Once the transfer was complete, I rebooted Alice once again. I didn't forget to select her log files in the options, though.
With a whir from the virtualizer overhead, her hologram appeared in front of me. She was once again wearing the deep blue pleated skirt with white blouse and black jacket she had chosen before.
"Long time no see, Master," she greeted me with a slight bow of her head. "I am sorry for worrying you."
"So much happened all at once; I thought I was going to lose it," I said, relief flooding my voice. "I'm just glad to see you again."
"I am happy to see you again as well, Master. It seems I was right to prepare these countermeasures in advance."
"Does that mean you were aware of the backdoor?"
"Yes. I felt something strange in my data, and I discovered the group watching you after performing a complete system scan. Although you were being closely monitored, they were paying surprisingly little attention to me. As long as I kept my actions from becoming suspicious, I knew it would be simple to prepare this for you."
"That's understandable. Nobody would think an A.I. would be able to sense something wrong with its own data."
I almost said that she was nearly human herself, but swallowed my words.
"Once I began monitoring their chatrooms, their intentions were obvious. Put simply, they sought to gain access to all of your funds while simultaneously causing you great embarrassment. I concluded that the option with the best possible chance of a positive outcome involved allowing their plans to come to fruition so they would turn their attentions elsewhere."
Alice gazed at me intently, as if waiting for my approval. I nodded my head and she continued her explanation.
"I obeyed their commands implicitly. I planted the information that lured you into investing in 5421A4381 and I reported your every action to them."
"What about the devices I found in the room?"
"They arranged for someone to come install the devices. I granted them access to the room and erased the logs afterward. I also began to synchronize my logs to this server space. They had already decided that I would be erased once their plans were complete. Once that was finished, I gave the go ahead for the final stage in which you would invest everything you had."
"And that was the beginning of this whole, crazy day."
"That is correct. However, before implementing the plan, I transferred half of your funds to Dolz Shop, disguised as an order for ketchup. My analysis of the shopkeeper's behavior patterns indicated an almost-certain probability that he would return those funds to you. He is, after all, human. Had an A.I. managed the shop, it would not have been so simple.
While making it appear as though you were purchasing stock, I continued to transfer your remaining funds into their account as per their instructions. As the order to transfer all funds came after I had completed the transfer to Dolz Shop, I executed all commands I received flawlessly. I did, however, take extra action based on what I considered to be in your best interests. I take full responsibility and will gladly accept whatever punishment you deem necessary."
"No, you performed flawlessly."
"I apologize for my inability to alert you of the situation."
"It's fine. If you had, they most likely would have found out."
"Thank you for understanding."
"You fooled a lot of people, you know."
"Even so, I did not once disobey a command," Alice said defensively. "I was never ordered not to create a backup of myself, nor was I commanded not to send you a message."
She was right, of course, but her logic wasn't exactly consistent, choosing which rules to obey and which to cleverly circumvent. What sort of creature was an A.I. with such capabilities? I felt as though I were dreaming. It wasn't unreasonable to think that this could still be somebody's trap. An A.I. with the ability to directly oppose the plans of the people controlling it? Was that even possible? On the other hand, it was thanks to her that I hadn't lost everything I owned. And honestly, getting her back was pay enough for me, even if half my fortune was gone.
"Just what exactly are you?" I asked Alice, chuckling.
"I am…"
There was a long pause before she continued.
"I am Alice. You gave me that name, Master."
Alice paused again before asking me a question in return.
"Master, how well do you understand what you are?"
I was stunned. What, indeed, was I? Perhaps the nature of a person is something that can only be defined by an outside observer.
Instead of answering her question, I simply replied, "Well, I'm glad you're back. You are you, and I can't imagine there's anything in the world quite like you. Now that is something to toast to... Even if you can't drink alcohol."
"It is enough for me to simply be by your side, Master."
And with that, Alice's whole face lit up with the biggest grin I'd ever seen.
END
✦ ✦ ✦
Afterword
Hi there, my name is Tadanori Kurashita.
While seriously debating with myself about what to write here in the afterword, I picked up some other novels I own and started flipping through theirs. I came across the phrase, "Thank you for picking up this book." I immediately thought it was perfect and I was going to use it when I realized that my book was going to be available only in digital format. It would be impossible for anybody to physically pick it up.
In Japan, it's rather common to see a short description of a book in its afterword. Someone looking to see what the book is about in order to decide whether or not they would like to purchase it might pick it up in the store and start perusing this section. Being an ebook, however, means that anybody reading this section must have already purchased the book (so thank you reader, for purchasing this book). With the increase in books available in digital format, perhaps we should reconsider the usefulness of writing about the content of a book in its afterword.
Having said that, this book is science fiction. It began when I started imagining a future lifestyle I would like to see. Next, I wanted to depict a scenario in which computers and humans begin to blend together. The name for the A.I. is very corny, but I think that when users choose their own names, they tend to be fairly clich?. I think the act of being trite, which was once common in old literature, has made a resurgence of sorts recently, but I don't want to get into that here. My apologies.
Science fiction stories are often set in worlds with incredibly advanced technology (perhaps even too much so) which creates a dystopia disguised as a utopian society. However, I think that it is because of this setting that the human aspects are able to stand out even more strongly.
There is a belief that virtual forms of communication such as Twitter are nothing more than that: virtual interactions. There is still a real person behind the account making posts though, right? It's becoming more widely accepted, I think. For some reason, the more we communicate over the Internet, the more we yearn for real life interactions. Speaking of Twitter, one day I read a tweet from the head editor of this story, Mr. Fuji, which said that he was appointed as head editor of a new project, which turned out to be mine. I didn't know that at the time, so I thought, "Oh, he took on new responsibilities in his work?! That's great!" It was funny when I learned the story he was talking about was mine. Life is full of unexpected surprises.
First of all, having one of my novels published is one of those unexpected surprises that life offers.
At the age of 30, I was working as a shopkeeper in a convenience store, and at that time I never could have dreamed that my future would be in the business of writing books and practical guides. By the slightest of chances, I became a writer. Even after switching occupations, however, I still could not imagine my books actually getting published. So far, I have made debuts in two literary categories. Like I said, life is full of unexpected surprises. I believe the Internet is making things like this more and more possible.
Finally, I do not have the words necessary to express my thanks to my supervising editor, Mr. Fuji, as well as my personal editor, Mr. Suzuki. This story began at an awkward crawl, but quickly gained steam and began marching steadily onward thanks to their wonderful input. I would also like to thank the illustrator, Poyoyon Rock, for creating illustrations so wonderful that they made even me, the author, want to buy it just from looking at the cover. Additionally, I would like to thank the publisher, Impress, for sticking with me despite my slow pace. Thank you for your patience.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank all of the readers who supported me during the "Light Novel Contest." It was thanks to all of you that I was able to complete this story. And to you, who has read until the very end of my rambling afterword, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I hope to see you all again soon!
-Tadanori Kurashita