The final ten minutes before the end of the workday.
Manager's Office.
"I'm here, Manager."
Angela pushed open the unlocked office door and stepped inside.
"You were in such a hurry to call me over—could it be that the Sephirahs did something to you… hmm?"
But as soon as her figure fully entered the room and she saw the scene inside, her slightly rushed words came to an abrupt stop, the tail end tinged with clear surprise.
Because reflected in her vision—her eyes still closed, as always—was not the manager she had imagined: battered by some troublesome incident, or on the verge of mental collapse.
Instead, there were two neatly placed chairs.
X was seated in one of them, smiling at her.
"…Which nerve of yours is acting up this time?"
"You told me before that those Sephirah department heads need my concern," X said softly.
"As the manager, I can't play favorites. Angela, of course you're within the scope of my concern as well."
"I'm fine, Manager."
Angela didn't sit down immediately. She replied in the same calm tone as ever.
"I am the most outstanding AI in the company. I'm not as fragile as the Sephirahs. I can take care of myself."
"There are only ten minutes left until the company closes. If you have nothing else, I hope you'll leave early."
"I don't want to see you having to make up for your diary again tomorrow morning because you didn't rest properly."
"…I thought about it for a long time today, and I still don't think your words from this morning convinced me."
X did not let Angela dismiss him so easily. He looked straight at her and continued.
"No matter what, a person can't keep their eyes closed while talking to others forever."
"So I've decided to ask you once more, properly. Angela, please answer me seriously…"
"Do you have a big problem with me?"
"Or is it that, like some of the employees, you have a big problem with Lobotomy Corporation itself?"
"..."
Angela stood where she was, making no extra movements.
She neither walked toward the clearly prepared empty chair nor answered X 's sharp question right away.
For a moment, the entire manager's office sank into an eerie silence.
"Humans fear what they cannot understand."
After a long while, Angela finally spoke.
"It's normal for you to worry about such things. In fact, this is exactly the kind of reaction I expected you to have."
"Perhaps I'm starting to like you a little… because emotional communication with a person is truly a precious experience."
As she spoke gently, Angela opened her eyes once more.
"…And yet at such a moment, you ask me whether I have a big problem with you?"
Those pure, crystalline golden eyes now reflected X 's figure, filled with a complexand unreadable light.
"As I've said, I'm just a machine. A machine's way of thinking is always rational."
"You are flawless both in daily conduct and in work. Why would I have any issue with you?"
"Then my answer is equally obvious—"
"I have no objections to you. And if you can continue as you are now, then for the foreseeable future, I will have no reason to have any objections to you."
"As for why I always keep my eyes closed… it isn't for the reason you suspect. Please rest assured."
Within X 's field of vision, everything remained normal.
There was no sign of the glaring red light he both secretly anticipated and feared—the telltale sign of a lie.
The "Pinocchio" program provided by B, designed specifically to detect whether Angela was lying, was not triggered after she answered the question regarding her personal view of X . It remained silent.
"As for the company…"
The complexlight in Angela's eyes quietly faded the moment she mentioned "the company."
In its place was an almost icy expression , tinged with faint mockery.
The way she looked at X was like someone gazing at a child who had asked a naive question.
It was unclear whether that trace of mockery was aimed at the company—or at X for asking.
"The company created me. Everything I have was given to me by the company. I exist as one of the company's systems."
"Your question is truly laughable… but since you're so curious, I'll give you an answer all the same."
Angela sat down in the chair X had prepared for her.
"I would never harbor the kind of thoughts you mentioned."
The faint mockery at the corner of her eyes vanished, replaced by a slight upward curve of her lips.
A smile that was impeccable in courtesy, yet carried distance and seriousness.
"Even if I wanted to act against the company, such a thing could never succeed."
And right at that moment—almost the instant Angela's words fell—
Before X 's eyes, without any warning at all, vast swathes of blood-red light suddenly erupted, surging and flashing like a raging tide!
The red glow was so intense that it nearly swallowed his entire field of vision!
PS:
These two chapters are a bit short individually, but would be a bit too long if combined…
Interlude: Nonexistent Memories (1)
Beep!!! Beep!!! Beep!!!
Ash-gray hair had fallen out in large patches, twisted together with various bodily tissues.
Beep—
—Hello?
"…Ughhhhh—! Hah… hah…"
Violent gasps for breath, mixed with barely suppressed groans of pain.
"Mr. ████…"
"Um… I feel… I… I think…"
—Our instruments indicate that your body has reached its limit. Your mind may soon suffer irreversible damage…
—I'm sorry.
"No need to apologize… I know… hah…"
"I'm about to die… experiments… after all… always carry risks…"
"Th-then… Mr. ████?"
"In the little time I have left… there's something… I'd like to ask of you…"
—I'll do my best to help you with it.
"I hope… that in my final moments… you could… chat with me a bit… heh…"
...
—I can do that.
"Good… um… if I talk like this… will it affect your records?"
—It won't. Go ahead.
"Then… I'll speak…"
"I'm really glad to see you… recover… pull yourself together again…"
"You're willing to start new experiments… and you've even begun planning something different from Miss Carmen's approach…"
"Heh… so now… how is that plan… coming along?"
—That plan has already been abandoned.
"What…?"
"How could that be…?"
"Observing the river… gaining more knowledge and technology through it… and using that knowledge to save humanity…"
"Learning those past tragedies… known only to the highest authorities…"
"And then… predicting the future… preparing… in advance…"
"What a wonderful concept…"
—Impressive that you still remember such an offhand idea—something mentioned casually, and sounding so fanciful.
"Heh… hehe… because you were the one who mentioned it…"
"Then… why… why abandon it?"
—If we were truly to do that, there would have to be a permanent unit stationed within that 'river' as an observer.
—But someone who can retain a complete personal will within the 'river' and still observe rationally… is as rare as a 'bucket.'
"I see… ah…"
—
"..."
—
Beep————
"..."
Click.
—It failed. The first experiment with mature Cogito.
—We need to further optimize the experimental process.
"Then that means…"
—Yes. We need more human experimental data.
—This is something that must be done to bring Carmen back.
"But… Teacher…"
—Continue the experiments.
—Only this way can we save Carmen…
—I'll gather everyone later, explain the situation, and ask for volunteers…
—I know it's cruel, but… we have no other choice.
...
X came back to his senses.
Just now, it felt as though something special had flashed through his mind.
The images were fragmented and blurred, impossible to see clearly.
And they vanished far too quickly—like they had been accelerated a hundredfold under some protocol.
In the span of a single instant, they disappeared without a trace.
So X didn't pay it much mind, dismissing it as a hallucination brought on by momentary mental instability.
Soon after, he refocused his attention on the present.
During that brief moment of daze, he had already returned to the Inner Lobotomy Corporation.
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