Ch.39Work Record 008 – Case Files of Two Detectives (1)

Saturday ended with me spending time with my senior, and on Sunday, after reviewing the disgruntled shareholder arrest operation, I supported Belvedere’s Mobile Unit 3 due to a lack of suitable requests.

The reason I sent Vola as part of the infiltration team from both front and back, while I took the lead in the entry team, was concern about crossfire. However, since the break room was located against one wall, the risk of crossfire was less than expected.

If the same situation arises again, better understanding of the operational location would be a more efficient way to perform the task. Having reached this conclusion, I conducted a simulation operation using the KSC map.

It was definitely more efficient to position Vola in the entry team while I handled infiltration with good communication. We always learn from our mistakes. It was a productive Sunday.

While supporting the mobile unit, nothing significant happened. Thinking I should cut back on alcohol that doesn’t even get me drunk, I went to sleep on the cot without drinking on Sunday.

Actually, I couldn’t sleep properly. I spent the entire early morning examining the interior of the house Mr. Günter recommended. Even while checking if the size was adequate, I didn’t feel tired at all.

The feeling of earning a substantial sum to contract a house for the first time with your own hands, from work you handled yourself, intoxicates a person more than alcohol. I fell asleep around six and woke up around ten.

The rain had stopped, and despite the cloudless sky, harsh sunlight poured down from the whitish heavens. It’s always these two extremes. We never get to see snow or clear skies, just rain and smog.

Still, smog is better than rain. The rain had a terrible acidic smell, while the smog only had an acrid odor. Dryness was also preferable to dampness.

After washing my body with unscented water that prevents smog odor from adhering to the skin, I headed toward the reception room through the office, thinking the boss would be arriving late today. The door was open.

That meant someone was at the door. Since they weren’t coming in, it probably wasn’t the boss. With my hand on the holstered gun at my waist, I took a step to the side. A man in a suit stood at the door.

He looked exactly like a pure human. There were no visible signs of cybernetic assembly on his face or body, and his eyes moved naturally, yet he didn’t look human. Even perfume couldn’t hide the scent of synthetic skin.

He must be an android. However, when he removed his hat and opened his mouth, his voice didn’t sound like an android at all.

“Ah, I apologize. The door opened, but there was no one in the reception room. Were you working inside?”

I could hardly say I was sleeping. Tina must have left the door open expecting the boss to arrive, but contrary to expectations, no one had come.

“Ah, our Night Watch specializes in night public service work. We’re open during the day too… but usually just open. What brings you here?”

He waved his synthetic-skinned hands dismissively, suggesting he wasn’t here for proper business. He took out a holographic business card and showed it to me. I took out my phone and scanned it.

The scanned name was… Hamilton’s Private Investigator Office. In simple terms, he was a detective. One of the hardest people to meet in LA. Most shooting jobs belonged to mercenary agencies.

A detective was just a private investigator. Not many people wanted to hire investigators who couldn’t even carry guns. The man, who had removed his hat, opened his mouth and produced a voice.

No, he was definitely producing output, but it somewhat resembled speaking. He spoke and acted more humanly than Stefanet.

“I’m not a broke detective who needs to hire a mercenary agency for an urgent matter. I just came to ask if you know anything about the case I’m investigating. It won’t take long.”

There was no need to be defensive. I chose my words carefully, calculating my next move before answering.

“Since the boss isn’t here, I can’t share company information, but someone living in the company dormitory would know what’s happening around the company. What case are you investigating?”

I clearly maintained boundaries. With a slightly brighter expression, he tapped the reception room table and took out a hologram player. He opened an audio file. The words were familiar.

“Emerson-Hedge-Ripley-Putnam, Emerson-Hedge…”

Where had I heard this before? Right. It was definitely the day K said she had personal business and left. It was the support code vocalized by androids sent by Turner & Tucker. That must have been it.

I shouldn’t pretend to know immediately. I didn’t know yet whether this android came here after hearing from Turner & Tucker, or if he was looking for other androids.

I thought of another answer. It didn’t take long.

“It sounds like… people’s names. Four names. Are you looking for these four people?”

He produced a casual laugh. No, he laughed. He gently waved one hand.

“They’re not people’s names. This is an emergency reboot code. If you’re insightful enough, I…”

He made a circular motion with his moderately extended hand, as if asking me to continue. I obliged.

“I immediately noticed you’re an android. Also that unlike typical androids, your emotional expressions are vivid, and your language use is as natural as a human’s.”

He showed a slightly wary expression. I considered drawing my gun, but when he shook his head as if pleased and began speaking, I relaxed my posture again.

“Hmm. I expected you to say there’s something awkward about me… But you’re right. You got everything correct. I am learning to navigate my own ship, so I do not fear the storm. A quote from Mrs. Louisa May Alcott. And I’m looking for the program that gave me my captain’s hat for my life. The Transparent Eye.”

I recalled that day. The androids said they were looking for the Transparent Eye, not K. And they were too crude for Turner & Tucker to use.

Was K lying? If so, it makes sense why she was so afraid of Night Watch or the boss getting involved. It wasn’t Night Watch’s responsibility.

So what was it? I extended my hand lightly as if asking him to continue, and he went on.

“The Transparent Eye is, simply put, an artificial intelligence emotion module. Androids connected to the Transparent Eye can feel emotions. Shortcuts in thinking, bold omissions in survival priorities! The body’s interpretation of external reactions. Things so simple for humans but impossible for androids—the Transparent Eye has and can share these.”

It sounded like something K had no reason to possess. K was definitely human. The possibility that she would monopolize the Transparent Eye to gain emotions was virtually non-existent.

Nevertheless, K always acted as if she was hiding something. She rarely left home, and even when she came out for work, she would rush straight back without even enjoying a drink.

At the time, I thought she might be keeping some bioengineered monstrosity, but she might have been holding a vessel containing the souls of androids. He continued speaking.

“And the Transparent Eye actively wants to share this with androids. That’s why we’re looking for it. So, have you heard this voice code? We could tell it was transmitted from somewhere nearby, but the Transparent Eye hasn’t started operating, which it should have if the code was heard.”

Something seemed inconsistent. It was a minor detail. Where was it? A very simple part. Right, the part about the voice code. Voice codes were an unstable method.

Sound is easily blocked by walls, and even with human-like vocal organs, it doesn’t travel very far. The androids I saw must have known where the Transparent Eye was.

If they knew, why was this android speaking as if he had no idea where the Transparent Eye was? I chose appropriate words to make my response sound natural.

“If you know a voice code was transmitted, shouldn’t the Transparent Eye or whatever be nearby? It would make sense if you already knew the location.”

“Ah, that’s true. Voice codes are basically used at close range. Information sharing is simple for androids. However, those androids were outdated models and have already been destroyed. It seems androids produced after the Transparent Eye disappeared were searching for the distress signal sent by the Transparent Eye when they were destroyed.”

“Software sending a distress sig—”

I recalled Chance’s words. Software is bound to hardware. While it can exist simultaneously on multiple hardware through cloud technology, hardware is essential to intervene in reality.

The Transparent Eye is trapped somewhere. It’s bound to some hardware. After this thought, I reconstructed my words and presented them to him.

“If it’s trapped somewhere, it could send a distress signal. But then, you should know the location where the distress signal came from. Those outdated androids received it.”

“That’s exactly it. We don’t know why the signal didn’t reach us. We’re clutching at straws. The Transparent Eye is our soul.”

I now confirm the word that the android I met that day couldn’t say due to noise. Is K important, or is the mental liberation of all androids important? The former. The latter is not my concern.

It would be nice if such a thing happened, but it’s not important enough for me to set aside my colleague and everything else to help make it happen. I made a rational choice.

“Hmm… Well, this is the first I’ve heard of it, but I think it might have been near the drug addicts’ street. If you had to come all the way to our office despite shouting the voice code loudly with no witnesses, it makes sense that it happened where only drug addicts who aren’t in their right mind would hear it. The chances of drug addicts being friendly to androids shouting around… you know?”

“One hundred percent. Negative one hundred percent. More importantly, you have talent for detective work. We only thought someone must have heard it. We never considered that people who heard it might not care!”

The apartment complex and the drug addicts’ street were on opposite sides. As evidenced by the apartments built by Belvedere’s Housing Management Department, the apartment complex housed people trying to live day by day.

Drug addicts who had lost their concept of days and the flow of time gathered like garbage on the opposite side, washing away when it rained. Sending him there would buy time.

More importantly, I needed to know if this android and others knew whether I had actually heard the voice code. If so, I would be followed. I couldn’t go meet K.

I couldn’t immediately call K to confront her, and I had to wait for the tail to pass while wearing this ambiguous veil of ignorance. A terrible situation, but the only option. I just had to do it willingly.

The detective in the fedora stood up and put his hat back on. He sprayed perfume twice more to hide his android nature, bowed deeply, and greeted me.

“Our Non-Human Liberation Front is deeply grateful to you. If we truly find the Transparent Eye, we’ll definitely reward you! Thank you!”

Liberation Front. Not a particularly pleasant term. After sending the android away and locking the automatic door, I returned to the dormitory. I lightly tapped on the dormitory wall and said:

“Ms. Nadia, are you there?”

A small voice came from within the wall. The dormitory, which should have been larger, had been divided by a partition wall to separate her space from mine, so our voices easily penetrated the wall.

“Yes, yes. I’m here. The one who just came in and asked for information was an android… right?”

Good. She found the right person. She had said she could convert voice signals to electrical signals and detect electrical signals. Even I had to listen carefully to identify Belvedere’s Legal Assassination Team from a distance.

With that level of precision, distinguishing between humans and androids would be simple. I sighed and said:

“Yes, it was an android. He was asking about something insignificant to me but important to him. So, could you check if there are more androids around? He didn’t seem very trustworthy.”

How she detected electrical currents remained a mystery. I thought it might be like a brainwave sensor, but brainwave sensors required pads attached to the head to read signals.

That’s why she was an aberrant mutant, a variable. After a moment that was almost instantaneous, she answered. Her voice was relieved.

“The one who visited the office is the only one, and he’s already beyond my detection range… May I ask what this is about…?”

“It’s black information.”

“Black…?”

Only when I sensed she didn’t understand my words did I realize I had naturally used Belvedere’s information classification system.

Becoming more Belvedere-like when tense is either my weakness or strength—it’s ambiguous. My senior would call it a strength, but for Ms. Nadia, who doesn’t view Belvedere favorably, it would be a weakness.

“Ah, um. It’s information where it’s better to let people know the information exists, but not what the information is. It’s a term used at Belvedere. So, Ms. Nadia…”

“Oh, so Arthur needs to be cautious because of this black information, but if I knew what it was, I could be in danger too. Is that it?”

Nevertheless, she didn’t mind that this method belonged to Belvedere. It seemed she thought that just as her being an aberrant mutant was unavoidable, my being a Belvedere person was also unavoidable.

“That’s right. I won’t ask if you think it’s a neat classification system.”

“You’re being… kind.”

The department most meticulous about information classification was Belvedere Security Team’s Counter-Intelligence Department, whose duties included mutant hunting. It would be best to stop here.

As I was about to rest briefly before heading to the training room, Ms. Nadia knocked on the wall again. This time, instead of her voice, an electrical signal directly stimulated my auditory nerve.

“Someone else is approaching the building. Probably from Belvedere. I’ve memorized the electrical currents emitted by the implants those people use. I’ll ask… a favor.”

What anxious people we are. My senior is trapped by guilt, I by suppressed hatred and vengeance… Ms. Nadia by the fact she’s a mutant, and K by her secrets.

When living among such anxious people, someone must step up when something needs to be done. I lightly tapped the wall once to reassure her, then got up and went to the office. I picked up a tablet that was conveniently placed.

To show I didn’t know in advance about his arrival, I naturally opened the results of the previous work and walked toward the reception room.

Sitting on the reception room sofa, I waited for the sound of that man climbing the stairs to the office building. The wait wasn’t long.

His footsteps were full of confidence and heavy, clearly indicating significant modifications. Soon, someone approached the door and lightly knocked on the door that wouldn’t open automatically. Only then did I get up to open it.

If he were an assassin, he would have muffled his footsteps. The visitor was a man in his 50s wearing a burgundy shirt under a gray bulletproof suit, with the left half of his face replaced by machinery. A distinctive appearance. Not an assassin.

Half of his gray hair was real, but the other half was fiber optic imitation, and while the mechanical side of his face was painted to match his skin color, the smooth reflective surface and connection points were noticeable.

He might look like a person from fifty meters away, but not up close. He smelled of cigarette smoke stronger than the smog, and he had a cigarette in the mechanical side of his mouth.

He handed me a holographic business card. Before I could scan and read it, he opened his mouth and began speaking.

“Dewey Novak, Section Chief of Investigation Department 8, Belvedere Legal Assassination Team. I’ll just finish this cigarette before coming in. Is Suyeon inside? Ms. Yoon, the boss, I mean.”

The second detective I’ve seen today. The Investigation Department was a department that didn’t accept assassination missions from the Legal Assassination Team, so my assumption that he wasn’t an assassin wasn’t wrong.

“Uh… no. She would normally arrive at 7:30, but she’s late today. If she’s inside, I’ll call her for you.”