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I was furious. I was perpetually enraged at the Machines that killed my comrades. So much so that I was unable to restrain myself from killing them. That’s why, when I met this one, I had planned on killing it immediately. I declared, “I’ll have you pay for the sin of killing my comrades.”
“Is that right? Then it cannot be helped, if doing so will appease you.”
Despite being a Machine, that’s how it answered, with surprisingly sophisticated diction. It was slightly bowing its head, waiting patiently for my sword to be swung down. A somewhat unsettled feeling overcame me.
“You are not going to kill me?” it asked in a bewildered voice.
“Shut up,” I told it, shooing it away. It informed me that its name was Pascal, and after saying, “Thank you very much,” it flew off.
Thank you? A Machine using words of gratitude? A lowly Machine?
It upset me even more…that I spared a Machine.
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e382a2e3838de383a2e3838de381a8e5868de4bcc9a
“No. 2… You’re alive.”
Anemone’s reaction to our reunion was just how I imagined—that Anemone would make the same face I did when I first discovered Anemone was still alive.
I had been living with the guilt that I was the only one who survived out of my comrades. Anemone had most likely felt the same way.
Anemone and I had carried out a mission together. It was during the enemy server destruction plan, on Oahu, in the Pacific. It was a battle also known as the Pearl Harbor Descent Attack. There, both Anemone and I lost allies. We sent what seemed like an endless number of rescue requests to Command. But none were acknowledged, and our comrades fell one by one. Eventually I had lost all my comrades in the YoRHa squadron, and Anemone had lost all her comrades in the resistance. At that point Anemone and I had been operating separately, and we must have both assumed that we were the last one standing.
Then I uncovered the truth, and fled the battlefield.
Command had been planning on abandoning us from the start. We were an experimental fleet with the purpose of providing battle data until the last member died.
It seemed Anemone was not aware of this fact. That was better for her. If she found out, she would not be able to forgive. She would not be able to forgive Command, which ruthlessly abandoned its troops on the front lines.
“That’s right, No. 2. There’s a YoRHa that’s identical to you. Her name is 2B, and…”
“She died.”
“What?”
“I killed her. She was infected by a logic virus.”
“I see.”
Anemone fell silent. She was being considerate, and I was grateful. Anemone and I had both executed comrades that were infected by logic viruses. To minimize their misery and allow them to die while they were in control of their consciousness…that was why we killed them. There were no words that could console us.
Sensing that it was probably better to wrap up conversations about the past, I decided to cut straight to the point. I asked her if she could spare me a fuel filter. My filter was clogged from fighting in the desert.
Until now, I had been foraging parts off of the corpses of my pursuers when I needed repairs or replacements. The parts weren’t specific to my chassis, so I looked shoddy, but functionally there was no problem.
But now all the YoRHa androids were infected by the virus. If I used an infected part, I would be infected as well. That’s why I decided to ask my longtime acquaintance for a favor.
But the resistance camp was out of stock. If I wasn’t able to procure the part here, there was nowhere else I could go. As I debated on what to do, Anemone suggested something unbelievable.
“Pascal’s village makes fuel filters, so you should go get one from him.”
“Pascal…”
“Ah, you know him.”
“An enemy!”
“His village is an exception. They won’t harm us.”
“But…still…”
“We formed an alliance with them, and exchange resources when necessary. If you need something, you don’t have many options. And…”
“And?”
“We’re not so heartless as to kill enemies who meet us under white flags.”
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Even if it was Anemone speaking, I didn’t feel like I could follow this particular piece of advice…but…
“Warning: A defective fuel filter can cause severe problems during fuel combustion. Recommendation: Immediate replacement.”
I knew that already. At this rate, I would be impaired in battle. I could already feel some impairments in normal activities as well.
My joints were stiff and difficult to move. As a result, I was drained from merely walking. My head hurt too. At first there was just a dull pain at my left temple, but that eventually spread to the back and top of my head. The pain grew to the point where it throbbed like there was a jagged piece of metal being twisted into my skull.
“Determined the coordinates of the colony led by the Machine Pascal. Location marked on the map.”
I felt invaded. I had been read like a book. I had been thinking of visiting the village, if there were any chance to avoid being useless in battle. Anemone had said this was an “exception,” so perhaps I could take exception as well…
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e38391e382b9e382abe383abe69d91e69da5e8a8aa
It was a village full of Machines. It was eerie to see Machines that didn’t attack at first sight, and in turn I couldn’t get myself riled up to destroy them either. No, I was probably reluctant to draw my sword because I wasn’t feeling well. That had to be it.
“You are that person who… Thank you for sparing me back then.”
I rarely saw a Machine twice, because that meant I had failed to kill it. But I had never been thanked by one. Maybe that was why, but even when Pascal inquired with a puzzled, “Um…” I was still too astonished to talk. Then, all of a sudden, the box beside me started to blabber.
“Explanation: YoRHa android A2’s fuel filter is damaged. Action: Obtained information from the resistance camp leader, Anemone. Objective: Visit this region to acquire filter. Request: Fuel filter.”
“Ah, I see. So that was the case. The thing is, right now we are out of the rigid bark we use to create filters. Recently there have been violent Machines around the harvesting area.”
“Affirmative: Collection and delivery of rigid bark.”
The box had explained the situation and negotiated of its own accord. I was extremely upset, but my condition from the damaged filter was getting worse. I had no choice but to cooperate and retrieve the so-called rigid bark.
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e682aae38184e6a99ffe6a2b0e38292e98080e6b2bb
“Report: Hostility toward peace-advocating Machine, Pascal, was determined to be ineffective from a cost-benefit standpoint. Recommendation: Immediate initiation of a friendly relationship.”
“Friendly? You have to be kidding me.”
Peace-advocating? What did a Machine know about peace? This was just an exception. This was an emergency due to an unforeseen accident. I had no intention of playing along and being “friends” with a Machine.
That was why I told Pascal, “I’ll help you if you need anything,” after I returned to normal condition. If I didn’t do anything in return, I would be in debt to a Machine.
“Actually, there is something you can help me with. Recently, a violent Machine has been kidnapping the children from their playground. I apologize for being so brash, but I would like you to do away with that Machine. You are the only one I can count on. Please.”
To think that a Machine would ask me to exterminate another Machine. At any rate, destroying the supposed “violent Machine” was hardly a challenge for me. It was convenient for me that I could pay off my debt so easily.
“Ah, thank you very much! You got rid of that robot for us! Please, accept this humble reward. Now, now, don’t be shy!”
I had destroyed the Machine to repay my debt, but this reward indebted me yet again. No matter how many times I tried to decline, or say that I wasn’t trying to be polite, Pascal kept stuffing potions and materials into my arms.
“We are peace advocates. We despise fighting, so we built this village. But ever since we discarded our weapons, we haven’t had the means to defend ourselves against powerful enemies.”
The Machine at the harvesting area for the rigid bark, and the “violent Machine” I had just destroyed, fell rather quickly to my sword. The Machines in this village were unable to defend themselves from enemies of such caliber. Machines, responsible for the death of my comrades, were being terrorized by the threat of other Machines. The sight of that was extremely strange, comical, and even sad in a way… Sad? Why would I think it was sad?
“Within the village, there are individuals that believe the best way to perpetuate peace is to destroy all our enemies…Ms. A2, what should we do?”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t you, Pascal, be the one that decides that?”