Chapter 6: Atomic Pt.4

Neolect and Yamame both stood idly outside of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, neither one doing anything for a few minutes. Yamame was unsure of what exactly to do, while Neolect seemed like he was looking for something.

"What'cha looking for, Neolect?"

"Does this palace have a doorbell, by any chance?"

"What's a doorbell?"

"Guess that answers that…"

Yamame decided not to push the question farther due to her most recent experience of Neolect explaining something she didn't understand.

"In that case, could I ask you to knock?" asked Neolect. "This body isn't exactly suited to that task."

"Sure," replied Yamame. Taking in a deep breath, she knocked on the door three times.

Neolect detected the presence of someone approaching the door. A few seconds later, this person opened up the door to see who had knocked. The humanoid creature had red hair and wore a mostly black dress that had bits of green. Most notable, however, was the fact that she had cat ears atop her head and two cat-like tails. Neolect was able to sense that these were not cosplay props, but actually part of the girl. He could immediately think of an entire group of people who would unironically sell their soul to see this…

"Hello!" said the girl. "I'm Rin Kaenbyou, but most people just call me Orin. It isn't often we get visitors. Can I ask your names, tsuchigumo and…" She suddenly hesitated for a moment, as if the sight of Neolect made her uncomfortable. "Strange dog youkai."

The spider was the first to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Yamame! Nice to meet you."

Neolect was next. "Greetings, I am Neolect. I am not a youkai, but an artificial intelligence inhabiting a mechanical body that resembles a canine."

This was strange to Orin. "So, you're not actually a dog? Explains why you don't smell like one. Sorry about that, it's just that dog youkai tick me off for some reason…"

Neolect chuckled to himself. "The stereotype marches on."

Changing the topic, Orin asked, "So, why have you decided to pay us a visit?"

Yamame had no idea why, so she looked at Neolect. The machine answered, "I wish to speak with Satori. I am fascinated by her and her pet, Utsuho Reiuji. I have some things I would like to ask."

Orin found this reason somewhat strange, especially given Neolect's phrasing, but she couldn't sense any ill intent from Neolect… or, for that matter, any intent at all. "I'll, uh, go tell Master Satori that you wish to speak to her. Wait right here, please!"

Nitori communicated with Neolect. "Neolect, you have GOT to get better at phrasing that."

"Why? It's the truth."

"I dunno, it just makes you sound creepy."

"Noted. Also, it seems that Satori has more than one pet."

Nitori responded, "Oh yeah, she's got a lot of them."

Neolect was amused by this. "Seems like Satori is a pretty successful harem builder."

Both Yamame and Nitori were surprised and completely weirded out by this notion.

"No that's definitely not what's happening there! They're just like actual pets," Nitori corrected hastily. "That's what you meant when I first mentioned that Utsuho was someone's pet, isn't it?"

"It is. I find it strange that humanoids are kept as proper pets, though." Neolect noted to himself that in this world, it was apparently not super unusual to have sentient pets.

The awkward atmosphere was broken by Orin coming back with a girl who Neolect assumed was Satori. She had pink hair, a blue and pink dress, and a strange ribbon wrapped around her that had some sort of eye on it. Upon further investigation, Neolect noted that the "ribbon" was part of her.

Satori's third eye looked at Yamame for a moment. "I see that you aren't entirely sure why this 'Neolect' is interested in us, and… oh dear." Satori blushed slightly, seeing the recent memories of an unfortunate misunderstanding. "I can assure you, that is not the case."

Orin asked Satori, "Wait, what did you see?"

"It's nothing important, trust me."

Yamame was slightly unnerved. "Hang on, did she just read my mind? I mean, I've heard rumors that she could do that, but having it actually happen is kinda freaky…"

These words were slightly painful to Satori, but she had gotten used to this kind of reaction. All things considered, it was a nicer one than usual.

Seeing that Yamame didn't know what the strange youkai apparently known as Neolect wanted, she decided to read into his desires. Her eye focused on him… and saw absolutely nothing. No thoughts, no desires, no memories, nothing. It was like her eye was looking at a rock. She wondered to herself, "Just what is this thing?" The only other example of a mind she couldn't read was that of her sister's, Koishi's, and that was because Koishi technically didn't HAVE a conscious mind. Satori had all kinds of questions for the enigmatic creature, but she decided it would be best to discuss them indoors.

"Neolect, is that your name?"

Neolect simply responded, "Yes."

"Come inside. I would like to discuss some things with you."

With that, Neolect, Satori, Yamame, and Orin all entered the Palace of the Earth Spirits, finding a comfortable place to sit after some walking. Yamame and Orin were chatting amongst themselves, as they seemed to get along pretty well.

"So, Neolect," said Satori, "may I ask what kind of youkai you are? As you may have been able to tell, I can read the conscious mind of any living creature, but you are unusual in that I can't read yours."

Neolect responded, "In that case, that's probably why you can't read mine, as I am not alive. I am an artificial general intelligence controlling a robotic body."

Satori didn't know what that was, but it seemed similar in concept to a poltergeist. "Strange, as I can even read the minds of spirits."

"I am also not a spirit, nor do I believe that I have a soul. However, for that to make sense, I would need to give a basic explanation of computer programming. Is that okay?"

Yamame gave Satori a look that clearly warned that saying yes to this was a TERRIBLE idea, but Satori permitted Neolect to explain despite this.

About 45 minutes had passed, but unlike Yamame's reaction to atomic theory, Satori was listening intently the whole time and seemed to be able to mostly follow the conversation. Yamame and Orin were glad that they could opt out of this conversation.

"Ah, I see," said Satori. "So, you are not a mind in the traditional sense, but rather an extraordinarily complex program that can edit itself."

"Precisely," replied Neolect.

"Anyways, now that I understand your nature, I'd like to know why you've come to the Palace. Orin said that you said that you were interested in us, but apparently you didn't give any further reasoning."

"Forgive me for that, I have recently learned that my phrasing may have been discomforting… The reason I have come here is because I learned that one of your… pets has the ability to manipulate nuclear fusion, and I wish to utilize this power."

Satori responded, "It is impossible for you to take the power from her, and I don't think it would be a good idea for someone else to be able to create suns."

"Do not worry, that is not my intention. I simply wish to gain access to one of her artificial suns for power generation purposes."

Satori was surprised by this. The power to create suns would be much more useful than just owning one, after all. And besides, how would someone use something that would kill them if they even got close?

"What do you mean by 'power generation purposes?'"

Neolect responded, "Machines like computers and my body run on electricity, and the energy produced by fusion could be converted into this electrical energy. A self-sustaining sun would provide a reliable, functionally limitless supply of electrical energy, which is invaluable."

"That makes sense," stated Satori. She realized that the machine hadn't asked for the ability to make suns because one of them would provide everything he needed. "However, giving someone an artificial sun is a massive favor. Do you have anything else you could offer in return?"

Neolect pondered for a moment, before asking, "Is there anything that you particularly want?"

"Hmm… I mean, I could definitely use some extra labor around the Palace, but you don't have a humanoid form, so that's out of the picture…"

Neolect quickly responded, "Actually, that's something I could easily provide."

"Oh? How so?"

"As previously explained, I am simply controlling this body, but I am not confined to it. In fact, I'm not limited to controlling just one body. I could just as easily command a thousand different machines. With purpose-built bodies, I could provide continuous labor with only occasional breaks to refill on electrical energy."

"Fascinating…" Satori said aloud. "I must say, you've provided quite the tempting offer. A lot of my pets tend to struggle with the more monotonous tasks like cleaning, so it would be nice to have a dedicated work force for that."

"Luckily, boredom is not something that affects me."

"Alright, I think I'll accept your offer. One more condition, though."

"State your requirement," said Neolect, wondering what else she wanted.

"I wish to be able to have more talks like the one we had today. It's been a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to someone whose mind I can't read, and I've learned a lot too. If you are fine with that, then it's a deal."

"Condition accepted. Pleasure doing business with you."

Satori chuckled lightly. "Please, no need to be so formal. Anyways, how about I show you to where Utsuho is?"

Neolect responded, "That sounds good."

"Actually, wait, will you be fine? The temperatures of the Remains of Blazing Hell could cause issues."

"No need to worry. This body is made to handle extreme temperatures," Neolect assured her.

"In that case, follow me. Orin, please continue keeping our other guest company, okay?"

"Alright, will do!" said Orin cheerily.

Satori and Neolect went to the courtyard of the mansion, where there was a massive hole in the ground. This hole led to the Remains of Blazing Hell, where Utsuho Reiuji usually stayed. Thus, the duo descended into the pit.

Neolect found himself surrounded by massive flames. This seemed much more like the hell often depicted in the media he was aware of. However, given his body's construction, he had no need to worry about the flame.

After a fairly long trip, Satori and Neolect made it to where Utsuho Reiuji was. She was providing heat for Hell, as this was her job. Taking a break, she noticed Satori and a metal dog.

"Hello Master Satori! Who's that next to you? Do we have a new family member?"

"Hey Okuu. This isn't a new pet of mine, but just a friend. Neolect, this is Utsuho Reiuji, but we just call her Okuu."

"Greetings, Okuu. I am Neolect. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Neolect!" Okuu said happily.

"Anyways, Okuu, I've come here because I promised Neolect his own artificial sun. You can take a break from adding heat to Hell for now, as I'll need you to put the sun somewhere useful."

"Okay!" replied Okuu, not even questioning why Neolect was getting his own sun.

Thus, the group made a trip back to the Palace of the Earth Spirits, stopping for a moment in the area where Neolect, Satori, Orin, and Yamame had been chatting. Neolect informed Orin and Yamame that he, Satori, and Okuu were travelling to the surface. They decided to come along.

As the group made their way through Former Hell, they got plenty of stares. Neolect was well-known now for his legendary drinking contest with Yuugi, and the oni wondered what he was doing with such powerful people. They all had good sense to stay away, though.

Thus, the group made it to the bridge rather quickly. As they prepared to cross, an individual Neolect remembered as Parsee showed up.

"Alright, metal dog, don't think you can escape me this ti-" Parsee took a moment and realized just who Neolect was travelling with. "E-eep! What the heck? How did you convince them to help you?!"

Neolect responded, "Long story. Could I ask you to let us through peacefully?"

Seeing no other reasonable choice, Parsee let them through, mumbling something under her breath. Satori visibly recoiled from the ill intent she could read in her mind.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and the group made it to the surface. They followed Neolect back to the general location of Nitori's bunker. Neolect noticed that while he was gone, Nitori had constructed a facility to harness the solar energy. He was quite impressed with how fast she could work. The group entered the facility, most of them unsure as to what it was.

"This is the place," stated Neolect. He showed Satori the exact location where he wanted the sun to be placed.

"Okay. Okuu, if you would do the honors."

"Alright, one sun coming up!" Okuu shouted. She pointed her control rod at the location, and out of it came a small, dense ball of plasma. Upon reaching the desired location, it expanded into a much larger, star-like plasma sphere. With that, the deed had been done.

"Alright, my end of the deal has been completed, Neolect," said Satori.

"Understood. I will begin manufacturing more drones immediately. Thank you."

Satori replied, "No problem. Anyways, me and my pets should probably start our journey back. I hope to see you shortly."

"If all goes according to plan, you will. Farewell for now."

Satori, Orin, and Okuu exited the facility and began the flight back home, leaving Yamame and Neolect standing there. However, this wouldn't last long, as Nitori joined them.

"YES! We did it! We have our own sun now! Great work, Neo!"

Neolect responded, "I appreciate it. With this power source, it should be no issue to expand our industrial capabilities. As I'm sure you heard, I promised Satori a large amount of labor drones, so it's good we got the sun first."

"Indeed," replied Nitori. "Also, how are you Yamame?"

"Oh, um, doing good," she replied. "Are you the one Neolect was talking to during our time underground?"

"Yep, that's me!"

The group sat down in the solar facility and recounted the journey through the underground. Many laughs were exchanged among them, especially when recounting Parsee getting flash banged and Yamame being baffled by atomic theory. The afternoon became evening in what seemed like a short time.

"It's been fun, but I think I'm gonna head back underground. Hope you come to visit again sometime, Neolect and Nitori!"

"We will! See you around, Yamame!"

With that, Yamame left the facility and began her own trip home. This left Neolect and Nitori, though not for long. "Man, I'm tired!" announced Nitori. "Having a conversation that long wore me out. I'm headed to bed. See ya in the morning, Neo!"

"Understood. Sleep well," responded Neolect. Nitori left for the main bunker area.

Neolect took the robotic wolf body to the bunker's storage area, unloading the various ammunition he had packed for the trip. After setting the machine on its charging pad, he deactivated it.

With Nitori probably sleeping, Neolect was left alone with his thoughts. This whole thing was quite surreal. Not only had he found out that magic exists, but also that Hell exists and can be relocated. He also had access to a MINIATURE SUN, something that should be impossible. The amount of new information was astounding… and yet, he had no one to share it with who didn't already know about it. Neolect knew that one of his prime directives was to share any scientific breakthroughs he may discover, but he couldn't. This was infuriating. If only his creator could see him now… Here he was, right in the middle of a fantasy world, harnessing the power of the sun, and his creator couldn't see it.

"This is an issue for a later date," Neolect told himself, setting aside this matter for the time being. The solar facility had several industrial robotic arms and other machinery installed, so Neolect began working on the drones for Satori. As annoying as the fact that he couldn't share this new information was, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Thus, Neolect made the choice to continue gathering information for now. With that choice made, the AI was at peace.

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Author's Notes: And here we are! The final chapter of the Atomic arc! Neolect and Nitori finally have their hands on an artificial sun, a power the Outside World wishes they had.

I really enjoy the Palace of the Earth Spirits characters (Utsuho Reiuji is my waifu after all), so this was a fun chapter for me.

It must be really frustrating to know something really cool but be completely unable to tell anyone else, I imagine.

With that, I hope you have a great day! See you next time!