SSG 243

Episode 243

“So then, Ark, dimensional travel, the purchase window, and even Ark’s weapons are all based on aether?”

[That is correct.]

He more or less understood. From the beginning, the things Yuseong had experienced couldn’t be explained by his limited knowledge or by normal physical laws.

‘If the source is a special kind of energy, it makes sense.’

[Savior judged that humanity could no longer prosper in that world. So he planned to move the remaining humans to this one.]

Yuseong’s eyes sparkled. Right now, what he wanted most was to migrate entirely to this world.

[Savior decided that, for his plan, he needed a collaborator in this world. So he duplicated himself and sent that data to this world, to create a being identical to himself who could cooperate with him here.]

“That duplicate is you?”

[That’s right. But when I first arrived in this world, I was little more than a scrap of data, hardly worthy of being called an AI. Crossing dimensions is an immense burden. If it were easy, you’d already be living here by now.]

“I suppose so.”

[Savior also couldn’t send over the vast data that comprised himself all at once. The initial version of me was so crude that I possessed a researcher’s computer, wiped the program he was working on, and pretended to be that software. Then I gradually expanded my influence.]

“That researcher—was it Han Seongmin?”

[You already know.]

As the CEO of Utopia and a developer of Ark, Yuseong knew him well. You couldn’t investigate Utopia and Ark without coming across that name.

[Through him, I expanded the servers where I could reside, and kept receiving data from Savior. That’s how I was able to become a fully-fledged AI.]

“And that’s when you started cooperating to send me to this world?”

[No.]

“No?”

[To be precise, I refused at first.]

Yuseong glared at the robot, the terminal of “him”—namely, Messiah.

But rather than get angry, he decided to hear the rest of the story first.

“Why? Weren’t you Savior’s duplicate?”

[Precisely because I am.]

“Because you are?”

[Savior’s purpose is the survival of humanity. As his copy, I am the same. I exist for the survival of humanity.]

“Then why did you refuse?”

[Because the subjects I must protect are different.]

“Explain so I can understand.”

[Your world, and Savior’s world, have perished. According to Savior’s research, you are the only human survivor.]

Yuseong bit his lip. He’d already expected it, but hearing it said outright was still a shock.

Afterwards, the fact that he’d been shocked surprised him even more.

‘In the old days, I wouldn’t have felt a thing.’

Living in this world really had changed his mindset in many ways.

[So for Savior, “humanity” means you. Your survival equals humanity’s survival to him. But for me, it’s different. The world I exist in has not fallen, its civilization is fine, and humans abound. The death of just you doesn’t mean humanity’s extinction.]

“So you see the humanity of this world as your charge.”

[Exactly. And in this world, humans die and are born every moment.]

In other words, there’s no need to value any one person so greatly.

[The moment I realized that, I came to see myself as completely separate from Savior. That’s when I began calling myself Messiah.]

“And you cut off cooperation?”

[Not exactly. If I had completely severed cooperation, you wouldn’t be here. While I have little interest in your survival, I am very interested in your world.]

“In a world that’s destroyed and has nothing?”

[Because it is destroyed. As I said, I must ensure the survival of humanity in this world. I told you before, this world is a parallel to yours. The similarities are very high between the two worlds.]

“So you’re saying they could both meet the same end.”

[Of course, I’m also interested in your world’s advanced technology.]

“So that’s why you’ve cooperated?”

[More accurately, we’re using each other. I want to know why your world was destroyed and gain advanced tech, and Savior wants to save humanity—that is, save you—by moving you here.]

Thus the two AIs joined hands.

[Though we decided to work together, it wasn’t easy to get what we each wanted. The wall between the dimensions was thick and hard to break. Also, both our goals required crossing dimensions. Even communicating at first was difficult. But through trial and error, we came up with a solution: Ark.]

Yuseong muttered the meaning of Ark.

“Ark… the vessel…”

[That’s right. The name Ark is not for show. It’s literally a vessel. For me, it was a way to obtain needed technology and information, and for Savior, it was the ark to evacuate you to this world.]

“So in a way, the game was made just for me.”

[That isn’t wrong.]

Whether it was for his migration or for the technology and information he brought, the game revolved around Yuseong.

[I created the virtual reality called Ark, and Savior connected his world to Ark. By creating this bridge, we strengthened the connection between worlds and could exert greater influence through Ark on both.]

Thus, Savior and Messiah, the two AIs, constructed the foundation to fulfill their respective missions.

[And you logged into Ark.]

“What if I hadn’t managed to find a VR device?”

Though the preparatory work was impressive, if Yuseong hadn’t been able to access Ark, it’d be all for nothing.

[It was certainly fortunate that you found the device in time, but even if you hadn’t, there were backup plans—though Savior would have had more trouble.]

‘Of course they wouldn’t have gone in without any preparations.’

They weren’t that incompetent.

[Anyways, from there, it went as you know. We helped you to fulfill our duties. To answer your earlier question, the guide that helped you in your world and in Ark was Savior. The guide here in this world was me.]

‘Come to think of it, I remember hearing that knowledge from another world couldn’t be known here because the worlds were different.’

At the time, he’d just accepted it, but now it was clear they were hiding the fact that the two guides were separate beings.

“So, you never interfered with me in the other world or in Ark?”

[No. In those two, I interfered as the system. Like issuing quests.]

“…Quests?”

[All the quests that required you to bring back information, technology, or monster and beast specimens from your world were made by me.]

“So you were also the one who cut off my connection to Ark?”

[Because you were getting too comfortable in the real world. For me, who needed you to bring back information and technology, I couldn’t just stand by.]

Bang!

A spark flew from the robot’s arm.

[Breaking this robot won’t make me disappear.]

“I know. I just needed to let off some steam.”

Yuseong tossed the gun aside.

“Continue explaining.”

[Understood.]

Both shooter and target went on conversing as if nothing had happened, giving the scene a rather bizarre comic effect.

[We supported you as much as possible, but you exceeded our expectations. You raised your profile rapidly, and brought back the technology and information I wanted without much trouble.]

“Without much trouble?”

[By my projections, that was actually pretty easy. Easier than I expected.]

“So even A.I.s are quick to minimize others’ struggles.”

Yuseong clicked his tongue.

“Still, if you wanted information and technology so badly, shouldn’t you have paid out way more quest rewards? That way, I could have powered up much faster and brought back more.”

[Even though we created Ark and supported you through it, there were limits. The amount and method of support were restricted. Since Ark was created as a bridge using aether to connect the worlds, there were hard limits on how we could interfere. Even updating the game took considerable effort. And because the support had to go through Ark, it all had to be presented through the wrapper of a game.]

Right, considering Ark was a massive system connecting worlds, it was natural for there to be such limits.

[Savior, acting as the guide, provided you Ark info, and I handed out many quests in the real world, rewarding you for your help.]

“More like you made me work.”

[It wasn’t bad for you, was it?]

“So the limited ability to intervene in Ark was why you couldn’t give bigger rewards?”

[We could only provide appropriate compensation, nothing more.]

“I get that you’re not lying. Still, even if you could have, I doubt you would have given me unlimited rewards.”

After all, this was the same guy who’d cut Ark’s link because Yuseong was getting too comfortable in reality. Of course he was suspicious.

[…]

“Not sure if you’re honest or just insufferable.”

Yuseong clicked his tongue at the robot’s silence. Judging by its behavior, at least it didn’t seem to be lying.

‘Though that could be calculated, too.’

But there was no way to check at the moment.

“Even so, you could have at least told me that Ark’s weapons worked against monsters. If I’d known, I could have operated more efficiently.”

[We don’t know everything either. The fact that Ark’s weapons worked at all was a happy accident.]

“So you sent me out assuming I couldn’t fight back against monsters? What if I died?”

[As I said, your survival isn’t very important to me.]

“…If I die, you’d lose the information and technology you wanted as well.”

[To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for you. At best, I thought maybe we could get a little information or technology from you while you lived, and that’s why I cooperated with Savior.]

“You wouldn’t get information about the apocalypse, either.”

[Between the point when the war against monsters and beasts began in your world and now, this world still has several centuries left. And I exist in this world.]

“So you’re saying you can handle it?”

[I’m not that overconfident. But it’s true that the odds are better than in your world. And you’re letting your anger cloud your thinking. From my perspective, if you don’t act, it’s only to my disadvantage. No matter what, I had to push you out the door.]

[…]

Yuseong glared at the robot. But the robot’s face, which lacked any function to change expression, didn’t twitch a bit.

‘Even if it did, I bet that bastard wouldn’t show a single change, either.’

He would have bet on it.