319 – EP.12 The World of 0 and 1-2
***
– Crackle crackle
Dry tree branches burned, creating a cheerful sound.
The entity threw several more raked branches into the flames and observed the boy nearby.
What came out of the sewer pipe was a human boy. He seemed to be able to communicate for a moment, but then he blacked out.
Model name NB-20381019 took the boy with him and moved to his residence.
There was no particular reason for rescuing him. He said it was just a duty, not a choice.
They had no choice but to save him according to the divine law given to them by their Creator.
The entity reached out its hand to the boy’s forehead. The heat from the boy’s forehead was converted into 0 and 1 and flowed into him.
“We have confirmed that the body temperature has dropped. If this trend continues, it is believed that the body temperature will soon return to normal.”
Because there was no medical module installed, there was a limitation in diagnosing the exact condition.
“Uhm….”
Is it because the cool sensation spreads from the forehead? The boy’s face became much more relaxed.
“Corrected information that there are no humans on Aaru.”
Model name NB-20381019 modified the information recorded in its memory device.
– Buung
A mechanical sound was heard outside.
Model name NB-20381019 moved its body toward the sound.
Observe the source of the sound in a space made of tents and boards, not far from the sewer pipe.
– Buung
A repair drone was scanning the damaged part of the sewer pipe from various angles.
“Once the repairs are completed, the process is to analyze the cause of the damage. This residence needs to be discarded and moved to another residence.”
“It has also been confirmed that the environment of this shelter is not a good environment for humans. It has been decided to move as soon as the human’s energy is restored.”
Model name NB-20381019 lowered the tent and returned to the boy.
After checking the boy’s fever again, it threw the blanket rolled around the living room into the campfire and stomped on it.
The light soon went out, and the model name NB-20381019 erased all traces of its presence. The time it took to discard the residence was not very long.
Model name NB-20381019 carried a boy.
“Ugh….”
“Human. I will move. It is not the area of the ark, and it will take about 32 minutes to walk to a place where there is no harm to humans.”
The boy didn’t answer, but it continued talking.
“Please note that the time will fluctuate due to events that occur during travel.”
“Then, let’s go.”
The thing carrying the boy began to move secretly.
***
Model name NB-20381019 has 9 bases created in Aaru.
The initial number of bases was 32, but they were discarded whenever the location of the base was exposed or judged to have a possibility of being exposed.
“Arrived. It took 37 minutes to move.”
The place we arrived at was the highest place among the bases.
“Where is this…?”
The boy, who regained consciousness about halfway through, opened his mouth heavily.
“This is the A-11 base.”
Model name NB-20381019 lowered his body and dropped the boy off. The boy looked around his body in a hesitant position.
“Nice to meet you. My model name is NB-20381019.”
The entity turned towards the human, bent down, and formally introduced itself.
“Model name NB-20381019? …Is there any other name?”
The boy frowned and asked if the fever had gone away yet.
“Because it is an unreleased Android, there is no name given to it. You can call it whatever you want.”
It said, looking down at the boy two or three spans below.
“Ah… I’ll call you NB for now.”
“I understand.”
“NB. Explain where this place is.”
“This is the A-11 base.”
“No, please explain to me about this world.”
“I recognized this as a description of the city. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Before I explain about Aaru, I recommend that you take a seat first. Human…”
“Kang In-ho. My name is Kang In-ho.”
“Kang In-ho’s physical condition is not normal. We strongly recommend that he rest in a comfortable position.”
At NB’s recommendation, Kang In-ho tried to sit down, and NB placed a small rolling chair under him.
“Thank you.”
“The scope of information requested by Kang In-ho is too broad, so we request that the scope of the question be narrowed to provide a specific answer.”
“Um… You’re not human, are you?”
“That’s right. I am an unreleased android.”
“If it’s an Android, it’s a robot, right?”
“It may be different in detailed classification, but it is correct in general terms.”
Kang In-ho rubbed his chin in response to NB’s answer.
It was normal to feel the rough texture of his beard, but since it was his body, all I could feel was soft flesh.
“What does unreleased mean?”
“Except for androids used by companies, the majority of androids are made to order. My current appearance is based on the preferences of the customer who ordered me.”
Kang In-ho’s tall height, long white hair that reached down to his shoulders, and gray eyes like dark clouds came into view.
“Undelivered refers to products that have not been delivered to the customer after completion of production at the factory.”
“Why wasn’t it delivered?”
“There are various reasons, such as the customer’s simple change of mind or product error. My product was undelivered and was processed as undelivered.”
“Product undeliverable?”
“Yes. A situation has arisen where the product cannot be delivered due to unavoidable reasons.”
“What’s the reason?”
“This is because by the standards of that time, all mankind was extinct.”
Kang In-ho’s mouth dropped open at such simple words.
“So you’re saying I’m the only human in this world?”
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“From what has been observed, yes. If the Ark’s experiment was successful, there may be more.”
“Ark?”
“This is a nickname referring to the AI that manages this city, Aaru. It manages Aaru and maintains the city’s ecosystem until humans are resurrected.”
“Can humans be resurrected?”
“At the time of human extinction, human DNA was entered into the ark. It was planned to resurrect humans after all danger to the city was over.”
“But?”
“However, the electromagnetic storm caused a problem in part of Aaru’s genetic storage, causing the male to lose all of his genetic information.”
“Is it possible to create a human even without male genetic information?”
“It was impossible at the time. That’s why the Ark conducted an experiment to create humans using only women’s genetic information.”
“And was the experiment successful?”
Kang In-ho touched his body.
“I think that’s unlikely. If Kang In-ho was a human created through the Ark’s experiments, he wouldn’t have been found in the sewer pipe.”
“Sewer pipe? Ah… Then I saw that I was floating down a strange pipe.”
As he rested his chin and fell into thought, NB waited for his next question.
“What is Aaru?”
“Humanity’s largest city. It contains information on all living things, and is where humanity, which will be resurrected in the future, will live.”
“What other cities?”
“They were all closed due to electromagnetic storms and epidemics.”
“So, this means that there is only one city in this wide world… And I am the only human there.”
“According to the information available to date, yes.”
“Tell me more about the Ark.”
“Ark is a nickname humans used to call it, and its official name is Integrated System of Identification Saving.”
“The name is Gine.”
“Yes, that’s why it was called the Ark.”
“NB. What if….”
Thinking of a certain possibility, Kang In-ho slowly opened his mouth.
“Do you know what would happen if the Ark found out there was a living human male?”
“The goal of the Ark is the reconstruction of humanity. The prerequisite for that is the existence of humanity.”
NB spoke without hesitation.
“According to the sacred law, no harm will be done to Kang In-ho. However, it is clear that Kang In-ho will be used to rebuild humanity.”
Kang In-ho shivered from the chill running down his spine.
These were truly scary words.