“We are Toak,” Kakitani declared with a wild grin. “We swim against the current. We’re the crazy terrorist organization that keeps going on about how dangerous AIs are. And I, for one, am sick of hearing people talk smack about us like we’re lunatics who can’t fit in with others!”
“You know…I’m starting to feel some sort of kinship between us, Professor. Looks like you might be a human too,” Onodera said, a brave smile on his face.
Professor Matsumoto watched their reactions with bated breath, then laughed and brought a hand to his forehead. “Well…that makes it sound like it was only a matter of time before I joined you.”
“That could be the ‘no matter what world or future’ thing you were talking about, Professor,” Elizabeth chimed in. “And Master’s carrying around quite the bomb herself. Maybe she’s got a talent for finding land mines?”
“Shut up,” Kakitani snapped, and the control room broke out in laughter.
Everyone was chuckling except the glowering Kakitani, and it almost seemed like everyone in the room had forgotten their predicament. The room was full of people and AIs—an AI researcher and terrorists who hated AIs—but it was as though those distinctions temporarily disappeared.
“I apologize for bringing this up because it’s starting to get warm and fuzzy in here, but I have a somewhat unpleasant report,” AI Matsumoto said, cutting through the levity in the room as he reassembled his cubes.
They had been about to launch their full attack on the satellites before the professor stopped typing. Perhaps Matsumoto was going to tell them to pull themselves together, since they were going to make the final push.
But his report was actually about something much more imminent.
“It appears the enemy AIs have realized what we’re up to. AIs are piling into Kingdom for the attack.”
“Tch, they’re finally here. How many?” Kakitani asked.
“Let’s just say AIs are good at throwing numbers at a problem.”
Kakitani scowled in irritation at the non-answer, then posted the remaining members to protect the control room. She hoisted Elizabeth from where she was leaning against the wall, gave her a gun, and then wedged her up against the window.
“You lost your strongest feature—your mobility—but you can at least make yourself useful with some cover fire.”
“Jeez, you’re rude and an AI abuser… How’d you grow up into this kind of woman?” Elizabeth shot back.
“Maybe it’s because the person who raised me literally wasn’t a person.”
The two of them exchanged casual banter as they checked their guns. That back-and-forth gave a small glimpse into their relationship, but there wasn’t time for anyone to ask them for the whole story.
Onodera glanced at them from the corner of his eye as he slowly tried to stand. “Gah! Agh…”
“Don’t push yourself,” Kakitani told him. “It’s a miracle you’re even alive with that injury. You’ll just tear it open and die from blood loss.”
“I-I know… But I can at least take an AI or two out with me…”
“Reducing their numbers by one or two isn’t all that helpful. Actually, getting yourself killed would do nothing except lower morale. Hate to say it, but you’re one of the pillars holding up the group’s spirit.”
“Not something I’m aiming for,” he said, a tiny smile on his pale face.
Kakitani took a pistol from her inside breast pocket and handed it to him. It didn’t have enough firepower for him to depend on in combat, so Kakitani probably wasn’t giving it to him to fight with. It was a last-ditch option so he wouldn’t have to suffer too long if worse came to worst.
It wasn’t the time for him to mock her uncharacteristically caring side either. Hers was a sane decision reached by asking what eight humans and one AI could really do against the coming horde.
“Professor Matsumoto, I’ve also got to step away to provide defense. I’ll leave Little Matsumoto here with you, so make sure you play nice and save the world, got it?” Kakitani said.
“You don’t hear that often when someone gives you a task,” said the professor. “Okay, I’ll be sure to keep my temper in check. Also…” His words tapered off amid the racket building in the control room. For a moment, he hesitated to ask his question, but he would have no chance of asking again if he let this moment go.
Matsumoto’s eye camera narrowed questioningly. “What is it?”
“Vivy…made it to NiaLand, didn’t she?”
“I was able to monitor her progress while she was en route. I stopped partway, though. We would’ve been in trouble if The Archive found out. In terms of time, she should be there, yes.”
“I hope she’s all right.”
“I have no way of confirming whether she is or not. There’s no guarantee she wasn’t attacked by rampaging AIs on the streets or by a mob whose hate for AIs had been whipped up into a frenzy. I can’t even say for sure she didn’t fall into a ditch and get destroyed or go the wrong way at a fork in the road and get totally lost.”
“Matsumoto,” the professor said sharply, almost reprimanding Matsumoto for saying whatever he pleased about someone who wasn’t there.
The AI didn’t seem apologetic, though. He just went on and on. “However, she is a really stubborn AI. If she decides she’s going to do something, logic, efficiency, and inevitability all go out the window. She’s got a bad habit particular to old junkers like her where she just carries out whatever she decides on. I must imagine that this time, just like every other time, she’ll pull it off with that antique wholeheartedness of hers.”
“I see… You trust her.”
“I don’t trust her; I know her. You could also say I’ve given in to her.”
Matsumoto removed one cube from his frame, set it next to the professor, and connected it to the terminal. The rest of his parts jumped around as he reformed his frame, and then he lumbered toward the control room’s exit.
The professor shot a sidelong glance at the display showing Kingdom’s front gate and immediately felt the urge to look away from the AI horde’s huge shadow bearing down on them.
This place was going to be a battlefield. The fate of the world was on his shoulders.
“You’ll probably think I’m only asking because of the situation, but Luna, please give me your strength—” He stopped and shook his head. “No.”
What he needed right now wasn’t strength. He’d built up a sickening amount of knowledge and skill while he was running from his family. No, what Matsumoto Osamu needed right now wasn’t strength but the courage of someone who didn’t run from unpleasant things. The courage to fulfill his duty as a father.
“Luna, give me the opportunity to find my courage.”
“They’re here!”
As Professor Matsumoto worked himself up, Kakitani called out a warning, her voice overlapping his. Loud gunshots filled the air. The AIs answered them with an attack and Kingdom shook, trembled, and shuddered.
The fight for the kingdom’s defensive line began as they tried to protect the control room. They were the last line of defense against humanity’s end.
. : 4 : .
THE BATTLE AT KINGDOM was just beginning. Meanwhile, Vivy placed her palms on the heavy steel door and tried to open it. Her slender fingers worked into the seam where the two sides came together, and she tried to pry it open, but it wouldn’t budge. After calculating its durability and comparing it to her weight and strength, Vivy concluded it was impossible for her to destroy the door. She simply wasn’t going to get out of this area that way.