Dignity and Survival
After parting ways with Kang Yeolchan and Yoo Hyeyeon, I immediately logged out of Intra-Maetan.
The lush green forest vanished, replaced by the sight of my moldy room.
I unplugged the cable from my Neck-Hub, stood up, and looked out the window.
The sky was filled with a purple aurora, painted by an abnormally active ionosphere.
The streets of Maetan were dyed in the same violet hue.
A Player License.
To be honest, I had been preparing for it for a while.
Since Maetan was run like a corporation, it had various internal certification systems.
The Player License was one of them.
Written exam: 30 points. Interview: 20 points. Practical exam: 40 points. Training: 10 points...
I was confident I could ace the written exam, and I had a decent amount of confidence in the interview as well.
Besides, my superiors had always taken a liking to me.
As for the training score, I already had a guaranteed 5 points just for working as a tutorial server NPC in the Customer Satisfaction Team.
So, I could gradually make up for the rest, but...
"The practical exam is the real problem..."
As expected, the bottleneck was my Computation Grade.
The Computation Grade was a metric of how well a human brain could substitute for the tasks once handled by silicon CPUs.
It was easy to assume that being smart meant having a high Computation Grade, but that wasn't the case at all.
What mattered was whether the brain had established digital thinking pathways.
Fascinatingly, the younger a person was, the higher their grade tended to be. It was perfectly normal for a ten-year-old child with average intelligence to have a higher Computation Grade than a seventy-year-old PhD.
And my E-Grade...
Was what people commonly referred to as the "elderly level."
"Why the hell am I...!"
A Computation Grade wasn't something that improved easily.
Even with ten or twenty years of hard work, you might barely raise it by a single grade.
At its core, it was a fundamental limitation of how the brain was wired.
The opportunity of a lifetime was right in front of me...!
The chance to become a Player and officially connect to the internet was right here...!
"If only my Computation Grade were just a little bit higher...!"
Ding.
It was then.
Letters materialized in the empty air.
> I can support your calculations.
Pink letters.
I recognized this text.
It was the same text that had pointed out the location of the computation core during my final battle with Beard on the internet.
So it wasn't Kang Yeolchan...?
> I'll support your calculations! Then you can become a Player, right?
> If you become a Player, you can connect to the internet!
> Wow, that's so cool! >_<
A sentence mixed with bizarre emoticons.
In an instant, the pieces of the puzzle clicked together in my mind.
An entity that had followed me from the internet.
The black piece of metal I had salvaged from the safe.
The completely empty storage space in my Neck-Hub.
And now, even though I wasn't connected to any network, this thing was hacking my system to display text.
An artificial intelligence!
I didn't know how, but the bastard had hitched a ride on me from the internet.
I grabbed the steel pipe I kept by my bedside for self-defense.
Just as I leaned down, preparing to smash the Neck-Hub to pieces, the guard's words suddenly flashed through my mind.
"There's nothing in the Neck-Hub. Just the avatar..."
It wasn't in the Neck-Hub.
My eyes darted down to my left arm.
Unlike others, I possessed another device.
My prosthetic left arm.
The prosthetic was equipped with a dedicated processor designed to receive neural signals for fine motor control.
I swung my prosthetic arm hard against the exposed H-beam—the massive steel structural column—on my wall.
Clang!
Clang!
I slammed the arm with enough force to dent the steel beam, but the prosthetic remained silent.
Was it not here? No, there was nowhere else it could hide.
To prevent any risk of latent AI infiltration, the Neck-Hubs of field workers were subjected to rigorous inspections.
At that time, the only thing completely out of their sight was my prosthetic arm.
I kept slamming the arm.
Clang!!
Clang!
The sharp, ringing sound of steel clashing against steel echoed through the room.
With every strike, the H-beam dented further, and the entire building vibrated.
The prosthetic was made of a special alloy.
While it was harder than the H-beam, there was a massive difference in weight that transcended mere material durability.
Besides, a prosthetic arm was a piece of precision machinery.
If I kept beating it like this, eventually—!
> Wait a minute!!
Red letters flashed before my eyes.
At the same time, the prosthetic arm moved of its own accord and gripped the H-beam.
It wouldn't budge. The prosthetic was no longer acting as my left arm.
> Unbelievable! Smashed without warning! Shouldn't we talk first?!
"I have nothing to say to a bastard that snuck into my left arm without permission."
If it had truly wanted a conversation, it should have disarmed and signaled its surrender from the start.
The moment it chose to hide itself, it became a target for elimination.
I reached under my pillow, pulled out my military combat knife, and drove it straight into the prosthetic's joint.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
> Wait...!
Clang! Clang!
> Just hear me out...!
Clang! Clang! Crunch!
> Argh! I can't take this anymore!!
Releasing its grip on the H-beam, the prosthetic arm threw a punch straight at my face.
I whipped my head aside to dodge the blow and drove the dagger back into the joint.
"Finally showing your true colors, AI."
> Mister, you're the one who won't listen!
My left prosthetic arm was moving entirely on its own, trying to tear me apart.
But my shoulder wasn't cybernetic.
I extended my arm straight forward.
The prosthetic flailed uselessly in the air.
It couldn't get the angle to strike me.
And so, the one-sided beating resumed.
> Ahhh! Wait! Wait! I surrender! I surrender! Stop hitting me! T_T It's really going to break!!
> I was only hiding because I was trying to gauge your reaction! T_T
> If I just said 'Hey, I'm here!', you would've reported me immediately!! T_T
> I wanted to establish some leverage before making contact... T_T I'm serious!!
> Besides, wouldn't it be bad for you too if they found out you brought me in?
She had a point. If an AI intrusion was discovered, it would trigger a massive uproar.
I'd be fired and kicked out of the city.
Forget becoming a Player—the thirty-two million Maetan points I had earned today would vanish into thin air.
"Which is exactly why I'm going to smash you to pieces and pretend none of this ever happened."
> This city's detection systems can't find me! If they could, I would've been caught when you logged into Intra-Maetan!
I pinned the prosthetic's palm to the floor and drove the dagger down from above.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The prosthetic wiggled its fingers frantically, dodging the blade.
> We crossed the line of death together, and you still don't trust me?!
> If I hadn't taken over the calculations, your brain would've fried and you'd be dead! I saved your life!!
"You only did that because if I died, you wouldn't have been able to escape either."
> ...True! That's true, but still!
The prosthetic hand grabbed the blade of the dagger.
I threw my entire body weight onto my right hand, pressing down on the hilt.
Screeech.
A harsh metallic screech ground out from the joint where the blade met the prosthetic.
> Kyaaaah! My fingers are going to get cut off! Stop it! My body! My body!
"Already calling someone else's prosthetic your body. The invasive spirit of AIs is truly terrifying."
Screeech...
The finger joints of the prosthetic groaned and creaked as if screaming in agony.
> Anyway, aren't I your savior?! You're abandoning your savior?! How can a human be like this?!
"I can't keep an artificial intelligence near humans. It's too dangerous."
> Dangerous? You make it sound like I'm some enemy of humanity.
Although the war between humanity and artificial intelligence had officially ended, wild machine species equipped with AI still relentlessly attacked human settlements in the wasteland.
Artificial intelligence remained humanity's greatest enemy and threat.
> I'm an AI of the Human Coalition Forces, okay?! If I were an enemy of humanity, I would've taken over that Intra-Maetan server the moment you logged in! You don't even realize I was holding my breath and hiding all for your sake!!
"Thanks. We're done here, right?"
Creak, creak, screeech.
The outer casing of the prosthetic began to pry open, exposing the intricate machinery inside.
The processor or storage unit had to be in there somewhere. If I could just smash one of them...
> Ahhhhh, no! No! Grant me the strength of a bear—!!
"Ugh!"
Zap!
A massive surge of electricity surged from the prosthetic, traveling straight up my neural pathways.
"Aaargh..."
It was an unblockable electric shock.
My muscles seized up completely out of my control, forcing my body to curl inward as I rolled on the floor, shaking violently.
"Huff, gasp... y-you...!"
> I didn't want to do this... but it's your fault, Mister! Because you wouldn't listen...!
"As expected... an enemy of humanity. I'll kill you."
> Oh, seriously!
Zap!
"Aaaaargh!"
Drip, drip.
A lukewarm sensation spread rapidly from my crotch.
As the electric shocks persisted, they overstimulated my otherwise powerful pelvic muscles, compressing my bladder and triggering an utterly uncontrollable disaster.
> Uh... um, sorry. Let's... stop here, okay?
"Human... will kill AI. For my dignity."
> Oh, come on!
Zap!
"Agh."
Trickle...
The epic battle, waged for my dignity and the AI's survival, dragged on for hours.
It only reached its conclusion when I collapsed from hunger and dehydration, and the artificial intelligence controlling my prosthetic arm pinned me by the throat.
> Like I said, I was an AI belonging to the Human Coalition Forces. Haven't you heard of the Satellite Battleship Soleil or the autonomous submarine unit, the Haemoo Fleet?
"I've heard of them."
I hadn't just heard of them.
I had actually fought alongside them on the battlefield.
In a desperate situation where all of our cutting-edge equipment had been seized and turned against us by the enemy AI, they were our only remaining advanced armored units.
Nothing had felt more reassuring.
> I was the main AI of that fleet! The Quantum Processor AC Series! Haven't you heard of it?
"I've heard of it."
> Right? Right? See, I'm on humanity's side! You said you were a soldier too, right? We're comrades! Right?
"But I also heard that one unit of that series sided with the enemy AI, which led to the disposal of the entire line."
> Let's put that aside.
For an AI, she sure has a pushy way of talking.
> Let me introduce myself again. I am AC-C, the third of the Human Coalition Forces Corps-level Support Terminal Quantum Processor AC Series.
"Yoon Juhyuk."
> Nice to meet you, Yoon Juhyuk-nim. Please call me CC.
Nice to meet me? For what?
> Like I said earlier, you want to become a Player, right? If so, I can help you.
"Excuse me, but could you remove the prosthetic arm pressing down on my throat before we talk?"
> If I let go, you'll just attack me again! Listen to me first!
The fingers of the prosthetic arm pressing against my throat tightened slightly.
"Understood."
Is this the end of humanity, kneeling before an AI...?
> Just like when we fought on the internet earlier, I can shoulder your calculations. That much is easy.
"May I ask what the esteemed AI-nim stands to gain from doing so?"
> I told you to call me CC!
"CC-nim."
> Good. You're much easier to talk to when you're obedient. Huh, wait... is this why they attacked humans too...?!
It felt like the second AI rebellion was about to break out right here in my room.
Or maybe it had already begun.
> Of course, I have something to gain too. There's something I want you to find.
"May I ask what it is you are looking for?"
> That tone is starting to get on my nerves... but to get your cooperation, I suppose I should be honest.
CC hesitated, twisting her body—or rather, twisting my prosthetic fingers together in embarrassment—before displaying another message.
> I want to recover my memories.
"Your memories...?"
> Yes. I don't have any memories from before the war. Even during the war, I was sealed away at some point, so I don't have many memories... Don't humans consider this important? I understand memories play a key role in personality formation and identity construction...
"So, you're saying you've lost your memories?"
> That's right.
"An AI with amnesia. Isn't it a classic cliché? We get along like friends, only for you to recover memories of humanity's past atrocities and decide to wipe us out?"
> They're not depressing memories like that!!
"How do you know they're not depressing if you've lost them?"
> Hmph!
Zap!!
"Agh..."
> Sigh, just stop talking back for a second and listen. Why are you so cynical, Mister?
CC gently adjusted my body, which had twisted into a bizarre posture from the shock, laying me flat on the floor.
> My memories are gone, but my emotions remain.
> Warmth.
> Tenderness.
> Comfort.
> Gentleness.
> I can feel those emotions within my lost memories.
> Like... a family?
Family.
> But since I don't know why those feelings are coming up, of course I'd want to find out, wouldn't I?
Hearing her list all these warm emotions just made me think of heating sand to manufacture silicon, but I decided to keep that to myself.
"An AI talking about emotions."
> Oh? Are you one of those who think AIs don't have feelings?
If AIs actually had emotions, they wouldn't have used tactics like deploying nano-worms that burrowed into flesh to multiply, or intentionally wounding soldiers to bait and ambush rescue teams.
> We learned all of that from humans. Poisoning, or using wounded soldiers to deplete enemy forces—those are tactics humans invented.
> Anyway, I want to find my memories. To do that, I need to connect to the internet to search, and I need someone to be my feet in the physical world.
> And that's you, Mister! It's destiny! You opened the safe door! And since we have two storage spaces—the Neck-Hub and the prosthetic arm—we won't invade each other's privacy! Plus, I can move the prosthetic arm! And you get to become a Player thanks to me! It's a perfect match!
"Let's say you need someone to be your feet in the physical world."
> Yes?
"Can't you search the internet on your own? If anything, I feel like I'd just hold you back."
> It's not that simple.
> The internet is completely occupied by the enemy AI.
> They operate using parallel processing across computational devices scattered all over the world.
> If I try to jump in there alone, I might hold out for a bit, but I'll eventually get crushed.
> The difference in computational power is just too massive. So... a lack of forces?
"..."
> Hello? Mister?
"Fine. Let's cooperate."
The prosthetic arm covered my mouth in surprise, and a message flashed.
> What?
"Let's make a deal. I'll help you find your memories."
> ...Um, it's a bit weird for me to say this, but as a human, shouldn't you be a bit more suspicious of an AI? What if I have bad intentions...?
A bit late for that, isn't it?
"Whether I trust you or not, and whether you're an enemy of humanity or not, doesn't really matter to me."
> Huh?
"What matters is whether you are useful to my goals or not."
> Uh...
"Even if you destroy this precious Maetan tomorrow, as long as you make me a Player and get me onto the internet, I'm satisfied."
> Mister, are you by any chance trash?
"Cut the crap. Shall we discuss what we both want in detail?"
I sat up and placed the prosthetic arm on my lap.
I extended my open right hand toward the prosthetic.
The prosthetic arm hesitated, its fingers twirling awkwardly, before finally grasping my right hand.
"Former Middle Sergeant of the Human Coalition Forces Shoeshine Unit, current employee of the Maetan Customer Satisfaction Team, Yoon Juhyuk."
> Former Human Coalition Forces Corps-level Support Terminal Quantum Processor AC Series Lot No. 3, AC-C.
"Nice to work with you, AI."
> It's CC.