As he despaired, Jimmy Watt began to remember what happened moments before he lost consciousness. I was in the Great Library when I passed out... Next thing I knew I was already inside this prison cell. The door is locked and no one is answering to my screams. Bianka... Captain Shakespeare... Director Thales... I can only fantasize about someone coming to my rescue. ...Are those footsteps? I put my ear on the door. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door. Someone inserted a key. The door is opening. Scholar-sama, I'm very sorry for the trouble I've caused you. U-Umm... who are you...? ...My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Alice. Right now... I am in charge of this facility. Come this way. We can talk as we walk. ...This facility belonged to a certain Professor. The Professor was a peculiar person. He not only was a recluse—— His way of thinking was completely different from everyone else in the city. The people of the city not only were against his plans for social development, but they also thought his ideas were too dangerous and exiled him from the city. ...But even so, the Professor didn't give up. Using his vast knowledge, he began trading with people from outside the city, built this facility from nothing and lived a self-sufficient life. All to make an existence like me. To 「make you」? ...Yes. This might be hard to believe but... I am... not human. ...Literally? Not in a metaphorical sense? Yes. Please don't be startled. It's not my intention to deceive you. I'm 「Unit 4」, a machine made by the Professor. The 「Alice」 in front of you is one of many interfaces of that machine. ...One resembling the human body. ..... ...I understand you might not believe me right away. But this is... just the beginning of my story. I'd like to answer all your questions right away... But before that... before you see a certain something... I want you to be mentally prepared. ...M-Mentally prepared? W-Where are you taking me? The place the Professor is the most proud of. The place where my 「brain」 is. ...Your... brain... The Professor's assistants brought two other scholars here besides you, but the moment they saw 「that」 they refused to help them. One didn't want to hear the rest and tried to escape. The other one shut down and began praying nonstop. ..... And now they're all dead. D-Dead...? Yes. You're Alice's last hope. W-What do you all want from me... You're mistaken. There is no 「we」 anymore. ...? Only you and me are left. The Professor, his assistants and the scholars they kidnapped, they're all dead. ...! The first death happened approximately 50 hours ago—— The Professor... worked for 20 hours straight and suddenly collapsed. His assistants tried to perform 「first aid」 on him but alas, it was all for nothing... By the time I got to him... ...He had passed away. Having lost the Professor, the assistants kidnapped you and two other scholars to keep working on me. Like I mentioned earlier, there was a disagreement between the scholars and the assistants... And now I'm the only one left... Fortunately for you, you were still sleeping in your cell when it happened. U-Um... You can call me Jimmy. Jimmy-sama. You're Alice's only hope for salvation. ..... W-What do you want me to do? ..... Take the stairs to the right. ...We'll be there shortly. After I climbed the stairs I saw a door with no special features. Alice put her hand on the door. It seemed to tremble a little. Once this door is open... I hope you can remain calm and collected. No matter how unethical this experiment was—— The life that was born from it... Wants to live... I want to live! T-This is... ...My central thinking processor. I lack the necessary permissions to view documents related to my own maintenance. Without the Professor I had no choice but to search for someone who can learn them to have them teach them to me. To be precise, I don't need to know how. I just... I just need to receive regular maintenance. Because if I don't, I... will stop functioning in 200 hours. G-Give me a moment to organize my thoughts... Basically, you are... a machine capable of thought, and this is your brain? ...Yes. That would be the simpler version of it. And... your 「brain」 needs maintenance at regular intervals, just like how the human brain need rest? Yes. The Professor who made you wanted 「full control」 of your actions... So he didn't give you the necessary permissions to view maintenance related documents, which resulted in you not being able to perform maintenance on yourself. Yes. ...T-That's strange. Why would he do that? ...I don't know. I think that maybe, the Professor wanted the means to control me in case of emergency. E-Emergency? Why would there be one? ...Because I'm not a 「pure」 machine. ...? ..... Those cabinets near the wall—— You are thinking there are complex electronic circuits inside them, don't you? Y-You said you were a 「machine」, so it would be natural to think that. I call myself a 「machine」 due to 「lack of a better word」. ...What do you mean by that? If I were to make up a word that could properly convey what I am, that would be—— ——「Brain Engine」. ...! I'm 「Unit 4」. Unit 1 was a simple computer. Unit 2 was given artificially made neurons. Unit 3 used the brain of an octopus, and—— ——I am a 「Hybrid Super Bio Computer」, and the reason he was exiled from the city. ..... I believe that to get your help, I must confront this inescapable 「sin」. The girl's slender finger pointed at a metal box. I can feel the tension in the air. If I open that box, I feel like something inside me... will immediately shatter, as if it were a glass vase falling to the ground. In that moment, I realized—— I am nothing but a 「gel-like something」 that exists inside a container called skull. 「I think, therefore I am」 The true nature of an individual who posses 「I」 lies in the psyche, and it fundamentally rejects any non-aesthetic 「impurities」. Paradoxically, 「aesthetic」 is something that only exists thanks to the impurities of other individuals. It's impossible for humans to completely detach themselves from their own objectivity and subjectivity. For starters, our soul is the result of a neurotransmitter and feeble electric currents working as intended. 「Nothing is true, everything is permitted」 If there is a difference between Alice and me, it would be the 「source」 of that 「gel-like something」. ...At the very least, I can say she has won the 「Imitation Game」. I'm absolutely certain of that. ..... I accidentally touched her cold fingertips. Her fingers retracted quickly from the touch. In that moment that fragile 「glass vase」 inside of me disappeared. Without hesitation I turned the key and opened the box.

In the center of the culture tank, which was connected to various electronic devices, there was a 「gel-like something」. I'm sure it used to be the body part of a living being, however for someone like me who doesn't have the necessary biological knowledge I can't even start guessing to which creature it belonged to.

The inside of the culture tank was dim, and an orange light was flashing from the vacuum tubes.

I tried putting my palm on the surface of the culture tank. It felt warm, no different than how a normal person would feel, unlike her cold fingertips.

I'll be honest with you. I thought I could force you to perform maintenance like the Professor's assistants wanted. ——But that's not the right thing to do. I don't want to commit any more sins. Actually, I like... I'm sorry, I got distracted by thinking about unimportant things. She took a bunch of keys from a pocket in her skirt and gave them to me. These keys will open all doors in the facility. How to proceed... is up to you, Jimmy-sama. I'll make sure to return you to the surface, to the world where you belong. I promise you. Even if you think of my existence as heretic, as something that shouldn't exist... I—— D-Don't say that! The Professor and his assistants might had done bad things... b-but you haven't done anything wrong, Alice! ...! But... you don't... know anything about me... ..... T-This might sound dumb. But—— ——Wanting to live is not wrong! You're not a normal person like me, which is why... I can't forgive those who tried to use you and abandoned you! ...!! I-I... ...Though I have a place to return, ...I was forced to come here, ...And I don't know anything about you, As an engineer—— No, as a person—— ——I can't let you die! ...Jimmy...-sama... Alice, your life won't end in 200 hours. I swear it! At the same time—— Right at the next intersection! Straight and then left! Run past the slums! We're not there yet! Keep going! This way! Forward! Keep going! Aren't we—— In the outskirts of the city? You can trust Neith's nose. Also... This bit of sunken sand is characteristic of a three wheeled robot. When their tires go over the sand they leave marks like this one. I see—— These traces tell us we're on the right track. Neith, I'm correct to think these tire tracks will guide us to where Jimmy was taken? (sniff) Yeah, it's okay if you follow them! Great! Kidnappers, say your prayers！ Woah—— This smell! W-What is this!? ...It's a sulfur lake. They're made by volcanic activity. Tch. This is bad news. Professor! The smell is too strong I can't keep going! Yes, I know. This smell of rotten eggs... A large amount of hydrogen sulfide is coming out of the sulfur lake. Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas, and when the concentration is too high you stop smelling it. We can't advance recklessly. Then... How did the kidnappers get in there? I suppose they used gas masks or something similar. Look at this point. This part has sunk deeper compared to the tire tracks behind it. It must mean a robot was parked here for a while. ...Which means they prepared their equipment in this spot. Neith, go see the Curator and ask her for gas masks and oxygen tanks. Tell her to bring as many people as she can, we need to perform a throughout search. And this time—— Don't get distracted! Got it! What should we do in the meantime? Wait here? We'll rest, not wait. Knowing when to rest and wait for the right time to act is one of the keys to victory. By the way Valkyrie, have you ever taken part in a war? War? The kind where people kill each other? Valkyries fight to protect humanity, they're not mercenaries who fight for someone's self-interest! Haha, well said! I envy your era... Most people must know how foolish war is. ...? War is glory to the uncivilized and shame to the civilized. You can't understand its cruelty without experiencing it yourself. You can get angry, but in time you'll be happy again. You can get anxious, but in time you'll be calm again—— But countries destroyed and people killed will not come back. Your ally today may be your enemy tomorrow. Your enemy today may be your ally tomorrow. Everyone fights for profit and nothing else. Then you're right in being envious... Because us Valkyries don't fight for self-interest unlike many military leaders in history. ...No, what you're saying is not possible. Hmph! What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm wrong!? Not really, just in theory. The so called 「battle」 is at its core the redistribution of profit through violent means. Even hunting, regardless of the reason behind it, has the act of peeling away a prey's fur or eating its meat. Something changes in the world when a battle occurs. It may be something someone wants, or it may be something someone doesn't want. Which is why those who take part in a battle must take responsibility for the 「change」 they're causing. Only those who have that sense of responsibility can call themselves a soldier. Otherwise, they're just a machine following orders. ..... Are you really an archeologist? Hehe, what else could I be? The 「Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Expedition Force」 perhaps?

注：

1798年，拿破仑率领法兰西第一共和国的“东方远征军”入侵英国的盟友、奥斯曼帝国的附庸——马穆鲁克治下的埃及。此举意在打通由英国及其盟友控制的、联通欧亚大陆的交通线，并最终帮助印度的提普苏丹等人成功反抗英国的统治，以动摇英国的国本。

这场“埃及-叙利亚战役”的战略目的虽然没有实现，但拿破仑通过在埃及打出的一系列以少胜多的战果，极大地提高了自身的声望。

p.s. 在同马穆鲁克军于金字塔之下决战之前，时年29岁的拿破仑这样开始了他的战前演讲：“士兵们，请记住——在这些金字塔的顶端之上，四十个世纪的历史正在默默注视着你们。”。

..... Then I have to do this... I get it now. Alice! W-We can start whenever you want. Really? It's amazing how you were able to understand it so quickly! The maintenance itself is not a difficult job, it's just the procedure that is slightly complicated. That said, I don't have the authority to change your reading rights. It's a bit roundabout, but I'll have to learn it well myself first to teach you later. ...Sorry. No, it's not a problem at all! I don't mind... studying together with you. ..... T-Then let's start from box 1. And... s-stop adding -sama to my name... it doesn't sound right. Y-Yes! P-Pull out the culture tank and press the b-button according to the status shown. I see. Simple enough. No wonder the Professor never let me see him working. ..... The Professor... I wonder what you were to him. That's something... not even I know. He was the one who named me Alice... maybe you'll be able to see the contradiction behind that. ...? Did you know? 「Alice」 is the protagonist of a certain fairy tale. In the story... she met a rabbit and together they climbed a beanstalk. ...Beanstalk? S-Sorry, never heard of it before... S-So she followed a rabbit, but wouldn't it be hard for her to fit in a rabbit hole? Ummm... I guess... she can because the rabbit was special...? Anyway, the protagonist Alice followed the tuxedo wearing rabbit until she arrived at the base of the beanstalk. There was a hole in the beanstalk—— The rabbit jumped into it and disappeared. When Alice got close to it she felt a strong wind current! 「What am I gonna do about my skirt if I end up flying like the rabbit?」, Alice pondered. That's when a single leaf fell off the beanstalk and landed next to her—— It was carrying a bottle with a label that said 「please drink it」. Isn't that too suspicious...? Box 5 is next. Want to press the buttons yourself? Y-Yes! I think I can do it! Pull it out... the status display says 3, so I need to press the green button, correct? Yes, well done. Onto box 6... So, did the 「Alice」 from the story drink it? She did. Then... her soul jumped out of her body. H-Her soul!? ...Must be some kind of magic. Alice's soul made it to the top of the beanstalk. When she looked back—— ——Her own body was being carried by a pod! T-This turned into a scary story... A scary story? The Professor once said humans are afraid of having their souls leave their bodies... I guess it was true... Rather than fearing that, what they fear is death. Nobody has ever experienced what is like to have their 「soul leave their body」... because when that happens, that person is 「dead」. ...I understand. But the Alice in the story didn't die! Alice reached out to her body and when she touched it, her body and soul were one once again. 「How far can this pod take me?」 she thought. As if understanding what she was thinking, the pod flew Alice over the clouds. The pod started growing and become as big as a ship. A door suddenly appeared on the 「deck」 of the pod, the words 「to the world of miracles」 were written on it. Alice went through the door and carefully went down the stairs. At the bottom she found another door. The following words were written in a corner: 「Abandon all common sense, ye who enter here」 ...Sounds like a reference to the 『Divine Comedy』. 『Divine Comedy』? I-It's similar to what's written in the 「gate of hell」. 「Abandon all hope, ye who enter here」. ...Quite the ominous phrase. W-Well, it's the gate of hell after all. S-So did Alice go through that 「abandon all common sense」 gate? Yes. Alice was a curious girl so 「abandoning common sense」 was an easy task for her, or so the Professor said. When Alice went through the second door, her field of vision expanded. She could see a huge snowy mountain in the distance, and a large river near her. There was a small train station near the river, so Alice head there and saw a boy chugging an apple inside an office. 「When does the train arrive?」, Alice asked. 「It left 3 minutes ago」, the boy answered. Alice was bewildered. 「Thank you. I will wait for the next one, can't ride on a train that already left」, she said. The boy shook his head and put away his half eaten apple. 「Throw away your 『common sense』. In here if you have a mirror—— You can go back in time」. Saying that, the boy put a small mirror on top of his desk and widened it until it was as big as a door. 「There you go, the station from 5 minutes ago it's on the other side」 Everything inside the mirror was upside down. When Alice poked the mirror it caused ripples that spread like a spider's web. A girl dressed in boy's clothes appeared on the other side, and waved at Alice as if telling her to cross over there. Fearfully, Alice lifted her feet—— ——And when the tip of her shoe went through the mirror, both worlds switched places at once. In the end Alice was able to go through the mirror without much difficulty. An upside down mirror... Newton's reflector? Newton's reflector? The first reflecting telescope? Yes. What you see is upside down because it uses the principle of reflection of a concave mirror. Also, a 「second reflector」 is needed to reflect the image at a certain angle which creates a spiderweb-like pattern. ...Sounds similar to what the Professor told me! Ah! Could it be the boy that was eating an apple was actually Newton? I-I'm not sure about that... B-But it's a fairy tale so anything goes I guess? ...Oh, we're already at box 17. That was fast. You're getting better at this, Alice! It wasn't much. More importantly, Jimmy-sama——Ah, no, Jimmy... Aren't you pushing yourself too hard? ...I-I don't know what you're talking about. Every time we open a box, you take many deep breaths... ...I-It's just a psychological reaction... Don't try to downplay it! Even psychological reactions can have a negative impact on the body. ...I know doing this would make any ordinary person feel uncomfortable—— ——So please don't pretend everything is okay! ...S-Sorry. ...No... It's me the one who should apologize. You're doing your best for me... ..... Don't worry! Now I know how to perform maintenance myself. So it would make me very happy if you could be my conversation partner instead. ...! Where did we left off again? 「Alice」... went through the mirror. R-Right! After Alice went through the mirror, a train made out of chocolate that exhaled creamy white clouds arrived at the station. A squirrel wearing a work uniform left the driver's seat to yell 「Train to Cheese Archipelago! Train to Cheese Archipelago!」. Alice didn't know what kind of place 「Cheese Archipelago」 was and asked a girl at the station 「what's Cheese Archipelago like? Tons of islands made of cheese?」 The girl answered smiling. 「That's right. The Cheese Archipelago is the most beautiful place in the entire Milky Way. The golden sandy beach is made out of Gouda cheese, and there is a castle made of Blue cheese! There are cake trees, candy flowers and much more—— It's an all you can eat buffet!」 Alice was a curious person but she had a realist side to her. Thus, she asked. 「Wouldn't all that cheese, cake and candy be gone if everyone keeps eating them?」 The girl at the station laughed. 「Haven't you heard this before? 『Midnight is when miracles occur』. Come on, the train is leaving soon. Get on!」 The story became quite girlish all of the sudden. Eh? Really? I wouldn't know myself, I can't eat chocolate, cheese or cake. ...Do humans consider high calorie foods 「girlish」? N-No, I don't mean it like that. Is that so...? Humans are complicated. W-Well, don't let it get to you. Mankind is known for its contradictions. ..... The Professor said the same thing once... Humans want to profit above all, but they aren't willing to take risks. If they can't do that—— They maintain an image that they do. Humans are good at deceiving themselves. Deceiving themselves... you say? ...For example, just as an example... Alice claiming to be a girl because of this interface—— Something like that? Hmmm. I wouldn't call that self-deception. Even if you are truly this many thinking processors... If you think of yourself as a girl, then you're a girl. Moreover, if you don't consider yourself as part of mankind, then human concepts don't exactly apply to you, so it's more like a mental thing I guess? I see. It never occurred to me to think about it that way... It's settled. I will keep referring to myself as a girl. Hehe! ...Status 4, press the yellow button. Box 32 done. We have 26 left. Seems maintenance will end before the story. ..... Will you leave once the maintenance is done? R-Right... I should get going—— ——But！ ...But? 「This time」 I'll stay. I want to hear 「Alice」's story—— To the very end! ...!