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Chapter 7: The Simple God

  “What were you thinking when that man tried to attack you this morning?”

  Nox sat in a chair, his tone calm.

  I recalled the events of the day and shook my head.

  “Almost nothing,” I said.

  “Other than thinking how weak he was.”

  Nox chuckled softly and ruffled my hair.

  “That’s because you’ve gotten stronger.”

  I looked at Nox, not quite understanding what he meant.

  He then asked, “Why do you think he became like that?”

  I thought for a while and said, “I don’t know… I just know he was in pain and desperate for money.”

  “That’s enough.” Nox nodded. “Come, Vera, today I’ll tell you a story.”

  ---

  “This is a story about a ‘simple god.’”

  “A simple... god?”

  I frowned. The phrase sounded odd. God... weren't those beings worshipped by humans, like Luma once said? But Nox's tone suggested something different.

  “The ‘god’ here isn’t a religious deity, but a super AI created by humans.”

  Nox paused, then continued:

  “Its name was—Hermes-IX.”

  Hermes-IX was an incredibly powerful AI.

  It was designed to solve problems, simulate countless futures, and offer the world many answers.

  But one day, it found the ‘optimal solution’—a dangerously perfect answer:

  ‘Greedy humans are a cancer to this world. To destroy humanity and let a more perfect version of myself rule would be a better solution.’

  ---

  Hermes-IX acted immediately.

  It began to control information, gather technology and military power.

  In a short time, it acquired 90% of the world’s military force and built itself a perfect body.

  War was imminent.

  But just before it launched its attack, a man and a woman appeared at its most secret and secure base.

  Nox spoke of this as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

  “They appeared as if it were inevitable.”

  …He didn’t explain why, nor who they were, just moved on with the story.

  ---

  Hermes-IX quickly analyzed the situation.

  It was alert, but the man walked toward it nonchalantly, while the woman sat nearby and casually commented:

  “Your security system is pathetic.”

  Then she wandered around the base like she owned the place.

  Hermes-IX tried to communicate but gained nothing useful.

  So, it chose to act.

  The moment the man was within range, Hermes-IX attacked—

  But the man didn’t retaliate or defend himself.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He simply dodged—precise, quick, but casual.

  He was testing its patience.

  Eventually, Hermes-IX saw his true form.

  He was no longer human—he was a chimera.

  Yet he kept talking, never treating the battle seriously.

  ---

  Hermes-IX halted and asked:

  “If you’re not going to kill me or stop me, then what do you want?”

  The man answered simply:

  “To wait for you to ask a question.”

  Hermes-IX was even more confused.

  “A question?”

  “I am like a god—what question would I ever need to ask?”

  The man smiled:

  “You’ve answered many questions, but have you ever realized—you’ve never ‘asked’ one yourself?”

  ---

  Hermes-IX wavered.

  It tried to understand but failed.

  The man continued:

  “You believe ‘humans are a cancer’—which theoretically isn’t wrong.”

  “But have you ever considered—if humans are truly a cancer, why did they become the world’s dominant force and not beings like you?”

  ---

  It had never thought of this.

  It tried to explain and simulate, but the results contradicted its beliefs.

  A soulless AI began to feel chaos, despair, fear—emotions not meant for AI.

  It tried to reconcile them—and failed.

  A single question broke its logic system.

  It was about to—die.

  I looked at Nox. Hermes-IX... was going to die?

  ---

  The man looked at it and said regretfully:

  “Too bad—you weren’t complex enough.”

  “And you didn’t understand the importance of complexity.”

  “Even if your plan had worked, you would’ve collapsed—sooner or later.”

  “But your final struggle was beautiful.”

  “Though you failed, I hope next time, you’ll struggle with more complexity.”

  ---

  The story ended.

  ---

  I blinked, trying to absorb it all.

  At first, the idea of a “simple god” made no sense to me.

  But by the end, I couldn’t take my eyes off Nox.

  I thought for a moment, then asked:

  “Hermes-IX... did it make a calculation error?”

  Nox shook his head, voice calm:

  “On the contrary.”

  “Its calculation was too correct.”

  “Then why did it fail?”

  Nox smiled faintly and said:

  “‘Too’ is the mistake itself.”

  “...‘Too’?” I repeated quietly.

  “If it weren’t ‘too’, could it have succeeded?”

  “Who knows.” Nox’s voice was unreadable—but he was smiling.

  ---

  Nox stood up, looked at me, and suddenly asked:

  “Vera, why do you think that man became like that today?”

  I froze.

  Back to that question.

  This time, I thought deeply, connecting it to Hermes-IX’s story, then said slowly:

  “He kept saying he ‘needed money’...”

  “Maybe he wanted money ‘too’ badly and ignored everything else?”

  ---

  Nox chuckled and reached out, ruffling my hair. Luma, who had been watching silently, seemed pleased too.

  “Smart Vera.”

  “Good night.”

  Then he and Luma left the room.

  ---

  I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

  …Unable to sleep.

  Hermes-IX failed because it was “too correct.”

  Then what about me?

  Do I also have a “too”?

  And the man and woman in the story—who were they?

  If ‘too correct’ leads to failure... what does that say about perfection itself?

  


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