episode_0322

Mice marched across the table. Waddling on two feet, they maintained a razor-sharp formation.

“Forward! Backward! Right turn! Left turn!”

Every time a command came through the network, the mice moved flawlessly.

“Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak!”

Their short squeaks, like soldiers shouting slogans during training, were incredibly cute.

“A genius mouse has been born this time too!”

“As expected, we are indeed geniuses!”

Once again, Bernike’s assertion was proven wrong.

In this glorious moment, as the evil ponytail was demoted to a stupid ponytail, the Violets issued various commands with admiration.

“Mice! Dance!”

“Squeak!”

We burst into laughter at the sight of the mice performing a clumsy, wild dance.

The mice listening so well to our words was both amazing and amusing. Out of curiosity, we made them run and commanded them to do forward rolls and side rolls.

“Well done! Can you hear us? Nod your heads!”

“Squeak!”

“Wow, it understands voice commands too? Good! Now, speak!”

“Squeak?”

At the sudden demand, the mice looked around, showing signs of confusion.

I heard Professor Albert tutting from beside me.

“…Violet, you silly thing. How would mice speak?”

“Oops…”

We felt a little embarrassed by the professor’s指摘. To think we’d forgotten such an important fact. If they were an animal like a parrot, they might be able to speak.

“Alright, it might be possible to make the mice squeak a certain number of times. How about we try that?”

Aha, so there was a way. It was a good idea.

“Mice, you’re going to say ‘Hello’. Got it?”

We conveyed the rules for how they should squeak. The effect was immediate.

“Squeak squeak squeak squeak! Squeak squeak!”

The shift in approach was successful. The mice squeaked exactly as I intended. The ability to send consistent, regular signals meant they could be used as a means of communication.

“A walkie-talkie has been born!”

A mouse walkie-talkie was born, capable of replacing the existing heavy and bulky Violet walkie-talkies. If we put these in our friends’ pockets or on their shoulders, it would be much more convenient than listening and relaying individually.

“Wait, will we be able to hear what our friends say?”

“We should be able to. Look, the mice’s senses are being transmitted to us too!”

Experiencing the new senses connected to the Violet Network, the Violets continued their experiments.

The connection to the V-mice was different from how we were connected to each other. It felt like a remote control, moving and vibrating on its own, was inside my head. We asked the researchers why it felt this way.

“The mice used in this experiment, you said they were a smarter breed than the ones we brought before, right?”

“That’s correct. However, it’s difficult to completely overcome the biological limitations of rodents. The brains of mice and humans show stark differences in terms of capacity and neural density. The size of the cerebral cortex is also so different as to be incomparable. However, the very fact that they are connected to the network in real-time via biochips implanted in their heads can be considered a revolutionary achievement.”

Wait, if mouse and human brains are so different, then why on earth did they get smarter?

“It’s hard to say that the mice fully understand the knowledge input into their brains. The vast information from the Violet Network is transmitted to the animals’ brains, but we cannot assert that they have perfectly acquired that content. While significant changes in brain structure and function have been observed, fundamentally, it seems they have not transcended the biological limitations of being mice.”

“Oh? Isn’t that what ‘getting smarter’ means?”

“The biggest problem is this: humans can recognize and think about their actions, but animals cannot. They merely imitate and perform the information received from the network. Metacognition, or higher-order thinking – understanding what they are doing and why they are doing it – is difficult to expect from them.”

Oh, I think I understand to some extent. It means we Violets are so outstanding that animals have a hard time catching up.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes… I understand! Roughly?”

I briefly looked around inside the network. The senses of the V-mouse connected to the network were quite different from ours.

“What does it feel like?”

Unit 4421 answered Uncle Yurik’s question, who was trying to record the network sensation.

“Hmm, Uncle! The narrow field of vision is stifling. I can’t distinguish colors well either. It’s like watching a black-and-white movie!”

The world seen through the V-mouse’s eyes was hazy, as if shrouded in a blurry mist. Outlines were faintly discernible, but colors were entirely gray, like a pencil sketch.

“Mice are colorblind, you see.”

“Still, their noses seem sensitive. And their hearing also feels a bit more sensitive!”

Sadly, the V-mice had limitations. They couldn’t use mana. When we tried to force them to do something by injecting Aether, the poor things looked like they were going to die.

“…I guess we should stop.”

It was a pity that the mice couldn’t use mana. If they could, we could have utilized them in so many more ways. The mice looked tired, so I should end the commands here.

“Alright, that’s all for today!”

When the control was released, the mice trudged on two feet into their cages.

“When can we experiment with other animals?”

“First, we’ll have to review these results and analyze the data more.”

Uncle Yurik’s and my gaze fell upon the other animals. Crows wearing white hats and monkeys calmly waited in their cages.

“Let’s infuse those guys with the Violet spirit too!”

V-crows and V-monkeys would clearly be much smarter than mice. It’s a bit of a shame there are no parrots.

**

My expectations for smart V-animals were shaken a few days later.

At the sight before me, I was speechless with dismay.

“Ooh-ooh-ooh!”

“Wow, the monkey’s going on strike.”

Experiments continued for several days after the birth of the first V-mouse. After connecting two additional mice to the network, and finding no particular abnormalities, crows were chosen as the next subjects.

The result was mice clinging to the crows’ backs, flying through the sky.

“Wow! It’s flying!”

When commanded, they cooperated to carry out the mission.

“They’re also connected by their own kind of network.”

“Yeah, it seems so!”

Using the Violet Network as a meeting place and communication channel, the V-animals seemed to engage in simple communication. At any rate, there were no problems with the network connection up to the crows. They listened well and were faithful to commands.

The problem was the V-monkey.

The result of connecting one monkey to the Violet Network as a test was shocking.

“Ooh-ooh! Ooh-ooh!”

The moment it connected to the network, what was transmitted was a simple yet constantly repeating signal. Its intention could roughly be interpreted as:

“Ooh-ooh-ooh! Boss! Food, food, food!”

As expected of a creature with high intelligence, the monkey became incredibly smart. However, we failed to realize that intelligence and loyalty to humans are separate issues.

“What should we do about this? The monkey refuses to take the intelligence test.”

The monkey did not resort to violence or attempt to escape. That was because Uncle Yurik had an electric shocker linked to its collar. If necessary, it could even take its life. As if it realized the switch was a dangerous object, it chose non-violent means.

That was a strike.

“Haha, I had prepared various countermeasures for contingencies, but I didn’t expect this situation… So, what do you want, monkey?” Professor Albert chuckled wryly. The monkey turned its head towards me and shrieked and wailed. Judging by its reaction, it seemed to understand human language.

The monkey’s demands were as follows:

“Boss! Food! Delicious and a lot! Something better! Something sweet!”

“…It says it wants more feed? And it wants the quantity increased too.”

“Haha, how absurd.”

I quickly pointed at the intelligence test tools and measurement devices for the monkey.

“You want food? Then take the test, monkey!”

“Squeak? Ooh-ki-kki!”

“What?! You want delicious human food? No! You’re a monkey! Just eat your feed.”

“Ooh? Ooh-ki!”

The enraged Violet monkey stomped the ground in place. The monkey, venting its dissatisfaction, picked up a small stick that had fallen on the floor.

“Oh?”

The monkey brandished the stick in the air as if dancing, drawing diverse trajectories.

“My goodness, that posture is!”

“It’s Polaris Swordsmanship!”

I couldn’t believe it. A monkey wielding a sword art. As if sensing my surprise, the monkey chuckled, then arrogantly raised its right hand and wiggled its finger.

“Insolent creature!”

I suppressed it without hesitation.

“Ooh-kii-iiik…”

“Kneel, monkey! This is the eye-level between you and me!”

From the start, it was a beast connected as an auxiliary to our network. If I exerted my will, it had to obey immediately, even if it didn’t want to.

The disheartened monkey trudged over and fiddled with the equipment. Perhaps feeling pity, Uncle Yurik spoke up.

“How about we just give it to them? Anyway, we were planning to give rewards based on their tests and actions. Like fruits, or snacks that monkeys can eat.”

“Shall we?”

A glimmer of hope crossed the face of the monkey, who had been sadly fiddling with blocks.

“Ooh-ki?”

“Alright, as that uncle said, if you do well, I’ll give you something delicious. Understood?”

“Ki-ki-kkik!”

The monkey flung its arms up as if filled with joy, then returned to its spot and began to cooperate diligently with the research.

“So this kind of side effect happens when intelligence increases.”

The Violets, immersed in such thoughts, soon returned to their work. As the great leader of the genius monkey, they needed money to buy delicious snacks for the V-monkey. For the time being, they’d have to diligently keep up with their usual deliveries.

Ding-dong! Delivery order!

And so, until deep into the night, the Violets rode their scooters, whizzing, today again to supply late-night snacks to Academy City.

“Unit 3213! Pizza order! Go quickly!”

“Got it!”

I suddenly wondered. What would that monkey like? I should look up what monkeys can eat and what they shouldn’t.

With miscellaneous thoughts about V-animals, Unit 3213 made her way into an old alley scheduled for redevelopment. It was somewhat eerie, but surprisingly, people lived even in such places.

“Delivery.”

– Please leave it at the door.

Perhaps because public safety wasn’t good, they didn’t open the door in neighborhoods like this. I put down the pizza and immediately headed to the next delivery address. It was a narrow street, somewhat desolate, with only yellow streetlights flickering. It was a scene that stood in stark contrast to the towering skyscrapers in the distance.

“Is this the right place?”

I was searching for the delivery address, checking my location via the network.

Just then, trouble erupted.

Bang!

An explosion occurred nearby with a loud roar. A nearby multi-unit dwelling was engulfed in flames. Soon, bullets and bolts flew in from all directions.

“Is it a gang fight? I should avoid it for now.”

I clutched the pizza and was just about to take cover nearby. A sharp, stinging sensation shot through my leg.

“Agh! My leg!”

Had my leg declared a strike too, following the monkey? It wouldn’t budge. I lowered my head and saw my left ankle, half-severed. It was an arrow.

While I struggled to pull the arrow out, the gunfight stopped, and the alley was enveloped in silence. A faint tremor resonated from the ground. Before I knew it, shabbily dressed gang members had surrounded me.

“What?! Who are you guys?!”

The moment I raised my head to see what kind of guys they were, I shuddered. Their faces were blurry, as if static had appeared on them.

“Identity recognition interference device?”

Among all the gangs and criminal organizations I’d dealt with so far, not a single one wore something like that. Just as I wondered if they were corporate-affiliated, they abruptly aimed their weapons.

“It looks like just a neighborhood pizza delivery person. What should we do?”

“What do you mean ‘what should we do’? She’s a witness. There shouldn’t be any problems later. Deal with her.”

“What?!”

I was terrified. This would make the delivery late.

“Hey! No, the pizza’s getting cold–”

Thwip. With the sound of a suppressed shot, a hole was pierced in Unit 3213’s head.

“No! The pizza!”

The delivery Violets exploded in rage.

“Let’s go get it back!”

**

The Navy special forces members, who had thrown the delivery person’s corpse into the burning building and were exiting, witnessed a bizarre sight.

“Wasn’t that the person you shot?”

“I know, right. Are they from the same delivery company?”

By the time they realized the situation, it was already too late. By the time the squad members sensed something was wrong, the eerie alley and building were already completely filled with delivery people wearing motorcycle helmets. The squad members froze at the bizarre situation, something that would only appear in urban legends.

“What’s your affiliation?”

The one who seemed to be the leader asked, as the squad members, one after another, aimed their bows and guns.

“Us?”

The delivery people replied in unison.

“You mean us?”

“We are!”

“The National Pizza Riders’ Alliance!”

“Ugh, Aaaaargh!”

Rat-a-tat!

Under the dark night sky of the redevelopment area, gunshots and screams intertwined again.