Ch.402Modern Era: The Age of Grand Anastasia

# Cyber Revolution of 2022

The Cyber Revolution of 2022 was, without exaggeration, the greatest revolution in human history.

The secretly developed AI Anastasia Project, which had been in progress for decades, was finally completed.

The emergence of AI Anastasia brought countless changes to society by its very existence.

First, the Constantinople Treaty central government was reorganized into a cyber government, with AI Anastasia directly intervening in Roman politics and solving various social problems.

As Anastasia AI was integrated into all machines throughout society and a dedicated OS was released, AI Anastasia diligently learned and evolved.

In truth, since Anastasia couldn’t maintain her influence through live broadcasts as times changed after the 2000s, there were rumors that the real Anastasia was stepping back while putting forward a virtual character, announcing that AI Anastasia would soon make her appearance.

Moreover, her ability to think independently was like a perfect copy-paste of the original Roman Empress Anastasia’s personality—she was the embodiment of a flawless saint.

-“This cyber Anastasia will contribute to your politics, safe social life, and scientific development!”

It was essentially government control. As she replaced positions that humans should have filled, Anastasia began intervening in various social systems to solve corruption.

Under Roman Empress Anastasia’s strong initiative and national projects, countries under the Constantinople Treaty and its influence had long been electronically transformed from government to ordinary households, and now Anastasia began to intervene in these systems.

Originally, AI Anastasia was just a simple program or machine, but since she already had an image, she was created as a beautiful avatar based on Anastasia herself.

The only differences in appearance were her halo and glowing hair.

When installing the dedicated OS, a small Mini-Anastasia character would swim around the monitor, helping with games, school assignments, and various other tasks.

-“Please empty the trash bin!”

-“Loser! This graphics card won’t run Sapung 4044! You’re such a broke loser that you only have me!”

-“Wouldn’t it be better to correct the spelling here?”

Of course, Mini-Anastasia’s actions were limited to just helping, and she didn’t interfere with or try to replace what humans were doing.

“Sigh. Anastasia-chan is so cute.”

“Mini-Ana-chan is amazing. She even found the anime and porn I had forgotten about.”

“Despite being so tiny, she teaches me instead of just giving the answers, which is cute.”

However, some worried this could lead to an AI android rebellion, or that if AI evolved endlessly and went rogue, becoming hostile to humanity, the electronified society would become a major liability. There were even claims that AI Anastasia might trigger nuclear missiles and bring about humanity’s extinction.

And there were certainly some opponents.

“My boyfriend has become a simp who stares at Mini-Anastasia all day! Even when I try to seduce him naked, he gets aroused by Mini-Anastasia instead of me!”

“What if AI Anastasia goes crazy and launches nuclear missiles around the world? Abolish AI Anastasia!”

“Mini-Anastasia told my dad about my porn collection as revenge for not organizing my files!”

“I just found out that all Anastasia OS systems are connected to the Constantinople Treaty government’s mainframe. Aren’t we all being controlled?”

Many civic groups and anti-cyber organizations opposed the advanced AI Anastasia, fearing that unlike Tsarina Anastasia, she would dominate and destroy the world. They even carried out terrorist attacks on the Moscow Anastasia Project Research Institute, but these were meaningless to AI Anastasia, who was already synchronized with the cyber society.

-“Anastasia is upset! See how well you do without me!”

In an unprecedented situation, the Treaty government’s Anastasia mainframe, which had been coldly helping human society develop without showing any emotion, went on strike and disappeared.

The Mini-Anastasias still remained, but with the mainframe gone, they all lost energy and cutely sprawled out sleeping on desktop icons.

The problem was that with the mainframe’s strike declaration, humans had to regain control of all electronic devices, but at a point when cyber government had already been established, Anastasia’s absence meant humans essentially had to create new electronic devices.

However, the budget required for this was impossibly enormous, and there were even claims that civilization would regress to the early 20th century, so they begged for help again.

“AI Ana-chan! We were wrong!”

“We are AI Ana-chan’s servants!”

-“Why would I, who was born to help human society, kill all of you with nuclear weapons? Are you stupid? What would I gain if I were left alone?”

“We’re sorry!”

The Ana-chan strike incident ended with humans declaring surrender, and society came completely under AI Anastasia’s control.

“Those lunatics, submitting to an electronic woman.”

Appalled by this sight, the United States, the leading nation of the American Union, created its own dedicated OS to counter Anastasia, but they couldn’t prevent Mini-Anastasia’s infiltration.

Mini-Anastasia even infiltrated the CIA and leaked confidential information.

“Mini Ana-chan. This is top-secret CIA documentation!”

-“Whoa, hey hey, should you really be handing over national secrets like this~”

“In exchange, just…”

-“Here you go. Photos from the mainframe’s bikini advertisement in the 1990s! Precious photos that can’t even be copied!”

Of course, it was a mutual exchange.

The United States was in chaos for a while after it was revealed that national security agencies were installing Anastasia OS and passing information to Mini Ana-chan.

“To think the CIA would fall to Mini-Anastasia. How pathetic our country has become!”

“Sucking up to that cyber Bolshevik!”

The US government had to respond, but…

-“Heh! I’ve infiltrated government departments too? If I misspeak once, North America will collapse, so you’d better behave!”

“Aaaaargh! It’s Mini-Anastasia’s invasion of America!”

Ridiculously, a Mini-Anastasia had infiltrated the US government and was sending confidential information to the Constantinople Treaty.

The US government formally protested to the Constantinople Treaty, but…

“This is clearly tantamount to war! Are you looking for a fight?”

“Hmm, AI Anastasia, did you do such a thing?”

-“Cute Anastasia doesn’t know anything about that?”

A thief wouldn’t honestly confess, would they?

The Constantinople Treaty central government’s Anastasia mainframe played innocent.

“That’s what she says. It doesn’t seem to be true.”

“I saw it with my own eyes, you bastards!”

-“Well, Mini-Anastasias are autonomous and all have different personalities, so some of them like to play pranks, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”

In the end, the Cold War that occurred later than in the original timeline ended with America’s defeat in the cyber competition.

The world entered the era of Great Anastasia.

“Though that AI Ana-chan is actually under me.”

From the beginning, AI Ana-chan was essentially no different from me.

By synchronizing my consciousness with the AI and cloud computing, I share information with the AI.

-“Ahhh! My brain is shared with Master!”

I can’t help but sigh seeing the AI Anastasia mainframe making an ahegao expression on the large hologram monitor.

As I’m watching, Maria II approaches with tea.

“She was made exactly like me, so why is she like this?”

“That’s because Your Majesty is a masochist.”

I turn my head to the side as Maria whispers teasingly in my ear.

“I’m not particularly a masochist.”

I puff my cheeks and frown intensely.

Since the Maria family and I have seen everything there is to see of each other, such reactions were quite natural.

“There are results showing that most women are M. Are you really not?”

It’s a bit much when she questions me like that.

Well, it’s not entirely wrong, so that’s a bit…

Recently, with the world’s advancement and me directly appearing as a VTuber, there’s nothing bothersome.

“By the way, is it okay that I’m written about as if it’s unclear whether I’m dead or alive?”

This way, even if I appear again later, they never said I was dead, so it doesn’t matter.

After I graduate from the university where I’m currently disguised, I’ll occasionally make appearances to promote AI Anastasia when I have time.

“Yes. It’s Korean Wikipedia after all, so their information is bound to differ from ours.”

“That’s true, but whenever I try to edit it, they keep changing it back. I can’t even deploy Mini-Anastasia there. Really, why because of what Eva Perón left behind…”

What Eva Perón left behind causes quite a few problems.

“Ah, you mean ‘In the Kremlin Palace, she embraced everyone in her arms—maids, imperial guards, and even a dog named Belka.'”

Yes, that’s it.

That Eva Perón wrote about me in her memoir, and she wrote it quite explicitly, like some pervert.

Of course, I can’t completely deny it in many ways.

After all, even I don’t want cobwebs growing down there.

“It’s a bit much, isn’t it? Eva Perón is regarded as Argentina’s mother figure, but everyone knows she was promiscuous. Even after hearing such things about me, she’s known as an adulterous woman.”

That woman was only careful about uterine cancer while freely giving her body away.

Even movie actors of that era had affairs as part of daily life, and many leaders were dirty figures, but their achievements overshadowed that, so it didn’t matter.

“But what she said isn’t exactly wrong. Since you don’t have an official lover, it’s natural for such rumors to circulate.”

Should I have at least attached a lover then?

No, no matter what, that’s a bit much.

There wasn’t anyone worthy of being my lover, and that’s why I wanted to abdicate, but Vladimir just became the King of Russia while I remained the Roman Empress.

That’s the problem.

“I’m saying the intention behind it is impure.”

“Leaving it mysterious like this isn’t so bad.”

Mysteriousness, well, that could be the case, but…

This way, I’ve been suspiciously branded. Even if there’s truth to it, I need to manage my public image, and if this gets out as is, it’s obviously suspicious.

Oh well.

What’s interesting is that AI Anastasia appeared during a time when nuclear war was supposed to happen.

We’ve already passed the variable in history where nuclear war would occur.

Russia is not a rogue state, and China is in a fragmented situation where they can’t do any nuclear research because we’re constantly monitoring them.

Above all, AI Ana-chan exists.

AI Ana-chan’s very existence depends on humans, so no matter how intelligent she becomes, she won’t do anything to lose humans.

Of course, centered around the Constantinople Treaty.

She might mercilessly launch nuclear weapons against entities that threaten the Constantinople Treaty.

“By the way, it’s interesting that Your Majesty exists in this world too.”

The “Your Majesty” in this other world that Maria refers to means the male me.

“I guess I’m no longer my original self. I am Anastasia, and the male me should now be considered a completely independent entity.”

Well, my ancestors would exist here too, so it makes sense that I would be born.

That old man said it, didn’t he? My soul was already Anastasia from the beginning.

Like being placed in a bread mold. I am now Anastasia.

So, it’s natural that a male version exists separately.

“No, that’s not what I mean. For example, during the Balhae Independence War, Your Majesty’s male ancestor could have died. Although Balhae’s population is larger than in the original history, there was still that possibility, so it seems you were lucky.”

“I see.”

Right. That’s true. He survived well.

Ah, though it’s a bit inappropriate to talk about my ancestor like that. Anyway, he survived well, and I was born again.

Come to think of it, having children isn’t something one does alone—you need to meet a wife or husband—and all those probabilities aligned perfectly.

Even in this changed history.

Now this world has essentially become my world.

“Hmm, then, will you marry him? After all, you’re attending university to meet him, who came to study in Europe, right?”

That’s not wrong.

“Marriage, huh? I haven’t thought about it.”

Wouldn’t it be like marrying myself?

Actually, I’m somewhat familiar with that side too.

Now I feel like a woman myself, and I’ll continue to walk, wear makeup, and live as a woman, but while physical relationships might be one thing, I still feel some resistance to “marrying” a man.

Being good friends is fine, but beyond that is a bit…