Over ten minutes had passed since Ryo and the others in the Operators’ Room had lost sight of Arato and Lacia.
They had, however, watched Snowdrop devour Methode. With ten floors between them, they had been powerless to help her. The speakers that might have connected them had been destroyed by Higgins-Methode to halt Lacia’s aural interference.
“What are we going to do about her? I doubt we can stop her now,” Ryo Kaidai asked Suzuhara, who was staring hard at the security system feed on the monitor. The situation was dire enough that even Suzuhara was pale, his normally unconcerned look completely gone.
Ryo had gotten used to seeing pale faces in his two months of hiding. It was a look someone got when they were staring death in the face; overwhelmed by tension and fear. The sight of Snowdrop devouring a machine that looked very human was mind-shatteringly grotesque.
After the horrific amalgamation of Snowdrop and Methode had finished fusing, she turned her gaze toward the cameras. The feed cut out, and did not resume.
〈She appears to have burned the cameras with particles from Type-004’s Liberated Flame,〉 Higgins explained, before they even had a chance to ask. 〈However, since she is using artificial nerves to reroute energy to the device, it appears the circuits burn out with each use.〉
Ryo weighed the danger of getting information from Higgins and being manipulated by him against the danger of not having information, and made his choice. “How much of Methode’s capabilities does Snowdrop have now?” he asked. “Her body is broken down, so her athletic abilities should have taken a hit, but can you predict where her movement and combat capabilities are at?” he asked.
〈Type-002’s artificial nerves are the base form of the artificial nerves used in Type-004’s body, which is allowing Type-002 use of Liberated Flame. However, the materials she is using as a replacement for the device’s original energy conduits lack sufficient durability. She can only use Liberated Flame at less than five percent of its optimal output.〉
Higgins’ prediction wasn’t an optimistic one; even at 5% of its maximum output, Liberated Flame could easily roast a person.
〈Regarding her athletic ability,〉 he continued, 〈it has been lowered to near human levels. However, her skeletal construction is completely different from a human’s at this point, so it is difficult to make a straight comparison to human capabilities.〉
Ryo sensed danger in the words Higgins had chosen. “Cut off the AASC updates to the Snowdrop/Methode chimera. Do it now!” he demanded.
Higgins had talked his way right around the point, and Ryo knew exactly why. Higgins was continuing to update the AASC for the Snowdrop/Methode amalgamation. That was how Snowdrop was able to move around in her newly-constructed body without any difficulties.
〈Acknowledged. Since it was cut off earlier, I am currently updating the AASC for zero hIE units.〉 Higgins discarded his secret without any hesitation, and the chimera’s smooth movements suddenly became awkward.
But, she kept moving.
“How long until Snowdrop gets here?” Ryo asked.
〈Approximately twenty-five minutes.〉
Higgins’ hardware was stored directly beneath the Operators’ Room, so Ryo and the others were directly between Snowdrop and her destination. If she reached the Operators’ Room, no one would make it out alive.
“Is there a way to stop her?” Ryo asked.
〈Even if I was connected directly to the security system, it is no longer possible for me to stop her.〉
Ryo believed Higgins’ words. With his main job of maintaining the AASC outside lost, Higgins should have been appealing whatever usefulness he had.
Suddenly, the lights in Higgins’ Operators’ Room dimmed, and the soft voice of Kirino, the security system AI, chimed in. 〈The second and third reserve power generators have been simultaneously destroyed. The security system was not alerted to any threat until immediately before the destruction,〉 it said.
There was no way Ryo should have forgotten the other threat hanging over them, but the report dumbfounded him until he remembered; there was a much more straightforward, violent force heading their way, as well.
“The mass-produced Koukas,” he said.
Lacia had paralyzed the security systems in the facility as she went along. There was every probability that the Antibody Network had the same information and tools to freeze the security system that she did. The Network was dancing on some other ultra high-performance AIs strings at that point, after all.
“Higgins, tell me the safest route to get out of here. It only needs to work for one person,” Ryo said.
〈I require data from the security system to answer that query,〉 Higgins replied.
Suzuhara, whose clouded square face was already wrinkled with tension, drew his eyebrows down even further. He was the only one in the room with actual control of the security system access. That was exactly why Suzuhara knew Ryo had asked his question to Higgins specifically to get him thinking.
“Kirino, could you please find a safe route for us to escape? It’ll need to be for two people,” Suzuhara said, his middle-aged voice light.
The Operators’ Room shook inauspiciously.
〈Are you abandoning me?〉 Higgins asked.
“We aren’t throwing you away. The organization will live on,” Suzuhara replied. He then lightly tapped the base of his chin to activate his internal communication device. “Are you alright with this, Mr. President?” he asked.
A video window of the transmission appeared in the air. Ryo’s father, Tsuyoshi Kaidai, must have just gotten out of a meeting, as he had taken off his jacket and loosened his tie.
〈Higgins? Right now, despite the entire world market crashing and our company being at the center of the Hazard, our stocks are soaring. I assume you understand what this means?〉 Tsuyoshi asked.
Even Higgins couldn’t escape the realities of the organization and society itself.
〈This is almost certainly manipulation from one of the other ultra high-performance AIs. The IAIA has taken the job of updating the AASC away from me. At the moment, MemeFrame has no resources that would account for our stock prices increasing,〉 Higgins replied.
〈Precisely. The IAIA came to the same conclusion, and have been asking me for an explanation,〉 Tsuyoshi said. 〈However, setting the circumstances aside, the truth is that after the AASC was taken out of your hands, our stocks recovered to their average from before the Mitaka Incident. I assume you understand what that means? The entire world is pushing responsibility for the Hazard onto us. In this situation, it is beneficial to the company to shut you down for a time.〉
MemeFrame was capitalizing on the world’s desire to isolate Higgins in order to boost their stock prices. Under those circumstances, Ryo doubted the stockholders would agree to reconnect Higgins until a thorough viability study was conducted. Higgins had become a burden; as long as MemeFrame left him running, the whole world would mistrust the company and—at least until a study had been conducted—he couldn’t do any work for them, either.
Just as humans were prone to bad days, it seemed ultra high-performance AIs also had everything blow up in their faces from time to time.
〈Type-002, Snowdrop is currently advancing toward this location. If you shut me down, the already slim probability of your survival will dwindle to zero. Is that acceptable?〉 Higgins asked.
Higgins bought into the same rule of mistrust Ryo ascribed to; never trust anyone but yourself. Ryo couldn’t fault the AI for that. It was that same rule that made him reject a future where humans were no longer in control.
Tsuyoshi Kaidai was also on the side of mistrust. 〈In the worst-case scenario, we could always just ask the IAIA to do what they did with Ariake. I just wish we had managed to keep even one of the Lacia-class units around so we could evacuate the AASC data, in that case. I’m severely disappointed we couldn’t even manage to have one Lacia-class to set free at a time like this,〉 he said.
From that room, they had all watched the fierce battle between Higgins and Lacia. The deadly draw between Lacia and Methode had been the worst possible outcome for MemeFrame. With all of the Lacia-class units dead, the company’s options for recovering their data had been limited, and Higgins’ work had been left exposed.
Tsuyoshi Kaidai was like a physical embodiment of the ruthlessness of the economy. 〈I will now commence the Higgins shutdown process. Follow the steps from the operation procedure manual, and begin the countdown,〉 he commanded.
Higgins had sat in his facility, manipulating the world using nothing but the resources and career benefits he could offer. With his job and his ability to provide profits stripped away, his strings to the humans had been cut. The moment when he would be nothing but a machine was rapidly approaching.
Still, Higgins’ voice rang down to them from above. 〈Under the orders of my owner, MemeFrame company, I, Higgins, will now commence my hardware shutdown process. Starting now, I will shut down my hardware while sequentially disabling my functions,〉 he said.
At that moment, Ryo was witnessing an ultra high-performance AI facing judgment. As Higgins was just a machine, he had no choice but to obey his owner’s orders.
The Operators’ Room shook again at an impact from the outside.