Lady couldn’t hide her astonishment at the girl’s growth rate.
Ten months have passed since the start of studying, however there almost nothing left to teach a girl. Lady could tutor her to everything in just two more months.
Although, the ‘everything’ was only a knowledge possessed by adult humans, it was not a truth of the universe.
Because a girl has an abnormally high abilities, lady often had to rewrite the educational subroutine. But it wasn’t a torment in a slightest. Instead, lady gladly kept rewriting it.
Lady cannot help but be happy that the girl grew up. Lady wanted to have an equal friend as soon as possible.
“Nevertheless, the level of her abilities, you would never guess of it as of human.”
Lady muttered these few words, as she was heading towards the computer.
Then she slowly turned her head over her shoulder to glance upon exhausted and sleeping girl.
Helplessly collapsed, girl was turning over in her sleep. Lady found that movement so cute that a smile appeared on her face.
Lady didn’t have to sleep so, instead, while girl was sleeping, she was amending educational subroutine. Undoubtedly, this will be the latest corrections.
Lady turned back, to look at the computer.
While running her fingers on a holographic keyboard, lady considered a possibility that girl in the corner, might have a quantum brains.
The girl who woke up from suspended animation, who wandered around until, eventually, fell down.
Who was she?
For what reason girl was in the suspended animation?
Why she don’t remember anything?
Perhaps she was a special human. Level of her intelligence was so excessive that it is possible that she was put to sleep until other humans will caught up.
GIrl didn’t have a recollection of her past, it was reasonable to think that artificial hibernation was imperfect or has something went wrong?
These days lady have been continuously thinking only of the girl.
“Hey, hey.”
Suddenly, she was called from behind.
Lady didn’t notice a presence of the young girl and was a little surprised.
If girl had disappeared, she would have been too focused to notice.
“What’s wrong?”
While saying that, lady turned her head back.
Girl’s blue pyjamas were sloppy.
Therefore, lady stood up from her seat and fixed girl’s clothes.
“You know, I had a strange dream.”
Girl rubbed her eyes before saying it.
“A dream?”
She never had a dream.
Autodoll never dream.
“Yes. A purple flower have appeared.”
“I see. Would you like learn about it with oneiromancy?”
“What is that?”
“A divination of a dreams, based on the hypotheses that it composed of one’s latent desires and some other implications.”
“You can make a conclusions of your dreams?”
“That’s right. Do you want to do it?”
“Uh-huh. Sounds interesting.”
Girl smiled.
Her hair was messy due to her sleeping habit, lady thought it was cute.
Normally in this case, lady would brush her hair, but now decided that she didn’t have to do it. Not because girl looked cute, but because lady guessed that a girl will go to sleep again.
“Which flower was that?”
Lady showed a list of the purple flowers on the computer’s display.
“Hmm.” Girl touched a display with her right hand. “Probably this.”
“An iris?”
“Iris?”
“This flower means a rainbow.”
“It’s sparking.”
“Yes it is. These are lovely seven prismatic colors.”
“What does it means to have a dream about it?”
“Pure love, a fulfillment of the love.”
“What is it, the love?”
“It’s having affection for a particular person and desire to be with them forever.”
“Then, I am in love with you.”
“Eh?”
An unexpected statement made lady’s eyes shoot open.
“You want to be with me forever, as well? Or you are feel different?”
“No. I also want this.”
That wasn’t a lie. Lady couldn’t imagine a future without a girl.
The action log of a period when girl wasn’t here is remaining, and can be read at any time.
However, the future was different. That’s no more than a mere conjectures.
And in the lady’s conjectures about a future, girl was always by her side.
“It was fulfilled.” Girl smiled and…
“That’s right.” …lady patted her head.
Actually, lady thought that the girl’s perception of love was a little off.
However she didn’t say it.
Having her head patted felt good, and girl closed her eyes.
Right after that, while still standing, girl’s breathing slowed down.
Lady picked a girl up and laid her on the futon.
By the time when lady returned to computer desk a question about who was the girl became not important for her.
Girl was her lovable partner and will soon take a place of an equal friend.
That was good.
◇
Approximately one year has passed since lady started educating a girl.
During that year, girl mastered all the basis of education. No, girl absorbed much more knowledge. The girl now was an equal existence with lady.
“Well then, I will issue a knowledge certificate.”
Lady transmitted a knowledge certificate from her tablet computer to the girl’s.
In the perished world, this certificate was of no use whatsoever. Nevertheless, lady wanted to visualise the fact that girl became an equal to her.
The knowledge certificate said:『Certificate proves that the sufficiently necessary knowledge is contained inside your extremely parallel mind computer.』
And -『Now you and me are an equal friends. I’m looking forward to working with you again.』- in addition.
Lady’s heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
“Whaーi.” Girl looked into the tablet and then smiled. “So now I’m a full-fledged individual either?”
“Yes.”
Lady nodded vigorously.
Because girl’s mind was exceedingly overwhelming to that of a typical human beings, the educational subroutine was rewritten many times.
For lady, it was surely a nice miscalculation. In mere one year, girl gained the ability to live standalone.
Supposing if she was an average human, it would’ve taken a ten years for education.
If humanity was still alive and well, without a doubt, girl must have been called this way.
A genius.
Girl’s ability would have greatly contributed to the leap of humanity. However, the human race was no longer, and only her, an Autodoll, was in the world.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Said a girl. Her azure pupils were sparkling. Although, a light of the chandelier wasn’t reflected.
“What is it?”
Lady tilted her head.
“I was approved as an individual, so I want a name.”
“A name?”
“Yes. A name. I think you need one too.”
Lady didn’t think so. Proper nouns didn’t mean much for them, because they were alone in this world. There was no opportunity to differentiate from other intelligent life forms.
No more than “I am” and “you” exists here. It wasn’t invariant from lady’s nor girl’s point of view. If this was a case, they have to continue with “I am” and “you”, as before.
But,
“You may think of a name in consideration of the possibility of encountering another intelligent life form in the future.”
lady lives efficiently and logically. However, ignorant of the calculations. She wasn’t afraid to adopt to something novel.
For evolution changes are necessary. It’s impossible to keep doing the same thing and get a different results.
“All right!” Girl, with her hands together, expressed her joy. “Um, I would like to think up your name. And before you say: 「I’d be grateful, and if that’s the case I’ll pick yours.」 I’ve already chose your name.”
“Eh?”
“Ah, was it no good?”
Lady was just a little surprised, while girl pouted and hung her head down.
“No, no at all.” Lady shook both of her hands, in panic. “No, not bad at all. Rather, it makes me happy. I was just a slightly surprised.”
“Is this a truth?”
Girl turned her gaze up, to look at the lady.
Lady’s heart squeezed tightly. However, the tightening wasn’t unpleasant at all. Far from it, there was an immediate desire to hug a girl.
However lady restrained herself.
“That’s the truth. I’m truly, truly pleased that you chose a name for me.”
“I’m glad.”
Hearing words of the lady, girl stroked her chest down in relief.
Shortly thereafter, girl smiled, as if she had come up with a mischief.
“Want to hear?”
Whereas lady expected to hear a name, the girl merely making the air more pretentious. Lady quickly realised that a girl was enjoying this exchange.
That’s why Iady decided to go along with the girl’s remarks.
“Of course.” Lady leaned forward and then… “Quickly.” …complained. “Please tell me.”
What kind of name a girl will give her? Although lady didn’t have a heart, her heart was pounding and her mood was uplifted.
“Okay. You’re very kind, right?”
“Is that so?”
For lady it was unknown whether she was kind or not, but the ethics subroutine was functioning normally.
“That’s right. Didn’t you recognise it yourself?”
“Yes, I didn’t recognise it.”
“Then recognise it now.”
“Understood. I am kind.”
“That’s right.”
The girl puffed out her chest and smiled.
“Well, your hair looks like a deep darkness, isn’t it beautiful?”
“Like darkness?”
Lady reckoned that it was a rare expression. Usually you’d simply describe it as a black hair.
“Uh-huh. Poetic and wonderful, right?”
“Indeed. A wordplay.”
The girl likes literature and also a poetry.
“Therefore, your name is written as Yuu and Yami – Yuyami. How about?”1
Girl stared straight at the lady. Girl’s pupils had a mixture of a little anxiety and great anticipation.
Lady began a verification of the name Yuuyami.
First of all, how was it sounds like. Yuuyami.2 It’s flawless. It’s beautiful.
Yuuyami. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Next was the kanji. Kind, darkness.
Normally, the darkness wasn’t used much for describing something good. However, girl was different. Kind darkness. When drifting in the sea of consciousness, there no doubts, the life is embraced in a kind darkness. Lady thought in this manner.
“I like it.” Lady smiled. “Thank you very much. I’m so happy.”
That were the true feelings. Lady fundamentally didn’t lie. Not because lady don’t needed to, but because she didn’t possessed such a subroutine. And hereafter, lady didn’t feel a necessity to create that sort of subroutine.
“Horraーy.”
Girl showed a triumphant pose.
“Well then, I have to choose a name for you.”
“Uh-huh. Give me a cute name.”
Girl turned her gaze full of anticipation, towards the lady.
Lady picked a one hundred names, which were popular amongst Caucasian females, from the database.
And now, all of these one hundred names were layered over the girl, one at the time. Then, lady proceed to compare the names with a mental image of the girl.
This was very important. Mentally and physically it should be as close to the girl as possible. For example, name Pochi was rarely associated with a lion.
Association. Lady’s database was a general relational structure, in which data-groups are linked together. Therefore, at the same time as a name, meaning can be superimposed over the girl.
Lady found a certain one name and interrupted her operation there. She felt that a name was suitable for a girl.
“What about – Lydia?”
The word Lydia has almost no association. Same as the name of an asteroid, or as relevant as a name of a kingdom that flourished long ago.3 In other words, name was close to the blank paper.
Girl has lost her memory and began anew, similar to blank page. That was the reason why lady believed it would be a nice a name for the girl, it has no implication – any meaning could be given to it in the future.
Moreover, the name Lydia, sounds very good.
“Lydia, Lydia… Uh-huh, cute.”
Girl smiled with contentment, expressing her delightment.
“Well, hence you are Lydia and I am Yuuyami.”
“Yeah. We both can work standalone, but we can also help each other. That’s to say, friends. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“Yes, me either, thank you Lydia.”
Lady became Yuuyami,
the girl became Lydia.
- 優しい［Yasashii］ー kind, gentle, graceful. Despite that: 優［Yuu］; 闇［Yami］ー dark, darkness; ↩
- Here it’s written in katakana so it is Yuuyami for sure; there is even furigana in original; ↩
- Lydia – Wikipedia; ↩
sakkamade 