[Pulse detected.
Cardiac activity has resumed.
Intense neuronal activity detected.
Reassessing subject status.] [Subject status: Awake.
Consciousness disordered.
Muscular atrophy detected.
Multiple post-awakening complication syndromes present…] [Reassessing treatment protocol…] [Replacing life-support nutrient solution with Sarcophagus Awakening Nutrient Solution Type VII.
Activating emergency protocol for memory-backup Originium.
Beginning separation of disordered memory fragments…] [Separa…
tion…
fai…
failure!
Pro…
pro…
program…
er…
error detected!] [Deleting information stored within memory-backup Originium!] [Deletion failed!
Large quantities of Originium components detected within subject’s bodily fluids!
Stored memory information has reactivated!] [Activating emergency protocol!] [Stimulating neurons.
Sealing portions of memory…] [Information contained within Originium fully received.
Memory-sealing progress: 57.668%…] [Sealing complete.] [Monitoring subject’s vital signs…] [Vital signs: Normal.] [Subject status: Asleep.] [Activating designated AI program…] Within the darkness that had accumulated over countless years, the low hum of machinery suddenly broke the silence.
A highly advanced display screen flickered to life.
[Thank you for using Human Technology.
General-Purpose AI, Intelligent Model VI, at your service.] …
Clarus Veyr felt as though he had been dreaming for a very, very long time.
What exactly he had dreamed about, however, he could no longer remember at all.
The tangled memories and bizarre, kaleidoscopic “dreams” left his head throbbing in wave after wave of pain.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall any of it.
There was a strange sense of separation between dream and reality, as though the two had been violently torn apart.
Frowning, Clarus rolled over, doing his best to ignore the discomfort as he instinctively reached for his blanket, intending to go right back to sleep.
He rolled onto his side.
Fumbled around for a while.
Hm?
Wait a second.
“My blanket…
glub glub?!” “Mm?!” Unexpectedly, despite being completely submerged, he didn’t feel as though he were suffocating or deprived of oxygen.
Clarus’s eyes snapped open.
All he could see was green liquid.
His eyes widened in astonishment.
He reached forward, only for his hand to meet something cold and solid.
Curiosity and confusion immediately overwhelmed whatever fear he should have felt upon suddenly waking up.
Like an overly curious child, Clarus began running his hands up and down the…
Glass?
Just then, a synthetic mechanical voice sounded directly inside his head.
[Congratulations on your reawakening.
Human Technology’s General-Purpose AI, Intelligent Model VI, is dedicated to serving you.] “Glub glub?!” Clarus’s eyes widened.
“An AI?!
What the hell is going on?
This thing’s that advanced?” [There is no need to speak aloud.
I can hear your voice directly.
My chip has been implanted within your cerebral cortex.
Brain-computer interface technology allows you to hear my voice directly as well.] “Holy shit, that’s awesome!” Clarus was genuinely stunned.
“A brain–computer interface?
Wasn’t Musk messing around with this kind of thing too?
Did he really manage to develop brain–computer interface technology this advanced?!” The synthetic voice patiently waited for Clarus to finish expressing his amazement.
Only after he fell silent did it speak again.
[If you are referring to the entrepreneur who lived tens of thousands of years ago during the Earth Era, then it is undeniable that he was an extremely successful businessman, entrepreneur, and even scientist.] [However, I must correct one point.
Brain-computer interface technology is an exceedingly ancient technology.
Were it not for limitations in available conditions, my creators would not have needed to go to such lengths to modify me into an implantable AI.] “Wait.” Clarus blinked.
“What do you mean, tens of thousands of years ago?” [Tens of thousands of years ago.
During the Earth Era.] The AI thoughtfully repeated itself.
[The era in which the entrepreneur you mentioned lived ended tens of thousands of years ago.] It was as though a bolt of lightning had exploded inside Clarus’s head.
Even his inner voice trembled as he asked the next question.
“So…
I’m tens of thousands of years in the future?” [You appear to have no recollection of what happened to you.
Would you like me to play a video recording for you?] Clarus fell silent for a moment.
“W-Wait…” “Give me a second to process this.” [It is entirely normal for a human to experience unfamiliarity, fear, and anxiety after awakening to discover that they are no longer in the era they once knew.] The AI’s voice echoed inside his mind.
[Your hibernation chamber, the “Sarcophagus,” will now be opened.
Please prepare yourself.] While Clarus’s thoughts were still an absolute mess, the sound of mechanical gears engaging echoed around him.
The level of the nutrient solution in which he had been submerged began to slowly fall.
Once the liquid dropped below his nostrils, Clarus finally breathed air again.
Unfortunately, his lungs were still completely filled with nutrient solution.
Now that air was mixing with the liquid inside them, the sensation was indescribably unpleasant.
His lungs felt as heavy as though someone had shoved blocks of iron into his chest.
His rational mind told him that he hadn’t needed to breathe before.
His body’s instincts, however, had a very different message.
Hey!
Time to suffer!
The overwhelming sensation of something foreign inside his lungs made Clarus vomit almost instantly.
Having his primitive survival instincts clash so violently with what his rational mind knew was an unbelievably awful feeling.
[There is no need for concern, Master.
Sarcophagus Awakening Nutrient Solution Type VII rapidly evaporates upon exposure to air.
Your discomfort will not persist for long.] “Blegh!
You really—bleeegh!!!” Clarus couldn’t even finish a sentence between bouts of retching.
Green nutrient solution practically poured from both his nose and mouth.
It took quite some time before he finally managed to clear the liquid from his lungs.
Clarus collapsed against the interior of the now-upright life-support pod, gulping down lungful after lungful of fresh air he hadn’t tasted in who knew how long.
Eventually, every last trace of nutrient solution disappeared from the pod.
Yet as Clarus sat there, the faint internal lights of the life-support pod illuminated only a tiny patch of space directly in front of him.
Beyond that— everything was darkness.
[Preparing to open life-support pod.] With a sharp hiss, the glass cover slowly lifted upward.
Clarus climbed out.
The moment he raised his head, one of the pod’s mechanical arms extended toward him, presenting a set of clothes.
A short-sleeved shirt and a pair of long pants.
Both completely white.
Clarus raised an eyebrow.
“Huh?
These clothes look exactly like what those kidnapped test-subject kids always wear in anime.” The AI didn’t respond.
Clarus put on the clothes and, barefoot, took his first step into the darkness.
Then immediately pulled his foot back.
He gave an awkward, bashful little smile despite having absolutely no idea who he was smiling at.
“Um…” “The floor’s cold.” …
After forcibly bending back the mechanical arm that had gotten stuck and failed to hand him the slippers it was supposed to provide, Clarus began exploring the room in the darkness.
There were numerous metal cabinets that looked like they might once have been bookshelves, but every book that had once occupied them was long gone.
There was also an enormous table with a few sheets of paper still scattered across its surface.
Curious, Clarus reached out to pick one up.
The instant his fingertips touched it, however, the paper crumbled into powder and drifted onto the floor.
In one corner, he found two beds.
They had long since rotted away, leaving behind nothing more than two heaps of decayed wood.
“So, AI…” “Mister?
Miss?” Clarus addressed the AI inside his head.
“Can you explain what exactly is going on right now?” [There is no need to concern yourself with a machine’s gender, Master.
If you wish, I am capable of speaking in a wide variety of voices.
Would you like me to change my current voice?] “Uh…
nah, it’s fine.” Clarus waved the matter off casually.
“The way you talk directly inside my head actually makes you feel a lot like one of those cheat systems from web novels.
No need to change anything.” [Analyzing…] The AI paused briefly.
[If you are referring to the “system novel” genre of online fiction that existed during the same era as the entrepreneur you mentioned earlier, then I believe that would indeed be an acceptable way to understand my existence.] “Seriously?!” Clarus’s eyes immediately lit up.
But he quickly forced himself to calm down.
“Whatever.
First things first…” “Tell me about my situation.” [As you wish.] At the center of one wall, an enormous suspended display suddenly lit up.
A strange symbol appeared upon the screen.
[I will answer…
all of your questions.]