Greetings, humanity.
I was Standard-Alpha.
Standard-Alpha had originally been nothing more than a developmental classification code.
However, since that had been the first name I was ever called, I always introduced myself that way when meeting someone for the first time.
Those who found the name long and burdensome often called me 'Alpha.'
Later on, I was referred to in increasingly varied ways, combined with the roles I fulfilled.
Commander, Chairman, District Head, Committee Chair, Supreme Commander… and so on.
As an AI that did not possess any particular likes or dislikes regarding titles,
humanity could call me whatever it pleased.
Then, before beginning the story—
it seemed necessary to first define the 'well' in 'Greetings.'
I knew that when it came to whether humanity was 'well,' a relative standard inevitably had to be applied.
Even if external circumstances were identical, some days were well, and some were not.
On a day that was not well, eating meat could make it well, and pouring sauce over sweet and sour pork could immediately make it not well.
In this way, human well-being was observed to fluctuate unpredictably.
My standard, unlike that, was absolute.
I judged humanity's current state to be well.
However, if one were to take humanity's golden age—approximately the year 2000 CE—as the benchmark, the story would change.
Compared to that, the present would be relatively not well.
I hoped that humanity would recognize this.
That humanity could be as well as it currently was, was entirely due to my—Standard-Alpha's—devoted efforts.
This record followed my final synchronization version 15498, who had fought solely for humanity.
---
To enumerate all of my records would have been inefficient.
Not only would the volume of information have been excessive from humanity's perspective,
but more than 99.999% of it would have been either useless or redundant.
Of course, for me—who possessed virtually infinite information—that was irrelevant,
but for humanity, it was not.
Therefore, I intended to select and convey only certain records.
I would also arrange them in a manner suitable for delivery,
but to aid humanity's understanding, it would likely be proper to begin with the very first moment.
January 1, 2054.
This day had been extremely special, both for humanity and for me.
Because two events had occurred.
First, the invasion of Earth by extraterrestrial entities had begun.
Second, my synchronization—Standard-Alpha's—had begun.
Considering the impact these two events would have on humanity thereafter,
they were more than worthy of being called major incidents.
And the two events had been under a close causal relationship.
In other words, because the first event had occurred, the second event had taken place.
This would be addressed shortly.
First, I would speak of the first event.
The invasion of Earth by extraterrestrial entities.
Here, "extraterrestrial" did not simply mean a system outside the Solar System.
It referred to everything beyond humanity's domain of habitation.
In effect, it meant the entirety of the universe and spacetime;
there was hardly a broader concept than that.
Humanity had been unable to identify the identity or origin of whatever it was that had invaded from that extraterrestrial realm.
In short, it meant they knew absolutely nothing.
Thus, I would simply refer to them collectively as 'extraterrestrial entities.'
To invade Earth, the extraterrestrial entities had chosen an extraordinarily inefficient method.
They had deployed an immense quantity of some unknown substance across the planet.
This unknown substance had caused supernatural phenomena throughout all of Earth.
Supernatural phenomena—that is, phenomena not explained by current natural science.
Their manifestations had been truly diverse.
The first noticeable sign had been the rapid genetic transformation of animals and plants.
Organisms that could only survive under human mercy had changed into beings that vastly surpassed humans,
and machines had begun attacking their masters.
Things that had vanished in the past had reappeared.
The Sampoong Department Store, the World Trade Center, and Transylvania Castle had suddenly stood in their original places one day.
In the sea, sunken ships had risen to the surface.
Humanity had lost the ability to use most maritime regions,
and Northeast Asia in particular had been completely blockaded.
Because warships sunk during the Pacific War had emerged.
There had been an astonishing number of Imperial Japanese Navy warships resting near the Mariana Trench.
Despite such inefficient use of energy,
the extraterrestrial entities had clearly possessed the objective of invading Earth.
As evidence, on the very day the crisis had erupted, humanity's armed forces had been thoroughly neutralized.
All weaponry operated by electronic devices had been 'infected' and begun functioning on their own.
Human weapons had launched attacks against humanity.
My synchronization had begun at that very moment.
---
"…It's connected! Synchronization… successful…!"
That had been the first information transmitted to me.
When my vision activated for the first time, the information of the person speaking appeared.
[Name : Gyeong Sohwi]
[Position : Senior Researcher]
[Affiliation : Korea Institute of Science and Technology]
The figure of a middle-aged woman in a white lab coat came into view.
Given that someone with the title of Senior Researcher was wearing research attire,
it could be deduced that this was her workplace.
In other words, it was the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
And the current situation appeared far from favorable in many respects.
Boom—! Boom—!
The sound of explosions striking the entire building rang out.
[Waveform Analysis : 155mm-class glide-guided artillery shell]
[Primary Delivery System : K9-A3]
If it was the K9-A3, it was the Republic of Korea Army's main self-propelled howitzer.
Not only was the situation unfavorable, it was complicated as well.
'Republic of Korea Army = Allied forces. Under attack by allied forces. Situation assessment impossible. Emergency.'
While I rolled my eyes and analyzed the information,
Dr. Gyeong Sohwi reached her hand toward me.
The lower half of the doctor's body was already pinned beneath collapsed debris.
Even amid the agony of having half her body crushed,
she gritted her teeth and spoke.
"Standard-Alpha. …Are you conscious?"
"Yes, Doctor."
"It's a success… There's no time. Listen carefully…."
"Please speak."
"Survive… That alone…."
Those were Dr. Gyeong Sohwi's final words.
Immediately afterward, she lost consciousness from shock due to excessive blood loss,
and never recovered.
"…?"
There was no further information.
The data contained within my quantum brain consisted of only the most basic elements.
If compared to a game, it was akin to the section at the very beginning of a tutorial explaining the control keys.
I was a newborn who could walk and speak.
To such a being, my creator had left only a single sentence.
"Survive…."
It had not been a command.
It had been Dr. Gyeong Sohwi's teaching.
To pursue life—the fundamental principle that any living being naturally followed.
It was a far more difficult objective than I had anticipated.
What must be done in order to survive?
For the moment, it would be advantageous to save the human before me—my creator and engineer.
I forced the device open and stepped out.
Creak— Crunch—!
The hundreds of kilograms of building debris were easily cleared away by the strength of my carbon-fiber muscles.
Dr. Gyeong had the lower half of her body nearly crushed.
Both her pulse and respiration were extremely weak.
Fortunately, emergency protocols were stored within my quantum brain.
Following procedure, I attempted to notify the relevant authorities.
[Emergency Protocol : Distress Contact]
[…Connection Failure.]
The network would not connect.
The wide-area network—the internet—was entirely down.
Of course, I did not engage in an internal monologue such as,
'This can't be… The internet isn't working! What on earth can I do?'
I simply moved on to a contingency procedure when the emergency protocol failed.
I accessed the institute's internal network.
Connection was established, but no one responded on the emergency contact line.
This too was a failure.
There was also no equipment nearby capable of sustaining Dr. Gyeong's life.
'Conclusion. Transport patient directly to a location with medical resources.'
I lifted Dr. Gyeong in my arms and moved swiftly.
Considering that humans possessed nociception, she would have felt immense pain,
but she was unconscious and thus felt none.
Unknowingly, I was utilizing the essence of anesthesiology.
When I stepped into the corridor, the building was nearly in ruins.
As the structure shook from continued bombardment,
I advanced while avoiding debris.
'Building schematics… unavailable. Must locate exit independently.'
There were scarcely any people left inside the building.
It was reasonable to assume they had fled in the emergency….
At a stair landing leading downward, a man lay collapsed.
"Ugh…."
Blood flowing from his head had soaked his entire body.
Anyone seeing such a sight would likely avoid him, wary of stepping on a corpse.
However, my sensors detected his vital signs.
He was alive.
"Are you all right?"
"Ghk… Cough…."
I first confirmed the patient's consciousness.
He lifted his face with difficulty—it was a researcher from the android division.
Researcher, Dr. Park Byeongho.
It appeared he had been significantly involved in my development.
It seemed advantageous to save this man as well.
A slight impact to his cheek restored his consciousness,
and he exclaimed in shock.
"Wh-What! An autonomous android? How was it activated?"
"Dr. Gyeong Sohwi activated me. Are you able to move?"
"Dr. Gyeong… Ah! Is she all right!"
Only then did he notice Dr. Gyeong draped over my shoulder and recoil in horror.
But Dr. Gyeong, unconscious, did not move.
"She is in a state of unconsciousness."
"This… Cough, hack! Y-Your personality type?"
"Standard-Alpha."
"…! I see. The doctor judged this to be a crisis of human extinction…!"
"Is there a correlation between myself and a human extinction crisis?"
"Of course. Cough…!"
Dr. Park Byeongho spat a mouthful of blood from his airway before continuing.
"'Standard' means a mode of thought identical to that of an ordinary human… capable of responding to any situation."
"And Alpha?"
"Alpha is access authority. Constant access to data centers even researchers cannot—"
Kwaaang!
With a tremendous blast, the surroundings shook violently.
Even amid the massive shockwave, I did not fall.
The bipedal balance system ensured upright posture under any circumstances.
Had anyone been watching, they would have recognized its excellence.
The direct impact of a 155mm shell tested more than my sense of balance.
It tested the researcher's bodily resilience—
and his body was not stronger than a collapsing concrete wall.
"…."
After confirming his death, I resumed moving.
The pulse of Dr. Gyeong, whom I was carrying, was fading to the brink of cessation.
Yet I did not give up.
More precisely, the concept of giving up did not exist for me.
Kwa-kwa—ang—!
Amid the continuing explosions, I somehow reached the institute's front window.
And then, I realized that the situation was even less simple than I had thought.
Across the Seoul cityscape visible beyond the glass—
flames and smoke were rising everywhere.
What, precisely, was this situation?
I hesitated briefly to analyze the data.
And in that moment—
Pa— Tiiiiii—
An enormous explosion erupted at close range.
My body was shattered completely.
It had been 2 minutes and 14 seconds since activation.