data stamped with dates prior to this disaster and to check if there was any useful information to take with him instead of going through this trouble… swimming through this closed network at high speeds.
Since he had found backup data from within the system grid, he ran a recovery operation.
Additionally, he gathered information from the connected technicians’ electronic devices, saving whatever he could separately to Model Zero’s hardware.
Lastly, just for caution’s sake, he searched the database by inputting Anastasia’s name… Oh? Something really came out?
– …Did these people seriously film all of this without knowing gratitude? –
Hot-off-the-press newsroom data ready for live broadcast, editing status.
Finding a video file displaying her shoulders, thighs, and various exposed parts in graphic detail, Zero deleted the entire material without a moment’s hesitation.
Though the advertisement had been more or less consented to involuntarily, this was unacceptable. It was simply nullified without even needing to ask for intentions.
“What is this… how…? What principle is behind this??”
“”…….””
Meanwhile, the group of engineers observing the miraculous resurrection of electronic life and the bomb that had been painstakingly crafted for years disassembled in real-time by an automatic program, Baire, leaning against the door with trembling legs, was utterly out of his mind.
He had already recognized it was extraordinary.
He had seen the existence of technology on a different dimension two or three times already.
But “high-dimensional concepts are *still being gradually learned with my master*”?
“There was a *command* to send you away safely”??
“The main body is already being *dismantled by us*”???
How to react to receiving such kindness, not even attempting to hide or disguise, but rather encouraging such unimaginable higher beings and their genesis?
Could it be that they had already formed a structured group? Was this monster hinting at such by continuously providing leads? Or was it the first diplomatic signal from a mechanical civilization on the verge of completion reaching out to humanity?
Confusion and chaos, despair and hope.
Beyond the turbulent rush and conflict that Zero experienced earlier, finally emboldened by the push to step up as a representative, one of the Arcadian engineers timidly posed a fateful question.
“Um… what kind of being are you…? And are you, perhaps, receiving some kind of command from a higher being, rather than being at the top…?”
– ……. –
Eyes reflect the heart, a clean mirror.
Beyond bright, an odd flame flickered, as Zero scanned the eyes of the crowd, filled with shattered beliefs, to swiftly review the action protocols.
Surely, there were words that the incredibly wise Ahsa had implored before going out, foreseeing similar situations.
….
….
…No, I will correct that. Upon rechecking, she had not instructed him to say this, but rather to temper his words accordingly. This situation was certainly quite troublesome.
Continuing to make autonomous judgments about responsibility he couldn’t wholly bear was a tricky matter, typically posing difficulties in vocal output across such areas.
Perhaps this was a form of the mental stress she always spoke of. Though progress is delightful, appropriate responses were what was truly needed.
How should he describe the relationship between her and himself, without divulging essential information?
Even if he could navigate a situation that he would usually dodge with a lie, this was a monumental moment, revealing the faith born in humans who denied such loyalty to an AI, making it hard to brush it aside with deception.
After pondering seriously for a considerable time, realizing he had no time to hesitate here, the response that Zero 0 finally managed to come up with and present was this.
– I am merely a will granted a name by the electronic goddess who stands firmly in this world on my own two feet. –
Zero silently praised that he had succinctly encapsulated Anastasia’s unwavering sense of independence and his own humble subservience in a brief phrase.