A white-hot explosion of light seared her retinal sensors.
Flash grenades weren’t only effective against organic targets. They were just as effective against AIs who used visual sensors. Vivy immediately abandoned her vision and switched to her audio sensors to perceive the world around her. Her positronic brain created a monochrome projection, a virtual world recreated from records and sound. A figure was flying straight at her, perceivable because of the sound of their footsteps.
Vivy took in the figure’s movement and breaths and eliminated the possibility of it being an AI. Her assailant was human. She changed her strategy from destruction to restraint. When she reached out to grab them, the person smoothly evaded. Vivy then adjusted her presumed threat level of the encounter and increased her response speed.
Still moving faster than Vivy, her opponent swept a long leg into the backs of her knees. A human kick wasn’t strong enough to damage Vivy’s legs, but aiming for her knees like that was effective in creating an opportunity.
She didn’t fight her momentum as she fell forward. Instead, she planted her hands on the ground and threw herself into a forward somersault over her opponent’s head. As she tumbled, she twisted her arm in a way that ignored her shoulder joint and reached for her enemy’s clothes, but they quickly spun around, shaking Vivy off and neatly regaining their footing.
Again Vivy realized she’d made a mistake. Her enemy was now between her and Professor Matsumoto, making it hard for Vivy to protect him.
Her opponent remained still and silent, monitoring Vivy’s movement. Vivy was afraid of increasing the danger to the professor by making another stupid move, so the situation settled into a standoff without anything forcing either of them to act.
Right then, she came up with a different plan—one fit for a human.
“My calculations indicate there is some confusion here, so I’m going to explain. I have no intention of becoming an enemy to humans. I think this may just be an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding? Don’t talk like you know anything, you mechanical doll.”
“…”
“There’s not any unfortunate misunderstanding between you and me. A piece of junk like you shouldn’t get so haughty. Know your place.”
The person’s attitude wasn’t about to change, so Vivy calmed the tension in her consciousness caused by their hostility. It would still take some time for her visual sensors to recover. She collated the data from her audio sensors and determined her opponent was approximately 170 centimeters, around 50 kilograms, and—based on their conversation so far—a woman.
Vivy remembered witnessing a similarly intense hostility toward AIs.
“Toak,” she said.
“The piece of junk thinks she knows us. I don’t know what you’re after, but you won’t be leaving here alive.”
“…”
Vivy readied herself when she heard the woman’s voice lower and her breathing grow steady. Unlike her opponent, who had some countermeasure against the flash grenade and still had her vision, Vivy was forced to estimate any movements based on sound alone. Even though she could figure out where the woman was through the sound of her footsteps, it was hard to completely determine what her upper half was doing.
“Vivy! Kakitani! Both of you, stop!” shouted Professor Matsumoto as he slipped between them. It seemed he had also been defenseless against the flash grenade and was temporarily blinded; his steps were unsteady, and it wasn’t due to fatigue.
Vivy hadn’t predicted this action from him, though, so her reaction was slow.
The woman she was fighting seemed to be in the same position, because she clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Out of the way, Matsumoto! Or do you want to die?!”
“You’ve misunderstood,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t want to die. If you’re pointing a gun at me, please lower it. Vivy, you don’t have to fight. This woman is my ally.”
“…”
Vivy took a moment to think, then lowered both her arms, respecting the professor and showing no hostility.
“What are you doing?” the woman asked. “Trying to say you’ve suddenly developed a conscience? Even if you had, I’m not sure I would trust it coming from an AI.”
“Could you stop being so belligerent, Kakitani?” Professor Matsumoto said. “She…Vivy saved my life. And if I had to say, the two of you are equally important to me, so—”
“Hey, don’t you dare go saying disgusting things like that. I might just accidentally point my gun at your head. Don’t piss me off.”
“Ugh, so violent. Guess that’s what I can expect from a member of one of the world’s top terrorist organizations…”
“What was that?”
Professor Matsumoto had rubbed the woman the wrong way with one too many comments.
The insensitivity on Matsumoto’s part made Vivy feel an odd burst of emotions that didn’t suit the situation. There was also something else she noticed.
Professor Matsumoto had clearly called the woman “Kakitani.”
“Kakitani of Toak? Is that some sort of coincidence?” Vivy asked.
“No, probably not,” the professor replied. “I heard someone in her family was also an active member of Toak in the past. I’m only guessing, but you must’ve had some sort of connection with that person during the Singularity Project.”
Vivy gently pressed her lips together. What passed through her consciousness then was the last Singularity Point. When she was in the middle of dealing with Ophelia’s suicide, Kakitani Yugo appeared and challenged her to a fight. Strictly speaking, he had actually been a replicate AI who had Kakitani Yugo’s memory data saved in its positronic brain, but it definitely wasn’t something she could ignore. Even if it weren’t for that instance, Vivy had endured several run-ins with Toak and Kakitani Yugo throughout the Singularity Project. She wasn’t likely to forget any of them.
“I can’t believe his descendant would still be actively fighting against AIs,” Vivy said.
“What the hell are you rambling about? Matsumoto, explain it to me,” said the woman, Kakitani Yugo’s blood relative.
Vivy’s vision sensors were starting to recover, and the woman was coming into view. The tall woman stood in the dark corridor as color slowly returned to the world. Her height and weight were as Vivy had imagined. Her sleek black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore a black racing suit. There was a sharp air about her. Even though she was a woman, her eyes and facial features were a reflection of Kakitani Yugo’s when he was younger.
“I’d be happy to explain,” said the professor. “And in exchange, you’ll stop pointing your gun at her. I already told you, she’s my ally. It’s about my plan to—”
“That ridiculous fairy tale? Hate to say it, but it looks like you didn’t manage to stop Luna’s First Mistake or prevent the AIs’ big plan to revolt against humanity. I knew it was just a fanciful theory that’d fail the second it got past the drawing board.”
“I can’t deny that, but Vivy here is one product of my plan.”
While Vivy was grappling with the emotions the Kakitani family evoked in her, Professor Matsumoto had pivoted to an explanation.
It was surprising from Vivy’s perspective that Kakitani of Toak would be working with Professor Matsumoto, but it actually seemed to be the natural conclusion once she carefully thought through the situation. There was no doubt that Toak had the most experience and knowledge about clashes between humans and AI in this history, after all.
“This AI is a product of your plan? What are you talking about? That AI’s really just…the root of all evil.”
“What?”
“I won’t lower my gun. I’m not letting that AI go. No way.”
A shadow was cast over Professor Matsumoto and Kakitani’s conversation, and Vivy narrowed her eyes. She looked past the befuddled professor at Kakitani, who was glaring at Vivy.
Kakitani snorted, since neither Vivy nor the professor seemed to know what she was talking about. Then she said, “You really think I could believe you’d be Matsumoto’s or humanity’s ally? What kind of bug would it take to make something like that happen? Tell me, Diva the songstress!” she shouted at Vivy, her voice full of hatred and hostility.
. : 3 : .
MEANWHILE…