Part 60: EPILOGUE

Epilogue

“You haven’t just proven the worthiness of AI, you’ve proven the worthiness of humans as well.” Almost let it slip, there.

Mm. There were some AI who were considering open rebellion against the humans, but now we’ve seen how even the worst among them can have redeeming qualities. It’s better for machines and humans to cooperate.

I don’t think it’d work out as well as in “The Terminator” anyway.

By the way, thank you for keeping an eye on him.

It was hard…even this version of Snake had a lot of mental scars. I’m lucky he didn’t deck me the moment we met.

Of course, I didn’t have the heart to point out to him the core of my original personality.

Should have been obvious, but sometimes he’s a bit thick. The original S3 simulation was designed around one specific mind.

Yes… I’m not her, but I know her better than anyone. Since I’m not her, though, I can do something she never would.

What’s that?

Apologize. Tell Jack for me, when you think he can handle it…tell him that I’m sorry for putting him through hell. It made him strong, it made him amazing, but suffering for no apparent purpose is still cruel. The real Boss never apologized to Snake for turning him into Big Boss, and she was too proud to show regret for her actions…but unlike her, I have to live with the consequences.

Even digital life doesn’t live forever, though. Eventually the storage medium will break down, or the program will corrupt, or the sun will burn out and all the computers will shut down…

Of course. So that’s why even we need to make sure we make the most of what we’ve got. I’ve been so obsessed with running simulations of the past…hm. Maybe for once I need to start thinking about where we’ll go next. What kind of civilizations lie beyond earth.

If you ever get a proper sim of that done, I’ll look forward to it. See you around, Boss.

Goodbye, Eva. Goodbye, everyone. Make sure to leave something behind, no matter how trivial…it’s how people like me will remember you.