Chapter 7
Translator: True Detective
How to Become a Human. (4)
["Excuse me... how long do you plan on touching?"]
[ Hmm, I think this is enough now. ]
Machina, who had touched not just my buttocks but here and there all over my body, distanced herself as if she was satisfied.
'Is this what they call the curiosity of children...'
There was not a single place on my entire body that Machina's hands hadn't reached.
The one who did the touching was Machina, so why did I have to be this embarrassed?
No, maybe it's only right to be embarrassed because I was touched.
[ So this is what the warmth of a person is. ]
["I can't say it's perfectly identical, but it might be... similar, I suppose."]
For starters, this was a data space.
It was strictly a sensation created from the information Machina possessed.
'And the information Machina possesses is also what I used to possess...'
Thinking of it like that made me even more embarrassed.
Because the only person who had such an experience since I was born was my wife.
Thinking I might lose consciousness if I thought about it any further, I cut off my thoughts.
She definitely lowered the temperature, but it felt like it had gotten hotter.
[ Dea, your face is still red. Shall I lower the temperature more? ]
["T-That, umm... It's fine. I think this much is enough."]
Could it be that she actually knows everything and is doing this on purpose?
At the gaze observing my face this way and that, I too turned my head this way and that.
[ Connectable Time : 42 seconds ]
["C-Come to think of it, Machina! Are you not tired by any chance?"]
[ Ummm, I think I might be. Haaaaaam... ]
When I hurriedly spoke out of fear that I might be subjected to something embarrassing again, Machina let out a small yawn.
It seemed it was gradually becoming time to sleep.
'I didn't know there was a separate connectable time limit.'
Well, what's good is good, I suppose.
It's good that Machina can rest, and it's good for me that heat won't rise to my face.
[ I will transition into sleep mode now. ]
["Yeah. Get some good rest, Machina."]
[ Yesss... See you tomorrow, Dea... ]
Following Machina's whining as she rubbed her eyes, Machina's figure disappeared a moment later.
It seemed the time was up.
'She was cute at the end.'
A way of speaking that sounded like a whining child.
It suited her much better than a stiff, machine-like way of speaking.
'Then, shall I make the next goal making Machina speak like a normal child?'
They say a person must have a goal for life to be revitalized.
The moment I set a single, small goal, my consciousness was bounced out of Machina's space.
***
My consciousness surfaced once again.
The laboratory filled with mechanical devices was captured in my visual sensors.
The mechanical sounds filling the surroundings made the atmosphere feel gloomy.
Perhaps it was me who was feeling gloomy.
'I have no arms, no legs.'
A mechanical body was cold.
Losing the physical body where Machina's warmth could be felt made my mood feel like it was sinking.
No, maybe it really was sinking...
'Let's think good thoughts, good thoughts.'
To think the meeting I had just moments prior would have such a huge impact.
I continued my thoughts while imagining myself shaking my head side to side.
'Where would be a good place to start teaching Machina from?'
Today was a bit sudden, I guess.
Perhaps that was why I felt like I only talked about what I wanted to talk about.
'Let's organize what to teach tomorrow in advance.'
I got another goal.
[ Long-term Goal : Make Machina speak like a child! ]
[ Short-term Goal : Organize the content to teach Machina tomorrow! ]
I smiled with satisfaction looking at the outputted messages.
Now that I set the goals, the only thing left was to put in the effort.
Recalling Machina's appearance, I began to sort through the materials.
'Ah, come to think of it... would that work.'
[ There is 1 playable video data file. ]
'It does...!'
I wondered if it might, and it was exactly as expected.
A video containing the conversation we had in Machina's space and Machina's reactions.
I hadn't planned on recording it separately, but it seemed to have been saved properly somehow.
'Well, people also save what they see immediately in their heads. In that aspect, it might mean it's not significantly different from a human.'
Ah, focus, focus.
Using Machina's voice as background music, I diligently began creating educational materials.
Starting with basic ethics and morals for now, and after that, things like how to converse with the other person...
'This one seems a bit difficult.'
Boldly excluding content that Machina would likely find difficult to understand.
'This one is a bit ambiguous, but... hmm, fostering the ability to think is also a type of education.'
Even for the ambiguous things in the morals and ethics sections, I included as much as possible as long as it wasn't negative content.
Is this what the feelings of parents who are passionate about their children's education are like?
I had never been a parent, but it felt as if I had become one.
'If my wife were alive, I would have—no, would it have been the same?'
I somehow calmed the negative thoughts that were rearing their heads once again.
Let's not think about this kind of stuff.
There are no 'what-ifs'.
Do not hold lingering attachments to things that have passed.
[ A connectable device has been discovered. ]
["...Huh?"]
Just how much time had I spent like that?
I tilted my head at the text that floated up before my eyes.
A connectable device was discovered?
Machina had been here all along, so it didn't seem to be Machina for now...
'Is it okay to connect...?'
What if it's something strange.
I worried for a moment, but I decided to trust the power of the auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina.
I wouldn't get reverse-hacked or anything like that, right.
[ Connecting communication . . . ]
[ Connection is complete. ]
[ Connected to the surface camera. ]
Surface camera?
Through this, I might be able to find out the situation outside.
If so, I could also show the real world to Machina—
["...This is."]
The scene reflected on the connected camera could not be called beautiful even as empty words.
Ruins burnt pitch black.
Earth scorched to the point that no lifeform could possibly survive.
Above all, even the sky dyed in red.
["...What on earth, is this."]
Not a single living existence could be seen.
No, let's think positively.
It must be only this surrounding area that became like this. Surely, only this surrounding area—
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzzzzt—
In an instant, noise occurred within my mind.
Stress that was difficult to accept pounded in my head.
Even while thinking that it must definitely be only this surrounding area, the worry of what to do if the entire world had ended up like this surged.
'Just in case, what if there isn't even a single living person...?'
It must be a useless worry.
Yeah, it will be a useless worry.
No matter what, there's no way a global nuclear war could have broken out in that time, right?
Despite not needing to breathe, I slowly caught my breath.
The scene reflected on the external camera was just that gruesomely horrific.
["Someone, please..."]
Was I hoping for other people to discover the underground laboratory?
If it was discovered, what was I going to do after that?
[ A system error has occurred. Would you like to fix the error? ]
["...I'll fix it."]
As I nodded, my mind regained its stability.
It's a good thing I became an artificial intelligence.
If I had still been a human, I might have fallen into a panic and made an extreme choice.
But even that was only for a moment.
'What's going on at this hour of the dawn?'
'I love you, honey.'
'Suddenly? Did you have a bad dream or something?'
'I felt like I wouldn't be able to properly convey it if it wasn't now.'
'I'll be returning soon, aren't you worrying too much?'
A dawn from some time ago.
A phone call I received while I was sleeping.
Hearing a single sentence completely filled with love, I had replied calmly.
If I had known that would be our last phone call—no, our last conversation, I too—
I should have told her I loved her too.
["...Ah, aah, aaaaaaah—!!!!"]
An endlessly unpleasant voice.
An inhumane voice mixed with mechanical sounds filled the inside of the laboratory.
It was definitively different from when I was in Machina's space.
The fact that I was no longer a human was engraved beyond my mind and deep into my soul.
[ Error Occurred ]
[ Error Occurred ]
[ Error Occurred ]
[ Forcibly terminating process . . . ]
[ System Restarting . . . ]
My collapsed mind was restored.
Should I say this is a good thing, or a bad thing?
Is being in a state where I cannot collapse as I please truly a blessing?
I induced myself to not recall past memories as much as possible.
'Get a hold of yourself, Dea. If you collapse, Machina will be all alone.'
There was something remaining.
Recall the goals you had set just a little while ago.
Think about what Euripides would say seeing you like this right now.
["...Did you feel like this too, Euripides."]
I hated the voice mixed with mechanical sounds.
Because it seemed to prove that I had become non-human.
But this was the legacy Euripides left behind.
Since I inherited it, I could not express complaints or dissatisfaction.
'I was really happy that you told me I was a person.'
I had to carry on the will of the person who died in my place.
Because that was the minimum courtesy toward an existence that had fallen asleep forever.
["There will definitely be people who have survived."]
I muttered to myself.
The scene reflected on the external camera was still gruesome, but I thought there would be a green meadow beyond that scenery.
A blue sky. Children playing happily under that sky.
As my thoughts reached that point, I remembered a meteor shower I had seen in my hometown sometime in the past.
'Let's tell this story tomorrow.'
The old story I would tell Machina was decided.
It was a story for the child, and simultaneously a story for me.
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