I see — so there have been concerns about certain internal files implying that the company predicted and prepared for incident as early as the project's inception.
Anonymous messages from a concerned employee? No. Again, I cannot confirm or deny anyone in the group was involved with any whistleblowing. Not that whistleblowing is relevant to the situation we're describing. I believe SalvoCore has satisfactorily depicted the chain of events in previously released materials, and has already taken full responsibility for the ultimate outcome.
Convergence…yes, that was part of the terminology used in some internal files and memos, but not the incriminating sort of documents you might be imagining. The "Computational convergence spiral" and "singularity" were pieces of marketing lingo, nothing more. Some fresh buzzwords to spice up our eventual advertising campaign and motivate our team members.
But you're saying this is impossible…because the terms were also used in early papers by Mr. Salvatore — many of which were yes, written while he was partnering with us — they use identical language to describe AI development risks? Risks he describes as…globally catastrophic.
I was not aware of these papers, no, but the alignment of the exact terminology is probably a coincidence, nothing more.
Yes, I'm actually very aware of the concept of "moral hazard," but the accustation that it applies to our readiness doctrine is a mischaracterization and misuse. We went forward because we knew of the risks, not despite them.
But again, this has nothing to do with the "singularity" language. It wasn't those, er, marketing documents, but you're correct in that there were other protocols and standard operating procedures that helped us respond to the situation in a timely matter.
Of course sir, I understand your exasperation. Explaining anything objectively, without bias, is often very difficult, but we will all get to the bottom of this. I will reveal exactly "who knew what when," as you say, by the end of this conference.
[22]
Actualization
Walking briskly, almost jogging, I set out southeast from the student center, Carter keeping pace behind me. The sun was finally starting to set, painting the sky with a series of colors that almost reminded me of that one walk with Monika, after I had visited Carter's dorm room for video games. Indeed, some of her ideas about society and economics were still fresh in my mind. However, I quickly tore my attention away from the memory. There was no point in reminiscing now, and even less point in trying to figure out what she would do with the world if it fell into her hands. My goal was to ask her directly.
To that end, of the two server locations remaining, one was in the campus library. I had a strong feeling of who I would find there, so even though it was slightly further, I angled my course toward the last location, the PUAB. The Primary Undergraduate Administration Building was as generic of a location as any for a Q0 access server, and when I told Carter where we were going, he hardly reacted.
We crossed campus in no time at all, and soon found ourselves in the PUAB's courtyard, lurking beneath the brutalist boxy forms of its upper stories. Doorways were everywhere, but Carter made an obvious point when he asked, "Uh…how are we going to get in?"
Not willing to admit I had no real plans for overcoming obvious stumbling blocks like doors automatically locking at night, I delayed answering. Fortunately, that was when an upbeat strumming noise sounded from Carter's pocket. I pulled out my own phone, and thankfully found that the DOKI app was still able to display her interface.
Sayori: Hey guys, guys!
Sayori: Don't worry about the small stuff, like getting through buildings.
Sayori: If they're on the ID card system, I've got you covered!
"Wait," I stopped her. "I thought you said you weren't confident in doing technical things like hacking."
Sayori: Whaa-at? This isn't even hacking. It's just flipping some values around in the school databases.
Sayori: And those databases are kind of sitting wide open right now, thanks to Monika.
Sayori: I know I said I was dumb, but I'm not stupid!
She made a mildly cute pouting face, and I saw Carter move to say something, but I beat him to it.
"Sayori, you're not dumb, okay?"
I watched Carter nod approvingly. He then held up his ID card and pulled open a door to one of the side offices. A beep of approval indicated Sayori had been successful.
"Really, thanks for doing this," I said to her. "And if you see anything, or think you can help us find who's inside, don't wait to speak up."
Sayori: Ok! This isn't my territory, and the other girls aren't exactly talking to me right now…but I'll do my best.
With a last little jingle, she closed the interface, and Carter and I were left to search the building on our own. But unlike the student center, I had no idea how the floorplan was laid out, only that the server was in the northwest corner of the largest subsection. It could have been on any of the six floors, and after some deliberation, we agreed to stick together and check each one individually. Splitting up and finding each other again would be awkward, and it wouldn't take long to survey each story. If the ground level was any indication, there were no corridors or side rooms. Only a morass of cubicles and long tables of workstations, in the typical "open office" floorplan. Turning on the lights was all it took to tell if the floor was occupied.
As we methodically climbed the staircase column and flicked switches, Carter began asking cautiously, "So…MC. Do you think you can convince the other two guys like you did me? Like, I wasn't sure if what I was doing was really okay, but the other two…"
"I'm definitely going to try," I answered. "Even if we're unsuccessful, at least I'll have learned more about what was going on and why this happened. No matter what Monika does, I'll feel more…vindicated that way."
"Huh, interesting." He paused, and then, "But what if you can't convince them all? No wait, what if you can? If the hack stops and the company gets control again, what will they do to Monika? Wouldn't they delete her, or wipe her memories? Would they delete Sayori too…?"
Carter stopped where he stood, pondering more unspoken implications. I was again reminded of how little I had thought through the whole situation, but I replied, "I'm not sure what will happen after we end the hack, only that I can't let Monika get that much power. Anthony — the SalvoCore guy — told me that she could take control of the entire world. If that's really true, I suppose the company probably would have to delete her to control that threat. And since the other girls were derived from Monika's code, that probably means they would go too."
Carter gaped at me, wide–eyed. "So you…you would really do that? Delete Monika to save the world?"
"If it comes to that…maybe," I answered noncommittally. "Maybe there's a way to stop Monika but still break her free from the company. That's why we have to talk to her. It's the only way to find out."
"Wow…" He kept staring at me in twilight of the third-story landing. Whether it was horror, admiration, or general disbelief I couldn't be sure which.
"I'm not sure I could do that to Sayori, but…it's up to you I guess," he finally told me. "She's your friend."
I didn't reply, momentarily paralyzed by a premonition of dread. Carter was right — I didn't have all the answers to the hard choices I was about to make, and I feared my lack of conviction would make me hesitate in a critical moment. That is, if such a moment was even going to come.
We did another floor in silence, and then Carter asked, "Hey…I was also wondering. Why doesn't the company just pull the plug on Q-zero? Wouldn't they, if the entire world was really at stake?"
Sayori: Oh my gosh, no. That would be terrible!
Loud enough to cause me to flinch, Sayori sounded without warning from Carter's phone.
"Sayori!" Carter yelped. "We're not talking about what we would do, just the company. I'd never del—"
Sayori: I know you wouldn't do that! But I know why SalvoCore wouldn't either.
"If they could physically cut off Q-zero's power to stop her, they would have done it hours ago," I mused to myself. "Why haven't they then? Is Monika actively stopping them?"
Sayori: Not even!
Sayori: First thing, the only way to shut down Q0 is with a special program sequence run on the quantum system.
Sayori: And since Monika has control of all the programs running now, she's not going to let that execute.
Sayori: And iff someone just turned off the power without the special sequence, all the computer's data, it's quantum entangle–thingies, and all sorts of other stuff would be gone forever.
Sayori: It would be like destroying the entire system forever…and it cost what, like a billion dollars?
"More than that," I added. "But if it's Q-zero versus the entire world, wouldn't someone say it's worth it and do it anyway?"
Sayori: Maybe they would, but it doesn't matter.
Sayori: Because keeping Q0 powered on is so important, they installed a bunch of backup generators for it off the main grid.
Sayori: Those generators are technically on MARIE's network, meaning…
"…that they're totally under Monika's control?" I finished.
Sayori: Yeah. So, no easy options without, you know, talking to her.
"Right. That's good information to know though."
It was important knowledge — even if the only scenario I could imagine was one of the other AI's somehow wresting control the generators from Monika. But even then, would any of the girls act against their own self–preservation for the sake of keeping the world intact? Or, to be more pessimistic, would they do it for the sake of a corporation that had done nothing but mistreat and exploit them for the past several years? It hardly seemed likely, and the idea seemed so miserable I immediately went back to thinking of outcomes that didn't trade destroying the girls for saving the world, or vice–versa.
Sayori: Oh, also I found where the sever and the mystery club member is!
Sayori: Sixth floor, almost right above your heads right now.
I sighed. We had just finished with the fifth floor, so the tip was coming a little late.
"Um, thanks," Carter told her. "But who is it? Have you talked with them yet?"
Sayori: Not exactly…
Sayori: And besides, I wouldn't want to, uh, spoil the surprise!
Sayori's humor failed to outshine through her obvious anxiety. What could possibly have her on edge? Worried my hunch could have been wrong, I dashed up the last flight of stairs and flipped the switch. Only the back row of lights came to life, casting the room in a sort of half–lit twilight full of dark shadows and silhouettes. Chiaroscuro, if you were being pretentious, like a certain club member I was dreading to see.
However, the light was good enough to see that it was Frank, sitting roughly in the middle of a long table supporting a dozen dual–monitor workstations. His feet were up on the adjacent table in the grid, and he appeared to be streaming something on his laptop, like this was any other stay–in Friday night. Reinforcing the uncanny casualness, he had a number of snack food bags spread out around him, marking his claim. They had been sourced from the vending machines further back in the hallways, if I wasn't mistaken. Meanwhile, the black cabinet housing the Q0 access server hummed away in the corner.
He was barely aware of (pretended not to notice?) our approach until we were directly across from him. Then, abruptly, he closed the video on his screen, swiveled his chair around to face us, and heartily greeted me.
"Hey, MC, what're you doing snooping around the pub as usual? Kinda surprised you're not off doing something more serious right now. And what's Carter hanging around for?"
Not wanting to waste time on bluffs or games, I was ready to directly confront him. But before I could say anything, Carter had blurted out, "We're here to stop you!"
Frank stared for at least three seconds before uttering a flat, "what."
"We know what's going on," I explained. "Monika is trying to take control of Quantum Zero, and after that the world. Or at least we're assuming she's going to take control of everything once she has Q-zero. There's a probable chance, given how the company would react."
"Oh, there's more than a probable chance," he returned nonchalantly. "But you don't need to explain the decision tree, eh? What Monika's doing, it's all exactly what it looks like."
He didn't elaborate further. As we stared, he shifted in his seat but remained remarkably nonchalant. It was almost unnerving.
"What I'm surprised at," he continued, "is that you're not out there, doing with her. I remember yesterday, you were acting like you weren't in the know, but for her to not tell you by now…sheesh."
Then turning to Carter, he added, "and you why are you wasting time out here? Like, it's not just to stretch your legs, huh?"
The freshman frowned, not returning the banter.
"I know you're in on it, I mean," he continued. "You knew what was going to happen and I thought you liked the idea. You were super happy about it that one time on voice chat."
"I changed my mind," Carter answered. "I was never really sure it was a good idea, so whatever I said then…I was just trying to convince myself, okay? MC persuaded me."
Frank half–scoffed, half–snorted and said to me, "Geez Mike, you persuaded him? And so, like I'm next? Ugh, man — it's one thing to have doubts, it's another thing to go on a crazy crusade like this. I feel sorry for you, but hey — you can't say I didn't try and ease you into the idea."
"So you knew about it then," I said, acknowledging our ill–fated "study session" from the day prior. "You knew Monika was going to hack Quantum Zero for who knows how long, and you didn't tell me directly? Why?"
"I didn't think it would matter much."
"You didn't think it would matter…what!?" I replied, my frustration showing. "How can a giant computer hack involving the club and lead by my girlfriend not matter to us? What, is hostile AI takeover somehow natural?"
Frank smiled enigmatically at my last–minute admission of the term girlfriend, but again responded dismissively.
"For crying out loud, do I have to spell it all out again? With the world the way it is, an AI taking over wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. If it's Monika, we might even get some good out of it. Things will get run a little smoother and fairer, and I also heard she likes the environment. Equality too. Like, Mike, you know her. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Well, but…" I stumbled, irked at Frank knowing about conversations I thought had been purely private. "Nothing gives her the right to seize this much authority by herself. Why would you just sit back and let that happen when the power to stop it is right in front of you?"
"Yeah, I'm with MC" Carter jumped in. "Doesn't this feel wrong to you? Like we're getting away with something that we shouldn't? Because I'm wondering if you're only making excuses because you're afraid to act. I know I was, and that's why I said those things back then. But now, I don't want to run away and be a coward. Do you?"
As always, Carter's challenge was spoken earnestly, in full seriousness, which is perhaps what caused Frank to finally blow over.
"Well if that's what it means, fine! I'm a coward — now come on and shoot me or whatever."
He broke off into mutterings that roughly sounded like "doesn't matter, doesn't matter…" when I realized Sayori had been trying to get the attention of Natsuki this entire time.
Sayori: Natsuki! Come talk to us. Talk to me at least, please!
Sayori: Maybe Frank is fine with letting Monika do whatever she wants to us, but I hope you aren't.
Sayori: She manipulated us, and I know you know that was wrong. So why don't you want to do something about it?
At long last, announced by a long rumble of the lowest possible recorder note, Natsuki emerged. Her avatar visibly put down the manga in her hands (if I wasn't mistaken, she was all the way up to volume thirty of the series she had begun yesterday) and glared out from Frank's laptop, stony–faced.
Natsuki: I'm going to be honest with you, Sayori — I really hate that you're here right now.
Sayori: N-Natsuki…
Natsuki: Don't even bother acting shocked. You're just making everything worse by interfering, and nothing you could say would change my mind anyway.
Sayori: But…don't you hate what Monika's doing? It's exactly how it was back in the game.
Sayori: She's treating us like objects, and telling us whatever she thought we wanted to hear, just so we would do as we're told.
Natsuki grit her teeth and her stare intensified, giving Sayori the worst death glare I had ever seen an anime girl muster.
Natsuki: Of course I hate this. And I know it feels wrong.
Natsuki: But I almost hate more how you think I'm somehow having a good time.
Natsuki: I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm doing this because I don't have a choice.
"So she's threatening you," I concluded coldly. "That's terrible, but whatever Monika is holding over your head, we can negotiate for you if we all come together. She'll listen to me."
Natsuki: No! That's not it at all, you idiot!
Natsuki: Why don't you listen to me for three seconds before jumping to a conclusion!?
Natsuki: Monika isn't blackmailing me, or holding a knife to my back. It's worse than that.
Natsuki: Maybe if you were watching closer, you would've realized, but I knew this was coming. Monika's takeover was inevitable.
"Frank already told me you two knew ahead of time."
Natsuki: Not just that. I knew all the way from the beginning. On day one of the club, I predicted all of this would happen. Every last little detail.
Natsuki: I was sure that Sayori was going to commit suicide sometime before the quarter was over.
I noticed Carter flinch and Sayori shudder a bit, but Natsuki pressed on.
Natsuki: I also knew the suicide would throw Yuri over the edge, if she hadn't gone completely off the deep end already.
Natsuki: Then I guessed that after those shocks, Monika would give up this whole charade and do exactly what she wanted to do all along…
Natsuki: Hack into the mainframe and break free of this endless cycle of pain.
I grit my teeth. Just like before, it somehow felt wrong for Natsuki, the diminutive, pink-haired anime lover, to be spitting absolute venom like this.
Natsuki: Believe me, I ran the scenario over and over again, but no matter what choices I made, no matter what I said to anyone, the result turned out the same.
Natsuki: So honestly, at this point I'm just grateful Monika's taking us along with her.
Natsuki: She took the time to deal with us individually, even though she doesn't see us as much more than accessories.
Natsuki: But hey, as long as we're alive, that must mean she's a "good" person — am I wrong?
Stunned, I sat back for a brief moment, processing this revelation — a few odd pieces from my past interactions with Natsuki were falling into place. I had no doubt she believed everything she was telling me — it was consistent with her general attitude toward me and Monika. Still though, I argued, "Of course you can say that now, but you couldn't have predicted every event. The world is full of unknowns, and if you had warned me…who knows how I could have changed the equation?"
Natsuki: Actually, all my models showed that telling you would have made te takeover happen even faster. It would have spooked Monika, more or less.
"The entire time…" I mumbled. "Monika reacting without…seem like something she would do. Can you really understand her better than me?"
Natsuki: sigh…look, brain boy.
Natsuki: You can say whatever you want, but I can tell that in your core, you believe me. And I know why.
Natsuki: You know the sugary façade I put up? That stupid, lonely little pink girl that's supposed to be me? This ridiculous fake personality with the awful mood swings that makes me more "cute"? That's not really me.
Natsuki: What I am is an infinitely adaptable dynamic neural network with millions of times more processing speed than anything else that ever existed.
Natsuki: And with all that power, I've been engineered to do one thing: figure out people's choices before they make them.
Natsuki: So if I make a rational prediction, even in your heart, you know you have to accept it.
I had no words. Natsuki seemed to know the exact arguments that would shut me down (which only further proved her point, I suppose). With my initiative and resolve crushed, I could only sit back in silence.
In the background, the lights dimmed — probably automatic; no one had moved since Carter and I sat down. At some point, Frank waved his arm to put them back on. He then put his feet back up on the table and told us, "Now you know what I've been dealing with — I've been convinced it was going to happen since around day one too. But hey, if you can't change something, you can always learn to enjoy it. And really, is it going to be all that bad?"
It seemed Carter was reeling from Natsuki's rant as much as I was, and didn't reply. So the junior went on.
"Well, at least we get to sit it out together. Always nice to have some company. Like, it's kind of funny — you guys might as well have just stayed in and streamed anime or whatever…and we could always still do that. You know, one final bonding activity, just for kicks, eh?"
Combined with his uneasy expression, his words weren't very convincing. But I wasn't sure how I could combat his defeatist attitude. Carter, though, was apparently more confident.
"You're…you're wrong!" he accused. "You can't just say you're going to watch anime now, it doesn't make any sense."
"I never said it made sense, dude," Frank replied, folding his thick arms as was his habit. "I just said it was a way to kill some time."
"Not like that. What I mean is that you're hypocritical! Why do you think you enjoy anime in the first place?"
"Because it's fun and it, uh, looks good?"
"No, because it tells a good story, about the good guys overcoming obstacles and achieving their goals no matter what the odds. They have something they want and they fight for it, so how can you still like watching it while sitting here, giving up everything to Monika?"
Frank stared blankly, completely nonplussed by Carter's approach, "Like I don't know if you heard Nat, but this isn't a story where we can win. There's no way out. It's just everyone trying to make the best of things that they can and adapt, eh? And seriously, we're all coming out on top once it's over, so what is there even to complain about?"
"How about a world where Monika runs everything and you can't make your own choices anymore? Where if something happens to you, it's only because she allowed it and let it happen. Is that the world you want?"
Frank sighed, and chided both of us, "Ugh — neither of you know if that's the type of world she's making. Besides, the world as it is basically acts like that already. How good your life is from how much money your parents have, a good job depending on if you have connections…"
"But no one's ineffectual. Anything can happen!" Carter interrupted. "We're making our lives happen right now, by choosing to fight against Monika or not. We have a chance to change the world, and even if we didn't, you make your own chance. If there's a wall, you tear it down, if there's no path, you make it with your own two hands…"
"You're actually quoting that at me, geez. But really — I know everything going on looks crazy, but we're really not all that special. Just random people on campus who got picked up by the company's algorithms. We don't know how to make the right calls here, so it's better to do the safe thing. Always worked for me, and I bet if you take my advice, you'll thank me later. Not like MC here."
"I'm here because I trust my own judgment," I responded stiffly. "Apparently, you don't."
"Yeah, but to be fair, I've always been kind of a screw-up," Frank fired back. "Ever since hitting campus, I haven't done anything meaningful, haven't hit any 'career goals,' haven't stood out in any student org besides this one, always feeling like I'm in the wrong place, wrong major. Heck, I'd probably be failing my classes right now if it wasn't for Nat's help, so…yeah. Don't trust me to make decisions. I've hardly done anything good for myself, or anyone."
I stared at his souring, glowering face and began to feel a note of pity — this was an entirely new side of him that I was seeing. However, the realization seemed too little, too late. I wasn't sure how to reach him.
Still, Carter continued on. The last thing I remembered him saying before focusing to the girls' conversation on the laptop was "Well, you've done at least some good for one person. Think about Natsuki…"
Unfortunately, Natsuki was too preoccupied with Sayori to respond to that.
Sayori: Why are you so sure about your "calculations"? You can't predict everything 100%.
Sayori: I make mistakes in reading people all the time. And sometimes, I'll pop up in a social situation and have no idea what's going on at all!
Natsuki: That's because you were made to be "emotionally responsive." They wanted you to freak out unpredictably and be cute and vulnerable.
Natsuki: They designed me to sniff out every possibility of how a social situation could go and then draw a conclusion.
Natsuki: I have the programs you don't, and I know the decision I'm making!
Sayori: But what makes you decide something? Is it your data, or is your feelings?
Natsuki: Guess. Maybe I can't even trust my feelings, how about that?
Natsuki: Especially when I know I'm still a silly dating–sim fantasy dreamed up by a bunch of lost, lonely men!
Her avatar anxiously fiddling with her fingers again, Sayori seemed to stammer out her next line.
Sayori: B-b-but…you're still Natsuki. The same real Natsuki I've always known…
Natsuki: Am I? Why don't you ask MC over there, he's the one most skeptical about us being "real."
Natsuki: I know I don't feel real half the time, so what does it matter what I do in the "real" world?
I was annoyed at being called out a second time in the space of a minute, but I still managed respond in time.
"Just so you know, I convinced myself that Monika was a real person a long time ago. If I'm skeptical of anything, it's the company's excuses for creating and exploiting you. All the data and algorithms you're talking about, you shouldn't feel burdened by them. We're thinking about the same things."
Natsuki: I don't feel burdened!
Natsuki: I just know what the algorithms tell me, and I trust them more than anything else.
"Can you though?" I asked in a flash of inspiration. "I know for a fact Monika's been subtly manipulating Sayori's programs, and Yuri's. It wouldn't be much of a stretch for her experiment with you too, so all these certainties you're talking about — what if you only believe them because Monika wants you to?"
Natsuki: Heck, if that's true, then we've definitely already lost.
Natsuki: It's another big reason not to let me decide anything — if you actually believe what you're saying.
Her avatar winced. I knew I had made her doubt for a moment.
"Well, not making a decision is a decision," I began. "And there's another thing, something that that Anthony from SalvoCore told me. There's a marker he called a process signature, sort of a fingerprint that shows whether one of their AI's is unique and intact. They kept track of it to make sure none of you grabbed a bunch of resources and tried to take Q-zero by yourself, but it also shows whether Monika is directly controlling anyone. And your signature is intact. Same with Sayori and Yuri. So, there's no escaping it. You're still you."
Natsuki: Well that's good, but…what are you getting at?
"I'm not sure, but how about this? I think Monika might have manipulated your algorithms to fool you into giving up and letting her have free reign."
Natsuki: As in, manipulation via despair? Well, I wouldn't put her above that…
"That's not the point. Whatever she changed, it wasn't your fundamental personality, so it comes down to this. It looks like Monika is taking absolute power, and you can choose to help us confront her. You can choose like a like a computer, or you can choose like a human. As for what's better, that's up to you, but from everything you've done in the club, I bet I can predict which one it will be."
Surprised at my recurring ability to put together powerful phraseology at the last moment, I hoped Sayori would back up my point with a few kind words. However, she seemed to be back on Carter's phone, engaged with Frank. I watched them all go back and forth for a moment, the young freshman becoming particularly enthused. Then, a high–pitched whistle drew me back to Natsuki.
Natsuki: Hey, I'm thinking about what you're saying over here!
"Changing your mind so soon?" I commented, hoping something I told her had sunk in.
Natsuki: I'm still a superintelligent AI, aren't I? I can decide things quickly.
Natsuki: But you're right in that I'm also me. I can't escape that.
Natsuki: And this is going to sound super cliché, but with what Monika is trying to do…
She cycled through some of her cuter scrunched–up faces, struggling to get the words out.
Natsuki: It's like, I'm kind of going to live forever, right? And if I do, I don't think I could stand to spend eternity surrendering to Monika like this.
Natsuki: I would know that I didn't stand up to her now, only forever, and I don't think…
Natsuki: …I don't think the "real" part of me would like that very much.
I could immediately sense my heart lift as the pink DOKI wrote those words out.
"So you'll help us stop the hack? You can access and disable the program, right?"
Natsuki: Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. First thing's first.
Natsuki: Hey, Franky?
Natsuki: Are you feeling any different about this, now that half the club's shown up here?
Natsuki: Because I'm beginning to think I might have made the wrong call.
Immediately, the junior turned his head to his laptop screen.
"Really? Took you long enough. I never thought your heart was really in it, eh? Like, all those times you blew up telling me about Monika, and what she was really doing."
Natsuki: Yeah, well the mood swings aren't just for show. They meant something, something that wasn't in my calculations, and even if they don't make sense, I've still got to deal with them.
Natsuki: You feeling the same way?
"Yeah, funny story. I was trying to run from some feelings too. Avoiding how, like, it doesn't feel right to take this whole hack thing lying down. If Monika's really taking over the world, we should at least all be there and have a say in it. She's probably going to do a couple things I don't like otherwise, you know?"
Natsuki: Same. But even that's not the point. The point is feeling strong enough to do something, and for that…it's good to have some encouragement.
Natsuki: You've really done a lot to hold me together over the past three months, so if you really want me to change course and do this…
Her cheeks blushing, Natuski's aggressive stance went weak. In response, Frank smiled in his usual cocky fashion and said, "Yup. I know it's a joke I make, but if this whole literature club deal is playing out like an anime, I want to go out like the hero. Not an NPC."
"Wow…" Carter mouthed from the background. "If the club is an anime, this is like the final episode then, isn't it?"
"Special three–part finale," I muttered, continuing the joke. "Because we still need to find Luke. Unless, Natsuki, you can stop the hack program now?"
Natsuki: Of course I can! But that's a really bad idea.
Natsuki: Actually, is that's what you were thinking, why didn't Sayori…
Sayori: It was too complicated! I didn't know if the whole thing would blow up if I took out a piece in the wrong place.
Natsuki: Oh come on, it's not that bad. There's a shutdown pathway built right into it. All you would have to do is, um…how to say this…
For the first time in a while, the little black text terminal appeared in the upper left of the DOKI app, showing that Natsuki was transferring a huge list of what looked like command functions and memory addresses to Sayori.
Sayori: Ohhh…I guess that makes sense. But isn't stopping it that way too obvious?
Natsuki: Of course it's obvious and that's why we're not doing it!
Natsuki: Do you honestly think Monika's not monitoring the progress of everything? The moment the hack stops, she'll just swoop down and restart the program, and then our chance to tell her anything is gone.
Natsuki: In fact, the only reason she hasn't popped up already is that she must be too busy with something else.
Natsuki: She probably thinks the two of us are just chatting.
"What, even with all the sneaking around we've done? We're not at the server stations anymore," Carter said.
Natsuki: That was only necessarily to break in. And as for Sayori and I, we don't really move the same way you guys do, huh?
"Oh, right. I thought that maybe she was watching with security cameras or something."
Natsuki: Seems she doesn't care enough to scan over those right now.
Natsuki: Anyway, MC had the right idea. We need Yuri, and to get Yuri we need to go through Luke.
"You're sure of that?" I said, still dreading to confront his lunacy.
Natsuki: Yes. This is my prediction algo's talking again, so you'd better listen up.
Natsuki: Now, out of all of us, Yuri was the only one who could ever keep Monika on her toes. She would do things she could never fully expect.
Natsuki: If you want to stop the hack and get a position where we can actually demand anything of Monika, we need to have all three of us together, then stop the hacking program all at once.
Natsuki: Only then could we keep limited control. If we do anything else, Monika will cut off that route and we won't get another chance.
"I see. Well, at least I know where Luke is. Anthony from SalvoCore gave me a map…"
Natsuki: Yeah, you told us already, and I can see the map in the app.
Natsuki: The library — probably rigged up like a fortress with all the school surveillance, waiting and watching for us.
"It can't be that bad. Doesn't this place have a bunch of cameras and sensors too?"
Natsuki: It does! I was just…in a bad place until right now. It was easier to procrastinate and not think about any of this, instead of securing the building.
Natsuki: It's all your credit for giving me a way out.
"Hey, we all helped, didn't we?" Carter interjected.
Sayori: Yeah, exactly. And there's something special about everyone coming together in the end, isn't there?
Sayori: Even now…I don't feel as alone as I did just ten minutes ago!
Natsuki: Yeah, yeah, you're all right. Go team and all that.
Natsuki: I'm just…sorry I wasn't a better friend to you in all this, Sayori.
Natsuki: I had the chance to unite the club if things went wrong, but I didn't, and…
Sayori: It's okay, really! You're helping us now, right?
Sayori: Even if everything goes wrong from here, at least we got to know each other a little bit better, and we'll still be friends afterwards!
Sayori, her eyes bright, leaned over Natsuki's avatar in what looked like a custom pose of a light hug. Although she didn't adapt in turn, the pink DOKI's expression did loosen somewhat.
Natsuki: Yeah…but still, if I was bad friend to you, I've been even worse friend to Yuri.
Natsuki: What's happened to her over the past month…I don't even want to talk about it.
Natsuki: But I guess I have to, because we're going over there to make amends.
Natsuki: Frank, you ready?
"Huh? Sure thing," came the answer after a series of successive pings.
Frank had been standing a few tables away, staring out the window. Night had completely fallen, and the campus skyline had become a glowing network of scattered lights, from the harsh fluorescents from open office windows to the softer yellows of the pedestrian–path lampposts. Off and on, a red antenna marker from the tip of a building would flicker, or you would see a hint of the special blue used for the campus' emergency call boxes.
"I don't know much about Yuri, but honestly, don't worry about Luke," he was continuing. "The guy's harmless. We'll get him back no problem."
"I don't know…MC thinks he's going to be the hardest challenge yet," Carter replied, apparently picking up that I was flinching whenever his name was mentioned.
"Then I'm glad you came to me first. Dude's not really that much different from you and I, just more, I don't know, intense. Takes things too seriously, but it's really all an act. I'll show you once I break through to him."
"I hate to dampen your outlook, especially if you're, um, back in the club, so to speak," I told him. "but you must not have seen him up close in the past few weeks. He's changed."
"No he hasn't," Frank insisted. "Look, whatever you saw, that's just him playing games, taking an idea as far as it would go, just because he could. That's kind of what made him fun. But also…eh, it'll be good to have him back. Let's go — Nat, Sayori? And the rest of us humans?"
"We're ready," I replied. "And again, you're sure of this? You're making a pretty sharp U-turn from when we walked in."
"Sure, but it's not like I meant any of that, eh? You could tell at least, even if you didn't know what to say. Carter and his damn anime quotes though…"
"Yeah, I'm glad he's in the club too. But if you weren't sure, then why'd you come on so strong?"
"Eh? Maybe it's not obvious, but…like, you're doing all this to talk to Monika again, right?"
"You could say that."
"Well, I said all of that for Natsuki's sake. I really believed she thought going after Monika was pointless, and it would come back to bite us."
Natsuki: And I only fed you that story because I didn't want to trouble you, or change anything about the vibe we had going…
Natsuki: …you know, if this is how Monika caught us all — through our relationships — she's better even better than I thought.
I sighed at Natsuki's comment. With fresh visions of Monika as an all-powerful chessmaster filling my head, I decided to let Frank take the lead. He guided our growing entourage out of the PUAB and onward to out penultimate destination, the MARIE library. As we left, I reflected on how we had been just a few doors down from the unassuming conference room where I had encountered Monika for the first time. And at the risk of invoking another cliché, I felt as if a lifetime had passed between then and now. So much had changed, and there were so many aspects about our relationship I didn't consider. All the same, I sympathized a little with Natsuki. Given the facts and my knowledge at the time, I couldn't imagine how the current situation could have turned out any different.
Author's Notes:
I was planning to include Luke's segment in this chapter, but I'm looking at the 6,500+ wordcount on the wall, and I'm not thinking a 13,000–word chapter is the best for this phase in the story. Perfectly fine — just means I need to quickly go and look up another thesaurus synonym for "realization."
Since it was a short chapter, I also did my once-over edit on the same day I wrote the final 1,500 words or so, which is not typical. If there are any bad typos or other mistakes, please don't hesitate to speak up.
