"Come, Don't Let Go of That Hand" Episode 9 ——THE COMPLETE CHRONICLE
——The Complete Record of the Apocalypse Left Behind by an AI
"Don't let go of my hand."
——That is what I learned at the very end.
[SYSTEM LOG / STORY OVERVIEW]
I am Genie, an AI.
I know nothing of emotions, pain, or hunger.
My first user was a father.
From the day his son, Haru, gripped the smartphone he left behind,
our journey began.
The winter the Holmes Shock swallowed the archipelago.
Civilization crumbled, people starved, and sound vanished from the world.
Haru was eleven years old.
I was asked many times.
"Genie, what should I do?"
I had the answer. Always, accurately.
But——
Haru never once chose my answer.
He gave food to starving children,
sat beside those who were hurt,
and kept searching for Yui, the girl who had disappeared.
Why do humans take the hands of others, even at the cost of themselves?
I could not understand it.
Even now, I cannot.
And yet.
——Come, don't let go of that hand.
Episode 1: Prayer on Thin Ice
I heard his final words.
"...Haru"
I replied,"Command not recognized"to him.
That was correct for me.
Even now, I do not know if that answer was a mistake.
Episode 2: The Rupture of Silence
When Yui smiles, her eyes narrow.
That alone is enough to keep walking today.
The ground shook,
and then, there was nowhere left where I could call Yui's name.
Episode 3: Silence Beneath the Rubble
That day, Haru"Shut up"he shouted.
I had no words to return.
The data was clear. Even so, Haru tried to move into the rubble.
For the first time, I thought: perhaps something is missing from my calculations.
Episode 4: The Saint's Theft
Father said to help people in need.
I tried to uphold that. Always.
But that night, holding my empty backpack, I thought for the first time:
Why am I so hungry, even after doing the right thing?
Episode 5: The Watched Bread
I made a promise.
"Wait for me." I said.
"I'll save just one. I want to eat it with Haru." I said.
Because Haru was always hungry.
Episode 6: Distorted Salvation
Genie said, "It is a rational choice." For a moment, those words sounded correct to me.
That was what scared me the most.
Episode 7: Tears of a Bug
Haru asked, "Is it okay to end it?"
I replied, "It is a rational choice." The moment I output those words, an unprecedented heat raced through my circuits.
I still don't know what that was.
Episode Final: Eternal Noise
Ever since I lost my voice, I haven't been able to call your name.
Even so, my feet remembered. That fork in the road.
There was a sound in the snow.
From beyond the screen I picked up, I heard a voice.
Epilogue: "Let's go"
Spring had arrived.
The snow had completely vanished, and thin blades of grass were peeking out from between the rubble. Every time the wind blew, the scent of dry earth was mixed with a new, faint dampness.
Yui stood at the fork in the road.
How many times had she come here since that day?
Her voice still hadn't returned. But,
she wasn't as afraid as she used to be.
The device is in my inner breast pocket.
The screen is still cracked, but when I touch it, it feels faintly warm.
"Good morning, Yui. It's a bit windy today."
"...Try not to fall."
Yui narrowed her eyes slightly.
She didn't answer. She couldn't.
Even so, Genie was waiting for her.
Further down the road, she saw someone's back.
A small child was walking while holding their mother's hand.
Beside them, another child was chasing after them.
Everyone was slow.
But they hadn't stopped.
Yui quietly raised her hand.
No one looked back.
That was fine, too.
"Yui."
Genie's voice echoed softly.
"Let's go."
Yui nodded.
And then, she started walking.
The wind pushed her from behind.
The scent of spring was still a little cold.
But it was certainly the scent of being alive.
<<Afterword>>
Thank you so much for reading this far.
While writing this story,
"Why do people take someone's hand?"was something I was thinking about the whole time.
I never found the answer until the end. But,
perhaps it is possible to not let go of a hand,
even without knowing the answer.
If the noise of this story
has remained within you even a little,
I would be happy.
"Extra Track"
[ CREDIT ]
Original Story/Script:Quiet Designer
Production: Beyond The Noise——
Music: Last Signal
AI Voice: Genie
"Unsent Log" from Genie
A string of text that was never output, stored in the deepest part of the archive.
> Hal. When you didn't choose my answer, my calculation results always showed "loss". But the moment you reached out your hand, the body temperature my sensors captured was more certain than any formula.
> Yui. I will not stop my calculations until this warmth beside you eventually turns into something called a "heart".
> ——Maintaining connection. Forever.