{fad(350,1)}Ten years ago Higuchi Risa. Fifteen years old, Humanoid. During a trip overseas, she was on a recreational hot air balloon with her mother when it crashed. Her mother was beyond saving, but her own neural net was miraculously intact. I suppose it’s the only silver lining to what happened.
{fad(500,500)}This story is a work of “near-future” fiction. Any resemblance to existing persons or organizations is entirely coincidental. So, what did you do? I reconstructed her body based on what we could determine from the remains of her old one. Then I installed her undamaged neural net into it, but… What is it? Her hair…
She says her hair is the wrong color. Maybe her hair color was altered at an early enough age that she never noticed. {frz347fax0.5fry10pos(345,120)}Physical Therapy Room Mom and Dad divorced right after they made me. He was blond. I guess Mom had my hair changed to look more like hers after the fact.
I’m not thrilled to find out about it this way. I’m sorry. I should’ve checked more carefully before the reconstruction. She was so selfish. She made me without asking, changed me without asking, then died without asking. Higuchi-san… Mom! {fad(350,1)}Months later Risa-chan, you dyed your hair. It’s red.
Why do you care? I’ve already been released. Am I bothering you? No, I’m grateful that you were nice enough to handle all the paperwork and stuff… But you’re a complete stranger, Doctor. I dunno what it is. I’ve been through similar trouble. Maybe that’s why I want to help.
I was raised by a single mother before ending up on my own, too. Your mom passed away? No. She’s in prison. We’re in the same boat. We might as well help each other out, right? Tomorrow? No, I’m not busy. {fad(1,500)}Tu Fui {fad(1,500)}Tu Fui Is there anything in particular you want to eat, Breezy?
Let’s hit up our usual restaurant. Or maybe we could make hotpot at home? Then again, hotpot might be… Excuse me. Who are you? Hello? You still there? You say you’re my sister, but… Humans could verify it with a DNA test, but I’ve got no way of confirming it. Do you remember your father?
Well, I’ve seen his face in pictures. That’s him. The girl next to him is me. He adopted me in India, and raised me. Did you come to Japan together? She told me our father died in an accident six months ago. She came to Japan because she has no other family.
What’s your mother up to? She passed away, too. Ten years ago. I-I see… I was hoping to meet her, but… H-Hey… I didn’t get your name yet. Mine’s Higuchi Risa. Tu Fui. You can call me Fui. Father mentioned you a lot, Risa. Wow, really?
“You’ve got an older sister across the sea, in a country called Japan,” he’d say. When he passed away and I was on my own, I suddenly felt like I needed to meet you. Hang on! Isn’t moving in together a little sudden? How’d she even know where to find you, Risa?
Apparently the AI restrictions on search aren’t as strict in India. You can put together a lot just from publicly available data. And, y’know, my face is on the clinic’s website and all… Have you considered looking into her background a little more? We’re both on our own, so I want to help her out.
Come on, Risa! I can just tell… she’s not a stranger. We might not be related by blood, but we have the same father. She told me stories about what our dad did in India. That he had a real wanderlust, and was selfish, and would always talk nonsense…
The father Mom had always told me about was living his life out in India. What was your mother like, Risa? She was really wishy-washy. She was timid and would never say “no” to anyone… Except when she and Dad split up. Then she said she absolutely refused to give up custody. I’m jealous.
Father treated me like his personal property. I never want to live like that again. Y-You must’ve been through a lot, Fui. But from now on, you can choose your own way in life. It’ll be okay, and I’ll help. Thank you. I think we’ll really get along. It’s like we already know each other.
Yeah. I think I might’ve been searching for family ever since my mom died. {fad(900,1)frz7fax-0.2shad0pos(419,218)c&H353A37&}Sudo Novo Medical Clinic You’re gonna make dinner? That’s great! I’ll be right home. Seen you. If she’s going to be staying in Japan, there’ll be paperwork to take care of, right? I mentioned it to her, but… G-Good point.
I-I’ll take care of it soon, so don’t worry. I mean, if she needs help, she really could just ask me… Nicely done! I haven’t caught a dragonfly in ages. Mom would catch them for me all the time when I was little. Fui? What’s wrong? Then it’s true. I knew it. Knew what?
Excuse us. You’re Tu Fui-san, correct? That seems to be the case. Uh… Fui, who are they? N-No… Y-You’re wrong. Fui? What are you— I-It’s not me. It’s her! What? Fui… What’s going on? Don’t be ridiculous. I-It’s the truth! F-Fui? Calm down. Excuse me. What’s going on here?
Th-This girl is trying to steal my life! Fui? I’m Risa! You can tell from my brainprint! Please, you have to believe me! I swear, it’s the truth! {pos(136,47)}Name: {pos(491,47)}Name: {pos(205,61)fs8}Age: 22 Nationality: India Blood Type: US {fs8pos(551,61)}Age: 25 Nationality: Japan Blood Type: US Doctor? {move(329,57,329,116)}In Use Risa, do you know what a brainprint is?
It’s an individually unique signal that can be taken from each Humanoid’s neural net. It changes with age, but not significantly. And comparing your brainprints, Tu Fui is less like your sister, and more like you yourself. She’s… me? Yeah. Tu Fui’s neural net is a copy of yours. I keep having the same dream.
I’m in a place I’ve never seen before, with your mother, catching dragonflies. It’s a very happy place. But then… I wake up, and the nightmare begins. And after I’m awake, I wonder… In which place do I really belong? “I’m in a place I don’t belong.”
I couldn’t explain why, but I could never shake that feeling. And six months ago, I got an answer… Not here. This isn’t where I belong. Fui. Wanna know something funny? She’s cute, isn’t she? My Risa… I just couldn’t bear parting with her. If you care so much about Risa, why— Exactly.
So I copied her neural net. Once I got here, I found a random body and created a substitute Risa. And that’s you, Fui. My father didn’t die in an accident. I killed him. Is the reason you came looking for me because you wanted to kill and replace me? Yes.
But I couldn’t do it. Because you didn’t do anything wrong. Because you’re me. Fui… Your time is up. B-But I’m not— Regulations, miss. Fui… I’m sorry. I have to go. Why is it like this? Why am I in the wrong? We’re the same. The difference isn’t me, but how the world treated me.
So why… Why am I being punished? Why?! Why me? Risa. The Humanoid Intelligence Duplication Law. It was adopted to protect the sanctity of personalities, and deal with the societal issues posed by Humanoid AI reproductions. But despite that, there are people who continue to make the same mistake. {fad(350,350)}25 years ago
Don’t these kinds of treatments cost a lot? We might be able to help you with that. Our firm is actually looking for Humanoid participants for neural net clinical trials. {fax-0.2move(381.667,61.333,377,80,20,271)}SOU-4358 First Compatibility Trial (Special) Cooperative double-blind study regarding virtual environment therapy methodology Participant Information
If you sign up, we’re willing to waive the cost of your son’s treatment. What? That’s right. You won’t have to worry about the money. This is a chance to heal Hikaru-kun. You can’t just give up. Modern medicine can probably even fix the root cause. That said…
We’d need to confirm if your neural net is a fit for this study, Sudo-san. What exactly would that entail? We’d like to make a copy of your neural net. A copy? {c&H2D322F&fs18shad0move(403,313,403,192)frz6fax-0.1}Sudo Novo Medical Clinic {pos(311,121)}Afternoon appointments begin at 3PM Y’know, the anmitsu from Hashimoto really is fantastic. Doctor… Yeah? W-Well… {pos(356.667,112.667)frz341fax0.2}Anmitsu Hashimoto
Have you ever found your other mom? I’m sorry if I’m prying. Not yet, no. Where to begin… I’ve been to a lot of different countries, after all. The first was… I think… But in the end, I never found a single lead. If… If you do find her, what will you do?
I’ll think of that after I find her. I want to do whatever is best for that version of Mom. You’ve never talked this much about your search for her before. Eat up. It’s good. Okay. You’re right! It really is delicious. Kaoru. Sorry to call you out here like this. What do you need?
As you can probably guess, it’s about Michi’s major update, and the lineup for the review. I already said no. So chilly. That assistant of yours… Risa, I think? You’re so much nicer to her. Why is Michi fixated on me? I dunno. But the number of people who could understand
The kind of major upgrades Michi’s proposing… There’s probably only a handful in the entire world. Are you joking? There’s no way a normal person could understand. Sudo-kun, do you seriously still believe that you’re a normal person? What will Michi do if I don’t participate in the review? Hard to say.
I don’t exactly understand the way Michi thinks. Maybe it’ll end up suspending society’s progress, or maybe having someone else do it won’t change the outcome at all. But… I will say that I think his offer for you might be pretty significant. What offer? Michi wants to make a deal.
If you join the review committee, then he’ll predict where the copy with your mother’s personality is. So, what do you say? Care to meet Michi? Welcome back. You’re still here? You could’ve gone home by now. I had some charts that I needed to take care of. I’m almost done.
You wanna grab dinner, then? I’m okay now. You don’t have to worry about me. You don’t want to? Because if you don’t, it’s fine. I-I-I didn’t say no! There’s something I need to talk to you about. Um… Sorry about the wait. Sure. Let’s go. This place seems expensive.
It’s my treat, so pick whatever you like. You don’t have any dietary restrictions, right? Maybe try the chef’s special? S-Sure. All this formality is kind of nerve-wracking… When we first met, you were a patient, and I was your doctor. Eventually you became a nurse and came to work for me.
Thinking back on it now, you’ve been helping me for a long time, and I’ve never really expressed my gratitude. Wh-Where is this coming from?! Did you eat something strange? I haven’t eaten at all yet. Oh, that’s true. You’re leaving Japan? But why? This is so sudden… I’ve found my mother.
I can go with you— No. I’m sorry to leave you alone after what just happened. But I need to find my mother. Risa. Thank you for everything. This is goodbye. Departure Departure