Chapter 170 – Somewhere Between Man and Machine
Auditorium in the upper area.
Numerous androids have all gathered together.
The 2nd generation in the middle, and the 1st generation wearing veil masks on either side. The way they stand together without any error is reminiscent of the military.
The lighting is a bit dark. This is because everyone here, including me, has vision unhindered by darkness.
Their eyes are looking forward.
“It looks like everyone is here. So this Andro…”
[Nymph!]
“And…”
[Nymph!]
“…”
[…
I’m looking at Artemis and I, who are having a trivial problem.
There are no bad feelings in their expressions.
They just listen to the conversation between their two masters.
“Haven’t you and I called Zalman Android until now?”
[That’s the story of when I was asleep, when I was just a doll. Now these children are definitely my handmaidens.]
Artemis has an attitude of not allowing counterarguments.
“Well, okay. Nymph or whatever.”
It doesn’t matter what you call it. I quickly shook off my hands and accepted Artemis’ request.
I went to the sofa prepared in the corner and sat down. The soft cushion gently embraces the entire body.
The androids, or rather nymphs, below the platform were divided into two groups: those looking at me in the corner and those looking up at Artemis beyond the screen.
The sight was quite cute.
Would you say that children who follow their parents to the supermarket for shopping are confused about whether they should follow their father or their mother?
Now that I say it, it seems like a strange metaphor.
“Ladies.”
He raised the index fingers of both hands and pointed upward as if nudging. Then the wonderful nymphs who had been looking only at me shifted their gaze.
[Hmph!]
Artemis snorted at that sight.
[Children.]
Her image disappeared from the screen and the solar system appeared.
[You probably already know what kind of situation our world is in and what process our cities have gone through so far.]
A space shuttle departs from the Earth drawn in 2D.
After swinging by along Earth’s orbit, we made contact with an alien ship stationary on the outskirts of Mars.
The spacecraft, which was silver-white when it departed, was stained blue-black when it returned, visually depicting that it was contaminated with infectious agents.
Dead bodies of aliens discovered inside a spaceship, infectious agents occurring all over the Earth, burning cities, a defeated army, and a collapsing government.
The process of the Earth falling was shown one after another in a pop-up format.
“Ah!”
For the first time, an exclamation erupted from the nymphs who had been watching quietly.
The last time it appeared on screen was before I regained control, when the shelter was overrun with infections.
The women, who calmly watched the Earth being destroyed, found this scene difficult to bear. She puts her hands together on her chest and looks anxious.
[Calm down. You are all safe.]
Artemis’ warm voice enveloped them.
The screen changed again.
[In the meantime, our manager traveled all over the dangerous outside world to deal with this disaster situation.]
From the early Infected Shelters, Metacraft Cybernetics, Terracorp, Bloodpack Technology, Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault, Zinoplan, and the Neurological Institute.
[I searched and hunted. We searched for technology and resources. I went down to the ruins where danger lurks in order to make our city safer and more powerful.]
Photos showing the process of the expedition pass sequentially.
Half of the nymphs who first looked at me have taken their eyes off the screen and are fixating their gaze on me again.
I had to raise the index fingers of both hands one more time and point upward.
Then half of the heads turn towards the screen.
I laughed at that cute movement.
[You are like newborn chicks. Although he has vast knowledge, his mind is immature. Like a child experiencing a night of thunder and lightning for the first time, you may suddenly feel fear of the outside world.]
The screen disappeared and Artemis appeared.
Her face had a rare, kind expression.
[But there is no need to be afraid of anything. We will protect you. No outside infection or band of thieves will dare to cross the threshold of our paradise.]
Artemis’ gaze slid down and there I was, sitting in the dark.
[So, please protect us too.]
With those words, silence fell in the dark room.
Red, blue, green, brown, purple, jade.
Only the eyes of the nymphs, shining in different colors, twinkled faintly in the darkness.
There is no gold. Golden eyes belong only to Artemis.
It was quiet, with no noise other than my breathing, but this meeting was not over.
The nymphs were conversing by exchanging data rather than voice.
Like telepathy, numerous signals and radio waves crossed between their electronic brains, pouring out information.
Unlike their neat, doll-like, unchanging faces, the silent conversations they exchange contain a variety of intentions.
Relief, gratitude, slight remaining fear, scolding for that fear, embarrassment at the scolding, curiosity about Artemis, curiosity about myself, how to access Artemis’ pseudospace, how to spy on her without being noticed. Even discussion.
A type of conversation we have never seen before is going back and forth as if it were blinking.
It felt like watching bees communicating with pheromones.
Well, it might be similar to a bee society in that everyone is sisters under one queen.
[That’s all for today. Everyone, go back to where you belong or where you want to be.]
The assembly was dispersed after Artemis’ order to welcome the guests.
As I was just trying to follow the nymphs’ full-on conversation, I felt my head getting warm.
Artemis smiled as if she knew my condition.
[It’s because you and those kids aren’t used to it. Soon. You will find it easier to accept data with your brain implant, and those children will discover the joy of communicating with their mouths and ears rather than data.]
“Then it doesn’t mean anything?”
At best, I’m used to data conversations, but if nymphs start having more live conversations.
[No. The way humans communicate and the way machines communicate. Some compromise between the two will emerge. Get used to it. Because…]
Artemis paused for a moment.
[Because the large family we will create in the future will be that special.]
She felt somewhat embarrassed.
* * *
Non-vocal communication from brain to brain.
It became something I quickly became accustomed to in my later life. This is because it was exposed that often.
Knock!
While I was looking at documents in the central control room, I suddenly felt a small noise.
This sound is a knock, but is somehow different from a knock. It was a sound that resonated in my brain.
A nymph holding a fruit plate is standing a little away from my seat.
Instead of calling me with her mouth, she got my attention by sending me knock data.
“Excuse me.”
He came towards me and put the apple down on the desk.
Is it some kind of decoration? Apple peels cut into circular shapes without breaking even once were laid out on the floor, and apples cut into bite-size pieces were piled on top of them.
The sharp angles in each movement of leaving reminded me of my time as a soldier.
After lowering her head, her face turned red for some reason.
“I remember the first time I was assigned to duty.”
I was truly moved. Would you say you truly feel like you have become a commander?”
[When you were discharged, your rank was only major and company commander, right? But being on duty is the power of the position.]
“Because it was the only company in Korea. “If you look at the treatment alone, he was above a battalion commander and almost close to a regiment commander.”
I pointed at my temple as I watched the nymph walking away.
“By the way, it’s a very strange feeling to hear it knocking in your head.”
I still feel like there is an echo, albeit faintly.
[Should I scold you? How dare you be rude.]
Artemis said with a straight face.
“That’s it. It doesn’t feel like you’re tapping your head with your hand.”
This experience continued thereafter.
This is because no matter where you walk in the upper region, you encounter nymphs.
Perhaps under Artemis’ instructions, he spoke to me through voice.
However, when they were with each other or with the flowers, trees, and animals in the garden, they poured out their opinions without hesitation in the form of data.
There was no misunderstanding in the exchange, so people asked ‘Huh?’ Or ‘What?’ I have never seen the same question.
Nymphs did not yet use vocal language much, but instead used gestures such as hand gestures and foot gestures in a flashy manner.
The beautiful hand movements moved as if embroidering constellations, and sometimes even made flowers bloom in the air.
Watching their conversation from a few steps away felt like watching a silent musical.
Truly a nymph.
The appearance of a fairy walking through a pond and forest with her dancing movements like the wind.
“The way humans talk and the way machines talk. It’s somewhere between the two…”
In some ways, that scene had an aspect that was superior to interactions between humans.
It’s something that, depending on the person, may make them feel a faint sense of fear.
But I didn’t mind it at all.
I just felt familiarity.
