Chapter 155 – City of Nymphs (2)
Artemis woke up all the androids who had been sleeping for a long time.
[You can’t just keep it piled up in the warehouse forever.]
It’s not wrong, but it’s not a completely understandable reason either. However, she seemed reluctant to talk, so she didn’t ask.
I have a guess.
I think it’s because soon, when she awakens in her physical body, she needs a lot of maids to serve her.
It does not simply refer to someone who will do chores for you.
Artemis has so far lived only in cyberspace, where everything is fulfilled.
She must have been afraid at the thought of leaving that place and entering a real space with many restrictions, including the laws of physics.
Since she was closer to omniscience and omnipotence than anyone else within her network, the difference between her discomfort and her unfamiliarity would be large. She is much better than Chrollo or Rose.
Moreover, Artemis’ body is not an android, but a real body filled with blood and flesh.
Embarrassment in interacting with the world through the body.
She may not be able to cope with various senses properly.
Wasn’t there a need for insurance against this fear of the unknown?
In the myth, while Artemis was bathing in a spring, she was about to be visited by Ictaion and show her naked body. It is said that her nymphs then covered her naked body with their own bodies to protect her purity.
Likewise, Artemis’ anxiety will be greatly reduced if she is surrounded and attended to by versatile androids.
Because of her pride, she would never admit it.
“Hello, manager.”
Thanks to this, the upper VIP area can now feel popular wherever you go. Although there are not a lot of them, they are located in various places.
However, the appearance of androids has a somewhat unnatural aspect.
For example, look at the two women dipping their feet in the pond over there.
Splash.
After submerging her ankles in water, she kicked them up as if kicking a soccer ball, creating a splash.
At first glance, it looks like they are playing and splashing in the water, but there is no expression on their faces.
Splash.
Kick her feet one more time. It seems like I got the hang of it after kicking it a few times.
Water was shot quite far from the white legs, through the ankles, insteps, and tips of the toes, with a recoil like a whip.
If it were a boy, it would have cheered, and if it was a girl, it would have burst into laughter.
But still nothing is reflected on the beautiful face.
After walking for a few minutes, stopping the girls who tried to stand up when they saw me, I met a new pair.
He took off his shoes and was walking down the gravel road holding them behind his back, a very natural posture. He looks no different from a human being out for a walk with friends.
This is an acupressure trail.
Second-generation androids have delicate sense organs. Although it does not embody serious pain, it does embody the level of pain that would occur when walking on such an acupressure path.
The reason is simple. This is because there are many different customer needs.
The two androids walking barefoot on the bumpy gravel road were completely different.
The person with the hair braided in two pigtails frowned every time he took a step.
If you are experiencing acupressure on the sole of your foot for the first time in your life, it is a completely natural reaction.
On the other hand, the android with a ponytail walking next to him had an expressionless expression.
Even if a stone the size of a ping-pong ball digs deeply into the soft soles of my feet, I sit down without even blinking and put my next foot forward.
Neither of them feels like they are enjoying the acupressure path.
In the first place, enjoying something is something that only high-level artificial intelligence like Artemis, Chrollo, Rose, or Kiz can do.
An Android’s electronic brain has clear hardware and software limitations. They only show a certain response to a stimulus.
“As I live, I see all the reactions of androids to their acupressure experience.”
I was a bit surprised myself, but this experience continued.
Just walking around as usual, I encountered androids ‘doing something’ everywhere.
When I entered the luxurious tile-covered square, a clear guitar sound greeted me.
Diriling!
A beautiful woman sitting on her chin by her fountain is playing a song she has never heard before with her legs crossed.
A red dress that exposes her left shoulder, an alluring thigh, a guitar placed on top of it, and sandals underneath.
Although it doesn’t seem to fit, it overflows with a charm that makes it impossible to take your eyes off it.
The movements of both hands were mechanical rather than skillful, and there was no change in facial expression or shaking of the head throughout the performance.
“Kung! “Knock!”
There was also an android walking a dog. As soon as he found me, he waved his tail wildly in joy.
Hehe!”
But she couldn’t run to me because the android holding her leash was holding her tightly.
“Keheng!”
The dog somehow tried to run to me, but her neck got caught, and she moaned, then looked up at the android with earnest eyes.
“Hello, manager.”
But Android is steadfast. Even as he finds me and greets me, the hand holding my leash never shakes.
“Kung! “Knock!”
It wasn’t until I personally approached him and petted him that the situation stabilized.
“Well then, goodbye.”
The dog wanted to stay out a little longer, but was dragged along by the android’s relentless leash pull.
“…”
It feels like the sense of discomfort I felt from the people I have met so far is becoming concrete. These encounters continued thereafter.
Dancing on the lawn.
Doing Pilates with better posture than anyone else in the lower region.
I am carrying out pruning work with large scissors.
Pass by me on a skateboard.
Everyone’s facial expressions and actions seem closer to carrying out a mission rather than enjoying leisure time.
Is this what a world created in one day would be like?
It’s like looking at a game world where the characters are given no personality or narrative, just movements and positions.
Androids don’t do this for no reason. It was probably due to Artemis’ will.
* * *
“What are you trying to do?”
In the end, I asked the person responsible for the incident.
[It came later than expected.]
It seems she expected me to come.
[Contact rate 84%. Did you wander around diligently today?]
In terms of atmosphere, the contact rate seems to refer to how many androids released by Artemis were encountered.
“Are you trying to conduct some kind of social experiment?”
[No. That’s enough in the lower regions. What would be the use of conducting a social experiment on androids?]
“Then what are all the things I encountered today? “I don’t know what meaning there is to those things.”
[It doesn’t matter whether it has meaning or not. No child will suffer because they don’t want to do it anyway.]
“You said you were suffering?”
[What?]
Artemis was surprised because it was an unexpected answer.
I lifted my index finger and touched my temple. The brain implant activated and a scene I had seen was transmitted to Artemis.
Touching one’s temple itself doesn’t mean much, but could it be considered psychological self-hypnosis? This way, I could concentrate better.
A gravel acupressure trail in Upper Regional Park. As I walked there, I remembered the image of the bifurcated beauty with her facial expression constantly frowning.
[Ah, this.]
Artemis seemed to have nothing to say in response to this, but blurted out her words with an ambiguous smile.
[That’s because I’m not used to it yet. That child will soon enjoy even that pain. You enjoy getting a massage even though it hurts, right? Same thing.]
“People who don’t get hit will only get sick. Artemis, if you walk that way, you’re going to scream the whole time, right?”
[What are you talking about! That shit is nothing, right? I think you overestimate your senses.]
“…”
(Implant: Voice recording…)
Instead of responding, I wrote it down.
She later promised that she would definitely get her body back and put it on the acupressure path.
[Trust me. You’ve never heard of androids having favorite things, but I know everything about them. On the outside, it may appear to be just a pleasure android, but there is something different about it.]
“Other? “Do you mean there is a soul?”
Artemis laughed.
[That’s too grandiose. Should I say it’s an echo? There are always a few echoes in their code, memory circuit, and thought circuit. Random codes, unexpectedly discovered behavior patterns.]
“In real programming, it’s a bug, but in movies, they say it’s a soul.”
[If you give it an emotional meaning, it’s closer to a ghost than a soul. I just helped make it more concrete and helped Android face it on its own.]
“Isn’t it something dangerous? “I feel a little anxious after hearing this.”
[Who are you talking to? Safety devices are fully installed, so don’t worry.]
Her voice contained her confidence.
[And it’s not like I arbitrarily assigned locations or actions. I just referred to each person’s echo and placed it in a place where it would resonate.]
As I listened to Artemis, I noticed one thing.
The entity that brought me coffee and food the day the android first entered the central control room.
If I’m not mistaken, the android waited by my side in the hope that I would receive a name instead of a lot number.
Maybe she wasn’t anything special, but was just the first to react to Artemis’ arrangements?
[Just watch, and you will soon find out. It’s not dangerous, you just have to look at it warmly.]
Artemis spoke as if prophesying.
Within a few days, she realized that Artemis was right.
Changes that are small but cannot be ignored are starting to appear around you.
Diriring.
A beautiful woman sitting on a bench and playing the guitar. Everything else remained the same, but there was one minor change.
Knock tock.
Her toes in sandals were tapping in rhythm.
The red pedicure draws arcs according to the movement of her feet shaking in the air.
Hehe!”
A puppy she encountered on her way ran towards me, wagging her tail furiously, but she was once again blocked by her leash.
Then the android bent her knees.
Click.
And then he released her leash.
She came running to me and I looked at her as I petted her puppy, jumping hard and rolling around on her.
She looked back and forth between her leash in her hand and her released dog several times with a perplexed expression on her face.
After about a minute, when her propeller-like dogs’ tails had quieted down, she greeted me politely and tried to put the leash on her again.
“It’s not really a violation of the rules. “If you don’t want to fill it, you don’t have to fill it.”
“If you don’t like it…?”
She made a strange expression. It’s a topic I haven’t even thought about.
“The leash rule for walking only exists in the lower area. Because this is a place where high-ranking people stayed.”
Dogs raised by high-ranking people were more precious to them than ordinary people.
I saw her off, bowing her head and walking away with her dog running and playing freely.
That was the starting point.
The change that Artemis spoke of came faster than I expected.
This place, which was just filled, began to take on color and heat.
