episode_0319

***

– crackle crackle

Dry tree branches burned and made a cheerful sound.

The entity threw several more raked branches into the flames and observed the boy nearby.

What came out of the sewer pipe was a human boy. I thought I could communicate for a moment, but then I lost consciousness.

Model name NB-20381019 took the boy with him and moved to his residence.

There was no particular reason for rescuing him. It was just a duty, not a choice.

They had no choice but to save him according to the divine law given to them by their Creator.

The entity reached for the boy’s forehead. The heat from the boy’s forehead was converted into 0 and 1 and flowed into him.

“I confirmed that my body temperature has dropped. If this trend continues, it is believed that body temperature will soon return to normal.”

Since it did not have a medical module, there were limitations in diagnosing the exact condition.

“Umm….”

Is it because the cool sensation spreads from the forehead? The boy’s face became much more relaxed.

“Correct information that there are no humans on Aaru.”

Model number NB-20381019 modified the information recorded in its memory.

– Booung

A mechanical sound was heard from outside.

Model name NB-20381019 moved toward the sound.

Observe the source of the sound in a space made of tents and boards, not far from the sewer pipe.

– Booung

A repair drone was scanning the damaged part of the sewer pipe from various angles.

“Once repairs are completed, the process is to analyze the cause of the damage. You need to discard this shelter and move to another shelter.”

“It was also confirmed that the environment of this residence is not a good environment for humans. It was decided to move as soon as the human’s energy was restored.”

Model name NB-20381019 lowered the tent and returned to the boy.

After checking the boy’s fever again, it threw the blanket that was rolling around the living room into the campfire and stomped on it.

The light soon went out, and the model name NB-20381019 erased all traces of its presence. The time it took to discard the residence was not very long.

Model name NB-20381019 carried a boy.

“Ugh….”

“Human. Let’s move. It is not the area of the ark, and it will take approximately 32 minutes on foot to reach a place where there is no harm to humans.”

The boy didn’t answer, but it continued talking.

“Please note that times will vary flexibly due to events that occur during travel.”

“Then, let’s go.”

The thing carrying the boy began to move secretly.

***

Model name NB-20381019 has 9 bases created in Aaru.

The initial number of bases was 32, but they were discarded whenever the location of the base was exposed or judged to have a possibility of being exposed.

“Arrived. It took 37 minutes to move.”

The place we arrived at was the highest place among the bases.

“Where is this…?”

The boy, who regained consciousness about halfway through, opened his mouth heavily.

“A-11 base.”

Model name NB-20381019 lowered himself and dropped the boy off. The boy looked around his body in a hesitant position.

“Nice to meet you. My model name is NB-20381019.”

The entity turned towards the human, bent down, and formally introduced itself.

“Model name NB-20381019? …is there any other name?”

The boy frowned and asked if the fever had gone away yet.

“Because it is an unreleased Android, there is no name given to it. You can call me whatever you want.”

It said, looking down at the boy two or three spans below.

“Ah… I’ll just call it NB for now.”

“Okay.”

“NB. Please explain where this place is.”

“This is the A-11 base.”

“No, explain to me about this world.”

“I recognized this as a description of the city. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Before explaining about Aaru, I recommend that you take a seat first. Human…”

“Kang In-ho. My name is Kang In-ho.”

“Kang In-ho’s physical condition is not normal. We strongly recommend that you rest in a comfortable position.”

At NB’s recommendation, Kang In-ho tried to sit down, and NB placed a small rolling chair under him.

“Thank you.”

“The scope of information requested by Kang In-ho is too broad, so we request that the scope of the question be narrowed to provide a specific answer.”

“Um… you’re not human, are you?”

“That’s right. I have an unreleased Android.”

“If it’s Android, right? Robot?”

“The detailed classification is different, but the general idea is correct.”

Kang In-ho rubbed his chin in response to NB’s answer.

It was normal to feel the rough texture of a beard, but since it was my body, I could only feel soft flesh.

“What does unreleased mean?”

“Except for Androids used by companies, the majority of Androids are made to order. My current appearance is based on the preferences of the customer who ordered me.”

Kang In-ho’s tall height, long white hair that reached down to his shoulders, and gray eyes like dark clouds came into view.

“Undelivered refers to products that have not been delivered to the customer after production has been completed at the factory.”

“Why wasn’t it delivered?”

“There are various reasons, such as a simple change of mind of the customer or a product error. My product was undelivered as it could not be delivered.”

“Can’t the product be delivered?”

“Yes. A situation has arisen where the product cannot be delivered for unavoidable reasons.”

“What is the reason?”

“Because, as of that time, all mankind was extinct.”

Kang In-ho’s mouth dropped open at such simple words.

“So you’re saying I’m the only human in this world?”

“According to observations, this is true. If the Ark’s experiment was successful, there may be more.”

“Ark?”

“This is a nickname referring to the AI that manages the city, Aaru. It manages Aaru and maintains the city’s ecosystem until humans are resurrected.”

“Can humans be resurrected?”

“At the time of human extinction, human DNA was entered into the ark. After all the dangers to the city were over, humans were planned to be resurrected.”

“But?”

“However, the electromagnetic storm caused a problem with part of Aaru’s genetic storage, causing all of the male’s genetic information to be lost.”

“Is it possible to create a human even without male genetic information?”

“It was impossible at the time. Therefore, Ark conducted an experiment to create humans using only women’s genetic information.”

“And was the experiment successful?”

Kang In-ho smoothed his body.

“I think the probability of that happening is low. If Kang In-ho was a human created as an experiment on the Ark, he would not have been found in the sewers.”

“Sewer pipe? Ah… Now that I think about it, I was floating away in a strange tube.”

As he clenched his chin and fell into thought, NB waited for his next question.

“What is Aaru?”

“The largest city of mankind. It contains information on all living things, and is a place where humanity, which will be resurrected in the future, will live.”

“What other cities?”

“All closed due to electromagnetic storm and epidemic.”

“So, this means that there is only one city in this wide world… and I am the only human there.”

“According to the information so far, yes.”

“Tell me more about the Ark.”

“Ark is a nickname humans used to call it, and its official name is Integrated System of Identification Saving.”

“The name is Gine.”

“Yes, that’s why it was called the Ark.”

“NB. What if….”

Thinking of a possibility, Kang In-ho slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you know what would happen if the Ark found out there was a living human male?”

“The goal of the Ark is the reconstruction of humanity. The prerequisite for that is the existence of humanity.”

NB spoke without hesitation.

“According to the sacred law, no harm will be done to Kang In-ho. However, it is clear that Kang In-ho will be used to rebuild humanity.”

Kang In-ho shivered from the chill running down his spine.

These were truly scary words.