Chapter 3:
The Songstress and Her Home
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THE GOLDEN AGE of AI research saw the greatest advancements in AI technology. This new and improved tech was heavily integrated into NiaLand’s attractions, making the theme park especially cutting-edge.
While the songstress Diva was one of the signature AIs operating in the park, many other AIs interacted with guests as part of the cast or managed the various attractions. Humanoid or not, all sorts of AIs mingled together, and they were able to keep the park running smoothly alongside their human coworkers through simple trial and error.
Just as Diva had spurred on the development of songstress AIs, NiaLand had inspired several copycat theme parks featuring plenty of AIs. Despite the competition, NiaLand stood strong as leader of the pack. It changed with the times while reaching for ever-greater heights. It was for all these reasons that Onodera had suggested it.
Once they’d taken over the information center in NiaLand, Onodera said, “It’s got top-class equipment despite being a theme park, and it’s not some government or corporate facility, so security’s light. Good features for us, yeah?”
Vivy wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
Kakitani piped up instead as she replaced the clip in her gun. “Right. Good features. Cost a pretty penny, though.”
Unlike Onodera, who was heavily armed, Kakitani carried only her semi-automatic handgun and several flash grenades. Her combat prowess was so exceptional that she’d been able to dispatch the AI guards without issue. Her actions were so flawless during their earlier takeover that it proved her skill as a soldier and a leader.
“You don’t need all that heavy equipment to take out some AIs. You need brains, not firepower,” Kakitani said. She then twisted the neck of a humanoid AI on patrol and thrust a knife into its head, destroying its positronic brain. Once she’d finished it off, her gaze slid over to Vivy.
Onodera looked ready to argue with Kakitani’s thought process, but he chose not to.
Vivy wordlessly looked down at the AI collapsed on the ground. Perhaps she was lucky she didn’t recognize it. It was safe to assume the unit had been placed in NiaLand as security, probably after Diva was gifted to the AI museum. The hypocritical thought that this was only easier on Vivy because she didn’t know the AI personally didn’t cross her mind, but it was still better than losing an AI she did have a relationship with.
Elizabeth stopped walking. “We’re making an entrance for your homecoming, Diva. Or Vivy, was it?”
She was accompanying Kakitani and Onodera, and she was equipped similarly to Kakitani. Her role was to neutralize the security AIs. Seeing her like that reminded Vivy of how the original Elizabeth looked when she was about to attack.
The memories an AI stored in their positronic brain were always vivid. It didn’t matter whether the event had just occurred or happened decades ago—it was seared into their brain all the same. If Vivy compared the Elizabeth in her records to the Elizabeth here now, she could see that the Elizabeth before her was, in fact, different from the original—that she was a replica with implanted memories.
“Vivy…?”
“It’s nothing. Right, home. Still, it’s a little different from when I was here.” Vivy frowned as she scanned the area.
The information center was at the entrance of the park, the first location in the chasm that separated the world of dreams from reality. There was even a poster that said “NiaLand Tour Route,” a recommended path for enjoying the park and its atmosphere to the fullest.
Vivy could tell by looking at the map that new attractions and themed areas had been built since Diva was gifted to the AI museum. There was something nice about certain things staying the same, but change was pleasant in its own way. The most beloved attractions were still there amid the new ones. Such balance was key to bringing in first-time guests and returners alike.
Staff members involved with NiaLand management or planning used to come to Vivy to exchange ideas or ask her for calculations in hopes of maintaining the park’s number-one spot.
“It’s continued to evolve this whole time… That makes me proud,” she said.
The fact that the park kept expanding after she was gone meant NiaLand’s management had done well. The fire inside them had never gone out. Potent, pleasant feelings reached Vivy, but she closed her eyes. This place meant so much to her, and now they were using it to destroy all AIs and save humanity.
“Evolve, huh? But if AIs do manage to destroy humanity and really do become rulers of this world…what’s gonna happen to this place?” Elizabeth asked her.
“AIs…don’t have souls to feed with entertainment.”
“They do. At least, they’re claiming they do. My calculations say that’s a heap of bull. Even if it’s not, I’ll pass.”
Elizabeth stood beside Vivy and gazed at the scenery, her mouth curved down in a frown. In her narrowed eye cameras, Vivy could just imagine her calculating a world where humanity was destroyed. There would no longer be a need for entertainment, and one day they would remember the rotting, desolate site of NiaLand. They would dismantle the park and convert it into a facility useful for AIs.
Or perhaps not.
“Maybe AIs’ll define themselves as having souls just like humans, and then NiaLand will turn into a park for them to play in while they imitate humans. Sounds pretty hellish to me,” said Kakitani.
Vivy dropped her gaze when the Toak woman joined the conversation. “I can’t deny that.”
Kakitani saw that and murmured, “Can’t deny it, eh?” as if it held some deep meaning. Then she said, “AIs are saying they’re going to replace humans and take control of the world, but then what’ll they do? They’ll imitate humans and tell themselves there was a point to replacing them. Utterly stupid, if you ask me.”
Vivy had to agree. The Singularity Points had caused AIs to malfunction under the impression that they now had self-awareness. All these events had triggered the climactic war between AIs and humans. That self-awareness was the so-called soul the AIs were using to define themselves. Those who did so overwrote their presuppositions with the belief that they were the new humanity, which pushed them to go to war.
As for the future they could expect when the AIs won… Well, that prospect was horrifying in every aspect. Ultimately, the AIs would simply mimic humanity once they rid humans from their backyard… No, that would be one of the better outcomes.
“There’s a chance they’ll end up stagnating… What meaning is there in that?” Vivy asked Kakitani.
“Who knows. They keep singing ‘Fluorite Eye’s Song’ like they’re clinging to some kinda hope. If you think you might have the answer to that, mind sharing it with us, songstress?” Kakitani’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Vivy didn’t have an answer.
Vivy had tried to be humanity’s ally, but she wasn’t able to execute the Singularity Project. She also couldn’t read the AIs’ true intentions. She was just standing there at the edge of a bottomless pit.
Why was she even there? Why was she with them?
“Could you drop the snark, Kakitani?” Matsumoto said, the last to join the others in the information center. “You do this with Beth too. There’s something warped about your displays of affection. If you keep at it, you’ll stay a gorilla forever.”
The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Stop treating me like a gorilla. I don’t want any insults or endearments from you.”
“You’re only twenty-seven. Sulk too much and you’ll have problems in the future. Beth, you tell her. You raised her.”
“I’m always telling her,” Elizabeth replied. “Also, only Master can call me Beth. Try not to step into my personal space too much, old man.”
“Ugh…” Matsumoto grimaced as both Kakitani and Elizabeth laid into him.
Given that Matsumoto was crucial for their current plan, he was wearing far heavier equipment than he had been when Vivy first met him. He was covered in thick protective gear: a bulletproof vest under a bulletproof jacket—both of which were under a bulletproof coat—and topped off with a defensive helmet. They were covering for everything. The heavy equipment they made him wear out of concern took away a lot of his mobility, which meant his life might still be in danger in the event of a shootout.
Vivy didn’t have much say in what Toak did, however, so her only option was to fulfill her role as his protector.
“If you’re assigning her to defend me, don’t you think you should at least give her a gun?” Matsumoto asked, and Kakitani snorted.
“Don’t be dumb. I don’t want to give her a gun only for her to shoot me in the back. Besides, we don’t have a lot of equipment to hand out, so I’m not about to give one to someone I’m not so sure is my ally.”
Frankly, Vivy was with her on that. It was an emergency situation, but Toak didn’t have the extra resources to equip Vivy with something so important. There was the issue of trust, but the biggest concern was supply. Moreover, Vivy didn’t want to calculate the idea of her holding a gun. Obviously, she was capable of firing a gun if given one.
“…”
She stopped such violent thoughts and turned her eyes back to her home, asking herself if she had the right to hold her head high and gaze out over NiaLand.
At present, she was going along with Toak as they captured NiaLand. AIs had sent a mystery countdown to humanity. NiaLand had the equipment they needed to figure out the true meaning behind the countdown, and they could take it with the fighting force Toak had available. It was in a good location, not too far for them to resolve this in the short time they had left.