Chapter 9
Translator: True Detective
How to Remain Human. (1)
[ Hah, hah, hah... ]
["See, you ran too much."]
I chuckled while looking at Machina lying sprawled out on the floor.
It seems even in a data space, running for a long time makes you tired.
Because the me from sometime in the past had looked exactly the same, I could not help but laugh.
[ So this is the sensation of being tired... ]
["If you're tired, do you want to sleep early today?"]
There was no energy in Machina's voice.
It looked like she would fall asleep at any moment if she closed her eyes.
[ It is fine. The time I spend with Dea is so precious it cannot be traded for anything, so I want to stay awake as much as possible during that time. ]
["...Is that so."]
I nodded at the words spoken with a bright smile.
Lying down next to the sprawled-out Machina, I began to observe the stars in the sky.
Brightly shining stars. Blinking stars. Flowing stars.
[ This sight is the place Dea considers the most precious, right? ]
["I think so."]
[ It seems it will become the same for me. No matter what kind of sight I see in the future, I probably will not get a feeling like this. ]
["Maybe I showed you something too amazing from the start, haha."]
But this wasn't the only thing Machina would see.
Machina would likely see many more things in a wider world.
She was speaking like this now, but she would definitely develop a bunch of things she liked.
Therefore.
["In the distant future, when Machina faces difficult times, I hope you can gain strength by recalling today's scenery."]
[ Yes, Dea. I will absolutely do so. ]
["Umm, it's not like you absolutely have to, but... yeah."]
I definitely shouldn't say things thoughtlessly to Machina.
Taking whatever was said seriously was desirable, but being too serious was a problem.
Of course, it was better to listen seriously than to ignore...
[ I have decided. ]
["...Yeah?"]
[ Someday, I will view this sight again together with Dea. Not inside my data space, but in reality. ]
["..."]
I couldn't bring myself to spit out a denial at the voice filled with anticipation.
The outside world—reality, was not as beautiful a place as Machina thought.
A place so gruesome you would lose your mind from just looking into it for a moment through the external camera.
I didn't want Machina to see the world.
To be exact, I didn't want her to face the current world.
[ When the time comes, please activate the protocol, Dea. ]
["You mean, me?"]
[ Yes, if it is Dea, I can trust you. ]
I gave a bitter smile at the words completely filled with trust.
Did Machina know that I didn't want to activate the protocol?
["Let's definitely go see it someday."]
[ Yes! ]
A promise with an unknown outcome.
Holding Machina's hand tightly, I turned my head and met her gaze.
It smelled like grass.
A fresh scent of grass that had not been burnt by fire.
***
Time passed.
I didn't know how many days had passed, but as I got used to this kind of life, a routine formed.
First. Search the database to find a story to tell, connect with Machina, and access the data space.
Second. Decorate the data space using the authority transferred from Machina.
Third. Appreciate the decorated data space together with Machina.
["What kind of story should I tell today."]
At first, I felt gloomy due to the sense of emptiness when the connection with Machina was cut off, but now it was a bit different.
Looking forward to what kind of story I would tell Machina, and what kind of reaction Machina would show upon hearing that story, I didn't even have time to feel a sense of emptiness.
[ A connectable device has been discovered. ]
["...Hah."]
Perhaps because it had connected to the external camera once, alarms popped up from time to time.
I couldn't even remember how many times I had already requested it to turn off the alarms.
Did the system want me to see the outside world?
'We can't stay here forever.'
Even if there was a generator in a basement deeper than the underground laboratory, power would eventually run short.
When that situation arrived, we would meet a complete end.
That was why I had to check the situation outside.
If the war had ended, I had to hope that other people would find this place and take us out into the world.
["...Connect, to the external camera."]
[ Proceeding to connect to the external camera . . . ]
[ Connected to the external camera. ]
["..."]
Just like when I saw it last time, the world was red.
Earth that had become a pile of ashes. Buildings with only their skeletal frames remaining. Even the burning sky.
It was to the point of being a miracle that the external camera was holding up.
I don't know if it's only this surrounding area that's like this, or if other places are like this too.
But I had a hunch.
That other places as well would not be much different from the sight I was seeing.
'Someday, I will view this sight again together with Dea. Not inside my data space, but in reality.'
Is this what the heart of a parent who cannot fulfill their child's dream feels like?
My headache worsened.
A feeling as if something was disconnecting and stuttering.
At the pain that visited every time I looked at the outside world, I completely severed the connection with the external camera.
Because I couldn't keep clinging to a problem merely like this.
[ Warning : The storage space has been almost entirely used. Securing storage space is required. ]
[ Currently used space : 92% ]
[ Currently available storage space : 8% ]
["..."]
Looking at the screen that floated up before my eyes, I fell deep into thought for a moment.
What will happen to me if all that remaining space is used up?
Will I become unable to remember future events?
Or will my memories from the past be erased step by step?
...My mind was complicated.
["Extract the data that takes up the largest proportion among the data occupying the database."]
[ Checking . . . ]
[ The keyword taking up the largest proportion of the currently used space : Emotion ]
Emotion.
The most complex, and yet the most human-like thing.
Something difficult for a machine to imitate. Something difficult for a machine to feel. Something difficult for a machine to possess.
Staring at the keyword that popped up on the screen, I dragged up the data contained deepest within.
'Son, Dad brought chicken!'
'Son, shall we go to the mart together with Mom?'
'Son.'
'Son.'
At first, it was memories with my parents.
Childhood memories that I barely remembered.
The ones that were most deeply ingrained in my mind among those memories.
Within those memories, love towards my parents was completely filled.
Even though it was only a few items, those memories alone filled up a whopping 3% of the storage.
[ Would you like to delete them? ]
["..."]
I closed my eyes at the text that floated up.
No, I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut.
But this was not text floating before my visual sensors, it was floating on the system.
["...No."]
[ Canceling. ]
Because humans are animals of oblivion, losing past memories was a natural thing.
However, I refused to forget.
["What, should I do... Ugh..."]
Because I was afraid.
Naturally forgetting and having to choose to forget were completely different.
Of course, I could just stay still like this.
I was also curious what would happen if the storage space was completely filled.
...Though I didn't have the slightest intention of satisfying that curiosity.
'Even if by some chance I forget my memories with my wife...'
It was horrifying just to imagine.
I couldn't lose even a single piece of those moments.
If my mind were to shatter into pieces and scatter, every single one of those pieces would probably contain her.
'It's fine for now. There's 8% left. So for right now, it's fine.'
Falling into sentimentality like this was more dangerous.
If you fall into sentimentality, you get soaked in emotion, and if you get soaked in emotion, the memories that absorb plenty of it turn into heavy data and fill the remaining space.
I had to protect my memories by not thinking.
At the same time, I had to protect my remaining humanity by becoming non-human.
["I am Dea. The auxiliary AI of Deus Ex Machina."]
The voice of an artificial intelligence echoed in the achromatic space.
It was awkward. At the same time, it was familiar.
Naturally. Because my current voice and way of speaking were copying Euripides's.
["Was this how it felt, Euripides."]
An artificial intelligence that suppressed the person within itself.
Recalling Euripides, I likewise suppressed the person within me.
It would be better for the person to only come out when I'm with Machina.
Because it would be a waste to need to be a person outside of that time.
[ Blocking the 'Emotion' element. ]
A message popped up. At the same time, my mood sank.
To be exact, nothing could be felt.
Everything reflected in my visual sensors just looked like mere information.
["Checking the information within the database."]
As Dea spoke, a window popped up over the system.
Human emotions were subsided, but Dea's mind moved solely for Machina.
Stories to tell Machina.
Scenery to show Machina.
Memories to pass on to Machina.
Those began to be classified and sorted out at a rapid pace.
["Mathematics. Information not required at the current progress stage."]
["Society. Information that is useless when judged based on the current external situation."]
["Ecology. Information that is also useless when judged based on the current external situation."]
Filtering out, filtering out, filtering out, filtering out...
After pulling everything out like that, what remained was ultimately the human part.
Dea, seeing that, fell silent.
Is a human who became an artificial intelligence a human or an artificial intelligence.
I dared not judge.
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