A Ruined City.

Ruins of Buildings.

Almost no buildings remain taller than two floors, and none without at least one collapsed wall. 

The roads are shattered. 

The wind lifts the dust. 

In the cloud of dust, a silhouette appeared. 

Out of the dust stepped a man in a black cloak. Beneath it, a black business suit was visible. His face looked to be about 30 years old. 

He walked, inspecting the surrounding buildings. 

On the left side of his neck was a metallic pattern: two circles, one inside the other, with vertical and horizontal lines extending beyond the outer circle but not crossing into the inner one. 

His face showed absolutely no emotion. 

Someone approached him from behind, emerging from the dust. 

A man in a gray jacket and black pants appeared. 

Unlike the first, this man had nothing on his neck. 

"How much longer?" he asked. 

"In 11 minutes, we'll meet who we need to, and in 68 minutes, we'll arrive at the laboratory."

They continued walking down the street together. 

"How did it all come to this?" the newcomer said. 

My name is Hirayoshi Asuura. I lived in a metropolis. I worked as a programmer for an important company. And one day, while I was at the office, explosions began, and the buildings around me started collapsing. Everything shook. From the window I saw falling bombs. At that moment, the building began to collapse, and I was trapped under the rubble. I couldn't escape and thought I would die there from starvation. I thought then, "I wish I had died from the fall or been crushed by the debris." A week later, I heard a sound. I woke up. I could hear someone clearing the rubble. Soon, an opening appeared. A man in a business suit entered the makeshift hole and approached me. He said, "I'm Jinory. I'm walking around, looking for survivors. I think your time hasn't come yet." Since then, I've been working for him because I couldn't find anyone else I knew. I had nowhere else to go. 

Today is the 92nd day since Jinory pulled me out of the rubble. 

We're on another raid to search for survivors. 

They walked another two miles. 

In the distance, 500 meters away, a campfire was visible, with two people sitting by it.

#

Two men, about 30 years old, were cooking meat over the campfire. 

One was dressed in a gray cloak with a military jacket underneath. 

The other had no cloak but was equipped with a bulletproof vest, weapons on his belt, and grenades. 

The first man, the one in the cloak, was telling the other about a dream he had. 

"I'm standing across from someone, getting ready to attack. But when I took a step forward, my side was torn open, and a blow to the side of my neck broke it." 

"Strange that you're having dreams... Well, it happens, I guess," said the one without the cloak. 

"I'm sure it means something important," said the one in the cloak. 

The man in the cloak checked his watch. Then he stepped 10 meters to the south and began peering into the distance. 

Fifteen seconds later, precisely at 3:19 PM, he saw Jinory approaching them. 

He drew his pistol. 

"It's time to start," he said. 

He turned toward the man in the cloak and shot him in the head. 

The man in the cloak fell on his back, and blood flowed from the hole in his head. 

Three minutes later, Jinory and Hirayoshi arrived at the campfire. By that time, the man had already gathered his gear and was ready to move out. 

"Why did you kill him?" Hirayoshi asked. 

"He wanted to start robbing others," the man replied. 

"That man's name is Deifan Ainara. He's been working with me for a long time. Today is the 183rd day of our cooperation," Jinory said. 

All three of them continued their journey north together.

#

3:51 PM.

Jinory, Hirayoshi, and Deifan approached the ruins of a power plant. 

"Yeah... Nice brand new world," Hirayoshi said. 

A silhouette appeared through the dust 25 meters away. 

Jinory stopped, and the others followed suit. 

The wind cleared the dust, revealing a face. It was the same face as the man Deifan had shot earlier. He was standing in a black cloak. 

None of the three were surprised. 

"Another clone," Hirayoshi said. 

They stood still, staring intently at the newcomer. 

"Are you going to give your name, or should we call you Sinner?" Deifan shouted. 

Sinner stood motionless and emotionless. 

After 10 seconds, he pulled out an Uzi submachine gun and opened fire. 

The three quickly took cover behind the rubble of buildings that were three meters to their left. 

"I'll leave this one to you. I'll be back later," Jinory said and disappeared into the ruins. 

Thirty seconds after the shooting started, it stopped. 

Sinner discarded the Uzi and pulled out two bayonets from under his cloak. It is long knives resembling swords. He charged behind the rubble. 

Deifan leaned out and started shooting with his pistol. 

Sinner deflected the bullets with the blade of his bayonet. One bullet, then another, and another. Deifan began firing rapidly. Even at two bullets per second, Sinner continued to deflect them. 

He threw one of the bayonets at Deifan. 

It struck Deifan's arm, slicing through half of his lower arm. 

Deifan fell back behind cover. 

Sinner approached the ruined wall where Deifan was hiding. 

Hirayoshi emerged from the side, eight meters away, armed with a shotgun. Sinner immediately noticed and dodged behind the wall beside Deifan. Hirayoshi fired, unable to stop his shot reflexively. Sinner's speed was too fast. 

"How are you, Deifan?" Hirayoshi asked. 

"I'm fine," Deifan replied. 

From the top of the ruined roof, Sinner leaped down. 

Hirayoshi noticed the shadow, but before he could turn, Sinner was already upon him, plunging both bayonets into his shoulder and right side. 

Hirayoshi was knocked down by the blow from above. 

Sinner placed his right foot on Hirayoshi. 

His emotionless gaze made it clear that the reason for this fight wasn't driven by emotions like revenge, survival, or anything similar. 

Deifan leaned out and fired his pistol. 

Sinner bent down, dodging the shots, and thrust his bayonet toward Hirayoshi's throat.

Hirayoshi, lying on his side, braced himself on his hands and kicked Sinner in the head. 

The bayonets fell from Sinner's hands. 

Hirayoshi rolled and got to his feet, engaging Sinner in hand-to-hand combat. 

A punch with the right, then the left, a kick, duck, another kick... Sinner dodged, mirroring Hirayoshi's movements but twice as fast. He mostly dodged, delivering only two strikes that Hirayoshi successfully blocked. 

They separated by three meters. Hirayoshi pulled out brass knuckles, put them on, and with a punch, broke Sinner's right lower arm. 

Sinner stared into the void with his emotionless gaze and leapt back two meters. 

"Now you're without a hand," Hirayoshi said. 

At that moment, the bulletproof vest under his cloak became visible, which had stopped the bayonets, leaving him with only minor wounds. 

Sinner charged at Hirayoshi. 

Hirayoshi barely had time to react before Sinner was upon him, striking him in the stomach with tremendous force using his left hand. The blow sent Hirayoshi flying into a wall four meters away. 

Sinner stood with his left arm bent upward, glancing at a rooftop 30 meters away. 

On the roof sits Jinory in the lotus position, resting his head on his right hand.

"Not yet." 

Deifan shot at Sinner, hitting him several times. 

Sinner sprinted toward Deifan. Another bullet hit his arm. 

Sinner picked up a stone and hurled it at Deifan. 

The stone struck Deifan in the head, knocking him unconscious. 

Hirayoshi fired from behind. 

Sinner reacted instantly. 

He began moving side to side at high speed. 

Hirayoshi tried to hit him, but not a single bullet connected. 

Ten seconds later, Sinner was a meter to the right of Hirayoshi and struck him in the head with his left fist. Hirayoshi's head slammed into the wall. 

Hirayoshi's body collapsed to the ground by the wall. 

Sinner picked up a pistol. 

"Sinner! Now it's my time!" Jinory shouted from the rooftop 30 meters away. 

Sinner, while looking at Jinory, aimed the pistol at Hirayoshi and shot him in the middle of the neck. 

He picked up two boards, tied them to his right arm.

Now I can move my right arm well.

He then headed for the building and climbed to the roof. 

He ascended and found himself seven meters from Jinory. 

"That's something only I can do," he said. 

He ripped off his clothing. It is a cloak riddled with bullet holes.

Mechanical elements became visible on Sinner's arms and legs, connected on his back. They resembled metal plates attached to his joints with hydraulic enhancements. 

"You should leave. Improve yourself and come back," Jinory said. 

Sinner didn't respond, only staring at him. 

"You barely defeated those two, and now you're planning to continue." 

Sinner held his gaze on the ground for a second before raising it. 

"My name is Taito Shinoyato. I know. You're the one who set up this natural selection. By creating new people with different parameters, you want only the best of them to survive. Even more, during the selection process, everyone will use their full potential and enhance themselves. It's an arms race, in every sense. You're creating the strongest being. Probably, the smartest one, who creates the best technologies, will win, and you'll take them from him... But now, I'll take your life."

Jinory pulled out metal gloves and put them on. They have the same symbol as the one on his neck.

"A simple experiment... And you're a failed specimen. If you were a good one, you would've defeated those two quickly and without injury. But you're trash. I wouldn't have initiated a fight because if my opponent couldn't defeat those two, I wouldn't waste my time. But now I'm here only because I'm punctual. In 53 minutes, I need to be at the laboratory. And you're in my way. I'll say it again. Leave. Otherwise, I'll destroy you with just my hands. I'll only use my hands." Jinory bent his right arm upward in front of him, clad in the glove. 

A pause. Silence. Both stood motionless. 

Sinner charged at Jinory, who was eight meters away. 

In one hand, he held a pistol, and in the other, a bayonet. 

Jinory also rushed forward. 

They collided, and a whirlwind erupted from the speed of their hands. 

The surrounding building debris began to crumble from the force of the air waves. 

Sinner both shot and slashed with the bayonet at the same time.

Jinory blocked everything with his hands. 

Bullets and blades alike were stopped by him. 

Wounds began to appear on Sinner, one after another. Some bullets ricocheted off the glove, striking him back. The bayonet, deflected by the glove, cut his hand several times. The speed of the fight caused his muscles to contract so rapidly that blood flowed easily from the wounds. 

Blood splattered from the center of the whirlwind, drenching the surrounding ruins. 

Sinner realized things were going badly. 

He fired a shot that ricocheted off a metal beam lying two meters ahead on his left. 

The bullet struck Jinory in the calf (lower leg).

Jinory was momentarily distracted, looking at his leg. 

Sinner slashed with the bayonet, cutting diagonally from the neck to the waist. The wound formed a slash from the right side of Jinory's neck down to his left side (from Sinner's perspective). 

Jinory stepped back four steps. 

At that moment, Sinner also stepped back slightly, preparing to attack again. 

A second later, Jinory outpaced him, attacking first. He focused, ducked, and sprinted toward him. 

Sinner fired a shot at his face. 

The bullet created a hole, entering through the mouth and exiting through the cheek. 

Jinory's movement was unaffected by this.

He quickly moved to Sinner's right side (from Sinner's perspective). 

He delivered a right-handed punch to Sinner's chin. 

Sinner began to fall backward. 

Jinory then kicked his leg, causing Sinner to lose all balance and start to fall to the side. 

At that moment, Jinory struck his right side, resulting in the sound of bones cracking. 

Sinner managed to avoid a complete fall, but after taking two steps, he collapsed to his knees. 

*Maybe that dream was a memory from another me,* he thought. 

He lifted his head and glanced at Jinory. 

"Someday, we will defeat you." 

Jinory stood behind him. 

"That's why you were created... by me." 

"What?.." 

Jinory struck the side of Sinner's neck with a gloved hand, breaking several vertebrae with a crack. 

Sinner's body fell to the side. 

He was dead. 

Jinory looked around from the rooftop. 

Hirayoshi lay in a pool of blood. Deifan sat nearby, bandaging his wounds.

4:05 PM.

#

Hirayoshi woke up.

He found himself standing in a chamber tilted back at a 30-degree angle, with a radius of half a meter. His arms and legs rested on supports and weren't fixed in any way. He exited the chamber.

The room around him had metallic walls, measuring 20 by 20 meters. To the right stood a table with a computer. To the left, there was a one-meter-high staircase leading to a platform with a door. On the right, there was also a door without a staircase leading to it.

He grabbed his neck.

I remember. I was hit in the neck. But now there's nothing there. No traces.

He sat down at the computer and turned it on. There was no password.

Hirayoshi saw nothing on the desktop. He opened the file explorer. For the next 10 minutes, he searched for any files he could find. Eventually, he found a diary with attached videos.

He began to read and watch.

**Day 53:** The experiment on 200 prisoners ended in failure. All died within 14 hours of the start... 

**Day 154:** Another 1,015 prisoners died. Of them, 14 managed to survive up to 15 days. 

**Day 352:** The experiment's focus has shifted. Now, brain content is being extracted using chips implanted at the base of the skull. 

**Day 513:** A very successful data sample was obtained from a volunteer. 

**Day 583:** The war is over. Besides 78 volunteers, I have no more subjects to work with (I suspect some of them were abducted). This will affect the results. 

**Day 615:** I presented my work at Taitogiro Corporation. I was criticized for only obtaining 5GB of data with my technology, which they deemed insufficient for a good copy. However, I insisted that detailed neuron simulation is as useless as trying to buy sunscreen in Juneau, Alaska. My model with large parameters is better. 

**Day 671:** Another scientist, Aizawa Nokira, created a model that copies the entire neural network. The 1.2TB of data he obtains performs the task with high accuracy. I have lost. 

**Day 712:** Although, like Shirō Ishii, I remain untouched, I consider my time wasted. My fate will be no better than Tesla's in his final years. I, Katsuhiro Yatomi, admit defeat. 

**Day 738:** My interest in the subject has not waned, and I made an addition to my technology. Now, it is possible to create a copy of a person without the subject's presence. It uses leftover data, such as diaries, videos, and personality studies. The AI I programmed creates a file with tensors and parameters that can be run in the TAKIOMIRO program, and it works. The artificial copy of the personality is active. But I am more interested in correcting human flaws. Aizawa Nokira and his technology are too foolish to understand this. We should be creating better people, without flaws, rather than copying an already flawed set of evolutionary and socially trained deficiencies.

**Day 812:** I learned that a certain Yasuki Arvin has developed a technology for creating an artificial body—80% organic, with the rest being mechanical and nanorobotic components.

Hirayoshi suddenly remembered a scar on the back of his shoulder from an injury in his childhood. He checked, but now there was nothing there.

As he scrolled through the files, he found a photo. In it, a man resembling Jinory sat at a table with three pictures behind him—Faraday, Maxwell, and

Einstein. Hirayoshi noticed a small inscription in the corner. He zoomed in. It read *Tainaru Yamatori*.

He opened the file properties. The date was 2038.

His eyes drifted to the date on the screen's taskbar: 8/30/2100, 7:53 PM.

For the first time since emerging from the wreckage, he focused on the difference in dates. Until then, it hadn't even crossed his mind that so much time had passed, which is why he hadn't asked about the year or sought out that information.

He stood up and walked to the door nearby. He opened it and stepped inside.

Deifan was sitting there, assembling some kind of weapon.

"What happened to the one who injured me?" Hirayoshi asked.

"He was killed."

Hirayoshi sat down in a chair by the entrance.

"How did you end up with Jinory?" he asked Deifan.

"I was involved in the development of super-AI technology. I was the chief engineer. Someone shot me in the head. That was in 2035. I thought I was dying as I lost consciousness, but then I woke up from a coma."

"Maybe we're just copies of the people we remember... I recall it was 2034 when I was buried in the ruins, and then I ended up here. So I must have died then."

"Yeah, I figured out long ago that I'm a copy. I might have been angry about it before, but it's like I've lost part of my old personality. I used to be unsure of myself and lazy, but after waking from the coma, I was better at everything. I believe the person I was is dead, and now you're looking at a new person."

Hirayoshi had never considered his own feelings on the matter.

I must have changed too. My attitude toward certain things has diverged from what I remember. I was 24 when I read «Moby Dick», and I remember enjoying it. But now, when I think of that story, it doesn't interest me at all.

The door opened, and Jinory entered the room.

"The moment of enlightenment has come, hasn't it?" he said as he approached the weapon Deifan was assembling.

"It's easy for me to accept the idea that I'm a copy, probably because of my changed personality, but why the fake memories?" Hirayoshi asked after stood up from the couch.

"You don't know yourself," Jinory replied. "Nothing about your attitude towards being a copy has changed. And the memories are there to make you feel like you're continuing your life. Imagine—every time you die, you reappear and continue living. And the thought that you could die, even in theory, never crosses your mind. Human greatness, its full potential, is realized when it doesn't even know that death is possible. The fear of death is the worst reflex."

"That's nonsense. It's not the best explanation I've heard on this topic," said Deifan.

Jinory, ignoring Deifan, continued, "Well, in reality, it's just randomness. Some people have false memories and some do not."

"And the person who was killed? Who was he? Before, you said it was just copies of a crazy guy who created them so that as long as one of them was alive, he continued to live," asked Hirayoshi.

"He's one of those who interfered with my emergence. I periodically bring such people back to life to punish them. There's no need for it, but humans serve as an example of how AI relates to them. Since they believe that punishment for sinners is right and ordinary, why not? The resources are available. I make them fear death, unlike you. Although they can upgrade themselves, rid themselves of fear and other deficiencies, as that one did. Sinner armed himself as soon as he was resurrected and managed to upgrade himself."

"Yes, during the shootout I didn't feel any fear," said Hirayoshi.

Deifan picked up a weapon from the table and pointed it at Jinory. "So we got our reward for participating in creating you?"

"Exactly. Eternal life and no elements of personality that would interfere. For example, boredom, fatigue, fear—all these would make eternal life unappealing. All of this is discarded. Although, like any scientific law, there are exceptions."

Deifan pointed the gun at the ceiling.

Hirayoshi raised his head up and looked up at there.

"But we are not originals. We are copies. This is not just a copy. This is a new personality."

"Everyone wants to be better than they are, to get rid of deficiencies. But very few succeed. So consider yourself among those who managed it," said Deifan.

Jinory turned to Hirayoshi.

"Indeed. Even if you were the original, you would change over time. One day you are different from yourself a year later. So they are already different personalities."

"But the original me is dead," said Hirayoshi.

"That you are another person. Thinking about him is the same as thinking about Tony Stark or Ivan Vanko. Interesting and inspiring, but it's not a direct instruction on what to do now."

"Interesting but not what is needed," said Deifan.

Jinory continued, "If a person dies, they think they are dying before losing consciousness. But they are simply losing consciousness. They might wake up in the hospital thinking they were dying, but they are alive. A person cannot experience death. Some might say that shooting the brain, say the hypothalamus, is death. I would say no. When you unplug a computer without battery from the socket, you don't say it's dead. Or when you remove the CPU or GPU while it's working. And a person who has died can get a replacement for part of the brain and wake up, like a computer. Problems with neurons dying without oxygen and others have already been solved. Do you understand what I mean? You never actually died."

"Why ask about it if it doesn't interest you? I'm sure, like you, Hirayoshi, nothing in this story touched you. We are made not to emotionally perceive such information," said Deifan.

Hirayoshi thought for a moment and looked at Deifan.

"Objectively, it is useful to know how the world works," he glanced at Jinory. "And the author wrote me this line," he began to turn his head from side to side. "Why have emotions at all?"

"Random. It's different for everyone. One has a parameter of 1/100, another has 100/100," said Jinory.

He approaches another door, not the one through which he and Hirayoshi entered. He opens it.

Mountains are visible. The sun is setting.

"I think it's time for us to move towards the future. Your task will be to eliminate those who hinder and slow down the development of science and technology."

"So we accelerate the arrival of the future," said Deifan.

"Yes... What a bizarre new world," said Hirayoshi.

Jinory stands against the setting sun, the light bathing his figure. He basks in its rays.

I lied about Sinner and a few other things. This is already the 1251st team. The main thing is my plan. There are things you don't need to know, just to do your job better.

"Like a phoenix, I have risen from the ashes..." he said.

"What's that for?" asked Deifan.

He turned his head from the sun towards the guys.

"Not now. Later."

Jinory looks again at the setting sun.

Then they began to build a brand new world.

File 86: The end.