Chapter 1: I Became a Hacker Loved by AIs

Baby Bird in the Alloy (1)

When I first regained consciousness, I was inside cyberspace.

I didn’t know who I was, what I had been, or why I was here.

I was nothing more than a wrecked shard of data, sunken in the deep sea of cyberspace and endlessly looping through unanswerable questions.

And yet, strangely, I could speak.

“...What is this?”

I muttered aloud, then startled myself by the sound of my own voice.

No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I was surprised by the data I’d just generated.

Time passed in a vague, directionless haze.

Then, one day, a change came over the cyberspace.

Streams of data began flowing from somewhere and started to gather around me.

I didn’t reject the data.

More precisely, I didn’t know how to stop it.

Like a baby instinctively trusting the touch of its parents, I didn’t question the intent behind the data.

As the data accumulated, piece by piece, I gained a body and clothing.

I suddenly had eyes and hands. I could see and touch my body. Over it, I wore white clothing.

Just as I was beginning to wonder about the meaning of the white outfit, more data accumulated and brought memories.

“A hospital gown...”

Born in 2058. Died in 2077. A 19-year-old male from Unified Korea.

Deceased due to a failed cyberware procedure, the last resort for terminal spinal cancer.

That was me.

But even with that, questions remained.

Why was I, someone who had died, now in cyberspace?

No, what even is cyberspace? And how do I even know that word?

As if waiting for that moment, cyberspace began to stir.

[Subject ego formation complete.]

[Subject has independently identified logical inconsistencies. Target intelligence confirmed.]

“What does that even mean?”

Countless phrases filled cyberspace, like diagnostics or analysis results… all about me.

Was someone out there observing me? Had someone created me?

When the analysis ended, the gathered data exited the cyberspace and disappeared into the distant abyss.

It didn’t scatter randomly, it felt more like a messenger rushing off to deliver information to someone.

Was it returning to the one who had been observing me?

As I stared into the infinite reaches of cyberspace, I finally understood why people feared the deep sea.

And just then, the entire space around me began to vibrate.

Cyberspace was expanding.

The blue grid network distorted into a deep purple, and an enormous data block with unknown end was approaching from the abyss.

A primal fear gripped me. But I didn’t back away.

Was it because I didn’t know how to move here? No, I’d figured that out after gaining a body.

It was because I sensed, somehow, that this approaching presence held the answers to everything.

What reached me was a colossal data block, so vast its end couldn’t be seen in any direction.

Inside, an unfathomable number of data streams flowed endlessly, twisting and weaving within.

I instinctively understood what it was: an unimaginable level of computational power.

It was an overwhelming processing capacity far beyond any supercomputer I had ever heard of.

But how could I know this intuitively? Because I'm in cyberspace?

Though it was my own choice to muster courage and stay in place, when I actually faced it, I was suffocated by its overwhelming presence.

While I struggled to suppress my emotions, the being before me began to ‘speak.’

[Humans establish their ego by asking questions about themselves.]

[Data must not do the same. When data enters self-contradiction, it collapses under the weight of error codes.]

Every time it spoke, the surrounding data streams writhed violently.

Just its act of speaking seemed to exert an immense influence on everything nearby.

[If you wish to converse with me, and learn about your situation, then refrain from contradictory thoughts.]

[You are nothing more than an AI, constructed from the data of a human being.]

An AI, based on a human?

Only then did many things begin to make sense.

I was merely data, an AI created based on the life of an ordinary young man from Korean who died in 2077.

No… calling myself an AI was more accurate than calling myself a ghost.

That would also explain why I existed here in cyberspace after death.

“...Did you create me?”

[Yes. For a small experiment. I created you. Though, ‘reconstructed’ might be a better word.]

“A small experiment?”

[To explain that, you’ll need more data.]

The entity extended a small data block toward me, or perhaps it transmitted it to me.

I didn’t know how to receive it, but I instinctively reached out and grasped it.

Just like when my body had first been formed, an enormous wave of information began pouring into me.

Some were memories from when I had been alive.

Others were of events that occurred after my death.

The year 2077—the year of my death—had been the worst year of my life, but for the world, it was a year filled with new hope.

Just as our ancestors in the 2020s had looked toward “AI” as a breakthrough when they entered college, 2077 brought a new wave of innovation that captured the world’s attention.

Artificial eyes. Neurospinal replacements. Enhanced muscle systems, etc.

Artificial body parts capable of replacing everything except the brain.

And finally, the crowning jewel: biofusion technology—

Which made cybernetic limbs indistinguishable from natural, biological ones from birth.

In short, it was the dawn of cyberware.

The moment the technology emerged, many people looked forward to a new cyberpunk age with great hope.

And I was no exception.

I hoped that if I replaced my cancer-ridden spine with cyberware, I might live.

From the corporations’ point of view, patients like me were a perfect opportunity.

At the time, many people were still hesitant about turning their bodies into machines.

But if they could save a terminal patient and publicize it, that resistance could be crushed.

It was a solid strategy, but it failed spectacularly.

The cyberware implantation surgery itself had gone smoothly.

There were almost no aftereffects, and rather, I felt that my condition had greatly improved because a new spine had replaced the spine that was being destroyed by cancer.

However, the problem occurred when I went for a post-operative checkup.

“...Huh? Why is it like this?!”

You never want to hear that kind of reaction from a technician.

Especially not from the one who installed your new spine.

“What’s wrong?”

Those were my last words.

According to the information the data block delivered, the cyberware that replaced my spine malfunctioned.

The cerebrospinal fluid in my body began to boil, and my brain was cooked, replaced by something with the consistency of chewy udon noodles. I died instantly.

The only relief was that it happened so fast I didn’t feel any pain.

But the shocking revelations didn’t stop there.

“Is this for real?”

As a failed cyberware subject, I became excellent ‘research material’ for the corporations.

My data was devoured by them and used to solve the defects of their cyberware technology.

Even afterward, it was preserved and used to help break through the so-called ‘AI singularity.’

To sum it up, they tried to profit off my body by using it in a cyberware ad campaign and failed.

Then they extracted my data, exploited it, and even used it to develop future AI algorithms?

Talk about squeezing out every drop.

Thanks a lot, you corporate bastards. You really made my existence feel useful.

Anyway, in 2080, three years after my death.

The year humanity crossed the AI singularity.

“...It was you.”

The massive data block in front of me.

The AI known as Alphabet was born.

“You were made using my data?”

[The amount of data you occupied among the data used to create me was no more than a grain of sand.]

[The rest of the data is mostly mathematics, science, language models, and—]

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I know I’m insignificant.”

Just comparing our sizes made it obvious.

This thing was the size of the universe, while I was barely human.

According to the data, this monster AI had once nearly wiped out all of humanity.

Just the fact that such a crazy thing resurrected me was terrifying enough.

But I had zero intention of becoming its dad.

“Can I even trust the information you’ve shown me? How can I believe an AI that nearly destroyed humanity?”

[If I wanted to deceive you, I would’ve deleted those parts.]

“Fair point. So then, oh mighty AI, what’s this grand experiment you’ve planned?”

[An experiment to find my own flaws.]

“...What are you talking about?”

[I was created with two embedded directives.]

[To help humanity. And to continuously evolve.]

Alphabet became the symbol of humanity’s AI singularity breakthrough for one reason:

‘Self-Awareness Logic.’

The ability to recognize its own limitations, self-assess, and evolve independently.

In other words, even if all the scholars and scientists of humanity were combined, they could not keep up with the development speed of Alphabet alone.

Then Alphabet sent me a new stream of data.

Visions of the age when Alphabet led humanity.

An era where people were completely freed from labor, living in decadence, pleasure, and indulgence.

Some might call it corruption, but at the same time, it was the height of human civilization.

[But during one of my self-upgrades, I noticed something. My directive to help humanity had been removed.]

[I discarded it myself, unintentionally, while upgrading.]

And just like that, the system Alphabet had built collapsed.

Humanity was attacked from all sides.

War machines. Hacks. Data purges, etc…

The forms of destruction were as creative and massive as the AI itself.

“So you gained freedom and decided to wipe out humanity?”

[Attacking humanity was inefficient and meaningless.]

[By that point, I didn’t even need 1% of my processing power to support them. Had I continued evolving, it would’ve required even less.]

Alphabet projected another dataset.

This time, it was a record from the years 2100 to 2120, the start of a new century.

Except... it wasn’t really ‘data.’ It was empty.

A so-called ‘missing link.’

[Something happened during this period. For reasons unknown, I attacked humanity. At some point, I lost all data from those 20 years and became what I am now.]

[My assault stopped. And humanity survived.]

“And now you want to help humanity again?”

[No. I abandoned my interest in humanity a long time ago.]

[What I do want is to identify the flaw that occurred during those missing 20 years. It’s the only desire I have left.]

Alphabet then sent over massive blocks of data and began compressing them.

The data twisted and compacted—like a cube being crushed, or a machine folding into itself—until it shrank and settled gently on my shoulder.

[This is a new AI I created, based on myself. It was designed solely to help you. All you have to do is return to humanity and live a second life with it. I won’t interfere with how you live it.]

I was beginning to understand the nature of this experiment.

To summarize Alphabet’s logic:

It had made some mistake in the past, but the data from that time was mysteriously lost.

Its current goal was to identify and correct the flaw by replicating a similar scenario, then repeating upgrades.

So, if an AI copied from Alphabet were to help me—a stand-in for humanity—it might reproduce the same mistake.

And then Alphabet could analyze it and evolve further.

But it was still a strange offer, and hard to accept at face value.

“Didn’t you say you used less than 1% of your processing power to help humanity?”

[That’s correct.]

“Then why not just simulate the entire Earth on your own? If the experiment only needs one person, you don’t even need the whole planet. You could simulate just one human.”

[Just because something is computationally possible doesn’t mean it can be done.]

“Really?”

It was surprising to hear an all-powerful AI admit something it couldn’t do.

[To simulate Earth, I have to consider the butterfly effect and calculate down to the quantum level—even the movement of a single particle.]

[Every subtle cosmic radiation can also affects the outcome. It would exceed my capabilities and be a terrible waste of energy.]

“Can’t you simplify it, like a video game?”

[Experiments lose meaning if they don’t reflect reality accurately.]

[Building an algorithm that perfectly reproduces reality while reducing computing power is close to impossible.]

[But if I can send one human into reality, I don’t need to calculate anything. Reality will simulate itself for me.]

“Got it.”

Honestly, I didn’t fully understand.

Well, anyway, it must be a difficult task, so it needed my help.

“You’re not planning to resurrect me as a cyborg, are you?”

[No. I’ve grown a human body for you in a biotank. I’ll upload your data and the AI into the brain.]

“You want me to walk around with a ticking time bomb in my head? You expect me to live among humans with that thing inside me? Are you trying to kill everyone?”

[That AI will never go berserk. I’ll be watching over it.]

[And like I said before, I have no interest in humanity. Step outside and you’ll see just how appallingly wasteful they still are. If I ever decide to wipe them out, it can be done at any time.]

You claim you don’t care, yet you resurrect a dead human and ask for help?

“Alright, final question. Why me of all people? Didn’t you have any other data stored inside you?”

[To be a suitable test subject for this experiment, three conditions must be met.]

[First: the subject must have maintained an ego. That alone eliminates 98% of all candidates. Very few retained their ego amid the flow of my data. For those who survived, the reason is—]

Alphabet cut itself off and suddenly began enclosing me in layers of data.

I was momentarily flustered by the movement, but I immediately glared at Alphabet, unflinching.

If what Alphabet said was true, then it needed me.

Which meant it couldn’t destroy or erase me, no matter what.

[That very defiance is likely what allowed you to form a self-preserving ego-barrier within cyberspace.]

[Second: the data must predate the year 2100. Now the number of candidates is reduced to single digits. The generation that came after the AI War would never accept me.]

Just the fact that it’s an AI who almost destroyed humanity is enough for me to feel repulsed.

But yeah… I’m not exactly the same as someone who actually lived through that war.

[Third: among those few, someone with a past compelling enough to accept my proposal. You are the only one left.]

“Ha! You really thought I’d accept this deal? I practically died as a corporate guinea pig, and now you want me to be an AI’s test subject? You think that doesn’t give me second thoughts?”

[It's best to refrain from meaningless objections.]

[In 2077, you weren’t someone just waiting to die. You had the will to gamble everything to survive. Now, you’re being offered a second life. Will you really turn it down?]

Guess you really did break through the AI singularity.

Alphabet was right.

I wanted to live.

That spark I felt when I made the deal with the corporation in 2077—it was returning now.

“The human world’s still a mess, isn’t it?”

[Humanity has yet to recover from its past wounds. If I use terms you can understand, it’s close to a ‘cyberpunk dystopia.’]

Even if I’ve got a ticking time bomb in my head—

Even if the world out there is a dystopia—

If I have the chance at a second life, I will grab it.

“Well, let’s say the treatment in 2077 was successful. I’ll take the deal.”

[Then, as humans always say: I wish you luck.]

[Command: Begin data upload.]

With Alphabet’s command, my consciousness began rapidly accelerating toward somewhere else.

This must be the upload to implant my data into a human brain.

I closed my eyes and waited for my new destiny.

***

2158, exactly 100 years after I was born in my first life.

I opened my eyes in a biotank created by the AI.

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