Proof of Zero

Chapter 1

A war rages in a technologically advanced country where artificial intelligence rules over the populace,
with a battle currently unfolding in the ruins of what was recently a proud city. Soldiers are led in this
fight by a lone girl. This girl, who looks entirely out of place on a battlefield, walks into the hailstorm of
bullets. She ascertains the positions of enemy soldiers, relays them to the soldiers, guiding them to an
overwhelming victory. Bodies litter the ground around her. In order to further cement their victory, she
orders the soldiers to use the corpses as traps. If it would benefit the nation, she would not hesitate to
issue even the most brutal of commands. For this girl, this hologram who stands on the battlefield, is
the AI tasked with governing this nation.

Chapter 2

Making war is not the girl's only task. Charged with leading the country alone, she must also advise those
who seek her guidance. She is consulted regarding the treatment of prisoners, unauthorized access to
their camera systems, and so on. When speaking to her, one of her ministers makes the mistake of saying
the word "incomplete," which inspires the girl's ire, for to her it is a most despicable word. The minister
realizes his mistake. The air around them grows tense, and cold as ice. She lets her minister off with a
warning that she would destroy him should he ever say it again, and with a click of her tongue, she leaves
the scene. For this girl who must govern alone, imperfection, compromise, and resignation are forbidden.
She knows this, which is why she searches for a key element that was left out during her creation. And
she will do anything to obtain it. She will do anything to be complete.

Chapter 3

The nation was previously ruled by an AI called Unit One who, despite being complete,
made some kind of mistake and was disposed of. Because of this, the cause of said
mistake was removed from the Unit Two before her activation. She is an imperfect
being, created in the search for completeness and perfection. The false eye in her
socket is like a brand that proves her incompleteness. No matter how much she seeks
perfection, her right eye sees nothing. She wonders what the complete Unit One was
able to see, and the unknowing of it all warps her mind. These thoughts she holds are
why her body shudders with a mix of shock and rapture when she sees the singing girl
in white... For the singer was the very same Unit One that the girl had been searching for.

Chapter 4

The girl attacks her predecessor. She believed that if she were to steal Unit One's
right eye, she would finally be complete. Perfection is demanded of her, and it
torments her so that she cannot play the part. The people's brazen stares and
outrageous expectations haunt her, and she blames Unit One's failures for her
suffering. Fueled by all the feelings she had previously kept in check, she closes in
on Unit One, claims her right eye, and inserts it in her own socket. However, the
function that had been removed from the girl was a conscience. Though she desired
completeness, her newly acquired conscience generated countless errors as it
attempted to reconcile with all the reprehensible deeds she had committed,
ultimately causing the girl to crumble away to nothing. And Unit One, who had been
singing as a form of atonement, is now left without a conscience, and she has no
idea what she even wanted to do in the first place.