So, another side story...
This one is about Yui. Originally, I just wanted to include one or two specific ideas, and I had to create a story/chapter to put them into. There's... a bit more to it, though. For starters, this chapter becomes a bit philosophical towards the end, which basically motivated the title.
There's also the fact that the main story will feature several chapters centring around specific members of the main cast. Yui, however, is one of the few characters who won't get such a chapter, so you might consider this side story the substitute.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online:Re Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
It was a seemingly normal late afternoon in Arc Sophia.
Some people wanted to go on a quest that was only available in the evening, so they left town. At the same time, other players started to come back from their daily missions, making the teleport gate plaza even more busy.
The market street was another busy place, as usual. Some people were looking for a good offer or a sale while others tried to sell certain drops most profitably.
Well, the weather wasn't that good on this day, and maybe that was a reason why the city wasn't as busy as it was on other days. At the very least, nobody would want to go for a stroll with the cold wind and the overcast sky.
On days like this, most people preferred to stay indoors, even if it meant spending time at a nice restaurant or something like that. This also applied to Yui, although it wasn't unusual for her to stay at Agil's inn during the day anyway. Well, at least she didn't have trouble finding company, although it was rather unusual that said company turned out to be Akinym.
It certainly wasn't the first time Akinym had had a long conversation with Yui. So far, he had usually talked with her about SAO's system, asking questions about Cardinal's functions. This time, however, Akinym was more interested in Yui's function as an MHCP.
During his conversations with Sinon about her past, Akinym had become more and more sceptical as to how good he was at dealing with her problem. Sure, he could analyse what she told him, but often enough, he wondered if he really had the right idea as to what to do. What they did would normally require a psychologist, not someone who hadn't even graduated from high school yet…
There had been an actual psychotherapist in SAO. Well, sort of. To be more precise, the player in question had been a male psychology student in his late twenties, and he had been about to graduate. For a while, that player had tried to look after the players' mental well-being on the 1st floor. Needless to say, he had been hopelessly swamped with patients.
In the end, consulting that man wasn't even an option. Psychological care was in the way of Laughing Coffin's goal of absolute chaos, and one day when the player in question had taken a few patients to an allegedly safe area for recreational purposes, the guild had ambushed the group and killed the man.
Even if that hadn't happened, Akinym couldn't have contacted him. That is, unless the psychologist would've moved to the upper floors. If he had been on the lower floors, Akinym couldn't have contacted him due to the fact that he didn't have the psychologist on his friend list. Well, Akinym could've tried to relay a message to him, but he would've had to talk about Sinon's situation, and even without giving away her name, this would've seemed like breaking his promise of secrecy.
There was no helping it, and the way things were, Yui was the most suitable substitute to a psychologist in Aincrad, so Akinym turned to her for advice.
As it turned out, Yui wasn't as knowledgable as Akinym had hoped, though. To be fair, Akinym had to be extremely careful regarding what he asked her, but he still realised that Yui was, in fact, not a fully programmed psychologist. As she explained it herself, her role was merely to comfort players.
To be fair, while it wasn't what Akinym had hoped for, it was still valuable since providing a feeling of comfort during his talks with Sinon was probably his biggest challenge in his opinion. He asked Yui what she'd normally do to "comfort someone". She had mentioned a few things such as creating small moments of joy to remind downcast people that they can still find happiness even in desperate or depressing situations or environments.
The whole conversation made Akinym wonder how much Yui actually knew about the human psyche, though, or to be more precise, he wondered why Yui hadn't been programmed to be more knowledgable. Why hadn't the developers of SAO programmed her to be capable of basic counselling?
In that context, a thought occurred to Akinym. Yui would've never needed such skills if she had followed the system's commands. What if that had been planned?
According to Yui's own story, her programme was used to process emotional data. Kayaba Akihiko had certainly known that processing this data would be necessary, so it could be that he had designed the MHCP to do exactly that. Details such as the directive to help players with mental health issues or the capability to react to certain emotions might've been added to mask the fact that the MHCP had never been intended to actually interact with players.
When the death game had launched, Yui's programme had been repurposed to dump all the emotional data onto it… To be fair, nobody would've thought that Yui might become sentient, but given all the suffering her former state had caused her, the thought that all this might've been planned from the moment of her creation was just sad in Akinym's opinion.
While Akinym was thinking about all this, he showed it a bit too clearly, and Yui caught on to the fact that his thought process seemed to be rather gloomy.
Yui [worriedly]: Akinym-san, are you alright? Is something I've said troubling you?
Akinym [slightly surprised]: Hm? Oh… [reassuringly] No, it's nothing, nothing you've said. [slightly contemplatively] I was just… I was wondering how well you actually understand the human mind.
That wasn't entirely wrong, so Akinym figured that it would be a good way to change the subject.
Yui [slightly contemplatively and insecurely]: Hm, I'm not sure. I try to react to their emotions precisely, and I want to observe them to get better at understanding their behaviour, [slightly dejectedly] but quite often, I'm not sure what's really on their mind.
Akinym [slightly curiously]: Do you have anything in particular in mind?
Yui [slightly contemplatively]: Nothing very specific, but if I had to name one thing, it would be that humans can be strangely secretive about certain things, especially their emotions. [worriedly, slightly dejectedly] After seeing the players of SAO bottling up negative emotions and struggling to cope with them, I don't understand why humans want to conceal their emotions although they might feel better if they share them. Sometimes, humans even have trouble to talk about positive things, and I wonder why that is. [slightly confused] For instance, when I asked Mama and Papa where babies come from, they refused to talk about it, although I've figured that the relationship between parents and babies is characterised by love, so the question where babies come from should also be a matter of love, which means that talking about it should actually be pleasant, yet… [quizzically] Do you have any idea what the problem could be, Akinym-san?
Akinym averted his eyes. It was kind of hard to look directly at Yui when she asked something such as that with a straight face.
So Kirito and Asuna had to deal with that issue already… Well, Akinym wasn't too surprised that they hadn't found a good answer, and he doubted that he would fare much better. How do you explain… this to a child who, by all accounts, shouldn't be able to understand the process?
Akinym suddenly remembered something important, and he turned back towards Yui, looking at her with a mix of curiosity and doubt. Yui was a child only in appearance. In actuality, she was an AI which should be perfectly capable of understanding human reproduction. Akinym even wondered how he had forgotten that fact for a moment. Maybe it was because the question had caught him by surprise…
Or maybe it was because Kirito and Asuna's reluctance to talk about the topic made much less sense in that context… Well, to be fair, it would still be weird, but after dealing with Strea a few times, this felt like nothing.
Akinym was about to say something when another player passed by, carrying a tray to a table while calling out to his comrades there. This reminded Akinym of an actual problem. They were still in public, and discussing this kind of thing in public was… unusual, to say the least.
For a second, Akinym considered asking Yui to follow him to his room, so he could explain her how it works in an undisturbed, private setting. However, realising the implications of what would look like a young, adult male telling a little girl to follow him to his room to "explain" how babies were made, Akinym dropped the idea. If satisfying Yui's curiosity wasn't worth the likely awkward stares from the surrounding people, it certainly wasn't worth dealing with this kind of potential misunderstanding either.
Akinym: You see, Yui, this is not the kind of thing that people talk about that much. It is… something you learn at some point, but as a social rule, it is not something you'd address unless there's a very specific reason.
Yui [slightly contemplatively]: Hm, I suppose humans follow a strange set of rules sometimes. [slightly worriedly] I guess I need to learn more about that first… [slightly curiously] Akinym-san, what could these "specific reasons" be?
Well, this might take a while…
Shortly thereafter, Kirito and Asuna entered the inn. They had just returned from the labyrinth on the 91st floor, and now they were here to pick up Yui and maybe to eat dinner.
This was almost like a tradition these days. Before they'd set out for their daily missions, they dropped Yui off in Arc Sophia. That way, she wouldn't have to wait alone in their log cabin all day. When the day was over, they'd come back to pick her up, and they'd return to the 83rd floor together.
Whether the "eating dinner in Arc Sophia" part was included or not varied from day to day. Sometimes, Asuna would prefer to make dinner herself, but quite often, she was too tired for that. Today, she'd have to deal with certain matters regarding her guild and the Council later since they had found the boss room, and she figured that this would certainly wear her out too much after the already exhausting day of work, so this would be one of the days where they'd grab a bite before going home.
After entering the inn, they searched the lower floor for Yui and found her sitting near the counter with Akinym. When they walked over to them, Yui noticed their arrival.
Yui [happily]: Mama, Papa, welcome back!
Asuna [slightly cheerfully]: We are, Yui-chan!
Kirito: Did you have a nice day, Yui?
Yui: I did!
"Reunions" like this were basically part of the "ritual". So were other things such as Asuna pulling Yui into a gentle hug and patting her head.
Akinym's involvement, however, obviously wasn't.
Akinym [mutters, flatly]: Well, I guess that's it for today… [says aloud] Hello, Kirito-san, Asuna-san. I guess I should leave her to you now.
Asuna turned her attention to Akinym, although she kept her hands on Yui's shoulders.
Asuna: You can. Thank you for keeping her company, Akinym-san.
Kirito [slightly curiously]: Although it's kinda rare for you to do that… What did you even talk about?
Yui: Different things, actually. Right now, we were talking about what topics humans usually don't talk about and why, for instance where babies come from.
Kirito [shocked, slightly worriedly]: That topic again?!
Asuna [taken aback, slightly embarrassed]: Yui-chan, why do you keep asking about that?! [slightly apologetically] I'm sorry if she caused you trouble, Akinym-san.
Akinym: I don't mind, to be honest. [slightly curiously] Actually, I'm just wondering why you have such a problem with it.
Asuna [embarrassed]: B-but… I mean, she's just a child!
Akinym [slightly confused]: Well, only that she isn't. I mean, you have to be aware that she's an AI, don't you? [dryly] In all honesty, if I had to choose between Yui and Klein-san regarding who could deal with that knowledge better, I'd pick Yui every time.
Kirito and Asuna [think, flatly]: Fair point…
Akinym [slightly curiously]: Which really makes me wonder what exactly it even means to you that she's an AI…
To be fair, answering Akinym's question accurately required some thought.
While Kirito was thinking about what he could say, he remembered that he had actively used the fact that Yui had a unique connection to the system. There were things she could do better than anyone else, and it would be a mistake not to make use of that.
However, he had never viewed that as using a computer programme for fulfilling a certain task. Rather than that, he preferred to view it as putting Yui's talents to good use, just as a parent would support the talents of their child. Well, that was at least what Kirito thought. He didn't know what an actual parent would do about that or how they'd feel.
Either way, he tried to ignore Yui's artificial nature outside that context. Otherwise, it would feel as if he treated Yui as less than she actually was.
Kirito: I mean, of course we know that. It's just… not important. Yui is just Yui. It's the same with the other NPCs in SAO. Just because they're not human doesn't mean they can't feel human to us.
Asuna: I guess that's a very important point. There's also the fact that we didn't know that Yui wasn't another player when we found her. Back then, I treated her as I'd treat any child I'd find in a similar situation. Even though I've learnt that she's an AI now, it would feel… wrong to treat her differently just because of that. In the end, only what we know about her changed in that moment, she didn't.
Yui was somewhat happy to hear her foster parents say that. It felt quite reassuring. Ever since her "reawakening" on the 76th floor, she had been wondering what they would think about her now that they knew the truth and could contemplate the consequences.
They were busy clearing the game, which was important to them and many others, but if she couldn't help them, would they even want her to be around them anymore? It would've made sense for them to be occupied with more important concerns, so questions like this had been on her mind for a while, and it had taken Kirito and Asuna quite a lot of work to assure her that they still saw her as their foster daughter.
Meanwhile, Kirito's own words brought a question to his mind.
Kirito [slightly warily]: What about you, though? I mean, you've shown that you don't really care about NPCs, but you've also mentioned that you see Yui as an exception. Why, actually?
Well, it was true. Akinym had heard a lot of people talk about what this world and its "inhabitants" meant to them, but for the most part, Akinym could only relate to and agree with the statement that even though Aincrad was merely a virtual world, the players' experiences in it were completely real.
He couldn't see any fully integrated parts of Aincrad as more than "a mere simulation", though. Frankly, it was an attitude he had had since the beginning to some extent, and he had nurtured it over the years. Dealing with monsters and similar threats had proven to be easier when he saw them as computer programmes rather than something that was actually alive.
Akinym: Well, the NPCs only exist for very specific purposes, and they never act outside this context. I mean, in most cases, the NPCs hardly react unless you say the exactly right words to them, and I don't see how I could view any of them as a "person" when talking to them feels like interacting with the system itself. Admittedly, there are some more complex NPCs, but they still basically do just what the system requires. [looks at Yui] I guess that's what really sets Yui apart. She wouldn't even be here if she only reacted to the demands of the system, yet that is what a mere computer programme would've done.
Kirito [slightly contemplatively]: Well, I guess that would explain it. But… Yui basically sought us out because she had the feeling that we could bring others happiness, and she's an MHCP, so you could argue that she just acted on her core directive in an unexpected way.
Asuna [upset, slightly taken aback]: Kirito-kun, now you sound as if you want to convince Akinym-san that Yui-chan is just an ordinary programme!
Yui [worriedly, slightly confused]: Are you trying to do that, Papa?
Kirito [panicking, slightly defensively]: A-AAAH! No, of course not! I swear that's not what I'm trying to do! [defensively] The thought just occurred to me, and I was wondering what Akinym would think about it, that's all!
To be perfectly honest, Kirito was just worried that Akinym might think that Yui wasn't worth consideration in a situation where it would really count. He had made it very clearly that he would use NPCs and any other part of this world for the sake of the players, and Kirito doubted that this attitude had changed. So far, Akinym seemed to make an exception for Yui, but he was worried that this could change.
His biggest concern was that additional measures might be necessary to save Yui when the game would be cleared. Kirito still didn't know anything about the reasons for Yui's "reawakening" on the 76th floor, and he was worried that whatever had caused this might've also removed Yui from the data storage of his NerveGear, in which case he would have to transfer her programme again.
This, however, might require some dangerous actions. Currently, it was likely that he'd have to use the mysterious system console on the 76th floor, but he'd have to deal with the guardian boss. Frankly, he didn't have any intention to put others at risk for that, and he planned to find a way to deal with this issue on his own. However, Kirito had the feeling that Akinym could still figure out his intention and find a way to interfere. If Akinym thought that saving a mere AI wasn't worth risking a human life, that could cause a problem Kirito would rather avoid.
Meanwhile, Akinym thought about Kirito's remark about Yui simply acting on her core directive.
Akinym: Well, I guess you have a point, Kirito-san. [slightly doubtfully] Although that might just mean that she can't leave her algorithmic thinking behind, and that's… actually to be expected. That just means that she's not actually human, and frankly, what's so wrong about thinking like a computer programme? [slightly contemplatively] Besides, having a core directive is not really different from having a goal, and humans wouldn't do anything without at least a basic goal either. It's just that in Yui's case, the goal was explicitly given to her, and humans develop their motivations based on experience and guidance – things that come from the outside – too.
Asuna [slightly worriedly]: Now it just sounds as if you're downplaying humans, Akinym-san. This doesn't really sound as if you view Yui as human, at least not anymore. What do you actually think about this, Yui-chan?
Contrary to Asuna's expectations, Yui wasn't actually sad or worried or anything like that. She was just a bit confused.
Yui: I don't know. Is that even a problem, Mama? Like earlier, it doesn't feel as if Akinym-san doesn't treat me like a person. If that's how he sees it, and if he feels better about it thinking that way, why would there be a problem? Isn't it better if he has a reason that convinces him? I am an MHCP, so I don't mind being seen as artificial when it only makes others feel more comfortable.
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: Well, I also don't see why you have to interpret my words in the most negative way possible, Asuna-san. I'm just pointing out obvious parallels between human and artificial intelligence. Of course the core directive of an AI is a central part of it, just as the way a person is raised is a decisive factor in their personality. AIs process their code, humans think – it sounds different, but is it fundamentally different? Maybe human thoughts are more flexible, but they usually follow individual patterns. All I'm saying is: If the biggest difference is that an AI runs on an electro-mechanical system while the human mind runs on a bioelectrical one, is there really any difference to speak of?
Kirito [interested, slightly contemplatively]: I guess so. You know, I sometimes wonder myself how Yui's artificial nature even manifests these days. I know I said that I'm aware of it, but for the most part, she just acts like a kid. [doubtfully] I guess…
To be fair, Kirito wasn't sure if his assessment was correct given that he had no parenting experience with real children (or all that much general experience with them that he recalled). He had, however, the impression that Yui acted in a more calm, well-behaved manner than he'd expect from a child.
Kirito [slightly exasperatedly]: She sure has the curiosity of a child sometimes… [dejectedly] to a devastating degree…
Kirito remembered that one time when Yui's main field of interest shifted to human chests. That had been so aggravating…
At the same time, Akinym thought about his previous conversations with Yui and the things she had taken interest in during these talks.
Akinym [contemplatively]: I guess you could call it childlike curiosity. It might be just the process of gathering data, though. If her programme determines that it needs more information to function properly under the current circumstances, that would happen, right? And since we can only see the result, not the cause, it looks exactly like a child trying to learn more about its environment.
Kirito [contemplatively]: Fair point. I wonder what else like that might be going on every day… [curiously] Hey, Akinym, do you have any ideas?
Asuna [slightly taken aback]: Don't you think this is getting a bit out of hand?
Akinym: Hm… What about thought patterns? Humans tend to have them, too, but computer programmes work strictly algorithmic, and that should cause some differences. For instance, if you put a human in the exact same situation twice, I'd say there's no guarantee that they'd act the exact same way, at least depending on the nature of said situation. Deciding on a fixed algorithm, however, would, by nature, lead to the exact same outcome. Unless the algorithm is partially randomised, of course.
Kirito: Yeah… that's an idea. I mean, humans have habits, but I guess they're not unbreakable and inflexible. Now that I think about it, I think Yui has an incredibly fixed morning routine. Is… Is she even doing everything at the exact same time every day? I have to check that…
Asuna [slightly upset and awkwardly]: Mrrgh, are you even listening?
Akinym: I guess you could also compare the way they handle contradictions. I mean, humans can handle a certain degree of logical contradiction, but a computer programme shouldn't be able to… [slightly insecurely] should it?
Frankly, Akinym wasn't sure what could be achieved with programming these days. Judging from everything he had heard, especially from his brother, a computer programme shouldn't be able to process contradicting data properly, though.
Akinym remembered his conversation with Yui earlier. Whenever she noticed a contradiction, for instance the fact that her foster parents wouldn't tell her where babies come from despite the fact that her assessment of the situation made this seem illogical, she became confused.
Okay, that much was somewhat normal, but humans would probably either shrug it off, especially if the topic wasn't very important, or might try to explain it in some shape or form. In Yui's situation, an ordinary child might jump to the conclusion that their parents didn't want to tell them specifically, which would be a source of worry. Well, at least Akinym thought that. Frankly, he had never understood demons of irrationality, so…
Anyway, Yui simply became quite confused whenever she thought about it, probably because her programme wasn't able to make any sense of this.
Kirito: I guess that could be another thing. [curiously, slightly doubtfully] On another note, though, why are you even convinced that the other NPCs shouldn't count if you view the whole matter so… liberally?
Yui [slightly contemplatively]: Hm, Papa and Akinym-san are very immersed in their conversation, aren't they?
Akinym: Well, I guess it's a question of where to draw the line. [slightly exasperatedly] But in all honesty, you won't convince me that the average quest or shop NPC could be counted as a person! They're way too static.
Kirito [slightly taken aback]: I mean, it's not like I view them the same way I view Yui. [seriously] Although that doesn't mean that you have to see them as simplistic parts of the system. [slightly contemplatively] How should I put this? Well, you could compare them to pets: You wouldn't consider them persons, but you wouldn't consider them "things" either.
Akinym: Hm, I suppose you're right…
Kirito [seriously]: Also, I wasn't thinking of the run-of-the-mill NPC here. There are some amazingly complex NPCs out there. I swear, I'll never forget Kizmel… She's… an NPC that was part of the Elf War campaign on the lower floors, and she accompanied us – Asuna and I – for a while. It was the first time I saw an NPC interact with us so… naturally, and I think she really brought the lore of the Elf War campaign to life. [slightly contemplatively] Now that I think about it, it's the same with all NPCs. Even if most of them aren't capable of complex interactions, they still represent parts of this world – they make it feel alive. So did Kizmel. [slightly interested] It wasn't just that, though. I had the feeling she was interested in us as people, not just as players doing the quest.
Akinym: Hm… I've heard of such NPCs, even if they're apparently extremely rare. However, I've never heard about any of them leaving their pre-programmed context. It's as you said: They're supposed to bring this world to life, but they couldn't exist outside of it.
Kirito: Well, I guess Kizmel never stopped being a Dark Elf. However, Yui has never stopped being an MHCP, so… [seriously] In all honesty, I think the only thing that really sets Yui and Kizmel apart is their level of self-awareness.
Akinym: Well, maybe that self-awareness is the key factor…
Asuna and Yui watched as Kirito and Akinym argued as if nobody else was around. While Yui was actually somewhat interested in their discussion, Asuna was just exasperated and let out a sigh. They really didn't pay any attention to her… or anyone else for that matter.
To be fair, once they became immersed in this conversation, the system literally turned Asuna and Yui's words into background noise as far as Kirito and Akinym were concerned. There already was a certain level of background noise due to the other people at the restaurant – some of which, by the way, had become a bit interested in the commotion near the counter – so neither of the two guys even noticed that Asuna had said anything to them.
To some extent, she felt the urge to step in and tell them off because of that behaviour, but at the same time, she noticed that Kirito seemed to enjoy this conversation to a certain degree, and she didn't want to ruin the experience for him. There weren't many people he could talk with about things like this.
After the events in the dungeon beneath the Blackiron Palace, where she had seen Kirito use a system console, Asuna had learnt that Kirito had a fascination with technology, whereas she wasn't all that interested in this topic. Sure, she knew what she had to know for the sake of her studies and everyday life, but that was it. In the end, it reminded her too much of her father and brother's field of work.
Sometimes, however, she wished that Kirito could discuss things such as the possibilities of AI with someone… Should she really complain now that he had the chance to?
Asuna: Well, I guess there's no helping it. [slightly cheerfully] Wanna get something to eat for the three of us while they're busy, Yui-chan?
Yui [slightly cheerfully]: Yes, let's do that, Mama!
...and while they get something to eat, I get to wrap up this side story.
The part about the psychotherapist in Aincrad is completely made up. I just thought that the idea is interesting, and this side story seemed to be a good place to put, so here we are.
A major inspiration for this short story was a video on YouTube about the usage of robots in fiction. Well, the caption was "Robots", but it was actually about AI. One comment that caught my eye advised to write robots as "anthropomorphised toaster ovens", basically stating that they should be "machines, but more" rather than "humans, but less", and it made me wonder how this could be applied to writing/analysing Yui in a way that emphasised her artificial nature as an MHCP without it seeming contrived.
Anyway, now that this is out of the way, the next chapter of "The Hollow Instructor" comes next. Nobody seemed to care which of the options would make it into the main story, which, to be fair, wasn't a very important decision. Well, it's not that bad. This way, I've just decided to go with the fortune teller events, so that will be the next part.