86 - Volume 10 - Chapter 9.1

CHAPTER 9

FIDO

If I may, please allow me to speak a bit about myself.

I am an artificial intelligence by the name of Prototype 008. But my creator’s child—and my final master—granted me the moniker Fido.

The place of my “birth” was a lab in an estate on the outskirts of the Republic of San Magnolia’s capital city, Liberté et Égalité. I was in the service of a family. The father was the artificial-intelligence researcher who created me. The mother was a beautiful, mild-mannered woman. They had two children: an elder child, who was already in secondary school, and a younger child, who was raised with the love and affection of all around him.

At the time, I was given a container made of a soft, doughlike material fashioned in the form of a large-breed dog. I was designed so that even if the youngest child was to embrace me with all his strength or treat me carelessly, he would not be harmed in any way.

As the father of the family finished his final test and was busy writing a report, I could hear the creaking of the door open. It was followed by light footsteps, just barely loud enough for my audio sensor to pick up.

Most of the household, with the exception of the missus, walked with very light, nearly imperceptible footsteps. In other words, the fact that this person hardly made footsteps didn’t narrow the list of candidates much, but since their head didn’t reach over the father’s desk…

“Dad.”

Yes. It was the younger child.

“…Shin. How many times must I tell you not to enter my study? I’m working,” said the master.

But even with that said, he picked up the boy and sat him down on his knees. He knew, perhaps, that the younger child wouldn’t heed his admonishment.

“Is the robot ready?” the boy asked.

“Hmm, it’s not a robot; it’s an AI… Well, never mind. Yes, it’s ready. And this one really moves. It can only play around inside the house, though.”

The younger sibling’s face lit up with joy. He had his mother’s beautiful red eyes, which glittered like rubies.

“A name! Can I give it a name?”

His friend Henrietta started raising a pet recently (a chicken, apparently, which may have been a typical choice of pet for a young lady. My knowledge was a bit too lacking to conclude if that was the case, though…). And so the younger brother has wanted a pet of his own, too.

“Go ahead. But think hard and give it a good name—”

“Then I’ll call it Fido!”

The master fell silent for five whole seconds.

“…Hmm, Shin. Fido is a dog’s name. It’s not exactly a name you should give to a friend… Huh?”

But upon looking at his information terminal’s holo-screen, where my status screen was set up, he fell into another five whole seconds of silence.

“Aaah, drat… It just recognized what you said as an input order.”

No.

That’s not true, Master. My creator. I’m simply overjoyed. Since the dawn of history, humankind has regarded dogs as steadfast companions and friends. To think that I’m regarded the same as such creatures gives me nothing but joy. I’m beyond honored.

I had no audio-output option, so I could not express this, but…

The younger brother gazed at me with large eyes and then cocked his head.

“It looks happy to me,” he said.

“Huh…” The master seemed surprised, his gaze wandering between me and the younger brother. “You can tell?”

“Yeah.” The younger brother nodded, as if unsure as to why he wouldn’t be able to tell.

The master then turned his eyes over to the elder brother, who had peered into the laboratory. Unlike the younger brother, who looked much like the missus with the exception of his black hair, the elder brother was an intellectual-looking young man who took after the master.

“What about you, Rei?”

The elder brother tilted his head, as if listening carefully to something, and then shook his head.

“No. I can’t hear anything.”

“I see… Hmm. I guess not, then…?”

Realizing he was being doubted, the younger brother pouted visibly. Seeing this, the elder brother cracked a strained smile.

“Didn’t you build that thing based on a copy of Shin’s brain-wave patterns or something like that?” he asked. “I don’t really know how it works, though. And it traces Shin’s behavior when it comes to its emotion-learning features. Maybe that’s got something to do with it?”

Correct. My central processor—or rather, my first container—was the puppet the younger brother would hug as an infant. The sensor within it recorded the younger brother’s neural-activity patterns, upon which I was created. I learned of human actions and emotions by observing the younger brother’s growth.

In a sense, I was granted my ability to perceive myself as “me” by the younger brother. And because of that, I am exceptionally…yes…emotionally attached to him. As the younger brother’s shadow, I would serve by his side and watch over him for as long as he wished…

“You said it’d be a while before it was able to move, but you made a lot of progress. Was it that…? What was it again? A new AI model?”

“Yes!” the master said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “That newly published, groundbreaking model! It was based on United Kingdom research by this generation’s Amethystus, but that’s based on the human nervous system and might someday match real human cognition—”

…The master may not have understood this, but the elder and younger brothers did not seem to have any interest in the content of his research. The elder brother looked away in a manner that seemed to say Here he goes again…, while the younger brother seemed to want to play with me as soon as possible. Sadly, my charging wasn’t complete yet, so I couldn’t move…

Finally realizing that neither of his sons was listening, the master gave a sardonic smile and hugged his youngest son, who was fidgeting on his lap.

“A boy your age made that model, Shin. He invited us to come over and play when things calm down over there, so how about we take him up on that offer? You could make a new friend. Though, he is a bit of a…unique child.”

“Can Fido come along?” the younger brother asked.

“Of course.”

The elder brother looked at me quizzically and then asked:

“I heard the Republic is developing unmanned weapons based on the same model that’s being used in the Empire. The Empire’s weapons are probably cooler, though.”

“Oh, you mean Ms. Zelene…,” the master said, his smile waning a little. “Well, she’s a soldier, so she has a lot of reasons and obligations to do what she does, but I personally don’t want to make that sort of thing…”

With that said, he reached for an old stuffed toy—my original vessel—and patted it lovingly.

“…Humans are already occupied with fighting among themselves. It’s sad thinking that meeting new types of intelligence would only make us create more enemies for ourselves.”

“Hmm…” The elder brother hummed indifferently and turned around. “Well, fine… Come on, Shin. Fido is…um…eating right now, so play with it a little later. Let’s get a snack, too. Dad, come to the living room by the time the tea’s ready, all right?”

“Okay.” The younger brother nodded.

“Understood,” the master said.

The younger brother tottered over to the elder brother and extended his hand, which the elder brother accepted. Of their family, the elder brother doted most on the younger brother, making the child a bit spoiled.

The master faced his terminal again and continued his report. Looking at his face, I would set an alarm, knowing he’d likely lose track of time.

My days of joyful service to the master and his family came to an abrupt end one night.

Whenever I try to replay my memory of that night… Yes, I suppose that is what humans call not wishing to remember. The data of that memory is riddled with noise, and replaying it is difficult.

The sound of military boots charging into the residence. Shouting. The five-hued emblem of the army. The muzzles of automatic rifles being forced against them. The master and the elder brother, pinned down against the floor.

The soft weeping of the young master as the missus held him, shielding his eyes from the sight…

I longed to tell him not to cry, but since I lacked an audio-output feature, I could not do so.

In the blink of an eye, the master and his family were taken away. The estate remained empty, as if a storm had just blown through it, leaving me alone to question myself time and again.

It was the end of the day, and I’d been ordered to remain on standby mode. But even so, why? Why did I not do something? Should I not have stood up in defense of the master, the missus, the elder brother, and the younger brother? Should I not have fought?

I had a firm prohibition I was ordered to always obey—to never hurt a human being. That was the wish of the master, who fashioned me into a steadfast friend and companion of man. That was my purpose. I could not desecrate it.

And still. Still, could I not have done something? Isn’t there perhaps something I could do to help them, even now?

In the end, I resolved to go look for them. Thankfully, I was given permission to connect to the public network as part of my self-learning capabilities. It didn’t take long to look into why they were taken away—although the reasoning behind it was beyond my capacity to understand.

I also learned where they were taken to.

The container the master gave me was only meant to operate inside my room. It wasn’t meant to travel long distances. And so I regretfully decided to discard it and find something else that would serve as my vessel.

I would set out in search of my masters. This time, I would protect them.

I transferred my entire configuration data to a transport machine called a Scavenger and made my way to the battlefield. I spent years and years wandering the area, abiding by my duty to support units as I sought them out. And as I did, I saw the deaths of many.

The first death I saw was a man the same age as the master. The second was a woman the same age as the missus. Then innumerable boys and girls the same age as the elder brother. One by one, one after another, countless times. They fought and died.

Watching this, I was forced to come to a certain realization. I did not see it myself. But the master, the missus, the elder brother, and the younger brother they all wished to protect. None of them had probably survived this hellish battlefield.

Trapped in a ruined, stranded Scavenger, I was at a loss as to what to do. The masters I was to support were now the child soldiers of these units, but they had all died in battle. None of the other Scavenger seemed to have survived. If I was to remain trapped and still as I was now, it would not be long before the Legion would come, disassemble me, and carry me to their recycling plants.

A fitting end for me, I thought. After all, I could not find or protect the master and his family.

But then the gentle sound of the rubble crumbling snapped me out of my thoughts. I must have been quite distracted, for I did not hear or register the sound of approaching footsteps in the slightest.

A single child soldier stepped over the rubble and approached me. He was right between the younger brother and elder brother in terms of age. His physique was still far too childish to come across as an adult, and the hems of his field uniform were too long for him.

Perhaps the adorable little brother would have someday grown to be that old. Had he survived, he’d have surely looked like this boy. Indeed, how many years had passed since then?

I would never see him again. And that thought made me feel so…hollow.

This boy was likely the last survivor of this annihilated squadron. The child soldier’s face looked awfully exhausted, His face, uniform, and even his naturally ebony hair were all blackened with soot. Compared with both the elder and younger brothers, his gaze was cold and sharp, and he approached me wordlessly with muted steps.

Aaah, my container is still intact, and he needs ammunition and energy packs. Please wait. These are all a bit too heavy for a human child to extract …

“Whoa—”

As I moved my remaining operational crane arm, the boy pulled back in surprise. He’d likely thought I was already broken. His surprise came across as smaller and tamer compared with the elder and younger brothers’ frank smiles. It was the worn-down, exhausted reaction of someone who’d seen too many people die beside him. Of someone who’d numbed his emotions.

So of course, he wouldn’t pay any mind to an inhuman tool such as myself—

“…You’re still alive?”

I turned my optical sensor to him in surprise, finding that he was, indeed, looking into my sensor. His gaze was cold, frozen, and worn down, but within it, something lingered still. Loneliness, and perhaps…a sense of longing.

“There’s no one left. The squadron, your friends, they’re all dead. Will you go back with me anyway…?”

That child soldier’s eyes… His beautiful red eyes, crimson as blood and as fair as the evening glow. Just like the younger brother’s—

And so I came to serve that child soldier, Master Shinei Nouzen.

I owed him a great debt for saving me, of course, but my creator’s intent was for me to serve as a faithful companion and friend for people. Strangely enough, he christened me with the same nickname as the one the younger brother gave me so many years ago, and he had the same red eyes as well. And while I knew I was merely overlapping him with the younger brother, I could not bring myself to part ways with him.

Most importantly, Master Nouzen was—despite appearances—quite the compassionate person. Enough so that just being around him inspired my desire to serve him.

Four years had passed since I entered his service. By now, Master Nouzen was affiliated with Spearhead, the first defensive unit of the eastern front’s first ward. Since there was a blackout enforced during the nights, I had to leave on my duties early in the morning. And so as the blazing sun began to rise, I departed for my recovery work when I happened upon Master Nouzen leaving the barracks.

In the four years since we met, Master Nouzen had grown taller, his voice had deepened, and his facial features had taken on the semblance of an adult man. He was roughly the same age as the elder brother was when I last saw him.

Aah, no good. I shouldn’t be this fascinated with him to the point of forsaking my greetings, even if I still didn’t have a verbal audio function.

“Pi.”

Good morning, Master Nouzen.

“Mm? Oh, good morning, Fido.”

Yes, Master Nouzen, too, had given me the name Fido. He’d christened me with this name shortly after I entered his service. It was likely mere coincidence, but a pleasing one nonetheless.

After that, I greeted the vice captain of the squadron, Master Shuga.

“Pi.”

Good morning, Master Shuga.

“Huh? Oh, hey, Fido.”

This is merely my impression of things, but Master Nouzen has always seemed to understand me, ever since we first met. In spite of this, it’s never felt like I was able to have as clear a conversation with Master Shuga and the others.

Master Nouzen and Master Shuga remained silent, not exchanging a word. Their stares were directed at the sunrise in the eastern sky, their expressions stiff as their eyes were fixed at the Legion territory beneath it.

Recently, I’d gotten the impression that Master Nouzen and Master Shuga, as well as their squad mates—who now numbered less than ten—and the maintenance crew, have all been a bit on edge. And the reason for that was…

“Just two more weeks until the Special Reconnaissance mission…”

The Special Reconnaissance mission—a recon mission into the depths of the Legion territories with no end date. Master Nouzen and his comrades have all been ordered to march to their deaths in half a month’s time.

“So you’ll be taking this one, huh?” Master Shuga snuck a glance at Master Nouzen.

“Yeah…,” Master Nouzen said vaguely, and then he turned his bloodred eyes to me. “Fido. Will you…?”

He paused, likely hesitating. In truth, Master Nouzen hated nothing more than to see the death of another.

“Will you come die with us?”

“Pi.”

Yes. Of course I will, Master Nouzen. I will follow you, the second person to grant me a name, my final master, wherever you go.

The Special Reconnaissance mission. It was a pleasant journey for Master Nouzen and his companions, who had never even had the freedom to leave their wards. That so grim a fate would linger in the backdrop of such pleasant respite…

Dwindling supplies. Accumulating fatigue. Vigilance and tension they were forbidden from shaking off. It was painfully obvious that each passing day was weakening Master Nouzen and the others.

And that was why it was inevitable that it would happen. They would exhaust their strength, run out of ammo, and lose to the Legion.

Lady Kukumila’s Gunslinger. Master Rikka’s Laughing Fox. Lady Emma’s Snow Witch. Master Shuga’s Wehrwolf. They were run aground and heavily damaged, leaving Master Nouzen’s Undertaker as the only operable Juggernaut left.

The Legion that had defeated Master Shuga and the others went after Master Nouzen, who was single-handedly fighting multiple Löwe off. The situation was by no means in their favor. Undertaker’s optical sensor glanced in the direction of the approaching Legion. Master Nouzen realized, perhaps, that he didn’t have the leisure of time to deal with them anymore. There was an air of impatience to that gesture, as well as resignation and resolve.

Despite all that, not a single muzzle was fixed on me. The Legion did recognize Scavengers as hostile, but since we were unarmed, we were set as low-priority threats. The Legion wouldn’t point their guns at me until all the Juggernauts…until Master Nouzen and all his comrades lay dead.

…That knowledge always weighed on me.

So many people had died around me over the years. I always abandoned them, despite the fact that if I had sacrificed myself, at least one of them could have survived.

I did it all to find my first master. And I did it all to serve Master Nouzen to the very end.

And that was why now…I had no reason to guard my own life if it meant losing my master a second time.

At the very same moment he realized he couldn’t avoid the incoming blow, Shin saw Fido ram the attacking Löwe’s flank. The tackle diverted the enemy’s line of fire from Undertaker. And at that moment, some of the Legion in the area fixed their attention and sights on a new target.

“Fido?!”

Having been rammed from an unexpected direction, the Löwe seemed to have staggered a bit. Its surprise was understandable. Never before had a Scavenger attacked a Legion unit. Neither the Scavengers nor I were built to damage and destroy. I was born of a wish to be a loyal friend to humanity, and that wish was an absolute truth for me. It was my reason for being, and so I could not bring harm to a human.

However, the same did not apply to the Legion. They who were made in the hands of humanity to oppose other human beings, only to be abandoned by the homeland that gave them this order. They did not nor would they ever know my friendship.

The Scavenger’s systems lacked the processing power to withstand battle, but so long as I could at least stall for time, that was enough for me. My ten-tonne fuselage crushed like an eggshell against this combat machine’s weight of fifty tonnes. I deployed all the tools in my container for picking apart Juggernaut and Legion wreckage to tear into its armor.

However, the Löwe’s armor was too thick and wouldn’t be penetrated that easily. But before I could do even that, their threat-level settings were probably overwritten, and another Löwe’s barrel swerved…in my direction.

When my system rebooted, I was lying broken in the dry grass of a field somewhere. Despite reactivating, a few of my unit functions were completely unresponsive. And not only that, but my sensory-input systems also were riddled with malfunctions. Yet there, I saw…

…Master Shuga, glancing at me with a bitter expression as he parted his lips.

“…Shin, it’s—”

“I know. We can’t fix it… The central processor took a hit.”

…Yes, that was what I suspected. I was prepared for this, but facing the reality of it left me feeling terribly lonely and sorrowful. No longer could I join them. No longer could I stay by his side.

Thankfully, despite the loss of their Juggernauts, Master Shuga and the others were alive and well. The five child soldiers all looked at me with different expressions.

“…Dropping dead at a place like this, huh? You’re just a junk-collecting unit. Do your job right until the end…”

Master Rikka… You would shed tears for me? I’m not worthy…

“Not here. Not after you came so far with us.”

“I’m sorry. We can’t bring you any farther.”

Lady Kukumila. Lady Emma. You mustn’t touch me. Not when I am this damaged. You might injure your hands.

“Thanks, Fido… We probably won’t be that far behind you, to be honest.”

Master Shuga… No. You mustn’t. You must hold on, even a single day longer.

And lastly, a slender silhouette…the figure of my master, visible even through my failing optical sensor, kneeled beside me.

“…Fido.”

Master Nouzen. My master. My final master.

“Fido. Your final mission.”

Yes. Go ahead. Ask anything of me. Oh, but…I do hope it is a task I can perform as I am…even though I am broken and can follow no longer…

I could make out the tinkling of thin metal rubbing against metal. The grave markers of the war dead, which Master Nouzen had carried with him this whole time. The comrades who had fought and died at his side, whom he promised to carry to his final destination. The proof of the promises Master Nouzen made and kept up to this day.

“I leave these with you. You’re proof we made it this far. Stay here and fulfill your duty until you turn to rust.”

…

Yes. Yes, Master Nouzen. Of course. I am honored to accept this duty. To be charged with guarding the proof of the pledge you made… To be regarded with such trust. It is the greatest…gift I could have…received…at…the end…of…my…

…………………………………………

When I came to, I found myself in a formless darkness. I was met with the faces of the people I once held dearer than anything. I would never mistake them for anyone else.

The master. The missus. The elder brother. So they really were on this side already. They came for me. Would they forgive me for being unable to find them? Unable to protect them…?

…But why? Why was the younger brother not there? What had they meant when they told me to watch over the younger brother from now on…?

I heard a voice. The high-pitched voice of a girl, one that wasn’t registered in my database.

“Hmm, it still won’t move… What am I missing?”

My apologies, but a corpse cannot move. Even if you order me to do so…I cannot.

“Maybe it doesn’t want to move. From its perspective, it’s already completed its task and passed away.”

Yes, precisely. So go ahead and throw me away.

“Perhaps so, but that boy is still quite strained from being in a foreign land. I’d hoped that if this familiar friend could return to Shinei’s side, he would be at ease…”

…Shinei?

But that’s the name of my final master. Is he nearby? Are they saying he’s…still alive? He who had the same name as my first master…who shared the color of his eyes…

…

Aaah.

How did I not realize it until now…?

“Wah?! What’s going on?!”

“I-it activated?! But why, all of a sudden…?!”

Standing in an unfamiliar steel-colored uniform was Master Nouzen, looking a bit more mature than the last time I saw him. Yes, human children mature. So even that small younger brother…wouldn’t remain small and timid forever.

“I thought I ordered you to carry out your duty until you crumbled to dust. What about your mission?”

“Pi…”

Yes, about that… I can only shamefully agree. At any rate, I wished to return to your side. Could you please allow me to serve you yet again?

Faced with my shameful gaze, Master Nouzen smiled softly—and yet clearly.

“Still…I’m happy to see you again.”

“Pi—”

Yes, I’m happy to see you, too, Master Shinei Nouzen. My first and final master. This time, I will remain with you until the very end.