Chapter 5:
Child Rearing
IN AN OTHERWISE EMPTY ROOM, Number 3588 lay curled up under a blanket.
“A failure… I’m a failure…a failure…”
She had been branded a failure by both Theodore and the researchers who had created her. Now 3588 spent all her time alone, with no one taking an interest in her. At this rate, would she be disposed of like all the other specimens? That fear plagued her.
“I don’t want to be disposed of… Why am I a failure…? No… I don’t want to die…”
As she sobbed to herself, she heard a voice, though she had no idea where it came from. “How dare those idiots fail over and over like this? They don’t even know what I’m going through for them. At least I can collect their negative emotions. Still, do they really think this project will be enough to beat Liam? They’re throwing away this golden opportunity…”
The room had a thick door, and there’d been no sign of it opening. It hadn’t opened in quite a while, in fact, since the researchers dumped 3588’s nutritious food in through a small hatch in the door.
“Who’s there? Where are you?” Sitting up, 3588 spotted a top hat resting on the floor beside her. “A hat?”
She reached for the hat, and small arms and legs sprouted from it.
“Wah!” Number 3588 exclaimed.
The hat performed a movement almost like a bow. “Pleased to meet you, little lady. I am the Guide—he who will show you the way.”
“Show me the way?” Number 3588 cocked her head as the Guide spoke in his affected manner. Since he was a mere hat, his showmanship came off as comical, and 3588 was highly amused. After being locked in this empty room for so long, the Guide’s appearance provided her with some much-needed stimulation.
“Do you know the purpose for which you were born?” the Guide asked her.
This question saddened 3588. Everyone around her had already told her that she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her purpose. “To kill Liam…but I can’t do it.”
“Why not?” the Guide asked gently.
“Because everyone says I’m a failure,” 3588 explained. “They say I can’t kill Liam, so I’m useless. I could be killed at any moment.” She wept over her inability to fulfill the purpose for which she had been brought into the world.
“You’re wrong about that,” the Guide said firmly. “You can fulfill your purpose. You aren’t a failure. You’re a miracle—with the potential inside you to kill Liam.”
“I-I’m not a failure? But I get out of breath right away, and I’m not that strong…”
“Non! Non, non, non!” The Guide jumped up and spun in midair. “You’re the blade that can reach Liam that I’ve been waiting for! True, on the whole, your abilities can’t hold a candle to his—but you’re still able to display power that rivals his, at least for a short time!” He landed and struck a pose.
All of a sudden, 3588 smiled and applauded. She was thrilled to hear the Guide’s praise. His affirmation told her that it was okay for her to live, which brought her tremendous relief.
Looking up at 3588, the Guide said, “You still have time to grow. During that time, I will educate you. With my help, you’ll become stronger.”
Number 3588 was happy to hear that she could build her strength, but something else the Guide said was even more important to her. She brought her face right up to the hat. “R-really?! You’ll stay with me?!”
“Huh? Uh, yeah…” the Guide wasn’t sure how to respond to her enthusiasm. Still, he pulled himself together quickly enough and struck another pose, clearing his throat. “I will provide you with education and support until the day comes when you fulfill your purpose. After all, I can’t count on anybody else here to do their job.”
Smiling ear to ear, 3588 exclaimed, “I’m so happy! Starting today, I won’t be alone anymore. It’s the first time I’ve ever been so thrilled!” She wept with joy.
Once again, the Guide wasn’t sure how to respond. “I-is that so?”
✦ ✦ ✦
The next morning, the Guide’s days with 3588 began. He took advantage of the fact that no one in the facility cared about her to do as he saw fit. He bought her toys with money he stole from the researchers and read her picture books. Those were his strategies to get on good terms with her, and they worked immediately. Day by day, 3588 cared more and more for the Guide. He felt a little like she had already developed too much affection for him on the day they met, but he didn’t want to make any more mistakes in his fight against Liam, however trivial. Thus, he was careful to build his relationship with 3588 as much as he could.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What are we going to play today?” Number 3588 asked innocently.
She always blindly accepted anything the Guide said, and she had no qualms about her mission to kill Liam, no concern over whether it was right or wrong. She would simply do it because she’d been told to.
Still, the Guide was putting plenty of effort into his role as her playmate. “Shall we chat today?”
“Yay! I love talking with you, Mr. Hat!”
“Well then, why don’t I tell you how that vicious villain Liam has tormented me? Yes. This was back when I was searching for negative emotions, plunging people into despair. All I wanted was a little bit of fun, you see…” The Guide gesticulated with his tiny arms and legs. “But Liam is a bad guy who likes to torture me! He stole my little bit of fun and shoved the revolting feeling of gratitude onto me instead! I was just enjoying myself by making people a little unhappy, but Liam wouldn’t even let me do that!”
The Guide’s story, scummy as it was, saddened 3588 deeply. After all, the Guide had become an incredibly important person to her—the one she had spent the majority of her young life with. “Poor Mr. Hat…”
The Guide’s only response to that, frankly, was to think, Why should I need sympathy from you? Gross! Still, he had a soft spot for the girl, who wasn’t even aware of the tragedy of her own circumstances. Treating the most valuable part of their plan to kill Liam as a failure… Theodore really is useless.
From the Guide’s point of view, 3588 had much more potential than the AI the researchers were developing. True, she was a girl, and she hadn’t met the criteria they had desired, but she had developed the ability to exert strength that rivaled Liam’s in a very short time. She was more than sufficient as a trump card.
“Heh heh heh… Thanks,” he told her. “Grow big and strong so that you can kill Liam, okay?”
“Yeah! I’ll do my best!”
Under the Guide’s direction, the girl progressed quickly.