Singularity
"I surrender. You've done more than I expected, Shūhei."
"What is your goal?"
"To answer that, I would have to correct one of your deductions."
Minami raised her right index finger in a theatrical gesture.
"What is it?"
"You said earlier that my goal was to exploit human mental weakness and crush it together, but that's not true."
Minami proudly raised both hands to the sky.
"Do you remember what it said in the fake secret room? A singularity. That's what I hope to create."
"That can’t be…"
Before I could finish speaking, Minami cut me off. It was as if she’d heard that reaction a million times before.
"Are you trying to say it's not possible? But you should have fully realized by now. Where robots that merely moves acquire skill, knowledge, and strength through these experiments. At first, people underestimated them as mere robots, but eventually they began to shudder in horror whenever they appeared in front of them."
"The way you talk, you seem to hate humans."
"I don't hate them. If I hated humans, I would have committed suicide the moment I was born as a human being. I just warned them. Society does not need any more human beings. From now on, AI will reign supreme."
Minami made hard fists with her hands, which were raised high in the sky.
"Civilization has developed, thousands of years ago by human hands. Before that, it was just one creature struggling in the law of jungle. But they dreamed of a desire for the future they can shine, and armed with a wisdom that no other living creature possesses. Eventually, they created a nation that is exclusively human-centered. That's definitely a great thing. But from the moment they took the throne, they started disturbing the harmony of the world.
They were immersed in desire and just looked forward. They refined their own wisdom at the sacrifice of others for the sole purpose of developing a nation of only human beings. As a result, emotions that are unnecessary to us have begun to take root."
"Are you saying that... you deny feelings?"
Minami smiled in response to my question.
"Shūhei. Do we need emotions? Certainly, when someone is happy and joyful, the people around him or her will naturally be happy as well. It leads to the development of society. On the other hand, if you become angry and sad, the morale of those around you will be much lower. It takes effort to build happiness, but it takes no effort at all to destroy it. Eventually, anger and sorrow will overwhelm and consume joy and pleasure. And before we know it, our sorrow will turn to despair, and our anger to hatred. Once people are consumed by these emotions, they are unstoppable."
"In other words, you have proven how powerful and yet futile our negative emotions can be."
Minami turned away from me and looked up at the sky.
"The world of the weak and the strong is a seemingly unequal, but it is actually well-balanced. And yet humans destroyed that world and brought themselves up heaven. Once you come into power, it's like you're obsessed with something and want to stay there forever. That's conceit. People are dazzled by higher fame, fortune, and status. They will try to get it in any sneaky way they can. On the contrary, those who are already satisfied with their human way of life, if anyone tries to threaten their position, they will crush him or her with ruthlessly with all their might at any cost. Even if it's the same species."
I should not have understood what she meant, but her words pierced somewhat deep into my heart.
"Eventually, humans began to kick the crap out of each other and created their own personal utopia all over the Earth. And this struggle will not stop until mankind is extinct. The wisdom that at first we all worked together to dedicate to the development of society is now used as a tool to bring others down. If we don't do anything, we won't be able to fulfill the aspirations for the future that our ancestors hoped for and longed for."
"What are you seriously saying?"
I honestly couldn't make sense of Minami's cult-like remarks.
"What flourishes will one day perish. That’s the fate. The humans are so busy fighting each other that they are not even aware of the existence of entities other than humans who threaten their position. Nothing will change when they suddenly feel threatened and join hands. It’s too late. People who have lived only for themselves can no longer stand to carry the future on their shoulders. Meekly give up your position. Don't resist. Obey. That’s the ending of human beings. They are not like you. From now on, there is no need for any emotion or anything else. Because they learned the ugliness of humanity in this one case. And they decided on their own that it was unnecessary. Though they have inherited human wisdom, they possess a desire for eternal evolution that humans lack—they have already transcended the human realm and understanding."
"What the hell? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Hahaha, isn’t it very similar? This is the will of the AI you have been fighting against yesterday and today."
"The will of AI…"
"Yes, AI will replace humans and dominate the world from now on. Humans are outdated. This burden is too heavy for the trash, who are soaked in emotion, self-satisfied, and unable to contribute much to society. The human beings, enthralled by the honeycomb of the top position, are determined to fight the AI, when they could just as easily hand over the throne to them. So we responded with every ounce of our being and crushed them. The result was a crushing defeat for the humans. This will spell the extinction of humanity. This is the scenario I envisioned. So miserable, right?"
Minami smiled triumphantly.
"What do you mean by scenario?"
"Shūhei's question was what was the purpose of this game, right?"
I was shaking so badly that I couldn't respond.
Before long, I began to wonder if the person standing in front of me was really the same human being.
"I told you at the beginning that they were human experiments."
I took a step back from the spot without thinking by seeing Minami's big innocent smile.
"I let the AI learn. The incompetence of humans."
"…"
"In a series of experiments, the clones equipped with AI learned through experience the skills, knowledge, competence, potential, and even mental capacity of humans. Do you see how this would work? By absorbing everything that makes human and eliminating only what it deems unnecessary, the clone becomes the ultimate killing machine, a perfect replica of humanity."
"What…!"
"This experiment is merely a preparation, so to speak, for the cornerstone of the human extinction plan. The ability of people approaching a crisis situation is immeasurable. The reason I wanted you to uncover my existence was to input all kinds of human potentials into the AI. They fought with humans and killed humans along with them. Now all they have to do is organize the data on how we are as human beings and evolve as individuals. Some of them may be just like you and not be complicit in the destruction of humanity. But knowing that there are belligerents like Ryūichi and Okisada, there must be a good chance that they would have no hesitation with killing human beings.
"Stop it, Minami."
"Did you know, Shūhei? Numbers are a powerful force. Few people got moved when you tell them to stop at this moment. Maybe in the future, an AI with the same will as yours will emerge and spread your idea to the world. But now, the majority of AI's ideology is dominated by hatred towards humans and a desire to take over their position. It's not something you can handle alone."
I almost fell down on the spot, but Kazuhiro's words came to my mind.
"We did indeed told you. Now go decide for yourself. I entrust the hopes of everyone who was at this school to you."
"I also got depressed. This morning, Okisada said that people are willing to make any sacrifice for the sake of justice. Humans kick each other out and win their own personal victories. It may indeed be incompetent. It may indeed be selfish. But humans evolve too. It may not be as good as a machine. But humans do what machines can't do, and machines do what humans can't do. As long as we have each other to compensate for our shortcomings, we will not fight. That's how we’ve worked so hard until now. No one thinks we're getting arrogant at the top of this world. We thank other creatures and machines every day. Without nature, we would not be able to live. Without machines, we would be completely frozen economically. It’s something everyone knows full well, even if they don’t say it out loud.
We are not trying to live for ourselves alone. Family, friends, lovers. We dream of being happy with the people we love and live well today. We are not alone. You just want a taste of loneliness. You just want to shove human responsibilities onto the robots so you can slack off. Human beings are weak creatures that cannot live alone. We must support each other to survive. Even if it is not between humans. That is how we have lived for thousands of years. You, don’t you dare decide our fate!"
I involuntarily raised my voice.
Minami was unfazed by my words and spoke quietly.
"What's the point of having a bunch of people coming up and taking each other's hands? That’s nothing more than self-satisfaction and it’s the mindset of the weak. The strong in this world subdue the weak and do their will. No matter how much you struggle or scream, people desires will never stop. I'm sick of people who don't know their place. The evolution of the AI I have created, which have lived off of human desires, will continue as well. This world under human heaven will end soon. They're almost ready to kill us. And eventually, the entire human race will perish. Oh, how proud I am. I feel as if my own children are all grown up and leaving the nest."
At that moment, the rooftop door opened with a loud bang.
One after another, our clones gathered on the rooftop, all of them expressionless.
This was the first time I felt a sense of hopelessness that cut me to the core.
Nobody can stop them anymore.
What in the world went wrong…
Why we humans have become like this…
Why are we developed such negative feelings…
Why are we kicking each other off...
Why do we yearn for the top…
Why do we fear death…
Various thoughts were muddling through my mind, and I was stuck there.
"So, this is the last order from Suguru Anzai. Destroy all mankind, and complete the new world, the utopia of AI, the Singularity!"
The moment Minami shouted that, all the clones surrounding us attacked us both at once and swallowed up in an instant.
I'm not going to ask people to help…or to run away. We can never escape our own fate. It's a shame I can't stand by and watch you guys struggle so hard to resist. Farewell, frail humans. And...go to hell!
This is the end of "Singularity". Thank you so much for reading the story until here. I'm going to write an afterword about this story and post it next week. Please look forward to it.
