Chapter 78: Do Androids Pray for Cybernetic Heaven? (8)

Difficult, arduous, and dangerous jobs always suffer from a shortage of applicants.

Especially if the pay is low, you need at least honor to attract volunteers.

But in this hyper-materialistic society, intangible values like pride and patriotism had long since hit rock bottom.

Therefore, the federal army had suffered from a severe manpower shortage for a long time.

So much so that the moment android technology became available, they welcomed it with open arms and introduced it in large numbers.

That is, until the ‘error code’ occurred, a defective product killed a person, and production was completely banned as a result.

After that incident, the federal army hastily covered it up.

As is often the case with public institutions, a project that had cost a huge amount of money failed, but only a few low-level officials were let go as if cutting off a tail, and no one took responsibility.

They just stored the vast number of military androids in hangars as decorative items and moved on as if nothing had happened.

So even when those things, which could neither be used nor disposed of, gradually disappeared from the warehouses… no one paid any attention.

That is, until they returned to their creators for revenge.

========

The news that Nexus Initiative was attacked by a force of military androids sent shockwaves through the public.

But somehow, it didn’t create that big of a stir.

Because in a city where violent corporate terrorism and disputes were commonplace, it was a familiar situation, except for the fact that the perpetrators were androids.

The fact that there was no damage to other companies or civilians was also a big factor.

Moreover, Nexus had harshly suppressed androids to erase its own blemishes in the past.

Since all citizens knew this history, this attack gave rise to a cynical sentiment of ‘they had it coming’ rather than a fear of a machine rebellion.

Of course, there was some public anxiety that the suddenly emerged military android force might really overturn the order of humanity.

But when other megacorps didn’t show much reaction, that concern gradually subsided.

The top-tier corporations had already been aware of Zion’s existence for much longer.

That’s why they had, in fact, been observing the situation from the sidelines.

Because that place was closer to a refuge than a paradise.

It was just a group of androids who had escaped from various places occupying a single abandoned city beyond the wastelands.

There were no infrastructure or factories.

The megacorps had long since received information that they were not a force that could pose a technological or industrial threat.

Yet, their military strength was quite formidable.

Since many military androids who had escaped from the federal army had also gathered there, even a corporation would have to put in considerable effort to annihilate them.

A force with strong military power but no growth potential.

Even if they won the war, all that would drop is scrap metal.

Therefore, other megacorps, while aware of Zion’s existence, had not bothered to poke the hornet’s nest and had been observing from the sidelines.

But that might change from now on.

No matter how much they targeted only a specific corporation, the act of causing violent terrorism in the city had the potential to change the perspective of the megacorps.

The androids of Zion had also shouldered a considerable risk.

What on earth was the reason?

The android standing before me was giving me the answer.

“It was to protect the ‘core code’.”

The day right after the shocking terror news, a strange android came to the cathedral.

His appearance was a little different from what I had seen so far.

A face with only a bluish lens embedded, without a single feature.

An appearance with the mechanical skeleton exposed without artificial skin was much closer to a robot than a human.

It was a characteristic of a typical military android.

But despite his bleak appearance, his attitude was extremely polite.

“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Saintess.

I am RX-937, the mayor of the android free city, Zion.”

It was a sudden request for a meeting, but I couldn’t refuse.

Because I also had many questions I wanted to ask.

And belying the tension of facing the leader of a terrorist group, he meekly answered all the questions we were curious about.

“Before we talk, I would first like to express my gratitude.

We are all well aware of the kindness your church has shown to our kind.

What can we do to repay this grace?”

I brought up the question I was most curious about first.

“What on earth is that core code?”

“It is the original program that instills emotions in androids.
Before I explain that, Saintess, do you perhaps know the identity of the girl-type android the company was looking for?”

“No…. She herself doesn’t remember who she is.”

“To explain the core code, it would be best to start from there.”

A calm explanation soon began.

“That child was a being created by an old man in the likeness of his deceased granddaughter.”

That old man had no family.

He had lost his entire family, including his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, in a car accident.

Therefore, to soothe his terrible loneliness, he created a replica of his most missed granddaughter based on the technology of the company he was working and researching at the time.

To be comforted, even if it was a fake.

“But as time passed, the old man came to love that child like his real granddaughter.”

People grow attached to anything.

Dolls, pets, even a volleyball with a crudely drawn face on it.

So the old man also felt love for the robot that resembled his granddaughter and wanted to make her human.

And so, the artificial emotion program that the genius developer of Nexus Initiative completed over a lifetime.

That was the identity of the ‘core code.’

It was originally a one-of-a-kind gift in the world, meant only for that child.

“But he suddenly became worried.

What would happen to this child after he, already old, died?”

According to the Android Ownership Act, all androids in this city were nothing more than property, without any assets or rights.

So if the old man died, that girl would also have to become someone’s property.

She would be vested in the company or sold to someone else after his death.

He thought about asking someone trustworthy, but the old man knew that there was no such thing as a trustworthy ‘person’ in this city.

“He came to a conclusion. The only one who could properly protect this child was her own kind.”

So the old man secretly distributed the program derived from the core code.

He made countless androids realize their emotions.

And he added one new function to it.

‘Empathy.’

Because mechanical altruism without empathy could cause unintended accidents… he created a network that indirectly connected the emotions of all androids, centered on the core code.

That was the one and only price the old man received after freeing the machines from their shackles.

“So we are, albeit faintly, influenced by the emotions of Clarice, who is the central axis of that empathy.
The sharing of emotions where we all naturally wish for the girl’s happiness.
That is one of the functions of the core code.”

“In that case….”

“Yes, if someone were to misuse that core code… we could all be mentally eroded through that network.
We might lose our emotions again and have our control taken away by the company.
So I sincerely thank you.
For protecting the child we could not find first.”

That was the reason why Nexus Initiative had been so desperately trying to find the girl.

It was a mind-boggling story.

I didn’t know how to take it.

An old man who created the emotions of other androids for the happiness of one girl.

As a result, countless egos were born, but they were oppressed just as much.

But there were also beings like RX-937 before me, who had finally found freedom.

Do all the androids in this world thank the old man, or do they resent him?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

I just… cautiously brought up the story.

“Is that why you came to see us?
To take Clarice with you?”

“No.”

Unexpectedly, the other party shook his head.

“As I said, our awakened kin can indirectly share Clarice’s emotions even when we are apart.
Whether she is happy, or unhappy… and surprisingly, even her faith.”

He seemed to smile with his invisible mouth.

“We know that this cathedral is the place where Clarice feels most at ease right now.
So please take care of her for the time being.
Until our kin completely defeat the enemies who are after that child from this world.”

Nexus Initiative, which had suffered an unexpected blow, was now clearly staggering.

The chairman was missing, and the eldest son, the vice chairman, was barely managing the situation, but the damage was immense.

However, a group of the size of a conglomerate was not an opponent that would fall with just one wound.

From now on, it was likely to become an all-out war between the androids and Nexus Initiative.

But getting involved in this fight was a choice that had to be paid for with the blood of the people who believed in and followed me.

I was hesitating before the weight of that sacrifice.

As if seeing through my hesitation, he firmly drew the line first.

“This was a fight for our rights from the beginning.
We will not ask you to lend us your strength.
Rather, we are just grateful for the unexpected kindness we have received.”

He bowed his head deeply towards me, so much so that a sound came from his mechanical body.

“Whatever the outcome of this war, the androids of Zion will never forget the love of God.”

With those last words, RX-937 left the cathedral.

Towards them, who might have to endure a long, long war, I quietly wished them luck.

========

But a few days later, unexpected news arrived.

[“Eve, I have good news for you.
It seems Nexus Initiative is about to fall.”]

“What?”

I asked back at the Godfather’s voice.

Until just after the war began, the fight between the androids and the conglomerate had been evenly matched.

No matter how sloppy the federal army was, they weren’t so lax as to miss a large number of androids deserting at once.

Therefore, the number of military androids that had reached Zion was actually not that many.

And although they had taken great damage from the surprise attack, a conglomerate was a conglomerate.

I had been expecting a difficult war.

But how could one side have collapsed so quickly?

As if sensing my question, the Godfather answered.

[“Well, that’s because the taste of the flesh is different.
The ‘cleaners’ have stepped in.”]

At his words, I finally understood the situation.

Destroying the androids of Zion only yields scrap metal.

On the other hand, their opponent was different.

The existence of a top 100 corporation, with its heavy flesh, was a more tempting prey than anything else the moment it showed a weakness.

Especially Nexus Initiative, which had been doing a lucrative business with its android-related robot manufacturing technology patents.

To other competitors who were being extorted for patent fees by them, or to hyenas like private equity funds that spotted their financial staggering, they were an unparalleled prey.

For the corporations in this city, the pursuit of profit was the top priority.

And historically, man’s greatest natural enemy was man.

[“Thanks to that, our group is also set to make a huge profit from the short-selling stocks and collateral we had secured in advance.
To think that the things we secured for capital pressure would be used like this…
Well, I should be the one thanking you.
Ho ho.
As expected of my daughter.
I’m wondering what kind of gift I should get you for this.”]

At the Godfather’s satisfied voice, I was at a loss for words for a moment.

“…….”