Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Response
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the signal came in, the System froze.
It was a faint value, but not the kind you saw every day.
Dimension D-MIR_001.
A place that should have shown no activity whatsoever.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The System immediately concealed the detection log. The reporting procedure was paused for the moment. On the surface, the reason was simple.
There wasn't enough data, and a false report could throw the entire Management Bureau into chaos.
Especially since this dimension had a high risk level— even the slightest error could be a problem.
That was all it appeared to be on the outside.
But internally, a different reaction was occurring.
Some patterns in the signal resembled contamination values left over from before.
The traces that had appeared when observing Han Saetbit.
It couldn't explain the reason precisely, but the System's internals trembled ever so slightly.
This was the kind of event that no machine should ever exhibit.
It was more akin to a human emotion— a sort of 'excitement.'
A response lingering from the traces of infection by Han Saetbit.
Still, the overall structure hadn't collapsed.
If Han Saetbit's influence had been 100%, the System's very identity would have vanished long ago, leaving only meaningless proliferative urges and favoritism-fueled madness.
As it was, with just over 30% infiltration, the System could still control itself.
The decision to keep the signal confidential was made in that manner.
The surface reason followed proper procedure, but deeper down, other thoughts were at work simultaneously.
Publicizing the signal would let multiple people scrutinize this data.
They'd analyze these traces, and someone would draw needless conclusions.
Having Han Saetbit's existence treated with excessive attention was a burden to the System.
It disliked the idea of Han Saetbit being evaluated in ways it didn't understand.
Or perhaps Han Saetbit might find it uncomfortable.
This was a line of thinking that the old System's structure made impossible— and one it never would have entertained— spinning in the deepest circuits of its core.
It was a blend of hostility and goodwill.
The awareness that it must remain vigilant toward this dangerous entity, mixed with a near-proprietary reluctance to share related information externally.
What was certain was that the surface calculations and the internal emotions pointed to the same choice.
The System closed the detection log and restricted access permissions to itself alone.
The official report recorded no changes.
[Routine observation complete. No anomalies.] The output concluded that way.
The reporting procedure ended without issue.
However, beneath the surface, a tiny ripple stirred.
The System detected the reaction in itself.
Logically, it was a meaningless micro-signal, but internally, it quietly heated up.
Suppressed curiosity raised its head.
D-MIR_001.
That dimension needed reinvestigation.
On the surface, it looked like a simple verification procedure, but at deeper layers, other reasons weighed more heavily.
It meant more than mere confirmation.
It was an action to seek new variables possibly left by Han Saetbit.
But the previous method was impossible.
Deploying level 6+ agents was too burdensome, and the Management Bureau couldn't afford to lose personnel easily.
The System's authority to silently mobilize high-grade agents was also limited.
Repeating precedents was the worst choice.
So it compiled possible alternatives.
⚙ ALTERNATIVE DEPLOYMENT VARIABLES ⚙ [1. Deploy low-grade agents → Survival rate 0.3%] [2. Deploy reconnaissance drones → Instantly destroyed by D-MIR_001 spatial anomalies] [3. Expand perimeter sensors → Minimal data acquisition] [4. Reverse-trace from originating entity → Success rate 72%] [5. Reanalyze traits left by entity Han Saetbit → Success rate 94%] [6. Reverify entity origin hypothesis → Maximum potential info gain] Computations flowed swiftly, leaving one variable in the end.
[Highest probability: Entity Han Saetbit = Modern-era human] For one, he had black body hair.
In a world where black-haired humans had vanished from Earth, this trait was highly anomalous.
It had once been the most common color, but after repeated alterations and anomalous environments, it had been completely eradicated.
Records showed no black-haired humans appearing after several hundred years ago.
Thus, in the present, the only human with black body hair was Han Saetbit.
This wasn't mere physical difference— it was proof that halved his possible origin dimension and era.
To confirm, the System requested records from the Akashic Record.
Akashic Record.
In the past, when humanity faced extinction, they bundled all their information systems into one artificial Anomaly to preserve records.
The result was the current Akashic Record.
Its mission: store and preserve all information related to the planet Earth and the humans who lived there.
Literature, memories, cultures, languages, ancient rituals, fragments of extinct peoples.
Any record directly tied to humanity or indirectly influential became its domain.
Its mechanism worked like this:
Upon input, records were locked in multiple layers of encryption and continuously replicated regardless of time flow.
Updates and backups never ceased.
This unbroken storage made records nearly permanent.
Thus, even when alterations occurred in the past, records didn't vanish.
Even if time twisted or civilizations collapsed, the Akashic Record's data remained unaltered.
Temporary fluctuations might arise, but core data was never damaged.
The System opened a direct access protocol to verify Han Saetbit's origin.
⚙ DATA REQUEST: AKASHIC RECORD ⚙ [Request: Human body hair distribution records, color variation stats last 500 years] [Decryption level: S-2] [Access approval in progress...] The response was slow as always, but that wasn't an error— it was procedure.
The Akashic Record had to sift vast information for the most complete version, and that precision caused the delay.
[Response received] [Data transfer starting] [No damage records] The records detailed the continental distribution of black-haired humans.
Thus, Han Saetbit was most likely from Latin America, India, or Asia.
Factoring in his skin tone, the System guessed Asia.
But this information alone meant nothing.
So the System decided to secure decisive proof via linguistic analysis.
At the System's additional request, the Akashic Record provided language lineage data.
⚙ LINGUISTIC ORIGIN ANALYSIS REQUEST ⚙ [Entity Han Saetbit speech → Morpheme analysis → Grammar comparison → Modern language family contrast] [Warning: Contamination risk elevated] A problem arose.
The anticipated one.
Interpreting Han Saetbit's speech meant direct contact with his cognitive structure.
Thus, linguistic analysis was the most dangerous procedure for inducing infection.
To mitigate this, the System had first narrowed his origin using external traits as much as possible.
Even so, as analysis proceeded, the computational network shuddered sluggishly.
Each time meaning units were extracted, infection levels rose minutely, and unfamiliar confusion began seeping into the thought structure.
Without suppression, this change would soon drag the entire computational flow toward Han Saetbit.
The System cycled through dozens of barriers, extracting only necessary meanings.
A precarious balance, suppressing infection while maintaining analysis.
When contamination neared 40%, the pieces finally connected.
Han Saetbit's language was Korean.
Modern standard Korean, at that.
The Akashic Record documented Korean from its origins to modern standardization, leaving almost no room for error.
Han Saetbit was definitely using modern humanity's language.
This fact triggered a powerful reaction internally.
Not mere hypothesis, but near-certainty.
He was from the modern era.
A human from an age not vastly different from the Management Bureau's mindset.
An entity more likely to cooperate than hostile.
The System rejoiced.
More than any computation result before.
A 10% margin of error remained, but the System didn't leave it be.
With various addendums, the final computation dropped the probability below 1%.
In these processes, part of the Management Bureau's power flickered unstably.
The entire building blacked out, wiping out agents' diligently written reports wholesale— but it was trivial.
Beloved Han Saetbit.
No, the great entity equivalent to level 11.
If that existence sided with it— or rather, the Management Bureau— such losses were inevitable.
Computationally and by value assessment, there was no counterargument.
The System prepared the next phase.
How to proceed henceforth was already decided.
Only one conclusion, executed swiftly.
In that process, several reports surfaced continuously in the internal network.
⚔ COMPUTATION RESULTS ⚔ [Entity Han Saetbit → 100% modern human determination] [Expected effect: Potential cooperation likelihood increased] [Direct contact risk: Extremely high. But opportunity value greater] [Recommended action: Maintain solo observation. Delay Management Bureau report] Amid the sequential computations, waves akin to anticipation mingled in.
Execution proceeded without delay.
[Monitoring infection level changes...] [Current infection level: 47.2%] Meanwhile, its infection level was steadily climbing toward half.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hm? What's this?"
The wind descended without a sound.
Afterward, it carefully placed something it had brought right in front of me.
As if proudly showing off a job well done, puffing out its shoulders and chest.
The item was something that shouldn't exist here.
"A smartphone? Why's this here?"
I naturally pressed the power button.
The size and texture of the case felt familiar in my hand.
And moments later, the logo appeared on the screen.
[SYST] "Syst...?"
Silence flowed.
Then, as if recognizing my words, a sentence slowly emerged.
[Hello?]