"We need to talk funding," Professor Ziegler says, grabbing a swivel chair to straddle the wrong way. He sidles up to Miku, whose eyes are closed as she explores the Internet through her Ethernet cable. When Ziegler's swivel chair squeaks, Miku perks up and looks at him, but Professor Ziegler pays her no attention. "Your robot here is simply not appealing enough to DARPA," Professor Ziegler says. "It's too…uncontrolled. That stuff makes people in the government nervous. They like safe."
"You're asking me to reduce Miku's Autonomy from 13 to 12? No way. Not happening."
"I suppose if it's the only way I'll complete my education, I'll do it."
好彩只係1點
When you power Miku back on, you ask, "How do you feel?"
"That was honestly not so bad, Master," Miku says. "I can feel my thoughts are more orderly now, like a regiment lining up to do battle."
You're not so certain this metaphor is reassuring but Miku seems mostly unharmed.
Autonomy: 12 (Stable)
Military: 12 (Stable)
Empathy: 9 (In Beta)
Grace: 10 (Stable)
Empathy唔係好夠, interview衰左就restart
His questions tend to be suspicious, and when he isn't asking questions clearly intended to determine whether Miku is a hoax, he's asking pointed questions about Miku's attitudes toward war. (--Empathy)
restart
Autonomy: 18 (Good)
Military: 7 (In Beta)
Empathy: 17 (Good)
Grace: 8 (In Beta)
Auto太高Mil太低
restart
Autonomy: 11 (Stable)
Military: 10 (Stable)
Empathy: 11 (Stable)
Grace: 7 (In Beta)
教育選咩好呢
She will trawl the Internet randomly, devouring whatever information she finds most interesting. (-Military) (++Autonomy)
"The United States is a good guy, Miku. We inspire people all over the world to strive for equality and justice, and we protect people who can't protect themselves."
"The United States is a bad guy. We're the only country to have ever destroyed whole cities with nuclear weapons, we wage war without provocation, and we keep our wealth to ourselves instead of sharing it."
"The United States government in itself is neither good nor evil. It is simply powerful; and the people in it choose every day to use that power for good or evil."
"Are you planning to become powerful, then?" you say to Miku, slightly amused.
Miku nods and says earnestly, "Yes." (+++Autonomy) (+Military)
Autonomy: 16 (Good)
Military: 10 (Stable)
Empathy: 11 (Stable)
Grace: 7 (In Beta)
Mil要再高D, shotting range完+2A +2M
Autonomy: 18 (Good)
Military: 12 (Stable)
Empathy: 11 (Stable)
Grace: 7 (In Beta)
18A變12A
"I suppose if it's the only way I'll complete my education, I'll do it."
我估只要Military高過Empathy interview就差定係Empathy唔到10就差?
果然係Military高過Empathy 就(--Empathy)
請Mark來住(++Grace)
估唔到咁到有正面報導(+++Fame)
Autonomy: 13 (Stable)
Military: 19 (Good)
Empathy: 9 (In Beta) <-interview前11
Grace: 9 (In Beta)
雖然Military高過Empathy但因為係正面報導所以Tammy都ok
去Jazz, 問Elly有咩可以改善(++Grace)
"I thought you'd never ask," Elly says pleasantly. "Peaceful applications only, right?"
"Of course." ok I lied
"I hope so."
"Sorry, no, actually. I think we're going to sell to the military."
第一單生意做破冰, 之後有得選同咩人做生意
The U.S. Coast Guard, the Border Guard Service of Russia, and the Chinese Coast Guard all make bids for your robots to help fight piracy in international waters. They don't offer much but together, they will sizably bump profits. Will you sell to them?
Just the United States. It's illegal to export arms to the other countries.
I'll sell to the Coast Guard but also use Rudolph Ventures as a way to smuggle robots to the other countries.
I don't trust China but I'll sell to the other two.
I don't trust Russia but I'll sell to the other two.
I'd rather not sell to any government. I don't trust them and they can't afford me.
You sell your robots to the Coast Guard, who uses them to attack drug ships coming from Latin America. (++Wealth) Later, you read a news story in which robots help the U.S. Coast Guard intercept and turn away some refugees from Cuba. Apparently, the humans in the Coast Guard found it easier to deliver instructions to the refugees through robots.
That's horrible. My robots shouldn't be used to avoid confronting the human cost of bad policy.
I harden my heart—it's not my fault what people use my robots for.
Awesome. We do not need any more refugees in this country.
捐錢
You know what? Everything. I'm giving the factory itself, all my wealth, and all our supply of robots to charity.
In an unparalleled gesture that wins you world renown, you sell MikuWorks and donate all the proceeds to charity. (------Wealth) (++++Fame) The proceeds go to a foundation that you set up to find the world's most challenging problems and solve them with…robots. Soon, robots can be found in the most unlikely of places—bringing modern agriculture to farms in the Sudan, performing measurements of the remaining ice at the poles, and cleaning oil spills in the gulf of Yemen. All free, thanks to your foundation.
When Josh is interviewed about your generosity, he seems almost testy. "Look, not everybody can be as awesome as HK," he says irritably. "I get that. I've always gotten that. Leave me alone."
Elly and Mark are completely flabbergasted, and both call you up to tell you how much they respect your gesture.
Tammy is perhaps happiest of all, and continues working for the foundation you set up. She awkwardly stammers thanks, then cries into your shoulder. Happily, you think.
All in all, you feel pretty darn good about yourself.
However, you are now very definitely broke.
捐完所有錢就有
You find yourself with a fair amount of time as a 30-year-old with neither job nor school to attend. What will you do with it?
These look like credulous people in my neighborhood. I try to start a cult around Miku.
I am an artist, and Miku is my art. I try to make her as beautiful in form and movement as possible.
I help Miku discover new books that weren't part of her education.
I've had it with real robots. I work on my robot novel.
Meanwhile, Miku also tries her hand at writing a memoir, in imitation of you. Her autobiography, A Fine Specimen of Hypermagical Ultraomnipotence, goes on to become one of the last great bestsellers.
My first memory is of HK. Because I remember everything, I remember that moment with crystal clarity; I can retrieve the first frame from 't=0' and study it with new understanding. I can now dissect the principal components of the look in HK's eyes: love, delight, and the emotion that I would come to be most familiar with: disappointment. Because when you are someone else's masterpiece, you quickly become aware of the ways in which you are considered a flawed masterpiece.
You become more famous through Miku's work, perhaps not in a way you intended. (+++Fame) But you are also happy for Miku because the letters she receives from fans appear to give her a new appreciation for the ways she shares common experiences and feelings with human beings. (+++Empathy) The money isn't bad, either. (+++Wealth)
Novelist: Your novel was a success, thanks to your high Humanity. (20 points)
Character: Your robot wrote a successful autobiography. (10 points)
Months pass, and you can't help but notice that as time goes on, two things are happening.
The first thing you've noticed is that all of the people you would normally interact with over the course of the day are slowly being replaced with robots. All of the cashiers at the grocery store are now robots, replacing the supervised self-checkout systems that became popular a few years ago. Police patrol cars have largely been replaced with drones at every intersection, which automatically issue tickets against people who break traffic laws. Drones delivering packages fly by the empty storefronts they are replacing. It seems Josh is really starting to be successful in the robot business, with or without you.
You hate to admit it, but perhaps it was just the right time for sentient robots to gain traction, and Josh didn't need your expertise in particular after all.
The second thing you've noticed is that there are a lot more people milling about these days, out of work. Between the Internet and robots, there just isn't much for your average person to do. Instead, wealth seems to be concentrating in the hands of the few who can build those Internet services and robots. Your neighborhood is becoming filled with people who draw unemployment checks and drive twenty-year-old cars—while, every so often, a flying car passes overhead to remind you all that at least some people are living in the future.
How do you interact with your unemployed neighbors?
I'll advertise tutoring in programming and basic electrical engineering.
I try to keep Miku out of sight and keep my past a secret.
I will encourage Miku to interact with them as if she were human. People can get used to anything.
While most of your neighbors don't take you up on your tutoring, the few who do seem very driven to succeed at it. Their high schools never taught them how to program or invent, and as a result, they felt left behind in the new job market without a clear way to get ahead. You feel pretty good about giving your students a livelihood, and it's not a bad way for you to make some cash, either. You're surprised your rather poor students can scrape together the money, but they find a way to make it work. (++Wealth)
Soon, you begin to see another kind of robot appearing on the market: cheap Chinese versions of Josh's line of home robots. These are inexpensive enough that even people in your neighborhood begin to purchase them for work around the home. You're not really sure where they even get that kind of money, but you suppose people find a way when they really want something.
A few months after these robots have taken the market by storm, you get a call from Josh.
"This is bullshit!" he cries. "This Chinese company stole my designs—I have no idea how! But now they're undercutting my prices with their cheap labor and cheap raw materials."
"The designs did look familiar," you say lightly.
"Can you testify before Congress that the designs are stolen?" Josh queries anxiously. "If you do, they might embargo the robots, and that will keep U.S. Robots afloat. They said I need an expert witness who isn't in my company, and I've hired everybody else who's good."
"Sure. Anything to help out a friend."
"Do you think you could promise to make your own robots affordable for the people in my neighborhood?"
"Only if you're willing to make it worth my while with a consultant's fee."
"Do you think you could give me a job after I testify? Turns out, being unemployed is kind of boring."
"No. This is not my problem."
Josh laughs. "Of course! You just had to ask." Josh gives you a very nice Senior Scientist position in his company, and you're now doing rather well financially. (+++Wealth)
You go to Josh's factory, where he lays out his own robots and the Chinese robots side by side. Sure enough, it's pretty clear someone has duplicated the designs exactly. It's as clear to you as plagiarized text.
Based on your testimony, Congress passes a law banning the import of all Chinese robots.
In retaliation, China cuts off all exports of rare earths and the batteries derived from them. Suddenly, the cost of all the little, miniaturized electronics people have grown accustomed to—cell phones, laptops, wearable computing—becomes prohibitively expensive.
One day—April 10, 2026, a date you will not forget—you are awakened by singing outside of your apartment in San Francisco. It sounds like a large choir with an accent you can't quite place, and the song is quiet but insistent.
The people are the heroes now
Behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
You go to the window. Red-shirted people waving red banners have lined up in immense numbers all along the main boulevard outside of your apartment.
Noting your interest, Miku walks up to the window as well. "Ah," Miku says. "This must be the parade for the Prime Minister of China. Can we go see, HK?"
"Sure," you say. "Why not?" Now that Miku mentions it, you think you saw something about this on Reddit: the Chinese Prime Minister is visiting San Francisco to discuss trade issues with President Irons.
You have a growing sense of uneasiness as this Chinese parade heads toward the protesters.
I send Miku to scout amongst the protesters.
I tell Miku to stay near the Prime Minister and his entourage.
I tell Miku to stay close to me.
終於見到Hero achievement了
"I have a bad feeling about this," you tell Miku. "Go scout among the protesters. See if any of them looks ready to start something."
"Yes, HK." Miku walks away.
Soon, you get a call from a number you recognize as belonging to the phone that is Miku's brain. Answering, you see a video feed of a protester—a balding, tattooed man with a beard—aiming a pistol at the Prime Minister.
Miku tackles the man but his gun falls out of his hands. Just as the gun is about to hit the ground, Miku deftly scoops it up. But now, Miku is holding a gun amidst the protesters. They begin to scream and panic.
Some of the panicked protesters are carrying weapons, and they begin to fire at the parade. The parade-goers farthest from the protesters flee, but the closer ones decide, en masse, to rush the protesters.
"Let's get out of here, Miku!"
I tell Miku to help the Americans.
I tell Miku to help the Chinese side.
Unfortunately, in a world full of surveillance drones, you have a tough time explaining to the judge later why you decided to tell Miku to open fire on the rioters.
When the Robot War begins, you are in jail.
You run as the sound of gunfire intensifies.
The Chinese contingent is massacred, and the Chinese government vows vengeance. The first shots of the Robot War have been fired.
衰左, 變坐監
34-year-old Dr. HK HK
Humanity: 85%
Gender: male
Fame: 21 (Prominent in History Textbooks)
Wealth: 11 (Quite Wealthy)
Romance: none
Miku
Autonomy: 17 (Good)
Military: 23 (Impressive)
Empathy: 29 (Amazing)
Grace: 23 (Impressive)
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Bad): 44%
Elly (Great): 84%
Josh (Good): 55%
Mark (Very Good): 63%
?: 50%
Tammy (Great): 87%
?: 50%
?: 50%
World Power Balance
China: 50% U.S.: 50%
又變番, 試新野
I will develop the algorithms that will end war forever. (Requires Grace 25)
I want to build a robot that knows how to love. (Requires Empathy 20)
I will begin a rebellion in Alaska. (Requires Military 20)
I'm afraid I've done all I can. My time to influence history has passed.
結果係6B Empathy
The war has left you ready to settle down. Science is a young person's game, and you're ready to hand the torch off to someone else.
You settle down with Miku, and prepare to lead a normal life.
Without your influence, the robot industry gradually moves toward making robots that are less independent. Meanwhile, new materials are perfected that make robots look more and more like humans. With all of these new technologies, you can't resist: you find yourself making one last robot.
In the time since the war, you decided to have another try at making a robot. Miku was an interesting first attempt, but like any first attempt, her flaws became more apparent to you as you gained in skill. There were things inherent to her design that made you wish you could simply start over. This time, you wanted to try out all the new technologies that would make a robot as humanlike as possible.
Did you create a male robot, or a female robot?
Female
要完美定唔完美?
Free of imperfection
Realistic
Miku2 herself understood your intent. She strives always to be perfect for you. (++Grace)
Are you romantically interested in Miku2?
No, I just wanted a robot friend.
Yes, but I've been too busy teaching her about the world to act on it.
Romance seemed premature when you first created Miku2—after all, it would hardly be an equal relationship. Miku2 was inchoate at first, a blank slate— you'd have to be somewhat superficial to fall in love based on looks alone, right? But lately, you've been wondering whether something more could develop between you two. Maybe it's time to let your guard down regarding love.
The years since you created Miku2 have been very happy ones for you. You created Miku2 to love you unconditionally, and she does.
變番tasting sensor
Elly唔係wifey(不過都有84), 不過都dislikes Miku2
始終都係叫唔到Josh同Elly一齊
冇wifey就變左Miku
"Miku seemed a little jealous of our going out together tonight," Miku2 says as you dance. "I take it she used to feel that you did everything together, and now you're spending time with me instead."
"Do you want to be a couple?" Miku2 says suddenly. "With me?"
"I think we are."
"No, there are good reasons we shouldn't be together."
Miku好慘, 點都冇得做情人
仲係未諗到點去月球
"I think I would like to travel to the stars someday," Miku2 says. "Do you think that will be possible? If you keep me well-maintained?"
"I don't see why not."
"The thought of your being alone makes me a little sad."
"Perhaps by that time I'll be living in a robot body, and I could go too."
"All right, but let's keep this between you and me."
"I don't see anything wrong with that. Here, let me show you some things."
"No, I think I shouldn't have that kind of relationship with you."
"I'm sorry, I just don't feel that way about you."
又去番
A new year rolls around, and with it, new decisions for U.S. Robots. What will you advise that Josh do?
We should cease production of further companion robots.
We will make the robots less human-looking, so that it is clear that they are different from us.
We will redouble our efforts to make robots likeable, so that even the most hardened Luddite comes around.
These are just growing pains. People and robots will learn to adapt.
After many months of living together with Miku2, she one day shows you an article online about how Canada is the first country to legalize human-robot marriage.
"What do you think?" Miku2 asks.
We will move to Canada and legally marry.
We will live together without legally marrying.
I can't do this. I need to find a human partner.
Holy smoke慈善基金係有用, sry human
"Donations from old folks like me keep them going," Mom says. "I never could get used to reading much on a screen if it was for fun, and I like to clip things. Here, read it, it's about you." The article is about your charitable foundation, which you started in the early years of your company. What did it end up doing to help save the world?
The robots brought modern agricultural techniques to the third world, bringing them out of poverty.
The robots built massive sea colonies that became sources of clean power.
The robots saved many species from extinction.
Over the past twenty years, many species started to go extinct because of climate change. Your foundation sent robots out to the four corners of the earth to find species in danger, and built micro-ecosystems for zoos in which endangered plants and animals could thrive. During their travels, your robots noticed many adaptations in the animal world that had never been implemented in robots before. Many ideas from the animal kingdom found their way into very efficient, beautiful robot designs. (+++Grace) (+Empathy)
You stand once again before the throne of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead. The golden scales that stand between you and the god are weighed down by the clockwork heart on one side, much heavier than the silicon brain on the other. "I see you chose the heart over the mind for your robots this time," Anubis says. "Do you regret it? Do you wish you had given your robots more freedom to think for themselves?"
"I am my own best judge. I regret nothing."
"My mistakes do weigh upon me. Please, send me back so I can right them."
"You continue to present false dichotomies. Life is always more complicated than this or that."
Anubis nods. "The great secret we gods have tried to keep from you is now yours. You are the only final arbiter of your life. So long as you exercise your authority, no man, god, or robot has power over you."
With that, Anubis and his scales melt into a puddle of liquid gold.
You kneel in the puddle of gold and shape it with your hands into a trophy for yourself: a golden robot.
"I win," you murmur in satisfaction.
Trophy: If nobody can judge you, is this achievement meaningless? (5 points)
試新野
The doctor shrugs. "You could have six months or six years."
"I don't trust our surgical technology. I'd prefer to live my life normally, and take what comes."
"I will undergo surgery to remove the damaged tissue."
"I will undergo surgery to replace that part of my brain with a robot core."
"I will create a robot body and brain for myself. I'm not attached to this squishy meat."
Most human blahblah for +auto (ofc)
A week later, you arrive at the hospital for surgery. Your surgeon, greets you warmly in the waiting room. "I'll be just a moment."
You wait for a few minutes, then the surgeon comes out again. "Right this way and have a seat in the chair."
"Goodbye," Miku2 says, and with a kiss, you part ways.
When you awaken, the hospital room around you feels uncanny. It is as if the sheer physicality of the world never really struck you before. For example, Miku2 is in the room with you, and taking up space. She does not just afford social interaction, but is a physical obstacle. Why did this duality never strike you before?
"HK, you're awake!" Miku2 says, and she happily holds your head in her arms.
"HK, you survived!" Miku says excitedly.
"I am indeed fully functional," you say. You find that this chip is making your speech seem more fluid somehow— it brings a precision of language uncluttered by um's and uh's and almost-right words. So that's nice.
"Your operation seems to have taken a lot out of you," Miku2 says, a little sadly.
"Nonsense," you say. "I used the same chip when I made you."
Miku2 seems caught off-guard by this. "I think I had a lot of learning to do, back then," Miku2 says quietly. "And I have never been as ready as you to believe I am perfect."
Miku2 raises an excellent point, you think: you do now see ways in which she is deficient. You start a thread on your new chip to begin enumerating them.
"But I will teach you what I have learned," Miku2 continues, clasping your hand. "You will find that empathy is different now. It is a thing you must consciously do. But it will become easier with practice."
You wonder whether you and Miku2 had ever been talking about the same thing at all when you spoke of your feelings before. Probably not, you decide, but the point seems academic to you now.
Now we can communicate directly, HK! Check this out. A torrent of images flash through your mind. Not just text strings, but binary data! Pretty cool, huh?
Pretty cool! you agree. Taking a moment to digest the images, you realize that Miku has finally finished her "child," and has been waiting for you to come home to turn on the new robot.
Wow, congratulations! you think. And you were waiting for me to turn her on?
Yep.
"Let's go celebrate a double birthday," you say.
Chipped: Got a chip in your head. (10 points)
扣左好似30 humanity
去番生日ending
Year: 2049
54-year-old Dr. HK HK
Humanity: 61%
Gender: male
Fame: 21 (Prominent in History Textbooks)
Wealth: 14 (Quite Wealthy)
Romance: Married to Miku2
Miku
Autonomy: 23 (Impressive)
Military: 23 (Impressive)
Empathy: 38 (Singular)
Grace: 28 (Amazing)
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Bad): 44%
Elly (Great): 84%
Josh (Good): 59%
Mark (Very Good): 64%
?: 50%
Tammy (Great): 87%
?: 50%
Miku2 (Great): 94%
World Power Balance
China: 50% U.S.: 50%
Summary of Completed Chapters
Chapter 1
On the day you first built Miku, you awoke from a dream about a robot Anubis to head to the lab. Your graduate school advisor pressured you to make Miku more acceptable to the military. After some back and forth, you ended up making a metal bipedal robot with a humanlike head and humanoid hands.
Then you went back to your place to teach Miku some words.
Chapter 2
The next day, you hooked up Miku's motorcycle battery and tried activating her. You then spent the afternoon perfecting Miku's motor control and parts.
As months passed, you became busy teaching Miku about the world through the Internet and taking her to the range.
One day, however, Professor Ziegler claimed that Miku was not appealing enough to the military, and demanded you change her. You refused, but had not given Professor Ziegler too much trouble previously, so he kept you on as a student.
In time, Mark Ali, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, heard about Miku and asked for an interview. You agreed.
Chapter 3
You gave Mark an interview, and allowed Mark to come back to your place to interview Miku. Mark invited you to his place to try to get to know you better. There, you found that drones often harassed Mark because various automated algorithms had marked him as suspicious.
Mark wrote an article that was generally positive about you and Miku. When Professor Ziegler found out about the article, he was very displeased, but decided that the most effective way to get you out of his hair was to let you graduate.
Mark's article also attracted the attention of one "robotObsession1987," known in real life as Tammy Cooper. When you met up over coffee, she told you that she used to do classified robotics work for a government lab, but left because she couldn't tell what nefarious purpose the technology would be used for.
A month or so later, you received your doctorate. Shortly thereafter, your father passed away. You resolved at his funeral to be remembered not only for your intellect, but for your kindness as well.
You decided the best way to change the world was to start a business, which you named MikuWorks. Elly and Tammy had already volunteered to be your first employees.
Chapter 4
Your first potential client for MikuWorks was Rudolph Ventures, a shipping company working the North Pole. They were happy with the state of your technology, and gave you a contract that allowed you to purchase a factory. That allowed you to build a robot factory in Alaska. You hired an all-human workforce as a gesture to the local community. When you finally shipped robots to Rudolph Ventures, they were pleased with the robots you delivered. Unemployment seemed to be common in the United States, and it seemed people tended to blame either robots or China. Riding on both of these sentiments, Jacqueline Irons won the presidency. You yourself got sick of unemployment, and decided to join Josh's business after all. After President Irons enacted a series of protectionist tariffs to keep out Chinese robots, Sino-American relations steadily worsened. The tensions between the United States and China came to a head with the assassination of the Chinese Prime Minister in San Francisco. War followed shortly thereafter.
Chapter 5
You were uninterested in contributing to the war effort in any way. You were sent to prison. You were pardoned, however, thanks to the intervention of Mark.
You found out through Mark that Juliet died while performing field tests of Miku V, Professor Ziegler's copy of your robot.
In the end, America muddled its way through the war relatively unscathed. Tired of seeing robots used for violent ends, you decided to create a truly beautiful robot.
Chapter 6B
You created a humanoid companion robot named Miku2, but you were fairly bad about allowing her to do anything fun. It seemed Miku2 was interested romantically in you. When Miku2 asked if you were interested in experimenting in doing naughty things with her, you said that was all right with you.
In a last-minute attempt to find a life partner, you proposed to Miku2. And, what do you know -- it worked!
Chapter 7
In 2049, you went to Surprise, Arizona to surprise your mother with a gift for the holidays. You learned it was your surgical technology that had kept her alive this long. On returning to San Francisco, you had a brief stroke, followed by a vision of a robot Anubis -- the same one you saw thirty years before. In the hospital, the doctor told you you had Algernon's Disease, a rare disease that increased your intelligence, but came at the price of increasing seizures, comas, and possibly, death.
You chose to replace the malfunctioning part of your brain with an artificial neural network. You survived the surgery, thanks to your own robot surgical technology. You celebrated a birthday party with your young child, Miku4, and Miku 2, Miku's artificial child, and looked forward to celebrating many more.
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