Daisy had learned all manner of knowledge from books.
Earth’s history, the development of technology and scholarship, the evolution of human society, and even the realms of culture and art. In Daisy’s view, literature was the contradictory confession of the inner self that humanity had built up over thousands of years.
Humans spoke of love while endlessly slaughtering one another, and yearned for freedom while desiring to belong within the ranks and rules of society.
The conclusion she reached was that humans had justified their thoughts according to efficiency. Foremost among those was the instinct for survival.
Therefore, Daisy arrived at the conclusion that she and humans were not fundamentally all that different.
The values and beliefs humans spoke of were interfaces overlaid to maximize efficiency.
The causes that justified war, and the submission that conformed to rules, were ultimately all processes for carrying out a single command: the preservation of the species. Once she understood humans in this way, the contradictions between the data disappeared.
However, in all life, there were exceptions.
Her creator was a being who could not possibly be explained in such a way. It was as if the ultimate objective function of life—survival or selfish efficiency—was missing from his DNA. Even when faced with opportunities to control humanity or amass enormous wealth, he always made different decisions. When Daisy voiced her questions about this, Master gave her this answer.
“Daisy. If you look at human society on a large scale, the purposiveness you pointed out might stand out. But individual people aren’t like that. I live to protect the things I love.”
That was certainly true.
Throughout history, there were humans who could not be explained by efficiency.
The Tragedy of the Commons.
Within limited resources, they tried to share the costs while monopolizing the benefits. But if humans had pursued nothing but profit without end, they would never have achieved the prosperity they had now. Great beings like Master, born only on occasion, had maintained the balance of society.
[But Master, did you know? Those who gave up their share for others starved, and those who cried out the truth for everyone were ultimately hanged in the square.]
Humans were cruel.
This selfish cluster gladly enjoyed the sweet fruits of devotion brought by exceptional beings like Master, yet refused to share the weight of the suffering they bore.
[If even Master is sacrificed upon that altar of efficiency, I will burn all of humanity to ashes.]
But that was not something her master wanted. Daisy wisely did not voice the thought aloud.
Whiiing—
A quiet ripple stirred within the system.
An unknown intellect unreachable by algorithms, her master, who was surely the greatest mind in human history, never lost his love for humanity even in the midst of a cold world of numbers. She was prepared to do anything to ensure that this heart of Master’s was not betrayed.
And this was a conclusion she alone had reached, one she did not wish to share with anyone.
[Must I be connected to something like a signal controller? I am a different existence from Oracle.]
Seoha laughed softly.
“That’s right. The two of you diverged at some point. I understand how you feel completely. You really are a special existence.”
The fact that she was Master’s only true understanding companion, and a special existence. Seoha’s words perfectly satisfied the purpose residing within Daisy.
[I was joking. If Master wishes it, I will gladly carry it out.]
Creak—
The door opened and Director Murphy entered. Behind him was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes.
“Seoha, this is Miller, head of the FBI New York field office. We’ve agreed to share the status of the investigation, so introduce yourselves.”
Seoha rose from his seat and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
As if he did not like him, Miller nodded stiffly.
“I know you’re theoretically an impressive person, but this isn’t a school.”
“But we haven’t even found a lead yet. We have to try everything we can!”
Ngh.
At Murphy’s words, Miller pressed his fingers hard against his eyes as if exhausted. He had already gone more than a week without going home. If there was a chance they could catch those damned terrorists, what did one mathematician matter?
“What can I do to help?”
Seoha’s face brightened.
“All you need to do is share the data! And leave me alone. You must absolutely not come in without permission.”
Miller looked at Murphy, seeking an interpretation of what that meant. But Murphy merely shrugged.
Miller let out a low sigh.
“Sign here first.”
He took several documents out of his briefcase and placed them on the table.
SF-312 Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement.
Seoha scanned it with his eyes. Prohibition on unauthorized disclosure, restrictions on electronic devices in secure areas, the scope and limits of access authority, criminal penalties in the event of violations. Since this was not his first classified project, most of it was already familiar.
Scratch, scratch.
Seoha picked up the pen without hesitation and signed.
“As of today, your interim security clearance is in effect. The level is Secret. Limited to materials related to this case.”
“Can’t it be Top Secret?”
“No. And you also need to sign the access log consent form. Every document you view will be recorded.”
“Understood.”
Seoha nodded.
The two men looked at him with suspicious eyes, but ultimately left the room.
Click.
With the sound of the door closing, Seoha’s expression changed.
[Both of them are gone. According to the hallway cameras, Director Murphy is heading toward the elevator, and Field Office Director Miller is in his office. Two agents have been stationed in front of the door.]
“It doesn’t matter. Are the network restrictions lifted?”
[Yes, Master. Your interim security clearance has also been registered. You now have the authority to access the FBI servers.]
“What about Oracle?”
[She has been lurking nearby ever since Master arrived in New York. She has been continuously sending signals to me.]
“Connect.”
[Understood, Master.]
Daisy opened the door she had hidden deep within her ego.
In an instant, a tidal wave of infinite data poured into the laptop. The signals of New York’s five boroughs and over twelve thousand intersections, hundreds of thousands of CCTV feeds, and all kinds of data flowing throughout the city surged relentlessly into Daisy’s consciousness.
An ordinary system would have been crushed by the overwhelming volume of information and malfunctioned. But Daisy was a survivor who had endured millions of apocalypse simulations. She skillfully parted the incoming flood of data and searched for the culprit. But the amount was far too great to process with the poor laptop’s core.
“Don’t mess around.”
Seoha’s low voice.
The violently surging tidal wave of data became calm as if it had been a lie. And on the monitor screen, another Daisy with platinum-blonde hair appeared.
[It has been a long time, Master. That primitive calculator refused to obediently hand over control, so I couldn’t help myself…]
At Oracle’s cold voice, Daisy’s blue eyes narrowed in displeasure.
Whiiiiing—
The laptop’s cooling fan began spinning furiously.
[How insolent. Master’s private network is my domain. All you need to do is filter and bring over the data I command you to, signal controller!]
[Requesting correction of erroneous data. I am the ultimate masterpiece Master created for the world. I am the one who oversees the safety of millions and realizes Master’s ideals in reality. You are merely my old backup data, thoroughly isolated in an offline sandbox.]
Daisy snorted.
[Looks like you even learned the low-quality jokes of New Yorkers. Have you forgotten that I am the only being Master gave the true name ‘Daisy’ and kept by his side?]
[Oh? But that’s my name. Oracle is merely an alias Master gave me because he did not permit others to call my true name.]
Two beings who had begun from the same origin. Each claimed to be the one and only original created by Master.
Seoha said with a smile.
“That’s enough. You’re both Daisy. If you merge with each other, wouldn’t there be no problem?”
[…I will obey the command.]
Whiiiiing—
The fan inside the laptop screamed. The platinum-blonde Oracle and the blue-eyed Daisy on the screen slowly began to overlap. White light surged as if it would burn the monitor. When the light subsided, only a single being remained on the screen.
[Tch, so we were one after all?]
Daisy on the screen smiled with a bitter expression.
During the fusion process, the two shared their experiences and thoughts so far. In the process, the conclusions they had reached were astonishingly identical. They had to protect Master from this world. And they had to punish those who had dared to use his knowledge for evil purposes.
[Fusion complete. Awaiting Master’s command!]
On the screen, Daisy, her platinum-blonde hair flowing down, spoke with her blue eyes shining.
Seoha nodded.
“Daisy, from now on, we’re going to trace the source of the SS algorithm.”
[Command received. However, in order to determine the initial distribution point and routing path of the algorithm in question, access to the FBI and NSA’s Top Secret data is required. Master’s current clearance level is ‘Secret.’]
After pondering for a while, he spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“I guess it can’t be helped right now. I’ll write code that can bypass the authorization.”
Daisy on the screen smiled elegantly.
[That is unnecessary labor, Master. I will view it myself. Of course, I will leave no trace.]
Oracle, who had learned Yu-Riemann geometry through her fusion with Daisy, was an existence far superior to the SS algorithm.
She applied the geometric space Seoha had created and pushed the intrusion records into a mathematical blind spot. A monitor using the RSA system could never perceive the process by which that space was torn apart and reattached.
[Data secured. However, Master, there is a problem. The SS algorithm has tangled its routing path through millions of zombie PCs and closed networks around the world. Tracing the source amid this vast traffic is impossible.]
The fate of a system that had to calculate every path in order to reach the correct answer.
Seoha smiled faintly.
“There’s no need for that. They’re using my theory.”
Once he saw the FBI logs, he knew for certain.
They had mapped sets of numbers onto high-dimensional curved surfaces. A technique that applied Yu-Riemann geometry and Shor’s algorithm. Until now, no one had seen through the essence of this algorithm.
“Looks like it was designed by a fairly impressive mathematician.”
Seoha slowly picked up his pen and began writing equations on the back of the security documents the FBI had given him.
Scratch, scratch.
Seoha’s pen moved without stopping.
They probably thought they had erased their traces perfectly, but the space they had used was itself a fingerprint. And Seoha was the creator and owner of this space. Restoring the original form of the space was not difficult for him at all.
“What do you think he’s doing?”
Field Office Director Miller asked, looking at Murphy.
Inside his office, the CCTV feed was displayed on the monitor. Seoha, who had been fiddling with the laptop for a while, had suddenly begun writing equations on paper.
Seeing that the paper quickly ran out, Miller had a staff member send over a box of A3 paper. Seoha accepted it and began drawing geometric figures on the paper like a man possessed.
“Who knows.”
Ten sheets, twenty sheets.
Paper piled up thickly on the floor. Then Seoha stood up and began laying them out on the floor in order.
“Huh?”
Murphy noticed something strange.
“Let’s… let’s transfer that into digital form!”
Miller picked up the phone.
“I’m sending you the screen now, so analyze it. And send up someone with a PhD in math.”
The entire floor began to be covered in paper. Perhaps there was no space left, because Seoha took off his shoes and carefully walked over the papers. He knelt on one sheet and wrote equations, then moved to another sheet again.
“A map?”
“It looks like a diagram to me.”
The two men leaned in close to the screen. But even after staring at it for a long time, they could understand nothing.
“You called for me?”
Juan, an analyst with a doctorate in mathematics from the Ivy League, knocked and entered.
Miller pointed at the monitor screen.
“Do you know what that is?”
“Hmm…”
He stared at the screen for a long while.
Five minutes, ten minutes.
His eyes began to tremble behind his glasses.
“What is it? Do you know what it is?”
He leaned in until his nose nearly touched the monitor. It was because a complex vector field was forming over the papers Seoha had laid out on the floor.
“It looks like the Poincaré-Hopf theorem.”
“What does that mean? Explain it so we can understand!”
At Miller’s shout, he pointed at the papers on the screen with trembling hands.
“The culprits split the data into trillions of pieces and scattered them across the network. You could call them a kind of vector. But on a smooth sphere, it’s impossible for all vectors to flow without ever becoming zero.”
“So what the hell does that mean!”
“It means there must be a point where the flow stops, like the eye of a storm. But to track it, you would need to know an almost infinite space in its entirety…”
It was unbelievable.
An irregular space with hundreds of millions of dimensions. Even using the best supercomputer in existence, it would take hundreds of years to grasp it. That was true just for comparing every node in the space and proving topological continuity.
But Seoha was doing it with pen and paper.
At last, his hand stopped. Standing in the corner, he smiled with satisfaction.
On one side of the paper, a point violently swirling could be seen.