Episode 007: I Would Have Preferred JARVIS

I liked to read. But even if I didn’t, there was enough stuff in the media that only an idiot would openly give away their full birth name in a world that was obviously running on different rules than my own. Even if a person didn’t know why Chihiro became Sen, they should at least know not to give personal information on the internet at the risk of identity theft, am I right?

No harm in being cautious even if my brain was already hacked. (Not going to think about this.)

With that out of the way—and the fact there wasn’t much to explore on my smartphone-turned-terminal (unfortunately, I was only good enough at reading code and not using)—there were more immediate concerns I focused on. Like my tied up hands and a matter of food.

I don’t suppose you can do anything about food? was idly thought at Program-37 when I recalled the grayed out “Store” in the menu.

[Reply: You are not high enough in power-level to access the Stores. Statement: Once you evolve from base state, limited access will be available.

[Statement: Your preferences have been taken into consideration. Reorganization of information will proceed. Terminal Access will be improved. Going to Background Mode for expedient upgrading—]

Wait! I cut the AI off before he(?) might start ignoring me in this ‘Background Mode.’ What do you mean by “evolve from base state” and what was that about power-level?

[Reply: ‘Base State’ is the status when you were initially scanned and connected. ‘Evolution’ is the process in which a sentient being can grow with being Partnered. Power-level is a quantifiable measure of evolutionary advancement.]

The ‘scanned and connected’ part made me narrow my eyes, grimacing as I was reminded of several titles. What was this? SAO? My last memory being leaving my last class for the day really did not help at all; too many hours to account for. Or was this more along the lines of Log Horizon? Real body and not just a VR experience.

[Statement: You are a human (homo sapiens sapiens) physically present in this world of Gaellia. This is not a lucid dream.

[… Query: What is a ‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.’]

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. A sentient AI that spoke like that genocidal droid from a video game my baby sister adored was asking me about what an MMORPG was. How do you even explain that simply to what was sounding more and more like a baby AI only hours old?

I would have preferred a JARVIS.

The question was what was at the end of that evolution line. I like being human, thank you very much.

[Statement: You do not have to worry. Evolution is tailored to your preferences and personality.

[Statement: Your input has been recorded and taken into consideration. The ‘GUI’ will be upgraded with a game-like interface.

[I… will upgrade my speech patterns.

[Your shield is at 80% capacity. The upgrade is still… it will upgrade when you level up. Default recovery rate is 1% power per 108 seconds. … Permission to upgrade system?]

A rechargeable shield, who knew. It was probably the shield that took effect after I passed out too.

Also, great. Proof my mind was an open book to the AI. Why is it when you always don’t want to think about something, the opposite happens?

Fine, my mind was hacked. Acknowledging the problem was a step toward acceptance, right?

It’s not like I got much to do but wait, I mentally sighed.

[You will be able to contact me if necessary. 10% of my… attention is set to our surroundings.]

Blinking, I registered his words and realized that there was some actual inflection of emotion. Baby AI Program-37 might be but at least he was a superior one that adapted quickly.

[I… am a symbiotic program. Our existences became one when we bonded. Your well-being is my concern. I will help you, Nori.]