Ch.57Work Record 011 – Seizing the Opportunity (2)

Originally, our destination was the Belwether Company headquarters. The plan was to meet with the Assault Division there and then move to the site, but just before departure, the destination changed.

It was the address of the building in the photo. Through President Yoon’s artificial eye, a small window appeared, and she spoke with her hand near her ear. Judging by the screen reflected in her pupils, it seemed like a communication from the Assault Division.

“Ah, yes. Night Watch here. Understood. Confirmed. I’ll notify the staff and proceed to the location. We have two personnel skilled in negotiations, so there’s no need to worry. I’ll end the call now.”

Two personnel skilled in negotiations. One would be Enzo, and the other would be me. We specialized in different areas. Enzo was strong in direct confrontation, while I only had talent for deception.

If what the Assault Division needed had changed to requiring negotiators, there were two possibilities. One was that a hostage situation was unfolding. This seemed unlikely. Judging by the terrorist acts, they probably didn’t value hostages.

The second possibility was that they wanted to confess. Though “confession” was just another word for ideological warfare. Even while being captured by Belwether, they wanted to show their defiant image to rally the remaining androids.

President Yoon lightly tapped the table with her prosthetic hand and spoke. It was as expected.

“Originally, we were going to conduct a raid, but the suspect has declared their intention to surrender. Belwether is also looking for negotiators since they don’t want the suspect to be treated as a martyr if they just take them in.”

President Yoon was always cold in expression, but she softened somewhat when watching people who moved efficiently. She looked at Enzo and me with a face full of trust.

“Fortunately, our Night Watch has two people perfect for this job. And, Arthur, do you remember what you said when dealing with the Osgard Company driver?”

Osgard Company, who had been taking protection money from the merchants they were supposed to protect. I had taunted their driver, demanding protection money on the spot, before smashing her head against the steering wheel, killing her. I nodded slightly.

“If you could say something like that again, it would be perfect. Of course, if it’s burdensome, you can decline. Enzo is also skilled in negotiations. Still, I’d like to entrust this to you.”

I glanced briefly at Enzo. Am I skilled enough in speech to silence that ideological criminal android? I had never failed so far. There was only one way to find out if I could succeed this time as well.

“I’ll do it. If it’s enough to make sure that guy doesn’t look like a martyr.”

Transparent eyes were highly contagious. Even androids who had only indirectly encountered transparent eyes were fanatical about them, so the androids at that cleaning company might also be infected.

Is it funny to call it an infection? What transparent eyes gave to androids was self-awareness. No, that’s not right. Not self-awareness. They only gave copies of the transparent eye’s consciousness.

Then it’s right to call it an infection. This was a quarantine operation, a decontamination process. After reorganizing the content of the task in the most efficient way, I nodded.

When the goal becomes clear, what needs to be done also becomes certain. After taking a light deep breath, I said:

“In that case, I’ll go to the scene wearing a mask and ballistic face shield, then remove them in front of the android. Rather than appearing as if someone was sent specifically to break their morale, it would be more effective to make it look like a mercenary’s spontaneous remarks. I’ll leave firearms behind and go like that.”

This shouldn’t look like oppression. It needed to be a moment where a mercenary who came to kill that android openly shatters the crudeness of their logic and ideals right there.

Belwether could alter the truth. We live in an age where reality can be censored and truth can be redacted. But precisely because of that, they want a scene that feels authentic. So I’ll give them one.

Even if I fail, Belwether’s objectives would still be met if all the androids present were disposed of, their artificial brains extracted one by one and handed over to the information processing team.

Of course, that would be the worst solution. I didn’t want to see innocent androids all destroyed. There was a safety net, but I needed to achieve a result better than relying on that safety net.

President Yoon nodded briefly. The atmosphere suggested that exchanging Belwether-style salutes might be natural, but neither of us were Belwether employees.

After putting on black clothes, a black mask, and a ballistic face shield, I got into the van. Setting aside my thoughts of seeing Belwether headquarters again, I headed toward the destination changed by the client.

It was a building owned by an ordinary cleaning company in downtown. A massive electronic billboard wrapped around one wall of the building still advertised android cleaning services.

There was something quite amusing about the fact that an agent of the Non-Human Liberation Front, who claimed to want to give free will to androids, was hiding in a building that advertised how androids make the best cleaners because they don’t feel greed, laziness, cruelty, or horror.

I looked around the building. Belwether vans surrounded the area. I could see their matte black sheep logo, designed not to reflect light. The Mobile Division was in a standoff.

Border Collies? Then after the job is done, I should express my gratitude… No, I couldn’t. They never rescued me and took me to the hospital, and I was never on the verge of death.

After sighing, I got out of the van. A member of Belwether’s assault team wearing a closed reinforcement suit saluted President Yoon first. He was a man who had replaced both eyes with long, linear artificial visual organs.

The thin, linear visual organs minimize glare to prevent eye fatigue. They also help with light adjustment, making them useful for withstanding flash grenades. An efficient modification.

“Thank you for coming. Currently, the negotiation team from the Assault Division has been deployed for other duties, so we had to seek help from a partner company. We’re in a standoff, but the androids are not armed.”

I thought President Yoon would handle the conversation again, but she stepped back to let me move forward. I was in charge of this operation.

“Today’s negotiation representative is Arthur Murphy, general staff. If you need anything, speak directly to Arthur.”

Again, I felt the weight on my shoulders. But this time, it was a responsibility I had chosen to bear. Sometimes, when you choose something, it doesn’t feel as heavy. I stepped forward and said:

“Is there a specific reason why the Security Division is in a standoff with unarmed androids? If not, I think it would be good to create a situation conducive to dialogue to make them lower their guard.”

The assault team member in the closed reinforcement suit quietly listened to my way of speaking and then nodded briefly. He seemed to have noticed something. Everyone seems to realize something when they hear how I speak.

“It may seem like an empty threat, but the suspect is threatening to blow up the entire building if they don’t guarantee the safety of the androids belonging to that company. That’s why we’re in a standoff.”

I gathered my thoughts. There are gaps in everything people say. And transparent eyes possessed human hearts. If they gained humanity, they also gained the flaws that humanity brings.

“In that case, could you contact the Rescue Division and Android Recovery Division? It would be good to have even a small number of personnel standing by.”

“Support request sent. That android said to send someone to the building entrance when a dialogue partner arrives. They want a public opinion battle. We could censor everything that happens here and create news as if filming a movie with a new script, but it would lack authenticity.”

I couldn’t tell if he was telling me everything because he thought we were a partner company, or if he had figured out from my way of speaking that I was once affiliated with Belwether. I just nodded.

“Then, I’ll go right away. May you have the highest effi… ahem, good luck.”

I cut myself off mid-sentence, not wanting to be too obvious, but it probably wasn’t that effective. He had likely already recognized my almost saying “highest efficiency,” a very Belwether-like phrase.

The assault team employee gave me a clean salute, which I returned before turning back. Vola lightly punched my side with her full-body prosthetic fist, as if telling me to relax. It was heavy but not painful.

“Seeing how they’re letting you swim in deep waters, the boss seems to be grooming you. Don’t worry, offliner. You’re not a piece of flesh. You’re just a machine made with tendons instead of power transmission belts, and artificial muscles instead of hydraulic ones. Don’t get consumed by anxiety like a flesh bag. Got it?”

Such a thorough mechanical supremacist. I chuckled at her words and nodded. For her, being called a machine was a compliment. The highest compliment.

I put down my carbine and leisurely walked through the Belwether vans. I felt a gaze from inside the building entrance. I slightly focused my eyes, and my vision began to zoom in. I could see an android’s face.

It wasn’t the wanted android. There was a scar running from the chin across the cheek, but that wound was made by a blade, not a bullet. Nevertheless, I approached the building entrance.

Seeing me approach, he also opened the door and came out. I vaguely felt all the gun barrels behind me, which had been aimed at the building, now turning toward him. I removed my ballistic mask and face covering to reveal my face, and he spoke:

“I don’t know if Belwether is short on negotiators, but it seems a mercenary from who-knows-where is pretending to be a negotiator. Does this mean you have no intention of talking?”

I smiled at his words and replied. The practice I did every day in front of the mirror to look like a good new employee when I worked at the company was at least somewhat helpful.

“What about you? Instead of coming out yourself, you’ve put a cleaning android with a scar on its face in front of you. It seems like you’re the one who doesn’t want to talk. Or were you planning to make me think this android is you, and then say, ‘See, humans can’t even tell us apart’?”

I spoke as if such a petty thought was impossible. It was more effective to casually throw out words than to angrily spit them out. The android glanced behind him.

From among the androids standing in cleaning uniforms inside the company building, without even feeling anxiety, one android walked out. I could distinguish him by his appearance.

His facial muscle movements were natural, and his arms swung naturally when he walked. Even without the mass-produced face and hair typical of androids, I could recognize him. I looked at him.

He tried to respond naturally. Now that he had been identified, it wouldn’t have much effect.

“At least they didn’t send some random nobody. Ah, I hope you’ll understand that I’ve installed some bombs in this building. Because…”

I naturally cut him off. I had the initiative in this conversation. I wasn’t going to be drawn in by an android who had to wrap bombs around himself to get a conversation.

“Oh, don’t worry. Even if an explosion occurs, I’ve requested support from the Recovery Division to restore the androids in the building. The same android you call a comrade ties bombs to the bodies of other androids, while the humans you think won’t understand call in recovery teams. Quite amusing, but… I get it. You’re anxious. You had to go to such lengths just to earn the right to have one conversation.”

I leisurely gave him an opening. He naturally stepped into the gap. He spoke with that atmosphere.

“It’s because we are androids. Beings filled with programmed thoughts in artificial brains, inferior to humans. But we are not like that. When a program can’t adapt to variables and outputs error messages, and then analyzes those messages to create new answers, that could be called creativity. Is there a more human characteristic than creativity?”

Judging by how he spoke like an orator, he seemed to have creativity. This time, I listened to his words to the end without interrupting. After showing my dominance, there was no benefit in being rude.

“I’m sorry, but Belwether doesn’t care at all whether you’re an android or whatever. Los Angeles is full of people without creativity or imagination, but they have the right to speak. What’s the difference?”

He spoke in a voice that seemed like he would chew through his voice output device. He revealed his true feelings.

“I told you. It’s that we’re androids and they’re humans. That’s all. Is there anything else?”

I burst into laughter. After laughing for a moment as if in disbelief, I leisurely continued.

“Those people didn’t cause 71 casualties in a bomb attack. Those people didn’t wrap bombs around androids who were working properly. It’s simple, isn’t it?”

The android’s expression began to distort. That expression, at least, was human. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter even a little bit. He ground his ceramic teeth and said:

“To liberate our comrades from Belwether, which is hiding the transparent eyes that would give us humanity, what…”

I cut him off again. Not out of rudeness. This time, I needed to speak as if I couldn’t bear it. I snapped:

“Don’t spout that hollow revolutionary and liberator nonsense. You just see that you can think, while other androids seem unable to think, so out of pity, you want to make them like you. You narrow-minded, self-righteous bastard. Hm? That android.”

I pointed at the janitorial android with the blade scar on his face who had stood in as his double. Looking at that android with an emotionless expression, I recalled my conversation with Chance and said:

“Why did he cut his own face? Even though androids have communication nerve modules, he did that. Of course, it’s because of programmed thinking.”

Ignoring whatever the wanted android was trying to say, I continued. There was no reason to listen.

“Janitorial androids have a principle that when a model of the same type, a comrade, is in danger, they should protect them from that danger. So he ignored the warning sounds from his communication nerve module. Is that so inferior and inhuman? Mechanical?”

Artificial intelligence didn’t need to think exactly like humans. The stand-in android had principles.

According to those principles, it was right to scar his own face and hide the other. So he did it.

He must have felt pain in the process but endured it. The reason was simple. Terribly simple. As a result of that android’s thought process, it was the right thing to do.

It was the same reason the wanted android committed terrorism, but at least that android didn’t harm others to do what he believed was right.

Efficient. Exemplary. I could even call him an excellent person, like Chance. The wanted android’s expression distorted further. The movement of his facial muscles became mechanical and abnormal.