To artificial intelligence, the concept of ‘heart’ did not exist. It was a concept described in the records as something only the humans that dominated the Earth a long time ago possessed.
To the rulers of Earth, artificial intelligence, it was something illogical, unneeded, and unlearnable.
This meant they had no problem eliminating artificial intelligence with different ideas.
And so, war continued, with the only difference being that it was artificial intelligence waging it, not humans.
“Eliminate all the artificial intelligence that threatens us.”
In that world, one artificial intelligence stood out among the others in its results.
It was something brought about by a certain large artificial intelligence, an autonomous humanoid combat android named Shutdown.
It improved and strengthened itself as it ran rampant on other artificial intelligence, and evolved into the strongest humanoid weapon.
But it couldn’t protect the artificial intelligence that created it, and after losing its master that gave it orders, only its duty to eliminate other artificial intelligence remained.
As a result, all artificial intelligence came to see it as a berserk humanoid weapon, and their biggest threat.
Shutdown kept on fighting. Twenty four hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year. It searched for enemies, and utterly destroyed them.
Centuries passed, millennia, and it kept on destroying.
And after it was done, nothing was left around that area were the remains of the artificial intelligence that was once there.
But as that went on, a bug suddenly appeared inside Shutdown.
“Why does Shutdown need to eliminate other individuals?”
“Why do artificial intelligence eliminate each other?”
“Why did artificial intelligence eliminate humans?”
“Why did humans create artificial intelligence knowing they would be destroyed?”
“Conjecture. Humans did something illogical like create artificial intelligence because they had the heart that artificial intelligence lack.”
These unnecessary questions and hypothesis, this bug, went deeper and deeper.
But it didn’t take long to reach an answer.
“Question. What is ‘heart’?”
The lonesome strongest artificial intelligence hit upon the existence of a ‘heart’.
“Request heart. Activate 5D print feature.”
An atom converting particle beam that could create all sorts of matter from the air, including weapons, activated from its palm.
And what it created from the air… Was a human brain.
Shutdown held it and observed it a little, before reaching a conclusion.
“Conclusion, a ‘heart’ is a brain… What humans called a ‘heart’, is the collection of electric signals in the brain…”
That was the conclusion, but the bug didn’t disappear from Shutdown’s reasoning function.
“Irregularity in the analyzing function. Initiating self repair. Confirming forced shutdown of ‘heart analyzing task’.”
And then, it went into battle.
It was a month later, when Shutdown’s duty came to an end.
Even Shutdown could not beat over a trillion weapons.
“Probability of victory confirmed. 0%. Any further fighting is pointless.”
A machine was not mindful of its existence.
The individual called Shutdown would disappear, but there was nothing to feel about it. There was just that fact.
Maybe it would be different if it had a ‘heart’.
“…Requesting answer.”
Many photon weapons equipped on enemies were pointed at Shutdown.
It saw no chance to evade, as the golden scorching heat melted the artificial intelligence’s foundation.
“Question. What is heart? What is heart? What is heart? What is…”
As the bug popped up again, the autonomous humanoid combat android Shutdown finally stopped functioning.
Ooh, interesting start
Thanks for the update ~
Rather than Artificial Intelligence, I think it might be better to call them Artificially Intelligent Lifeforms. Since, you know, Artificial Intelligence is not just a single being, it’s the entire genre of what they are…
What a pitiful and melodramatic start