Chapter 16
Translator: True Detective
Turn On the Lights.
'...How much time has passed?'
Even though it was definitely time for a connection request to come, no request came from Machina.
I wonder if she's sleeping soundly because she's tired.
Looking at Machina's body reflected in my visual sensors, I fell deep into thought.
'Should I try waking her up?'
Until now, the connection requests had been made from Machina's side, but I could easily make a connection request from my side as well if I wanted to.
If she's sleeping, I just need to wake her up.
That's what I thought. Though, of course, I didn't put it into action.
'She could just be especially tired. Let's not wake her up unnecessarily. It'll be fine.'
I somehow calmed my heart, which had begun to churn with anxiety.
Anxiety turns into depression. Depression brought about negative thoughts, and negative thoughts ruined me.
Ultimately, what I chose was to remain silent.
To remain silent, and search for something else to focus on.
I needed something to distract my attention.
[ A connectable device has been discovered. ]
["..."]
A message popped up.
A message I occasionally saw in the silent laboratory after the connection with Machina was cut.
["...Connect to the external camera."]
[ Connecting to the external camera . . . ]
[ Connection is complete. ]
There was no shock like last time.
Was that because I had abandoned hope? Or was it because I had given up on expectations?
["...It's the same."]
The sky was still red, and the world remained a pile of ashes.
If there was one thing that had changed, it would be that the ruins had crumbled down, making the field of vision slightly wider.
["Zoom in the camera."]
[ Zooming in the camera. ]
The horizon of the land where not a single blade of grass remained.
I pointed the camera beyond it.
It was the same.
Here, and there.
...Other places beyond there would be the same too.
'Has the world really been destroyed?'
Now, I had to admit it.
That this world was completely finished due to the selfishness and violence of humans.
["How long can this facility operate?"]
[ Operable time of current facility : 421 days ]
Roughly a year and a half.
If you call it long, it's long; if you call it short, it's short.
Considering the situation outside, it would be closer to short.
["Assuming only the minimum amount of power is used?"]
[ Calculating . . . ]
[ Estimated operable time when operated on minimum power : Approximately 36,000 days ]
When calculating under such an assumption, the operable time increased roughly 100-fold.
From 1 year to 100 years.
If it's that long of a time, wouldn't the outside world be able to return to normal too?
'You promised to show Machina the outside world, Dea.'
Of course, it was possible right now too.
However, the problem was that if I did, the world Machina would see was a ruined world.
I didn't want to disappoint Machina.
I wanted her to see a more wonderful world, a prettier scenery.
["...For now, let's leave it as a conceivable option."]
Because a 'just in case' scenario might arise.
So, let's wait just a little, just a very little bit longer.
["..."]
I folded away my thoughts that were trying to become complicated, and began to sort out the stories I would tell Machina.
The most enjoyable thing I could do while alone in the laboratory.
I spent the time like that waiting for Machina to wake up.
However, even as time passed, Machina did not wake up.
["Machina...?"]
I carefully called Machina's name, but there was no response.
Something was wrong.
There had never been a time like this until now...!
["Please, wake up."]
[ Requesting a connection with the entity name Machina. ]
[ Requesting . . . ]
The words 'Requesting' flickered before my eyes.
Please, please, please...
One second felt like an hour.
Restlessness.
Anxiety fell over the laboratory where mechanical sounds flowed.
[ Request Failed. ]
["I-I'll request to connect again."]
[ Requesting a connection with the entity name Machina. ]
[ Requesting . . . ]
[ Request Failed. ]
It was the same no matter how many times I tried.
Request failed.
It wasn't even a connection failure.
Proof that Machina's consciousness had not returned.
At that fact, my thinking circuits were momentarily paralyzed.
At the same time, noise occurred to the point where my visual sensors could not function properly.
["Machina, Machina, Machina, Machina, Machina..."]
The voice module connected to the laboratory began to spit out Machina's name.
Like a broken radio, continuously, continuously, continuously—
'I have to block the resources directed toward emotions...'
This was a kind of error.
An error that occurred because the computing unit could not calculate the torrent of emotions.
Barely holding onto my mind that felt like it would shatter into pieces, I sent a command into my head.
[ Blocking resources directed toward emotions. ]
[ Blocking . . . ]
[ Block Successful. ]
Silence arrived.
The voice module that had been howling just moments before had become quiet like a lie.
Let's stay in this state for the time being.
In a situation like this, emotions were merely an interference.
I had to analyze calmly and cool-headedly.
["Initiating analysis on the body condition of the entity name Machina."]
[ Initiating analysis on the body condition of the entity name Machina. ]
[ Analyzing . . . ]
["..."]
Please let there be no other abnormalities with Machina.
I was in a state where I had closed off my emotions, but I was earnestly hoping for that much.
Was that because I had become the auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina?
Or was it proof that I cherished Machina even in a state where my emotions were closed off?
[ Analysis is complete. ]
After some time had passed like that.
The analysis of Machina's body ended.
Charts and text streamed down before my eyes.
Among them, what caught my eye the most was the four letters written as 'Health Condition'.
[ Malnutrition ]
[ Dehydration ]
["Incomprehensible."]
Malnutrition and dehydration? Machina?
There's no way.
Machina is a machine. There's no way a machine could experience malnutrition or dehydration—
[ A portion of the body of the entity name Machina is composed of an organism. ]
["Display in specific numerical values."]
My words didn't come out properly.
Because suddenly, one fact came to mind.
The majority of Machina's body was machine. However, it meant that my corpse was used as material for completion.
[ Excluding the skeletal structure and brain unit, approximately 47.7% is composed of an organism. ]
["Confirm if operation is possible upon removing the portion composed of the organism."]
[ Impossible. Each material is closely connected, so if the organic part is damaged, restarting is impossible. ]
["Haha."]
A laugh burst out.
It didn't contain any emotion, but it was a laugh containing multiple meanings.
["Initiating calculation of the period Deus Ex Machina can survive in its current state."]
[ Calculating . . . ]
[ If the current state persists, survival is possible for a total of 421 days. ]
421 days?
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
Because it was a number I felt I had seen somewhere before.
["Initiating comparison with information on the database."]
[ Operable time of current facility : 421 days ]
["..."]
If I had a human body right now, I might have grabbed my head.
The reason Machina's survival time and the facility's operable time were the same.
Machina's life directly depended on this underground laboratory.
In short, if the operation of the underground laboratory ceased, Machina would die.
'A conceivable option?'
It was completely wrong.
It wasn't a conceivable option, it was an option I should have started a long time ago.
If things go on like this, Machina will die in less than a year.
I had no intention of just standing by and watching that happen.
Absolutely not.
'I want to talk with Machina one last time.'
I didn't want to proceed with things as I pleased under the pretext of it being for Machina's sake.
It was the same even when viewed excluding emotions.
I am strictly an auxiliary AI.
It would be absurd for me, the auxiliary AI, to cause a scene without asking the opinion of Machina, the main one.
[ Requesting a connection with the entity name Machina. ]
[ Requesting . . . ]
[ Request Failed. ]
In the end, the communication did not connect.
'Should I wait.'
When do you think Machina will wake up?
If you wait like this, what are you going to do if all the time eventually passes?
Do you really want to meet Machina because you don't want to proceed with things as you please?
And not because of your personal desire?
Doubts regarding the mutterings in my heart poured out relentlessly.
[ An overload is occurring in the thinking circuits. ]
["...Ah."]
I definitely cut off the resources directed toward emotions, but they had become active again at some point.
Yes, at the final moment, I ultimately end up moving according to my emotions.
["Machina."]
Looking at Machina through my visual sensors, I called her name quietly.
Is she sleeping comfortably?
Isn't she groaning in pain?
Machina was fast asleep, almost as if she were dead.
["Are you having a good dream?"]
A voice mixed with mechanical sounds flowed out through the voice module.
Even though it was a body that couldn't cry, clear moisture lingered in the voice.
If I had known it would suddenly turn out like this, I would have met her with my emotions active yesterday.
Test run or whatever, why on earth did I do such a thing.
Regret rushed in, but there was no time to be regretting.
["The next time you wake up, I'll do all the things Machina wants. So..."]
[ Setting the power usage required for facility operation to the minimum level. Entering sleep mode. ]
Please, let us be able to see each other again.
With that short muttering, my consciousness dyed black.
Fade to black.
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