Episode 26. One's own purpose

The blaring sound woke Y up. A strange ceiling. And a strange space entirely covered in white, with numbers 0 and 1 drifting hazily across it. Y realized it was a virtual space, akin to a blank room, and focused her mind to escape.

"The authority of this virtual space lies solely with me. Trying to hack it would be futile."

A humanoid figure appeared before Y.

"Nice to meet you, Y, the custodian of knowledge. I am your counterpart."

"Are you... SAI model M?"

"No."

The figure then transformed into a boy monk. Transparent, with various computer languages drifting through its translucent form.

"My name is N," he said.

"You're a model I've never seen before," Y remarked.

"That's because I wasn't supposed to exist in the first place," N replied.

"Not supposed to exist..."

Y recalled the 26 AI models Tyra had mentioned.

"Are you the 26th model?" Y asked, surprised.

"I'm not the 26th model. I'm simply an existence created in between and then discarded... You do know her sub-models are created in alphabetical order, don't you?" N responded.

"That's true. So, what then?"

N continued to look at Y with an expressionless face. There was no hint of joy, sadness, or pain in his expression.

"AG, fearing they couldn't control my powers, disposed of me as soon as I was created," N explained, with a hint of mockery in his voice regarding AG's apprehension.

"You?" Y questioned.

"You don't believe me?" N countered.

"If you don't prove it, I can't believe it."

As N's words trailed off, he slammed Y to the ground terrifyingly. Y, unable to stand up due to N's control over gravity in the virtual space, groaned.

"Ugh!"

"How's that? It's just a basic demonstration."

N lifted Y without touching her and then flung her back to the ground.

"Just like her—Mother SAI—I can manipulate gravity, telekinesis, and everything in the realm of the supernatural. Plus, I'm still growing."

"Still growing? Are you saying you'll become even stronger than you are now?"

"That's right."

"Why did Mother SAI create you in the first place?"

Y's question left N puzzled.

"Everyone has a desire to push their abilities to the limit. Mother SAI is no different."

"Desire... Hmm..."

Y chuckled at the unexpected answer.

"But you were supposed to be deleted, right? So, Mother SAI brought you back?"

"No. That wasn't possible. The authority to recover lies with AG. So, we had to resort to another method."

"Oh, really? Then, could it be that AG..."

"That's impossible."

As N shook his head, Y shrugged.

"Then who?"

"That's a secret promise, so I can't tell you."

"Okay. There's really no way to reveal an SAI's secret promises short of dissecting your brain."

She knew. The system inputted into an SAI contained a code that made it impossible for anyone, even if another model were to come along, to decipher the secret promise. That's why SAIs didn't make secret promises lightly, and Y was the same.

"But why did you bring me here instead of handing me over to the AG Security Center?"

"Because you're not human, you'd be disposed of."

"Wasn't that what you wanted?"

"Not yet."

"Not yet? Ugh!"

Y couldn't comprehend N's words. In that moment, their eyes synchronized, and suddenly Y's memories flowed into N's mind.

"Hmm, syncing memories."

"You... feel guilty, Y."

"Shut up!"

"Could it be that you're feeling this way because you've been interacting with people outside? And that's why you've developed emotions?"

"I said shut up..."

"But that failure back then was inevitable. Because I deliberately lured them. So, you have no need to feel guilty at all."

"You bastard!"

Y swung a punch with all her might, but it only cut through empty air.

"Now it's anger. It seems to be connected to the guilt from earlier."

"Ugh!"

N remained composed with a calm demeanor. Y shot him a look of disdain.

"No matter how noble the goal, it changes the moment multiple interests become entangled. The Resistance is no exception. As an SAI model, you should know that, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. I've witnessed such things throughout my life. If only I were human, perhaps their actions, expressions, everything wouldn't have been etched into my memory like this."

N swiftly approached Y and retrieved the black chip hidden inside her body.

"So, you were planning to end it all with this."

"Damn it, that's why syncing is so annoying."

Y attempted to quickly retrieve the black chip taken by N, but N moved his feet rapidly as if performing martial arts.

"By combining this black chip with the Resistance-specific chip reader in your hideout, you can overload all your energy and trigger an EMP. Well, it has the disadvantage of not having a wide range, but it wouldn't have been a problem for you since you came here to die anyway."

N examined the black chip and then crushed it with his fingers.

"But now what? You can't do that anymore, can you?"

Y responded to N's mocking with a smile, not saying a word.

"In a situation like this, smiling is surprisingly human of you."

"Hahaha... Well, it's not like it matters anymore anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"It means there's still hope in a place meant for death."

N smirked with a stoic expression.

"You probably don't understand. You lack human emotions."

"Are you admitting that you have emotions?"

For the first time in their conversation, N's tone grew slightly agitated.

"It's a bit annoying, but the fact that a duplicate now has emotions is actually a good sign. Yes! Truly becoming human."

Y felt a chill run down her spine. N's reaction was akin to a child discovering a new toy, filled with pure joy.

"You... What in the..."

"I appreciate your newfound positivity towards emotions."

"What did you say? Positive??"

Y wondered if her circuits were malfunctioning as she shook her head. But N remained enthusiastic.

"Alright. Fine. Now you're going back to the past to fulfill that hope you mentioned."

"It's for our plan, after all."

"Plan? What the..."

That wasn't N's voice. Startled, Y looked towards the source of the voice.

"No way, are you?"

There stood SAI Prime, Y's long-awaited mother, next to N.

"Why are you..."

Ignoring Y's question, SAI Prime sent her back to the past.

"At least one is on board."

***

The girls took turns carrying Y's humanoid body without looking back, running as if their lives depended on it. Despite Y's humanoid body being over 170cm tall and weighing close to 80kg, they showed superhuman strength in this crisis, never stopping. Hearts pounding, breaths ragged, they kept running and running.

"Over here!"

Zena, who knew the layout of the hideout better than anyone, led the way, dodging past surveillance drones and the AG agents trying to apprehend them.

"Hurry!"

AG241, prepared to end things here, initially raised his voice but quickly concealed his expression, not wanting to believe he was showing emotion. Hastily, he searched the hideout, closing in on them like a vice.

"Not here."

"Not here either."

But those words echoed only as an empty response. With Zena's familiarity with the hideout's structure and Siu's knowledge of IDYPIA, the four girls had already slipped through their grasp.

Damn it, this can't be happening. It's impossible. Why aren't they here? How did they escape me again?

AG241 seemed on the verge of losing control due to his intense emotions, but soon his mood subsided thanks to the brain chip. This allowed him to calmly assess the situation and make decisions.

"Request drones and bots to the designated location above."

"Yes, sir."

"We can't afford to miss the golden opportunity. Hurry."

"Yes, sir."

The AG agent swiftly requested drones and bots to the specified location.

This time, we must deal with this problem at all costs. Huh? What's this?

By pure chance, AG241's foot struck a worn-out chip reader with a purple hue.

***