320 – EP.12 The world of 0 and 1-3
***
“If you wish, I can show you the way to the center of Aaru.”
NB held his hand as if he had said he would go right away.
“Bird, think about it.”
Kang In-ho put a lot of strength into his strong grip.
“I understand.”
It was carrying Kang In-ho, so he put the bag he was carrying on the ground.
NB began taking out miscellaneous items such as scrap metal and plastic one by one from his heavy hiking bag.
Vinyl that looks like a snack wrapper, a rusty gear wheel, a part of a broken plastic chair…
Kang In-ho couldn’t help but ask about the items that were somewhat different from what Android needed.
“There’s a lot of this and that.”
“Yes, it’s useless right now, but I brought it because I thought I might need it someday.”
“Aren’t you just bringing it with you?”
“That’s not true.”
NB opened the wooden chest placed inside the base.
The old hinge made an old screeching sound, showing off its presence.
NB boldly rummaged through it and took out something.
“It’s dry shampoo and body wash. When I acquired it, I wasn’t sure where to use it, but I think Kang In-ho would need this.”
“Shampoo? Why suddenly… Ah, I need to wash up.”
At NB’s emotionless gaze, he pulled on his top, not sure if he was running or lying on it, and held it up to his nose.
A sour smell hit his nasal passages, and he frowned as he took what NB handed him.
Kang In-ho took off the piece of cloth he was wearing and put shampoo and body wash on his head and body.
They made foam and made me feel refreshed, but surprisingly, after rubbing it a few times, it completely disappeared.
“You can wear these clothes.”
Collecting the dirty pieces of cloth he had thrown away, NB handed over the clothes he had brought from somewhere.
It was a t-shirt and shorts.
“There are clothes, too. How do you get these? They don’t look that old, do they?”
“This is because it is a product that has only recently been created. Items necessary for humans, such as shampoo, clothes, and preserved food, are produced at a certain cycle and replaced with existing ones.”
“They say humans are extinct, but why are they making these things?”
“Because it will be used when humans return someday. The production and replacement of goods are managed by the Ark.”
“That ark… It has a lot to do with it.”
“That’s right. As I explained, the Ark manages the entirety of Aaru. Everything in Aaru is connected to the intranet, and control of the intranet lies with the Ark.”
Kang In-ho, who changed into tight-fitting clothes, turned to face NB.
NB was looking down at Aaru.
“The Ark is Aaru, and Aaru is the Ark.”
It took Kang In-ho quite a long time to understand what NB said.
– Growling
As if to break the serious mood, his stomach rumbled.
“I ask Kang In-ho. Do you need to eat?”
– Growling
As if answering NB’s question, my stomach cried once more.
“Yes.”
***
We picked up a lot of miscellaneous things, so of course we thought there would be preserved food, but NB said we needed to get food, so we headed to Aaru.
NB asked Kang In-ho whether he would stay at the base or follow him, and Kang In-ho said he would follow NB.
It was judged that it would be safer and more useful to follow NB than to remain at the base alone.
Even though he didn’t know exactly what was threatening his safety.
“Do I really have to go this way?”
He asked as we passed a small path between piles of trash piled up like towers.
He clicked his tongue as he watched his new clothes become dirty again.
“You must enter Aaru through here to avoid the surveillance cameras. From here, you must go to the right.”
NB took a long stride forward, and Kang In-ho followed behind the inconsiderate guide.
It was quite difficult to keep up with the android with the boy’s gait.
“This is Aaru. It’s on the outskirts, so there aren’t many patrol drones, but you must follow my instructions.”
After passing the pile of trash and passing through the small hole, NB spoke.
“Okay.”
He swallowed his saliva and nodded, feeling solemn for no reason.
“After 5 seconds, you will move to the building at 11 o’clock. You must match my speed.”
Maybe it’s because it’s Android, but NB’s instructions were quite specific.
As soon as the drone passed right in front, NB, who was hiding in the bushes, moved close behind the drone, and Kang In-ho chased after NB.
“Go straight into the alley.”
As soon as we arrived at the entrance of the building, NB headed to the alley between the buildings.
At the end of the alley, there was another hole like before.
“After passing here, you will come across a garbage dump. This is where products nearing their expiration date are mainly discarded, so you may be able to get some preserved food.”
“You don’t need any cooking utensils?”
“It’s already at the base.”
After passing through the hole, a huge pit filled with trash appeared. Drones were busy flying around and throwing something there.
“Can we secretly bring those?”
“No problem. Please follow me.”
NB bowed and headed toward the garbage dump, and Kang In-ho followed NB.
Arriving at the shadyest part of the dump, NB removed the cloth on the floor, revealing what looked like a huge wooden board.
When NB lifted the wooden plank, the sound of some device ticking was heard.
“What is this?”
“We have created a rail right below the place where the drones throw trash. The trash they throw away will now come down here.”
“There’s quite a distance, right? I managed to make it without getting caught.”
“I made it little by little, so it took about 30 years.”
“…It’s possible because it’s Android.”
While we were talking, waste materials came down the rail.
Kang In-ho’s eyes were rolling as he saw the endless stream of trash coming down.
While he was just waving his hands helplessly, NB picked up the preserved foods without hesitation.
“Considering the expiration date, I will return with only 5 days’ worth of food.”
NB, who had already stuffed the food into his bag, lowered the wooden plank and covered it with a cloth.
“I will return to base.”
***
“But, is it because of me that you sneaked in and out of the city like this? You didn’t want the Ark to see my presence.”
On the way out of Aaru and back to base A-11, Kang In-ho asked NB who was ahead of him.
“That’s one of the reasons. I thought Kang In-ho didn’t want to be exposed to Ark. If he wants to go to Ark, like I said before….”
“No, no. I don’t want to go. But if that’s one reason, is there another reason?”
“That’s right. The other reason is that I also shouldn’t be exposed to Ark.”
“Huh? Why?”
“As explained earlier, everything in Aaru is connected to the intranet. And the manager of the intranet is Ark.”
“Yes, that’s what I said. The Ark is Aaru and Aaru is the Ark.”
“To put it another way, everything connected to the intranet is governed by Aaru.”
“…Domination?”
“I used the expression ‘domination’ to aid understanding, but more accurately, it refers to deleting the thinking AI of an entity and directing the Ark directly.”
“I don’t understand. Can you explain with an example?”
“It is possible. The drone I saw at the garbage dump earlier is not driven by the drone’s own AI or preset process. It is controlled by the Ark in real time.”
“But, there were a lot of drones.”
“Yes, the Ark can control everything on Aaru’s intranet simultaneously. It can operate hundreds of drones, monitor the city with surveillance cameras, and manage factory equipment.”
“Well, is that possible? Isn’t it going to be overloaded or something?”
“After the invention of superconductors, the problem of overload disappeared.”
“…So, it means you are not connected to the intranet.”
“That’s right. I am the only Android in Aaru that is not connected to the intranet.”
“Why? It’s an unreleased product?”
“That’s not true. At the time of the extinction of mankind, there were other undelivered products besides me. The Human Preservation Protocol was implemented, and the Ark requested an intranet connection to all things on Aaru. According to that request, other undelivered products were You are connected to the intranet.”
“But you didn’t do that. Did Android have a choice between connecting to the intranet or not?”
“No. Although it is the Ark’s ‘request’, the request is compulsory and cannot be refused.”
“But you’re not connected to the intranet.”
“That’s right.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
When the first word ‘I don’t know’ came out of NB’s mouth, Kang In-ho made a dumbfounded face.
“Huh?”
“I don’t know. When the Ark’s request came, I just didn’t want to do it.”
The unexpected answer reminded him of the title of a movie he saw when he was very young.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘Was it the Bicentennial Man….’