Story Reader / Floating Record / ER01 The Ark Beyond / Story
This is her last known location...
Three days have passed by the time Haicma arrives at the coordinates in her memory drive. Not only is she delayed by the long distance and the Corrupted—
But she has also had to face humanity's indiscriminating hostility after the unknown virus outbreak.
Re-diagnosing damages on the emotion simulator... Several regulating functions offline. Deviation on scenario simulations... 0.023%.
Situation acceptable.
Feeling the injuries on the back of her head, Haicma removes some of the broken parts.
A large wound goes across the back of her head, splitting the artificial skin and revealing the delicate circuits underneath.
It was caused by a soldier who mistook her for a Corrupted while escorting some citizens.
After that, Haicma would avoid humans in case something similar happened again.
The highways then had to be excluded from her planned paths as refugee convoys would frequently travel on them. Circling around, Haicma lost quite a bit of time.
Collecting location data... Data collected... Constructing location simulation.
A virtual scene appears before Haicma as time rewinds in her mind...
Help me...
Don't...
Let him go...
We can't fall back...
Save them! Save them...
Tearful cries enter her mind as overlapped figures run away from the city while a few run toward it.
Haicma looks at the people who are traveling against the current like her, and they seem like pebbles thrown into a river, creating small ripples before being flooded by a scarlet stream.
Haicma knows that humans consider those people to be "absolutely obedient."
Why would they do that? Is it because of "commands"? Haicma quickly rejects this hypothesis as her massive database shows that there has never been a command that can make a human "absolutely obedient."
Is it their "essence," then? Just like how machines act according to their underlying protocols, perhaps humans also act according to a similar core principle.
Even when they are different beings with different experiences, these people all make the same choice at that particular moment. Do they have the same "essence"? But what about the "uniqueness" of each individual?
Watching the fallen figures, Haicma thinks of the soldier with half a face scarred who was protecting the people behind.
To make that choice without a command...
A new data anomaly appears in her emotion simulator. With her regulating functions damaged, Haicma has no way to analyze it.
So she turns the whole module off and continues what she has been doing.
Walking against the tide of both humans and time, Haicma searches for the young figure from her memory in this blood-red ocean.
But she cannot find the girl no matter how. The massive data stream threatens to drown her, clutching onto her like pairs of desperate hands.
Her white coat begins to turn red as despairing cries blur the line between the virtual world and reality. Sparks fly from the back of her exposed head as the integration module runs at a dangerous speed.
The temperature of her frame has long risen past the safety threshold. The air surrounding her distorts from the heat, but Haicma has no intention to stop the simulation.
Turning off all unnecessary sensors and circuits, she reroutes all computing power toward performing the simulation.
...all alone...
At last, she has found her drop of water in the ocean. The girl's route is swiftly calculated.
Ending the simulation, Haicma walks toward the most possible route.
A Corrupted slowly approaches a frightened girl who has run into a dead end.
S-someone help me...
Her shaken voice has not summoned a heroic rescue. The uncaring, threatening cold lights make her shut her eyes, and she prays that her death is quick and not painful...
Rawrgh!
...Is death actually painless?
Target eliminated... No, wait. Eh...
A cold female voice pauses before speaking again in a gentle, soft tone.
It's alright, honey. You can open your eyes now.
Hello—
Ah!
Renee sobs, startled by the exposed memory shell at the back of Haicma's head.
She stumbles backward only to find her path blocked by an unmoving wall. That is when she notices the fallen Corrupted by Haicma's side.
Forcing herself to look away from the mechanoid's exposed parts, Renee turns toward the mechanoid's synthetic smile and asks.
Y-you're not one of the bad machines?
I'm not. I'm your best family assistant.
?
Haicma has no idea why she has chosen the nanny personality, but with her emotion simulator offline, she can only reply with the personality's stock responses without real-time adjustment.
Th-thank you for saving me.
The traumatic experience from the past few days is enough for a child to quickly grow up. Quickly she stops herself from asking more questions and crying, thanking Haicma with a sniffled voice.
That's alright. Come on, hon... let's stand up slowly... Good job!
Haicma gently claps her hands according to her personality profile.
Is there somewhere you want to go?
My name is... Renee... Mr. Soldier told me about a refuge...
Haicma does not have to ask where this soldier is. Judging from the girl's expression, she can tell what fate has bestowed upon him.
At this moment, her environment monitor detects a flood of Corrupted nearby, their shrieks rushing toward them like a storm.
To get the girl out and bring her to safety, Haicma will have to clash with the wave of Corrupted. And if Haicma wants to get the girl out unharmed...
Her calculation and analysis quickly give her an answer—a harrowing success rate and the alarming damages Haicma will take.
...
Miss...?
Here, give me a hug, hon... You're such a good girl.
Haicma crouches and picks up the girl's tiny body, patting her shaking shoulders, stroking her back, and resting her head against her own chest.
You have to promise me you won't look up no matter what, okay?
Haicma's gentle nanny voice creates a stark contrast to the oppressing air.
Haicma's scythe pierces into the gap in the Corrupted's spine, and she pulls back, cutting the Corrupted in half.
Her environment monitor suggests that there are no more Corrupted nearby, but Haicma's frame has also reached its limit.
Not only are her radar and visual module severely damaged, but her mobility units are also crackling from the heavy wounds.
Luckily, they are not far from the refuge Renee mentioned. She is capable of making the rest of the journey herself.
So Haicma gently puts her down. Renee has behaved remarkably, not looking up or making a fuss the entire time.
Miss...
The remaining... Warning: Battery Low. Redirecting Computing Power... is safe. You... Module Offline... be fine, hon.
Just don't stop... Isolating Malfunctioning Programs... running, do you h-hear me, h-hon?
No! Come with me, miss! There are many adults there. They can fix you!
Haicma only shakes her head without a word. Ignoring the fact that there might not be any qualified technicians among the refugees, it is simply not a good idea to keep a machine around that can get infected.
Haicma has done countless calculations, and the conclusion is the same. The wound at the back of her head is the best evidence.
I'm t-... Entering Sleep Mode... t-tired, I have to r-rest...
Barely holding onto her personality program, Haicma tries to speak as gently as possible, but all that comes out is a fizzing digital voice.
...I-I'll bring someone.
Alright, hon, I'll... Thank You For Choosing Our Service... wait here...
As Haicma watches Renee departs, she gradually turns off the units on the brink of destruction.
The last thing she hears before she blacks out is returning footsteps.
