“Good, so you do know where I’m coming from,” Ryo said. “Higgins may be ultra high-performance, but he’s the same as every other AI in that he exists as software and data, rather than the actual hardware he runs on. So, if we run the normal shut-down process for Higgins and shift his data, it’s not like anyone can shoot a laser and destroy it. Besides, if we do this the attackers will have lost their objective. The attack will become pointless, and they should pull out.”
Gathering his courage, he looked Yoshino’s hologram right in the eyes. This was the best plan he could think of.
“That’s why I need your authority as administrator of this facility, Mr. Yoshino,” Ryo continued. “I need your authorization code to initiate Higgins’ normal shut-down routine. While that’s happening, I can order Methode—through Kirino—to destroy the mass-produced Koukas.”
After hearing both plans, Yoshino again made his decision without any hesitation or thought.〈Alright then, shall we go with Higgins’ plan?〉
“Higgins’ plan?” Ryo was so surprised that he couldn’t help but repeat Yoshino’s words. “You’re saying we should free an ultra high-performance AI while it’s under attack?! Are you trying to end humanity as we know it?”
But Yoshino, who had relied on Higgins for all his answers for decades, trusted the ultra high-performance AI more than he trusted humans.
〈There’s no guarantee Higgins will do what you’re saying he will, if we execute his plan,〉 Yoshino said stubbornly. 〈I’ve worked with him for twenty years, and I’d say the probability is actually very low. On the other hand, for your plan you’re just hoping the mass-produced Koukas can be taken out before they do major damage, right? If Higgins’ hardware is destroyed, we may not be able to bring him back online even if we shut him down properly and protect his back-up data. If we lose Higgins and, with him, our company’s lifeline, how will you make it up to our six thousand employees and their families?〉
This adult was happily leaping over the line Ryo had tried to shoot Arato to protect. “You have no idea what Higgins will do to protect his own life,” Ryo growled. “Are you really ready to take full responsibility for what happens when we free him?”
Yoshino was silent, gazing at Ryo without a word. Ryo suddenly had the horrible feeling that pinning the blame on a rampaging high schooler would definitely be something Yoshino would think of.
Sure enough, from the safety of his lofty position, Yoshino said, 〈Of course, we would need someone to take the fall for it. Perhaps we could say it was all the work of an out-of-control high schooler?〉
“Are you insane?” Ryo asked incredulously. “You’re about to push the button that will end our world and you’re trying to find a scapegoat?”
Ryo’s entire body was dripping with icy sweat. If MemeFrame had become a nesting ground for people like Yoshino, he figured it would be fair to call the company truly evil. He was starting to think that it would be better to break Higgins’ power source and shut him down by force than try to work with the assholes from the company. His frantically beating heart screamed that doing so would cause the mass-produced Koukas to withdraw, and that at least his own life would be preserved. But shutting down an ultra high-performance AI by force had been what caused the Hazard: he, too, could be pulling the trigger for a worldwide calamity.
Apparently thinking he had won Ryo over, Yoshino explained what he thought was the sound logic of his argument. 〈Being willing to sacrifice other people’s livelihoods to uphold your own version of justice is to be expected from someone your age,〉 he said, perhaps thinking himself gracious. 〈But I need to look after the people who work at MemeFrame. That’s my top priority.〉
A sudden, violent shock rocked the Operators’ Room, and the security system started blaring an alarm; the Antibody Network’s mass-produced Koukas were already halfway down the IAIA-required emergency access route. Since Lacia was disabling sensors as she went, it was impossible to pinpoint exactly where she was, but Ryo was sure she had also passed the halfway point.
“We’re being played,” Ryo said. “We’re being used to ensure that Lacia has time to make it here and fight Higgins.”
Higgins was still in complete control. That was the power of the Higgins faction. To the executives of the faction, losing their ultra high-performance AI would also mean losing the source of their power and authority. Since worshiping Higgins and leaving the company to him had produced the best results, members of the Higgins faction were left free to do nothing but pursue internal politics. They would do whatever it took to preserve that status quo.
Ryo looked down, gritting his teeth. He didn’t want Yoshino to see the rage plain on his face. After being analog hacked by Higgins for so many years, Yoshino had become a gaping hole in humanity’s defenses, no longer capable of moving against his own programming.
〈I know she got quite roughed up during the incident with Methode, but, with the way things are going, I think we may need to consider having Shiori take a little responsibility for these events as well,〉 Yoshino said.
Amazingly, Ryo managed to keep calm despite the old man’s threat to his sister, and raised a cool face to look at Yoshino once more. “If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, just give me control of the security system,” he said. “I need to give Methode some orders. Right now she’s just running around out of control!”
Even Methode’s fight with Lacia at that moment may have been part of Higgins’ plan. Higgins had been the one, after all, to assign Methode the ability to have multiple owners, which was one of the things that made her the most difficult to control.
〈I have no intention of trusting in you or Methode, with her listening to your orders. Using violence to threaten your elders and betters and forcing them to take responsibility for things they are quite unrelated to is also something I would expect from someone your age,〉 Yoshino sneered. 〈I won’t fall for your little plan. If you want to talk with Methode that badly, just link Higgins up with the security system. You won’t need my authorization or anything to get through to her, then.〉
Ryo could understand the logic in what Yoshino was saying, but he couldn’t find any words through his rage. Suzuhara, who was still in the room with him, brought him to his senses. “You’re getting a murderous look on your face, Kaidai,” he said. “You were the one who chose to come here. Don’t forget why.”
〈So this time you’ve decided to switch sides to stand with the president’s son, Suzuhara?〉 Yoshino asked, turning to face the slow-speaking director.
“Surely you’re joking, sir. Of course not,” Suzuhara said. “Ryo here has me at his mercy. I’m all set for retirement, myself, but you’ve gotta admit this kid’s story gets you right in the feels, right?”
Suzuhara turned so Yoshino could see his hands, which were behind his back, through the screen. At some point, without Ryo knowing, Suzuhara had managed to tie what appeared to be a necktie around both wrists, just as though Ryo himself had bound Suzuhara.
Ryo let out a long breath to calm himself down. His angle for the discussion wasn’t too different from the things he had said when chasing after Arato. Though, of course, there was nothing similar between Arato and this old man who was trying to make a minor take the fall for him.
“Seems like there’s all sorts of things you and I want to say to each other, but let’s cut to the chase, Mr. Yoshino,” Ryo said. The truth was, he barely even knew Yoshino. That was to be expected; most of the problems and conflicts in society stemmed from the involved parties being unfamiliar with one another.
“You and I share two problems: the Antibody Network and Lacia,” Ryo went on to clarify. “But, neither of us currently sees the other as an ally.”
For just a moment, Ryo saw Yoshino’s mouth relax, as though the old man thought that things were going his way. That single movement spoke volumes to Ryo. His emotions and sense of justice screamed at him to condemn Yoshino and all the shitty old men who stood behind him, because in that moment, he knew they were the ones who’d gotten both Arato and himself caught up in that explosion all those years ago.
“But neither of us has anyone else we can negotiate with,” Ryo said, pushing on and maintaining his calm facade. “No one’s going to show up with a better offer for either of us.”
〈So you’re finally willing to talk business, eh?〉 Yoshino asked.
“Business?” Ryo couldn’t keep the sharp note of frustration out of his voice, this time. “Our personal interests aren’t the problem here.”
Higgins was pulling the strings behind the whole situation, but Ryo had hoped the men who had been brainwashed into blind obedience by their unearned incomes would at least retain their ability to make judgments on their own. He needed Yoshino to show some modicum of self-direction.
Ryo had to fight down the rage that had been building inside of him for ten years, and allow this man one last chance to make a good choice. He felt like he might start coughing up blood as he forced himself to continue talking.
“Let’s say you and I are shogi players, sitting across the board from one another,” Ryo said. “And, off to the side sits Higgins, a pro player. This whole game he has been bothering us, telling us how much better he is at the game. He keeps demanding that we let him play against us, even offering us a large handicap.”