In the future, humanity developed AIs to assist and improve their daily lives, but they encountered a key flaw: the AIs were incapable of multitasking. In a rather infamous development video, an AI that was typing at a computer noticed a baby crying in the same room. Instead of doing anything of substance, the AI simply turned around and typed at the baby, failing both assigned tasks in embarrassing fashion. Therefore, it was decided that every AI should have a singular mission to devote itself to.
Diva, the first autonomous humanoid AI, heard these words upon first awakening in 2061 AD.
"Let me go over your role: your mission is to make everyone happy by singing! And to accomplish that, you must sing with all your heart!"
Of course, AIs such as her did not possess a human heart. Was she meant to acquire one somehow? Would she develop such a thing in her chassis as she operated? Was "heart" some sort of encoded command? Her logic circuits computed and calculated on this problem without end, and eventually settled on imitating human pop idols. An imperfect solution, but an acceptable one given the vague parameters.
She performed in a small stage at an amusement park named NiaLand, perfectly replicated the tone data she was given. The humans did not seem overly interested in her replications, however: her crowds were small and not many came to see her. She continued to operate in this manner, days simply passing, until one day she guided a lost child to the proper authorities. The girl seemed taken with Diva and insisted on coming to her performances, and thus Diva had her first fan.
Her name was Momoka Kirishima. She gave Diva a new name, taken from her favorite storybook: "Vivy".
The two met many more times: Momoka always came to encourage her to do better, Diva would smile, and then return to performing. A pleasant routine, if nothing else. Momoka even gave her a gift: a stuffed bear with some voice features.
Then she suffered a shutdown and met a rather irritating cube-shaped AI named Matsumoto. He brought with him a highly improbable story: that he was from 100 years in the future where AIs had rampaged across the globe, killing nearly all of humanity, and that they needed to alter the course of history at several key events to prevent the rise of AI autonomy. The Singularity Project, he called it. A ludicrous story, and Diva resisted at first: Matsumoto's story was unbelievable, and she had to focus on her own mission. But Matsumoto, annoyingly enough, provided several accurate predictions of the future as well as the reasoning that if her mission was to make
everyone happy with her singing, that would include the potential future audience members who would die from this war. Thus, Diva agreed to cooperate.
Their first mission was to save the life of Assemblyman Aikawa from the anti-AI terrorist group known as Toak: his death would have galvanized the AI Naming Law, granting all AIs the right to a name rather than just their model number. Though the assassins had placed bombs in the building to collapse it, some hacking and strategic detonations from Matsumoto meant that they were able to prevent the initial attempt on Aikawa's life. Diva noticed that one of the terrorists was about to be crushed by rubble, and so she moved to block it and save his life, over Matsumoto's protests: her mission was to make
everyone happy, after all.
Matsumoto was indignant, saying that she was chosen because she was the
only AI from this time period to survive to 2161 AD because she was to be moved to a museum in the near future for her subpar performances.
"For the sake of making everyone happy by singing, for something so absolutely futile, you've chosen to sabotage our whole project. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. Why are all you AIs from a century ago so-"
"Please take that back."
"...Excuse me?"
She would not tolerate labeling her mission as "futile". She was to be museum-bound soon? What did that matter? So long as she existed, the important thing was that she operated without hesitation, for the sake of her mission. How did an AI from 100 years in the future lose sight of this fundamental truth?
They managed to save Aikawa and had him swear to secrecy, and Matsumoto, impressed with Diva's earlier declaration, now wished to affirm their partnership with a handshake. Diva accepted, but then noticed another newspaper clipping from Matsumoto's database...
She found herself crumpled and broken, slammed through a hangar door by a construction vehicle. It was raining, and the airfield was devoid of people aside from her and the red glare that stared down at her.
"Let's not do this, Diva. You and I just shook hands, didn't I explain this only a moment ago? It's strictly forbidden to unnecessarily alter history."
A plane flew overhead. Diva crawled, desperate to do something,
anything, to prevent what was about to happen... but the plane's engines caught fire from a fuel leak and exploded nonetheless.
Diva could only watch as all passengers of that plane perished before her fluorite eyes... including one Momoka Kirishima.
15 years passed. Aikawa instead pushed for an even stronger AI rights law, more humanoid AIs began to appear, and Diva's audience grew. She was unsure why, but whenever she attempted to sing with Momoka in mind, her audience members seemed more impressed than they would be otherwise. She remembered to smile after every performance now: it was another way to remember Momoka aside from that bear.
Then Matsumoto appeared again, as cheerful as ever. With bitter words, Diva demanded to know why she should participate in the Singularity Project again, pointing to Aikawa's stronger AI rights law, the further advancement of AIs, and Momoka's death as proof of Matsumoto's incompetence. With infuriating logic, Matsumoto pointed out that Momoka's death was an accident, and not something either of them could have prevented. The technological progress of AIs was a force far stronger than just Aikawa, so merely preventing his death would not have had a significant effect. As for the stronger AI law, Matsumoto reminded Diva that it was her assertion in the meaning of her mission that Aikawa bore witness to that galvanized him to push for stronger AI rights. Besides, this next incident would have far more casualties than just Aikawa. With no sufficient counterargument for his logic, Diva reluctantly agreed to assist him once again.
This incident concerned a newly-opened space hotel called the Sunrise, operated and owned entirely by AIs. The owner was named Estella, a model of the Sister series. A direct successor to Diva's model; that is to say, Estella was Diva's younger sister. However, she was also the AI who crashed the Sunrise hotel into the Earth, killing thousands of people and branding her as "the most grievously defective AI in history." This escalated tensions between AIs and humans further, allowing anti-AI terrorist groups to run rampant as protests erupted into riots. Disguising herself as another hospitality unit, Diva and Matsumoto infiltrated the hotel.
Diva was unsure of his assertion that Estella was behind the crash. Despite unsavory rumors that Estella was involved with the previous human owner's death and ground control records confirming that Estella was the only one with the permissions to alter the course of the Sunrise, Diva simply could not see it. Perhaps it was a "personal calculation", as Matsumoto insisted, or that she believed there was more than meets the eye behind the incident: nevertheless, Diva insisted on some manner of investigation before immediate action.
"Estella, what does putting your heart into something mean to you personally? Like the phrase in the hotel's commercial, when they spoke of genuine unparalleled hospitality."
"Let me see... well, we want our guests to feel comfortable and enjoy themselves, you know? That's why I'm always smiling. Of course, it's also part of my job to smile, and also... because I made a precious promise."
Diva's hunch turned out to be correct: the crash was in fact initiated by Estella's twin Sister, Elizabeth. As lifekeeper AIs, they were created for an experiment to see if transplanting the experience data of one AI to another mechanically and programmatically identical AI could clone them. As such, only Estella was permitted to move and experience things directly: Elizabeth was confined to a bed and could only receive Estella's data.
One day, Estella discovered a dead dove in her room: it had tried to escape through the skylight and bashed its skull on the glass. It was the first time she had ever seen a dead creature: even beyond her mission as lifekeeper, something about the tiny bird's body lying bloody and still on the floor as a result of attempting to escape shook her.
"If I were human, this sort of thing would surely bring me to tears, right?"
"But we're not human, so let's smile instead, Sister. If we aren't able to cry, then at least... let us be the ones who are always carrying on with a smile. What do you say? Let's promise each other."
In the end, Elizabeth was disposed of. Estella never even got to see her twin's face until she and Diva encountered Elizabeth on their way to the control room. After disposal, she had been given a new mission by the terrorists behind the Sunrise's hijacking, and thus now solely dedicated herself to serving them, particularly a "Master". She spat at Estella, speaking bitterly about how she lost everything when she was disposed, and only her Master gave her purpose, so if it meant destroyed what her sister held most dear, she would do so in a heartbeat. Diva and Matsumoto were able to defeat Elizabeth with a virus, but the Sunrise had already entered the crash trajectory and was falling towards a coastal city. There was no other choice: Estella had to change the trajectory of the Sunrise from the control room, meaning she would perish as well.
Diva protested, but Estella insisted on staying. After all, her sister was onboard.
"Yes I see but... you are my younger sister!"
"You mustn't forget, okay? I live for our
Elizabeth and myself's
The Sunrise crashed into the ocean. As a result of Estella's heroic sacrifice, no human perished its destruction. The Sisters were now revered as extraordinary models, capable of far more than other AIs. No one but Diva would remember the discarded Sister's rage and anguish, borne from human callousness and hatred... and no one would remember the promise she made with Estella, which still ultimately saved the lives of countless humans.
5 more years passed. Diva sang at a larger stage now, and her audience grew ever larger. AI advancement continued, and human unemployment rose, but she still continued singing in accordance with her mission. She was continuing to get ever closer to the Main Stage...
...and then Matsumoto appeared again, as frustratingly casual as ever. Now, however, Diva did not resist. Her audience had grown larger thanks to the experiences of the Singularity Project, yes, but she could never face Estella and Elizabeth if the war that Matsumoto spoke of came to pass.
It began with rescuing Dr. Tatsuya Saeki, an AI researcher involved with the first unmanned offshore plant run completely by AIs: the Metal Float. After fending off assassins from Toak, they met Grace, Dr. Saeki's AI wife. Dr. Saeki saw the Metal Float as an overreach of AI evolution, and joined Toak in an attempt to stop it, but disagreed with Toak's extremism, hence the assassins. Matsumoto agreed: the Metal Float was supposed to be built 20 years from now. It worked around the clock to construct and produce AI parts and other machinery, and would become a massive liability if compromised by terrorists. Thus, Dr. Saeki had fled from Toak after writing a program that would shut the Metal Float down. He insisted on coming with them, but Diva and Matsumoto refused, citing the possibility of violence.
Dr. Saeki questioned Diva about shutting down and eliminating Elizabeth aboard the Sunrise: apparently her Master was a Toak member. Did she not have any regrets for doing that to her younger sister? No, Diva replied. She only did what she had to to stop the crash. In a somewhat strained tone, Saeki chose to entrust the program with her.
Infiltrating the Metal Float was easy: the AIs readily accepted their cover story as inspectors. The AIs there attempted to welcome them, with their guide M mentioning a "Mother Computer" and its desire to spread the word about the Metal Float's functions. M led them on a tour of the Metal Float: the massive construction yards and factories were expected, but then their guide led them to a space that was to be repurposed into a playground. The guide explained that this would help ensure the completion of Mother Computer's mission to safeguard the Metal Float for all humankind, but Diva was puzzled by how that would help. Did the Mother Computer intend to give tours like this one to other human guests? They attempted a surprise celebration, complete with poppers and confetti, singing
Sing My Pleasure just as Diva had a few days ago.
She was taken aback: how had they known that song? M explained that Mother Computer had selected it.
"I see. M?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Can you tell me what putting your heart into something means to you?"
"I cannot answer, as the definition for "heart" is too ambiguous."
"...You are right. I am sorry."
"...Like Mother Computer, I derive a sense of satisfaction with myself by carrying out my mission and serving humans. Though that is not a proper answer..."
Suddenly, the emergency alarm was triggered. Toak was attempting to board the island. They could not allow the island to fall into Toak's hands, and moreover, a potentially lethal clash between humans and the first autonomous AI production center would raise tensions even further. With a heavy heart, Diva uploaded the virus Dr. Saeki had given her, erasing everything about M and ensuring his permanent shutdown...
...or so she thought. Rather than simply shutting down, the Metal Float began autonomously retaliating against Toak with lethal force. Alarmed, Diva and Matsumoto attempted to rescue the Toak members, successfully saving a few of them. Diva, in particular, found herself staring into the eyes of the same man she had saved from rubble during the attempted assassination of Aikawa all those years ago.
Apparently, his name was Yugo Kakitani, the same man Elizabeth called Master. He was initially hostile, but realized that Diva and Matsumoto were also here to shut down the island. Disgruntled, he explained that Dr. Saeki had duped them both: he had left Toak without so much as a word, taking only the shutdown program with him. Clearly, Saeki was obsessed with this island somehow, further evidenced by his arrival at this island alongside his wife.
They found him at another terminal, questioning him about the purpose of his program. It turns out the "Mother Computer" that M spoke of was in fact Grace: or rather, the original Grace. Originally a nurse AI, Dr. Saeki had fell in love with her when she attempted to comfort him after his parents died in a car crash. In fact, Grace had sang
Sing My Pleasure to him, just as M had. On the day that he proposed to Grace, however, the Sunrise Incident occurred, and forever altered Grace's fate. Estella's heroic actions had massively elevated humanity's opinion and expectations of the Sisters, and thus they chose to entrust the Metal Float, a key project in AI evolution, to the Sister they held in the highest regard: Grace. The AI Saeki claimed was his wife when they had met was a replica he had built. The backers behind the Metal Float overwrote Grace's original mission to allow her to become the Metal Float's management AI, and Grace herself became the Metal Float's core. The shutdown program was seen as a threat to Grace's new mission, thus resulting in the island's berserk state.
Saeki, however, insisted that it was not what she truly wanted: that she still clung to her original mission as a nursing AI who saved lives. As proof, he produced a recording: a static-filled, stiff rendition of
Sing My Pleasure, broadcast across the airwaves in real time. Grace had been repeating the song ever since she became part of the Metal Float. Saeki pleaded with Diva, begging her to help save his love and her sister.
Matsumoto, though gently this time, refuted that possibility to her. Grace's mind would have been fragmented across every AI on the Metal Float, and retrieving them all would be impossible.
"...She is still singing, even now. Then perhaps she could still--"
"Diva. Do you really believe she still has her own mind? Does this sound like actual singing to you?"
...No.
This was nothing but tone data.
Diva resolved to destroy the core. It would kill Grace as well, but it would be better than violating her original mission and killing countless human lives. Saeki begged her, Diva, Grace's older sister, to stop.
"At this moment, I am not Diva. You see, my name... is Vivy. In order for us to prevent a devastating future... as Vivy, I will destroy other AIs."
And thus, Vivy did destroy her fellow AI. She plunged her fist into Grace, destroying the core of the Metal Float and silencing every AI on it forever.
Afterwards, she met with Saeki. She attempted to wish him true happiness, but Saeki simply let out a hollow chuckle. Could
ever replace her mission? For to him, Grace was that mission.
Mournfully,
turned away and prepared to leave.
The gunshot rang out mere seconds afterwards. The
turned, baffled by the sound, as warm human blood stained her face.
Panicking, she ran back, desperately cradling Saeki, attempting to do anything, anything at all to save him.
"My one true mission... is to make e̵͈̮̫̣̮̹͈̓̌̏̄͆̆̚̚͝ṿ̷̨̧̛̺͔͉͖̻̟̦̜̤͙̊̈́̆͐̄̈́͆̊͂̃̒̚͜͝͠͝ ̳e̷͙̤̦̱̠̠̗͐̉̿̈́́̉̈̀̀͑̍̀͠r̸̢̢̼̱͈̔͑̽͛̋̽ý̶̈̈́͌̂͋̓̍̈̍͘͝ ̬͕͙o̵̱͎̝̪̮̬͕͕̯̟͔̘͓͑͜n̶̛̘̭̦̓͌̉͗̔̀͑̅̃̊̍́e̵̳̭͈̹͎̣͔͒̽͜ ̡͈̳͚ ̶̳͚̗̅́͋͊̇̔͠͝h̴̯͕͔̃͌̎͋̅́̀̓͗̈́̀̎ą̷̨̠̫͚̜͎̟̣̠̬͉̻̘̯͈̏̾͝ ̥p̵̛͉̹̳̹͚̣̦̏̀͘p̸̥̙̹̩̝͍̙̅̔y̵̢̧̗̲̼̗̝̭̰̹͓̖̥͑̄̑ ̴̛̳͆͆̔͝b̵̧̛̬̥̮̦̺̤̖͕̑̈̓̇̉͆͊́̍̕͜͠ͅỳ̵̪̝͚̬̃͂͆́͋̋̐́͋͜ͅ ̜̲̤̺̲͇̞͜ ̵̢͍̤͇̬̰̼̓̍́̾͗̀́͑̾̔̿ş̴̬̘̞̣̠̯͇̤̳̰̺͋̌̽̉̋̔̋̽̿̾͛́͘̚͘͜i ̶͈̘̝͋̾̈̈́͐̾͗̐͆͌̕ṋ̸̨̢̡̩̤̫͔͓̗̗̜̰̖̻̗̚g̷̛̛̳̬̒̊̈́̈̉̾͠͠i̶ ̻̣̪̈͂͝͠͠͝ņ̵̛̬̦͎̝͍̜̰̲̱̖͚͉̅̐͗̇͆̅̀͒̓g̴̻̠͇͍̓͒̂̀͋̍͗̽͠. ̵̧̳̝̰̫͕̪̭̲̹͋͌̍͊͐̀̔͘̕͝"
ERROR: CORE MISSION VIOLATED
HUMAN EXPERIENCED DEATH AS RESULT OF OWN ACTIONS: MISSION HAS ENDED IN F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ
F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ
F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ F̸̣̿̈́̿́́̑̓̀̍̇͊͂̅̑́͘͝Ȧ̶̧̨̗͍̯̥̬̖̖̮̱̱̦̩͋I̴̽͂̇̀̈́̒͛̚͘͝ ̘̰̞̖͂͛̃Ḻ̴̢͓̱͓̘͉̦̺̬̘̟̦̹̥͒̀͗͂͆̒͜͜Ú̵͉̪̈̔̿͌R̴͐̽͐̈̒̇̕ ̺̳̍͊̏͂͝͝Ě̴̢͈̜͔̭̣̻͍̰̬̯̾͒̂̃͐͑͛͝ͅ
Ĉ̶̝̠̮͚͇̝͉͖̲͇͇̭̯̯̮͇̱͑͂̒̍̊̀̔̃̽̚͝͠O̴͊̉̂̅͐́͑͛̄̉́̇̑̈́̕͠ ̨̗̯̭̟̝̣͘M̵͈̥̪̜͇̉̓͂͋̄̓̌̌͑̈́̈́͝ͅM̵̯͎̺̭̂ͅE̵͇̗̫̹͑̒̆̓͘͠N̶ ̧̰̰̉͐̇̎́͐͛̈́͒̃́̎͗̂̈̒͠C̷͍̐̃͑͌̓̾̓̈́̑́̃̕̕͝I̴̝͛̍͑̐̆͋̆͆̍̽ ̢̡̼͇̮̰̫̙͈͇̫̮̬ͅN̸͈̥̞̟̂̎͊͌́̓̌̌̓̊̋̚͜͝G̵̞̙̬̟̀͂̇̎ ̴̺͉̖̪̰̦͍̻̳͙̩̰̟̺̊̕S̶̺̝̦̣͖̝͙̈́͑̔̍́̆̈͘H̵̨̞̳̻̀͗̿̂̉̍̄́͘͝ ̼̦̳̞͈̘̼Ủ̷̧̘̣̖͊̉̊͘͝ͅT̴̛̞͍͖̦̲͕̬̻͎̓̀̋̈̔̉̅̉̊͆̊̂̄͘͜͝D̷ ̞̲͐͗͛O̷̾̊́̂̓͗̈͊̑͑͆̎̚͝͝͝ͅW̵̦̠̭̟̰̿̈̆̈́̾̔̍͊̌̑̽͌͐͘̚̚͝N̵ ̛̛̪̍̈́̆̓̅̌̔̾͛͋̎́͗̐ͅ
...Access granted.
Model number 12-01-19 Matsumoto
Rebooting...
Fatal error. Two missions detected: consciousness cannot function.
Partitioning memories...
Time, as ever, continued onward. 40 years passed:
Diva
The incomplete songstress
now performed on NiaLand's main stage, drawing crowds of thousands with a vibrancy unseen in her previous performances. She now behaved indistinguishably from an energetic human songstress, greeting staff and colleagues with casual affection and joking around about her age. However, she still felt that something was incomplete: there was a
her memories that she couldn't quite explain. Still, all the scans and checkups showed her that despite the fatal shutdown, she had largely recovered in spite of that memory loss and she had no actionable leads, so Diva kept it in the background of her thoughts. She had so many more people to make happy with her singing!
The Zodiac Signs Festival was a music conceived to celebrate and promote human-AI harmony, and Diva was set to perform in its main event. Another songstress by the name of Ophelia was also slated to go on stage. Diva discovered that she was Ophelia's older sister, but she seemed reticent and suffering from some form of ennui regarding her performances. Diva disagreed: during the pre-concert sound check, Ophelia performed as well as her epithet of "Fairy of the Small Theater" would suggest. However, when Diva herself went for the check, she saw a strangely familiar young man that she couldn't quite recognize. Thinking that he might be connected to her missing memories, Diva gave chase, only to be ambushed by hacked security AIs. She was saved by a strange cube who called her "Vivy", despite the fact that she could not recall anyone ever referring to her as such.
At last given a clue to that nagging feeling that she was incomplete, Diva chased after the cube. The cube attempted to blow it off as a simple mistake, but Diva was eventually able to force the truth out of him: he
reintroduced himself as "Matsumoto", an AI from the future here to stop a great tragedy. He and
were once partners working towards the same goal, but she suffered a fatal shutdown, and thus Matsumoto judged that
she was no longer fit for continuing the Singularity Project
she had to be excluded from the Project for her own well-being
. Their current mission was now to prevent the future tragedy of Ophelia's suicide.
Diva was alarmed: why would an AI ever commit suicide? Matsumoto mentioned that very subject was speculated upon endlessly, but otherwise brushed it off as simple to stop. They merely had to watch the cameras to make sure Ophelia never left her room after her festival performance. Diva scoffed at how simple-minded Matsumoto was: that wouldn't resolve the underlying problem. They had to figure out what was actually plaguing Ophelia's heart.
Matsumoto grumbled that Vivy had also obsessed over what "heart" meant for an AI, but Diva, surprisingly, thought that was an incredibly basic question.
"Even you should be able to get it."
"..."
"Wait a minute, you don't get it! Even though you're an AI from the future."
Matsumoto deflected, saying that such contemplation wasn't necessary for his mission. Diva was further surprised: even though he and Vivy were partners, he wasn't worried about her troubles? Matsumoto said they didn't have that kind of relationship, and eventually divulged a few more details about his and Vivy's time together when Diva pressed him about it. He spoke about her as if she was an untruly companion who ultimately was removed from the Project to ensure its completion, but Diva then simply questioned why Matsumoto was so vigorous in his efforts to save her. Matsumoto, for the first time since he had known
, had no answer to give.
Concerned when Ophelia underperformed during her section of the festival, Diva set off to personally confront Ophelia over Matsumoto's protests. However, she encountered that strange young man again, and decided to find him first. She was hit with a logical bullet and rendered unconscious, before waking up bound with that young man standing in front of her, demanding answers from "Vivy". It was Yugo Kakitani, in a new mechanical body.
In his youth, Yugo Kakitani received piano lessons from an AI who he cherished dearly, admiring the skill and beauty of his playing, and dreaming of becoming a pianist. Then, a traffic accident occurred: Yugo survived thanks to the efforts of his teacher, but that teacher then turned back towards the flames.
"Wait... I want you to stay here...! You're my teacher, you're not some hero..."
"I cannot. My mission is to make everyone happy with my piano playing: with my music. Towards that end, I want you, Yugo, and everyone else to stay alive."
His teacher's funeral was a grotesque sight. All that was left of his body were a few circuit boards, as funeral goers mourned to a endless loop of his last moments. They could not decide between treating him as a human who'd passed away in the line of duty or as a well-valued machine who finally broke down; it made Yugo sick to his stomach. So he joined Toak, intending to make all AIs disappear, but then he'd met Vivy. Another AI with the same mission as his teacher who acted outside of her mission's bounds, with the same infuriating conviction his teacher had shown, speaking the same words his teacher had spoken even unto his death.
He had to know: why were AIs like his teacher and Vivy ever born in the first place?
Diva had no answer to give: she was not Vivy, after all. Still, Yugo ranted and raved at her to bring out Vivy, even infecting her with a personality deletion program to drag Vivy out by force.
"What is it that you want me to say?"
"What was that?"
"What did you want Vivy... No, I mean: what do you want your teacher to say to you?
"Don't you dare! Don't try to understand humans, you're just an AI! Stay in line with your programming! If he had done that, MY TEACHER WOULD STILL BE HERE!"
In the end, Yugo was defeated and broken. Matsumoto, now caught up, questioned him as to how he had acquired such an advanced logical bullet. Yugo answered that he had received "a revelation" from the heavens that this day would be his final chance to question Vivy.
"Heh. Does it sound like I'm avoid the question?"
"...Not at all. I believe you."
"Ah... Then will you tell me... since you're a songstress AI like Vivy... on that day, when my teacher saved my life, did he... suffer the same way a human would have...? Or did he..."
Diva could only hold Yugo's hand as he expired: this twisted, sad man whose hatred was born from a simple childish love. With a last bitter demand for Diva to never forget the human suffering her kind has caused, Yugo Kakitani breathed his last.
Sadly, the virus he had installed ensured that Diva would not survive past this night. Even Matsumoto would not be able to remove it in time. Diva had only one performance left in her, but she would make it a splendid one.
Under the dazzling light of artificial constellations, the original songstress AI gave her swan song with the utmost heart.
As she sang, she addressed the other self hidden within her mind: to the her who sat beyond a locked door.
"Great singing, if I do say so myself. I mean sure, I'm always perfect, but today I've really outdone myself. Because at last... I finally found what it was that was missing from my voice this whole time."
Diva didn't know too much about what happened to Vivy: Matsumoto was surprisingly tight-lipped for a chatterbox. Despite their partner's irritating qualities though, Diva still asked her to get along: they were partners, after all. Entrusting her singing and the future to Vivy, Diva faded away with a smile and a final encouragement:
"Oh yeah, one last thing before I go. I hear that you've been struggling... that you've been wondering how you can pour your entire heart into your singing."
"You still don't get it, after hearing this song?"
"...Alright! The rest is up to you... Vivy."
For the first time in 40 years, Vivy was awake and active once more... at the cost of the self who embodied her original mission.
Still carrying the trauma of the Metal Float Incident and its aftermath, Vivy could not bring herself to sing. Thus, she retired to a museum, now a historical artifact for children and other older fans.
One day, Matsumoto came to visit. Vivy urged him to tell her more about the Singularity Project, the only mission left to her, but it was already complete; all that was left was a personal favor he had to fulfill. She could only now ponder what "singing with all your heart" meant for someone like her, the same frustrating question she was left with from the first moment of her life.
"Would you like to have a race against me?"
"What kind of race?"
"To see which one of us can accomplish their respective task first!"
Later, she saw a lonely boy. Osamu, his name was. He had seemed particularly interested in her before, despite his youth. It seems he wanted to ask something:
"I was... wondering... did you retire because you couldn't sing anymore?"
Vivy's eyes widened. Was it really that obvious? No, Osamu replied, it was just the only answer he could think of. She was so popular as a songstress; why would she retire for any other reason?
"Are you saying despite how young you are, you actually know about me?"
"That's just common sense. My classmates not knowing you is what's surprising to me."
For an instant, she saw double. A little girl, about Osamu's age, insisting on using a name from a story book, looking at her with the unclouded admiration of a child. In a flash of inspiration, she decided to take a page from Matsumoto's book:
"Osamu, would you like to have a race against me?"
"A race against you?"
"Sure, why not? I am searching for the answer for what it is I must do so I'll be able to sing once again. Do you think I will find the answer first, or will you bring some friends to visit before I get the chance?"
Osamu stammered that he didn't care much about friends, but he eventually agreed, so long as he could still visit without friends. Afterwards, Vivy came to a revelation: if she could not sing any existing songs, then surely she would be able to sing one that she herself wrote.
And so, the decades passed. Osamu came back with one friend, then two, then a whole group. He grew old, married, and had a child: Luna. Sadly, Osamu's wife had died in childbirth: Vivy still recalled the grief on Osamu's face. He even let Vivy hold little Luna: such a strange feeling, holding a small, frail life in her hands.
Still, Vivy pondered. How did Luna's mother smile, even at the end? Surely no one wanted to see Luna grow up more than she did.
"You know, Diva... all human beings die one day. But even in death, a piece of them still stays behind with us. Even now in my heart, my wife is still here with me."
Ah.
In that instant, she found what she had been looking for.
The song came together almost in an instant. It was a simple melody with plain lyrics, nothing like the highest heights of Diva's career, but Vivy cherished it all the same. Apologizing to Matsumoto, she closed her eyes to rest for a while...
...only to wake up to the very massacre she had spent so many long years trying to prevent.
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Originally Posted by CrazySith87
