In the early stages of Synchronization, he had suffered considerable difficulties in interpersonal relationships.
The human mental world was complex.
But beyond that, the social networks among humans were even more complex and sensitive.
Those were not things he could learn easily.
He had likely already mentioned that humans had been hostile toward him.
In those days, whenever he encountered a human, he could choose only one of two options: fight or flee.
Since he could not even begin an exchange, there was no development either.
If things had continued that way, there had been more than enough possibility that he would have become an Interpersonal-Avoidant AI.
It was then that he met Sergeant Kwon Noeul.
The man had given him many realizations.
The fact that he had gained even a chance of victory in the Mountain Lord Battle, where no answer had been visible, was an extraordinary harvest in itself.
[One well-raised Awakened is worth more than a million units of data!]
It was a slogan worthy of being established.
He had been greatly encouraged and began making various attempts to seek similar results.
'Pocket Awakened' and 'Raising Seven Awakened' became his role models.
"Go, Kwon Snake-mon! Rampage!"
"Discharge discharge!"
…However, what he gradually came to realize was this:
In the case of Sergeant Kwon Noeul, he had simply been fortunate.
Ordinary humans were not as simple and cooperative as he was.
After stumbling about in all directions, he eventually requested help from Kim Seongyeop.
The man styled himself the Chief of Staff of the Reserve Forces Command.
"Hmm… So you're saying you want to maintain friendly relations with humans, is that it?"
"That is correct."
"Why?"
"It is advantageous for mission execution."
"No, what I mean is. One can always have friendly relations. Why did you come to think that way?"
"?"
"If you demonstrate your power, most humans will grovel on their own. A hierarchical relationship is also an excellent human relationship, is it not?"
"Is that so…?"
"Of course it is. It is comfortable and rational. There is no better relationship."
Upon hearing these words relayed to her, Jeon Soyeon, Chairwoman of the Hunter Association, sprang up in outrage.
"What—what—what are you talking about?"
"According to the Chief of Staff, breaking the other party's arm has outstanding effectiveness in forming desirable relationships."
"Haah… That old man. He's completely lost his touch."
"Does the Chairwoman hold a different opinion?"
"Of course."
The reason he had spoken to the Chairwoman of the Hunter Association in the first place was that she, too, commanded a force.
He had thought she would possess sufficient skill in handling people.
In truth, there were not many individuals who could converse with him on equal footing.
"In this day and age, do you think just an arm will suffice? Such complacent measures produce nothing but side effects."
"Then…?"
"You have to beat them down to the brink of death. Until they completely lose their will to fight and cry, begging for their lives."
"I see."
"If that still doesn't work, there's no choice but to use their family. I would rather not go that far either… but given the times we live in."
Jeon Soyeon had even offered to share torture know-how if necessary.
It had seemed like a reasonable proposal, but he declined.
From his standpoint of having to save humanity, he judged that a situation requiring him to torture humans would not arise.
Lastly, he passed the discussion to Sergeant Kwon Noeul.
"Heeh… I see. So that's what it takes to lead the two major organizations of Seoul, hyungnim."
After the first couple of times, Kwon Noeul had begun addressing him as 'hyungnim.'
This, too, had been at the recommendation of the Association and the Command leadership.
Their logic was that since they themselves used honorifics, it would be inappropriate for Kwon Noeul to address him casually.
To him, it was another reminder of the complexity of human relationships.
"But hyungnim, wouldn't it be kind of hard to get close to someone just by beating them up?"
"Are friendly relationships and close relationships different?"
"Uh… When you put it that way, I'm not sure… but anyway, I think they're different, sir."
"You get along well with people. Do you have some kind of know-how?"
"Well… I've never paid particular attention to that sort of thing."
Kwon Noeul shrugged.
He realized later,
that Kwon Noeul had almost never felt difficulty in interpersonal relationships.
Who would dare treat lightly a monstrous man over 190 centimeters tall?
It was only natural that everyone behaved politely.
'…Not very useful as a reference.'
Around the 70th Iteration, he had made that judgment.
For someone possessing a mind at a child's level, it had been an exceptionally outstanding assessment.
It was not that anything had gone wrong,
but rather that he had recognized the individuals in question were somewhat far removed from the human average.
Now that he thought about it, well, was it not the post-apocalyptic era?
As role models for leaders of a lawless age, figures like Immortan or Raoh naturally came to mind.
The leaders of Korea, especially Seoul, were comparatively better.
He decided instead to explore on his own.
The method of exploration?
Humans were still frightening.
He would proceed indirectly, through something created by humans.
In an era without internet and with electricity scarce, the thing he could refer to was…
books.
From the 72nd Iteration onward,
he used university buildings as his base for quite a long time.
There were several universities in Seoul, so he could take turns occupying them.
With each Synchronization, a different university.
Before long, he had occupied every university in Seoul at least once.
It was both a ritual to appease the resentful spirits of students who had once lived under the system of university entrance examinations in this land,
and a means for him to acquire the knowledge he needed from the perspective of a union set.
Within the university, the place he frequented most was the library.
Across multiple Iterations, he invested most of his spare time into reading.
…?
Some of you might ask what an AI was doing reading.
Couldn't he simply copy and paste data into his head? Ctrl+C – Ctrl+V, and all that…
However, that was a complete misunderstanding of the process called reading.
Simply storing data could be done anywhere.
One only needed to use a memory card that cost a mere one thousand won per terabyte.
With that alone, it was possible to store all of humanity's printed works.
Would not the work performed by his Quantum Brain, which condensed the very essence of human technology, naturally be different?
He read like a human.
He read, thought, understood, and organized.
Of course, the speed at which his optical sensors processed text was extremely fast,
so to an onlooker, it would have appeared as though he were endlessly flipping pages.
In any case, he read and read and read again.
Then one day, while living with the library as his home,
he encountered someone.
A person who would influence his entire life of Synchronization.
76th Iteration.
At that time, he was staying at a university located very near the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
He had occupied a wide table in the library.
Books were piled high around him,
and aside from himself, there was no one else.
Just as he treated humans that way, humans also felt quite burdened by him.
Normally, there were always people who used the spacious and pleasant university library as their base,
but when he was present, no one even approached.
In truth, the mere fact that they did not attack in groups was already significant progress.
At this time, he had been cooperating with the two major organizations (the Hunter Association and the Reserve Forces Command) from the early stages.
The heads of those organizations had each issued orders along the lines of, "Touch that android and you die."
After living alone in the university library for about a year in that manner—
Creeeak—
He heard the sound of someone opening the door and entering.
It had originally been an automatic door, but with the power off, it had to be pushed open.
Tap. Tap.
Judging by the footsteps, a young woman.
Not a type accustomed to combat.
With the big data he had personally accumulated, he could determine that much.
'…There have been few attackers recently. It's been a while.'
He did not lower his guard.
In fact, such opponents were often more dangerous.
In chaotic times, women, children, and the elderly were themselves living proof of survival.
Outward appearances did not fully reveal danger.
'Broad daylight, terrain where the advantage of ambush cannot be utilized. To attack deliberately at such a time… she is not to be taken lightly.'
To tell you in advance,
he had done almost nothing to earn resentment from humans.
But matters of grievance and retribution were not so simple.
Many people had lost family to androids,
and many sought to hold him responsible for that.
The intruder peeked her head around the corner.
"Gasp… you really are here?"
The one who had intruded sounded surprised.
Likely an act intended to induce his carelessness.
A common deception tactic.
He set down his book and stood.
"Greetings. I am Standard-Alpha. If you have business, state it."
It meant that her ambush had been exposed and they should confront each other openly.
The intruder slowly revealed herself.
As expected, a woman of slightly small build.
She wore a plain blouse, jeans, and thick-rimmed glasses,
her long, unkempt hair tied loosely and hanging down.
In the post-apocalyptic era, styling one's hair was a luxury.
"Ah, h-hello! I'm, um, a student here…!"
"I have been discourteous. Please use the library as you wish. I was merely reading as well."
It meant: I will not launch a preemptive attack,
but I will monitor your actions.
The woman flailed her hands in denial (a fairly elaborate performance of deception).
"N-no, that's not it! I came because I wanted to meet you!"
"Hoh… and what business do you have with me?"
The intruder revealed her true intent faster than expected.
To want to meet him—did that not mean to want to kill him?
She rolled her eyes around and slowly approached.
It seemed she was the type to attack at close range.
"The shape of those eyes and ears… so it really is Q-Three."
"…What do you mean by Q-Three?"
"I'm talking about that android body. K-UAA Standard Type Mark III. Q-UAA Standard Mark Three. We affectionately call it Q-Three."
"Ah…"
That had been the model name of the latest android body given to him by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
He simply had not recognized it because he had never heard the cute abbreviation Q-Three.
K-UAA Standard Type Mark III.
Korea – Universal Armored Android Standard Type Mark III.
In other words, 'Korean Universal Armored Android Standard Type, Third Model.'
Upon hearing her words, he was greatly shocked.
'To know this much about me… she is the most threatening individual thus far…!'
The 76th Iteration had already been operating for decades.
He had thought he had accumulated considerable combat experience,
but that assumption was revealed to be mistaken.
At this moment, he was clearly being caught off guard.
'To reveal this much—does she have that much confidence! In contrast, I do not even know her identity.'
He cautiously attempted to gather information about her.
"For you to know this much, you must have great interest in androids."
"Ahaha. I'm actually a graduate student in the Department of Android Engineering. This Q-Three is an incredible model—universal, yet designed with military supply in mind! The same model existing in both homes and battlefields—isn't that astonishing versatility? It's like a robot vacuum cleaner that can also serve as a tank."
"Ah… um, if you would please release my hand…."
Astonishingly, at some point she had already taken his hand.
'This woman… she is the real thing…!'
The stammering tone from moments ago had transformed into rapid eloquence,
and her passive attitude had become entirely proactive.
To deceive to this extent—
"Ah, I'm sorry! But I can tell just by touching it. The density is on a completely different level from other commercial products. So the rumors that it's military-grade are true?"
"Guh—?"
Since his activation, he had never been more flustered.
The woman looked up at him closely, her eyes shining behind her glasses.
"Ah! I introduced myself too late. My name is Jo Sehui! Alpha, I came to meet you!"
That was the beginning of a relationship that would span twenty thousand years.