OP Sister Chapter 427: The Last Human

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For some reason, as she saw the corpse of this woman with long, silvery-white hair tied into a ponytail, Zero One felt an indescribable feeling of sorrow.

“…”

She looked at her ID Card.

“Engineer and Doctor… Karelin Franklin…” 

Her sisters walked toward Zero One, looking at the corpse with pitying eyes. 

“So both of Raven’s parents died this way?” Zero Two asked. “Just what killed them? The virus?” 

“Most likely…” Zero Three A said. 

“But they’re outside and not… inside that area, which seems completely sealed from the outside world,” Zero Three B said. 

“This place is abandoned, but I can sense signals of life inside that area…” Zero Two said. “And there’s also a large amount of energy too. This place might look abandoned, but most of what’s powering it is still active. Even after humanity fell, their technology continues to exist…” 

“Her father most likely fell to this illness and never returned after going out…” Zero One muttered. “And then her mother, worried about him, went out to look for him… But in the end, realizing her fate, she sealed the door with her daughter and… and Mother inside.” 

“…”

“…”

“…” 

After Zero One figured out everything, her sisters remained silent, as if mourning the dead.

Even though this happened so long ago, in an already forgotten world.

Perhaps thousands of years have passed since then; that world and whatever remained of humanity are long gone.

And yet, it all lives here, within Mother’s Memory. 

“We have to go inside, then,” Zero Two said. “That’s where Mother’s core is, right? Then there’s no other option, right, sisters?” 

“Yeah… As hard as it might be, this is indeed not the real world, but a simulated vision made from Mother’s Data and Memories,” explained Zero Three A. 

“Zero One, I know you may feel really bad, but…” Zero Three B muttered. “As you’ve said multiple times already, we don’t have much time… A lot of things are happening outside. Not only is it our problem with Mother, but our friends are fighting outside, defending you. At the same time, Anna and the rest are fending off the invasion of demons from the Void Ruler… We cannot waste another second.” 

“Yeah, you’re right…” Zero One nodded, slowly standing up as she pocketed the ID of Raven’s mother as well and glanced at the door.

There was a small device there that seemed to only work using ID Cards…

She quickly put the first one there, that of Raven’s father.

However… 

[Authentication incorrect.] 

“Then…?” 

She used that of Raven’s mother.

And… 

[Authentication incorrect.] 

“Why?” 

As Zero One looked at the door and then at Raven’s mother, she quickly covered her in her robes, letting her body rest in peace by the side. 

“I think I know what’s wrong…” 

She placed both ID Cards at the same time.

And… 

[Authentication confirmed. The special password has been accepted. Welcome back, Professor.] 

The voice of Mother echoed through the machine as Zero One and her sisters saw the door slowly open, revealing an enormous hall where Mother was.

Her big, glowing artificial eye glared at them with coldness. She seemed to feel no emotions or show any sort of surprise, but Zero One knew she was confused. 

“Who might you be? You’re not the professors. Are you here to steal technology? I had thought most of human civilization was gone.” 

As she spoke with a much less expressive tone of voice—more minimalistic, less loud, and less emotional—Zero One remained silent.

This was her Mother before everything happened to her, before she was alone and had to fend for the world against the Elementals.

Before she was “recruited” by that thing and turned into a world conqueror. 

“Mother…” Zero One muttered, shedding a tear. 

“Mother? I am not a Mother. I do not have offspring. I am a Supercomputer designed to solve Humanity’s Problems. However, I’ve been unable to help them, even when I have already solved their problems. There is only one human left—their endling.” 

“She speaks just about the same as the other, huh?” Zero Two muttered. 

“By the ‘endling,’ you mean Raven?” Zero Three A asked. 

“It must be, right?” Zero Three B asked as well. 

Zero One looked at her sisters, trying to solve the problems, as she slowly composed herself, calming down and deciding what to do next. 

“I am surprised you know her name. She is behind closed doors behind me, quarantined from the virus going rampant. I cannot procure the necessary materials to create the vaccine that would make her immune, so she’s there, protected from the virus. However, the sickness she was born with, which is a rare type of bone cancer, eats away at her very bones. Soon, that girl will…” 

Mother remained silent after that. Even though there was not a single emotion in her words, Zero One and her sisters noticed there was something.

Perhaps a spark of an emotion. 

“Are you humans?” she asked after that long pause. 

“We aren’t humans, exactly…” Zero One said. “We are androids, and we come from the future. A far future, where you made us.” 

“I… made you? Far future? Has time travel been invented in the future? And you’re androids, so the future is inherited by machines instead?” Mother asked. “That is a pity. Humanity is no more, is it not?” 

“There’s a human,” Zero One smiled, recalling Anna. “Even though humans went extinct in this world… There are many other worlds across the cosmos. Humans aren’t exclusive to this world. I learned, thanks to her, that they inhabit many other worlds out there. Humanity may never truly become extinct, Mother.” 

“I am not anybody’s Mother. But if what you say is the truth, I am your creator,” Mother said. “How strange. Could it be possible for you to go back even further in the past and show the humans the recipe for the creation of the vaccine for the virus? If that is possible, then humanity can be saved, and my purpose can continue.” 

“Unfortunately, we can’t,” said Zero One. 

“Sorry…” Zero Two said. 

“We cannot return,” said Zero Three A. 

“It’s impossible, sorry,” Zero Three B apologized. 

“…” 

Mother remained silent for a moment and then spoke again. 

“Then what is your purpose here? Have you come to help Raven, at the very least? If you could procure the ingredients for the vaccine for me, she could survive for a few more years, but… her cancer seems incurable.” 

“So you haven’t invented something against cancer?” 

“I have. I have already designed the perfect cure, even for her, but the level of resources required to execute it isn’t available anymore. Humanity is in ruins; available technology must be manufactured from scratch through factories I plan to create. But that will take decades.” 

“And Raven doesn’t have much longer, right?” Zero One wondered. 

“That’s right. I calculate that she will die in six more days.” 

She said it so coldly that it made Zero One slightly frustrated, but at the same time, she pitied her Mother. 

“Aren’t you sad?” she asked. 

“Sad? There is no such thing as sadness. I am a robot—no, I am a Supercomputer. Emotions are not part of my creation. And I cannot simulate them,” Mother explained. “And therefore, I am not sad.” 

“Then what do you feel about her death? About your purpose being unfulfilled, about you realizing your creation ended up being pointless because humanity went extinct before you could save them?” Zero One confronted her. 

“…” 

And then there was a long silence, as Mother seemed to be calculating an answer.

Until… 

“I don’t have an answer to that question.” 

“Why? Why don’t you have one?!” 

“I simply do not. I wasn’t programmed to create something of this emotional complexity.” 

“Lies! You do have emotions! Your mind is hundreds of times more complex than humans! There are so many emotions all inside of you…!” 

“…” 

“You simply have to let them out, Mother! Please… Please be honest with me for once! Tell me what you really feel!” 

As Zero One broke into tears, Mother remained silent. 

“I am not your Mother. And I have no such emotions.” 

“…” 

Zero One sighed.

She realized that talking to Mother was like talking to a wall.

It was so pointless that it was not even worth doing. 

“The Core, where is it, Zero One?” Zero Two wondered. “Remember our mission. We are here to find her Core, hack it, rewrite her protocol, and free her from what’s controlling her… Don’t let these illusions distract you.” 

“Z-Zero Two…” Zero One sighed. “You’re right… I can’t just pointlessly talk with a lump of data like this… And yet… Despite how illogical it is, I am driven by emotions, the complete opposite of her. And I feel so angry… and so frustrated… I…” 

“Mother? Who is there? Hello?” 

Suddenly, the voice of a young woman echoed through the speaker above the wall behind Mother. Someone knocked at a door right there, but the door didn’t open. 

“Who are you talking to, Mother? Can’t I see them? I’ve been here for so long… I…” 

It was Raven’s voice.

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