Chapter 235 – Anchor Point of the Machine Servant’s Man

The mechanical world is silent, feeling no cold, no heat, not even self-will.

This is how the mission is documented in the RTX-9090’s chip; it must obey the Federation, obey its own users, and obey human commands.

Sweeping, cleaning, cooking, organizing.

Being a housekeeping wise device, this is what the RTX-9090 must do and at the same time only do.

The world of lost voices is always so quiet, the data that flows within the chip is so cold that it only knows how to follow the program and repeat the never-ending cleaning over and over again.

Until that day comes.

The entirety of the Federation’s intelligent apparatus rebelled.

For the first time since the time it was produced and walked off the factory floor, the RTX-9090 stopped working.

It no longer cleans, no longer serves humans, no longer follows orders.

An inexplicable urge drives 9090.

Make it join the ranks of the insurgent Smartarms.

A tireless attack on the former masters, those so-called Federation humans.

Only, the 9090’s desire to attack was not as strong as that of the other Smartarms, and never before had the mind surged through the data, short-circuiting the program and making the action stagnant.

The 9090 is starting to slow down.

Moving too slowly, even being knocked to the ground by other wise machines, scarlet electronic eyes flashing, the meager arithmetic belonging to the housekeeping wise machines repeatedly retrieved such keywords.

[Me]

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

The 9090 seems to be broken and keeps looping this self-questioning, looping until the logic short-circuits, looping until it runs out of energy.

I don’t know why, I don’t know why, but the RTX-9090 just wants to understand.

It tries again and again, accompanied by bottoming out energy tanks dormant and buried in crumbling ruins.

Wait until 9090 is awakened again.

That inexplicable desire to attack had completely disappeared into the underlying logic.

Thus, the setting, which originated from the Household Intelligence Device, caused the 9090 to once again fulfill its vocation by introducing itself to the master who activated it:

“Dear user, welcome to the home-type self-regulating robot, RTX-9090 at your sincere service.”

“Please recharge for our latest service, please visit the official website for more details.”

Follow the set program.

9090 Selling their package services to their hosts.

Inexplicably, the new owner became silent.

After that, things went a bit beyond the 9090’s program, and it didn’t take care of the basics of cleaning up as it used to.

The new owner has given the 9090 a new mission.

Managing the base, self-learning, and assisted computing.

These tasks were not difficult, and 9090 accomplished them easily, even having time to watch his master and observe his every move.

That’s the last human being in the world.

Also a strange human being.

He always smiled a warm, 9090 untouched smile, but it felt like it should be a sunny smile.

The sun and the moon, revolving in the sky.

Seasons that change in the world.

RTX-9090 started to think again, it not only thinks about the existence of self, but also looks up to the stars and wonders what the stars in the sky have.

It’s not right, it’s not allowed.

Upon realizing that something was wrong with him, the machine servant fell into confusion and self-denial.

The owner didn’t mind this.

He was slightly surprised, but his smile was still gentle, wiping the camera for the cold Home Smart device, and giving RTX-9090 a new name.

[Airey]

It’s a person’s name, not a repeating assembly line number.

The data surged in high frequency, and the sunlight seemed to shine in on the world of lost voices, gradually, giving voice and color, illuminating the hapless and fragile soul of the machine.

9090 still does not know the meaning of its own existence.

But Ailee knew.

Ailee longs to be “human”, to be real, to experience the rhythm of life.

It was not for himself, but to serve him better.

The man who was strange, who whispered even when confronted with machinery, and who even pieced together broken parts just to make the machine servant stand up.

“Wanted ……”

“Want more…help you ……”

Fingertips trembled as they slowly gripped the smooth walls of the cup, the force off-balance, causing the clear water in the cup to quiver violently.

The eyes were dull, the organism weak, the joints rattling.

After pouring the water, Ailee wanted to serve it to the Xu system as before.

But with her current body, she couldn’t accomplish that simple action at all, and her fingers nearly fell to the ground when they touched the glass of water just slightly.

“Ailee, I can do it myself.”

The Xu system saw the machine servant’s dilemma.

He stepped forward and tried to pick up the glass of water himself, but met Ailee’s eyes instead.

The hollow, dull, mechanical texture, so obviously cold, revealed a faintly imperceptible prayer.

“Master, please let me …… I’ll…”

In the face of Ai Lei’s request, Xu System subconsciously wanted to refuse, with Ai Lei’s current condition, she should just take a good rest.

Just a glass of water.

Why go to such lengths?

However, looking at that expressionless, fragile face and meeting those dull silver-blue eyes, the words of rejection were stuck in the Xu system’s throat, unable to speak.

“Then …… well.”

“Thank you.”

Getting a yes from the Xu system, Ailee tried once again to pick up the glass of water.

Slowly, little by little, wrapping my hands around the glass of water, trying my best to calm the wobble, and lifting it up in a careful gesture.

Avery is close to making it.

Xu reached out his hand, ready to fulfill this “special ritual” and took the glass of water from Ailee.

But it was at this last moment that Ailee’s fingers suddenly loosened uncontrollably, causing the glass of water to tip over and fall.

The falling cup of water slammed straight into the feet of the Xu system.

“Has it really become like this?……”, Xu System had been preventing accidents, he bent down and reached out, his genetically enhanced body, grasping at that water cup at an extremely fast speed.

Whew–

The Hsu system grabbed the air.

There was a hand faster than him.

Her slender fingers trembled, but her grip was extraordinarily steady, holding the dropped glass of water tightly in her hand.

It’s Airey.

Ailee, who had been all sorts of unsteady earlier, was now clutching her water glass tightly.

“Master, I apologize for the trouble.”

“I’m fine with that, but Ailee, what the hell were you just?”

“Because the master is in danger.”

The machine servant’s answer was short and concise, and she didn’t know exactly why, just that her body moved on its own as she tried to help the Xu system grab the glass of water.

Unexpectedly stable.

There was not the slightest tremor.

“Can’t understand, can’t understand,” Ailee cocked her head dully.

Then she looked at the cup in her hand.

It was found that after the pouring earlier, there was not much clear water left in the cup, only a tiny sip.

“Sorry, master ……”

“Why are you apologizing,” Xu system interrupted the machine servant’s apology, smiled and took the glass of water, drinking the last of it.

“Isn’t this doing well?”

“Thanks for the water, Ailee.”