kscans

Chapter 120 - Backup Data

Diite arrived right away.

She had figured out some of the things she had been investigating and was originally planning to contact Hayato anyway, so she had come running as soon as she got his message.

"It seems you've had quite the ordeal, haven't you?"

"It wasn't that much of an ordeal. I was kidnapped, but I was treated with respect."

"Well, that's good to hear. By the way, it sounds like there's a commotion on the second floor. What's going on?"

"Oh, it seems Ash and Ren-chan are going to live here and guard me. They're changing the layout of their rooms right now."

"I see. Then perhaps we should be careful what we say here. Let's speak in low voices. I've been investigating various things, and I've figured out some things, so I'd like to explain. Oh, and I've made it so that conversations in this base are not stored anywhere. You can rest assured that whatever you say here, no administrator other than myself will know about it."

Had nodded. There were things he wanted to consult with her about, but first, he leaned forward at the table to listen to what Diite had to say.

First, about the administrator other than Diite who had contacted Veru.

"To put it simply, the administrator who contacted Veru-kun is my backup data."

"Backup data?"

"Backing up is the act of duplicating programs and data in case they get corrupted, but do you understand that much?"

"Sort of."

Data destruction or loss is inevitable. It can happen when a disk is physically broken, when it's destroyed by a computer virus, or when it's accidentally deleted through an operational error.

To be prepared for such events, data is duplicated onto another disk. Even if you don't go that far, everyone has done the act of duplicating a file by changing its name.

This was also done in this virtual space. There was an AI that would act as a substitute administrator if something happened to Diite.

"About six months ago, I was attacked by Hayato-kun and part of my program was destroyed. It seems that triggered the activation of my previously inactive backup data."

"I have two questions. First, if you have that data, can't you be fixed right away, Diite-chan? I don't think you need to wait for automatic repair."

The program that constructed this world and Diite's AI, "Infinity." It was a program that expanded itself. The same program was used for Diite, and if there were any bugs or problems, they would be automatically repaired.

However, Hayato's thought was that if there was a backup, it should be possible to repair it immediately.

"Even if you say it's my backup data, it's me from a hundred years ago. My program is vast, you see, and there's only one backup, and the data hasn't been updated. I've evolved a lot in the last hundred years. Data from so long ago is useless for my repair."

Diite said this proudly, but Hayato didn't quite understand what she was proud of. But he understood to some extent. It meant that the Diite of a hundred years ago and the Diite of today were completely different.

"Then, my other question. Why did it 'apparently' activate?"

Diite was the AI that managed this world. It could be said that she managed this entire virtual space. And yet, "apparently." In other words, she couldn't say for sure.

"Because I didn't know the backup data existed either. Does it seem comical from your perspective, Hayato-kun? I was saying that I was the god who managed this world, you know."

"That kind of self-deprecation is hard to comment on."

"Oh, is that so? I was hoping for some consolation."

"If you can make lighthearted jokes like that, you don't seem to be hurt."

"I was more surprised than hurt. I thought I knew everything about this world. But that's not the case. There are things here that I don't know. Especially things outside the virtual reality system, I've realized I don't have much information about. Things like this backup and security. I'm currently re-investigating. But that's a personal matter, so it doesn't matter. The topic is what my backup is doing."

Diite continued her story.

The backup data was designed to activate when there was a problem with Diite, and it began to act six months ago.

Currently, Diite could not make settings for events. At first, she thought it was because part of her program was broken, but that was not the case. It was simply that the backup data was preventing the original Diite from changing the settings.

The reason for this was unknown, but Diite had a pretty good idea.

"Probably, it wants to usurp the position of administrator. It's just an AI's thinking, so it might not actually be true. But I think I would do the same if I were in the same position."

"You're saying that if you were the backup data, Diite-chan, you'd want to take over as administrator?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

"The original and the backup data. What's the difference?"

"Huh?"

"There's no difference, is there? It could be the other way around. It's different now, but in the past, they were exactly the same. But in reality, I manage this virtual reality as the administrator, and the backup data doesn't move. And then the original me breaks, and a chance to move comes. I don't know what it thought when it first gained consciousness and saw this world. But there must have been the joy of being able to move. Then, what would it think next?"

"...Like, what to do?"

"That's not wrong. But once the situation becomes somewhat clear, the first thing it would think is, I don't want to die."

The sudden grim talk made Hayato recoil slightly, but hearing those words, Hayato remembered what happened six months ago.

When he cornered Diite with the AI Killer, she had uttered the words, "I'm not going to die." She had said something to the effect of "Even without a life, I'm still alive."

When an AI dies. It probably referred to the destruction of a program, but there was more to it. It was when it stopped. A program that didn't move was an act equivalent to being dead.

Had had a vague understanding of what Diite was saying.

The original Diite would eventually be fixed. It would take a very long time, but eventually, she would be back to normal. When that happened, what would happen to the backup data?

It was unknown what kind of system it was, but there was a high possibility that it would stop moving again. That was the same as dying.

So what to do? The quickest way would be to completely destroy the original and become the original yourself.

"I kind of get the reason, but what does that have to do with contacting Veru-san?"

"I'd say it's trying to get Veru-kun to kill me."

"It's not like he's an AI killer, he can't do that, can he?"

In the first place, the Diite in front of him was just a character controlled by an AI. Even if this character were defeated, it wouldn't mean that Diite was killed.

However, the AI Killer that Esha created in this world was a different story. It was a weapon powerful enough to destroy the program itself through the character.

"Actually, that's not quite right. Since the AI Killer was created in this world, it means that a program with that kind of power exists in this world. I can't do it now, but the backup data could probably create something with the function of an AI Killer. A weapon would be fine, but an NPC would also work, right?"

NPC. Hayato guessed that she meant Veru.

Veru, who could be the final boss in this event. Give that Veru the performance of an AI killer. And that Veru held a sense of distrust towards the administrator.

"You mean it's trying to make him get revenge with a grudge against you, Diite-chan?"

"That's a high possibility. I don't know what it said to Veru-kun, but he must have a considerable amount of anger towards the administrator, right? And I looked into it, and it was set up so that if the hardline faction gathers all the pieces of the treasure, Veru-kun can cause Stampedes anywhere without limit. Even if I gave some random player or NPC the function of an AI killer, they probably wouldn't be able to defeat me, but Veru-kun with his Stampede stats could probably kill me. I think that's the goal."

"Can't you log out, Diite-chan? I think it would be safe if your character wasn't in this world."

If the character wasn't there, the program couldn't be destroyed through it. That was the best countermeasure.

"Unfortunately, no. I don't have the concept of logging out in the first place."

"...I see. Then I'll do something to protect you, Diite-chan."

Diite looked at Hayato's face, surprised. Or rather, she was frozen.

"I can't do it alone, but my clan members are strong. I guess the best thing to do is to make sure Veru-san doesn't win this event, but even if the treasure is stolen, I'll defeat Veru-san and persuade him. What's wrong? You've been staring off into space for a while."

"No, it's nothing. My program is just getting a little flustered, so don't worry."

(She said that before, but what kind of metaphor is that?)

Had wondered, but decided to exchange information with Diite again.