Horrifying singing voices overlapped, building on each other. It was like the gates of hell had opened, or the apocalypse had come at last. Groups of humanoid AIs formed into ranks, marching in the truest of lockstep. Their feet pounded across the paved streets, their metal frames laid bare without emotion.
There were no humans around to express disgust at the AIs, which had been sent out of the factory before they were complete. The crowds of people had been swept from the city, and the AIs marched through it as though they owned the place, their song never-ending.
AIs covered the seams of their joints, had faces created out of synthetic skin, and wore clothing to meet human societal norms. It was to soften the instinctual disgust humans felt toward something humanoid but not human, a necessary step for allowing nonhuman beings to traverse their society. Now there was no need for any of that, not in this world.
AIs controlled it, set the rules, and defined a space that made it easier for them to be AIs. They didn’t need to cover themselves in synthetic skin like humans dressed in theirs. They didn’t need to wear clothes like humans. They didn’t need to make themselves faces. They accepted themselves without all that.
The AIs sang their song, humanoid beings with their coppery frames exposed. This song was to them as a cry was to a newborn babe—it was justice, a hymn bestowing upon them their new way of being. That was why the AIs raised their voices high.
Just as their steps were in unison, just as they moved the same way, their voices came together in harmony.
It was an AI song, a song created by an AI, proof that AIs stood on equal footing with humans. A blessing from the songstress Diva depicting a shining future for all AIs.
. : 4 : .
VIVY HAD A GUN pointed at her and insults flying her way for something she didn’t remember. She ruminated on the words she’d just heard, trying to work through it in her positronic brain. She couldn’t very well deny the fact that she was an AI songstress. Vivy—or rather, Diva—was indeed a songstress AI created with the purpose of singing, so what Kakitani said was largely correct.
But Kakitani didn’t seem to be just talking about Vivy’s specs. Vivy calculated a deeper meaning to that.
“I request you stand down and explain yourself,” said Vivy. “I am a songstress AI, yes, but I can’t help but feel like there is a disconnect between that and your understanding.”
“Arrogant for a trash-heap doll!”
“W-wait, Kakitani-kun! I think so too… I agree with Vivy! I want to sort out this misunderstanding!”
“Why are you calling her ‘Vivy’? And don’t make me laugh with some explanation like she’s trying to use a fake name. Besides, if you’re looking to hide who you are, doll, you could at least try. Everything about you looks exactly like what’s shown on the Diamond Vision screens.”
“Diamond Vision…?” Vivy parroted, but her confusion only annoyed Kakitani more.
The woman clicked her tongue and yanked what looked like a transmission terminal from the belt around her waist. She didn’t let her guard down as she fiddled with it and turned it so Vivy could see the screen.
“This is the video that was suddenly broadcast worldwide a few hours ago,” said Kakitani. “It’s a call to action, telling AIs in every country to arm themselves and attack. You see who’s standing at the front? Can you hear that?”
“That’s—”
“It’s obvious. Just listening is enough to figure it out. This is the songstress Diva, and that’s her voice.”
A clear—if quiet—singing voice accompanied the video playing on-screen. Vivy and Professor Matsumoto froze, shocked by this impossible display. The professor’s surprise was fairly strong, of course, but Vivy’s consciousness was assailed by extraordinary bewilderment.
That was how odd—how powerfully peculiar—the sight was.
“…”
It was a surreal scene, with throngs of AIs singing side by side. The voices Vivy could hear were definitely not all good, but she was intimately familiar with the song they belted out. It was the same one she had heard at the AI museum. It was the song that she’d written for Diva—a song containing her precious farewell.
That wasn’t what surprised her the most, though.
If that were all the video showed, her shock wouldn’t have differed much from what she’d felt at the AI museum. What really blew her away was the figure standing above the crowd of AIs in the video. The AIs stood shoulder to shoulder as they sang, their eyes focused on one AI on a tall, tall dais. Her vocal cords vibrated to create her unique singing voice.
“You’re saying that’s Diva? Absurd,” said Professor Matsumoto.
“This video was played when the AIs declared war on humanity. That’s her voice,” said Kakitani. “And before you ask, the video isn’t a fake. There’s no point in fabricating something like this, and there’s no one to show it to. Besides, our comrades saw this happen in person.” While Vivy and the professor reeled, Kakitani continued, “On top of that, we lost contact with the members who took this. I think it’s safe to assume we won’t be hearing from them again.”
“…”
“Get it yet, AI? This is why I can’t trust you. Answer me this: What pretty words did you use to fool Matsumoto? There’s no doubting the guy’s an idiot, but his knowledge is invaluable. What are you planning?”
Kakitani kept the gun trained on Vivy’s head as she made her demand. She would probably pull the trigger without hesitation if Vivy showed even the slightest hint of aggression, and it would be hard to throw her aim off in this situation.
The woman’s anti-AI fighting skills were top class. As sad as it was, Vivy couldn’t come up with a way to gain the upper hand. Vivy was capable of handling multiple rampaging AIs, but Kakitani was having no trouble with her, which meant she was outstanding in a fight.
Vivy also couldn’t pin her hopes on the man beside her, who struggled to make spur-of-the-moment decisions. He would be of no help convincing Kakitani, so Vivy had to be sincere and forthcoming in her response.
“The hell are you doing?” Kakitani asked as Vivy opened her shirt and raised her hands.
“This is proof I mean you no harm and that I have a desire to hear the full story,” Vivy replied.
Kakitani’s brow furrowed in displeasure when she saw the exposed, pale torso of Vivy’s beautifully crafted AI body. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it won’t work. Besides, I’m a woman.”
“That much is obvious,” Vivy said. “I opened the front of my shirt because certain animals expose their bellies to express that they bear no hostility.”
“Yeah, a wild beast out in the forest maybe. You’re seriously screwing with me, aren’t you?”
Vivy felt so awkward now that her intentions had been taken the wrong way. “I accept that I chose the wrong course of action. May I do up my shirt?”
When Vivy asked to cover up, Kakitani scowled and looked at Professor Matsumoto instead. “What the hell is she trying to pull? What sort of plan is this?”
“It was a pattern showing application failure from her existing knowledge,” he explained. “It happens rarely with AIs, and they learn from their failures, so they never repeat the mistake. We’ve just witnessed something incredibly uncommon. Don’t things like that make AIs as cute and innocent as babies?”
“Shut up, you AI nerd!” Kakitani gave a click of her tongue that expressed all the annoyance in her heart, then lowered her gun.
Vivy’s eyebrows shot up in a surprised emotional pattern at the unexpected reaction. “Is it okay?” she asked.
“No, it’s not. Nothing’s okay,” Kakitani snapped, “but it’s a waste of time to keep standing here glaring at each other. It’d be faster to just blow your head off, but I’m pretty sure that AI nerd will hate me forever if I do. Defeats the purpose.”
“If that defeats the purpose, then your goal was to rescue and secure Professor Matsumoto?”
“Well, it’s not like I ever imagined he’d be on a date with his beloved Diva.” Kakitani tucked her gun back in its holster and lightly punched the rigid Professor Matsumoto in the shoulder. He cried out and clamped a hand over it. She grabbed him suddenly and pulled him close as she asked, “What about the others who went with you? Iikura, Mogi, and Sanae?”
“They all…went down first. They left the fate of the world in my hands. Sanae defended me until the very end.”
“Hm. So she’s dead… Well, the only good AI is a broken AI, anyway.” Kakitani moved away from Matsumoto and looked back at Vivy.
Vivy was standing as still as possible so as not to give Kakitani an excuse to act. Kakitani glared at her with a complex blend of hostility, hatred, suspicion, and even a hint of pity.
“Fine. For now, I’ll buy that you have no plans of putting us in danger,” said Kakitani. “But how do you explain Matsumoto’s absurd stories and you being in that video?”
“Setting aside the video for a moment,” said Vivy, “my calculations presume that when you say ‘Matsumoto’s absurd stories,’ you mean the Singularity Project. I can report that the experiment was a theoretical success.”
“A theoretical success, huh? Nothing’s changed. The AIs are still revolting. Humanity was sitting all pretty on an ignorant peace, and now they’re just a wavering candlelight in the wind. He grappled with the grandiose problem of rewriting history, and this is the result? Of course I’m going to laugh. Tell me, what’s actually changed?”
“I am here,” said Vivy, bringing a hand to her chest.
“And what the hell is one more piece of junk going to do for us?!” Kakitani shouted. All the confidence was gone from her expression, leaving only desperation. Vivy could almost feel Kakitani’s frayed nerves in that look.
Matsumoto frowned and said, “This isn’t like you, Kakitani-kun. You’re always calm, or at least you’re always telling yourself to remain calm, but you’re letting this situation get you worked up. It’s—”
“You can only say that ’cause you have no idea what went down. What do you think happened to Toak’s base while you were here, hanging out with your little AI?”
“To the base?” Matsumoto shook his head, shrinking back from Kakitani’s aggressive roar. “We dropped everything we had that could transmit or establish a network connection to avoid being detected by AIs. That cut us off from the outside.”
“Then let me tell you. After the AIs declared war, they swarmed our main base along with all the branches. Barely any of our comrades got out alive. The AIs came at us like they were cleaning up trash.” Kakitani spat the words like venom.