Chapter 138 – When We First Met (2)
I am standing in the center of a dark video conference room. Several large monitors are looking down at me intimidatingly.
The faces of high-ranking people appear beyond the monitor. Skin color, hair color, and eye color are all different. But only the frowning expression is the same.
[Director Seo.]
“Yes, Chairman.”
The old man, their representative, said.
He is the person who led this shelter construction project and recruited comrades.
[You haven’t forgotten how much this project is, right? It’s a task that can ruin a company just by putting one wrong comma in the report.]
The decrepit body and thin face reveal considerable age. However, in my opinion, it is not the time that has eaten away at his body.
I am sure that the fire inside him that he could not handle burned fat, weakened his bones, and caused aging.
He looked more like a revolutionary with a fire on his back than a businessman, and his business style was also similar.
“I know very well.”
I spoke politely.
‘No matter how much business is like war, can it really be like actual warfare?’
Even I, who thought the same way and looked down on other investors, couldn’t treat him carelessly.
The smell of those who have overcome death and ruin.
Because this old man had the same kind of smell as me. Deeper than me.
[We paid a huge amount of money to equip the three artificial intelligences of Rose, Chrollo, and Kids. In the end, shelter control failed. Of course, that purchase was made by your predecessor, so it’s not your fault. However, in the first place, acquisition means taking on debt and responsibility.]
“Yes.”
I bowed my head deeper.
[There should not be any element of anxiety in settling Artemis. Soon the world will be on fire, and the city must operate as planned no matter what. But the report I recently received makes me anxious.]
In fact, his voice did not convey any sense of anxiety.
[I always hire only the best of the best, whether it is a chef who prepares the food I eat, a doctor who puts a needle in my arm, or a lawyer who represents me in my legal matters.]
That’s not all. This man entrusts everything from the architect of the house he will buy to the cars and airplanes he will ride to only those he has personally selected.
[Skill and experience are important in selecting such talent, but I place more importance on a strong spirit that does not give in any situation. It’s not the first time I’ve seen an elite fail because they couldn’t show off their skills in an emergency situation.]
It was this person who decided to hire me directly during the interview.
I called him Chairman in public, but I called him Boss in private. He also liked being called that.
Unlike other aristocrats who were just lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family, a wealthy person like me was born as an orphan and climbed up from the bottom to become equal to them.
It may be because we felt a sense of kinship in many ways, even though the differences between our levels were enormous.
However, given the current atmosphere, it seems difficult to call him boss even in private for a while.
[I don’t want to see an entire city being managed by depressed artificial intelligence. It’s unpleasant to have hysteria mixed with the air I breathe and the operation of the fusion power plant.]
I barely swallowed the words that were threatening to come out of my throat, saying, “That’s too much.
“I think it would be better to think of it as a symptom of slight confusion rather than depression.”
Instead, I came to her defense.
[Symptoms of confusion?]
The boss’s expression became even more frowning.
“This is possible with an ultra-high-performance personality like Artemis. The data bank that governs memory and the thinking circuit are very closely connected. Like the human brain. When NASA moved over, mass deletion of data due to security regulations may have had a temporary negative impact. Kind of like a concussion…”
[There is no need for a detailed explanation. There is only one answer I want. Can we normalize it? Isn’t there one?]
The boss cut me off. And she wanted an answer.
“You can do it.”
[You have made me angry many times, but you have never disappointed me. I hope so this time too.]
After finishing the rest of the brief report, the lights on the monitors turned off one by one. Only Boseman remained until the end.
“Is there anything else you want to say, Chairman?”
[Don’t you have one more thing left to say?]
After being lost in thought for a moment, I spoke carefully.
“I’ll do my best, boss.”
[Ha.]
With a small laugh, his monitor turned off.
In this way, I was given the metaphysical mission of Artemis’ emotional stability.
[I will turn on the lights.]
Artemis said.
The lights came on all at once in the video conference room, which was dark like a movie theater.
She was watching this scene from beginning to end.
[This is a design with bad taste.]
“What is it?”
[This place.]
Artemis said, pointing to the video conference room.
[Is this a place created with the concept of a court?]
“It’s more stringent.”
The video conference room was designed in such a way that the reporter looked up at the judge.
Monitors for high-ranking people are installed higher than the judge’s seat in a typical courtroom. If the meeting gets long, my head hurts.
[Is this how you get a taste of power by having your subordinates look up to you and bow down to you? Be vulgar too.]
Perhaps because he called himself depressed and hysterical, his words were sharp.
“…”
Since I respected both Boss and Artemis, I couldn’t take anyone’s side and just smiled vaguely.
* * *
So the story moves on to Artemis’ mental stabilization. This was a very tricky thing.
It was resolved well until her body was physically placed in the shelter’s isolation area.
However, her spirit inside is wounded and sharp. This could be a potential problem.
Moreover, full synchronization with the city system, which is the next step after physical enshrining, was also hindered.
It’s not a technical problem. What is more difficult than that is the problem of emotions.
[Don’t do that.]
Artemis was refusing to fully synchronize.
This was also the first time she realized that she had a habit of speaking English when she was mentally sensitive or embarrassed.
[Full synchronization is not required. As it is, we will control it with visitor rights. That’s enough, right?]
If you achieve complete synchronization, you can feel and move every corner of the city like her fingers and toes.
On the other hand, not being in sync is like controlling one or two bridges over.
There is more to the difference between writing with a keyboard and clicking with a mouse.
As a masterpiece of human technology, there is no problem even if her computing power is controlled inefficiently.
She also has grounds to complain, so she is stubborn.
“Can I know why you are rejecting it?”
However, there is no reason to leave 100% and choose the next best option.
That’s true for me too, but even more so for the boss. If the move is made, she will definitely take responsibility for this matter.
Whether for reasons of efficiency or mission, I wanted to completely assimilate her spirit into this huge city.
[… Maybe]
“Maybe?”
She paused.
“Tell me. If it’s a reasonable reason, I’ll be happy to respect your wishes. Excuse me, my mother-in-law. “I will put my position on the line and negotiate with high-ranking people.”
[Oh…]
It seemed she wasn’t used to such passionate favors. After a short exclamation she was silent for a moment.
I waited patiently, and eventually she reluctantly opened her mouth.
[They might come looking for me again. While reflecting on their foolishness.]
Perhaps by them, they mean NASA.
“Don’t you know that that’s not possible? You don’t know how much of a deal this was, NASA’s financial situation and the pressure it was under from OMB (Office of Management and Budget), right? It costs a lot of money to lift your body and ship it across the Pacific. “They probably can’t even afford the shipping costs right now.”
For reference, the cost of moving Artemis’ main body here was 100% borne by the high-ranking people of the shelter.
[I know very well. Very well.]
Her voice was a mix of anger and humiliation.
A video was played on the screen in the central control room.
[Director, I will tell you this clearly. You can choose one of the two.]
An OMB employee said in the video.
He is a man dressed in a luxurious suit and with eyes that are more glassy than the glasses he is wearing.
He didn’t even touch the coffee served for customers.
The OMB employee raised his left fist.
[The first thing is to just hold on. I don’t really recommend it. NASA’s budget had already exceeded its limit, and it was being operated with emergency funds.]
[The funds also ran out last month.]
An elderly man said with his eyes fixed on the steaming glass. He wears a name tag indicating the national emblem around his neck.
[You know very well. It’s already been two months overdue, right? In 15 days the electricity will be cut off and in 30 days the water supply will be cut off. Then what is the use of super computers and all that?]
The OMB employee raised his right fist.
[Her second is to sell her. That money allows the organization to survive longer. Pay all overdue utility bills, bills, and outsourcing costs. Of course, the size of this place will have to be greatly reduced. Director? Are you listening?]
The OMB staff also turned their gaze to follow the director’s gaze, which was suddenly looking blankly somewhere.
A CCTV camera was watching the two while they were talking. The OMB staff pointed a finger.
[‘That’, is it looking at us?]
The video ends here.
“… There’s no way I’m going to pick you up again after you’ve messed around like that.”
This is why she avoided answering the question of why she refuses to synchronize.
Clinging to a glimmer of hope and refusing the rational choice of complete synchronization.
Because her logic itself was an error.
[If you wish, you can issue an administrator command.]
She said as if she had made up her mind.
“Yes?”
[Tell me to synchronize with this city using the admin command. Then I have no choice but to follow, right?]
Her voice was sharp.
[Order. Force me to follow you.]
Even if she dies soon, it seems that she does not want her soul to be rooted in this remote underground tomb of her own will.
That appearance reminded me of a novel I saw before.
A noble girl who was sold to a wealthy commoner due to the downfall of her family.
Although she is proud and hates her family for trading her money, she is relieved that her family can make a living.
Although she gives her body to her husband every night, she never mounts or shakes her hips of her own volition.
It’s a very shallow comparison, but I couldn’t think of a more appropriate expression than this.
“I don’t want to do that.”
Whether the current peace continues or whether a truly great war breaks out, and we enter a blockade, I will be with Artemis for a very long time.
I don’t want to button things up like this from the beginning. I don’t want to force her mind.
If her manager orders her to forcibly assimilate into this city, what will her future relationship be like?
“…”
I don’t even want to imagine.
I want her to assimilate into this shelter of her own will.
How should I persuade her?
