Chapter 28 – Company(2)
After enjoying our vacation in a relaxed mood, we headed to the company on the third day.
A regular meeting called a little earlier than usual.
The agenda this time is roughly guessed.
After getting into a van with the windows completely covered, we arrived at the company not long after.
It was Esquire, the company’s chief, who came out to meet me in the spacious and empty underground parking lot.
Dressed in a neat suit, he could be considered as a powerful person next to the three masters.
Still, Master and Esquire are strictly separated.
He bowed his head slightly and greeted me politely.
“Welcome, Master. You’ve come a long way, and I hope you didn’t have any inconveniences… Thank you very much for attending the regular meeting.”
“It was comfortable. The preparations were so well done.”
“It’s an honor. Then, would you like to enter right away?”
“Yes. Ah, this is a gift.”
When Han Ye-jin handed over the heavy case at my signal, the chief Esquire smiled broadly.
“Thank you as always. Other masters arrive first.”
“I made you wait.”
Alice, who was nervously stepping into the underground facility, was left in the waiting room before long.
In fact, the fact that Yeriel attends the meeting together is one of the unprecedented.
Two other masters were waiting for me in the unnecessarily spacious meeting room.
I said hello first.
Actually, we are not that close, but it is a relationship that we should pretend to be close to.
“I’m sorry I’m late. How is everyone?”
“It’s a chance to meet Yeriel Frost, but of course I’ll have to wait for this much.”
The first of the two to respond was a middle-aged woman.
Irene Wilson.
He is a master who is almost exclusively in charge of organizing the organization of the company.
She is in charge of recruiting her Esquire and Servants.
The reason why Yeriel was able to attend the meeting this time was thanks to Irene’s approval.
I thanked her with her little nod of her head.
The elderly man she spoke with was a bit older than her.
Matthew Manuel, Oracle’s developer in a white coat, made me tremble from the start.
“I felt like I called you in a hurry, but thank you for coming.”
“We meet once a year, so what?”
I clenched my fist at Matthew Manuel’s polite greeting.
Originally, that mad scientist wasn’t that polite.
As expected, the agenda I expected will actually come up.
“By the way, congratulations on your wedding, Green Dust. How the hell did you seduce Jeriel Frost?”
Irene Wilson smiled greedily at Yeriel.
Her greed for talent did not discriminate between her men and women.
Yeriel smiled lightly and replied lightly.
“Actually, I screwed up.”
“Ah, you’re more innocent than you look?”
“Then… Let’s start the meeting soon.”
As if Matthew Manuel couldn’t stand it any longer, she started the meeting without hesitation.
As he was in charge of the development and maintenance of Oracle, he had the most powerful voice among the Masters.
Irene, who is in charge of the organization, is a little lower than him… I have the weakest voice among the Masters because I am staying in Korea.
Still, it’s barely enough for one person.
“Oracle’s usage has increased by 300% compared to the previous year. Finally, you guys will be able to properly use my great invention.”
“Your words.”
It was arrogant enough to say, but Matthew deserved it.
The oracle was indeed a great invention, and we’ve never had a good use of it.
And Matthew, who created the Oracle, was a genius among geniuses.
But next moment.
He became a voice that lost a bit of his confidence.
“However, Oracle’s development has barely progressed compared to last year. In fact, the core functionality is the same as last year.”
“Can I hear the reason?”
When Ilene asks as softly as possible, Matthew answers with a slight blush on her face.
“The compatibility of the parts is too low, so the work of adding the 4th ability is endlessly delayed.”
“The solution? Increase support from the research and development department?”
“No. There is a limit to the way you randomly fit parts together like you’ve done so far. I think the method itself needs to be changed.”
Also. I’m slowly moving in the direction I feared.
I asked Matthew urgently.
“There are questions.”
“What?”
“If there is this delay in adding a 4th ability, can’t a 5th or 6th ability be added?”
“That’s not it. The addition of the 4th ability that we are trying to do is the most difficult task. Once the oracle is able to use the 4th ability, the 5th and 6th are easy. From then on, the wall of sorts breaks down… At least that’s what I expect.”
“Right.”
It was a bit ambiguous explanation, but I understood.
Since the completion of the Oracle is his ultimate goal, it makes no sense to lie about development.
While Yeriel was listening to the story with great interest.
Matthew finally got to the point.
“So we have to change the way we do it. Rather than having Oracle fit the parts together, we have to allow Oracle to complete it himself.”
“You’re perfecting yourself?”
“Yes. I want to turn Oracle into an AI computer.”
“…”
To come this far and grant the Oracle intelligence and freedom.
You probably don’t even know how banal the rebellion of artificial intelligence is in the science fiction genre.
First of all, I was worried about the possibility of Oracle’s congestion.
“If artificial intelligence is given, is control possible?”
“With green dust, there is no big problem. I’m still using it for ability control. Of course, I’ll have to expand the related facilities.”
But. Matthew isn’t that stupid.
I’m sure he’ll use all the means he can think of and be fully prepared.
The Oracle is his masterpiece… But he will not allow himself to be destroyed or rebelled before the masterpiece is complete.
At that time, Irene, who was sitting far away, asked a question.
“Assuming that the conversion is successful, will the completion date be pushed forward a lot?”
“If Oracle picks up the parts directly, the work speed is dozens of times faster. I estimate that it will take about six months to complete.”
“6 months…”
It’s certainly an attractive proposition.
In fact, for me, the Special Investigation Unit is just Plan A.
The completion of Plan B, the oracle, has a much higher probability of success and is more effective. Besides, this plan is much older.
Matthew knew that well, so he worked hard to persuade me.
“I have confirmed that your report is true. If the gate is completely closed in about 10 months from now, we must hurry up the completion of the Oracle.”
“You must have already stocked up on materials and power sources.”
When I said that, Irene smiled.
Matthew didn’t back down.
“If you really want to stop the runaway hunters, the Oracle is the perfect answer.”
“But… If you do, you may have to stop the Oracle from rampaging.”
“Believe me, we can do it.”
“Matthew, I’m not questioning your ability.”
“Then let’s go to the vote here.”
Voting with only 3 votes!
Matthew is the proposer, so of course he agrees.
As expected, Irene declared neutrality.
She was already reaping enough benefits from using the oracle.
It is good to maintain the status quo as it is, and it is even better if it develops.
I wanted to do the opposite, but…
Matthew’s vote and mine are not the same vote.
Even the same master has different rights to speak.
In the end, I made a decision, being careful not to provoke him.
“I’ll suggest… Hold off.”
“Hold? How much?”
“9 months! Let’s try the old way for 9 more months from now, and if there is still no progress in development, I will agree.”
Doing what Matthew suggests would require a larger supply of green dust.
So you can’t completely disregard my opinion.
He swallowed a small saliva, but was not immediately convinced.
“Nine months is too long. Isn’t it said that the gate will be completely closed within the next 10 months? It wouldn’t be good for you to delay the completion of the Oracle too much, would it?”
“Then six months.”
I shortened the period without hesitation.
I knew it would be like this in the first place, so I called for a long time.
Irene also expressed her opinion of her at this point.
“I’m also in favor of a six-month hold.”
“It’s still too long. It’s me who has to wrestle with parts for six months… Let’s do four months.”
“Good. Four months!”
About 10 months remain until the gate closes.
However, assuming that the modification is executed in the 4th month, the oracle will be completed right before the gate closes.
I wanted to postpone it a little longer, but I bought time anyway.
After the agreement was reached, we shook hands lightly and discussed much less important matters.
Shortly after the meeting ended, Yeriel, who had gone to see the Oracle body with me, smiled lightly.
Seeing the machine surrounded by numerous pipes at the end of the underground facility, she must have noticed something.
The Oracle, heavily armed with several layers of armor and a cooling system, looked like a huge fortress.
“This is the oracle…But it’s kind of weird.”
“What?”
“Artificial intelligence computers must be very different from ordinary computers in many ways, but the West and the masters handled it very easily. It was like unlocking a function that existed from the beginning.”
“…”
After all, Yeriel is not normal.
Irene and Matthew, who were by my side, also smiled wryly, as if they were fighting against each other.
She revealed the identity of the Oracle in front of us.
“The Oracle… Is a biological computer, right? The aforementioned ‘parts’ must be the corpses of hunters and monsters.”
“Right.”
Matthew frantically fears that Yeriel will destroy the oracle right away.
While admiring Yeriel’s notice, he proudly explained.
“But I didn’t use any problematic parts! The eyeballs used to give clairvoyance and clairvoyance abilities were extracted from the corpses of hunters who died during battle. The abilities remained in the eyes even after death.”
“So what about remote interference capabilities? The Oracle must have been able to access unpowered electronics, right?”
Yeriel even matches the type of Oracle’s ability.
Matthew smiled and continued his explanation.
“It is the arm of the S rank raid boss, the ‘invisible hand’.”
“Aha. I participated in that raid too.”
“Yes. I am grateful to you.
“Not to mention. Lastly, the core of the core. Where did you get the deep dive function that allows you to freely manipulate electronic information?”
“She is my daughter.”
Matthew looked back at the oracle behind him and sighed.
“My daughter, who died after being ill for over 10 years… Amy’s brain is the foundation of the Oracle. Rejection of parts is usually because Amy cannot accept them.”
“Thank you for the explanation. If you ever need my help, you can speak through Mr. Seo.”
“That’s very reassuring.”
Yeriel, who was checking the Oracle’s cooling system with her hand her, greeted me politely, then turned around and left the room with me.
Her profile her looked a little sadder than usual.
