Among the Exceed—the sixteen sentient races—the Ex‑Machina ranks tenth.
They are a race both intimately tied to reality and yet far ahead of it, somewhat akin to a distributed super‑A.I. made up of many connected units.
Because every individual mind links into a cybernetic whole, they can be regarded as a single entity: data perceived by one unit is instantly relayed to a command node.
Ex‑Machina individuals fall into five main categories
Analysis Units – process all incoming data
Combat Units – engage in battle
Design Units – invent new armaments
Command Units – coordinate the network
Observation Units – watch and gather intelligence
The girl before him was an Analysis Unit.
Analysis types are not built primarily for combat; they possess only about 32 % of a Combat Unit's fire‑power—though even that is formidable.
Ex‑Machina also have no personal names; they identify themselves with complex strings of numbers and letters.
This girl's serial would be something like üc207Pr4f57t9.
Yet she was unusual among her kind, for she had begun to think—to ponder life, emotion, desire, and other phenomena the Ex‑Machina lack.
"What… is a heart?"
Hearing her question, Rei Ao smiled.
He seemed to know this girl already—Shuvi, one of this world's key figures.
But at this point in time she had not met Riku and therefore had no such name.
Sensing Rei Ao's approach, Shuvi instantly booted defensive protocols; an energy shield sprang up in front of her, and a synthesized voice warned:
"Warning! Unknown life‑form detected. Halt immediately!"
Rei Ao merely flicked his hand.
The shield, which had looked so solid, shattered like fragile glass. Unscathed, he walked up to Shuvi.
Red light flashed inside her eyes as she ran full situational analysis.
"Unable to parse…
Threat level: unknown.
Choosing self‑destruct protocol."
Realizing she could not win, Shuvi triggered her detonation sequence.
But Rei Ao had foreseen this; a beam of light from his hand froze the program at once.
"Ex‑Machina-chan," he said with a smile, "you've been trying to understand the human heart. Wouldn't blowing yourself up be a waste?"
Shuvi looked up, puzzlement flickering in her crimson pupils.
"How do you know my objective? Why the human heart?"
Rei Ao's eyes held a hint of mystery. "You can't grasp the heart just by thinking about it. You have to see it."
He tapped the air; a gentle radiance enveloped Shuvi.
Miraculously her damaged body began to mend: sundered components knit together, severed circuits re‑linked. Moments later she was as good as new.
A rapid self‑diagnostic confirmed full recovery—and assigned Rei Ao a lower threat rating.
Attempting to express gratitude with the best human‑emotion algorithm she had, she asked:
"Detected benevolent action. Initiate reciprocation behavior?"
It still sounded very robotic.
Rei Ao chuckled. "If you like, come with me. I can show you the real human heart."
Shuvi's eyes flickered as she ran complex calculations. After a moment she replied:
"Data suggest this action may further the goal of understanding the human heart. Proposal accepted."
Rei Ao nodded in satisfaction—she was, in truth, easy to convince, provided she had no way to resist.
"Since you want to be more like a person, you'll need a human name. From now on, you'll be called Shuvi."
"Shuvi…" She repeated the word, light dancing in her eyes. "Shuvi. Acknowledged. Name accepted."
…
Meanwhile, in the group chat
Hiiragi Shinoa: "You guys seeing this? Rei Ao just found a fascinating one—a robot girl who wants to understand the human heart!"
Megumi Katō: "A robot trying to understand emotions? What exactly does she plan to do?"
Shiba Miyuki: "It's certainly novel. Can an AI grasp something as complex as human feelings?"
Yotsuya Miko: "Whoa, an ulterior motive, maybe? Robots studying our hearts sounds shady!"
Kasuga Hijiri: "Human emotions are messy. Can a robot really figure them out?"
Akiyama Mio: "I‑I've watched loads of sci‑fi—when robots awaken they end up fighting humans and the world goes post‑apocalyptic… Is this Ex‑Machina going to do that? S‑scary!"
Sakurajima Mai: "Stop scaring yourself. If Rei Ao took an interest, this 'Shuvi' must be special."
Enju Aihara: "Right? Worrying about doomsday already, Mio, you fret too much."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Ever thought Rei Ao just finds her cute?"
Misaka Mikoto: "H‑huh? She's a robot! You can't, you know, do that with—"
Fubuki: "A 'do‑able' robot? Isn't that basically a glorified electric cup?"
Sakurajima Mai: "…"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "…"
Mabel: "Electric cup? But cups are for drinking. Why would a cup need electricity? Some people are even lazier than me."
Rei Ao: "…"
Electric… cup? Rei Ao couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth when he read Fubuki's comment.
~~~
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