CH. 05: 2B's Story/Confrontation

CH. 05: 2B’s Story/Confrontation

9S landed in the crater zone. If one were to walk from the city ruins to the flooded city, it would take quite a bit of time. One would have to take a detour around the collapsed buildings and shattered roads.

But in terms of distance, the two locations were not that far apart. Had 9S been blown away by the explosion, it wasn’t impossible for him to have landed in that area.

“Report: 9S’s black-box response detected.”

Pod’s scanner was giving feedback.

“What’s his current location?”

“Answer: Underground cave.”

“Underground cave? The one with the alien ship?”

“Affirmative.”

The underground cave had been discovered because part of the city ruins had caved in. The location of impact was in fact in the crater zone, so it wasn’t impossible for 9S to have landed in the cave. But…

“Let’s go.”

She descended on a ladder extending from the edge of the hole to its depths. Occasionally, she looked around at the walls or cavities in the hole to see if she could find some trace of 9S. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find a piece of clothing or item of 9S’s, let alone the man himself.

The bottom of the hole was still flooded with water, resulting in bad footing. 9S wasn’t here either. 2B raised her gaze. The hole was considerably deep. Without the help of Pod’s gliding mechanism, a leap down would certainly lead to injury.

Even still, 9S had not jumped down from the top of the hole, but had been flung there by the explosion. He would have slammed into the ground at the bottom of the hole. It was unlikely that he would have gotten up right away, or was in a condition to move at ease.

So why wasn’t he here?

“Report: The source of the black-box response is coming from beyond the underground passageway.”

“Beyond the passageway?”

From the bottom of the hole, there were two side tunnels running in different directions. One tunnel led to a dead end, and the other led to the alien ship. If Pod had said “beyond” the passageway, it was probably referring to the latter.

She knew this was a red flag. If 9S were, by some miracle, able to walk, why would he walk through the passageway?

Making Pod shine its light, she entered the tunnel. When she tried to follow the same route as last time, Pod stopped her.

“Report: The source of the black-box response is coming from the right.”

“Right? Not from the alien ship?”

“Affirmative: While weak, the black-box response is coming from a different location than before.”

She took a right at the fork.

“He came this far…”

Something was definitely wrong. Why would he take an unfamiliar route? And if he was able to walk this much, it should have been possible for him to climb the ladder out of the hole.

At the end of the passageway was an elevator. At this point it was undeniable. There was only one conclusion…

“Warning: Possibility of a trap.”

“I don’t care.”

2B pressed the elevator button.

There was no panel that showed which floor she was traveling to, but she felt the elevator move down. It was even farther beneath the underground cave, so it was at quite the depth. No wonder the scanner hadn’t been able to determine an accurate location.

The elevator shook erratically for a while and eventually came to a stop. The doors opened with an obnoxious rattle. Bright light pierced her eyes.

“What is this place?”

2B squinted and looked around. Everything was white. Since her eyes had acclimatized to darkness, it was painfully bright.

“Analysis: Structures made of crystallized silicon and carbon. There is not enough data to provide further details.”

Staring long enough, she could make out a cityscape stretching onward. But there was no color. There were rows of buildings with white walls and gray windowsills, casting pronounced shadows on the white street. They must have been colorless, because they were all apparently made from crystallized silicon and carbon.

“Who would make an underground city like this?”

Pod answered with an “unknown.” Ironically, it was a good answer. If Pod couldn’t answer the question, it meant that androids were not responsible. Unlike the buildings above ground, these buildings did not look weathered in the least. Then they were probably new, putting aliens out of the question. Then there was only one answer: the Machines.

“Report: 9S’s black-box response detected.”

She cautiously moved in the direction that Pod pointed in. No amount of caution was too much; she was in an enemy facility. But her guarded gait did not last long.

“That’s?!”

She started to run without thinking. Some black had appeared amidst the white. It was the color of the YoRHa uniform. Not just in one place, but in many.

“Why are there corpses…”

“Deduction: They were left intentionally by the enemy.”

The underground cave had not been discovered before the city ruins caved in. Since the incident was still treated as confidential, no information had been shared within the squadron. In regard to the white city, even 2B had not known about it, so it was unlikely that other squadron troopers invaded of their own will.

In other words, they were kidnapped by the Machines, and brought here. It was unclear when they were killed.

She realized that she had started to sprint. She had to save 9S as soon as possible, while his black-box response was still active.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember that.”

She heard 9S’s voice in her head. And felt the excruciating pain when he had said those words as well.

“Since the transmission bandwidth in that area was narrow, I probably only had the time to back up your data. I only have memories up until we joined forces.”

How old was his backup at the Bunker? If his chassis were to be destroyed right now, his memory would be rewound to that day.

Please don’t let that happen, prayed 2B. She wanted to avoid that at all costs. She never wanted to go through that again.

She eventually reached a large square. Similar to the road and buildings that came before it, it was solely white and gray.

The black-box response was weak but close.

“Welcome. To my city.”

It was Adam who greeted her from the middle of the square. There was no surprise. She had expected something like this. What was slightly unexpected was the absence of the Machine named Eve.

“I…no, we Machines have a keen interest in humans. As I’ve told you before.”

2B ignored Adam and approached him. She walked cautiously, in case there was a trap.

“Love and family, war and religion. The more we read about humans, the more our fascination grows.”

It made her uncomfortable. She remembered how enthusiastic 9S was when he was doing research on human civilization. It made her uncomfortable that a Machine shared the same passion. Even worse, because this was a Machine that had kidnapped 9S.

“This town was also born from our longing for humans.”

She discovered another reason why she felt uncomfortable. It was Adam’s clothes. He was wearing a white-collared shirt and black-rimmed glasses, things 2B had seen in the video database of Earth. His mimicry was complete to the point that it was repulsive.

“It’s a waste that such a noble place is the graveyard for you androids, isn’t it?”

“Graveyard?”

Adam smirked knowingly. She remembered the corpses that were laid out on the way here.

So this man was responsible…

She restrained her anger, and silently pulled out her sword. Adam didn’t seem to care, and carried on his lecture.

“We study the attributes of humans, and mimic them. Some will mimic love. Some will mimic family. I also learned, and mimicked. I watched recordings, read books, wore clothes, ate plants, sang, and danced… I came to a realization after mimicking various actions. The essence of humanity is battle. To fight, to steal, to kill. That is what it means to be human!”

Adam’s voice gradually filled with fervor. He spread his arms dramatically and made his voice resonate across the whole square, as if he were speaking to a group of people and not just 2B. His behavior irritated 2B.

“Love carries hate with it, and families are full of conflict and arguments. Civilization developed to steal more, and society was constructed to kill more efficiently…”

“Don’t talk about humanity with that filthy mouth!”

She didn’t realize that she had swung her sword out of anger. She expected Adam to evade by teleporting, but instead he stopped the blade with one arm. The sleeve of his shirt tore open, and red liquid gushed out.

“But I’m not wrong, am I? Isn’t that what humans are?”

“Shut up!”

The spray of red stopped. It was the incredible self-regeneration at work. An odd expression crossed Adam’s face. It was an expression that was unsuited to the words he would say.

“Why do humans conflict with one another when they are the same species? What drives them to fight? I want to know. I want to arrive at the essence of humans!”

“Nonsense!”

She didn’t wait for an answer to attack. The red liquid gushed again, and then stopped. Adam made the same bizarre expression. It was an expression that looked similar to sadness.

“We Machines who are connected to the network are immortal. However…”

Did he want to say that there was no use in attacking? Then all she had to do was attack so rapidly that the self-regeneration would not keep up. But what Adam said next completely toppled her hypothesis.

“Networked data has no awareness of mortality. It can’t understand the concept of death. That’s why I’m going to detach myself from the network.”

The expression that looked like sadness disappeared without a trace. Adam laughed. His expression was that of pure joy.

“Now, let’s kill each other!”

His words snapped her back to reality. It wasn’t like she wanted to kill. She attacked because Machines were the enemy. That was all.

2B spoke coolly.

“I have no time to waste on you.”

She had to find 9S. She was going to rescue him and take him home. That was the only reason she had come here.

“Why don’t you loathe me? Were the corpses of your comrades not enough?”

She was disgusted to hear why the corpses of the YoRHa squadron troopers had been laid out.

“Warning: Vital signs are climbing. Beware of enemy provocations.”

“I know.”

She didn’t have to be reminded by Pod. YoRHa troops were forbidden from having emotion.

“Then what about this?” asked Adam.

Adam’s body was replaced with a glowing thread. He had teleported. Her eyes scoured for his destination. It was the upper floor of a building. Adam pointed at a part of its outer wall.

“I prepared it just for you.”

A section of the outer wall crumbled away with a loud noise to reveal something black.

“You need an adequate reason to fight, don’t you?”

It was 9S on a crucifix. He was neither struggling or moaning. Instead he was completely limp.

“You son of a…!”

2B’s mouth instantly dried up. She felt her heart rate surge.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Something was tearing at her from the inside. She couldn’t hold it back. Her hand shook without realizing. Adam smiled contentedly, and floated down to earth.

“Yes, that emotion! Hatred!”

It didn’t matter. She was going to kill him. She sprinted toward him and leapt.

“You bastard!”

She just kept swinging. It was a sea of red. She could hear screams. And the sound of Adam’s laughter.

“We are both deeply in love with humans. Can’t we say that Machines and androids are kindred?”

She wanted to shut him up. She wanted to jam her sword through his mouth, which kept blurting annoying things. She wasn’t able to, so instead she kept swinging recklessly.

“But you’ve realized it too, haven’t you? That humans are already extinct.”

“Enough!”

She launched a kick at Adam’s face. It missed. Irritated, she swung her sword around.

“Warning: Enemy’s misleading information.”

“Shut up!”

Adam and Pod were talking too much! She didn’t want to listen! Shut up!

Humans were extinct? She didn’t know that. She didn’t want to know that. There was no need to think about it.

Adam was laughing shrilly. His white shirt was stained red. His smile from ear to ear deeply disturbed her.

He was a Machine. He was different from androids. Even if he had supple flesh and warm blood, he was different.

His goals were different. His purpose was different. And his destination was probably different as well.

“Die!” shouted 2B.

The moment was anticlimatic. Her sword slid through him without a hitch. The sensation closely resembled the feeling of piercing flesh—a feeling she knew too well.

Adam clung on to 2B, either in pain or with the intention to fight back. But his arms were limp. The hand that had grabbed the back of 2B’s head slid down to her shoulders.

She withdrew her sword. She was drenched in warm red liquid from head to toe. Adam fell to his knees and collapsed.

“So this is…death…”

He looked content, but somewhat unsatisfied at the same time. That was the expression he had. But he was undoubtedly smiling.

“It’s dark…and col…”

A puddle of red liquid spread from underneath Adam’s body. 2B just stared at the scene as she panted.

She was bothered by the claim that Machines and androids were of the same kind. She wanted to ignore it and move on, but it stuck in her mind. It was probably because of the sensation she had felt when she drove in her sword. It was surprisingly similar. No, it was unmistakable…

A noise suddenly interrupted her thoughts. The noise of something crumbling, and a heavy object falling. She came to and looked over her shoulder.

9S was slumped on the white pavement. Scattered around him were chunks of the wall.

“9S!”

She ran toward 9S and helped him sit up. His lips were barely open, but she recognized that he had tried to say “2B.” It was fine, his black-box response was still active. His personal data was intact.

A warm feeling spread inside 2B’s chest. At the same time, a drop of something black stained her conscience. What was it? It didn’t matter for now. She could think about it later.

“9S... Come on. Let’s go home.”

She gently lifted 9S into her arms.

Another Side “EVE”

I wanted to chase after big brother, but I stayed put. Because I promised I would stay here. I made a decision to never break promises with big brother.

Big brother went to our playground. It was the city we always played human in. It wasn’t fair that he went alone. I wanted to play too. I wanted to break the androids with big brother.

Big brother suddenly disappeared. Even when I tried to use the network, I couldn’t reach him. I lost the feeling that we were connected.

What happened?

I wanted to go meet big brother right away. But I couldn’t. I made a promise to stay here.

Big brother didn’t come back for one hour. For two hours.

Did something happen? Was he having trouble beating the androids? Should I go help big brother?

I should have just killed them back then. But big brother kept our promise and cut the battle short. We just needed a little more time to beat them, but it was the promised time. After that, we played human here.

Is big brother regretting that we didn’t finish them off?

If I count to one hundred, big brother will come back. If I count to two hundred, big brother will come back. If I count to three hundred…

But even after I counted to nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, big brother didn’t come back.

I waited and waited but big brother didn’t come back. I finally broke our promise. It meant I wouldn’t be praised for being a good boy, but I flew to the playground anyway.

Let’s end this quickly. I’ll help too. Let’s kill the androids.

But the androids weren’t there. Even the one we’d left as bait.

It was only big brother. He was lying on the floor. He didn’t answer when I called. He didn’t respond when I shook him.

I needed to regenerate him quick, I thought—but I couldn’t.

Big brother was dead. The androids had killed big brother.

At first I didn’t know what was going on. I mean, I never imagined that big brother would be gone. He has been here since I was born. He was always, always with me.

Big brother will never move again. We’ll never be able to play.

I finally understood what it meant for big brother to have died. When I did, I was surprised at how much I cried. The back of my throat trembled and I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing.

The area around my chest tightened painfully. It hurt so much that I rolled around on the floor. It still hurt, so I banged my head on the table. Then my head started to hurt and I felt dizzy. I hit my head even more. I needed to, or else my thoughts would be all jumbled.

Why did you have to die?

Even though big brother was born alone, we were together right away, and he had me until he died.

I had him when I was born, but now I’m alone, and I’ll be alone until I die…

I knew. I knew that big brother had bigger interests than me. That big brother didn’t like me as much as I liked him.

I knew because I’ve always only looked at big brother. But I still wanted to be together. As long as big brother was there, I was happy.

For me big brother is the only… If only big brother were here.

Hey big brother. I don’t hate fighting.

But I hate it when big brother is hurt.

I hate it even more when big brother is gone.

So let’s go somewhere peaceful together…

A w0rld w1th0ut b1g br0ther can just d1e.