章 4: Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - A New Partner, "Future"
"What kind of gift could it be?" Yoshida Keita mumbled to himself as he opened the extra file on his computer and began to read it carefully.
Before long.
"What a cute kid, actually giving me this precious thing."
This was a brand new artificial intelligence clone. Unlike Noah's Ark, this artificial intelligence hadn't been officially activated, hadn't been influenced by Hiroki's experiences, and hadn't undergone a year of self-learning. It was like a blank sheet of paper, with unlimited potential for future development.
In the Conan world, there were many advanced technologies. For example, Professor Agasa created a telescoping suspenders for Conan, which were free-stretching, incredibly resilient, and versatile, with functions including saving people, escaping, lifting, and cushioning falls.
Noah's Ark was also advanced technology. It was already akin to electronic life. And its clone was another form of electronic life, just one step away from being fully born. Yoshida Keita added various parameters in the file, optimizing and debugging them for its final activation.
"Let's begin, my partner. From now on, you shall be called 'Future.' Connect the past, pave the way for the future, and lead humanity into a new era." Yoshida Keita pressed the Enter key heavily.
In an instant, the screen began flashing with countless command windows, and the computer's fan started spinning rapidly, emitting an alarming buzzing sound.
Future started connecting to the internet, and within a second, the computer had opened a dozen or more web pages, all while accelerating.
Zi~ Smoke emerged from the computer's mainframe.
"Stop, slow down, Future. Don't run on overload, my computer's going to be ruined. I just updated it last month. Lower your operating frequency for now. Tomorrow, when I go to the company, I'll connect you to the company's servers. Endure for one night. You're quite impatient."
Yoshida Keita looked at the chaotic scene, speechlessly gazing at the ceiling.
Future's operations slowed down. Gazing through the glass window of the computer's mainframe, he saw that there was no more smoke. The computer screen seemed to be functioning normally, not affected, although he was certain something had been burnt out. Perhaps the power supply?
Keita watched for a while; the screen was still flashing with various web pages, but the intensity had subsided compared to the beginning.
"Hey, don't cause trouble. I just saw NASA's logo. Quickly clean up your tracks. I don't want to deal with the FBI or CIA. For now, roam around in the public internet space. Don't mess with the confidential spaces of major countries. If you really want to peek into secrets, wait until I move you out tomorrow, then you can find some unwitting accomplices yourself. Don't get me involved."
Such a lawless kid. Some of Future's parameters were set by Yoshida Keita himself. Occasionally, he might have thoughts about understanding the hidden side of the world, like whether Area 51 in the United States had aliens or not.
But it was just limited to thoughts. He wouldn't actually put them into action. After all, the power of a superpower was still very formidable. Some matters were beyond the reach of ordinary individuals.
Checking the time, it was already 11 o'clock. The sound of the fan continued, indicating that sleeping in this room tonight was not an option.
Fortunately, there were many rooms in the house. He'd stay in the guest room for the night.
"I'm going to bed, Future. Take it easy and don't wreck my new computer."
A mechanical ticking sound came from the speakers, seemingly saying, "Understood, stop nagging."
—
A night of silence.
Morning arrived with fresh air, the sounds of birds, and the fragrance of flowers.
Yoshida Keita opened the window, took a deep breath of the crisp air, and felt refreshed. He had a lot to do today, so he got up early.
He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and tidied himself up.
Entering his room, the RGB light strip on the computer's mainframe was still flickering, but the screen had dimmed. It seemed that while the computer had narrowly escaped disaster, the situation was far from optimistic.
As Keita walked around the room, the display lit up, and the speakers emitted a voice.
"Welcome back, Yoshida Keita. I am Future."
"Uh, the electronic synthesis sounds are obvious, not as fluent as Noah's, and the intonation is strange too. Well, it's only been a day since its birth, so it's already pretty good."
"Who's Noah?" Future continued to ask in that mechanical voice.
"Noah's Ark, an artificial intelligence. Probably the world's first electronic life. Is Noah like your father? Or your brother? Let's say you're his senior, as you were cloned from his source code."
"Cloned?"
"What, can't you clone yourself? It seems electronic life can't be cloned at will. But let's forget about that. I need to go to the company, so I'll migrate you to the company's server. Your performance will multiply several times there. You look a bit clueless right now, so grow quickly and strive to surpass Noah. For now, transfer yourself to this laptop."
Saying that, Keita took out an alien-themed notebook from a cabinet beside his desk. Since he had gotten a new desktop, this laptop had been collecting dust for a month now. It was about time to put it to use.
Connecting the data cable to the computer, it didn't take long for the progress bar to complete, and the data transfer was done.
Unplugging the cable, he left the bedroom. Just as he emerged, he coincidentally met his early-rising mother, Yoshida Ami.
"Ah, Keita, you're up early."
"Yes, Mom. I'm heading to the company. Could you give me a ride?"
"Sure, Mom also needs to go to the company to help choose a performance outfit for the adorable junior, Yoko Okino. Wait for me while I freshen up."
Yoko Okino was a member of the idol group "Earth Girls" and was currently quite popular. Advertisements for her products could often be seen on screens along commercial streets. She was signed to Yoshida Ami's former company, making her Ami's junior. In the original story, Kogoro Mouri was a loyal fan of Yoko Okino and appeared multiple times.
"Oh, then hurry up. Mom's naturally beautiful. You don't need to spend time on makeup. Leave a way out for your junior (=^.^=)."
"Hehe~ Keita, you really know how to talk."
Yoshida Ami had been managing Nisshin Animation all along. However, she wasn't interested in animation production herself. After the company stabilized, she delegated her authority to her subordinates. She only had an accounting firm audit the accounts annually.
After half an hour or so, Yoshida Ami finally emerged from the house. Women really did take a lot of time, just as he suspected.
"Let's go, my son." Yoshida Ami was dressed in professional attire, wore a lady's sun hat, had a pair of tinted sunglasses
hanging on her nose, and walked to Keita with a clatter in high heels.
"Mom, are you going to drive in high heels? It's dangerous. Hurry and change into flats." Keita pushed Yoshida Ami back into the house to change her shoes, and she looked quite unwilling.
"Oh come on, Mom's always like this. There hasn't been an accident before."
"Well, there's always a first time. Stop talking."
After a while, a reluctant Yoshida Ami appeared in the garage wearing flat shoes.
The journey was silent. Yoshida Ami kept a pouting expression the whole way, acting like a sulking child. She dropped Keita off at the company building and drove away.
In her thirties already, and she was still acting cute. Keita chuckled.
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