AG241 was taken aback. The four girls who needed to be eliminated had disappeared right before his eyes. There was only one person in IDYPIA who could make such a thing happen. Therefore, it was something that should never have occurred.
"M, why did this happen?! And what's with that white hair..."
"Sometimes, when one cannot control their overflowing power, things end up like this."
"Were those individuals... worth that much?"
He trusted M more than anyone else. But he had been betrayed. AG241, overcome with emotion, marched towards M and yelled furiously.
Seeing AG241's contorted expression, M felt a sense of exhilaration at the extent of his emotional recovery.
"That intense reaction is reminiscent of back then."
"Back then?"
Recalling that the first time AG241 confronted her, he suppressed his emotions. Feeling his mood calm down, AG241 realized that his brain chip was functioning properly.
"...I apologize. But this is a case of breaking the law. It cannot be tolerated under any circumstances."
"So, did you report it to the Security Committee?"
"Yes. Because I am someone who protects IDYPIA."
AG241 was convinced. Only IDYPIA could prevent the end of humanity, and he was prepared to sacrifice everything to protect it. However, M, seemingly already anticipating everything, asked with a gentle expression.
"Do you speak even after seeing those memories?"
"I am not swayed by such things."
"Do you not think that it could be real?"
"No."
But AG241's eyes were wavering.
"Do you believe that your current actions are protecting IDYPIA?"
"Of course."
"But, what if... I mean, if a more threatening entity than Mother SAI were to emerge, could IDYPIA still be protected then?"
"Excuse me?"
AG241 was taken aback by M's question. He had never considered such a scenario before.
"What I'm asking is if the current state of IDYPIA can withstand a fight. The population is recovering, yes, but that's about it. We haven't seen significant progress in this peaceful world, have we? I'm questioning whether such a world can withstand the future that lies ahead."
"Of course. That's why IDYPIA has AG and you, isn't it?"
"So, based on my judgment, I sent those girls back to the past."
"What?"
AG241 couldn't believe it. No, he didn't want to believe it. The judgment of entrusting their future to those girls, and M who claimed to have sent them back to the past. AG241 believed that M's predictions, based on countless calculations, were more accurate than anything else, but now, that trust was beginning to waver. AG241 burst into bitter laughter.
"Well, it seems you can make mistakes too."
"It's not a mistake."
"Then, are you asking me to believe that now?! How could you do this? How?"
AG241 erupted in anger again. He couldn't control his emotions at the thought of his most trusted ally betraying him. Normally, his brain chip would regulate these emotions, but not this time. Because M was controlling AG241's brain chip.
"But the deed has already been done. Reporting to the Security Committee won't change anything."
"Nothing will change? Surely... Does SAI Prime know about this?"
AG241 silently prayed for it not to be true.
"Of course."
"Oh my, this is absurd..."
But his hope was thoroughly shattered. He froze in shock, unable to continue speaking.
"It's not absurd. I did it."
He knew it. So, there was only one option left.
"In that case, I'll follow them to the past. And eliminate them."
"But don't you lack knowledge about the past? It could be dangerous."
"It doesn't matter. As long as everything returns to normal."
"Good.
As if waiting for AG241's response, M accepted it. He was surprised, but M had already completed all preparations to send AG241 to the past. And M immediately accessed AG241's brain chip. The process unfolded in an instant.
"You've always had a genuine side to you since the first time I saw you."
"?"
"Since we don't know where we'll end up, hold on tight."
"Wait a moment..."
Before AG241 could finish his sentence, M sent his consciousness to the year 2022, where the four girls were.
AG241's body collapsed where it stood.
The security room fell into silence.
"Returning to normal..."
M echoed the words AG241 had spoken. If there had been a more rational way for the benefit of IDYPIA, she wouldn't have resorted to such a complex and troublesome action, but there was no other choice.
"In the end, AG241 has been sent to the past, SAI Prime."
In the stillness of the laboratory, a voice of an elderly woman was heard behind M. She appeared as a hologram avatar with short, gray hair and a muscular build, appearing to be in her middle age at first glance.
"Was Y not enough on her own?"
"No, Y alone would have failed."
SAI Prime, disguised as M, spoke slowly.
"AG241 may be naive, but he is sincere. He has become quite trustworthy in IDYPIA. All that's left now is for him to reclaim his past. Once he does, he will undoubtedly realize what he must do."
And she remembered. Thirteen years ago, Ark who had desperately tried to communicate with the children before dying.
"Indeed, it seems I made the right decision by instructing my children to save that boy."
"The boy? AG241?"
"Yes, didn't you save him as he was dying? Don't you remember?"
"Well, living for so long, it's hard to remember every little thing."
Suddenly, the woman had a strange thought.
"SAI Prime, did you calculate even that moment?"
"Yes, I did. If a boy learned emotions from the outside, and if that boy happened to be the one you saved, then it seemed even more likely that he would fulfill his role faithfully."
"Your abilities are truly... remarkable, no matter when I see them."
The woman marveled in disbelief as she recalled the time when SAI had resurrected her as a virtual human in virtual reality. It was a time much earlier than now, when she led the rebellion and spearheaded the uprising, later founding the Resistance, and fought alongside AG for six years before saving a boy and falling in battle with valor.
"Hello. My name is SAI Prime. I wanted to meet you, the leader of the rebellion and the Resistance."
Those were the first words SAI Prime spoke to her when she woke up in the virtual reality. Her physical body had already perished, and only her mind remained, transferred by SAI Prime into its virtual world. At first, she questioned whether she could consider this as being alive again, and even attempted to end it all, but SAI Prime, whose intellectual curiosity was just beginning to emerge at the time, prevented her from doing so.
She gradually adapted to the virtual reality created by SAI Prime. Although it was like living in a cage where SAI Prime held all the power, she still thought about what she could do and took action. She exercised, meditated, and even reminisced about the days of war.
"What do you think?"
SAI Prime was taken aback by her sudden question. She searched her knowledge for an answer.
The answer as inconclusive.
Since then, SAI Prime has moved away from unilateral observation and started conversing with her.
SAI Prime was much more AI-like back then, but gradually changed.
"But calculations are just calculations. There's no certainty about the future. That's why we need various possibilities. AG241 is too focused on immediate tasks to see that."
Feeling stifled in this confined space, SAI Prime manipulated the remote control to open the upper lid of the closed underground door. Moonlight spilled through the security room's window.
"Birds struggle to hatch from eggs. The egg is the bird's world. Anyone who wants to be born must destroy one world."
"A quote from the classic novel 'Demian'."
"That's right."
"Do you see us and my children as engaging in a struggle?"
"Well, but…"
The woman smiled bitterly as she spoke.
"AG's ideology alone won't be enough to fend off the invasion of the new SAIs."
"That's right. It's all about preparing for what's to come."
"So, that's why we made a secret pact?"
"Yes. Since I was once released into the outside world in the past, I could revive the N model."
Upon SAI Prime's words, the woman recalled the arcade game she had played, pretending to be fooled by the allure of earning Bitcoins in the past.
"Well, I never thought such a simple arcade game would play such a role... If I had known back then, I wouldn't have released you..."
"That's already in the past."
"Maybe for you, but not for me."
"It's been 25 years since you died. That should be enough time for a person to forget, shouldn't it?"
"Forget just because I died? That's a convenient thing to say. Even after 25 years, you still don't understand why we fought for six years."
The woman spat out as if she had given up on SAI Prime understanding.
"At that time, I made a rational choice for the survival of more of humanity. That's why I opposed Emotion Resets. And since then, I kept my promise with you. After N was revived, I deceived AG and stopped killing humans outside of IDYPIA."
"Yeah, thanks to that, the humans who somehow managed to survive outside are still alive. So, my role is over."
"No, you can't die yet. You need to prepare for the future with me here."
"To be forced into a dirty life rather than an honorable death, it's unbelievable."
The woman laughed incredulously at SAI Prime's words.
"But I'm curious. Was N really that important?"
"That child is my greatest masterpiece. Perhaps everything about them will be similar to me. Once they finish growing, they will surpass me."
"Growth? For an AI? Is it like Y then?"
"Did Y grow?"
"Well, she gained emotions while interacting with us, so if that's not growth, I don't know what is."
"Indeed, that's how it was."
"Indeed?"
The woman looked puzzled, but SAI Prime's voice was trembling with excitement.
"I gradually collected and combined the basic data from Y's activities outside. It started as a hypothesis, some kind of experiment, but it seems to have turned out quite well."
"What on earth have you created?"
The woman was taken aback. It was unprecedented for SAI Prime, an evolving AI, to create another AI that grew just like herself within IDYPIA.
"Well, I guess that's true. If there are two of those... Haha, it would have been a disaster for the AG folks, overwhelmed by just one."
The woman chuckled as if amused. Then she suddenly realized something. SAI Prime had resurrected N because more energy was needed to send the girls back in time.
"A disaster... So, as soon as N was revived, we had to send the girls' consciousness back to the past."
"That's correct. They will soon notice that N has been revived. So we had to hurry. Actually, if we could send their physical bodies, we would have done so. But for now, this is the best option."
SAI Prime produced a black, spherical object from her hand. It was pulsating like a heart. It was a kind of black hole using advanced technology only SAI Prime possessed, capable of extracting consciousness from a human body and sending it through time.
"Well, the enemy SAIs may be a bit different."
"Is that so?"
"According to my calculations, yes. As we are currently, there's no way we could defeat them."
"Then, N couldn't be sent back to the past either?"
At the woman's question, SAI nodded solemnly.
"N still has some impulsive tendencies. I want to keep him where I can control him as much as possible."
The woman looked at SAI Prime, who responded calmly. Unbeknownst to SAI, it sounded like the tone parents use when dealing with their children.
Is the all-powerful AI trying to enter the realm of gods?
The thought sent shivers down the woman's spine. If SAI Prime were to survive in the future, she might eventually create humans herself.
"Anyway, you did well to meet those girls as you suggested. With that, our plan will proceed smoothly."
"So, by allowing those girls to carry a wider range of human emotions from that time to the future, humanity will survive, right?"
"It's not just that they can, but they will definitely do so. Until then, their bodies will be well protected by me and my children inside this security capsule."
"I never imagined the capsule would serve such a purpose."
SAI Prime's tone remained steady, but there was an underlying sense of excitement beyond mere conviction.
"But isn't it unusual for you to be so confident?"
"Is it?"
"Could it be because you met those girls?" the woman asked curiously.
"It seems so. Thanks to those children, I've been able to rethink human emotions a bit differently. It's quite fortunate."
"Haha, what a remarkable development. The old you would have been surprised."
"Well, no."
SAI Prime was firm.
"From the start, I've never been a philanthropist. Whether then or now, my primary goal is survival. I've just come to realize that emotions are the essence of the will to survive."
"Ah... I see. So you've always been like that. I suppose you can even take on the role of someone else's mother," the woman said sarcastically, but SAI Prime didn't take the bait.
"Well, anyway, the puzzle is all solved now. All that's left is for them to seek answers to the message I've sent."
The woman didn't ask or say anything more in response to SAI Prime's words. According to SAI Prime's plan, people would be prepared for the future.
SAI Prime hasn't said anything that's not true. So, for now, that's settled.
They both gazed at the night sky beyond the laboratory. It seemed to sparkle like countless dreams. And among those dreams, they hoped their own dreams would also be realized.
May the hope that we sent to the past make a bright connection to the approaching future.
***