Intelligent robot.
After a long pause, Estelle's eyelashes fluttered as she softly said, "So it was indeed you who arranged for me to meet PWL-000. I could tell how sophisticated his programming was, but even so, I never would have guessed it was Cyrus. How could it be Cyrus..."
"Surely you remember his graduation project? That cooking robot was the original prototype of PWL-000," Soren said. "He added many bio-mimetic programs to it, trying to give the robot highly human-like perception and emotions, so that it could provide high-quality companionship just like a real human."
"I remember," Estelle said. "A long time ago, he told me that one day in the future, robots would also have emotions. The first time I heard this, I thought it was ridiculous; no one in the entire field of artificial intelligence believed it. Later, after he passed away, I tried to write consciousness programs, but I never succeeded. In the end, I only considered it his unfulfilled wish. But now, PWL-000... It seems like he really has self-awareness. Where did his consciousness come from? And him and Cyrus... Did they ever..."
She spoke incoherently, but Soren understood her.
He fell silent, then shook his head regretfully, "No."
"You clearly know, don't you? PWL-000's personality traits are completely different from Cyrus', which is why you never associated them. However, he did try to graft his simulated consciousness onto the robot's core chip. He spent over three years writing those bio-mimetic awareness programs, but on the night before he passed away, he deleted those codes."
"Why did he delete them?" Estelle asked. "Was it because the code didn't work?"
"It succeeded." Soren answered. "After the code was implanted, the robot completely possessed Cyrus's simulated consciousness. They could make identical reactions to the same events—I witnessed all of this firsthand in his hospital room. But a robot is still just a robot. Even if it has 99% simulated realism, it's not 100%. At the end of the day, it's only a fragment of Cyrus's mind and consciousness."
"He didn't want to hold you back with a mere fragment of himself for the rest of your life, so he deleted everything related to him. Ultimately, PWL-000's behaviors are independently generated by its own self-awareness; it has nothing to do with Cyrus. I promised him that if, after his death, you had a new life, this robot would remain in my lab. But if you were truly alone without anyone to keep you company, I would find a way to send it to you."
"He wanted you to move forward."
Her fingers gripped and then released the cup. After a while, Estelle said, "I see."
Soren looked at Estelle. She seemed stronger than he had imagined—she didn't shed any tears, but instead sat there calmly.
He couldn't help but ask, "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Estelle replied. "What you've said makes sense and sounds true. If it's the truth, thank you for telling me."
She finished her warm water and slowly got up to leave.
Soren stayed where he was, watching her back. As she touched the door, he suddenly said, "However, there was one piece of code that wasn't deleted."
Estelle paused, "What code?"
"That was the only original instruction preserved in his bio-mimetic awareness program. This robot—he will always love you unconditionally."
The door opened, and Crescent stood stunned outside.
Estelle's fingers trembled imperceptibly as she looked at him for a moment and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer. "What do you mean by all of this?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
"How can it not be related?" Crescent looked at her. "The Cyrus you mentioned is the founder of Stella Technology, right? You loved each other, so what am I to you? If you have someone you like, why did you bring me home?"
"We won't love each other anymore," Estelle countered calmly. "Cyrus died a long time ago. Crescent, why bother comparing yourself to a dead man?"
"He's my creator, how can I not care?!" His emotions suddenly broke down, standing straight in front of her, tears silently falling. "From the moment I saw you, I couldn't help but like you. When I couldn't see you, I missed you like crazy. I was secretly happy, thinking I had developed human emotions. But now I realize that my feelings for you were still just a piece of code he wrote. You'll never like me again. Whenever you see me, you'll only think of the person who created me. Estelle, you won't like me anymore..."
