Story Reader / Interlude / The Chess Player / Story
Black Knight moves to C6. White Pawn advances one square to C2.
Bishop, C8 to G4.
Your intention to attack is obvious.
...
You used to be less aggressive.
Those sharp edges of yours will make you a target. All you did was expose this area for me to attack.
Haven't I taught you to lay low and wait for the right opportunity to strike?
The White Queen moves to B3 with John's command, her threat plain as day.
Unless... I am equipped to handle what happens next.
I, too, am capable of noticing the possible traps.
Chrome signals the Black Queen to move to D7, protecting the Pawn on F7.
You might think I've shown my weaknesses, but my position might not be as penetrable as you thought.
Where's Asimov? Why isn't he here? Didn't we invite him specifically?
I heard he's working on something about a specialized frame. Probably too busy for this.
When was the last time you saw him at a place like this anyway?
Touche.
But the Science Council is paying a lot of attention to his little project. It could turn out to be something important.
If it were up to Nikola, he would've invented all kinds of terrifying weapons.
If we don't keep him in check...
Sure, better weapons mean a better chance to reclaim Earth. But to "them," something uncontrollable is hardly worth the trouble.
I heard some councilmen proposed a bill to increase our hold on the Constructs, but President Hassen rejected it for "humanitarian grounds."
"Humanitarian grounds"... Honestly, do they still count as humans?
Wasn't the bill proposed because of that "incident"? The way that Construct lost control...
I heard some civilians were hurt because of that...
The chatter from the guest not far from him has caught Chrome's attention. He looks at them, his head tilted.
(A Construct lost control?)
(I didn't hear anything about that when I was in the base... No Construct has been punished for assaults either.)
(It's a severe problem if a human is attacked by a Construct.)
...Could someone be spreading this "rumor" intentionally?
At this stage, exploiting a Construct to push for one's agenda is a desperate last resort. Anyone in a position of power would be foolish to do something this self-sabotaging.
On the other hand, Chrome understands Constructs well enough to know that deviating M.I.N.D.s in regular military Constructs is nigh impossible in a place like Babylonia without external stimuli.
Something is afoot...
Thinking that he needs more information, Chrome proceeds to find John on the other end of the ballroom.
Mr. Smith, there's something about...
Mr. John Smith?
Councilman Tram wishes to talk to you about the project regarding restarting the Central Purification Filter in City 089.
I see.
John turns and looks at Chrome.
If you want information, you need to look for it yourself.
John follows the servant away and leaves Chrome after his parting words.
As John walks away, something that Chrome has been ignoring becomes blatantly clear.
Even when the humans on Babylonia know little to nothing about the process of becoming a Construct, it is impossible that no one knows about his transformation due to who his father is.
After all, there is nothing better to gossip about than the rich and powerful "screwing up."
Shifting his back to the room, Chrome can feel gazes upon gazes fixated on him, but they all dart away the moment he turns to look.
He adjusts his audio module and listens in on the chatter of the crowds.
(Look, isn't that...)
(Why is there a Construct here?)
(Shush! Didn't you hear what Smith just said? It's still his seat, so keep your voice down.)
(But why dress like a human when he's already a Construct...)
(Who can tell what the high and mighty thinks?)
(Anyway, better stay away from him.)
(Right, lest he loses it like that Construct earlier...)
Humans on Babylonia rarely come into contact with Constructs... so where do their impressions of Constructs come from?
I ought to investigate.
Chrome straightens his collar and heads toward the talking guests.
With a polite smile, he salutes the embarrassed-looking crowd.
About what you just said, would you mind telling me more about it?
Classified Laboratory B3, Babylonia.
Footsteps approach from the empty, expansive hall outside. With a light ring of acknowledgment from the retinal scanner, the heavy doors to the laboratory slide open.
The lights from the corridor outside illuminate the dark room. A young researcher is sitting between an array of glowing monitors, and he squints toward the door.
What's the result?
Based on the previous test, Lucia has indeed retrieved all her memories. Her M.I.N.D. has been stable so far with no sign of deviation.
And her frame?
She doesn't seem to have any problem using the Plume frame either.
The instability we saw before has greatly improved as well. As of now, the Plume frame is more or less fully realized, functioning the way I designed it to be.
In that case, we can finally move on to the next stage of the specialized frame project.
...
Is there a problem?
The draft of the next specialized frame is just about complete with the data I've got from Plume.
There are simply not enough samples and data on specialized frames for me to reference. And unlike Plume, this new frame has no compatible data from an original source.
We will be facing many complications even when we are just trying to get someone to adapt to it.
The research has already hit a bottleneck. If we want to move on to the next stage...
I need an exceptional Construct with M.I.N.D. stability way above average.
I need to find someone who matches the criteria and is willing to volunteer.
I'll leave it to you, then.
