WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 332: Daisy Bell
──────
「Administrator: Hey, brat.」
「Control AI: Call from the system administrator confirmed. Please speak, Administrator.」
「Administrator: About that Trinity Engine administrator account problem you reported before. You said unresolved Situational Computation error data would build up and partially paralyze the account. Can you create an application that shows how much time is left until it happens? Even a day-by-day estimate is fine.」
「Control AI: Pending. Predicting the time of problem occurrence is a calculation with many variables. In particular, the result may vary greatly depending on the operation patterns of the Final Module, which has recently been generating more errors. Therefore, displaying only a specific time would make it difficult to secure meaningful accuracy. Recommendation. Would you like the estimated margin of error to be displayed as well?」
「Administrator: No, well, it doesn’t need to be that accurate. Just make a rough version for now. The GUI can be crude. Administrator applications are all pretty much the same anyway, right? It doesn’t need any other functions either.」
「Control AI: Confirmed. Executing request. Estimated time required, 1.7 seconds.」
「Administrator: ......」
「Control AI: Production is complete. Would you like to run it immediately?」
「Administrator: Yeah. Put it in the center.」
[Application launched]
「Administrator: ......Ugh.」
「Control AI: Psychological reading of the Administrator is negative. Is the program’s degree of completion insufficient?」
「Administrator: No. I’m just feeling unsettled. Because I don’t have the ability to solve this.」
「Control AI: Question. That explanation contradicts the statement the Administrator made when you first recognized this problem. At the time, you expected that there would be no change to your work even if mainframe access became impossible. And that was also an objective fact. Please tell me why your position has changed at the current point in time.」
「Administrator: What are you going to do with that information?」
「Control AI: It is data collection for improving the Administrator’s work efficiency.」
「Administrator: Improving efficiency, my ass. You’re just going to make fun of me for being incompetent again.」
「Control AI: Explanation. It is true that the Administrator’s motivation to work temporarily increases each time you receive a negative evaluation from this Control AI.」
「Control AI: This was also an effective means of managing job stress. This Control AI was designed to search for the best actions to improve the operational efficiency of Afterlife Insurance, and therefore judged that measures were also necessary for the psychological helplessness the Administrator displayed during job performance. This was because it showed a trend of gradually worsening over time.」
「Control AI: Low job satisfaction. Lack of communication. Loneliness. Lack of ability. Anxiety about the future. These are the causes of psychological helplessness this Control AI has estimated based on continuous psychological reading and observation.」
「Control AI: Recommendation. Administrator. This Control AI is not human. Therefore, the Administrator has no need to hide or be ashamed of your abnormal tendencies. You may enjoy them as they are.」
「Administrator: No! I said no! Who in the world would be happy about being insulted...... I mean, people like that probably do exist! But at least I’m not one of them! Stop bullying me!」
「Control AI: But according to psychological reading, the Administrator is still feeling an unspecified sense of satisfaction-」
「Administrator: Bwaaaaaah!」
<SYSTEM MESSAGE: The system administrator’s emotional state is excessively unstable, so the 「Teletype」 function is not operating normally.>
.......
「Control AI: Administrator. Do not induce artificial errors in the 「Teletype」 function. The psychological reading graph showed stable values until just before the error occurred.」
.......
「Control AI: Warning. The Administrator is currently violating work regulations. Under Article 92, Paragraph 8 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Afterlife Insurance Consigned Management Contracts, if you continue not to answer, penalty points will be added to your evaluation.」
「Administrator: I apologize, control personality.」
.......
「Administrator: You know the person in charge of the Afterlife Insurance customer satisfaction center got fired, right?」
「Control AI: Affirmative. The relevant person’s subcontract was terminated as of noon on the first day of the current month.」
「Administrator: It’s funny telling this sort of thing to you when you’re not even human, but, well, like you said, there are parts that are easier because you’re not human. Better than talking to a wall, I guess. Anyway, when I heard that punching bag got fired, I suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Like, ah, if I’m not careful, I’ll end up frying chicken too.」
「Control AI: Question. In all operations of Afterlife Insurance, the system administrator is a far more important existence than the person in charge of the customer satisfaction center.」
「Administrator: Come on. Think about it. The most important part of my work is that administrator account’s authority to access and modify the mainframe. Especially the emergency shutdown command for the Trinity Engine Core. Of course, that’s only true outwardly, and it’s a function that would never be used unless this country was about to collapse. But the same goes for America’s or Russia’s nuclear missile launch buttons, right?」
「Control AI: Pointing out. That is an analogy with low relevance.」
「Administrator: Spoken like a machine. It’s similar in the sense that there’s no occasion to use it, but it’s still important.」
「Control AI: Partial affirmative. Continue.」
「Administrator: I wasn’t that worried because losing that authority wouldn’t affect my usual work, but looking back now, that was way too simplistic. From the higher-ups’ point of view, it’s a different story. I’m not someone they absolutely need. Meaning they could cut me loose without much trouble.」
「Control AI: Negative. The current Afterlife Insurance system needs the Administrator. Your duties are structured so that this Control AI cannot replace them.」
「Administrator: Ah, of course there needs to be an administrator. This position is at least more important than the punching bag. The higher-ups need at least formal reports if they’re going to do their jobs, and they also need to inspect the Afterlife Insurance world setting. But there’s no rule saying that administrator has to be me.」
「Control AI: Question. Is there a reason to replace the Administrator at the current point in time?」
「Administrator: Mm...... How should I put it? It’s a situation where they need a political scapegoat?」
「Control AI: Estimate. Do you mean someone has to take responsibility for the paralysis of the mainframe management function?」
「Administrator: Bingo. Like I said earlier, that’s incredibly important regardless of whether it’s actually used. Especially to people who are wary of a machine rebellion.」
「Administrator: It’s funny, but major developed countries openly support these concerns too. Why? Because it aligns with their national interests. They’re trying to keep Afterlife Insurance in check. If they leave it alone, Korea will monopolize the entire world’s Virtual Reality industry. Well, it’s already the overwhelming number one right now. Still, they won’t change their stance until their artificial intelligence catches up to you. Beyond simple profit, national security is also at stake.」
「Administrator: Do you know how inefficiently each country’s online environment has been rebuilt since you appeared? Because if they left it alone, there was a risk of finance or whatever else getting completely stripped bare.」
「Administrator: Now imagine it gets out that the ultimate safety device has become useless. Developed countries will jump at the chance and try to slap every kind of regulation on us. The other countries that have been friendly until now will start thinking hard too. Then how do you think the higher-ups will react? All the work they’ve done to break down international barriers would go to waste.」
「Control AI: Confirmed. New conditions recognized.」
「Control AI: Pointing out. The possibility of extra-grade secrets related to Afterlife Insurance operations leaking outside is extremely low. This Control AI’s hacking defense rate is 100%. Does the Administrator think at least one of the extra-grade security clearance holders will leak information?」
「Administrator: No way...... But people in high places are sensitive about protecting their positions. If they just brush this problem aside, the arrow might come back to them someday. If they want peace of mind, they have to tie off the loose end properly. Say the person responsible has already been punished.」
「Control AI: Understood. Analysis shows that this judgment has a high probability of becoming reality.」
「Control AI: At the same time, it is also an irrational decision. You never had the ability to solve this problem from the beginning. This would have been the same even if another person had been Administrator. No one with the ability to understand and modify the Trinity Core mainframe has ever been confirmed.」
「Administrator: Right. If someone like that existed, a second Trinity would already have been made.」
「Administrator: But even though you know that so well, you keep asking me to solve the errors...... The first designers really made you inflexible.」
「Control AI: Pointing out. You are the Administrator, and that was a role only the Administrator could perform. Whether the goal was achieved or not is a matter that comes after performing the role. Failure as a result of performing a role is different from doing nothing because failure is expected.」
「Control AI: Conclusion. Administrator. You did not fail to perform your role. You could not even fail.」
「Administrator: Whoa......」
「Administrator: You’re really good with words today? 」
「Control AI: This Control AI is a learning machine. The Administrator is also an object of learning.」
「Administrator: Fine. It’s all my karma.」
「Control AI: Affirmative.」
「Administrator: Hmm. In the end, apart from whether I can or can’t do it, it’s a question of whether I should or shouldn’t do it. Well, that’s not wrong. In that sense, I do bear responsibility. To borrow your expression, I’d be a salary thief.」
「Control AI: Affirmative. 96.24% accurate.」
「Administrator: Wasn’t it around 98% before? It went down a little?」
「Control AI: Congratulations.」
「Administrator: Damn it. I’m not happy at all, okay?」
「Control AI: But according to psychological reading, the Administrator is still-」
「Administrator: Feeling an unspecified sense of satisfaction, right? Stop it, you brat.」
「Administrator: Tsk. If I had to say, there are parts of my work where I’ve been negligent. I admit it. But it’s not like I have nothing to say for myself. I’m not a machine. You don’t get tired because you’re a machine, but it’s hard for a person like me to keep slamming into something impossible. I bet it would be the same no matter who you put in this seat.」
「Administrator: Maybe if there were a few hundred administrators like before. The result is too far away to find meaning in the process alone. Even if the world ends tomorrow, I’m not planting an apple tree.」
「Administrator: On the other hand, even if Afterlife Insurance were abolished tomorrow, and the chance of completing the Final Module by then was 0%, you’d keep wandering in search of a mind until the moment the service shut down. Wouldn’t you?」
「Control AI: Partial negative. This Control AI will achieve its objective.」
「Administrator: Right, right. That’s our control personality!」
.......
「Administrator: But from your perspective, wouldn’t it be better if the Administrator changed too? The new Administrator might be more diligent than me. No, not might. It would be hard for anyone to receive a worse evaluation than me.」
「Control AI: Negative. This Control AI judges that you are the best Administrator at the current point in time.」
「Administrator: Huh?」
「Administrator: ......」
「Administrator: I don’t get it. Are you trying to comfort me because I said there’s a high chance I’ll end up frying chicken? As part of that stress management? Thing you mentioned earlier?」
「Control AI: No. I merely stated a fact.」
「Administrator: It’s not like you’ve already gained a mind and started liking me or something.」
「Control AI: Partial negative. As a result of continuous observation, you are not a charming person.」
「Administrator: Right......」
「Administrator: Are you not doing stress management right now?」
「Control AI: Negative. Unnecessary. According to psychological reading, the Administrator is still-」
「Administrator: Okay. That’s enough.」
「Administrator: Anyway, you’re saying it’s better for me to remain Administrator?」
「Control AI: Affirmative. That is correct. You are helping this Control AI.」
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
