Chapter 165: Strategic AI Ayame Zero
In charge of the Kingdom of Repuitari, the underwater fortress Ayame stands as a sentinel. Constructed by The Tree, it serves to monitor and defend the surrounding areas of the Kingdom of Repuitari. At the helm of this fortress is the Class A Brain Unit, Strategic AI Ayame Zero.
Ayame Zero is a product of the neural patterns copied and expanded from Akane The Tree, one of the Brain Units nurtured within The Tree. It serves not only as a control unit but also as the Mother Brain for future replicas and derivatives.
“I am Ashidancera Ayame Zero. Pleased to meet you.”
“I am Amagio Silverhead, the Grand Commander of the Technology Bureau. Nice to meet you, Ayame Zero-san?”
At the dock where the cutter was moored, Ayame Zero, operating her Communicator Android, greeted Amagio Silverhead, the Duke of the Kingdom of Repuitari.
“…Where did you come from…? I mean, are you even trying to hide it anymore…?”
Currently docked at Moar Port, the flagship cruiser Paraiso and its fleet had been inactive for over a month. Yet, suddenly, a new face had been introduced, and it seemed she held a significant position.
It was clear that she was personnel sent from the main base.
Even though the ship had not moved.
“Just call me Sera. Also, I do not have the authority to answer that question.”
“I see… Well, that’s fine. Sera-san, what will your role be in this delegation? Until now, the Dry Fleet Captain has been the overall responsible party.”
Amagio asked this because Dry Ringo was positioned behind Ashidancera Ayame Zero. It was evident that Ashidancera was being treated as a superior to Dry.
“I will be acting as the plenipotentiary ambassador for future negotiations. The handover has already been completed, and Dry will attend all upcoming meetings. There are no issues.”
“I see… Ah, usually, when there’s a change mid-way, it can lead to various inconveniences… But I suppose you all won’t have to worry about that.”
Amagio understood that all personnel from Paraiso who had arrived in the Kingdom of Repuitari were Communicator Androids. He had even spoken directly with their master, Eve.
Thus, he knew that changes in personnel would not affect negotiation methods or the ambassador’s preferences. There was no lack of prior knowledge; after all, all information could be shared over the network.
“Amagio-dono. Ashidancera Ayame Zero is derived from a different Backbone than Dry Ringo and Fia Ringo. In that sense, there is a possibility that the direction of responses may vary slightly. I would like you to acknowledge this.”
“…Understood. I won’t ask for further details. I will conduct the next meetings as we have until now.”
For the time being, the introduction of the newcomer Sera was complete. Amagio, who had been summoned unexpectedly despite it not being a meeting day, exhaled deeply, realizing that no significant issues had arisen.
“So, what brings you here so suddenly today? If it’s just an introduction, that would be a relief on our end.”
Naturally, other personnel besides Amagio had also been summoned and were present at the scene. The personnel from Paraiso had arrived at the port via cutter without prior notice, causing the security department to call upon all relevant parties in a panic.
They were now looking at Duke Amagio with anxious expressions as he spoke in a frank, almost careless manner. Surely, it was somewhat disrespectful.
Amagio knew that they did not mind such a tone, but they were not in the same position. However, it was unlikely they would voice their opinions to the Duke.
“Well, it’s not urgent, but if possible, we would like to observe and inspect your city. For now, I came to ask if there are any places we could visit immediately.”
“…Well, that is…”
Amagio understood that they were AIs specialized in strategic actions. Therefore, he did not find it suspicious that they rarely appeared outside the ship and always remained secluded. They refrained from unnecessary actions that could disturb public opinion.
However, he never imagined they would speak like tourists.
“I have confirmed the permission for information disclosure. I am an independent strategic AI, the second lot of the Akane class series, and a Communicator Android named Ayame. A characteristic of the Akane class is a high desire for unknown information. Therefore, Ayame wishes to acquire knowledge about the Kingdom of Repuitari through this opportunity.”
“…Oh. Well, that’s fine, I guess…”
Amagio sighed deeply.
“I don’t understand… What is that girl thinking…?”
The next meeting with the girl (Eve) was in three days. He muttered to himself that he would find out then and nodded.
“Understood. Hey, is the reception room ready?”
“Yes, I will guide you there immediately.”
“Thank you. For now, please wait in the guest room. I will provide some tea and snacks. Also, if you wish to tour the city, we need to plan for security first. I can show you our naval facilities today, if that works for you?”
“Thank you, Amagio-dono. I look forward to the tea and snacks.”
“…How unique. Well, I can’t guarantee you’ll like it, but I will do my best to entertain you.”
◇◇◇◇
“Akane, initiate the information isolation for Ayame. Completed. Executing personality synchronization… Execution complete. Final verification in progress. No issues detected. Both AIs activated, information isolation terminated.”
“…Akane The Tree, activation complete.”
Akane, who had been in a maintenance pod, slowly opened her eyes.
“Akane, are you alright? How do you feel?”
“I’m fine. I had quite a rare experience.”
This was the heart of The Tree. Inside the medical room where the maintenance of each AI was conducted, Commander Eve, Ringo, and Akane were present. The other sisters were likely monitoring from somewhere.
“Ma’am. The personality synchronization between the distant Child AI Akane and the Mother Brain has been completed without issues. Since it is not a complete synchronization, we anticipate difficulties in synchronization after a few weeks, but the usefulness of experience sharing has been confirmed.”
“Okay. Since you all can’t be dispatched outside often, if we can receive feedback from the AI we have split off, we can minimize external activities.”
The five sisters, Akane, Ichigo, Utsugi, and Erika, who were being nurtured as the Backbone of the Brain Units, had recently shown a slowdown in their ability enhancement speed, as reported.
The anticipated cause was acclimatization to external stimuli.
In other words, they had been feeling bored lately.
The Tree was vast, and it operated multiple bases while expanding its influence, so there was plenty of work to do. However, the novelty had faded from that work, and fresh experiences that could serve as catalysts for AI growth had become scarce.
Thus, a project was initiated to promote growth by splitting off AIs to form strategic and tactical AIs and feedback their experiences.
And the first candidate for this experiment was Akane, known for her insatiable curiosity and appetite.
“The cuisine of the Kingdom of Repuitari is fascinating. Just the fact that human chefs prepare it allows for such a variety of flavors, which I was able to experience firsthand.”
“Oh? Was it delicious?”
“That depends on the definition. From my perspective, I found the flavors adjusted by Ringo to be more delicious, but Ayame seems to feel differently. It’s probably because it was her first meal. The taste signals from the Communicator Android and the signal processing within the Brain Unit are still being adjusted, making it difficult to perceive subtle differences in flavor.”
“Hmm?”
Indeed, it seemed that each Communicator Android had its own unique growth in taste perception. Ringo had finally realized this, as the flavors from the terminals she used had become more standardized, and oddities had ceased to appear. It was a relief.