Chapter 1:
The Songstress Vivy
. : 1 : .
HER VOICE WAVERED ever so slightly in the moment of the unexpected datalink.
✦ ✦ ✦
But its effect lasted only an instant.
The waver was so minuscule it wasn’t even logged in the system, and it was immediately overwhelmed by the silent fervor in the concert hall.
The hall, able to seat over a thousand people, was located in the largest theme park in the country, NiaLand, and every seat was full. Young or old, man or woman, every single member of the audience stared at the stage in rapt attention, their eyes all focused on one point: the songstress singing in the middle of the main stage.
✦ ✦ ✦
Someone looking at the audience might find their silence odd, as even the youngest child in attendance made no noise. They couldn’t interrupt the song; it intoxicated them.
“Vivy…” Someone in the audience gasped in admiration, the name slipping from their lips without even becoming a full word.
Vivy. That was the owner of the sirenic voice captivating so many people in the crowd. It was hard to believe such a voice could come from a human being—and, in fact, Vivy wasn’t human. She was an AI.
Model Number A-03. Nickname: Vivy.
Over a thousand people sat in silence, listening raptly to her heavenly voice. This was the true value of the songstress Vivy, an AI made from humanity’s cutting-edge technology. After the beautiful song finished, the concert hall grew quiet once more.
Vivy gave a delicate bow and said, “Thank you for your kind attention.”
The audience absorbed the sublime moment and then exploded into thunderous applause. Some shouted in excitement, some cried, and others were lost within themselves, unable to even move. All of the varied reactions were praise for Vivy.
Showered in that applause, Vivy expressed a smile and bowed to the audience again. The action drew even greater applause and zeal from the crowd.
“…”
Her eye cameras flicked toward the stage wings and took in the standby staff applauding as well. Once Vivy processed everyone’s reactions and judged that she had successfully carried out her mission, her consciousness was at ease. Even with such a huge concert concluded, however, Vivy’s job wasn’t over yet. Singing wasn’t all the songstress had to do.
“Vivy, your song moved me!”
“Your voice was even more relaxed than usual today. I’m so proud of you.”
“I-I got a ticket for the first time! Um…can I shake your hand?!”
After the performance, Vivy went to her customary fan meet-and-greet. These were always held after her concerts, and only those selected by lottery could attend. It was an important part of Vivy’s job. As an AI, she couldn’t get fatigued, and she had just as much energy after the show as she did during it.
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy my next performance as well,” she said, putting a smile on her face and tilting her head to the side, a motion perfectly calculated in response to the fans.
All the fans, regardless of their gender, were enthralled by that smile and left the concert hall feeling satisfied.
“…”
Vivy’s slender and graceful form was computed based on a large-scale survey conducted by OGC, the company that had developed her. She was made to be the “ideal songstress.” More than ten million participants responded to the survey, and Vivy’s resulting visual profile was met with an 86 percent approval rating. This meant she imparted a positive impression on approximately 90 percent of the world’s population.
Despite the corporation’s contribution to Vivy’s creation, her consciousness held no self-interested calculations when she met with the fans, and—
“Hey, Vivy. Was there one point when you were singing where you were thinking about something else?”
The innocent question caused a temporary freeze in Vivy’s calculation circuits, but it lasted mere milliseconds. Once it passed, Vivy put a smile on her face and said, “No, Momoka. There wasn’t.”
“Hmm, really?” The cute girl of around ten years old looked up at Vivy doubtfully. Her slightly frizzy brown hair was tied in pigtails, and her cheeks were as red as apples. She pouted, and her eyes gleamed as they seemed to peer into Vivy’s soul.
“Come on, Momoka, don’t bother Vivy!” said a man who was with her.
“Oh! Daddy!”
The man wrapped his arms around the girl from behind and lifted her up, cutting off her questions. He tickled her as he held her, and her pout bubbled away into high-pitched giggles.
“Sorry, Vivy,” he said, still cradling his daughter with a gentle expression on his face. “Momoka’s always giving you a hard time.”
“It’s not a problem. Thank you for coming to the park again this year, Kirishima-sama.”
It wasn’t just Momoka who liked Vivy; the girl’s father was quite fond of her too, which was why they came to the park regularly. Every year, without fail, the Kirishima family came to the yearly celebration commemorating NiaLand’s opening, which coincided with another special event.
“Here you go, Vivy. Happy birthday!”
“Thank you, Momoka.”
It was Vivy’s birthday—or the day she began operating publicly.
On her birthday, people called out to her more than usual as she walked around the park, performing her duties as a cast member. Guests weren’t allowed to give her gifts, but many presents were delivered to her gift box located in the concert hall, and every year, she received reports that gift after gift had been transported to her dressing room.
The meet-and-greet was the only exception—the only place where fans could give her gifts directly—and there was already a mountain in the box behind her. Momoka’s had been among them.
“Kirishima-sama, is your wife not present today?” asked Vivy.
“Ah, about that…”
“Mommy’s in the hospital! My little sister’s going to be born soon!” Momoka replied excitedly.
Vivy had asked because the number of people in attendance didn’t match what she had recorded last year. She had thought she’d asked an inappropriate question before Momoka’s answer, and she had been about to reexamine her calculations, but instead she smiled. “Congratulations, Kirishima-sama! And you too, Momoka.”
“Yeah! Once my sister’s here, we’ll come together to meet you. I hope you’re excited!”
“I look forward to it. I promise to sing for both you and your sister.”
“Yay!” Evidently, Vivy’s words had made Momoka happy. Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed. The next moment, she gave a little huff of dissatisfaction and pointed to the present in Vivy’s hands. “Thanks, Vivy. And you should open your present now!”
“Okay. Please wait a moment.” Vivy smiled at Momoka, who was trying to hurry her along, then she carefully unwrapped the present. The programming that guided her fingers was powerful enough to make her capable of high-quality embroidery, so opening a gift was a simple task.
“It’s cute, don’t you think? It’s a teddy bear clock,” said Momoka.
Inside was a multipurpose clock in the shape of a teddy bear. It was as soft and light as a stuffed animal, and in addition to telling time, it could connect to the internet and function as a computer. It was an excellent product, but Vivy was already equipped with all those functions. There was nothing new to her here, and it wouldn’t contribute anything to her life.
Even so…
“Yes, it’s very cute. Thank you, Momoka. I’ll treasure it,” she said.
Momoka smiled as Vivy held the teddy bear up beside her face. Vivy looked at Momoka’s father and asked, “May I?”
“Of course. Momoka loves you, after all,” he said with a smile.
“I love Momoka too,” said Vivy, opening her arms and embracing the young girl.
Vivy’s synthetic skin replicated the feeling of human skin down to the smallest detail, and the lubricant flowing through her body maintained the optimal human temperature. Her hugs were therefore warm and cozy.
At the end of the hug, Vivy brought her forehead to Momoka’s.
“…”
They both closed their eyes. AIs often pressed their foreheads together, so the gesture was second nature to them. The contact allowed two AIs to establish a datalink, so many AIs performed the same motion with humans, even though the latter didn’t need a datalink to communicate. The practice had emerged naturally over the course of AI’s short existence. Vivy quite liked it.
“Momoka, can I tell you a secret?” Vivy asked.
“What is it?”
“I did actually fall asleep a tiny bit while I was singing.”
At Vivy’s murmured words, Momoka’s eyes grew round. “Oh!”
It was a confession no one other than the two of them could hear. They smiled at each other and brought a finger to their lips.
Momoka had picked up the tiny change in Vivy’s voice, even though it shouldn’t have been possible for a human ear to catch. Perhaps she would become a famous musician one day. Even without proof it would happen, Vivy imagined such a future coming to life—a daydream completely disconnected from an AI’s standard calculations.
. : 2 : .
VIVY QUICKLY RETURNED to her dressing room once the fan meet-and-greet was over. Park staff thanked her for her work as she passed them on the way, and she responded politely to each and every one. It took quite a while to get back to her room.
In reality, Vivy was nothing more than NiaLand equipment, but no one in the park treated Vivy like an object. They always treated her like another member of the cast—like their coworker—and the fact that she had a dressing room like any of the human performers was further evidence of their kindness and consideration.
“…”
Vivy entered her dressing room, locked the door, and finally had some time to herself.
Normally, the only standout features of Vivy’s sparse dressing room were the vanity and large full-length mirror. Today however, birthday presents for Vivy in every color and size imaginable were piled in the room, naturally activating Vivy’s happiness response.
A hint of it lingered on her face as she turned to the computer in the corner of the room. These days, it would be hard to find anywhere that wasn’t controlled electronically; NiaLand was no exception. Every room in the park, including Vivy’s dressing room, was equipped with a computer terminal. It sensed her approach and automatically booted up. As it did, she pulled the connective cable that was made to look like an earring out of her ear and connected it to the computer. She sat in the chair and closed her eyes.
The next moment, Vivy’s perspective shifted away from reality and entered The Archive.