The World of 0 and 1 – 2

-Tap, tap.

Dry twigs crackled and burned, creating a cheerful sound.

The entity tossed a few more gathered branches into the flames, observing the boy beside it.

A human boy, found in the sewer. He seemed capable of communication for a moment before losing consciousness.

Model NB-20381019 brought the boy to its dwelling.

The reason for rescuing him was nothing special. It was merely an obligation, not a choice.

According to the sacred law bestowed upon them by the Creator, it had no choice but to save him.

The entity reached out a hand to the boy’s forehead. The heat from the boy’s forehead was converted into 0s and 1s and flowed into it.

“Temperature decrease confirmed. At this rate, it is estimated that he will return to normal body temperature soon.”

Without a medical module attached, there were limitations to diagnosing his exact condition.

“Umm….”

Perhaps it was due to the cool sensation spreading from his forehead? The boy’s face relaxed slightly.

“Modify information that there are no humans in Aaru.”

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

-Whoosh.

A mechanical sound was heard from outside.

Model NB-20381019 moved towards the direction of the sound.

Not far from the sewer, it observed the source of the sound from a space made of patched-up tents and boards.

-Whoosh.

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

“Once the repair is complete, the process is to analyze the cause of the damage. This dwelling needs to be abandoned, and relocation to another dwelling is required.”

“Also, the environment of this dwelling is confirmed to be not good for humans. It has been decided to move as soon as the human’s energy recovers.”

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

It rechecked the boy’s fever, threw a blanket lying around in the dwelling into the campfire, and stomped on it.

The fire soon went out, and Model NB-20381019 erased any traces of its stay. The time it took to abandon the dwelling was not long.

Model NB-20381019 carried the boy on its back.

“Ugh….”

“Human. We will move. It is not within the Ark’s territory, and it will take approximately 32 minutes on foot to reach a dwelling that is not harmful to humans.”

The boy did not respond, but it continued to speak.

“The time is subject to change due to events that may occur during the move, so please keep that in mind.”

“Then, we will depart.”

Carrying the boy on its back, it began to move stealthily.

Model NB-20381019 has created nine bases in Aaru.

The initial number of bases was 32, but it abandoned them whenever the location of a base was exposed or deemed likely to be exposed.

“We have arrived. The move took 37 minutes.”

The place they arrived at was the highest of the bases.

“Where… is this?”

The boy, who had regained consciousness midway, opened his heavy mouth.

“This is Base A-11.”

Model NB-20381019 lowered its body and put the boy down. The boy awkwardly looked around his body.

“Nice to meet you. I am Model NB-20381019.”

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

“Model NB-20381019? …Don’t you have another name?”

Perhaps because the fever had not yet subsided, the boy frowned and asked it.

“I am an unreleased android, so I have not been given a name. You may call me whatever you are comfortable with.”

It said, looking down at the boy who was two or three hand-spans below.

“Ah… I’ll call you NB for now.”

“Understood.”

“NB. Explain where this place is.”

“This is Base A-11.”

“No, explain this world to me.”

“I have recognized this as an explanation of this city. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

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

“Kang In-ho. My name is Kang In-ho.”

“Kang In-ho’s physical condition is not normal. I 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 chair that was lying around under him.

“Thank you.”

“The scope of information requested by Kang In-ho is too broad, so I request that you narrow the scope of the question for a specific answer.”

“Um… you’re not human, are you?”

“That is correct. I am an unreleased android.”

“If you’re an android, is that like… a robot?”

“The detailed classification is different, but in general terms, yes.”

At NB’s answer, Kang In-ho stroked his chin.

He should have felt the prickly sensation of stubble, but because of his body, he only felt soft flesh.

“What does ‘unreleased’ mean?”

“With the exception of androids used by companies, most androids are custom-made. My current appearance was configured according to the preferences of the customer who ordered me.”

Kang In-ho’s eyes took in its tall height, white hair that reached its shoulders, and gray eyes like dark clouds.

“Unreleased refers to a product that has been manufactured in a factory but has not been delivered to the customer.”

“Why wasn’t it delivered?”

“There are various reasons, such as the customer’s simple change of heart or errors in the product. I was processed as unreleased due to the inability to deliver the product.”

“Inability to deliver the product?”

“Yes. A situation occurred in which the product could not be delivered due to unavoidable reasons.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Because, based on the standards at the time, all of humanity had been annihilated.”

Kang In-ho’s mouth dropped open at the truly blunt words.

“So, are you saying that I’m the only human left in this world?”

“That is what has been observed. If the Ark’s experiment was successful, there may be more.”

“Ark?”

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

“Humans can be revived?”

“At the time of humanity’s annihilation, the DNA of humanity was entered into the Ark. After all the dangers facing the city were over, it was planning to revive humans.”

“But?”

“However, due to an electromagnetic storm, some of Aaru’s gene storage had problems, and all of the male genetic information was lost.”

“Even without male genetic information, can humans be created?”

“It was impossible at the time. Therefore, the Ark proceeded with an experiment to create humans using only female genetic information.”

“And that experiment was successful?”

Kang In-ho touched his body.

“I think the probability is low. If Kang In-ho was a human created by the Ark’s experiment, he would not have been found in the sewer.”

“Sewer? Ah… come to think of it, I was drifting along in a strange pipe.”

As he rested his chin on his hand 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 it is where the humans who will be revived in the future will live.”

“Other cities?”

“They have all been closed due to electromagnetic storms and epidemics.”

“So, you’re saying that there’s only one city in this wide world… and I’m the only human in it.”

“That is the information as of now.”

“Tell me more about the Ark.”

“Ark is a nickname used by humans, and its official name is Integrated System of Identification Saving, ID Integrated Storage System.”

“That’s a long name.”

“Yes, that’s why it came to be called Ark.”

“NB. If….”

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

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

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

NB spoke without hesitation.

“According to the sacred law, it will not harm Kang In-ho. However, it will certainly use Kang In-ho for the reconstruction of humanity.”

Kang In-ho shivered at the coldness that ran down his spine.

It was truly a terrifying thing to say.