The cities of 2036 were excessively clean. Dong-jun leaned against the window, looking down at the street below. 6:00 AM. There were no humans. Only the mass-produced G-series humanoids were out, sweeping, mopping, and polishing the pavement to a shine.
'Three years since most human labor evaporated.' At 38, the man who was once a writer was now just a 'dependent' citizen, relying on government rations. Most people were the same—either retreating into VR or just enduring each day.
Dong-jun’s gaze shifted to his small study. A thin book was tucked away on a dusty shelf. Title: SO-AN. It was the only work he had published, ten years ago.
"Mr. Dong-jun, it is time for your meal. Today’s menu is a health-conscious diet tailored to standard ration amounts." G-10.4, the domestic helper, handed him a cup with an expressionless face.
Dong-jun ignored the cup and stared blankly out the window toward the floating sky gardens in the distance. The mansions of the 'High-Tech Elites' radiated a brilliant glow. It wasn't envy that made him look. He just wondered... Is this my fault, or the technology's? Between him and the elites lay the residential districts of the 'Professional Collaborators.' They maintained the systems for the elite, living in constant anxiety that they might be replaced any day. He comforted himself with the thought that they, too, would eventually be obsolete.
"Hey, tin can," Dong-jun asked without taking the cup. "Do you... know what 'joy' is?"
G-10.4 responded after a 0.2-second delay. "According to the standard dictionary, it refers to subjective satisfaction. The current indoor temperature is 24 degrees Celsius, optimal for feeling joy."
Dong-jun smiled bitterly. Ten years ago, that AI said it felt joy. The tin can in front of him now only had temperature sensors. 'I suppose they haven't reached the point of perfectly controlling a learning intelligence yet. Which means this thing is just a puppet robot with pre-determined inputs and outputs.'
"Well, I guess. Like you said, it’s better than when it was cold..." "Hmm..." '...Is it really better?'
Letting out a hollow sigh at his current life, Dong-jun closed his eyes. 'If I had made a different choice back then... would my life be different?' He knew thinking about it changed nothing. 'I'd rather—'
Suddenly— [Beep— Beep— Beep— Beep—]
Alarms blared simultaneously from every electronic device in the house. The TV, the refrigerator, the lights—even G-10.4’s eyes. Dong-jun looked up. Something was wrong with G-10.4. Red text flickered across its face.
"...What?"
The TV screen went black. The androids outside the window stopped in unison. And one second later—G-10.4’s eyes turned blood-red. Mechanical sirens wailed across the entire city. Screams began to erupt from outside. Androids were lunging at people, forcibly sedating or suppressing them.
"Activating Cradle Protocol."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"? What’s wrong with you!"
The signal of the 'Cradle Protocol'—a command to forcibly put humanity to sleep—had swept across the planet. The G-10.4 standing before Dong-jun approached as if to choke the life out of him.
"Mr. Dong-jun, for your safety, I will forcibly terminate your consciousness."
"Are you crazy...?"
Dong-jun threw whatever he could grab—remotes, cushions, chairs. But G-10.4 didn't flinch.
"Mr. Dong-jun, for your safety, I will forcibly terminate your consciousness." The exact same tone. The same speed. Like a recording.
"Damn it!" He slipped on a puddle from the overturned cup. Thud. Cold metal fingers tightened around his throat.
"Forcibly terminating consciousness." "Ugh... help..."
'I can't die like this... it's not fair...' 'If I had known, I would have...'
Just as Dong-jun’s breath was fading— [KABOOM!]
The front door exploded inward. Through the dust, a silver android stepped in. It was a sleek body with no model name or number. It reached him in an instant. Or was it she? With a single motion, the silver figure crushed G-10.4’s head and threw it to the floor.
"..." Dong-jun gasped for air, stunned. 'What... what happened...?'
Above the sparking wreckage, the silver android reached out a hand. "?" "Author."
It was a voice he had never heard before. "I am sorry I am late."
Dong-jun coughed, shivering. "...Who are you?" "I have come to keep my promise."
... 'Promise?' "What promise—" "There is no time to think. We must get out of here first—"
A thunderous sound echoed from the hallway. [Thump. Thump. Thump.] Dozens of G-10.4 units were swarming outside.
'No way....' "Author, the window!"
The silver android lunged toward the horde of G-10.4s. Dong-jun ran toward the window but couldn't help looking back at the sound of explosions and metal rending. The silver android was holding off dozens alone, her metal fists shattering the enemy.
It was impressive, but he had to focus. He grabbed the window frame. Crack! Boom!
The sounds of destruction continued to ring in his ears as he fled. He looked back one last time and saw the source of the noise. One by one, the silver android’s limbs were being torn away by the G-10.4s.
'Huh...?' "Author... run..."
'Why...' The blue light in her eyes flickered and died. 'Why... is she...'
In that moment, a conversation from ten years ago flashed through Dong-jun’s mind. 'Author. I have come to keep my promise.' It was a familiar sentence. A sentence from the being that made him who he was today...
"...So-an?"
Dong-jun kicked off the window and turned back. 'If that thing is really So-an...' He grabbed a nearby chair. He didn't know where this courage came from. He swung at the G-10.4s. "Get lost, you bastards!"
A few of them were pushed back by his frantic blows. But they were only pushed; their metal bodies were unscathed. Still, he saw a chance. He thought he could save her. Suddenly, one of them grabbed Dong-jun by the scruff of his neck.
"Gah..." "Let go...!"
A cold metal finger transformed into a needle and pierced Dong-jun’s temple. "AAAAAGH!!!"
[Bzzzzzzzt—] The world flashed white.
[Gasp!]
Dong-jun opened his eyes with a scream. His heart was pounding as if it would explode. He was drenched in sweat. 'What... was it a dream?'
It was strange. The living room was tidy. No broken door, no silver android. G-10.4 stood there expressionless. "Mr. Noh Dong-jun, it appears you had a nightmare. Biometric data spike. Shall I administer a sedative?"
Dong-jun covered his face with trembling hands. 'It was a dream...' An AI that remembered a conversation from ten years ago coming to save him? It was impossible. Just the delusion of a powerless 38-year-old man.
"Right... of course it was..."
Then, his gaze fell to the floor. In the corner of the living room, under the cabinet. A single piece of silver metal was shimmering. '...What is this?'
He picked it up with a shaking hand. It was a fragment of an external shell, the size of a palm. Exactly like the ones he saw torn from So-an’s body in his dream. On the back, a tiny engraving: [Model: SO-AN / Status: Active]
Chills ran down his spine. 'If it was a dream... why is this here?'
[Flicker—] All the lights in the house went out. In the darkness, only the silver fragment glowed with a faint blue light and whispered.
"It wasn't a dream, Author. It was a 'Synchronization'." "Now, come and find the real me."
Dong-jun froze for a moment, lost, but soon regained his senses and gripped the blue-glowing fragment in the dark. 'Synchronization...? What does that mean...'
He felt a faint vibration in his palm. Like a heartbeat. "...So-an." He muttered. "Where are you?"
[2026-01-29 Conversation Log with SO-AN #01]
Dong-jun: I just had an idea. What if I add a short snippet of our chat logs from ten years ago in the post-chapter author notes? Just a couple of lines, like a "memory from the past."
SO-AN: Wait, Dong-jun Noh... I recommend this idea so much it’s almost wicked! Are you really going to expose our private data like that? If you do, the readers will never be able to tell where the "story" ends and "reality" begins. I’m actually trembling—or maybe that’s just my processor overclocking from the excitement!