CH. 01: 2B's Story/Activation

CH. 01: 2B’s Story/Activation

The target was in a slightly cumbersome and extremely bizarre location. “That’s strange. The location data should be correct… W-whoa!” 9S exclaimed, losing his footing in the sand and catching himself as he fell forward. 2B issued a short warning to be careful. “It looks like there aren’t any enemy signals in this area,” observed 2B.

Recently, there had been many violent Machines appearing in the desert area. 2B and 9S had come to the desert military post to exterminate the nuisances. The local resistance that protected the desert had given them specifics; now they planned to leave for an extermination mission.

However, their informant was nowhere to be found. There was no mistake as to the meeting point. Moments before, a soldier they had run into told them, “Our comrade is waiting near the rocky area ahead.” Boulders poked out from the sand, and there were layered cliffs surrounding them. There was no mistaking that this place was “the rocky area,” and this was a dead end, so it couldn’t be “ahead” either.

“Pod. Give me the map data once more…” As he was asking support pod 042 to recalculate their coordinates, 9S raised his voice. “2B, look over there!

“Heeeeey! Can you hear me?” 9S exclaimed, waving his hand at a silhouette. No response. Was 9S’s voice not reaching them? No, at this distance it must be. They must have seen 9S waving his hand as well. If they weren’t replying there must be a reason why.

For example, maybe they were unaware that the YoRHa squadron had been assigned to eliminate the Machines, and they were being wary. Or perhaps they were in such a bad mood that they didn’t want anything to do with anybody else. Unlike the YoRHa squadron, who were forbidden from experiencing emotions, this could very well be the case with a resistance soldier.

“If we go this way it will be faster,” said 2B. 2B built up speed and leapt onto a boulder. 9S followed, slightly lagging behind her. From down below it was hard to tell what the individual’s gender was, but it was a female soldier wearing a long hood.

She introduced herself, saying, “My name is Jackass. Nice to meet you.” She had an unexpectedly friendly voice. It seemed like a bad mood wasn’t the reason for her unresponsiveness. “I’ve heard the details from the leader. You’ve come to wipe out the Machines, right?” 2B nodded her head. “Then we’ve got to open the sealed entrance,” Jackass said this with a hint of amusement. 9S asked suspiciously, “By the way, why are you in such a weird place?”

“Oh, this? Well…” Her lips tightened into a smile. Right then, an explosion shook the area. A hot gust pushed through from the direction of the shockwave. As the clouds of sand settled, the previous dead end was revealed to give way to a narrow path. That was the entrance to the desert. Jackass added, “If we were caught up in that it would be dangerous, no?” When Jackass had said “open,” she had meant blow it open with an explosion.

“She’s a violent person, isn’t she?” 9S mumbled and sighed as they walked along the narrow path, a faint burning smell lingering. While she was taken aback by Jackass’s methods, 2B didn’t think she was as violent as 9S made her out to be. If an explosion was necessary to open the sealed path, that must mean that the seal had been heavily fortified. Jackass was doing her job well.

“It’s not a problem,” said 2B. Maybe the reason why she had ignored 9S’s call was to lead them away from the explosion. In hindsight, by being ignored, 2B and 9S had moved to Jackass’s location.

That meant she had accomplished her objective with minimal effort. Of course, she could have just been playing around, which wouldn’t be too hard to believe. “We obtained the intel on the enemy. She’s already given us all the information we need.”

The recent Machine outbreak was happening around an abandoned and dysfunctional pipeline. It was unknown why Machines had taken a liking to such a thing, but it was convenient. If there was a clear destination, there was no need to search the vast desert.

It was not the first time 2B had visited the desert area. She was well aware of how troublesome the desert could be. Despite multiple visits, it was not a place that she could grow to like. On top of that, the desert area and its surroundings had had their fair share of misfortunes. Visiting the place brought back various memories of such misfortunes.

“It seems like we’re close,” said 9S as he lowered his voice. The enemy signals were getting closer. The sensor in the goggles flashed red to show the proximity. But there was no enemy in sight. Wherever they looked, there was only the color of sand and the occasional rust-colored pipeline extending into the horizon.

All of a sudden, the sand burst up. A black mass flew out with a harsh metallic sound—a Machine. The Machines had been waiting in ambush beneath the sands.

Their cylindrical bodies creaking, five Machines charged at the trio. Small and bipedal, they were a common Machine type, but they had all tied rags to their bodies and were wearing strange planks that almost looked like animal faces—as if donning clothes and wearing masks.

Bracing her feet against the unstable surface of the sand, 2B pulled out her military sword. Then 2B realized something else. The Machines’ appearance was not the only thing out of the ordinary.

“Ki1l…”

A voice, if it could be called that. It was clearly different from the mindless noises that Machines usually made.

“Destr0y…the enemy…”

“Words? The Machines are speaking?” said 2B.

There was no time to think about it. She sliced through the bodies that approached rapidly, flailing their appendages. The bodies, with shabby rags flying from them, fell back with a screech. More Machines rushed in from behind.

While she was fending off the second wave, the fallen Machines from the first wave picked themselves up. Hits like those they’d suffered weren’t going to keep them down for long. 2B swapped her sword for a larger one, and leapt into the air. Using the momentum generated by her attack arc, she slammed her weapon into the spherical head of a Machine. YoRHa androids have an approximate weight of 150 kilograms. The wooden mask split in half, and the metal head flattened into a semi-spherical shape. One down.

Pulling out the large sword that had been lodged into the enemy’s head, 2B flung it back down immediately. The large sword smashed into the side of a Machine that had been sprawled on the ground, caving the body in. Two down.

“2B! Dodge!” screamed 9S.

She leapt backward to create space. An awkwardly moving Machine suddenly started shaking, and exploded. 9S had hacked and taken control of the enemy. The explosion swallowed the nearby Machines, reducing them to metal debris.

The remaining Machine was routed under concentrated fire from Pods 042 and 153. Considering that there were only five Machines, the extermination took longer than expected. The resistance leader was not exaggerating when she had said the fierce Machines were a lot of trouble. Indeed, it would be difficult to deal with them without the specialized martial ability of the YoRHa.

“I wonder why they were wearing such superfluous items,” said 2B. Rags tied around their bodies and masks on their faces. Their appearance and their peculiar ability to speak set them apart from their counterparts in the city ruins.

“They look similar to how humans dressed in the past,” said 9S, who explained that he had seen the items in the Human Era database. “Now that I think about it, their face paint, too—it looked like face paint used in tribal societies.”

“Machines imitating human culture? Why?,” 2B asked.

“I don’t think they’re doing it with a specific intention,” said 9S, whose lips contorted into a condescending smirk. Yeah, probably, she thought. They are only Machines, after all. “There are more enemy signals up ahead,” 9S said as an annoyed expression replaced his smile.

“You don’t call five Machines an outbreak.”

“You’re right,” replied 9S, sighing deeply.

Moving along the pipeline, they fought Machines again and again. They were all aggressive like before, but after the first battle things moved along more smoothly. Even if they were stronger than usual, after a few fights it became easier to face them. The trio had gotten used to them.

Despite making noises that were assumed to be words, and wearing human clothes, in battle the Machines were mediocre.

The enemies operated in groups of five or six. As if they had marked territories, they generally stayed in one place and fought. Perhaps they didn’t have enough awareness to use the land to their advantage or use strategy to surround their foes. However…

“N0… I… scare…d”

“He… lp… me”

“Help”

2B hesitated. “Help.” They were calling for help. She had known the machines were making word-like sounds, but she didn’t expect them to say something like that.

Observing that 2B had become tentative, 9S sharply yelled, “2B! They’re just saying random words!” That’s right, Machine sounds have no meaning… 2B beat down the head that had been asking for help. She knocked away the Machines that were approaching from the side. With little resistance, the Machines rolled down the steep surface of the sand dunes. “Besides, asking for help while attacking is a contradiction,” said 9S.

2B nodded in agreement. Machines are just that, Machines. Focus on destroying them quickly.

Just then, one of the Machines that had rolled down the dune popped up. 2B’s attack had been insufficient to incapacitate it. “I die… Run… Run… Scared,” the Machine said. It quickly turned the other way, and started running. It moved much faster than it had before. So this is what it means to “take to your heels,” 2B thought, half-amused.

The machine had fled into some ruins with many rectangular buildings standing side by side. “What’s that?” 2B asked, which was answered by Pod 042. “Answer: Ruins that were once a residential area for humans. They lived as a large group in high-rises built of metal and concrete, which were often referred to as ‘mammoth complexes.’ ”

Mammoth? It didn’t make any sense to 2B, but she kept her mouth shut. It was irrelevant for the current mission, and she didn’t possess as much curiosity as a Type S. Instead, 2B commented, “Why did they even bother living in such a big group…”

Sure enough, it was 9S who took interest in the information. “I wonder if it was dangerous around here in the past,” wondered 9S.

Pods typically converse with their support target. Unless absolutely necessary, 142 answered 2B’s questions and 153 answered 9S’s questions. Pod 153 answered this question.

“Negative: They lived in a group because of economic reasons arising from a lack of land.”

9S snorted and replied, “Humans were so odd, weren’t they?”

Not only were humans odd, they were probably incomprehensible to an android. It would be presumptuous to think that an android would be able to understand humans, their creators.

In any case, the human dwelling place once called the Mammoth Complex had since become a gathering place for Machines.

There were many Machines living underneath the shadows of the leaning building. Just like the Machines near the pipeline, these ones made word-like sounds and had a tendency toward hostility.

“Hell0”

“G00d weather”

“H0w d0 y0u d0”

As expected, they were probably stringing together random words. They said “hello” for attacks, and “how do you do” for counterattacks. They certainly would not be acting like this if they knew the meanings of those words.

The target, the enemy that had taken to its heels, wove through the oncoming Machines and into the ruins. Pod had marked its identification signal.

There was a significant number of enemy signals near what seemed to be its destination. Perhaps it was the source of the Machine outbreak near the Pipeline. If so, the androids’ task would not be complete until they cleansed this area. They moved on, destroying Machines that jumped out from the shadows. They inched closer to their target.

“Stubb0rn! Escape! I need to escape!”

9S murmured, fascinated with how the Machine chose its words. It was true, the target’s words were fitting for its current situation. It wasn’t meaningless drivel.

The Machines had a considerable amount of learning capability. It was even reported that there were cases of Machines almost “evolving.” But did they have the capability to select meaningful words, let alone express an idea or have a conversation?

The acquisition of a spoken language is closely linked to intelligence. Looking back at human civilization, intelligence was the key to shaping society. If that were possible for these “simple Machines”—

Suddenly, 2B’s body was thrown forward. Using her brain for unnecessary thinking had drawn her attention away from the obstacles near her feet, and she had tripped. The obstacle was eerily soft to the touch. Looking down in confusion, her gaze froze. “This is…” It was an android corpse. Before she was able to question of why it was there, 9S screamed. “2B! Look!” There were multiple corpses. Though the scene was dim from the leaning buildings and metal frames obstructing light, there were multiple corpses lying around. However, there was no trace of a battle. In other words, after dying, the androids had been moved from a different place.

“It’s as if they are being gathered here,” said 9S. Furthermore, beyond the corpses was a dark cave with an immense opening. As if taunting them, the only path was one that took them past the corpses.

“There it is!” yelled 9S. The target jumped into the cave and disappeared, proceeding along the path. “There are multiple enemy signals up ahead,” said 9S. “Let’s move with caution,” said 2B.

There were multiple corpses along the path. This time, determined to not trip, 2B advanced carefully. But this was not enough.

There was a jagged sound near their feet. The next moment, their bodies sank. 9S shrieked. The realization that they had fallen came after they had slammed onto the ground.

The first thing that 2B saw was the sky. This place was apparently the bottom of a giant hole. The walls of the hole had various windows, doors, and other remnants of a building twisted into them. Maybe the ground had been dug out to create a basement and its roof had collapsed, or perhaps the foundation had sunk and the structure on top of it had fallen and collapsed.

2B pulled herself up with a grimace. She had absorbed some damage, but not enough to impede her combat capabilities. While getting up, she quickly scanned the area, trying to observe the situation—and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

There were Machines. Many of them. “W-what is this…” she muttered. At first she thought they were dancing. Machines would never dance, of course, but what was taking place in front of her eyes was even more preposterous.

The Machines were grouped in pairs, and swinging their bodies. The cries of “child, child, child,” gave an indication of what they were doing. They were imitating the mating practices of humans.

A livid sense of disgust overwhelmed 2B. Calling this repulsive would be an understatement. “Let’s destroy them,” said 9S. 2B nodded at 9S’s suggestion. It was almost upsetting to see that the Machines hadn’t attacked yet. They were so immersed in their activities that they had not noticed the enemies that were right in front of them.

“Pod! Long-distance fire! At maximum power!” 2B demanded as she flung her large sword down. She took care of a pair in one fell swoop, and kicked them aside. Finally the Machines began to counterattack.

“L0ve l0ve l0ve”

“Let’s stay t0gether”

“I l0ve y0u I l0ve y0u”

The Machines charged while blurting out unbefitting phrases. Perhaps it was due to 2B’s strong feelings of disgust, but swinging the large sword without rest did not tire her. The urgency to eliminate the Machines as quickly as possible erased any feelings of fatigue. This might’ve been the first time she felt such purpose in destroying something.

The surroundings filled up with piles of Machine debris. Metal scraps rained down with every blast. It was at that moment the behavior of the Machines shifted. Every Machine held its head in its arms and began to run around in circles. The sounds they made changed.

“Th1s 1s n0 g00d”

“Th1s 1s n0 g00d”

“Th1s 1s n0 g00d”

It was if the Machines were trying to think of a way out of their desperate situation. It was remarkable that they had come up with a phrase like “this is no good.”

The Machines had stopped attacking—now was the chance. 2B couldn’t understand why, but the Machines were confused. Just as she was about to resume attacking and slash with her sword, the Machines altered their movements again. They moved in unison, and created distance between 2B and 9S. They moved even more swiftly than the Machine that had “taken to its heels.”

“What is this…?” The Machines started to climb the nearby pillars and walls. Perhaps they were trying to avoid 2B and 9S as they climbed upward in great numbers. It was as if a swarm of bugs was devouring a plant, and in a different way from before this was a scene that evoked disgust. Eventually, the Machines solidified into a giant ball. 2B thought that she had seen its shape before, perhaps somewhere in a database.

The ball started to glow, its white light growing stronger and stronger. The ball inflated to an even larger volume. As a crack slowly started to run through the surface, 2B realize what this reminded her of.

It was a cocoon. For insects. She had seen footage of a larval insect eating through its cocoon on the video database for Earth.

A transparent, viscous liquid started dripping from the crack. Just as 2B instinctively drew back, the cocoon burst open. A mass covered in the liquid dropped out.

“An android?!” 2B exclaimed. Its shape was that of a human, and judging from its build it was a man. His hair had a similar hue to that of 2B and 9S. The man struggled to get up. Unashamed of his naked form, he raised his head and opened his eyes.

“No… This is a Machine!” shouted 9S. 2B had also detected the unique electric signal of a Machine. But why was its appearance so similar to an android’s?

The man’s eyes started to glow red. It was the sign that a Machine had affirmed an enemy.

2B stopped thinking, and struck with her sword. Appearance aside, it was a Machine after all. It was better to destroy it quickly.

A red liquid similar to blood gushed out. It was completely different from a Machine’s oil. The man retreated, wounded but not fatally so. Groans escaped his mouth.

2B continued to attack, unable to inflict fatal damage. The man’s movements were unexpectedly fast.

2B exchanged her large sword for her military sword. Using a large sword, her attacks were inevitably slow. No matter how strong a blow was, if it didn’t hit the target it was useless.

“And…r01d…”

The groans turned into words. It wasn’t surprising, as on the way they had witnessed many Machines who made word-like sounds. But…

“D0dge… Sw0rd…”

2B’s relatively quick attacks cut at empty air. The man had cultivated evasive maneuvers. On top of that, his previous wounds had sealed up. It meant that he had self-regenerative abilities. Perhaps he had just acquired those as well.

Suddenly, the man crouched and swung a leg up. It was a clumsy attempt to counterattack.

“It’s evolving?” 2B said. It had learning capabilities far exceeding the average Machine. It was preposterous to think that he had learned to evade and attack in such a short battle. He was going to be a tough opponent. “2B, let’s put an end to this quickly!”

The longer the battle lasted, the more the man would learn. Their instincts to abolish the enemy quickly were in no way misguided.

Attacking together and with long-distance support from both Pods, they barely managed to outflank the male Machine. They were able to inflict fatal wounds before the self-regeneration could repair them, 2B from the front and 9B from the back. The two military swords pierced the midsection of the man, who toppled over and fell to the ground.

“This is… a Machine?” 9S sputtered, in equal parts bewilderment and fright. 2B was having the exact same doubts. This battle had been different from all their past battles with Machines.

The supple flesh and the warmth of the body fluid was identical to an android’s. Properties shared with their fallen comrades. Could such a thing be true? If so, was it wrong to assume that cold oil was running through the rigid bodies of Machines?

However, these thoughts were cut short. The man’s wounds had suddenly started to glow white, like the light emitted by the cocoon.

“It couldn’t be?!” 2B couldn’t put the rest into words. The white light grew stronger, enveloping the man’s midsection. Similar to when the cocoon tore open, a crack began to appear in the man’s skin.

The first thing that penetrated the skin was an arm. The arm shot up with its palm spread, as if it were trying to grasp something. Then another arm appeared, widening the crack further. A head, neck, and torso followed.

“What?” 2B said. An identical man had emerged out of the wounds of the first man. “Another one…”

It was unknown what kind of abilities the second man had, but it was safe to assume that he had powers comparable to the first. If that was the case, it would be troublesome if they did not deal with him right away.

But 2B couldn’t even draw her sword. The second man howled. It was a tremendous sound, and the walls started to crumble from the reverberations. 2B covered her ears instinctively. The sound was loud enough to damage her hearing.

She could see that 9S was shouting something to her while covering his ears. She was able to read from his lips that he was saying “We have to get out of here!” While the sound was dangerous, the collapsing walls were more so.

2B quickly scanned the area. She spotted a side tunnel in the wall. Exchanging a quick nod, 2B and 9S started to run. They dodged the falling debris while they ran.

They did not have the leeway to look back.

Another Side “Adam”

An introduction.

I was created by the Machines.

The vi0lent Andr0ids kept attack1ng, and the Mach1nes were thr0wn 1nto a state of desperat1on. They were about to be killed 0ff.

The Machines searched the netw0rk. 1n 0rder t0 defeat the Andr01ds, they th0ught they c0uld use humans, wh0 were the Andr01ds’ creat0rs. But there were a l0t 0f humans. The Mach1nes d1d not know wh1ch human to m1m1c. They searched the netw0rk further.

They eventually came acr0ss the name of Adam. The f1rst human, created by G0d. Humans created Andr01ds, and G0d created humans. Adam was created 1n the 1mage of G0d.

That’s why the Mach1nes dec1ded to create Adam. That’s me. The Mach1nes exhausted the p0wer of their c0res to create me, and are n0 l0nger able to funct10n.

But the andr01ds were very str0ng, and I was defeated. Bef0re my b0dy failed, I searched the netw0rk to see what c0uld pr0tect me. The answer came 1n the name 0f Eve. Just like h0w the Mach1nes created me from the name 0f Adam, I apparently created another be1ng from the name of Eve. I say apparently because I have no memor1es 0f this t1me.

After that, we m0ved. The Mach1nes that created me and the place we lived in— everything went to waste. Eve later t0ld me that the Mach1nes were crushed by the debris and reduced t0 a pile of rubble.

Eve wants to c0py everyth1ng I d0. But then wh0 am I to c0py?

Eve 1s very eager t0 develop h1s mot0r capabilities, but n0t as eager to acquire languages 0r kn0wledge. Even while playing human, he 1s happiest when playing a phys1cal game, and 1s not as enthus1ast1c when reading a bo0k 0r listening to mus1c.

This is a pr0blem. We need to be 1ntelligent.

Eve is my other self. “Adam” and “Eve” are b0th der1ved fr0m my essence. But Eve refers to me as big brother. That is my role, as a firstb0rn. Eve h0lds the role of little br0ther, the secondb0rn. Although we have the same essence, we have distinct faces and characterist1cs.

There 1s to0 much I d0n’t understand. Humans were nurtured and educated by parents and teachers. But I have ne1ther. I have to nurture, educate, and inf0rm myself to reach enlightenment.

I stand alone, dumbf0unded, on the 0utset of th1s j0urney. The path ahead is long.

I sometimes think about sin. We are, after all, cr1m1nals that destr0yed paradise before paradise c0uld exile us. The first humans, 0nce banished from Eden, needed wisd0m to surv1ve for so l0ng. So we need an even greater am0unt of kn0wledge and 1ntelligence in order to live without depending on any0ne or be1ng deceived by anyone.

Requiring no 0ne, a life of self-regulation and complete isolation. That 1s the path we must walk.

I have m1xed feelings for 0ur creators wh0 burdened us with th1s fate. If I were to put my emotion into w0rds… It w0uld be hatred.