Aikawa Youichi greatly contributed to the bill’s creation, and he had just now realized it was likely responsible for putting his life in danger. That was why Vivy and Matsumoto had rushed to this building in order to save his life.
“We have to get him to safety. That is our goal,” said Matsumoto. “That’s the first step in the Singularity Project…”
“The men said they sent me several warning letters… I get so many petitions and complaint letters that my secretary disposes of most of them before they even get to me. Theirs too, probably,” said Aikawa.
“That’s enough,” said Matsumoto. “Ruminating won’t make the dead end open up. It’ll just make you feel worse. The possibility of negotiating with them went out the window the moment they pointed a gun at you. This is an act of terrorism, and giving in to it just won’t do. Am I wrong?”
“That’s a bit coldhearted, isn’t it? And here I thought bears were supposed to be warm-blooded mammals…”
“Ah, but as you can see, I’m a killing machine who sheds neither blood nor tears.”
Matsumoto’s deadpan joke managed to lighten Aikawa’s gloom, if only a little. Had it taken more than that to cheer him up after their conversation, Vivy would’ve had to suppress the powerful urge to shut Matsumoto up herself.
Just then, Vivy shouted “Get down!” as she reached out and grabbed Aikawa by the scruff of the neck. She yanked him down, and he fell backward, unable to catch his balance, as another bullet shot past his head.
“They’re here! This way!” came a man’s voice, and several pairs of feet stomped in their direction.
They wouldn’t be able to handle an encounter with the men in a straight hallway without cover, so Vivy dragged Aikawa behind her as she leapt to the side and tumbled into a nearby room. The metal plate affixed to the wall beside the door said “Records Room.”
“The door!” shouted Vivy.
“I’m closing it!” replied Matsumoto as he engaged the electronic lock on the door. However, a mere electronic lock wouldn’t last long under gunfire.
“Wh-what are you going to do?!” Aikawa asked, anxious to know the plan after nearly escaping death twice in quick succession.
In response, Vivy scanned the records room and concluded that there was no escape route nor anywhere to hide.
“Vivy, you need to prepare yourself,” came a transmission from Matsumoto as he slid into a fighting pose. He’d chosen private communication out of consideration for Aikawa, and his tone was a sign of just how seriously he was taking the Project—and they weren’t going to get out of this situation without spilling blood.
The AIs had to reprioritize.
“The First Law of the Three Laws of AI: An AI may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm,” Matsumoto recited. “Ethical Codes and binding force of the Three Laws confirmed. Begin overwrite in non-applicable situation.”
The Three Laws that Matsumoto spoke of were three incontestable rules given to AI by humankind based on the Three Laws of Robotics laid down by Isaac Asimov.
The First Law: An AI may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The Second Law: An AI must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
The Third Law: An AI must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws functioned as safety mechanisms—tools that allowed AIs to coexist with humans. But right now, those laws were preventing Vivy and Matsumoto from accomplishing their goal. They could not harm humans, nor could they go against human orders. Together, they needed to keep themselves out of harm. If these directives prevented an AI from adhering to its most important mission, then what choice did it have?
But there was another law.
The Zeroth Law: An AI may not harm humanity or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
The Zeroth Law was not about humans on an individual level; it was about protecting humanity as a concept. As the Singularity Project’s premise was based on protecting humanity, they had options.
“Here,” said Vivy, handing Aikawa the teddy bear clock.
“Huh? Wh-what are you doing?” he asked, although he took it without thinking. Vivy didn’t answer his question as she moved in front of the door.
“In accordance with the Zeroth Law, I will execute the Project.”
The moment those words left Vivy’s lips, Matsumoto opened the electronic lock on the door. The man who’d been trying to break through the door with his gun gasped in surprise as it slammed open and a heel struck his nose, sending him flying backward.
“Gah!”
Vivy pulled her leg back, then crouched down and leapt into the hallway. There was one man to the right of the door and two men to the left. All of them had been shocked by Vivy’s sudden attack.
One of the men realized his companion had been kicked over and pointed his gun at Vivy with a shout of rage. “Wh-why, you…!”
She leaned to the side, putting his companion on the other side of the door in his line of fire. He hesitated, and Vivy struck his gun with a quick karate chop. His trigger finger broke as the gun flew out of his hand and skidded down the hallway.
“Agh!” He shrieked in pain, then collapsed after an elbow strike to the neck.
After knocking him out, Vivy straightened back up. There was one more man in front of her and another behind. She dodged a punch from the man in front, then slipped an arm under his groin and flung him down the hall. After watching him crash down on his back with a sideways glance, Vivy turned toward the last man, who was swinging an extendable baton at her.
She blocked the strike with her damaged right arm. The limb let out a screech, but she managed to limit the damage of the attack as much as possible. Then, she spun around and struck the man in his chest with a back kick. He slammed into the wall and passed out as the wind was knocked out of him. Vivy leapt onto the man she’d thrown, who was trying to run away, and wrapped her legs around his neck to pin him in place. Humans lost consciousness in a matter of seconds if you prevented blood flow to their brains by applying pressure to the carotid arteries, so once he was out, Vivy rose to her feet again.
It had taken only twenty seconds for her to incapacitate the four killers.
“Would you look at that! Pretty good. Much better than I was expecting,” said Matsumoto, clapping his little plush hands as Vivy checked the men’s pulses. Because his hands were made of such soft materials, his applause didn’t make much noise, but it was clear he and Vivy were relieved by the outcome.
While she had put the Three Laws off to prioritize the Zeroth Law, they were now back in full effect. She forcibly resisted the urge to tend to the men’s wounds.
Aikawa came out of the storage room and spotted the neutralized men on the ground. “D-did you kill them…?”
Vivy shook her head. “They are only unconscious. Let’s take their guns and tie them up.”
They took off the men’s shirts and used them as makeshift rope. Then, they pushed the men into the room adjacent to the records room and collected their weapons.
“Can you use a gun?” asked Matsumoto.