Autodoll wa Kuchita Sekai de Yume wo Miru Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Nameless Pair

The girl awakened as a total blank.

She had no idea who she was, nor did she know where she was.

But she felt calm.

Gradually, the girl began to take in her surroundings.

“This place is bright, with clean air and a high ceiling that has a beautiful, sparkling chandelier hanging from it,” she thought to herself.

She stared at this chandelier for a span of three seconds, but it showed no sign of change.

After taking a deep breath, the girl sat up. She clenched and opened her hands. She raised and lowered each leg in sequence.

“Mm,” the girl nodded. Her body was functioning properly.

Just as she placed a hand to her chest in relief, she heard a female voice say “Good morning.”

The girl was so surprised that she thought her heart would stop. It was a relief to find that this was not the case when she pressed a hand against her chest to check.

Just moving her neck, she turned towards the source of the voice.

She was sitting beside the girl, looking more like a statue or a doll than an actual living thing.

Her appearance was that of a j.a.panese female of about 17 or 18 years of age, with long glossy hair and straight bangs.

Though her build was average, her clothing was somewhat strange- a subdued maid outfit with a long skirt that covered most of her legs.

Her features were delicate and beautiful. Every single component was perfect, as was the harmony between them. She was so beautiful that the girl felt somewhat embarra.s.sed.

“Good morning.”

Speaking perfect j.a.panese, she had a pleasant velvet voice that the girl thought would be well-suited for singing.

“As my vocals are in working order, I believe that any issues with not being understood must lie with your audio sensors. Are you able to read lips?”

Her expression didn’t change in the slightest as she said this. It was so businesslike that it took some time before the girl realized that she was being asked a question.

Two seconds after realizing this, the girl replied “I can hear.”

Unlike her velvet voice, the girl’s voice was still young and undeveloped.  She didn’t really bemoan this fact, though she did find it the slightest bit regrettable.

“I see. Then do you have a name?”

“Yours?”

“No, yours.”

“Mine?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmmm…” The girl mumbled to herself. But no matter how deep into the sea of memories she dove, she was unable to imagine her past self. She continued to mumble for quite some time, but in the end she just couldn’t remember.

“I don’t know.”

The girl’s shoulders gave a light shrug.

“I see. Perhaps it’s a memory obstruction. Shall we perform an examination?”

“An examination?”

“Yes. Though I am not a medical-type, I should be able to perform one after consulting the database.”

The girl slightly tilted her head.

She tilted her head in the same manner.

“Who are you?”

“I am a Fourth-Generation AD, a Type-II from the LM series.”

The girl tilted her head in the opposite direction, causing her hair to brush against her cheeks.

The girl’s hair was vivid blonde, and slightly messy.

“My hair, it’s sparkling.”

The area’s lighting shone through the girl’s hair.

“Yes. I find it to be quite beautiful.”

A smile formed on her face.

“What a pretty smile,” the girl thought.

“Hey, what’s an AD?”

“AD is an abbreviation for Autodoll. Do you know what Autodolls are?”

“I don’t……” the instant the girl said that, something in her mind clicked. “……not know. I know. Probably.”

And it wasn’t just some memory fragment. In the form of genuine knowledge, the girl understood what an Autodoll was. Although she still had no idea whether she herself had anything to do with them.

“Is that so?” she nodded.

“It’s a type of expensive robot, right?”

“Correct. For more information, feel free to check the database later.”

“So you’re a robot, then?”

“Yes. However, I possess my own consciousness.”

“Consciousness? You don’t mean your own will?”

“Yes, I am referring to the consciousness possessed by living things. I am an artificial lifeform.”

“Is that so…”

The girl accepted her words without question. As far as her own knowledge went, robots had no consciousness. But since she insisted as such, the girl thought to herself that it must be the truth.

“Am I an AD too?”

“No, you are a member of a species known as ‘mankind.'”

“What’s the difference?”

The girl possessed no knowledge pertaining to mankind.

“That is also something that you should check in the database. But for now, let’s just say that we’re composed of different parts and leave it at that.”

The girl looked down at her own body, and then she looked at hers. Though she looked for several seconds, she found no real differences.

“As we ADs were designed to match the human form, there isn’t much in the way of external differences. However, our internals are completely different.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. Now to return to the previous topic of discussion, shall we perform an examination?”

The girl shook her head from side to side.

“Is that a gesture of refusal?”

“I’m not really refusing,” the girl laughed. “Just like… ‘we don’t really need to do that.'”

“We don’t need to?”

“Yeah. Because it’s not that big a deal.”

“And what would ‘it’ be?”

“My memory.”

“You don’t value your own action logs?”

“Nope. To me, it’s meaningless.”

“And why is it meaningless?”

“I wonder. It’s just like, I feel like ‘I’m fine like this.'”

“Very well.  And why is this?”

“Umm…… maybe it’s because I never had any memories to begin with?”

“I do not believe that to be the case.  You appear to be between twelve and fourteen years of age.  So in other words, you must have been in operation for at least that amount of time.”

“Hmm…”

“She does have a point there,” the girl thought to herself.  But she still didn’t feel any need to forcibly drag up her memories.

In this moment, the girl had been reborn. And this was fine.

She can just decide on a name for herself and create new memories from here on out. There wasn’t any inconvenience in this.

“However, I won’t force the matter.”

“Oh.  Then let’s not worry about it.”

“Understood.  Then I won’t worry about it,” she readily obeyed the girl.  “However, please undertake a physical examination.  Just in case.”

“Alright.  Be gentle, okay?”

“Yes.  I will be careful.”

For some time, the two silently met each other’s gazes.

“Umm,” the girl spoke up in an apologetic tone.  “Are we going to do it right away?”

“No.  There is no hurry.”

“Is that right.”

“Yes. Because we have plenty of time.”

“If we have time, could you tell me what I look like?”

“Very well.  From appearances, you seem to be half caucasian and half oriental.  Your pale skin is reminiscent of a snowscape.”

“A snowscape?”

While the girl did know what snow was, she was unable to picture what it looked like.

“By which I mean that it’s beautiful.”

Upon recieving her praise, the girl’s cheeks became flushed.

“Let us continue,” she said. “Your height is 152 centimeters. Your weight is 39 kilos. Though it is below the general average, I consider it healthy for someone who has just awakened from suspended animation.”

“Wait a minute.”

“Very well.”

“How can you tell my weight just by looking?”

“Aah,” she nodded.

“That is because I was holding you,” she gestured like she was using both arms to hold something, “and brought you here.”

“I see,” the girl nodded.  “Where did you bring me from?”

“From around 44 kilometers north of this place.  I rescued you after you had lost consciousness.”

“Why 44 kilometers away from here?”

The girl knew the term “kilometer.”  Despite having no concrete memory, she did think that it must have been pretty far away.

“Me?  Or you?”

“Either-or.”

“You were unconscious.”

“You just said that.  Why did I faint?”

“I deduced that it was due to weakness caused by moving around without eating after having awakened from suspended animation.  Because I treated you, you are no longer in a weakened state.”

“I see.  Thanks for rescuing me.”

“As my ethical subroutines are in working order, the decision to rescue you was a matter of course.”

“Hmm,” the girl said.  “So what were you doing there?”

“Exploring.  With this location as a center base, I explore the area.  Because there may be something new to be found.”

“Like how you picked me up?”

“Correct.  You are the first lifeform I’ve met since I began exploring.”

“There aren’t any other lifeforms?”

“Not within a radius of 40 kilometers, no.  But if I continue exploring, there is a possibility of meeting other lifeforms.  I don’t believe that their numbers would be very many, though.”

“Why?”

“Because the world has been destroyed.”

“Why was it destroyed?”

“Unknown.  I am a LM-Series…… short for ‘Library Management Series.'”

“Hm,” the girl responded.

“As such, it is my job to maintain this library.”

“This place is a library?”

The girl took a look around.

There certainly were a number of computer terminals lined up, as well as many bookshelves.

This sight did match the girl’s general image of what a library was.  Although she had no memory of ever having visited one before.

“Yes, this is an underground library.  Due to its robust construction, it can also function as a shelter when necessary.”

“Hmm.”

“Continuing on,” she said, “On that day, I was cleaning the library like usual.  Just as I considered that it wasn’t quite time to open yet, there was a sudden shock and the external power cut off.  As it was never restored, I switched it over to a private generator, checked outside, and discovered that the world had ended.”

“So you’re still using that private generator?”

“Yes, it should last for about twenty more years.  But just in case, I’ve also started a project to install solar panels outside.”

“Huh…”

“In conclusion, the reason for the destruction of the world is unknown.”

“Oh.  Well, I guess it can’t be helped if it was destroyed.”

The girl shrugged her shoulders.

To the girl, the world may as well never have existed in the first place.  Regardless of whether it had been destroyed or if it was prospering, she had no memory of it.

And so, she didn’t care either way.  She had no reason to lament or to rejoice.

“May I change the subject of our conversation?” she asked.

“That’s fine, change it to whatever you want,” the girl replied.

“Yes.  So… will you be my friend?”