The God of Science
Are you my father-in-law?
Perhaps the praise had been somewhat effective after all. Dr. Kuroi lifted the corners of his mouth and began chatting about this and that.
“Hmm, kid. What sort of research got you into this place?”
“Ah, my field is ESP-related research.”
“Oho—ESP, is it. That must have been rather difficult to get approved. It’s such an esoteric field with no clear continuity—”
“It really was. My project was about manifesting ESP in beastmen. Activating it proved to be quite…”
“W-what did you say?”
Dr. Kuroi’s eyes flashed as though he believed he had misheard. I confirmed that he had not.
“It’s research on manifesting ESP in beastmen.”
“Heh, hehehe—I see. A rather difficult subject. Did you succeed?”
“Yes. I succeeded.”
“I-I see… Over a decade ago I succeeded in developing artificial intelligence and was invited to Scholar as its fifth member.”
“Oh, that’s impressive.”
I had assumed he earned his seat in Scholar for creating the AI android standing beside him, but apparently that wasn’t the whole story.
Well, of course. There was no way someone capable of building something like that had gone unnoticed until then.
Developing strong AI had simply been the explosive culmination of his accumulated knowledge and intellect; it was not his final destination.
“Beastmen manifesting ESP, though… The academic consensus has always been that beastmen are incapable of it. Could the theory that they are fundamentally animals be wrong? In that case, from a biological standpoint…”
Dr. Kuroi began muttering to himself, sinking deep into his own world. A classic scientist’s habit. Watching him, I let a faint smile touch my lips.
There had been a time when I thought sharing my knowledge with the people of this world was a meaningless endeavor. That belief had not changed, yet… enlightening those who burned with a pure thirst for knowledge was always thrilling.
Their desire overwhelmed every other human instinct and remained purer than any craving. Watching them devour information so greedily sometimes reminded me of a child begging for sweets.
“You said you realized it? May I see the result?”
“Yes. The successful footage should be available on the internet.”
“On the internet? And the government simply allowed that?”
“Yes. They didn’t raise any objections, surprisingly.”
“Impossible. Those people live in terror of their system collapsing. There’s no way they would sit idle while the world learned that beastmen can be granted ESP… Lucia.”
“Yes, Master.”
At Dr. Kuroi’s command the beautiful maid robot stepped forward. Lucia extended her hand gracefully, and a hologram projected from the back of it, instantly playing the uploaded video.
As expected of a strong AI, she had deduced exactly what her master wanted from the conversation alone.
The hologram displayed Galrm unleashing beams at the heroes inside a massive stadium. Dr. Kuroi watched with rapt attention, then his eyes suddenly widened in realization. He turned to me with caution.
His voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
“This individual… is a villain affiliated with Evils Enterprise.”
“Yes, Master. He is a villain belonging to the evil organization, known as Galrm. The Association has designated him an S-class villain.”
“And the fact that an Evils Enterprise villain is using technology created by this young man means…”
Having grasped the implication, Dr. Kuroi’s gaze transformed completely. The condescending look he had given me earlier vanished, replaced by one of pure reverence.
The change was so swift it was hard to believe it was the same person. I was still processing the shift when Dr. Kuroi asked carefully.
“You… You are the one who designed our Lucia’s circuitry, aren’t you?”
“…There’s no need for formal speech. What’s with the sudden—”
“No, no. That simply won’t do. Aah—! For this stubborn old fool to have shown such disrespect…!”
Dr. Kuroi dropped to his knees. Watching a middle-aged man in his fifties kneel was awkward enough, but that gleaming bald head made my heart ache even more. That cursed affliction. Even Earth’s scientific prowess could not cure that heartbreaking condition…
“O God of Science…! Please quell your anger and grant your humble servant new knowledge once more…!”
“…I’m not a god. I’m just an ordinary scientist.”
“That cannot be true! The achievements you have accomplished can only be described as the language of the gods! If a being such as yourself is not a god, then who possibly could be?!”
I awkwardly helped Dr. Kuroi back to his feet. The man was already at an age where his joints didn’t look particularly reliable; I didn’t want to be responsible for him injuring himself and feeling even worse.
Yet even after standing, he maintained an attitude of utmost reverence. I let out a sigh. I had expected there would be people like this. To the people of this world, my knowledge must seem like the very language of the gods…
Still, I never imagined it would appear even among the members of Scholar—the greatest minds of the age, the treasures of humanity. Regalia and the researchers at Evils Enterprise, who had seen my blueprints first, had never reacted this extremely.
Then again, maybe it’s precisely because he’s a genius of this caliber.
Just as someone of mediocre talent cannot comprehend even a single movement of a true master, perhaps most scientists of this world simply couldn’t grasp the technology hidden within. But a fragment of Dr. Kuroi’s genius had allowed him to glimpse the truth behind it. In that case, I should be admiring his talent rather than blaming the others.
“Ah, that’s right. Lucia, greet him properly. This is your true creator.”
“…Error. My creator is Master.”
“Yes, I did create you. However, this person created the very foundation that made your existence possible. Without him, the probability that you could have been built is extremely low.”
Lucia tilted her head in apparent confusion before carefully lifting the hem of her skirt and bowing.
“—I greet the Creator. Master, what level of authority should I grant the Creator?”
“Obviously all—”
“That won’t be necessary. Lucia is Dr. Kuroi’s treasure, after all.”
I stopped Dr. Kuroi before he could hand over any strange privileges. I had no intention of stealing control of someone else’s android. I did, however, have one request.
“—Instead, may I take a look at Lucia’s circuitry?”
“It is far too crude to show to a god, but…”
“Not at all. I’ve been curious how you managed to build her with it.”
“In that case… though it shames me… Lucia.”
“Yes, Master.”
With those words, Lucia turned around and shed her maid uniform. I was startled for a moment by the sudden disrobing, but then steam hissed from the back of her head and spine as panels opened.
I watched the almost romantic sight, then let out a low groan at the sight of the densely packed circuits inside. I could see traces of Dr. Kuroi’s desperate attempt to understand my toy circuitry, yet to my eyes several connections were a complete mess.
“Dr. Kuroi. Would it be all right if I made some adjustments?”
“—What are you saying? You need no permission from the likes of me. A god asking a human’s permission…?”
“Seriously, can we drop the whole ‘god’ thing…”
Listening to Dr. Kuroi’s endless stream of praise—which should have grown tiresome by now—I reached toward Lucia’s exposed circuitry. Fortunately, this place was filled with every piece of equipment I might need to modify it in real time.
After deciding what needed fixing and how, I led Lucia over to the cluster of machines.
Time to tinker a little…
Honestly, I just couldn’t stand by without offering some helpful guidance.
Dr. Kuroi watched Eight’s hands with such intensity that his eyes threatened to dry out. He could not look away for even a single moment. Closing his eyes would have been unforgivable.
The hands of a god were performing miracles in real time. How could he possibly dare to look away? He absolutely could not.
Just what is he doing…?
Yet even the greatest intellect of the age, Dr. Kuroi, could not comprehend the movements of those divine hands. Why shift that connection there? Even though he had barely begun to understand Eight’s circuitry, it remained profoundly mysterious.
Was there anyone in this world who could truly understand the meaning behind those gestures? He thought Scholar should rename itself the Eight and the Seven Apostles.
The sacred moment passed quickly. When the miracle was complete, Eight wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke.
“All done.”
“Ooh, God of Science…! Thank you!”
“I told you to stop that…”
Eight reactivated Lucia’s power switch. The open panels on her back and head closed, and her previously closed eyes opened once more.
Dr. Kuroi watched the newly awakened Lucia with eager anticipation. Since the hands of a god had touched her, he could not even imagine how greatly his Lucia must have changed.
Had she gained super-computational power capable of hacking every computer on the planet? Or had she become a true super-AI that could develop and evolve on her own?
Contrary to those expectations, the moment Lucia opened her eyes she let out a sharp scream and collapsed to the floor.
“Kyaaaak—?!”
“…Lucia?”
“M-Master—I’m sorry. W-wait, why am I… Something… Something feels strange…”
Lucia, now sitting on the floor, clutched at her front and hurriedly pulled her clothing back up. Coolant fluid—meant to regulate her temperature—glistened in the corners of her eyes.
Seeing this, Dr. Kuroi looked at Eight with dawning realization.
“G-God of Science. This couldn’t possibly be…”
“It’s not that different. I only made a few simple adjustments to the circuitry. Her original processing speed is a little faster, latency is reduced. Roughly that level of improvement.”
“…That’s not all, is it?”
“Hm? Ah—yes. She is an artificial intelligence, after all.”
The god had reached out to the steel doll. And so the doll that had only moved along its strings began to move of its own will.
“I added emotions.”
With a single gesture, the god had turned a doll into a human being. It was nothing short of a miracle.