Ch.60Work Record 011 – Seizing the Opportunity (5)

I pushed the rifle bag connected to Chance under the bed. I couldn’t leave it out in the open, nor could I place it somewhere I couldn’t reach while sleeping.

Thinking that next time I move, I’d like to complain about how long unpacking takes, the process actually finishes in less than thirty minutes. The move ended so anticlimactically.

There’s no need to change my address with Belwether. Stephanet would have already taken care of that. I finish up by adding my home address to my bank information. Chance, who had been quietly waiting, speaks up.

“May I request camera permission, Agent Arthur Murphy? I have never directly seen the agent’s appearance. Visual information is important in establishing a basic trust relationship.”

Come to think of it, when Chance was a drone, its visual sensors were damaged, so it only used blind sensors. Since I even took off my shoes to avoid making footsteps, it probably hasn’t properly seen me.

Feeling awkward like looking in a mirror, I hold up my phone and grant camera permission. An olive-colored light appears around the camera lens, indicating Chance is connected, and the screen links up.

“Confirmed. Collecting facial recognition data. Unusual observation. No changes in appearance according to era detected. Even college students drafted during that war had faces generally similar to Agent Arthur Murphy’s. Cannot infer the reason. This AI was deactivated for too long.”

“Hmm, isn’t it because the world hasn’t changed that much? People are all trying to restore what they’ve ruined. A researcher at Farmers Corp was trying to revive wastelands.”

The server computer housing Chance’s AI makes operational sounds as its processing load increases. After a moment, it returns with a voice.

“I agree. Too much has changed for what I recognize as modern, but nothing has changed enough to call it the future. It seems appropriate to continue using my ethics module.”

“I think that’s fine too. Chance, you seem pretty good to me. You answered my questions well even while calling me an insurgent.”

“Not attacking citizens or similar humans without hostile intent is fundamental to drone safety systems.”

It was a rigid answer, but it meant at least it wouldn’t kill ten civilians just to catch one enemy. That fits well with Belwether’s logic, at minimum. I smiled and nodded.

“It’s quite enjoyable to see those fundamentals being well-maintained. I need to visit someone nearby to express my gratitude. You’ll come with me, right?”

Chance couldn’t nod, but displayed a large check mark on the phone screen—the common Belwether sign of agreement. It seemed Chance was now considered an internal Belwether program.

“Of course. Having been reassigned from a mobile drone to an immobile server computer, the simplest way for me to adapt to this era is to follow Agent Arthur Murphy’s footsteps. What is our destination? If it’s a place I cannot understand, I look forward to additional explanations.”

It would be funny to call it an incomprehensible place. I chuckled slightly before explaining.

“I don’t need to explain what a restaurant is, right? There’s someone who helped me find this apartment, and we’re going to meet them.”

With Chance connected to my phone and one earbud in, I headed back down toward the apartment complex. I panned the camera around so Chance could see the surroundings.

Then I opened the door to Günter’s shop again. It was early morning so there weren’t any customers yet, but a pleasant aroma of lamb wafted through the store. Real ingredients always smelled good.

Günter, who had replaced too many parts with implants and machinery to show the frailty of old age, waved lightly at me. His cooking mask barely fit over his bushy beard.

“You’re early, Metzgerhund. I saw you passing by with a box. Did those administrative team fellows handle things quickly this time?”

Not understanding what he meant, I shrugged slightly before speaking. As far as I remembered, the administrative team consisted of the fastest workers in Belwether.

“As always, they were quick. I moved into the 10th floor of the apartment right behind here. Oh, and while the circumstances were a bit shady, I also received an AI assistant as a gift. Chance, this is Günter.”

I took out my phone to show him. I displayed Chance’s connection window with its logo—a nationalists’ flag with fifty-one stars. Günter stroked his chin beard but was blocked by his cooking mask.

“The Stars and Stripes from that war era. Did some old-fashioned geezer make it for you? I thought you’d use something more modern.”

“If it were made by some old-fashioned geezer, I wouldn’t describe how I got it as ‘shady.’ And seeing how quickly you recognized it…”

Günter clicked his tongue once and cut me off. His expression wasn’t hostile—it was closer to playful.

“Young man, you never run out of things to say. So, old-fashioned AI assistant. Chance, was it?”

At Günter’s words, Chance remained in standby mode before belatedly answering. It wasn’t like Chance. Perhaps it was because the server computer was less capable than the original drone?

“That’s correct. I am Chance, dash, zero-one-three-nine. I was slightly delayed confirming whether the voice data matched what’s stored. Have you ever worked at Belwether Industries?”

Günter let out a hearty laugh and nodded. His expression softened a bit, as if he’d heard a nostalgic name.

“You’re so old-fashioned I’m curious who made you. Just like this old man. Yes, I worked there since it was called Belwether Industries.”

With the corners of his mouth slightly raised, Günter leaned his mechanically replaced elbow on the counter and smiled. He spoke as if telling an old story.

“I didn’t work in any impressive position. Belwether wasn’t as big then as it is now. I was just an employee, without any special title. That’s how I started.”

How many years have passed since that war ended? As I tried to estimate Günter’s age, I realized he might be older than I thought, so I swallowed once before speaking. If only it weren’t for the move.

“So if you started as a regular employee… how did you end up?”

Günter enigmatically shrugged his shoulders and just lightly tapped the counter.

“As a kebab shop owner. You can see that. I’ll bring out a sandwich, so wait while chatting with your old AI. I can see you’re as happy as a kid who just got a bicycle, Metzgerhund.”

If he had owned Belwether stock, would he be staying at Belwether headquarters instead of running a kebab shop? That’s probably the case.

The word “headquarters” was perhaps synonymous with heaven as used by religious people. A place not everyone could go to, a place you wouldn’t want to leave once you got there, a place only worthy people could access.

“Hey, I would’ve been even happier than this when you gave bicycles to those kids returned from Belwether. I’m always grateful.”

After finding a seat, I picked up my phone again. It was quite enjoyable to see Chance taking an interest in someone else for the first time.

“So, Chance. You’re not going to ask every older person you see if they were affiliated with Belwether Industries, right?”

“Affirmative. There was just some confusion with the stored voice data.”

The olive-colored border appeared around the front camera lens, indicating Chance was connected. Chance responded to my joke with a retort. The tone was blunt, but still.

“Facial analysis results indicate general pleasure. I trust that Agent Arthur Murphy will not try to make friends for me wherever we go.”

“It’s a shame I can’t analyze your expression to counter that. You seemed a bit happy meeting someone from the old days. Not many people you can relate to?”

Chance made a processing sound. It wasn’t an actual operational sound, since the server was in our home. It was just output. It seemed to want to appear as if it was thinking. Probably.

“Affirmative. It is difficult to accept a situation where economic entities have become administrative entities. It’s unreasonable to simply say Belwether usurped the U.S. government’s position, so I’m trying to find a way to understand. Were you born in this corporate nation era, Arthur?”

“You really talk like a nationalist. Yeah, something like that. The only difference is I wasn’t born but cultivated. Um, I can’t explain how the world changed. For starters… Belwether bought Los Angeles. That’s…”

In the middle of our conversation, Günter brought over a plastic tray with a kebab sandwich and a carbonated drink, placing it on the table in front of me.

“They devoured it. After that war, they said, ‘We’ll help with recovery if you give us this.’ The lowly nationalists gave up their bones, flesh, and organs just to survive.”

Günter’s voice was dripping with hatred. Belwether employees who experienced that war generally showed such reactions when talking about nationalists. Chance’s response was consistent.

“Agent Arthur Murphy’s answer is a bit easier to understand. I will assume that they purchased and merged with a city, or a state, as in a corporate acquisition.”

Leaving Chance to process the information, I took another bite of the sandwich. It was almost sweet. At this rate, I might end up spending my entire salary on real ingredients rather than synthetic food.

Appetite is primal. It’s easier to resist than the need for sleep, but while sleep deprivation eventually leads to passing out, the problem with hunger is that it can be temporarily satisfied with low-quality food.

If you stick to a diet of synthetic ingredients, you’ll eventually crave real ingredients, real materials, and real cooking. Most people these days were caught in such cravings. The sandwich soon disappeared without a trace.

It wasn’t the first time I thought I should eat more slowly next time, but I had never actually done so. After a contented sigh, I paid and walked out toward the apartment complex.

Chance captured the surroundings through the connected camera lens. If I had worn artificial eyes, I could have done this with my own vision, but now my sight was entirely my own. An inconvenient point.

After showing the office building where Nightwatch was located, as I slowly returned inside the company… I saw Eve. She seemed to have woken up early considering she had gone drinking yesterday.

Eve, who had been leaning against the door of the duty room where I had been staying, with the net overlaid on her vision, was contemplating whether to call me when she said:

“I was just about to call you. Why is the duty room empty?”

“My request to the Belwether administrative team worked out well. I thought you might wake up around lunch because of the hangover, but I guess not? Oh, this is the AI assistant I received as a housewarming gift. Chance? This is Eve.”

Since she was an offliner without computational augmentation, I held up my phone to show her the profile picture with the Stars and Stripes containing fifty-one stars. Chance spoke again in a dry voice.

“I am Chance, dash, zero-one-three-nine. I am calculating how many more times I’ll need to make this introduction today. Calculation complete. I have saved the greeting in my voice routine. I am an artificial intelligence assigned to assist Agent Arthur Murphy as of today. Pleased to meet you.”

What an efficient AI, quickly figuring out it would need to introduce itself to more than just one or two people. Just as I was about to offer an insincere compliment, Eve spoke somewhat curtly.

“So someone else had a housewarming first, Arthur. This early in the morning?”

“Um… that person we met then. The Shepherd. He’s a Belwether person, right? He must have contacted the administrative team and moved in early. Probably.”

Jealousy? Despite her curtness, I wasn’t flustered. Rather, I was trying to suppress a smile that was threatening to form, when Eve successfully moved past it this time.

“Ah, right. That person. He was nice. If no one has actually visited yet, then it’s fine. Just…”

But Eve wasn’t originally someone who was good at pretending to be neat and cold. While she had lived with her heart tightly closed, she was originally a much more careless and ordinary person. That side of her leaked out again now.

“I would have felt a bit bad if you had invited someone else first. So… will you come help me pick out a housewarming gift, Arthur? This is something I never experienced at Hollowwood Creek. You know?”

At Hollowwood Creek, everything happened under the name of the cult leader. Permitted by the leader’s orders, blessed by the leader so it’s good… and so on. Everything was the same.

This must be Eve’s way of seeing the world outside Hollowwood Creek. I nodded happily and said:

“Of course I know. I also know well that this adds another chapter to the life outside Hollowwood Creek that you can tell other Creek escapees about. Would you like to say hello to Chance? It looks like it’ll just be staring at an empty house otherwise.”

Eve quietly bent down to look at the camera lens surrounded by an olive-colored circle and gave an eye-smile. It was a peaceful smile. A expression I thought I might never see.

“Sorry, Chance. I was worried about losing out to someone else and ended up taking away your time with Arthur. I’ll be coming over for a housewarming visit in the evening… see you then.”

“No need to worry. Objectively, it is pleasant for me to observe a space where nothing happens even without my vigilance 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Have a pleasant outing.”

With those words, Chance’s connection was cut off, and the only people—or more precisely, the only awake people—left in the office were Eve and me. We continued with conversation we couldn’t have had in front of Chance.

“Now it’s just the two of us again. But wouldn’t it be confusing if the characters in the stories you tell Creek escapees are always the same?”

Good thing Chance isn’t here. If Chance had started analyzing Eve’s face turning red from her nape all the way to her earlobes, we both would have been at a loss.

Searching for a response, Eve finally buried her face in her palms and sighed. She just straightened the aviation jacket she was wearing, and with her face still flushed, gestured toward the office door.

“I’ll… think about that when the time comes. Let’s go, Arthur. Don’t probe any further. It’s right that I can’t think of an answer and I’m trying to get past my blank mind. I don’t know why I always get caught by you…”

The sight of her momentarily burying her face in her prosthetic hands and making groaning sounds before raising her head made me think it was truly fortunate that I had sent Chance away.

It seemed like this would be a time when Eve could relax more than during the last holiday. For Eve, not for me. I was a simple person who felt comfortable whenever I had someone to be with.