“Which is why you’ll have to take care of most of the work for the Project,” he continued. “Obviously, I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, so don’t worry about that. When you’re lonely, when you want to hear a joke, when you’re sick, when you’re healthy, when you want someone to give you their thoughts on a poem you thought up—you can count on me.”
“Now that I take another look, I think I overestimated you.” While Matsumoto’s esteem had been rising in Vivy’s eyes, it quickly dropped, and Vivy let out a sigh despite not needing to breathe.
Even with the close call, Vivy continued to hold Matsumoto as she made her way to the main entrance of NiaLand, waving at any guests they passed.
“Change into something less conspicuous before you leave NiaLand,” said Matsumoto. “Your appearance draws too much attention. Your facial features might not turn heads in a few years, but they’re still a little too perfect for this era.”
“Are you complimenting me?”
“Are you asking if I’m happy my partner’s gorgeous? Well, maybe I am. My AI personality is generally that of a man, after all. There are bound to be consequences.”
“With your bear form, it would be more accurate to call you a boar than a man.”
“Graaar! I’ll gobble you up!”
Vivy ignored Matsumoto as he used the clock’s functions to wrap his plush limbs around her arm and pretend to eat her. Before leaving the park, she entered an employee locker room and changed her uniform for a pair of coveralls meant for maintenance workers. It was a bit big on her petite, feminine frame, but the bagginess helped conceal her overly perfect proportions. She put on a cap, tucked her hair up under it, and pulled it low over her eyes. When she was done, she was unrecognizable.
“Someone in work clothes carrying around a teddy bear is totally fishy,” said Matsumoto.
“The problem would be solved if you chose another interface. What about a calculator?”
“And force this superb AI from the future into a mere tool for calculation? Don’t be absurd. Just, you know, ignore all the cuteness here… Okay! Let’s go!” said Matsumoto cheerfully.
Vivy shook her head in exasperation before leaving NiaLand.
The anti-theft alarm didn’t sound even though she was leaving during scheduled working hours. Matsumoto’s GPS monitoring hack was working.
Normally, Vivy didn’t have permission to operate outside of the park. The only time she left NiaLand was on her monthly maintenance day, when she was transported by a specialized delivery company. This was the first time since her creation that she’d ever stepped out of the park on her own two feet.
“…”
After taking that first step outside the park, Vivy’s feet came to an uncalculated stop.
Outside NiaLand’s main entrance was a fountain and a huge clock tower. She could see guests everywhere taking photos in front of the famous landmarks to commemorate the day. Vivy, whose entire world until now had been contained within the park, had never seen it so close up.
“Vivy? What’s wrong? You have to pee or something?”
“It’s nothing,” she said, smacking the back of his head. She gazed at the bright white sunlight that lit the world and cascaded toward the clock tower, her eye cameras activating their shade function. He gave an exaggerated squeak of pain but didn’t comment on Vivy’s behavior any further. Vivy handled her momentary stall as an error and corrected it internally.
But the glow of the scene in her eye cameras had looked just a bit different than expected. She logged the tiny blip, and then, teddy bear in her arms, stepped out into an unknown world.
. : 5 : .
THAT DAY, Aikawa Youichi would find himself in the worst situation of his tumultuous life.
On a daily basis, he found himself in terrible situations and pushing through adversity. It wasn’t as if his self-image was built on swimming against the current—he refused to submit to others. He didn’t pay attention. The man was stubborn.
He rejected reality.
Aikawa knew what people said about him, and for better or worse, popular opinion greatly impacted those with jobs like his. If someone was too assertive, people would hate them. But if they kept at it without regard to the naysayers, their popularity would grow.
He had more enemies than allies, and he took pride in that. Despite everything, Aikawa stuck to doing things his way. At least…until today. His stubbornness was to blame. Or perhaps he’d sinned too much.
There were some careers where being unwise, ignorant, and bullheaded were grievous sins punished without mercy. In Aikawa’s line of work, however, those characteristics actually made one more suitable for the job. He needed to be this way.
“Is this the end?” murmured Aikawa, his breathing heavy as he wiped away the sweat running down his jaw with the sleeve of his suit jacket. His previously immaculate, white-streaked hair, normally slicked back sharp and straight, was disheveled. Slouched over, he looked wretched and withered—far older than he was.
In front of Aikawa, a closed safety shutter blocked his path. The lights were out in the hallway, leaving it dark. He wondered if it was possible to be more aware of the night’s darkness in this day and age. Holding on to that useless thought, he looked over his shoulder. He didn’t have time to go back the way he’d come.
“Just give up already.”
The chilling sound of footsteps echoed through the hall, and then several figures wearing black ski masks emerged from the darkness. In their arms, they carried those vicious hunks of metal known as guns.
Aikawa was trapped between the safety shutter and those armed individuals.
He’d seen guns plenty of times in movies and TV shows, but he hadn’t much opportunity to see them in real life. And now, graced with the opportunity to witness them firsthand, he couldn’t help but see them as tiny, banal tools. But they were so much more, and the bloodthirst emanating from the approaching figures made it clear that they were deadly weapons.
Taking advantage of the fact that they didn’t immediately shoot, Aikawa tried at conversation. “What…what are you after? What are you planning to do to me?”
The voice that replied was cold and filled with anger. “You seriously don’t know what we’re after? Even though we sent letter after letter?! We’ve been sounding the alarm for a while now!”
“Letters…?”
“Yeah, letters! If hearing that doesn’t jog your memory, then we don’t have anything further to discuss.”
Aikawa really had no idea what the hateful man was talking about. If the letters the man spoke of were among the complaint letters he received every day, then they had likely been disposed of before they even reached Aikawa. He could guess why the men had resorted to such violent tactics and why they were so angry at him, but that didn’t mean Aikawa could do something about it.
The man seemed to sense Aikawa was powerless and aimed the gleaming gun at him. “Die and become a stepping-stone for humanity.”
The world around Aikawa seemed to lose its color and slow down. It was just like in the movies, he thought dispassionately. He had spent much of his life fighting, using both wins and losses to spur himself on, but this really did look like the end.
His life didn’t flash before his eyes. He didn’t see images of his wife and child, the work he had yet to do, the time he spent with his parents when he was young. There was only the wait for the dry gunshot that would end his life.
The man’s finger slowly tightened on the trigger. A steel bullet fired from the muzzle and flew toward Aikawa, ready to tear him apart without mercy.