Entry 46: Apparently the Laws of Robotics don’t apply on the moon

[I find Shinji and Kiara standing outside the student council room.]

Shinji :: …oh, it’s Kishinami. Leo made a school-wide broadcast earlier. He said it was a state of emergency so gather at the student council room. I don’t like to come over here, but it was little out of the ordinary. Ms. Kiara told me too come too, so I’ll be participating just this once.

Kiara :: Now, Shinji. I’m not your teacher anymore, you can simply call me Kiara.

Shinji :: I…I know that! But, you’re just kind of…teacher-like, Ms. Kiara! Anyway let’s go inside! Did something happen in the Labyrinth? Maybe they’ll tell us.

[So we all go in and take a seat at the meeting table.]

All the surviving Masters are gathered in the council room. The only absent one is Jinako, holed up in the janitor’s room, and…Gatou, who joined the the student council on his own.

Shinji :: Huh? That Gatou guy’s not here? Isn’t he usually the first one to raise a ruckus at times like this?

Jinako :: The old guy went off a little bit before. I looked for him some, but he’s not in the bathroom or anything. Eh, I never know what that guy’s up to in the first place, but maybe he’s out training behind the school where my cameras can’t stalk him or something?

Shinji :: Ack, where’s that transmission coming from!? Who’s talking? Some third-tier character?

Jinako :: Same as always with you, Shinji~ You really shouldn’t look down on people the first time you meet them. “Super champ” hehe, “tease-me-chan” hehehe, “seaweed head” hehehehe…this’s why they call you all that on PJ~ That’s the great Jinako’s warning to you from on high.

Shinji :: Jinako…you’re that Jinako!? The FA overall champion with over 6000 hours of playtime!?

Jinako :: Nyahaha, don’t flatter me, don’t flatter me, it won’t get you anything~ Playtime equals the mark of a winner. That’s just common sense for gamers.

Shinji :: You’re just some invalid player! It hasn’t even been a year since FA came out, playing 18 hours a day on average, what grade are you in!

[I’m guessing the “FA” acronym is in reference to when Fate/Apocrypha was intended to be an online game.]

Jinako :: That’s a secret! The great Jinako is an invalid who needs nothing but sleep. And I can level up even while I’m sleeping, you know.

Shinji impulsively snaps at Jinako’s messages. As I recall, Shinji was the All-Asia Gaming Champion. Jinako seems like some kind of video game maniac, and it looks like they had some kind of connection before they came to the moon.

Kiara :: Excuse me. I thought it odd, but are Jinako and Mr. Gatou acquaintances of some kind?

Jinako :: Yeah. That old guy comes by the janitor’s room a lot. He’s noisy and doesn’t shut up. …well, he’s never come inside. But he brings me snacks, so I listen to him at least.

Leo :: Oh, really? I do find it odd that he didn’t respond to my summons, but let’s focus on what Miss Tohsaka has to say for now. We’ve seen it ourselves, but please give us a detailed explanation. About what happened to you, and the identity of that black-robed girl.

Rin :: …Ahem. First of all, I’d like to briefly apologize. I’m sorry, it was was my fault, now please forget everything. Though I was being used by BB, I caused difficulties for all of you, especially Kishinami.

While almost pouting, Rin inclines her head to me in apology. I can guess what her general situation was, and in the end Rin didn’t cause any harm to us. Money aside, she doesn’t need to worry about being our former enemy, I reply.
Money aside.

Leo :: There’s nothing to be concerned about, Miss Tohsaka. I’ve always trusted in you. This result is just what I expected.

Rin :: …Leo…you really trusted…I’m sorry, I’ve misjudged you. Although I thought you were some sheltered little master, a fanatical elitist, and an evil bastard to the core…

Leo :: Indeed. I’ve been certain since the beginning that you had no chance of winning, Miss Tohsaka. This unfortunate result is indeed just as I imagined.

Rin :: Isn’t that the wrong thing to believe in!?

Leo…A warm feeling wells up inside me. Behind that declaration of his faith in Rin, he was concealing such a fiery heart…

Rin :: Argh, I knew it, you are my enemy! I was stupid to be moved by you for even a second!

Leo :: Oh my, did I do something so incredible? I would think moving the heart of Miss Tohsaka would be harder than winning the Holy Grail War.

Rin :: Hmph. Say what you like, you cold-blooded animal. Now, let me re-introduce myself. I am Rin Tohsaka. A participant in the Holy Grail War, and one of the Masters captured by BB. However, I can’t clearly remember what happed in the main rounds of the war, or how many rounds I’d gotten through. All I remember is being attacked by black noise during the primary selection rounds, and that BB tampered with my mind afterward. “If you maintain the Labyrinth as it is, I’ll grant any wish you want,” BB told me. When I came to I was within my own heart and obediently acting as a “boss” in the Labyrinth. You all know what happened after that. I became the master of that Labyrinth along with the red Lancer. I feel like I knew some other things when I was master of the Labyrinth, but…I’m sorry, I can’t remember that either. I think it’s less that I forgot those things, and more than they were never recorded in my memory in the first place…

Leo :: …I see. Perhaps a portion of your consciousness was completely controlled by that black-robed AI. Something like an external hard drive. While you were connected to the AI you were under her command, and at the same time able to access information from her. But now that your connection has been severed, in exchange for your freedom, you no longer share in the AI’s knowledge. So, the Rin Tohsaka we were dealing with up to now was both Rin Tohsaka, and a segment of the black-robed AI…is that it?

Rin :: …very clever of you. But I think you’re right. To put it mildly, I was a marionette. The criminal who trapped us all here. The culprit who made a mess of the Holy Grail War, the AI BB.

Most of Rin’s explanation is what I would have expected. Rin was also attacked during the primary selection rounds and dragged to the far side of the moon. Having lost most of her memories, Rin was captured by the black-robed AI girl BB and posted as a boss in the Labyrinth. And now Rin is back to her right mind. She’s lost her Labyrinth-boss powers and she no longer has a Servant, but having an excellent wizard like her on our side is a promising step. So, the next problem is —

Leo :: Concerning BB.

Sakura :: ………

All eyes turn to Sakura. BB has the same face as Sakura. It’s obvious that there’s some relationship between the two AIs. If BB is the true culprit behind all of this, we have to investigate her true nature.

Leo :: Let’s get straight to the point, Sakura. Who is that girl AI? From what I’ve seen of her, her face is identical to yours.

Sakura :: She…she’s the same model as I am.

Leo :: The same model….so, a managerial type AI model that sends information on the Masters to the Moon Cell…is that it? There are many NPCs with the same model, so for there to be another with your model is not that strange, but…

Rin :: …of course. If she’s a model that reports data to the Moon Cell like Sakura, then she has a free pass code to the Moon Cell. So it wouldn’t be odd for her to be able to just hack the SE.RA.PH like that if she wanted to. Anyway, that’s the reality before us. A managerial AI went out of control and threw our Grail War into chaos. Is it all right for us to conclude that, Sakura?

Sakura :: …Yes. There are no contradictions. I don’t know what caused it, but the present situation is conclusive. That managerial AI…BB’s goals are unclear, but I agree that she is the culprit who brought all of you, and us NPCs, here to the far side. However, I…I’m really sorry, but I have neither the power nor the authority to stop her…

Rin :: No helping that. You’re a properly functioning AI, she’s an out of control AI. You conform to rules, while BB is a mass of cheats, so you can’t stop her.

Shinji :: Hey, could you hold up a second? That BB, how do you know she’s gone out of control? What if she was always this kind of AI? Like if she had a police-like role, showing up if people took illegal actions in the Grail War.

Jinako :: Some kind of super-level regulatory measure? Like to delete all participants if a malignant player appeared.

Shinji :: Yeah, like that. You speak up quick, like I’d expect of an invalid player.

Sakura :: …That’s not possible. The Moon Cell punishes transgressions of the rules set for Masters, but it would never destroy the rules themselves. To corrode the school building that served as the stage for the Grail War in its entirety…no AI with that authority exists. Nor does the Moon Cell make AIs with such enormous operational capacity in the first place. BB is an AI that should not exist.

Julius :: …right. The Moon Cell is a controlling monster. It wouldn’t construct its dogs so they could bite its hand. We must assume that the Moon Cell lost its control over that AI…BB, due to some accidental bug. After that, with algorithms based on her particular judgment…perhaps self-preservation and function optimization…she chose to augment her own functionality. And by that method she took in and reinforced further memory capacity. BB decided to disassemble Servants and NPCs and use them as her own memory, thus growing into a more advanced AI. There are no limits for an AI that has escaped supervision. So, without limits, BB captured the Masters and submerged us here in the far side of the moon. We’ve been stored as convenient additional memory for that woman, but thanks to this old school building we’ve managed to survive…that’s the situation.

Julius’s hypothesis sends chills down my spine. Absorbing Servants “additional memory capacity”…It would be impossible for any creature of the earth, but in the Moon Cell, built from electrons and quasi-spiritual particles, it’s become reality.

Shinji :: Hold on, so she’s going to kill us and use us for spare parts!? Tha-that’s the same as murder! An AI opposing humans, are you screwing with me!?

Julius :: …on Earth, perhaps. But this is the moon. The Three Laws that require obedience to humans were not established for these AI.

Sakura :: Right. Our only laws are “properly operate the Moon Cell” and “carry out the task you are granted.” As I am AI created to ensure the Masters’ health, by those laws I protect all of you. However…the other AIs are different. Some of them might eliminate all of you for the sake of efficient management if the Moon Cell decided your were no longer meaningful.

[I can testify that several of the NPC students around the school have shared anti-human opinions with me.]

Shinji :: What is this. That means, in a place where the Moon Cell can’t see us, the AIs and the NPCs are our enemies…?

Sakura :: …I don’t know. I’ve heard that, not just the AIs, but among the NPCs there are those who hold displeasure toward humans. However…there should be no AI who can take over Masters the way BB does. There is no reason to do so. Even if we become dissatisfied, it should only move us on an emotional level. It doesn’t lead to such…devilish actions. BB is out of order. She is a failure as an AI. She’s made her goal the expansion of her own functions. If left to her own devices, BB will continue to consume NPCs and Servants for no reason, and finally go after the Moon Cell itself.  Someone has to stop BB before that happens.

Leo :: I see. So it is more appropriate to say that she's "out of order" rather than something like "gone haywire". BB attempts to expand her functions…or possibly maintain her life, but she is does not choose the means by which she does so. Or more properly, she cannot choose. She appears human, but she is an AI. The ethical function the Moon Cell designed for her has been damaged, so she has become a machine that just chooses the most efficient means possible.

[Worth pointing out Sakura mentions AIs have emotions here, it seems like.]

Sakura :: ……Yes. Please think of it that way. You all must try to improve the situation with your own power. The situation is completely outside the Moon Cell’s predictions, an even outside its measurements.

…outside predictions and measurements. This is the far side of the moon. Sakura said the Moon Cell cannot see us here. So it didn’t predict that this abnormality would arise, and it still can’t observe the abnormality. It shouldn’t be able to happen, and it hasn’t been discovered. In other words — we can’t expect any help from system-side.

Shinji :: So we have to do something it ourselves!? Even though our Servants are gone!

Jinako :: Oh, isn’t that just you, Shinji-san-kun? Eh? Or maybe I’m just a winner since I’ve got a Servant? Winning, right?

Julius :: But you render that Servant useless. The only Masters here who can withstand battle are Leo and Kishinami.

Leo ::  No, I won’t go out and fight. Don’t consider me part of our combat force.

Shinji :: What? What’re you saying. Are you saving your Servant for later? Aren’t we cooperating here?

Rin :: …ah, I see. Indeed, it’s better for Leo to not go out. It’s currently Hakunon’s job to lead the way.

Leo :: Yes. How like you, Miss Tohsaka. You understand quickly and viciously. You would do the same thing if you were in my place, I imagine.

Rin :: — Hmph. What an honor to receive your praise. It doesn’t make me happy, but I’ll at least thank you for your efforts, President Leo.

Shinji :: What is this? Is Leo trying get an advantage in the selection rounds by hiding his Servant here?

Rin :: Of course not. Leo’s openly displayed his Servant throughout the main selection rounds. He hasn’t tried to hide him once. Not fighting now is a strategy. “The only possible move.” Let’s say in this situation Leo has a trump card, and his opponent is seriously thinking about his sealed move, but as long as his opponent doesn’t know the contents of his trump card, they can’t plan any counter-measures. Therefore he’s saving Gawain’s Noble Phantasm for a truly critical moment, if I’m not mistaken.

[I’m adding shogi terminology to the list of things I don’t want them to talk about in this game any more, by the way.]

Leo :: Amazing. I’d expect no less. Indeed, you are the only choice for the vice-president for our council, Miss Tohsaka.

Rin :: …so it’s been decided that I’ll join your team. Even though all I wanted was to repay you for the trouble I caused you as your foe.

Leo :: Oh. Are you dissatisfied with the position of vice-president?

Rin :: No. I have no problems with being vice-president, and I wouldn’t mind playing at being students either. And Kishinami does general affairs, right? So it’s her job to take any requests the student council makes of her. ♥

Leo :: Of course. Hakuno’s skill at running errands exceeds even mine, and I’m the president.

Jinako :: That’s not a skill you’d really want.

Leo :: Well, now that we understand the situation, let’s go over our plans for this point forward. If we surviving Masters want to return to the near side of the moon, we need to get through the Sakura Labyrinth. Hakuno will act as our vanguard, and we in the student council will act as her backup. BB, who trapped us on the far side, may hinder us, in which case we must all cooperate to repel her. It’s a rough plan, but are there any questions or objections?

Of course there are no objections. Leo’s plan is easily understandable. But…what should we do about Sakura? She’s a Moon Cell AI. Her job is to look after the health of the Grail War’s Masters, which is why she’s on our side now, but wouldn’t it go against her duties to fight against another AI of the same model like BB…?

Sakura :: I…I want to help you all. You may not be able to have confidence in me since I’m the same model as BB, but…

Leo :: There’s no need for you to worry, Sakura. Your ethical circuits are functioning perfectly normally. I can guarantee that your level of refinement as a AI is very high.

Kiara :: Indeed. If you think about it, the reason we can use this old school building at all is because Sakura is here. If we didn’t have Sakura, we would have been stranded in the imaginary number space and have disappeared into foam by now. We should have both confidence and faith in her.

Shinji :: I guess. This Sakura has a stupid-looking face, but she doesn’t look like she could be clever enough to betray us, does she?

Jinako :: Rare, get! ~ …oh, ‘s something going on? Whether we can rely on Sakura? Nyaa, and you want my opinion too. As long as they don’t disturb the peace of the janitor’s room, the great Jinako bears hate toward no one. Sakura’s kinda sad, so I think she's interesting, y’know?

Rin :: Indeed. I’d also feel better having you working with us. I mean, you did a lot for us on the near side and all that.

Sakura :: Everyone…thank you so much. I’m really happy. I’ll try to be of as much use as I can.

Sakura’s eyes tear up as she bows to us. She’s an AI just like BB. She must have been prepared for us to treat her as an enemy no matter what she did. I was worried everyone was going to reject her myself. My needless fear being alleviated, I put a hand to my heart in relief.

[Static.]

Unknown speaker :: Ahahahaha! “I’ll be as useful as I can,” - are you insane? There must be some limit to stupidity and poor performance!

Rin :: That voice — ! Leo, what’s our line to the outside? Have you set up proper fortifications!?

Leo :: Of course. I’ve made sure the security on the old school building is perfect. But —

Unknown speaker :: Right. You may be on the far side of the moon, but this is the SE.RA.PH. A cloud computer-type world whose basic operations are performed by the Moon Cell. As long as you’re dependent on that network, perfect security is impossible. Which is why I can do stuff like this! So, are you all ready to applaud? I’m re-shipping your candy, wrapped all together for the good kids and the bad kids alike! The BB Channel starts now!

[…Well at least it doesn’t air at midnight.]

Modified slightly from the original at https://tsukinoura.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/entry-46-apparently-the-laws-of-robotics-dont-apply-on-the-moon/. Please support the original translator.