.hack//AI Buster - Volume 2 - Chapter 3.7

.: 7 :.

I had assigned Magi the (ask of finding a Vagrant AI. She confirmed its existence and gave me its location. It was exactly where she said it would be-in an enchanted forest. He was a half-naked teenage boy, with butterfly wings and amber-colored eyes that twinkled.

The wings were a giveaway, as they couldn't be created for a character. He was definitely a Vagtant AI.

The Butrerfly Boy was playing with a girl, a Twin User. The avatar belonged to Yukino.

They were laughing and whispering when I stepped out from behind the tree.

"Miss Shibayamal" she said, gasping, "What are you doing here?"

"In The World, I'm known as Kamui." I pointed the Divine Spear of Wotan at the Butterfly Boy.

"Why are you here?" Yukino asked in a shaky voice. She was probably plugged into The World from her home computer.

"We tracked your avatar," I answered.

"But this is my private--!"

"When you joined the debugging team as a system administrator, you forfe ited your privacy. I'm sure you read the employee regulations."

In order to prevent the abuse of system administrator privileges, it was against regulations for debuggers to have a second PC on a different account or log in for personal reasons. Yukino was violating her agreement.

Magi had discovered that Yukino had used company computers to log in to The World with her private ID several times.

"Is this the Vagrant AI you were talking about?" I glared at the Butterfly Boy.

Yukino didn't answer.

I glared at her. "You're not a child. If you think you'll be forgiven if you stay silent, you're wrong."

Yukino continued sulking like a little girl.

"I know you didn't find it during your college yeats, because you created your current avatar fairly recently. Did you find it -during business hours?"

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Yukino exploded.

"It doesn't matter if it's harmful or not. It's not even human. We don't determine whether it's good or bad." 1 was irrirared with Yukino. She hadn't listened to a thing 1 had said.

"Please! Let him go, Miss Shibayama!"

"My name's Kamui! Now stop wasting time. I came alone to see how you would react, but I can see this won't end well."

"Are you going to delete me?" Butterfly Boy asked.

He stepped in front of Yukino as if to protect her. He stared at me with his jewel-like eyes.

"What are you doing, Lin?" Yukino asked.

"Stop acting human, AI!" I yelled.

"Is this my fate?" Lin asked. H is wings fluttered and I noticed tiny glittering confetti sprinkling through the air behind him.

I targeted the Butterfly Boy.

He looked at the spear, surprised. "The Divine Spear of Wotan? I thought it had disappeared."

I looked at him in disbelief How did a Vagrant AI know about this spear?

"You're surptised, aren't you, Miss Shibayama? He knew about the Cobalt Knights and the debug item."

"Yukino, do you want to explain this?"

"When I firsr found him, he was a little caterpillar. I came here every day to see him. I logged in from the company computers when I was too busy with work to go home. I was worried, so I had to come see him. He was dependent on me. Whenever I stood under this tree, he crawled down from the top branches. He was only a small insect, but as I talked to him, he learned to speak."

"Yukino! pointed to the large tree. I looked up. Hanging from a tree branch was an empty brown cocoon.

"What is it?"

"A pupa. Lin recently went through a metamorphosis. He has grown at a surprising rate, not only in shape, but in his conversational skills. Sometimes he says complex things that even I can't understand."

"Yukino! Your job is not to observe Vagrant AIs!" I pointed the Divine Spear of Wotan toward Butterfly Boy.

He looked skyward and began to recite: "The night of the old God hath passed. And gaining twilight and new order, the new world was reborn. But why do people depend on the nightly power of the old God through the spear?"

I was bewildered by Lin's statements. He sounded like a poee.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Why do you want to delete me?" Lin asked simply.

"Because you're a bug."

"I am Lin. You are Kamui. We are both residents of The World." Lin reached his hand out.

"I am also Saki Shibayama, a debugger and Cobalt Knight. From my perspective, you are nothing but an illegal program."

"From God's perspective, the existence of you and I are blessed by this World." As Lin spoke, he grabbed the tip of my spear with his bare hands. Suddenly, I couldn't move my arms.

"What do you mean, 'God?' " I asked me Vagrant AI.

"God is The World." Lin answered.

"The World itself?"

"Yes. You who borrowed the powers of the old God should know that."

"Old God? Are you talking about the Divine Spear of Wotan?"

"Yes. T he one that should be deleted is this false spear."

"Enough!"

I made Kamui fall back out of his reach and established some distance. I res elected the debug command.

"Why do you want to delete me?" Lin asked calmly, without fear.

"To insult the Divine Spear of Wotan is to insult me and my mentor, who dedicated his life to the ideals of this artifact! I was given this spear to protect The World and that's just what I'm going to do!"

I was breathing heavily, trying-to calm myself down.

"You won't listen to my story, will you?" Lin scared sadly.

I told myself he only IooJ.J sad, he didn't really feel sadness or anything else.

"You're good at confusing people, aren't you, AI?"

He was trying to confuse me just as Watarai had been confused by the little girl in red.

"Please don't. Miss Shibayama!" Yokino cried out.

I ignored her and announced, "According to regulations, this Non-Player Character is recognized as an irregular NPC, who is not part of the specification within the Japanese version of The World."

"Am I not one of the possibilities of The World? It is your false spear that is the abomination. Destroy the spear and you will find your salvation. Destroy me and you only kill a part of your own soul."

I gritted my teeth. "If my soul was corrupted by bugs, then I would gladly destroy it."

"And what of my soul?" Butterfly Boy looked forlorn, but I told myself it was only an act.

"You have no souL You're nothing but a collection of ones and zeroes."

"You're nothing but a collection of atomic particles." he shot back. "Does that make you more special than me? Does that give you the right to end my existence? Besides, who art )OU [0 determine who has and hasn't a soul? After all, you carry around a mockery of the old Gods."

"I'm just doing my job."

"That's just what the guards a[ the Nazi camps said when brought before the Nuremburg tribunals. But you're probably too young co remember that, and we all know history repeats itself." He shrugged.

"I know what you're doing, but it won't work."

"I'm only trying to point out that my life has as much value as yours."

"No, you're trying [0 plead for your life by making me out to be the bad guy. But I'm no Nazi and I can't exterminate something that isn't even alive."

"Exterminate. Isn't that exactly what you're doing exterminating what you only think of as a bug? How many generations of genocide will it take before the violence comes to an end?"

"You can argue all you want, but it's not going to stop me from doing what's necessary. It's time to debug."

"Even in death, my life has value."

I pointed the tip of the spear toward him. His smiling unnerved me.

"Stop!" Yukino jumped between us.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded. "Clear out, Yukino."

He turned to her. "Thank you, Yukino. Your love for me also has value. And so wiIl the sadness you feel when I am gone."

"Lin?!" Yukino called

"Go ahead, Kamui. Use your power and delete me," Lin commanded.

"That is the mission of the Cobalt Knights;' I said, shaken.

I activated the command and pierced him with the spear. He released a high-pitched shriek as he violently convulsed, and then shattered into luminous pieces.

The enchanted woods fe ll silent, as if mourning his loss. Only Yukino's sobbing could be heard.

Yukino's violations and her concealment of a Vagrant AI were reported to the company. I was surprised she wasn't fired. Instead, she was transferred to a clerical department that had nothing to do with The World.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor and had them increase my prescription. My headaches are getting worse, but they won't stop me. Nothing will stop me from my mission. Today, I will continue my hunt for Als.

My mission is my only proof that I am alive.