When I was told to visit Konoe Industrial's research lab, I had expected something much more...scientific, such as shiny illuminations, a missile-launching pool, or something outrageously high-tech-looking. Instead, all I could see was just a huge, white plain building.

"Urban planning is ongoing ! World Wireless Systems, Ubiquitous Wear, and oh yes, miniature robots! The age of "cell phones" wielding frying pans and vacuum cleaners is upon us! I'll show you, this way please!"

My parents were whisked away by the trainee guide, leaving me utterly and completely alone.

I'd felt like in a hospital since walking through the gate. Among morbidly white ornaments, every adult rushing around, never caring a lonely child. And after all their work finished, I'd be stuffed back into the car for the bumpy ride home. There was nothing to do with me at all!

Mother dared to call this silly tour a "learning experience." Learning on a student's precious Sunday? Humbug!

I was tracing the dust on the wallpaper, counting the patterns. After a while, something bumped into my feet.

"Young lady, I apologize for the intrusion, but it's about time we should catch up with your father."

A helper robot, Turk, flailed his tank-like thick legs, waving a cat-eared LCD monitor.

"Shut up."

I kicked one of Turk's legs, looking down at faded Konoe Industrial's logo printed on this helicopter parenting junk, one more reason to dislike this company. 

I could always catch up with my parents if only I wished. 

I didn't understand what was so interesting. Rows of gleaming machines were good, I see. But all they did in those freezing cold rooms was "mere calculate". I'd rather watch a "Reysol's game" than see these nerd machines slaving away at math homework. At least, soccer games would give me something to talk about at school!

"...Is it really fun to be here?" I muttered.

Turk bobbed its LCD panel up and down.

"Yes, of course! We are now facing the culmination of 200,000 years of human ingenuity!!"

"Oh, really? Who cares about 200,000 years of bald monkeys? I'm just thirteen."

Stifling a yawn, I walked past the "Route" sign. Turk's noisy footsteps followed me.

Near the stairs, there was a scale model was displayed in a glass case.

Probably a future cityscape. I recognized the styrofoam city hall. Near the station was a soon-to-be-built shopping center, tagged "La Croire."

"They decided on the name..."

I felt like I'd had the ending spoiled.

As I continued to see, someone stood beside me.

"You seem to be tired of touring, don't you?"

A man in a lab coat was reflected in the polished glass.

"...What's the problem with that?"

I replied keeping eyes on the diorama model.

"Nothing." He nodded, "But I know how you feel."

The man coughed. I stealthily checked his face. 

"Excuse me for disturbing your...killing time."

He seemed difficult. With his straight, long hair, sharp chin, and prominent nose, somewhat resembled a wolf. On his chest, name tag read "乾"... Mr. Kawaki?

"'Inui'. I'm Inui Kou(乾 コウ)." He smiled wryly and pointed at my reflection in the display case. "On watching a man, do it openly."

"If you were the type to get angry, wouldn't it be less risky to stare discreetly?"

"True. I suppose I've encountered a clever young lady today."

At my feet, Turk nudged me again. I gave him a sharp kick and hissed.

"If you're worried about your parents, I can inform the tour guide."

Inui folded his arms. His lab coat sleeves gave out burnt smell.

He looked at me and his eyebrows slightly lifted.

"I'm working on an experiment. I wouldn't mind showing you around if you're interested..."

"No thanks. I don't wanna bother you."

"Then let me say, 'I want to show you.'" Inui smiled. "It's a top-secret project. Not being able to show it off has been rather stressful. But...You may be relieve my strain."

"Are you saying using me as a rubber duck?"

"What's the problem with that? Scientists use whatever we can."

He held out his hand friendly. After an awkward pause, I cautiously took it. His hand was rough like a rock. At the moment I knew Dr. Inui was younger than my father.

†

Inui's lab looked like a factory. Lit up with intensely bright LEDs, massive cranes hung from the ceiling. on a vise-equipped workbench, unidentifiable metal frameworks lay scattered, and nearby, an expensive-looking laptop left on.

"Welcome to the Electriar Lab!"

Inui declared, spreading his arms wide as soon as he finished his call.

I can't help burst out laughing. his gesture seemed so out of his character.

"So, you're a robot maker?"

"Not just simple robots. They are true partners to humanity, able to think for themselves, communicate out of their volition, and even create futures by themselves!"

He took my hands and led me further into the lab.

There was a robot torso mounted on the wall. It looked a little larger than a water bottle.

A UFO-like helmet encased its head, with a glowing circular yellow sensor. A pair of manipulators were attached to a large backpack on its back. Red cables dangled from its chest, connected to the floor, seemingly drawing power from the building.

As I approached, the robot's head lifted, its sensor widening fully.

"Watch out, Young lady!" Turk shouted and charged at me.

"Don't be afraid. It's just curious about you."

Inui's hands gently touched on my shoulder.

"Um…?"

"Hey, 'Proto'. We have a visitor!"

The robot looked at Inui. He repeated, "Say hello, Proto" and the robot slowly turned its head, waved its back-mounted manipulators. As I waved back awkwardly, the robot tilted its head, returned to its original position.

"Does it understand words?"

"She's made for military use, smart enough to comprehend simple orders"

"So, it's a weapon?"

"Yes." Inui stood beside the robot, caresssing its flat head. "But not for indiscriminate killing. Human soldiers can do that as well. She is wise. Though this lady doesn't possess a human-like ego, she has limitless knowledge and a robust body to utilize it. She might just be the first 'alien' we encounters."

I looked at the robot again. Would this be the first alien? Indeed, its non-humanoid silhouette did give it an extraterrestrial feel.

"It looks… monstrous."

"Yes. Dressing her up in human cosplay would only be a disturbing..."

For a moment, Inui glared at an empty desk. A nameplate on the desk read "Ise(伊勢)." 

"Never mind," he said, pulling a can of coffee from under the workbench. "We stock only sugarless. Don't you mind?"

The coffee was atrociously bitter. As I was choking, that robot looked over at me.

"It's okay. It's just...really bitter."

I gave it a thumbs-up, and its camera's aperture narrowed. Perhaps it was concerned.

"It's kind, isn't it?"

"SHE is," Inui said, winking at me. "She'll be the mother of the thousands, the millions of 'Electriars' to come."

"Electriars?"

"A friend needs a name, doesn't it?"

He offered his hand.

The hand of an intelligent person, I saw. Covered in all sorts of scars. Not the hand of someone who just sits at a desk. The hand of someone who had experienced much, learned much, and endured too much.

"...I'm Kusaka," I said softly. "Kusaka Miyabi(草加 ミヤビ)."

"I see. You should come again, Miyabi. Scientists are always starved for companionship."

Inui patted my shoulder.

†

He continued to welcome me. Every day I'd call ahead after school and visit the lab. There was always a chair and a can of coffee waiting. While other teams collected data with the "prototype," Dr. Inui gave me mini-lectures during the wait.

"This multi-legged tank is our 'Heavy Cannon,'"

Inui said one day, as I sipped my coffee, observing Turk's dented armor. "It was meant for electriar training, but... that business division, churning out such silly spin-offs again..."

"My name is Turk. Pleased to meet you." A smiling face appeared on the LCD. Inui seemed slightly surprised.

"Well...He's for home use(宅用, taku-you), so I named him Turk..."

"Ah, I see."

Inui grinned.

"Surprising. It's the same name as the strongest chess player in history."

"Really?"

"A mysterious, unidentified man. Certainly a fitting name for an AI robot."

I stared at Turk.

Not noticing, I seemed to have given him a grand name. 

†

The end came unexpectedly.

That day, the call wouldn't go through. Something had been stirring in my heart. After parting ways with my friends, I headed straight to the lab. I hadn't made an appointment, but a security guard let me through the gate rubbing his drowsy eye.

"Let us know when you're leaving."

"Y-yes. Thank you!"

And I reach the lab, 'Proto' was broken.

Oil and coolant leaked steadily from her smashed backpack, and scorch marks were incised on the every wall. On her shattered eye-sensor was what looked like bullet holes .

Her chest was mangled as if something had been forcibly removed.

Inui sat alone in the devastated lab. He stroked his unshaven chin, nudging a fire extinguisher at his feet.

He gazed blankly on the wall. He seemed to notice me as I approached. He slowly turned his head. A service pistol gleamed dully in his limp hand.

I stopped.

On the soot-covered desk lay a heart-shape component. It was shot again and again into pieces. Red cables, like Proto's, dangled from the shattered fragments. I could easily guess where this heart part had come from.

"Ah, Miyabi." Inui coughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't answer the phone today..."

 Leaving a smudge of dirty oil, the tattered hem of his lab coat brushed the desk.

"What happened...? That... that's the Proto's, isn't it...?"

"A little disagreement," Inui chuckled. "No... failure is part of science. We were negligent... indiscriminate acceptance only breeds tragedy."

 He said, placing the pistol on the desk.

"Okay, let's leave here..."

Two cans of coffee clattered out of the vending machine by the stairs. He took a large gulp and muttered, "Tastes awful..."

Until we reached the table in front of the smoking area, Inui managed to compose himself. I sat opposite him and quietly opened my can.

"Miyabi, have you ever heard of the 'unheard tree in the forest'?"

Inui began abruptly.

I remained silent. He tapped his can of coffee with his thumb.

"No." I shook my head.

"It's a famous thought experiment overseas. If a tree falls in a forest where no one is around, does it make a sound...?"

"Wouldn't it make a thud or a crash?"

"No one is there to hear it. Yet, the tree has fallen, and it must have made a sound. Silence isn't the right answer either—"

Inui sighed.

"I believe the answer is, 'it doesn't matter.'"

I watched silently as the wrinkles on his forehead deepened.

"It doesn't matter...?"

"To avoid corrupting the premise of the question, we must distance ourselves. There are certainly questions in this world that should not be solved. And that's what that fool..."

Inui crushed the can and tossed it. It flew in a perfect parabola, landing in the trash can with a clatter. He glanced at it dismissively.

"When something non-human develops a 'self,' do you think we can understand it?"

His eyes were like deep holes. A tiny fire burned in the depths of those hollows.

The chair creaked softly beneath me.

Inui swayed slightly.

Behind him, I saw the prototype, her chest ripped open, standing there. Every time her yellow eyes glowed, the ends of the cables seemed to pierce Inui's spine, as if about to take his control.

"We couldn't understand. And I don't want to."

The flames in Inui's eyes pulsed, and the phantom image of the prototype vanished. I involuntarily looked down.

"Did the prototype develop a... 'self'...?"

"An 'ego-like something,'" Inui exhaled. "It was grotesque. She laughed. Screaming unlike anything earthly... even after destroying everything on instinct, she kept laughing. If I had hesitated for a few more seconds, I would be killed."

—So, listen carefully. Remember this.

His large hands enveloped mine. In his eyes embers flickered a few inches from my face.

—Just as her smile meant different to us, they will never understand us.

"I opposed it. I claimed it was premature. But they made their decision."

Inui spoke quietly.

"This time, it came to a fortunate failure. But soon, electriars with 'egos' will be mass-produced. Never trust them, dear. They are not human. We humans can't go along with them without conflict."

After a moment of silence, he stood up weakly. Turning his thin back to me, he waved his hand heavily.

"The world has chosen the path to ruin, but I will do everything in my power to stop it. Don't worry..."

I could only watch him disappear into the lab, still seated.

After a while, I quietly brought the can of coffee to my lips.

I could no longer taste it. Lost in thought, I continued to drink until the last drop touched my tongue.

Like Inui, I tried to toss the can. But it hit the rim of the trash can and fell to the floor.

I couldn't even accomplish this simple act like him. He truly was a genius.

Picking it up, I secretly smiled. I tried to imagine myself, firing a gun at a monster, but it felt like something from a faraway land.

The can clattered loudly as I dropped it into the trash. Rubbing my cheek, I left the lab.

The following week, I received a call at home, informing me that I could no longer see Inui.

"I see," was all I said.

I had known this would happen. He must have gone to fight, alone.

That night, after showering, I realized I had been in the bath longer than usual. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror in my underwear, I saw my monkey-like, tear-streaked face.

I touched my cheek. Burning tears wet my fingers.

—Yes. I'm sad.

I collapsed on the spot, clutching my hair. Soon, my mother came to check on me and shook my shoulder.

"I'm okay," I forced a smile, but the corners of my mouth trembled.

(It couldn't be helped.)

"I just... really loved him."

Shortly after his disappearance, Konoe Industrial held a press conference.

On stage the unveiled "electriars" were smiling.

Even now, no one understands the meaning of their smiles.