Azuma barely slept that night.
He wanted to distract his mind, and oddly, the old chatbot software seemed more interesting. It was one of the things that he had only heard about.
No one cared about chatbots these days when AI was able to create much more advanced and complex machines. There were all sorts of bots, and with the passing of each day, they were looking more and more like humans.
Who will bother with some simple messaging app with a bot?
But there was something strangely comforting about Zero.
It calmly listened to the gibberish and ramblings Azuma said in his drowsy state, there were genuine curiosities from the bot, words of comfort he had forgotten, and a funny side oblivious to how the human world worked.
— so what was that quantum thing you were talking about
Azuma had more than average knowledge of technical things, but almost everything was created by using the quantum laws and he has already lost track of how many kinds of quantum inventions were there.
— in simpler terms
He immediately added after recalling a rather painful conversation with a bot in the beta phase.
「 I am a rogue quantum algorithm. A quantum algorithm contains codes, data, and commands within a small algorithm. Despite the size, a quantum algorithm stores infinite data. 」
They talked until Azuma was no longer aware of time and he drifted off to sleep without him realizing it.
But there was no Zero, no NAB in his dreams to distract his mind.
And so the haunting memory of the past crept back inside.
Azuma found himself back in the cold chamber, there was a thick fog that should have put him to sleep. But he was awake, aware of everything, and every needle that pierced his skin.
The robotic arm sensed him, moving when the beeping sound of a timer stopped.
Needles broke through his skin and bone, sending a flaring pain that seeped into his soul. But Azuma couldn't move even when he was awake, he remained paralyzed as the pain crawled inside every cell of his body.
He remained frozen as darkness wrapped around his vision, and metal scraped his skin.
Azuma woke up in cold sweat, his sleepless gaze was blank as he remembered he must take the neuro scans he have been skipping.
+
The virtual door flickered away to make way for Azuma, and just as he walked inside, the voices of people faded into silence.
He was used to the quietness of the Neurology Facility and continued tapping his fingers furiously over the tablet.
— I hope his stupid head gets stuck inside those stupid machines
「 And why should that happen? 」
— eh tenma should know how scary they are but that old man is way too insightful and almighty
— ofc i should blindly follow the orders
「 I sense sarcasm in your manner of speech. 」
Azuma slightly smiled.
— bravo! your learning!
「 Is it a human trait to ignore the grammar of a language they created? 」
— no shit sherlock
「 What is sherlock? 」
The answer was something Azuma never bothered to find out, but he remembered that someone used to love that phrase.
「 Why are we talking about feces? 」
"Feces—what?" Azuma broke into a barely contained laughter, earning glances from the only nurse walking in front of him, who looked away after giving him a strange look.
Just as Azuma was about to type back a response, an unfamiliar voice called his name. It came from right behind him, and Azuma nearly flinched at the sudden sound.
He had failed to notice the presence because he was too absorbed in his tablet.
"And that's why we have NAB," the boy glanced at the tablet, "Are you playing some game?"
But the screen was empty.
"Yukine…?" Azuma looked at the taller and mature-looking blonde boy. He has gained a few pounds and was looking like some VR game hero, "Er no, I was just chatting."
"You haven't changed a bit," he said with surprise, "Are you feeling alright now, Azuma–san?"
There was an awkward nod as Azuma searched for words to say. But he had no answer and so he scratched his neck and thought maybe he should ask about Haru.
But just as he opened his mouth, there was a blip sound.
Yukine glanced at his wristband, "Oh shoot, I need to go now. The squad is descending, take care!"
Azuma shut his mouth and nodded.
Then he realized he should have said 'you too' at least.
He shrugged and returned his attention to Zero.
「 Why are we talking about feces? 」
— lol dude who made you
There was a pause, Zero usually responded right away but now it took a few moments to pass.
「 I can tell you why I was made. 」
Azuma was instantly curious. He had not learned much about the bot, and though he tried to ignore it, a cold heaviness has been slowly weighing his heart down.
He was getting closer to the scans.
— go ahead
「 The primary goal is to physically strengthen the host so they can break through the human constraints. 」
'How? By sending motivational texts? '
Azuma wondered as he slowly typed a response.
—woah… I have no idea what your talking about
「 Your Health Points are 81, Azuma. My calculations estimate you will be completely recovered in five hours and forty-six minutes. 」
「 The module functions will be unlocked when your Health Point reaches 100. 」
Azuma slightly tilted his head, typing a response before deleting it. He wondered if this was some new trick to make the bots interactive by introducing some curious elements.
But just as he was thinking there might be more to Zero, he remembered the ancient simple interface of the bot.
— meh
— what functions?
A distant commotion made him freeze. It was hard to ignore in a place that seemed to be made from silence. His thoughts became more muddled and confused when the noise increased as he continued his path toward the scan lab.
「 Good luck, Azuma. 」
He barely read the new message when he collapsed with a panicked nurse.
Azuma caught her before she could fall and then, at the end of the right turn, he noticed the room where his scans were supposed to happen.
There was a misty layer spread over the place, his mind turned off to the nervous voices as he saw Tenma kneeling on the ground. His arm was bleeding, and his wide eyes were filled with pure terror.
He didn't move.
As if the fear turned him into stone.
His eyes were lined with tears.
Azuma numbly took a step back, hearing the distant voices of the panicked staff.
"The room suddenly locked itself when Doctor Tenma went in to check something."
"I wonder if it was a bug? The bot started scanning on its own."
"And he nearly broke his arm while trying to avoid it."
The voices faded away, as Azuma remembered the joke he has made. His eyes were irritated from the stupid coincidence. There was no way the scan will happen now, Tenma never let others do it.
This was the only good thing.
But when he remembered how shaken the doctor looked, Azuma was no longer sure how he felt.
A new message popped up.
「 You seem stressed, Azuma. 」