Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 20 - Chapter SS

Bonus Short Stories

The Singularity

Tetragrammaton, Workshop

Tetragrammaton—the amphibious battleship that IF used as their HQ. Managed by Rascal, it contained rooms for its members—official or supporting—as well as various facilities like a workshop for Machina.

Currently, Machina was using the workshop to improve upon Sardonyx’s design after it suffered heavy damage on Eltram, and Rascal was there to support her with the abilities he possessed as The Weapon.

“Oh. I’m done there. Please close it.”

“All right.”

As Rascal used his skills where Machina directed him, he was using his free hand to do some work on a tablet device. One of Machina’s creations, this tablet contained information and reports about the trade organizations Rascal owned here in Infinite Dendrogram. It was clear from only a glance that it was far more technologically advanced than was standard for this world.

“This should make it much safer than before!”

“That so...?”

Machina’s work was truly impressive. She had not only repaired the severe damage to Sardonyx, but also used the recent combat data to improve it over the original design.

“The singularity, huh...?” Rascal said, looking at ever-improving mechdragon.

“Hm?” Machina tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s a term describing the birth of an AI that can improve itself infinitely. More specifically, we call it the ‘technological singularity’ because that’s supposedly the point where machines will be totally independent of humans. They’ll start makin’ their own advancements.”

Earth was already experiencing a kind of technological revolution in the real world thanks to the existence of control AIs. These AIs could communicate in a humanlike manner, they possessed creativity, and they were capable of managing all the data produced by a small country. In some ways they were a sort of direct upgrade of mankind. Some experts claimed that the reason Infinite Dendrogram was so astounding was because it was run by a whole thirteen control AIs—though Rascal was already well aware that Infinite Dendrogram’s control AIs and regular control AIs were somewhat different. In fact, a part of him believed that the regular control AIs might have been introduced into society and made common knowledge for the express purpose of preparing it for the “control AIs” present within the game.

Whether or not that was true, artificial intelligence had certainly already surpassed human intelligence.

“Watching you improve Sardonyx—somethin’ you created yourself—just made me think...it’s happenin’ here too, huh?”

“Umm, is that praise?”

“Yeah. For your skill, at least.”

“Wow! You’ll make me blush,” Machina said, looking bashful for a moment before her expression changed. “Though...that’s not quite right,” she added. She looked suddenly rather serious, as though she was reflecting on the past. “What I did here isn’t exactly improvement. It’s more like optimization. The necessary technology itself was already within me, you see. That’s just how advanced we were back in my era.”

“The pre-ancient times?”

“Yes, yes.”

The pre-ancient civilization was the advanced culture that had thrived thanks to a combination of magic and science, using magical energies to bring all kinds of dreams to life. Their civilization had also been the one to fall apart during the war against the Incarnations, leaving behind only fragments of their shattered existence. One of these was Machina—the gynoid also known as Agate Designer.

“I know lots about technology,” Machina went on. “But most of it was either installed in me by the creator as base knowledge during my production phase, or something I learned during that era. I still remember all of that knowledge, and I can put it to use by combining it or improving it based on gathered data. Really, it’s all just an effective application of what I’ve been given.”

“Then I guess your creator—the first Flagman—must have been a genius like no other, huh?”

Someone who created an AI that could effectively apply knowledge and who actually developed and provided it with so much technology had to be an incredibly gifted individual, Rascal thought.

“Uhh, I wouldn’t say that either,” Machina said, looking doubtful.

“What do you mean?”

“As his assistant, I feel like he was probably just like me.”

“...Huh?”

“It felt less like he actually discovered and developed all his theories and technologies, and more like just put them into practice or reproduced them... It’s like he borrowed it all.”

“You’re sayin’ that this Grand Artificer’s technology wasn’t actually invented by him either? That he just got it all from somewhere else?”

But where could he have possibly gotten all of that? Who could have taught the greatest engineer in history everything he knew? These were the questions running through Rascal’s mind.

“Flagman himself regularly said something like ‘The real genius isn’t me, but Mr. Philips. It’s people like him who should be recognized.”

“And this ‘Mr. Philips’ is...?”

“He was a famous golem meister and alchemist. He had three crafting Superior Jobs—tians tend to be limited by their job affinities and talents, so he was a real rarity in that regard. My creator had all the limelight back then, so Mr Philips ended up getting outshone... Apparently, he spent his final years making some super amazing gargoyle, though. I wonder if he finished it...”

Those words made Rascal think for a moment. While Flagman’s name had survived the devastation of his civilization and lived through the two millennia that followed, this Philips was someone who seemed to have been forgotten instead. Despite that, the Grand Artificer himself had considered this person his superior.

“Well, anyway, that’s how it was,” Machina said. “Flagman didn’t value himself that highly. ‘The technology I have is beneficial to mankind, so I have no choice but to spread it for the well-being of the people. Though...I believe that originally, the technology cultivated by this world must’ve been of their own design.’ That’s what Flagman said before the Incarnations attacked...when he was still just a popular technician.”

“Huh.” Rascal felt like Flagman’s words contained something that sounded like guilt. It almost seemed as if it wasn’t just that it was not his own technology, but that he had appropriated it from some time and place where it had already been cultivated.

“I see... I see.”

Perhaps the earth was no different in that regard, though. At a certain point in the past, the powerful control AI technology had rapidly spread throughout the world. And depending on what the source of it was, it might be hard to say for certain that the real world’s AIs had indeed achieved a singularity.

Rascal was lost in thought for a bit.

Infinite Dendrogram and the Earth both had countless secrets whirling within them, and perhaps this little chat with Machina had revealed a little bit about the secrets this world had to offer. Machina and her deep knowledge of Flagman was just one of the many leads Rascal had in both worlds that could lead him to unraveling many such mysteries.

However, none of them held that much meaning to him.

He had absolutely no intention of finding out the truth. It was never his goal to chase after the long-buried mysteries.

“Rashcal. Machinya. Are you dooone?”

“U-Umm...we made tea...”

The sound of voices drew Rascal’s attention to the workshop entrance, where he saw Emily, all smiles, and Doris timidly standing behind her.

“All right. We’ve done enough for now. Let’s take a break.”

“Roger that!” said Machina.

And so, Rascal and Machina left the workshop.

“Over here!” called Emily as they followed after her.

This girl was Rascal’s current goal—one that had been left behind by his closest friend.