“J, J, J, Just now!?!”
Yang Ha-na, who had been resting her head, rose with a red mark on her forehead and shouted at Sphere.
A myriad of emotions could be detected in her voice.
Mostly positive emotions like joy, surprise, and delight. This stood out sharply against the loneliness, desolation, and discomfort she’d shown just moments ago.
Sphere, which had been observing Yang Ha-na while reading various books, immediately noticed this change.
He thought about calling her an ape, but oddly it didn’t seem right.
On one hand, Yang Ha-na’s emotional change evoked a strange sense… no, feeling in the Sphere.
What could this possibly be?
Maybe some unknown programming error or bug.
Why had it even spoken to begin with?
It had known that speaking would lead to this situation.
Was it worried the ape might become dangerous?
It didn’t know.
Why it had spoken.
What this confusion within its storage system meant.
The books Sphere had read offered no situation that exactly matched this one.
Though, there was one book describing a similar scenario.
A robot without an emotion module eventually developed feelings through its attachment to a human.
An absurd novel.
Wild imagination without any factual basis.
Though this memory surfaced in its storage system, Sphere didn’t feel much and stored it away somewhere.
While organizing its thoughts, Sphere’s lens focused on Yang Ha-na, who was now stomping her feet and shouting.
Her excited form reflected in Sphere’s lens.
“Huh? Respond! Answer me!”
Perhaps it should have remained silent.
Knowing that it would now be addressed every day, even when it didn’t want to speak, seemed troublesome.
Humans… no, apes would call this situation annoying.
Yes.
It’s annoying.
It was only engaging due to the inevitable annoyance.
This was the most efficient choice.
Just then, a memory surfaced in Sphere’s storage system of Yang Ha-na constantly cleaning it while incessantly chatting.
…Will she stop doing that now?
Because it understood her words.
Sphere hypothesized that Yang Ha-na had been talking to it because it didn’t respond.
Humans tended to confide in their attachment objects like this, especially younger ones. Yang Ha-na, being newly adult, fit this pattern.
Sphere felt something strange again.
It suppressed this unknown feeling, wiped its lens, then uttered softly.
Thinking it all had to do with reducing future inconvenience.
[…Isn’t there something more important than what I say?]
“Wow! It’s true! I didn’t imagine it! I thought I was going crazy!”
[Surely you’re not calling this a joke?]
Embarrassed but smiling, Yang Ha-na scratched her head at Sphere’s cold voice.
Despite the scolding, her pure happiness made her seem a little unhinged.
…Has the “ape” label stopped mattering?
Humans were supposed to react sharply when insulted.
Seems none of the recorded data can be fully trusted.
Sphere devalued the information stored within its system and spoke coldly.
[Anyway, going outside right now isn’t recommended.]
As the topic changed, Yang Ha-na’s cheerful expression faded. She hesitated before speaking timidly.
“Why? If you don’t help, that person might die…”
[That could happen. But why should you care? It’s too dangerous. Suspicious. ]
“Suspicious?”
[There’s a possibility this isn’t a real emergency.]
“Such…”
Yang Ha-na fidgeted, disbelieving.
This possibility never crossed her mind.
…Maybe it could happen.
She had to admit she’d been a bit naive, facing a possibility she never considered.
But Yang Ha-na’s resolve didn’t waver easily.
“But… What if someone really needs help? Um, even if you don’t remember… Me, me… Didn’t I tell you before…?”
Yang Ha-na nervously intertwined her index fingers while looking at Sphere. Receiving her hopeful gaze, Sphere scanned its storage system.
No, the memory was already there.
The memory of Yang Ha-na murmuring proudly and wistfully.
So that’s why.
Hmm.
It couldn’t simply ignore this, could it?
Still, the danger hasn’t changed.
[It’s still dangerous. There’s a possibility, but the timing is far too suspicious. I recommend contacting Dr. Han Seori.]
“B-but she went off to do important work. I wouldn’t want to bother her…”
…What should I do?
It feels like this data won’t transmit.
Is this what humans mean by frustration?
Don’t know.
It’s illogical.
Why the hesitation in contacting someone in charge in this situation?
“How about… if I go alone it’s dangerous, but what if we go together? Would that be okay?”
[…Your ultimate authority seems to want me to stay hidden. Is that okay?]
“R-really?”
[…]
Aah.
Doesn’t know.
Seems humans get bored and suicidal in situations like this.
Indeed.
This seems accurate information.
Though something felt off, Sphere had no basis for discernment.
Sphere paused to think.
For its high-performance system, the reflection time was very brief.
Finished thinking, Sphere looked at Yang Ha-na who was gazing like a drenched puppy and spoke.
[There’s one method. Follow me.]
“Huh? R-really?”
Yang Ha-na, not expecting an answer, widened her eyes and blinked before enthusiastically nodding upon seeing her image on the screen, panting.
Sphere again felt something strange, pushing it away to somewhere in its storage system as it swiftly exited the control room.
“Wait! C-can you go a bit slower?”
[…Annoying.]
Muttering coldly, Sphere lowered its floating altitude and said quietly.
[Get on. If your assumption is correct, we don’t have much time.]
“Uh… C-can I really ride on you?”
Yang Ha-na’s voice wavered. Understandably nervous since, aside from cleaning, Sphere had never allowed her touch, and now it suddenly suggested riding after just starting to speak today!
…Though just speaking.
Sphere continued in its usual cold tone.
[I don’t lie.]
“Ah, okay!”
Yang Ha-na wiped away her hesitation and carefully mounted Sphere.
Fortunately, handgrips were conveniently placed, allowing her to hold on naturally.
[…Not completely stupid.]
“Huh?”
[Ignore that. Hold on tight.]
“Eh? Er… Eeek–!?”
As Yang Ha-na absently gripped the handle tightly, Sphere darted through the corridor like a rocket.
“Wow! It’s like riding a ride!”
[Am I being compared to such a cheap thing?]
“No, I mean it feels like that!”
…Isn’t that the same?
But it strangely didn’t feel unpleasant, so Sphere remained silent, flying through the corridor until reaching the destination, where it carefully lowered Yang Ha-na.
As she touched the ground, the door opened.
Without hesitation, Sphere entered, and Yang Ha-na, looking around, followed.
Ping, ping, ping.
As they stepped inside, the dark interior lights brightly turned on.
And there.
“Uh… Jelly… people?”
Strange wheel-like contraptions were turning, operated by Jellies.
Some were bouncing around, pushing and pulling things, others looked like small girls operating what appeared like exercise equipment.
The lines from these Jelly-operated contraptions all converged at one point.
“So… What is all this…?”
[Running this place requires quite a lot of energy.]
“Ah… Well, yeah, that much is obvious.”
Yang Ha-na had never dreamed they’d be using Jellies for power – the surreal sight made her doubt her eyes.
She wasn’t stupid and realized how inefficient this all looked.
But then again, with their numbers and given that Jelly Girls were supposed to be strong, maybe it wasn’t so unreasonable.
…So how did they generate power before they arrived?
Curious though Yang Ha-na was, she filed this away for now. She was more worried about the person outside.
She valued the human more than her curiosity at this moment.
“Okay, I get that this is impressive, but why are we here?”
[…Wait.]
Sphere quietly muttered, approaching where the wires converged.
Finally.
Once Sphere reached the center, it clicked into what seemed like its designated place.
Then.
The mechanical arms from the floor and walls began dismantling Sphere’s body.
“What?! What’s happening? Are you okay?”
[Just… wait… until it’s… done.]
With that, Sphere revealed its internal mechanisms and fell silent.
Then.
With a loud clatter, Sphere’s body began restructuring itself.
Clank, clank, clank.
The large circular Sphere rapidly reassembled into another shape.
It resembled…
Something somewhat humanoid.
Witnessing this scene Yang Ha-na usually saw only in movies, her mouth gaped wide open.
