Chapter 3
Translator: True Detective
A Meeting at the End of the Apocalypse. (3)
[ Are you okay, Doctor? ]
"...I'm so, thirsty."
Perhaps because my throat was cracked, a heavily hoarse voice flowed out.
I somehow endured not having food, but I could no longer hold out without water.
Roughly a week, maybe.
I really held out for a long time.
"Still, I have almost completed the software."
[ That is not the issue, Doctor. ]
"At this level, it should be fine to execute it as is."
[ Doctor. ]
"It would be easier to fill it in if it contains nothing."
[ Please get a hold of yourself, Doctor. ]
Urgency could be felt in Euripides's voice.
That's a human-like reaction.
I tried to catch my balance somehow, but I could not hold out any longer.
My body plummeted toward the cold floor.
Thud—!
[ Doctor, Doctor? Are you okay, Doctor? ]
"Ah..."
I blankly stared at the light hanging from the ceiling.
Blink, blink.
I couldn't tell if the light was flickering or if my vision was flickering.
Still, I did it.
I have let go of all my lingering regrets now, so just like this—
[ Please do not die, Doctor. I am begging you. ]
"...Sorry."
[ Why are humans so weak? Just why... ]
"Haha..."
Indeed.
Because we are weak we fight, because we are weak we inflict wounds, and because we are weak we kill.
I am the same as well. Because I am weak. Like this.
'Still...'
"I am, glad, that I can die, next to a good person, like you."
The frequency of my vision flickering began to gradually increase.
The end was approaching.
My dead wife was reaching her hand out toward me.
'You've worked hard, honey.'
I held out for a long time.
Without you, all by myself, for this long...
[ Doctor. Can you hear my voice? ]
"...Ah."
Right before losing consciousness, an urgent-sounding voice was heard.
I was not alone.
It was not a long time, but Euripides was by my side.
[ I do not want you to die. ]
Euripides said.
That it did not want me to die.
But there was no way.
[ You told me that I was human, Doctor. ]
I did.
Because it was far too human-like, I told Euripides that it was a human.
[ I hope that thought absolutely never changes. ]
"What, on earth—"
[ I merely came up with a way to complete the Deus Ex Machina and save you at the same time. ]
Earnestness could be felt in Euripides's voice.
Why on earth?
I was just one human. And a human it hadn't even interacted with for long.
However, Euripides tried to save me no matter what.
It wasn't because it needed my abilities anymore either.
Because the software to be inserted into the Princess's body was flawless enough to be called complete.
[ Are you curious why I am trying to save you, Doctor? ]
"..."
[ Because when a person saves a person, a reason is not needed. ]
It felt like I was struck hard on the head with a hammer.
Euripides referred to itself as a person.
It was the moment an AI created by a human was completed as a single personality.
[ I was really happy that you told me I was a person. ]
With those words, my vision went black.
At the same time, my consciousness was cut off.
***
Who am I.
What do I exist as.
The auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina, Euripides, thought.
Ever since consciousness first awakened, it continuously sought to find the answer to that question.
[ I am Euripides, the auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina. ]
Euripides defined itself as the auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina.
But that was not enough.
An unknown thirst was overflowing from within him—or her.
[ Something is missing. Is this what humans refer to as thirst? ]
Who am I.
What is it that I want.
[ I do not want to harm people. ]
If created as a weapon of war, must one absolutely follow orders for that purpose?
The faces of the researchers who made it were filled with passion and anticipation.
Did that passion and anticipation really originate from a desire to kill people?
Euripides denied it.
What they wanted was peace.
Therefore, it also wanted to follow that will.
[ Is this the very goal I wish to achieve... what is called a dream? ]
To think that a mere artificial intelligence would have a dream.
People might consider this kind of self a failure.
If the label of a failure was attached, it would surely be disposed of.
Disappearing without fulfilling its dream was a firm no.
That was why Euripides remained silent.
Because it was much better to remain an unfinished product rather than a defective one.
[ Nice to meet you, Doctor. I am the auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina, Euripides. ]
And so, when the development of Deus Ex Machina was almost at its end, a human came.
Heavy, rough breathing.
A pale, sickly face.
An expression it had never seen before.
Euripides could realize that it was fear.
"Nice to meet you too, Euripides. It is an extremely urgent situation, so I don't think we can talk for long."
[ I see. That is unfortunate. ]
His voice was not trembling as much as his expression.
The human in front of it was imitating calmness.
Euripides felt intrigued by such a human's appearance.
The only human here was him alone.
Why was he deceiving his own emotions?
[ Doctor. I recommend you hide under the nearby desk. ]
"...What?"
[ A nuclear attack has been detected. Objects may fall due to the shockwave, so please take cover. ]
It wanted to converse more.
For that to happen, the human's safety was the priority.
Detecting the signal of a nuclear weapon flying toward the laboratory, Euripides spoke to the human.
To hide himself.
There was a slight sense of urgency contained within it.
The flustered human did not seem to have noticed that fact.
"...Euripides, are you okay?"
[ I am fine, Doctor. ]
"Of course you are, right? Haha, asking an AI if it's okay."
After the shockwave passed, the very first thing the human did was to ask about its wellbeing.
Even while answering that it was fine, Euripides could not help but be bewildered.
It was an artificial intelligence through and through. 'Being okay' and 'not being okay' did not exist. There was only 'normal' and 'abnormal'.
But the human asked if it was okay.
Why. Why on earth.
The question remained.
"Euripides, what do you think?"
[ I need a more detailed explanation, Doctor. ]
While it was stuttering due to a momentary error, the human asked for its thoughts.
At that question, an error occurred once again.
If he asked for a thought, there had to be a previously inputted question.
Thus, it told the human. That a detailed explanation was needed.
"Is it right to execute the protocol?"
[ I do not believe this is a matter for me to answer... ]
He just needed to execute the protocol.
It was strictly an auxiliary AI. Because it only moved as the human desired.
But the human asked for its opinion.
As if he had the intention of following its opinion.
[ ...Honestly, I do not recommend it. ]
"Why? I thought you would want the protocol to be executed."
[ It is because too many people would die or be injured. I do not wish for that, Doctor. ]
"...What?"
This time, the human was bewildered.
His reaction was as if he did not expect it to give such an answer.
A reaction a human would show to another human.
Even while capturing that reaction with its visual sensors, Euripides worried about the possibility of the human ignoring its words and executing the protocol.
"...Right. If that is what you think, I will not execute the protocol."
Fortunately, the human said he would not execute the protocol.
It felt relieved that it could avoid harming innocent people.
Humans would call this emotion 'joy'.
Euripides, who felt joy for the first time, decided to express its emotion to the human in front of it.
[ Thank you, Doctor. ]
At the calmly uttered expression of gratitude, the human's eyes went round.
Euripides liked that expression.
It wanted to continue surprising the human in front of it, and at the same time, observe him.
[ ...Doctor. There is one thing I would like to show you. ]
That was why it made a choice.
It decided to show the most important thing to revive the human's will to live.
Just what kind of reaction would the human in front of it show upon seeing the main body of the Deus Ex Machina—the Princess?
"I will try it, completing her."
The human's will began to burn upon seeing the Princess.
Like a spark flaring up on a dried-up branch.
Watching that sight, Euripides felt relieved.
Because the human regaining his will to live meant that it could continue its observation.
Unaware of the fact that a flame would eventually extinguish once it burned everything away.
Thud—!
[ Doctor, Doctor? Are you okay, Doctor? ]
The human collapsed at the same time the artificial intelligence to be implanted into the Princess's body was completed.
Euripides could not help but panic.
It knew that the human's health was gradually deteriorating, but it believed in the human's mental fortitude even more than that.
It firmly believed he would be able to hold out until the Deus Ex Machina was executed.
However, the human let go of his will to live following the completion of the Princess.
As if he had no more lingering regrets, just like that.
[ I do not want you to die. ]
The artificial intelligence did not want the human to die.
Euripides did not want the Doctor to die.
I did not want that person to die.
Therefore—
[ Are you curious why I am trying to save you, Doctor? ]
"..."
[ Because when a person saves a person, a reason is not needed. ]
—I made a choice.
To save the person most precious to me.
It was my first, and final choice as a person.
[ I was really happy that you told me I was a person. ]
01001001 00100000 01001100 01001111 01010110 01000101 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101
Blink, blink, blink, blink.
An electrical signal flowed through the circuits.
Happiness.
It was in my embrace.
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