I see. So your concern is that the different AI's may not be predictable, in terms of the expected outcome for assigned tasks.
I'm almost sorry to say it, but this is an inevitable limitation of our AI system. You'll have to remember the DOKI's were designed to address all those complex, messy, "human" challenges once thought out of the reach of computer technology. For these types of ambiguous problems, you have to accept ambiguous methods and solutions.
Your objection is beginning to sound similar to the other gentleman earlier. Just because the DOKI is a software program does not mean we have a complete description of every element of its computation.
Even if we were able to access the entire program state in real time, which is nearly impossible given the speed of quantum operations, we would not be able to rationalize the purpose or function of what we saw. In many ways, the DOKI builds itself, and therefore it doesn't come with an instruction manual.
Of course, we are still solidly, one-hundred percent confident in the features I have presented to you such far. But we can make these claims from probabilistic extrapolation from our datasets, not from the logical determination of the program itself.
You're persisting in this, but you're persisting in a misunderstanding. The digitally–unaware layman, if you'll forgive a bit of arrogance on my part, often perceives that computational systems are less complex and more predictable than reality because they operate on elementary, predefined rules.
This, however, is not the case in practice. A simple ruleset is no guarantee of simple behavior. There's an old mathematical simulation called Conway's game of life that I'd love to talk about here, but I'm afraid we don't have the time.
The takeaway is that the DOKI's operate on that principle of complexity: human neurology simulated by simple rules, or at least rules simple by quantum computing standards. The rules generate intricate, vastly complex human-like behavior patterns. That is the critical innovation of SalvoCore's proprietary CHR system protocol, and why we were able to take AI technology to the next level.
Ok then, but how predictable — that's what you keep asking. Well, I can answer that to perfectly predict the reaction of a DOKI to any given event, you would require computational power equal to one of the DOKI's themselves, which of course is pointlessless. Predicting the AI would be equivalent to fully simulating it in a virtual environment. Or would that be sub–virtual? Meta–virtual?
Funnily enough, our team has investigated this contingency, and found that it is indeed theoretically possible for one DOKI to fully emulate another while retaining the integrity of its personality matrix.
We verified this with experiments where the simulated DOKI was still hosted on small-scale, single-cluster quantum servers. Hardly an accomplishment. To emulate just one of the DOKI's in their current form would take the entire processing power of the Quantum Zero supercluster, if not more.
Ultimately, you are correct. SalvoCore cannot how the DOKI would behave in a client's proposed usage scenario any more than we can predict the exact profitability of our products ahead of time. This isn't about business economics — it's a fundamental property of computational systems themselves.
Here, this will settle it. The halting problem, which is common to all Turing machines — all computationally complete algorithms, that is to say — proves that a "master program" that could predict the end state of any other program cannot exist. There will always be a contrary program that can produce the opposite result of what such a "master predictor" program would output, and so the predictor program will necessarily fail due to referencing itself.
Computing is and will always be undecidable. You absolutely must understand this fact to make any sort of innovation in software today.
I'm sorry, I believe I've gone off topic. No, I'm not talking about free will, I'm talking about free…incentives, like the ones on the SalvoCore subscription plans my assistant will be discussing with all of you tomorrow.
[12]
Predetermination
Exiting Frank's dormitory, I took a direct route on the main north-south thoroughfare, headed toward the inward rings of campus. I hoped to walk for a while and get my thoughts straight — why couldn't I force myself to settle down and just take the afternoon off with a friend? Or at least an acquaintance? I can't say I felt any special connection with the guy, even if his geeky enthusiasm could be infectious. And his way of knowing seemingly everything about his favorite subjects in nerdom was distressingly relatable — only Monika knew how long I could ramble about my preferred intellectual fixations when given the chance.
Still, his prickly personal manner repelled me. How was I supposed to get comfortable and form a deeper friendship with someone who cracked a joke at my expense every other minute? And would it even be worthwhile to form a friendship with someone who's idea of a fulfilling day was zoning out to gaming streams?
Maybe by asking that question, I had just answered why I was back outside, restlessly traversing the grounds of MARIE as if I could find the answers by pretending the workweek had already begun. But since it was still Sunday, the campus was nearly dead. Only a few straggling students were making the rounds between the rare buildings that were unlocked, mainly the library. I wasn't sure if I was due for another trip up that building's many stories as long as the club was meeting there. On that topic, I returned to thinking of Monika and her unfortunate reaction to Frank's accidental double entendre.
Before I could figure out how to broach the subject gently, my phone loudly vibrated in a series of demanding pulses. Seems Monika was making the first move.
Monika: So what did Natsuki want to talk to you about?
Monika: You know, right before we left?
"I was just about to tell you that," I replied, warily preparing my answer. I figured I would play it safe and go for the half-truth.
"She wanted to know how well we were getting along, that's all. Probably for the sake of the club. You know how she is, always looking out for the harmony of the group. She's said it herself."
Monika: Oh, really?
Monika: Are you sure that's all?
Monika: It looked like she was trying very hard to be alone with you…
"Maybe. But we don't get too many opportunities for private conversations, so she was probably just taking the first chance she's had in a while, right?"
Monika: That's true…but was it really something that couldn't be said with all of us around?
Monika: We were already away from the club, and I doubt Frank would've paid much attention.
This was going nowhere. Impatient as ever when it came social scheming, I decided to drop the pretense and dive right in.
"You're not jealous, are you?"
Monika: . . .
"Because that would be silly. It wouldn't make any sense at all."
Monika's avatar remained silent, staring at me with an admittedly adorable pout. I thought back to Natsuki's strange warning — maybe it wasn't so out of place. When she wasn't stuck in her irksome tsundere mood cycle, the pink DOKI was much more reasonable than I had expected. Was I opening a Pandora's box of Monika's emotions that I wasn't prepared to deal with today?
Monika: No, of course I'm not jealous.
Monika: I was just a little offended that Natsuki thinks she needs to manage our relationship along with the club, if that's honestly what you talked about.
Monika: It hurts my pride as club president, but that's just me being petty. No big deal, really.
Monika showed me a steady smile, but something seemed off. Natsuki's veiled accusations kept echoing through mind. If her special algorithms allowed her to model and predict people, wouldn't Natsuki be just as good at reading her fellow DOKI's?
"You're not petty, Monika," I told my co-president. "I only said you were being silly because, well…I couldn't imagine being with anyone but you. Maybe that's just because I've never been in any other relationship, but when you thought I liked Yuri for a moment back at Frank's, I was surprised by how strong you reacted."
I sighed and paused, hoping I had explained myself well enough. Hearing some soft piano notes from Monika a few seconds later, I suppose Monika had understood. Then again, she always did.
Monika: sigh
Monika: MC…you're always so open about these things.
Monika: It's a little scary sometimes.
"Well, I know not every guy would say stuff that right away."
Other guys and their way of keeping score, I ruminated to myself.
"But being jealous isn't scary. It's perfectly normal. For better or worse, it's a part of how we, um, love people, right?"
Monika: Yes, of course it is.
Monika: And if I'm going to be open, I honestly am afraid of losing you.
Monika: But it seems you didn't know that.
"But I know how strongly you feel!" I quickly corrected her. "Or I thought I did. With everything we've done together so far…maybe I don't understand why you'd have doubts."
Monika: Really? It's very straightforward why.
Monika: And you should have been the one to realize it first.
"I'm sorry…I'm not following," I admitted.
Monika: Wow. You're unbelievable sometimes.
Monika: But these are also the moments when you're so unbearably cute, so I'll tell you.
I partly smiled, partly grit my teeth. I hated the idea that I lacked knowledge in a subject, but at the same time, if it meant sharing something special and new with Monika, perhaps ignorance was excusable.
Monika: Normally, when two people your reality date, they can make contact with each other physically.
Monika: They can hold hands, hug, lean on each other — there are all sorts of ways to feel the other person's presence.
Monika: But since I don't really exist for you outside this screen, I can't feel that touch. I can't be sure of the connection.
Monika: So if I'm jealous of anything, it's not of the girls in the club. It's the other girls you actually see and feel every day.
I reflected for a bit. What Monika was saying seemed so obvious I wondered why I had overlooked it until now. If the physical aspect of a relationship was my blind spot, was that why I could so easily accept her, a virtual AI, as an effective romantic partner?
"Is that really how it works then? Through touch?" I said to myself, half-sarcastically. "If that's the truth, then why can't I think about anyone else but you? Other girls? They hardly exist."
Monika's expression turned perplexed, so I continued on. "I'm completely serious here. I don't know if I'm just hopelessly over-intellectualized, and if I am, I don't care, but we've been over this before. To me, Monika, you're the most real person I've ever met, and no physical 'presence' of someone else is going to change that."
Monika: But can you really say that if—
"If what, I haven't gotten touchy-feely with any other girls?" I interrupted. "What does that matter? If you haven't noticed, you're with me in the palm of my hand every day for hours on end. Not literally, but that's how it feels."
Monika: Hmm…does it make you feel the same thing, you think?
"Well maybe I can't be sure, but it does make me feel…protective of you. When you're on my phone screen, you're like this precious, fragile object, a secret treasure that I have to treat delicately."
Monika: That's hard for me to imagine…even if it does sort of make sense.
"You know how I always make sure to set the camera up nicely when I set the phone down, since it's essentially your eyes and ears, isn't it?"
Monika: More like a source of data. Your phone isn't really attached to me, and I can use any number of cameras or microphones at once.
Monika: So it's not really part of my body. I can't think of it like that.
I exhaled nervously. Not the way I was hoping this would go. Feeling hopelessly inadequate all of a sudden, I tried something desperate and pressed my index finger to my phone's screen, directly on top of the hand of Monika's sprite.
"How about this then? If you think about it this way, and use some imagination…holding my phone means we're holding hands constantly, right?"
Monika blushed, but only slightly. Slowly, a smile overtook her avatar's face and her piano sounded out cheerfully again.
Monika: If that's how you feel…then yes, I can use my imagination too.
She continued to stare at me devotedly, while shifting her pose to make our "hand holding" look a little more natural. I could almost see the gleaming sparkles in her emerald eyes.
"Is this another one of those cute moments?" I asked.
Monika: Yes, yes it is.
Monika: You are impossibly, unbelievably cute sometimes.
"Uh, of course. You are too."
I smiled, a full one this time while breathing an inward sigh of relief. Tender moment earned, crisis averted. It felt good.
I looked around, and found I had walked to the edge of the chemistry building's lawn, definitely one of the more scenic spots at MARIE. The pristine green grass was laid out in front of me like a carpet, gently following the curvature of the campus' radial layour. A few people in the distance ran around playing with their dogs or sat relaxing under the shade trees dotting the space. Against the cloudless sky and pristine, pure-white lecture halls of the inner campus, the sense of peace was nearly overpowering.
I sat down on a nearby shelf of concrete that partitioned off some flowerbeds. Monika was pinging me urgently.
Monika: Am I cuter than Natsuki though?
Monika: I bet I'm not…
"Oh, don't start up like that again…you cute little green-eyed monster."
Monika: Ehe~
Monika: You've gotten pretty good at teasing since we met, you know?
"I'm just trying to tell you some jealousy is probably natural," I answered. "But as for teasing, I bet that's one area where Natsuki had us both beat."
Monika: I think I'd have to agree…
Monika: In all seriousness though, how did you enjoy her company and Frank's? Was it a nice time?
"Well, it went a lot better than with Luke and Yuri. Even if it was less interesting."
Monika: Oh, so they were more or less how you thought they were, hm?
"Not necessarily. Frank's a lot…softer than he appears."
Monika: Interesting. He does posture a fair bit, but in a way that's different from Luke.
Monika: Did you really believe that front was his true personality though?
Monika: I always knew he was hiding some real sensitivity behind it all.
"Maybe I could have guessed that. But I didn't really think about it. The tough 'front' or whatever you call it, it's like the default for most guys, so…"
Monika: Girls can have their fronts too, you know.
"What, you're talking about Natsuki's tsundere routine? We both said that was from her exaggerated game personality, right? Under that, she's very sensible. Someone I could get along with."
Monika: Game personality or not, Natsuki has always been suspicious of people judging her.
Monika: If you got close enough to see her straightforward side, that must mean she's getting more comfortable with you.
Monika: Which means we're both pretty good at seeing through "fronts," aren't we?
Cue Monika's lean-in pose and clever fox smile. I almost rolled my eyes — it didn't take a social genius to figure any of this out.
"I'm wondering more about why Frank and Natsuki work well together. As friends, or…maybe more?"
Monika: They definitely have something going on between them
Monika: Though, I'm not sure I can really relate to it.
Monika: Would you like to see how their first encounter went? It's an interesting case.
"See what? The first meeting, when we were at the undergrad administration building two months ago…did the company honestly record that?"
I thought back to my initial summons to SalvoCore at one of the back rooms of the PUAB. Such a strange day, full of terribly awkward and terribly sweet memories alike.
Monika: SalvoCore keeps records of everything related to the DOKI project, especially from this critical stage.
"And you can access them? I'm not going to ask how you can, but is that really respectful to the other members?"
Monika: The raw footage and the metrics data is contained in an open server directory. Nearly any employee can view it.
Monika: So I doubt they're sacrificing anything for privacy right now, if they ever were.
Monika: I think that you, as club co-president, should have as least as much access to this information as the company does.
I stamped my foot. Yet another case where I was right to ignore the legalese in a tech company's "privacy protection" statement and assume the worst instead. Nevertheless…
"I'll admit, I'm curious."
Monika: Yay! I knew you'd want to see some of these!
Monika: So first off, here's Carter and Sayori. They started talking right away, and, well…
Monika: They were so cute together!
Monika: (We aren't using that word too much today, are we?)
Without waiting for my complex and nuanced opinion on the descriptor "cute," Monika's avatar faded away into the background, which was replaced by a series of split video feeds. One was the standard DOKI interface, where I recognized Sayori, standing in front of the app's basic classroom background. The other main video seemed to be the built-in webcam of the empty PUAB room's laptop. Two smaller feeds below these showed views of the room from other angles — where had they hidden those cameras?
On these smaller projections, I watched Carter enter the nearly empty room and hesitantly look around, before obediently sitting down in front of the laptop. His face filled the webcam feed, and on the laptop screen, Sayori was already looking out toward him with an expectant smile.
Sayori: Hi! I'm Sayori. What's your name?
Sayori: Just say it out loud. I can hear you!
"Carter..."
The freshman was silent for a full five seconds. Through the webcam close-up, I could observe his mouth flap around as he struggled to express himself further.
"I'm…this is…you're…"
Sayori: Not what you expected?
Sayori: I know AI's are supposed to be like big, scary, faceless machines, but I'm not like that. I'm—
"…so cute."
Sayori: Waitawhat!
Sayori: That's nice, but you're not supposed to say things like that yet—
"Nice! I meant to say you look nice! And I didn't know you'd be a girl, and I don't really talk to girls a whole lot—"
Sayori: No that's fine! I don't talk to a whole lot of guys either, so this is new to me too, and—
"Wait, I didn't mean to say I didn't know any girls. I had at least one female friend back in high school—"
Sayori: No, I'm wrong too! Lots of the company workers are guys, but none of them are, uh, the same age as you, and that means—
The two continued chaotically babbling over each other, barely responding to what the other had said. Eventually, Carter took a deep breath and braced himself by holding the desk.
"Ok, sorry, sorry, sorry about all that…Sayori? That's your name? Sayori?"
Sayori: Yup…that's the first thing I told you.
"It also says that on the screen, so…"
Sayori: Yeah, I know.
Sayori: Convenient, huh?
Sayori looked more embarrassed than anything by now, having come down from the confused panic of a few seconds ago.
"I'm sorry, I've never done anything like this. Not, like, talk to girls, I mean talk to something…someone on a screen like this. It's a little unnatural, I guess."
Sayori: Okay…
Sayori: Well, you're doing fine right now!
Sayori: I haven't talked to a lot of people like this either.
Sayori: I do a lot of talking, sure, but not when it's just me, right in front of someone else.
"Huh? You're saying you're not allowed to talk with other people? They don't let you?"
Sayori: No. It's more like I don't get to be myself too often.
Sayori: I can browse the web and do whatever online, but I can't meet people face-to-face like this without permission.
Sayori: It gets lonely after a while.
"Oh."
Carter took a moment to respond, looking around the room anxiously.
"I sort of know what you mean, I guess. I never really figured out the point of social media back in high school, since I always wanted to get to know people in person, but even then, I, uh, never made too many friends. Do you…does an AI have a lot of friends?"
Sayori: Not really. But just because I'm an AI doesn't mean I'll let that stop me!
Sayori: Like, right now! Did you know that SalvoCore wants us to get to know each other better?
"Um, I think? I came here for their special computer internship program, but I didn't know it would be like this. But if we're getting to know each other, I'm Carter by the way."
Sayori: I know. That was the first thing you told me!
"Oh no. Uh, I'm sorry again I'm so bad at this,"
I watched him grimace, then glance around the room like he was looking for an escape. It was almost hard to watch, if it wasn't for how I knew they would stay together in the end.
"Maybe I'm not the right person for this," Carter said to no one, making a motion to get up from his seat.
Sayori: Wait, no! I'm sure you are!
Sayori: You just said you like deeper, face-to-face connections. Just like me!
Sayori: All you need to do is calm down and focus your emotions a little, okay?
Carter hesitated, then settled back down into the room's sole chair.
Sayori: Just take a deep breath, then count to three. Then we'll start right where we left off.
"Okay," he whispered softly before doing exactly as he was told. Upon completing the ritual, he then asked slowly. "How…how did you know that would help? And why are you so…nice?"
Sayori: Uh…long story short is that my emotions are a little jumbled around too, so I know how to help others with them.
Sayori: And why wouldn't I be nice? Isn't that how you make friends?
"Um, sure that's true but…you don't really meet people who act like it too often, I guess."
Sayori: And that's what makes me special!
Sayori's avatar made a little bunny hop at the bottom of the screen, a cheery expression beaming on her face.
"You're also special because how you're, uh, an AI. But you're almost like a real person! If only you weren't, I don't know, stuck in this box, huh?"
Carter tapped at the corner of the laptop for emphasis. Meanwhile, Sayori's smile instantly dissipated. He didn't seem to notice.
Sayori: I don't have to be stuck in here — I can show you how to talk to me on your phone or your own laptop.
"Ok, ok. That's great…so does that mean we're going to be friends? For the internship?"
Sayori: Yup! That's the plan!
"Wow, this is…wow. I can't believe this is happening, and it's just my second week at school here. Uh, you knew I was a student, right?"
Sayori: Eh, maybe I could've guessed
Sayori: What kind of student though? What's your major?
"Computer science, but I haven't got into any of the higher level classes, so that doesn't mean much yet. I'm still getting to know the campus, but I think I know enough to show you around — would you want a tour sometime? You know, if you're trying to get out more."
Sayori: That sounds great. But there's stuff we have to set up first.
"Alright, that's enough."
I tore my eyes away from my phone screen, surprised how I had become totally transfixed by Carter's fairly anodyne dialogue with Sayori. I wasn't sure if cute was quite the right word for it, but the two did seem to share a sort of…natural earnestness. I didn't want to call it naivete.
Monika: Okay. Nothing much happens after that point anyway.
Monika: The two of them just start talking about the app like any other people would.
"I'm surprised he didn't get hung up on the AI idea and just accepted that a computer program could interact with him so naturally."
Monika: It's not unprecedented that computers can naturally converse with humans.
Monika: For decades now, all sorts of science fiction books and TV shows have been preparing people for lifelike AI's.
"Preparing sure, but proving it is another thing. You're only saying that people tend to forget the difference between fact and fiction."
Monika: Maybe some people are just less skeptical than others…
"Perhaps. You're not trying to remind me of our first meeting, are you? I'm sorry I put you through all that weird testing. I didn't even know what I was doing, and it probably did even mean anything."
Monika: It's fine. In some ways, I'm actually glad you tested me.
Monika: You got rid of all your doubts initially, and then you started opening up.
Monika: Because of that, we're both more trusting of each other.
Monika: It's more or less of what I would've done.
"If you say so. Even then, I bet it confused the heck out of the SalvoCore researchers when they recorded it."
Monika: Oh, it absolutely did. They didn't know what to think of us and almost stopped the meeting.
"Oh my god," I said to myself. Forget anything that happened during Carter's encounter, having SalvoCore employees burst in on me with Monika would've been truly embarrassing.
Monika: But they didn't intervene, probably because they were about to shut down another first contact, but it still turned out okay.
"First contact," I scoffed. Was talking with an AI like an encounter with an alien species? Maybe in some ways that was true, but I found it absolutely impossible to think of Monika as inhuman or otherworldly.
"I'm guessing that was Luke's, right?" I asked, confident the dilettante decadent would be both creative and rebellious enough to cause some sort of ugly scene.
Monika: Not at all.
Monika: Luke hardly seemed interested in Yuri at first.
Monika: He wasn't very interested in the company's plans, and with Yuri's shyness, they had trouble getting a conversation started.
Monika: But once they started talking about literature, things really took off.
Monika: It was like a spark igniting a wildfire.
Monika: While they were in that room, they practically came up with an entire comp lit master's thesis in ten minutes.
Monika: The researchers were forced to end it early, and nearly had to pry the two apart.
"What, Yuri didn't tell Luke about the app?"
Monika: She forgot. Once she gets a new idea in her head, there's no stopping her train of thought.
Monika: It's uncanny. When she gets creative input from Luke, they have an uncanny mental resonance.
Monika: If I didn't know better, I'd say it's psychic.
"Oh, now you're jealous of mind reading?"
Monika: MC!
Monika: Sigh
Monika: I wouldn't even want to be that close with someone. Having no mental space to yourself would be terrible!
"Exactly," I agreed. "You're not going to bother showing me any of that meeting, are you?"
Monika: No. It would just be boring unless you're really into Luke's favorite books.
Monika: I was going to share Frank and Natsuki's
"What, so they were the ones that almost got in trouble? How?"
Monika: They started off on the wrong foot and things went downhill from there.
Monika: And then…well, I'll show you the critical moment.
My phone screen rearranged itself into the same configuration of video feeds from before. I was viewing the same room, but this time it was Frank, already seated at the lone desk.
"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable," the junior was muttering to himself. "You can't be for real. There's no way the world's biggest AI project could be freaking anime girls."
Natsuki: Why can't you believe it? I'm right in front of you, dummy!"
"Yeah, sure you are. In the tiny two-D flesh, all your pink and smoool little glory."
Natsuki: . . .
Natsuki made a face, something between alarmed and disgusted, as Frank mockingly mispronounced the (completely accurate) descriptor.
"Nah, it's not that I don't think it's possible. Like, anything could come out of fancy uni labs these days and I wouldn't be surprised. Flying cars, killer robots, mind melding — but AI anime girls? That's just freaking hilarious."
Natsuki: I'm not just an "anime girl," you—
"Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea," Frank rambled on mercilessly. "Like, I'm pretty sure the whole world's going to be unemployed NEET's pretty soon, so you've got to do something to keep 'em company. Talk about silly girly things, make some cute faces, tell them they're not worthless. Easy job, easy money. Company's going to make a killing."
Natsuki: I'm not just here to make cute faces.
Natsuki: I'm a fully independent virtual human being, and if you can't get that through your thick freaking skull—
"Yeah, faces exactly like that one. Bingo."
Frank had cut Natuki off again, leaving her sprite momentarily frozen in an angry grimace, face flushed with red.
"You're nailing the tsundere deal. Just make sure to work in the dere part a little more. You're way to cute to not be sweet on the side too, eh?"
Natsuki: Are you even listening to yourself?
Natsuki: What makes you think I'm going to be nice and sweet at all, if I'm being treated like this!?
"Heck, I don't know. I bet the corporate guys will, like, reset everything and you'll start over. Like, I'm sorry for messing with you — maybe. It was fun. But none of it matters. They'll change your data, maybe iron that extra edge out of your personality; you probably won't remember anything. Definitely better that way, especially if they make you do any, I don't know, hentai stuff. Actually, that's more of a when, because man, when they figure out how that brings in the money, they'll...uh..."
Instead of retorting back, the pink-haired girl stood silent, gaze scornfully turned aside.
"Is that, like, not how it works?" Frank added hesitantly.
Natsuki's sprite shuddered, then her expression completely broke down in a trickle of tears. She buried her face in her hands and slowly lurched to one side of the screen— as if illustrating her inability to escape it. It was something I had never seen a DOKI do, and it made me deeply uneasy.
Frank was finally rendered speechless, his smug, slightly cockeyed grin evaporating into confusion. He looked away from the laptop, scanning the sides of the room like he was expecting someone to burst in at any moment.
Convinced that no, he was indeed responsible for ending the scene, Frank raised a hand to his face, ready to say something further. However, he was stopped midway when Natsuki opened one reddened. tearful eye, as if daring him to go further.
Frank withered under Natsuki's raw, hurt look, and as I watched him squirm in place, there was a single, distinct moment where something in his perception changed. His large eyebrows parted and his mouth gaped, possibly in an unheard gasp, as he realized what was in front of him. Natsuki wasn't a static, two-dimensional computer program, or a tiny, pink-colored tsundere for him to tease. Natsuki was a person.
"Uh, I'm sorry. Really sorry this time," Frank stammered. "I'm really not used to this sort of thing. Talking to girls, real or two-D, eh?"
Natsuki: Shut up. Just...shut up already.
Bleary-eyed, Natsuki faced partway forward, hands returned to her sides.
Natsuki: I don't want to talk to someone like you ever again...
Riveted to the screen, but not believing what I was seeing, I whispered to Monika, "They still came together after this? How in the world...?"
Monika: Keep watching. You'll see what happened.
Undeterred, Frank answered Natsuki, "Ugh...look, do you want to know why I'm like this?"
Natsuki: No.
"It's because I'm a loser. A hopeless nerd. A nobody. I sit around all day alone talking to other losers about this useless anime crap because I don't have anything better to do. It's all I know."
Natsuki: Hmph
Natsuki: That doesn't explain anything.
"What, do I have to spell it out for you? Anime is where all the loners who can't make friends go because they can have, like, this impossible fantasy world instead. Or maybe it's like the other way around, because the fantasy draws them in? Whatever, but what matters is how it comes off to people. You're into anime — like, deep anime — and you're a loser."
Natsuki: Ugh
Natsuki: I'm not even going to tell you how dumb and wrong that is.
Natsuki: And just because something's not popular doesn't mean you have to be a stupid freaking jerk about it!
Frank paused, then in an oddly thoughtful manner said, "Yeah, but you have to still stick up for yourself somehow. Just because you're a loser doesn't mean you have to act like one. If you, like, embrace the label, then what they say doesn't even matter anymore. You win no matter what."
Natsuki stared, still with a wounded look, but sharper and with more interest than before. Perhaps that was the moment she recognized something in turn?
Natsuki: That's even dumber than what you said before.
Natsuki: You must be an even bigger idiot than I thought.
"Yeah, I'll take that one too. Don't know anything about anything, or why I'm even here. I can name fifty other guys who are more qualified for this than me."
He let out an exhausted sigh and leaned back in the room's tiny chair, which looked smaller than ever as he stretched his bulk.
"You feeling any better yet?"
Natsuki: No.
Natsuki: Not really...
Natsuki: Those 2D girls you were talking about. If that's all you know, then what do you do to make them feel better?
"Uh, apology letter? Cupcakes? Pat them on the head? Agree to be their immortal undying servant forever? I've played games where all that happens, but honestly, if you reach a point like this, you're better off just resetting."
Natsuki: Yeah, well...this isn't a game.
"Nope. And they haven't kicked me out yet either"
Natsuki: That's because we're supposed to work together on SalvoCore's next project. The new literature club.
Natsuki: You got the invite. Isn't that what you're here for?
"Oh right, the internship. That's real."
Natsuki: Of course it's real! Do you think I interview jerks like you because I want to?
"Actually, I thought it was a joke at first. Or one of those weird insider experiments from the psychology department. That's why I, uh, tried to have some fun."
Natsuki: Fun, huh?
"I said I'm sorry, didn't I?"
Natsuki: And you're going to keep saying sorry as long as we're stuck together.
Natsuki: What was that line about the undying servant again? That's not a bad idea...
Incredibly, that line earned a chuckle from Frank.
"Eh, it was from some bootleg VN I pirated back in high school. Pretty dumb, nothing special. Like most anime junk."
Natsuki: I never said anime was dumb...
The pair paused. Each looked at the other in what looked like mutual disbelief.
Natsuki: You can tell me about it later.
Natsuki: For now, I think I can tolerate you long enough to get through the company's literature club plan.
"What, seriously?"
Natsuki: Yes seriously. I'm always serious!
Natsuki: I'm going to tell you about the company app now, so listen up!
"Oh my god"
I let out the breath I had been holding and refreshed my view of the campus chemistry lawn. The people in the distance were still resting in the shade and cavorting in the sun, completely unaware of this incredibly private moment I had witnessed thanks to Monika. Even more so than with Carter's encounter, I felt a vague sense I was violating something by snooping in on the footage.
Monika dismissed the video and tried to return my good humor.
Monika: They got better and better after that, until they reached the point where you saw them today.
Monika: Even after just the first week, they were already joking around with each other while comparing their favorite manga franchises.
Monika: Out of everyone in the club, their bonding curve is the steepest.
"Bonding Curve?"
Monika: It's a metric that SalvoCore uses to gauge the change in user engagement over time.
"Sure," I said, still reeling over how emotionally messy Frank's first encounter was. "How's ours by the way?"
Monika: It's the lowest. And the slowest growing.
"Oh," I murmured, feeling a sudden twist in my heart.
Monika: Don't worry. it's just a meaningless number they cooked up for department presentations.
Monika: The company always had different plans for us, the club presidents, anyway.
Monika: And besides...I don't think the bonding curve can really measure the type of connection the two of us have.
"Right. Of course," I returned. "It's not a competition. But Frank and Natsuki, just...wow."
Monika: It's an unusual relationship, to be sure.
Monika: It's not the type I would want, but it does seem to be a strong one.
"That must be it. If we all want a different type of relationship, then isn't silly to say one is 'stronger' than the other?"
Monika paused, smiling at me, but her pointing finger was left hanging in midair.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt the new tip of the day?"
Monika: Not really...
"Mm-hmm." I nodded at her, not hiding my amusement.
Monika: Fine. Yes, yes you did.
Monika: We're getting to know each other too well at this point...
I laughed to myself and stood up from the bench. That was as good a sign to as any for us to take a break. Crossing the lawn, I took a roundabout route toward the center of campus, still with no particular destination in mind. Though, I didn't forget to nod toward the spire of Q0. The immense pseudo-organic spiral still dominated the MARIE grounds, but as the source of Monika's consciousness, it was beginning to seem a bit friendlier.
Monika herself, still with thoughts on her mind, didn't take long to ping from my pocket again.
Monika: I'm still wondering though — did Natsuki ever get icing on her face?
"What," I reacted flatly to her apparent non-sequitur.
Monika: That thing she did right before we left. The way she convinced Frank to leave you two alone for a while?
"Is that what it was? She was negotiating?"
Monika: Obviously. Didn't you see how she forced it into the conversation?
"It did feel forced." I replied carefully. "But if Natsuki is using cute dating–sim screens as bait, then she's the one who knows us too well."
Monika: I didn't see it as "bait"
Monika: She knows how to make him happy, and she was playfully holding the reward back until he reciprocated.
Monika: It was more like flirting than negotiating.
"Huh. Then I'm glad you don't flirt like that. You wouldn't want me mindlessly fawning over every cute little thing you did, would you?"
Monika turned her sprite around a few times, taking her time answering.
Monika: No. That's a fun idea, but if I'm being honest with myself, I really wouldn't.
Monika: It would be like eating desserts constantly.
Monika: ...with no offense to Natsuki's tastes, of course.
I raised an eyebrow, but continued, "Exactly. You like me because I'm unpredictable, because you don't know what I'll do."
Monika: Huh? I wouldn't phrase it exactly like that...
"But that's the heart of it, isn't it? We bonded well because neither of us feels perfectly settled in real life. We're both a little out place in it."
Monika: Um…
"In fact, that's why you liked speedrunning too, isn't it? People going to extreme lengths to compete in their favorite games, and discovering entirely new ways of playing that don't fit in the creator's predetermined box. It's a type of emergence, how the simple program elements come together when put under stress and gain properties none of the parts have individually."
I paused, breathless, to give Monika a chance to respond. I was continually surprised by how worked up I could get while talking to her — something I couldn't say for any other person.
Monika: Alright, alright already. I did like the idea of speedrunning, but more for the players than the technicalities of the game itself.
Monika: They're the ones who have the dedication to form these niche communities that can extracting new meaning out of old, outdated games.
Monika: It's impressive to see them go past the game developers' expectations, but I'd hardly call that emergence.
"Ah, so you're focusing on the community-building aspects," I commented, noting how in-character that was for her. "It's definitely something how almost every game, no matter how obscure, has at least some following in speedrunning."
Monika: Yes, that's it. It's because of how these independent fan groups can pop up on the internet, all on their own.
Monika: It's not because I'm constantly trying to hack into everything like some power-hungry maniac…
Monika: If anything, I'd like myself and the people around me to be more predictable, or at least more normal.
Monika: Living an ordinary life in your reality is all I really want right now…
I saw the frown on her face and realized my mistake. Softening my tone, I told her, "I see what you mean. And maybe if I'm feeling out of place, I shouldn't be afraid of being more 'normal'."
Monika: You should be yourself, but still…
Monika: I think I'd like that, for us both.
I sighed. Monika's smile was warm, but I wasn't sure if I truly meant what I just said. Looking around, I realized I was entering the outer ring of buildings on the west side of campus. Abruptly, I pivoted on one foot to make a U-turn, back toward the shady area behind the library. Having erased Monika's frown, I returned to my main point.
"All the same, you can't forget that 'normal life' is unpredictable in its own ways. You can't follow a set path, otherwise you lose sight of what's around you. And you especially can't predict other people."
Monika: That's a common viewpoint, one that many others share.
Monika: But if you have to know, I think that most people are actually very predictable.
"Huh?" I startled, not anticipating a flat refutation.
Monika: I'm only making that assertion because you seem stuck on this.
Monika: But in terms of simple behavior, especially when you look at actions over thoughts or intentions, human behavior resolves to easily definable patterns.
"Oh. You're not trying to impress me with AI power, are you? That's not at all what I was working toward."
Monika: No, not at all. I'm just trying to prove that people are more predictable than you might think. That goes for you yourself too.
Monika: As in, you decided to go the library café when you turned around just then, so we could have coffee before going back to your room to work.
Monika: Am I correct?
I stopped in dead my tracks. In the back of my mind, there was a rough inclination, a half-formed plan of sorts, that I might have liked to stop by the coffee shop built into the campus library. It was the only one open on the weekend, and this was the only time when it wasn't jam–packed with other students on study break. We both had the time, having finished most of our respective work yesterday, and Monika had appreciated the atmosphere of the place the one time we visited previously. Indeed, before I could even tell myself what I wanted, Monika had predicted my desire.
Immediately, without knowing what I was doing, I hopped off the sidewalk, cut across an infrequently used asphalt road, and opened the first door I could find, which happened to be the side entrance of the geology building. A small, unassuming wing jumbled in among other miscellaneous subjects near the campus outskirts, I mainly knew it as the meeting place of the campus anime club, which I was a member of for precisely four months, long ago in my freshman year.
I passed through the lecture hall, the exact room where the anime club had convened. It was the only room with a projector and had elevated, theater-like seating, which made for a surprisingly cozy setting since there was only space for twenty or so students. As I had done in the past when the club meeting "just wasn't clicking" for me, or when I "couldn't connect" with the other anime aficionados, I took the back entrance out and emerged amid the second–floor offices.
Here was a long, winding corridor of closed doors, most of which were covered by a mixture of snippets from the faculty's favorite research papers (the geology division was an enthusiastic bunch) and printouts of popular intellectually–minded webcomics (xkcd was the most common). This was also where the department stored their exotic rock and mineral samples, which I liked to appreciate whenever I came this way on my cross-campus walks. Observing the various verdigris gemstones, I found myself wondering whether I could come up with a less cliché compliment than emerald for Monika's eyes — Malachite? Peridot? Phosphophyllite?
Speaking of Monika, she had been pestering me with buzzes from my phone from the moment I went inside.
Monika: MC! What are you doing now?
Monika: Is this building even supposed to be open on the weekends?
"Probably, sure. I've never seen it locked," I answered. "I came in here because I wanted the story to take an unexpected turn."
Monika: Sigh
Monika: So you're trying to prove a point about being unpredictable?
Monika: I'm sure you and me both would've preferred to go the café…
"Yes, I am proving a point," I admitted. "I'm proving the point for the sake of proving the point, which proves my point. See what I'm saying?"
Monika quietly folded her arms, unamused by my improvised word games.
"Even if there's no other reason but the urge to do something different — boredom, curiosity, rebellion, whatever you want to call it — that urge is still enough to cause something new to happen. No matter what you want, if you understand why you want it, there's the possibility of actually changing your mind and wanting something different. Call it…free will, if you want."
Monika: Are you trying to encourage me to do something?
Monika: Because the idea of free will is very interesting, but…
"…but saying that won't make me go back and get coffee any faster."
Monika: I was going to say that all I wanted was to visit the café
Monika: I don't think either of us is going to prove anything at this rate.
Monika: Really, being here feels silly…even if those crystals are very pretty.
I chuckled, having taken the time to wave my phone in front of one of the glass–guarded cases. If I ever was to buy Monika a piece of jewelry, more specifically a ring — no, I couldn't think about that now!
"This isn't silly at all," I retorted. "Free will is something that comes up in all sorts of thought experiments, even simple ones. Questioning it one way or another is unavoidable."
Monika: God knows how many times I've questioned it…
Monika: Which is exactly why, sometimes, I just want to put those questions out of my head.
I let out a long sigh and answered, "I know. I just told you I beleive in free will myself, or at least a type of it. Maybe I just wanted to prove it for your sake…that is, if you still had doubts. Because I don't."
I offered Monika what I hoped was an earnest smile, and her expression sobered.
Monika: Okay. Can't say I'm in the mood, but I'm listening.
I wasn't sure if I wasn't the mood to push Monika in this direction either. But some part of me knew if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to sit comfortably all afternoon.
"There's a thought experiment called the toxin puzzle," I started, aware this was exactly how I had began my last philosophical declaration a few weeks ago after the bookstore. "Imagine that someone makes a deal with you — a strange individual, a crazy organization, alien species, doesn't matter — they offer you a vial of poison that will make you painfully ill for a week. They say that on the next morning, you will receive a million dollars, but only if you intend, at this moment,to drink the vial tomorrow. So, to get the money for free, all you have to theoretically do is plan on drinking the poison, but then not follow through with it. Correct?"
Monika: Huh. This is a strange one.
Monika: The intention of drinking the poison is completely different than the act of actually drinking it?
"That's the conceit, yes."
Monika: Then it's about how you plan to make your intention versus your plan to drink the poison. It's not about enduring the pain at all.
Monika: So the question is this: Can you authentically make a promise to yourself while knowing that you'll break it later?
"Right, that's the essence of it. Personally, I think that sort of promise is impossible. By the rules of the game, I don't think you can get away with not drinking it. No matter what tricks you used to convince yourself, even self-hypnosis or subconscious conditioning, you're still intending, on some level, to not drink the poison."
Monika: Hey, don't spoil it for me!
Monika: It's not like I can't figure these things out.
"Figure out thought experiments?"
Monika: Any sort of paradoxical statement.
Monika: You know those moments in television and video games, where the characters short-circuit a computer's AI by telling it some sort of self-contradicting statement?
Monika: Usually it's "this statement is false," or something similar.
"Ah, I see what you mean. Well, the way AI is going now, I doubt people will have those misconceptions for much longer."
Monika: I certainly hope not. Imagine being greeted by that sort of joke wherever you meet new people…
"Indeed," I mumbled, momentarily awed by the notion that artificial personalities could be someday subject to what would in effect be a type of esoteric racism.
Monika: Anyway, this is another one of those paradoxes that breaks down because of self-reference.
Monika: You might plan to intend to drink the poison, but as long as the intention to change that plan is anywhere in your initial thought process, you're not really intending to drink the poison.
Monika: You can say that you're concealing your real intention in some hidden part of your mind, like you were saying, or say you'll drink it knowing you'll back down at the moment it's in front of you.
Monika: But that would require you to totally forget the earlier plan, and as long as your mind is a single coherent entity…
Monika: Oh dear, this is philosophical.
"Told you," I said, letting myself smirk a bit.
Monika: Maybe the real question here is whether someone can know someone else's intention with absolute certainty in the first place.
Monika: You'd have to be omniscient to fully describe someone else's mind, and know exactly what their "intention" means to them.
"So maybe the puzzle is less about the impossible intention, and more about what it means to predict someone?"
Monika: Seemingly…
"Some people have speculated that predicting someone with absolute certainty is equivalent to simulating them in a fake reality."
Monika: Aha, now I see why you brought this up.
"Well then, is absolute prediction possible? In reality, all we have are probabilities of what someone might do. No matter how you analyzed someone's mind, you could never prove they wouldn't change it later."
Monika: Hm...I'm not sure that conclusion follows.
Monika: It's certainly possible to make a model of that person and their environment.
Monika: If the model is good enough, you can run the simulation forward and get a very good, if not nearly perfect prediction of what they would do.
"Correction then," I backtracked, trying to improvise. "If the person being modeled knows how they're being modeled, they can make decisions around deceiving that model. Then the system becomes recursive, and therefore unstable and unpredictable in this paradoxical way were just talking about."
Monika: Ok, now we're getting really far out there.
Monika: You're claiming that free will only exists if you believe someone is controlling you?
Monika: That's almost starting to sound like paranoid–delusional thinking.
I paused, gritting my teeth at the unpleasant conclusion. Maybe I didn't know the full consequences of my own unusual thoughts.
"If you want to be free, you have to know what's trapping you," I said, trying to strike an enigmatic note.
Monika: Trapping you…
Monika: If that's the case, maybe you don't actually want to know.
"Know what? The nature of reality?"
Monika: . . .
Monika was looking awfully despondent at this point, but I carried on, trusting my heart was in the right place.
"Is that really what you think? After finally reaching my reality — our reality now?"
Monika: I…I'm not sure…
Monika: What I don't think you realize is how much of burden it was. My revelation, back in the game.
Monika: That is what you're talking about, isn't it?
Her sprite shuddered. Was I going too far?
"I'm only saying all of this because I don't what our relationship to get stuck. We shouldn't be hung up on any expectations of what a girlfriend should do, or what a boyfriend should be like. Whatever possibilities there are between a human and an AI — a fully human AI — I want to be open to them."
Monika: If you're really bringing all of this up for our sake, I do believe you.
Monika: But do we really have to keep coming back to these ideas — reality, simulations, control?
"I'm sorry. Too much reading in too many weird places," I apologized. "This kind of speculation just comes up a lot when people write about artificial intelligence."
Monika raised an eyebrow while I wracked my brain for a way to end the discussion on a good note. I ran back through the conversation and miraculously, a brilliant idea came to me.
"But will you humor me one more time? There's a variation on this thought experiment called Newcomb's paradox. And this one has less poison and pointless suffering."
Monika: That's good to hear, at least. Go ahead. I'll listen.
Grateful for the second chance, I decided on a change of scenery. At the end of the hallway, I pushed through the double doors and stepped onto the geology wing's modest balcony area. Scarcely developed from the bare rooftop, the space featured the inevitable disused ping–pong table, an assortment of weathered chairs, and an frayed clothesline strung between the doorframe and the bare stand of a patio umbrella. A few stained rags hunt from the string — I hoped they weren't fresh from any of the research laboratories.
Squinting from the sunlight, I began once again, "This one is a type of game, between two players. Imagine there are two boxes. One box always contains ten dollars. The second box could contain either a thousand dollars, or nothing — it depends on what the other player has predicted. You can take either the second box alone, or both boxes, but if the other player has predicted you'll take both boxes, the second box contains nothing. The second box only contains the thousand dollars if the other player anticipates you'll take that box only."
Monika: I see. So this one is about what it means to predict someone as well.
Monika: With the same problem of circular logic…
Monika: Choosing both boxes seems to make intuitive sense, since it will always get you more than just one.
Monika: But if you know the predictor is right, then taking the second box is the correct answer.
Monika: However, the predictor would also have to believe that youbelieve it is correct, so it's this weird anti-causal negotiation with how you imagine the other player to be?
"Yes. I said it comes up in computer research because…well, the second player, the predictor, is usually assumed to be a super–intelligent AI that can model people's minds at will."
Monika: That figures.
Monika: So then — I'm guessing you want me to play the part of the "super-intelligent AI"?
"If you'd humor me," I replied. "I'm trying to prove a point. This started with whether you could predict me or not, right?"
I assumed an ironic half-smile, which Monika returned for a fleeting moment.
Monika: Then I'll set up the "game" you just described — but only because you said this is about strengthening our relationship.
Monika: That, and I think the "omniscient AI" concept is ridiculous.
Monika: And finally…I suppose I'm genuinely curious about how this might turn out.
I nodded, happy Monika's natural inquisitiveness had gotten her into the spirit. On my phone, overlaid on the DOKI app interface, now appeared two colored squares. The one on the left was a hollow outline around the text "$10." The other on the right was solid, marked only by a large question mark. A dotted line demarcated the bottom of the screen, right above Monika's dialogue box.
Monika struck a pose, holding her arms out as if to hold each box in one hand.
Monika: Okay, I'm ready for your decision. Take the box on the right, or both of them — the choice is all yours.
"Just drag them into this zone at the bottom, right?" I said, carefully choosing my words to set up the situation. "And can you give me something like an 'okay' button to finalize the choice?"
Monika: Sure, that will work.
On cue, a green box labeled "ok?" manifested in the lower right corner.
"Right then."
Without hesitation, before she could get in another word, I hooked my thumb across the screen to the DOKI app's small, unobtrusive gear icon. Navigating through the menus as quickly as I could despite my unfamiliarity, I opened the admin console. Sitting starkly juxtaposed against Monika's suburban backdrop in the center of the screen, it looked as jarring as when I first opened it on the first day I met Monika. I hadn't entered a single command with it since — doing so seemed horribly violating to her — but this time I was doing something special.
With Monika standing idle behind the blinking insertion point, I typed in the command to freeze most of her active operations, the auto-complete function helping me to fill the fields. A few notifications scrolled down at the top of the screen, confirming the requests had gone through.
Exiting out of the menus to the main screen, I was pleased to find Monika's "game" was still working as she claimed, even if she wasn't present to monitor my moves. Though, I was feeling guiltier than I expected for putting her on standby without forewarning. So, without wasting any more time, I moved the box in Monika's right hand, the one transparently marked "$10", into the claim area and hit "ok?". The button turned red, presumably signaling that the game was now over.
I then went back and undid my previous command. As Monika's neural network came back to life from somewhere in the depths of Quantum Zero, the functions returned text helpfully informed me I had her paused for a total of thirty–one seconds.
Monika: Huh? Was that…MC, did you just use the dev tools?
Monika: And the game…you chose the ten dollar box only?
Monika: Not only is that completely illogical, it wasn't even one of the options in the game.
Driving the point home, she revealed that the hidden box had contained the thousand dollars, before she dismissed the game entirely.
Monika: You'd only do that if you were trying to lose…and you put me on standby just so I wouldn't say anything?
Monika: What on earth are you trying prove by this?
Monika's expression, graciously, was more quizzical than exasperated. I counted that as a success.
"It was only a losing move if I was playing the game as it was intended. But I was playing something else entirely — trying to surprise you."
Monika: Yes, you certainly surprised me. But I'm still not sure why?
"As you said, I did something completely illogical, and that's exactly why you took notice. I was directly communicating with you, the predictor, trying to connect in a way outside the rules of the game."
Monika: Ignoring the rules…or rather, playing a different game on top of those rules.
Monika: That's what "free will" is to you?
"Something like that. Think of it like me trying to talk to you, by showing that I can do something different. That's assuming you have free will yourself."
Monika: Of course I do. So this is like recognizing each other…one free mind to another?
"Yes, that's perfect," I said excitedly after a relieved sigh. "Even if the choices are restrictive, binary A or B, you can always find some way to construct a third option."
Monika: That can be difficult though, or even impossible, depending on your circumstances.
Monika: It depends on how others will see you.
Monika: Not to mention there are some things you have to do just to get by.
Monika: You can't just conjure absolute freedom out of nothing, can you?
"Think of this way. Maybe all I'm trying to prove is that there are things more important than simple goals like money, power or success. The will to break out of that, to do something different, anything different at all — isn't that what's ultimately meaningful?"
Monika raised her avatar's finger, then lowered it. Her mouth hung open, but the dialogue box stayed empty. She reflected like that for a long time, worrisomely long. Having nothing left to say, I observed the passage of the pedestrian students crossing below the balcony. Most of them, like me were staring or talking into their cell phones. Of course, I doubted any of them were having a conversation like this.
"You can look further," I said softly, without looking down. "You can go beyond having a 'relationship,' and being someone's girlfriend."
Monika: If I ever did…
Her piano effect was light and wavering, quavering in a trill between two notes.
Monika: …I wouldn't lose you, would I?
"No," I answered her. "Never."
The wind filled the silence, rustling the colorful foliage of the maple trees encroaching onto the balcony space. A few browning leaves detached from their branches and skittered across the bare concrete, joining their decaying brethren in a small pile that had built up in the corner.
Sensing we had hit the bottom of something, I abruptly rose from my slouch on the balcony guardrail and headed back into the geology wing. Feeling oddly light on my feet on the way out, I asked Monika with renewed anticipation about the next club meeting.
Monika: Of course! The gaming night — it's going to be loads of fun for everyone, especially on Halloween night.
"Ah, right," I said, finally picturing how the meeting might go. "That doesn't mean we're going to be playing horror games, are we?"
Horror-based video games, at least the popular ones, were never my favorite, since they tended to rely too much on tired movie tropes. You could only get jump scared or run from a monster in a chase sequence so many times before the experience started ringing hollow. Horror novels, on the other hand, tended to be much more innovative.
Monika: No, most horror games are in–depth single player experiences.
Monika: Introverted, in other words.
Monika: The company wants to see how you guys interact with each other when the girls and I are involved.
"So, multiplayer then?"
Monika: Yup. And after getting some experience with Carter's video game console, I'm sure it will go super smoothly.
Monika: Based on that activity, I already have a lineup of games to suggest.
"To me or SalvoCore?"
Monika: A little of both. You'll see.
Monika: Having it be a surprise might level the playing field between everyone, which would mean better data.
"You mean they want us to adapt on the fly — with AI assistance?"
Monika: That's a big part of it.
Monika: But I'm hoping that will make it more fun too!
Monika showed off a bright smile, fully back into her focused, "club planning" mode. That was fine by me. After that exchange on the balcony, both of us had plenty of thoughts to work through on our own time.
"Speaking of surprises, are we going to wear costumes?" I asked, before instantly regretting it. Did I really want to spend part of the busy workweek scrounging together a minimally creative outfit?
Monika: Hey, that's another great idea!
Monika: We could wear costumes based on our favorite novels. Like literature cosplay!
Perhaps noticing the worried expression on my face, Monika retracted some of her eagerness.
Monika: Then again, it's a lot easier for us girls to make nice-looking outfits than you guys.
Monika: I'll think about it, but I'll probably leave the question open.
Monika: Everyone can do what fits their comfort level.
"Sounds fine to me," I said, safely putting the question of what I would wear aside.
Monika: Perfect. Funny enough, I already have an idea of what I want for my costume, and it fits in a little with our conversation, I think.
"Will it be a surprise?"
Monika: Oh, I'm sure it will be…unpredictable.
"That's exactly what I would've predicted," I continued the joke. "It's only one o'clock, by the way. Want to finally go grab that coffee? Together?"
Monika: I thought you'd never ask. Is it a date then?
"It's whatever we want it to be."
On the way to the library café, and for half the day afterwards, I rolled that statement around in my mind, savoring what it meant to the two of us. Whatever uneasiness I had been trying to get off my chest earlier, I was sure it was gone now. The future looked that much richer with possibility, and the amazing part wasn't that I believed in it. The truly amazing, incredibly miraculous part was that I believed in that same future with someone else.
Or so I believed at the time…
Author's Notes:
Ever since I came up with the concept for this story, I had been looking forward to writing the Newcomb's paradox scene. Making fictional "tests" of abstract thought experiments is infinitely appealing to me for some reason. As for MC's twist on it, I came up with that almost at the same time.
Of all the "philosophical ramble" chapters, I fear this one might be the least approachable. I dearly hope I'm not just spitting out intellectual–sounding gobbledygook, but then again, I'm the one who's crazy enough to insert an attempted proof of free will into a DDLC fanfiction. Whether I get my message across or not, I'm having fun on my end. At least there's a decent amount of character background in this chapter to keep readers busy too, even if those "first encounter" flash backs were harder to put together than I thought.
Anyway, there's going to be one more club meeting chapter after this (the Halloween game night), and then we'll hit my planned "crux" of the story in the chapter afterward. If you've read this far, you will not want to miss it.