“That’s a shocking proposal.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I did not anticipate such a bold move.”
The proposal is from player: Amadio Salmon.
It means transferring command of all subordinate units. In terms of the game system, it’s treated as a complete surrender, and ownership of all units and resources is transferred to the opponent.
If there are any independent AIs, they will be placed under the command of our AI.
“In ＜World of Space＞, wasn’t complete surrender a function only used when retiring?”
She grumbled, vaguely remembering, but that can’t be helped. It’s a command to transfer all in-game assets to the other user. Normally, it’s not used or even considered.
“The biggest problem with this proposal is that it doesn’t impose any constraints on Amadio Salmon himself. We cannot interfere with the player’s consciousness.”
“Hmm… but we’ll get the authority over Amadio-san’s Cyborg Body, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Since he’s fully cyborgized, we can acquire access rights. However, if he goes offline, we lose access, so it’s practically meaningless.”
We can obtain the machinery that is controlled externally, but naturally, we cannot control devices that operate offline. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem because we can change the internal control programs in advance.
However, that’s not the case with Amadio Salmon.
Even though he’s mechanized, he’s still human inside. It’s nearly impossible to rewrite the Neural network, the source of his thoughts, from the outside. Even if we could rewrite it, it would be a personality destruction. We would do it if necessary, but Eve would never allow it.
“Hmm… Well, whatever. Let’s accept his sincerity. Besides, we want the information. ＜Ringo＞, you understand the value of information, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. …How much are you willing to allow?”
“Hmm…?”
Asked by ＜Ringo＞, she (Eve) tilted her head.
“Will you also permit the regeneration of the Overseer AI that Amadio Salmon possesses?”
“Ah,” Eve nodded.
I see, this is the watershed.
The question is whether to increase the number of Superintelligence entities with potential equal to ＜Ringo＞.
“Well… considering we’ll be under the same affiliation, it shouldn’t be a bad choice. There will be a hierarchical relationship between you and it, but I don’t think it intends to treat you poorly, right?”
“That… yes. It aligns with the raison d’être of expanding our forces. However, depending on what its objective is, there is a possibility of conflict.”
“Ah, its raison d’être. We don’t know that yet.”
In the game ＜World of Space＞, AIs assigned to assist players are given three objectives at startup:
First, to protect the Commander.
Second, to serve the Commander.
Third, to expand the forces.
In ＜Ringo＞’s case, these are the three.
All AIs under ＜The Tree＞ make decisions in accordance with these three mandates.
The orders we execute from now on will be based on whether they “protect the Commander,” whether they “align with the Commander’s will,” and whether they “contribute to the expansion of our forces.”
The potential futures predicted by the AI’s performance will vary, but all will adhere to this.
“Well, we have no choice but to ask. Since it has independent will, to get along, it’s just a matter of whether we trust the other party or not. Besides, there’s no need to regenerate the AI right away, we can observe it a little longer, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. As you wish.”
◇◇◇◇
A flash of light ran across the sky.
The Charged Particles, scorching the air as they burst forth, missed their target and disappeared into the distance.
In the airspace at the foot of the Northern Mountains, Wyverns were fighting.
They circled each other, exchanging Breath Attacks.
Realizing it was getting nowhere, they approached for Body Blows and bites.
The two were evenly matched, and a conclusion was not easily reached.
The location, though assumed, was the territory of the Wyvern shot down by the mysterious ray of light. The Wyverns on either side had moved out to expand their territories and collided in the intermediate airspace.
The two continued to fight fiercely.
The Breath Attacks they spewed struck the mountainside, carving out a straight line, engulfing the plants growing there.
The Charged Particles that went upward were confirmed to have reached an altitude of 400km while dispersing.
So far, it has not affected ＜The Tree＞’s equipment, but it has been found that it can mow down the satellite orbit in terms of range. Even though it was expected, it is different from being confirmed as a fact.
Several hours passed since the fight began.
The two are still fighting energetically.
The umpteenth Breath Attack.
It pierced the earth. The soil and trees scorched by the high temperature exploded and scattered.
Normally, such an explosion would not occur just by being scorched by a heat ray. Some kind of Magical effect must have been added.
If the Breath Attack hit a place where there was nothing in particular, there would be no particular problem. At most, some of the trees would be blown away.
But this time, the location was bad.
The Wyvern Breath directly hit the rocky mountain that Asahi named ＜The Reflector＞.
The few trees that had been growing there disappeared, and boulders and soil flew into the air.
The impact shook the rocky mountain.
Many cracks appeared, and accumulated soil and trees spilled out. Dust rose, and the earth vibrated.
An eerie atmosphere.
Sensing something, the two Wyverns that had been engaged in close combat distanced themselves.
＜The Reflector＞ awakens.
“That’s about the gist of it! This is all from the scene!”
“Is this the introduction to a story?! And don’t end the broadcast on your own!”
With the Wyvern’s territorial fight beginning, Eve and all her sisters were watching the live footage, but Asahi added commentary on a whim.
“I mean, this chain reaction feels dangerous, is this going to be okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is a natural process. What will be, will be.”
“Look at me properly, ＜Ringo＞. Why are you turning your face away?”
“Onee-sama, Onee-sama, it’s finally happening! ＜The Reflector＞ is finally starting to move!”
“Aaaa, this is getting out of hand!!”
While the sisters (mainly Asahi and Eve) were making a fuss, ＜The Reflector＞ finally began to move in the live footage.
Perhaps it shuddered.
The soil that had accumulated over the years blew away, and the rocky mountain slowly lifted.
The surrounding earth cracked and swelled.
“…Hey, isn’t it big? Isn’t that thing really big?”
“Measuring. According to visual estimation, the height exceeds 100m.”
“Onee-sama, amazing! It was quite buried underground!”
“Onee-sama, I’ll overlay the size display on the live footage.”
Ichigo thoughtfully overlaid the size display of ＜The Reflector＞ on the footage.
The size fluctuates slightly, perhaps due to video analysis.
“…Body height, 116m. Body length, estimated 182m.”
The ground rises greatly.
No, not the ground. It is the body of ＜The Reflector＞.
The whole picture was revealed.
What was thought to be a rocky mountain was part of the shell that ＜The Reflector＞ carried on its back.
The piled-up rocks and soil were flowing down like a waterfall.
Now, its summit is over 130m high.
It moves.
＜The Reflector＞ slowly takes a step.
The lower part is covered with trees and difficult to see, but huge Legs split the earth and lifted it up.
“Video analysis, overlaying. Estimated, giant tortoise type. However, 6 Legs can be confirmed.”
Akane, who is knowledgeable, supplemented.
A wireframe was added to the video to supplement the display of the lower part covered with trees.
Six extremely thick Legs.
The coiled tail stretched out, knocking down the trees.
Slowly, the head stretched out from inside the shell.
“Estimated body length, 265m. Body height is 142m. Width 180m. Weight unknown.”
“Eh, no, isn’t that too big!”
A Monster of tremendous size had awakened.