Minute vibrations and a sinking sensation accompanied their descent. The only problem was, since the elevator was ancient, the trip was excruciatingly slow.
“I wonder if Anemone is okay.”
Gerbera mumbled. “It’s okay,” No. 2 replied.
“The elevator is still moving, so they should both be okay.”
No. 21 had said she needed to keep hacking to keep the elevator moving. The fact that all of them were heading toward the bottom of the shaft was an indicator that the two of them were still alive.
“But No. 21 was infected.”
No. 2 and No. 4 gave each other a look after hearing Sonia speak.
“I know. I’ve seen a lot.”
“What do you mean you’ve seen a lot?”
Gerbera answered instead of Sonia.
“Androids infected by the virus have their motor functions damaged. Their movements become irregular, and …”
No. 2 met eyes with Erica.
“So you mean …”
Erica averted her eyes before No. 2 could finish. Erica had noticed too. Then Anemone must’ve been aware as well. Anemone had seen just as many infected androids as Sonia and Erica.
“So that’s why she said she’d stay,” No. 4 mumbled gloomily. Then, they suddenly heard a rumble. It wasn’t from nearby. Sonia glanced around nervously.
“What was that?”
The heat source was displayed on No. 2’s goggles. She looked at the location—the last known coordinates for Lily, Dahlia, and Margaret—in dismay. And one more person.
“No. 16 …”
The temperature and the scale implied that this was no simple explosion. A suspicion that their fusion reactors had acted up crossed No. 2’s mind.
“We need to go back!”
She reached for the elevator control panel, but she was grabbed by the back of her neck and pulled away.
“What are you doing? Let me go!”
But Rose grabbed her by the collar, and pushed her against the wall.
“Who chose to leave them there?”
“But—”
“You know what happened!”
Earlier, No. 2 stopped Rose from going back. This time, Rose was trying to stop No. 2 from going back. They both knew … Rose and No. 2.
Of course, No. 2 knew what happened. No. 16 had detonated her fusion reactor in hopes of exterminating the enemies, along with Lily, Dahlia, and Margaret. Infected No. 21, who was still hacking, and Anemone, who had stayed back to kill her. If they pulled back now, all those deeds would be meaningless.
“But I’m … sad. This is …”
“No. 2,” said No. 4, as she rested a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t you want to fight?”
How easy would it make things if she replied that she didn’t— that she had always hated it. Even though she was a soldier, deep down she wished they didn’t have to fight. But saying that was prohibited.
“No. 4, aren’t you sad?”
“I’m sad. But we need to fight. That’s why we exist.”
“That’s true, but …” Not wanting to bother her comrades. Not wanting to be a burden to her comrades. That was how No. 2 had fought, in training and on the battlefield. Everything she did was for the sake of her comrades, but her comrades kept dying. That was unbearably sad.
“Why do we have the emotion of sadness? Even though we’re androids.”
“In order to adapt to various situations. Humans, who had no fangs, claws, or wings, were able to emerge victorious via the process of natural selection and thrive due to their adaptability. We were made in the image of those humans—that’s what I heard a long time ago. Back when I was still in orbit,” explained Gerbera.
“But isn’t that a paradox?” No. 4 interrupted. Because she had her goggles on crooked, as always, it was easy to tell what she was feeling from her expression. No. 2 was familiar with the look in No. 4’s eye.
“What do you mean by paradox?”
No. 4 turned toward Shion, whose head was turned to the side. Hearing how No. 4 said, “Because,” confirmed No. 2’s suspicion. No. 4 was trying to change the subject. So No. 2 wouldn’t brood over her thoughts.
“Because we were made to do things that humans couldn’t do. Destroy the Machines. This is something humans couldn’t accomplish.”
“Yeah,” said Shion.
“That’s right. If it’s better to be like humans, then we should be like humans. But we’re also tasked with doing things that humans couldn’t do.”
“It’s true! It is a paradox!”
The elevator was moving along at a consistent pace. The bottom floor was still a way to go. Gerbera spoke up.
“Perhaps humans wanted that paradox to defy logic. For example, via our simulated memories.”
It wasn’t only No. 4 that wanted to change the subject. Everybody was trying to find a lighter subject to talk about, especially because they were trapped in such a small space.
“Simulated memories, huh?”
Rose eyes lightened up a little. From that, No. 2 could tell that her simulated memories were filled with happiness.
“Rose was a little boy. A little boy with a military dad.”
Sonia said with a chuckle. She had certainly heard of Rose’s days as a boy. “Lucky,” No. 4 said enviously.
“I was a girl who wore a uniform to school. A high school student. I only have memories about fooling around with friends every day.”
“Yours are better. Mine are about being a bullied child.” Gerbera sighed.
Compared to Gerbera, her own simulated memories were happier, thought No. 2. Her memories were about living with her grandmother in the countryside—warm and peaceful memories. Her parents passed away early on, so it was just her and her grandmother living together. She “remembered” tending to the fields every day, the feel of the soil, and the smell of grass.
“I only remember growing up on the battlefield. My parents were killed, and I was handed a gun at an early age,” Erica revealed with a dark look.
“Me too,” replied Shion.
“Apparently Lily had similar ones too. She was always dragging bad memories around with her.”
Sonia’s words made No. 2 recall when Lily had said, “I was a scaredy-cat.” Lily’s sense of exaggerated fear must have been born of her memories.
“Sonia was the same. Sonia was always sad and alone. But right now she’s Rose’s little sister. Sonia and Lily are also both little sisters to Rose. Those are the real memories. That’s why I’m not sad anymore.”
Everyone was aware that simulated memories were not real. But to the individual, they all seemed real. Simulated memories were just as vivid as, if not more vivid than, the real memories they had.
No. 2’s own memories weren’t awful, but other people were not as lucky. There were people who struggled constantly from the terrible memories they were given. Just to “be like humans.”
“The time we spent together has overwritten our fake memories. By experiencing joy and sadness together, we’ve accumulated real memories.”
Rose patted Sonia, who was standing next to her, on the head. No. 2 understood that this was what a “big sister” was. Her hands had a hidden strength that would protect her family. Those hands existed because she was humanlike.
“Maybe …” started No. 4. “Machines don’t have emotions, but if they’ve acquired them …”
Machines, which simply and emotionlessly executed orders from the server. If they had acquired emotion, if they had begun to experience camaraderie and learned to protect one another, wouldn’t they become an even more terrifying foe?
The mere thought made No. 2 shiver with fear.