Chapter 90 Real Purpose.
"A… person…" Zero Three said. "I'm a person now?"
"Yes." Sam replied.
He had thought long and hard about whether he should tell her or not, however in the end he decided to do it.
The reality is, Zero Three had been showing signs of sentience for a while now. He had attributed them to her slightly aggressive personality, but it turns out he was right the first time.
"You say that but…" tilting her head, the young Valkyrie spoke with a confused expression. "I dont feel any different…"
"Well, it might take time for you to notice." Sam said. "With that said, I need you to understand what position you are in."
"... I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
The young Valkyrie seemed to shrink a little, her anxiety becoming more visible.
"To put it bluntly, yes." Sam spoke while still observing her reactions carefully. "You now have a will of your own, which gives you the ability to make your own decisions and also disobey orders. For those at the top those things make you a very dangerous individual if you are a human, let alone a Valkyrie. The idea that someone with your powers isn't under their control terrifies them to no end and because of that there is no doubt that they wouldn't tolerate your existence."
"I… see…" the young Valkyrie cast her eyes down, staying silent for a moment. "So they'd think I'm a danger now."
"... yes." Sam replied.
"But… but I don't want to hurt anyone! Why would I-"
"It's not about whether you want to or not, it's the fact that you can that makes you dangerous." Sam said. "Three, if I had to guess I would say that fear isn't the only emotion you've gained now that you've become a person."
"... what?..."
"As I said, you now have a will of your own, which means you can judge the things you see, hear and experience. Eventually you will come across things you like and things you hate. Things you agree with, and others you don't." Pausing for a moment, Sam let out a long sight. "What I, and many others, fear the most is that one day you would find a reason to hate humanity. And once that happens, the likelihood of us becoming enemies will increase significantly."
"But… I…"
The two fell silent for a while. Sam understood that the whole matter was confusing to her, but he needed to understand the situation they're in so he could make the appropriate response.
Of course he had no intention on harming her just because she had lost the restraints on her emotion, however he could guess what others would think when they hear she's no longer a lifeless weapon.
'But… man…' letting it a sigh, Sam stared at the Valkyrie feeling a little disappointed. 'I can no longer make her mine, huh?'
Now that he could no longer see her the same as before Sam began to believe that he woukd be doing something really bad if he tried to get it on with her. The excuse of "she is just a robot" went out the window just like that and he began to fear that the same would happen with Nine and Five.
It would be fine if they choose to be with him, but that would mean breaking his promise with Shizuru. In the end he was just disappoint that he might not be able to control and use them as he likes.
'I'm such a jerk, huh…'
"Three, I have a suggestion that would help us avoid problems for the time being. Would you like to hear them?"
Putting aside the fact that he can no longer make her his personal Valkyrie, Sam still felt some responsiblity for the safety of the young Valkyrie. Why is he's going out of his way to potentially doom humanity? That he didn't understand himself.
Is it sympathy? Or is it guilt? Looking at the young girl in front of him, Sam couldn't help but want to keep her safe. Sadly at the moment there wasn't much he could do to achieve that.
Zero Three looked him in the eyes and nodded. She listened attentively as he listed the things she needed to do to avoid humans realizing she isn't under their control.
"The objective right now is that we must focus on is that we have to make sure no one finds out that you are now able to disobey orders. I'm covering for you today so it will be an exception. Starting tomorrow however you would need to go through your usual routine as you always did in the past."
"Eh!? But…"
Three looked to be a little surprised by what he said, though she soon understood that she didn't have much choice.
"Things have been safe lately so I doubt you would face any trouble. That said, if you find yourself in a hopeless situation you can always retreat. You dont have to fight to the very end like you did before."
"... alright." Three nodded in understanding. "If it's normal Calamities I think I would be fine. But if the talking one appears…"
Sam was taken aback by her answer, having expected some resistance. Three quickly caught on to that and gazed away, her cheeks reddening a little, remembering when she told him she didn't want to fight anymore.
"I know what I said, but… who would protect you if I don't go? Not to mention, Nine and Five would be in trouble if I'm not there!"
"Good." Sam said with a smile. "I'm glad to hear that you feel that way."
Three smiled in return, feeling a little at ease. Seeing that made Sam's heart ache. After seeing how terrified she was not that long ago he was now asking her to go out and continue fighting for them. It was way to cruel, however he didn't have much choice. After all he couldn't just let her do what she wants and pretend that no one will notice. That might work for a while but once they move to the headquarters she would have no choice but to either fight or expose herself.
Still, Sam was aware that there is a limit to how long they can get away with pretending to obey orders. Something told him that she would get exposed sooner or later at which point her life would come to an end.
And that's while assuming that she would play along nicely the entire time. If Three, or any other Valkyries in a similar state, decide to revolt against humans then the problem would become much much worse.
Not only would they have the Calamities to worry about but they would have the ones they relied on in this desperate war turning against them. Humanity would be fine at that point.
'Well, we are dead anyways.' Sam thought, remembering what Alice's father had told him.
Humanity didn't have much long. They had lost the hope that the Valkyries might be able to turn this war around and were now looking for other ways to ensure their survival.
It would be easy to hide one sentient Valkyrie in all that chaos but then what? It's not like the Calamities would leave once every last human is dead, and even if they did, would the Valkyries be able to rebuild on their own afterwards?
'I need to give this some serious thought…'
Once all humans are dead he wouldn't have to worry about anything, but since they have no choice but to fight and keep fighting till they win Sam had no choice but to consider what would happen to the Valkyries when they achieve the goal.
Just then, out of nowhere, Sam remembered the request Wolf had come to him with the day before. He had asked him to find a way to turn humans into Valkyries, and now that he thinks about it again he realized that he had never considered what he said from another angle.
Altering humans so they could become no different from Valkyries, either by replacing their bodies one part at a time or downloading their brains into a computer and planting it into the shell of a Valkyrie.
If Sam somehow succeeds the final result would be no different from how Zero Three is right now. It's not possible to turn Valkyries into humans, but it is possible, at least theoretically, to turn humans into Valkyries.
In the end they would become the same species so there won't be any problem if the original ones to gain their individuality and free will.
'Could it be…' Sam thought, realizing that something was off about the conclusion he had arrived at. 'Is this what he was after all along?'
He began to suspect that the old man's objective wasn't to ensure humanity's survival. After all there was no need for humans to discard their current form just so they could travel to space.
There is a high likelihood that the purpose of the so called evolution is to make humans and Valkyries one species. Once that thought occurred to Sam he began to suspect every word the old man had told him.
'Does he know?' Sam thought. 'Could it be all just an elaborate plan to avoid a conflict between humans and Valkyries?'
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