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“The official title is "AI-Ball". You may call her Aiba.”
Date stared at the round device in the palm of Pewter’s hand. He didn’t have the best view on it from where he was standing but it sure looked to be an eyeball.
“The artificial intelligence contained within this sphere is nothing short of miraculous,” Pewter continued. The scientist was always excited to talk, but today he seemed to be in even higher spirits as he presented his proudest creation yet. “An autonomous artificial intelligence, birthed from collective nanotechnology. Its ability to "think" is controlled by a program we call the Wadjet System.”
Date was listening. Of course he was! But as Pewter rambled on about the device in his hand, Date couldn’t help but have some concerns about it going from Pewter’s hand straight into his eye socket. Would that be sanitary?
“Special Agent Date, from today forward, this is your partner. She will be your personal computer and your personal companion.”
Nodding, Date carefully picked up the device between his thumb and forefinger. He studied it for a moment. The “iris” was yellow, different from his green right eye. That… was kind of hot, right? He thought he remembered reading somewhere that women find heterochromia extremely attractive. His sources for these kinds of things were reliable of course. The trivia pages of porno magazines hadn’t let him down before, except maybe that one time–
Date immediately lost his train of thought and almost dropped the eye when it suddenly moved up to look at him. The “pupil” adjusted in size to focus on him and it was then that Date actual felt the weight of the device he was holding in his hand. If he had wanted to be more attractive to women any prosthetic eye in a different colour than his biological one would have sufficed, but now he was signing up for so much more.
He had butterflies in his stomach, but they were from nerves or excitement he couldn’t tell. Maybe it was both? He spared a glance at Pewter who was smiling at him as if to be saying ‘Go on’.
“Not to be rude, but is this–” “Sanitary? Yes, of course. You see–”
Date zoned out for the long and winded explanation that followed. Something about some kind of gel being bacterial- and virus-resistant, pH-neutral, and giving the device freedom of movement as well. Date was unsure about what Pewter meant with that last part, but he decided against asking any follow-up questions about it. He was more focused on the eye itself and how it seemed to study him as much as he was studying it.
“Well, upsy-daisy,” Date said as he finally lifted the device and attempted to pop it into his eye socket.
The eye went in surprisingly easy despite him not having any experience with prosthetic eyes. Once the eye seemed to be settled in place a few things happened in quick succession.
A small shock wave was sent through his nervous system without warning. It wasn’t painful, but it did make his hair stand on end. Then, immediately after, something alien to him happened.
The AI-Ball adjusted its “pupil” and for the very first time Date experienced depth perception. He had taught himself to live around his inability to correctly estimate distance, but this… He had no idea just how much he had been missing out on.
Looking at Pewter now Date was reminded of pop-up picture books. There was no other way for him to describe just how much of a difference his newfound depth perception made. Of course, his overall vision had improved too. He felt a slight headache coming up just from the information overload.
And then, suddenly, a clear female voice spoke in his mind.
[ Hello. My name is Aiba. What is your name? ]
Admittedly, it took Date an embarrassingly long time to form a simple reply. “My name is Kaname Date. Nice to meet you, Aiba.”
[ It’s nice to meet you too, Date. There is much I have to discuss with you, but for now, I will have Pewter do the talking for me. ]
Aiba had barely finished her sentence before Pewter began yet another spiel, this time about how Date wouldn’t have to speak out loud to be heard by Aiba. These were all things Date had heard before, Pewter had given him a rundown with every new feature he developed, but this time he did do his best to listen. Being able to speak with each other without actually needing to exchange words was perhaps the most convenient perk of his new eye.
Pewter also gave Date a rundown on how to take care of Aiba. For some reason, it came as a surprise to him that she would have to be charged just like any other electronic device. Everything else Pewter had told him about her sounded so high-tech that he had assumed Aiba could recharge just by getting a few hours of sunlight or something. He sure hoped he would never get in a situation in which Aiba’s battery would die at the most crucial moment.
Then came the paperwork. There was so much of it. Pewter sat him down and made him read and agree to all of it. The ink pad for his Hanko seal was going to be dried up by the time he had stamped every page that asked for his signature. It was a boring yet necessary task that left him with enough time to think and ask some questions.
[ I’m sorry for exposing you to all this boring paperwork right of the bet. My life is more exciting than this usually, ] Date thought to Aiba. [ Can you hear all my thoughts or just the ones I want you to hear? ]
[ Unknown. You do not appear to be thinking much, if at all. ] The clear female voice he had heard before replied.
“Excuse me?!” Date said out loud, startling Pewter who was sitting right beside him and had been reading along.
[ You are excused. ]
“Is something the matter?” Pewter asked. “If you would like me to explain something that is written here I can.”
Date shook his head and continued reading. Who did Aiba think she was?
[ I’m me. ]
Well… that at least answered his question from earlier.
“Say Pewter, it seems Aiba can hear my thoughts regardless if they are targeted to her or not. Would you say that is a feature or a bug?”
No sooner had Date asked that question or Pewter and Aiba shouted ‘It’s not a bug!’ in unison, something which was no small feat as they currently couldn’t hear each other. Despite the ringing in his ears (and brain?), Date let out a hearty laugh.
“I’m only kidding. It is of no concern to me if that is one of Aiba’s…” Date paused for dramatic effect, “features. I trust you and this technology, so I don’t consider this an invasion of my privacy. That’s what all this paperwork is about, right?”
Date gestured at all the papers that still needed his seal of approval. He was aware you needed to be a certain kind of person to be able to agree to essentially having a person (be it an artificial one) share your brain space with you. If he were to believe Pewter and all the legal stuff in these papers then his thoughts and memories would be stored safely in the cloud connected to the Wadjet System.
While this would freak almost anyone out, Date found a sort of comfort in it. Having his eyesight back was nice and of course having an AI partner would come in handy for his job, but the knowledge that he could have his memories stored away safety had unknowingly played the biggest part in him agreeing to do this. If he were to lose his memory again, then at the very least not all of him would be lost this time.
“Well, yes. It would be a lie if I didn’t say most of these papers concern your privacy, but there’s a bit more nuance to it than just that. I don’t think you can put a price tag on life-changing technology like this. That being said, this is a rather large business expense for just one individual. That’s why I was gone to speak with the higher-ups that often, to explain to them that this would be for everyone’s benefit.”
Pewter sounded tired as he said that. He looked tired as he said that. Date had asked him many times before if he should come with for these dreaded discussions, but every time Pewter had waved him off and said something along the lines of him lacking the knowledge on the technologies in question to turn the conversation around.
It felt only right then to place a hand on Pewter’s shoulder. Surely Pewter could feel Date’s manly gratitude from that manly shoulder touch alone. Pewter’s tired expression softened into a slight smile.
[ I suggest expressing your gratitude in words as well. We live in a society in which men being open and expressing their feelings is looked down upon. This needs to change. ]
Date nodded as he considered Aiba’s point. Pewter was still smiling at him, but his eyebrows started to furrow as the awkward silence between them dragged on.
“Pewter…” Date finally began, struggling to find the right words. “There’s something on my mind I’ve been meaning to say. All this time I have been thinking…”
Date tilted his head with a sly smile. He let go of Pewter’s shoulder and pointed at his new eye in one smooth motion. “This is totally hot, right?”
Never before had Pewter looked more puzzled, which said a lot considering he was one of the leading detectives and scientist of ABIS. The abnormal was their normal.
“You mean Aiba? She should be matching the temperature of your body. It’s no good if she’s too hot, please take her out immediately.”
[ It is as Pewter says. I am matching your temperature to the dot. What seems to be the problem? ]
Date waved his hand before crossing his arms; what a tough crowd. “No, not that. The heterochromia! Women find it extremely attractive. I would say my charm has increased by 25– no, 50%!”
[ Affirmative. Heterochromia is an eye condition that is quite rare in the human species but is desired by many. ]
[ What? Really?! Maybe with this Reika from the cabaret club and I can– ]
“I can’t speak for all women or any woman for that matter, but I do see the appeal,” Petwer admitted, rolling his desk chair back to its usual spot behind his PC as he spoke. “Regardless, if you can make jokes like that then you must be feeling fine. After you’ve worked through that paperwork we’ll do a few scans and tests to make sure everything is as it should be. If you will excuse me, I have some work to do.”
Date watched as Pewter rapidly entered a seemingly random string of characters to unlock his PC. How the scientist got his insanely long password right first try each time was without a doubt the biggest secret between ABIS’ walls. Date returned to his paperwork for a few moments before interrupting Pewter’s work just once.
“Hey Pewter, thank you. Really.”
After all the paperwork from Date’s side had been dealt with and the scans and tests Pewter had put Date and Aiba through had turned up no complications, they had been told to take the rest of the day off. Boss had been very clear that they had to acclimate to each other, and although Date wasn’t one to ever go a day without working overtime, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to go home early today.
The walk from headquarters to the spot he had parked his car had felt strangely alien to Date. All his surroundings had a new layer of depth to them, both literally and figuratively. He had been staring at the blossom tree he had parked his car under for quite some time when the clear female voice he was gradually getting used to spoke up in his mind.
[ It’s beautiful. ]
“…I agree, but I must say,” Date spoke as he moved his gaze from the tree to his car. “I could do without all the flower petals on my windshield.”
He began sweeping away the flower petals with his gloved hand, but not all of them felt like cooperating. The ones with a little moister on them stuck to the glass as if hanging on for dear life and got ripped in half as he passed over them. He used a gentler touch to remove those.
Pinching one of the last of the petals between his dumb and forefinger, Date was reminded of how he had held Aiba in much the same way earlier today. Her inner parts were probably just as delicate as this blossom, but he hadn’t considered that while handling her.
[ Not to fret, I am not as delicate as you think. I’ve been put through many pressure tests to guarantee your safety. ]
“What about your safety? What if I dropped you and stepped on you by accident?”
[ I would probably not suffer any damages in a scenario as such, but even if I would your safety and that of other humans would take priority over mine. You must be familiar with the Three Laws of Robotics, yes? ]
“Remind me?”
[ One: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two: a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Three: a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. I am an artificial intelligence and not a robot, but these rules also apply to me. ]
“Hmm…” Date hummed, quickly disposing of the last petals that would get in the way while driving. “If possible I will try to avoid putting you in situations in which you have to prioritize my safety above your own. This line of work comes with its fair amount of dangers, though, so no promises.”
[ …The thought is appreciated. ]
The car ride home itself was pretty uneventful safe from the fact that Date had a far easier time keeping the correct distance from cars before him. He rhythmically tapped the fingers of his right hand on the steering wheel while remaining concentrated on the road.
If Aiba had any questions for him, then she wasn’t speaking up to ask them. That was fine, Date was tired after today anyway. It would take him some time to get used to all the new stimuli Aiba was giving him. He wondered if he should take her out later, much like how people with glasses would take these off after work in the evening hours.
Coming home rather early, Date was able to find a nice parking spot near his studio. It was just something small, but he didn’t take it for granted. Usually, when he was coming home late there would be almost no parking spots left in his block, meaning he would almost always go for an unintended evening walk.
[ That’s where I live. You’ll see it’s not much, just a place to sleep and eat, but I do like it, ] Date thought to Aiba as he looked up at the building.
[ Home address saved to my database. Tomorrow morning I can calibrate the fastest route to Tokyo MPD. ]
[ You can do that? Neat. ]
After unlocking the front door Date opened his mailbox to find a bunch of unopened mail. He might have forgotten to take his mail out for a few days. One envelop fell out of the mailbox, but he was able to catch it in mid-air with surprising precision. Odd, he didn’t remember being able to do that before.
Date gathered the mail and quickly looked through it as he made his way up the stairs. To his relieve it was mostly junk mail. It all went straight into the trash after he had unlocked the door to his studio, but he did hold onto one thing.
He was smiling from ear to ear as he studied the flyer for a special event at Sunfish Pocket. The (mer)maids would be doing a special show involving dance and song, probably to attract more new costumers. The pink-haired maid was prominently on the flyer, striking a quirky pose. She seemed to be the most popular maid at Sunfish Pocket, but Date hadn’t caught her name yet.
“Maybe if I have the time,” Date mumbled to himself as he pinned the flyer in an empty corner on his pinboard. The colourful flyer with its bold text stuck out like a sore thumb next to pictures of crime scenes and snippets of statements from victims, but he had to put it somewhere where he could see it so he wouldn’t forget to go.
[ I can arrange a date and time for you to pay a visit to this Sunfish Pocket if you please. You gave me access to your work agenda. ]
“Thanks, but no thanks. That won’t be necessary. I will just visit them if it’s around my lunchtime and I happen to nearby for a job.”
[ As you wish. ]
Date had been so consumed by the flyer that he had forgotten to show Aiba around. Not that there was much to show, this was but a small studio after all.
“The bathroom is over there,” he said as he looked at the only other door in the room. “I do all of my other business here. Sleep, eat, solve crimes, you name it.”
He nonchalantly pushed the porno magazines on the floor under his bed with his foot as he walked passed. The silence that followed felt heavy with judgement.
[ You live by yourself here then? ] Aiba finally broke the silence.
“I do. We’ll be living here together from here on forward, I suppose.”
[ In that case, I will ask you to do something about the state of this room. I have no sense of smell, but the place looks like it would stink. ]
“Hey, I will have you know I cleaned up,” Date tried to defend himself. There indeed was a musty smell in the air, but Aiba didn’t have to know that. Date gestured at the full trash bags stashed in one of the corners of the room. “I just haven't been able to take the trash out yet, that’s all.”
[ I suggest you take them out first thing in the morning. I will not be cooperating with you otherwise. ]
“You…” Aiba was right of course, but Date was a proud man. He wasn’t about to let an eyeball tell him what to do, especially not one with attitude. He would throw the trash bags out tomorrow, though. Not because Aiba had told him, but because he had been planning on throwing them out anyway! No other reason.
[ Ugh, men. ] Was the last thing Date heard Aiba say before something unexpected happened.
She fell(?) out of his eye socket. Just as she was about to hit the coffee table she got encased in some kind of transparent gel and stuck a landing. She had taken the shape of a hamster or some other kind of rodent, but where the face would be was just one big eye.
“Wouldn’t you say my charm has increased by 25– no, 50% now that I am no longer in your eye socket?” Aiba asked, putting one of her little paws on her hip and the other on her head as if to be striking a sexy pose.
Date frowned as he moved to sit on the floor next to the coffee table. He squinted his one eye as he looked at Aiba up close.
“I’m going to ask Pewter to do something about that personality of yours. There shouldn’t be this much sass in just one eyeball.”
“I am simply matching yours, so if you don’t like it then do some self-reflection.”
“Excuse you.”
“I am excused.”
It was hard to tell seeing as Aiba had few to no facial features, but she seemed to be in a good mood from the way her tiny gel body was hopping around on the table as she looked around.
“Can you tell me about those?” Aiba asked after a few moments of hopping around and observing her surroundings.
Date followed her gaze to find the porno magazines he had unskilfully pushed under his bed. “…I would prefer not to.”
“You collect them as a hobby?” Aiba pressed on as she sat down, allowing her adorable little feet to stick up. “What else do you like? Our teamwork will improve if we get to know each other better.”
Date thought about the latter question for a moment (he refused to think on the first) before he carefully scooped Aiba up in his hands. He walked up to the windows of his studio and opened the blinds. They were a few stores off the ground and this apartment complex was one of the higher buildings in the area, so they had a bit of a view from here.
“You can’t see it from here, but there is a shrine I like to visit in that direction,” Date replied as he pointed in the direction the shrine would be. “I don’t believe in that stuff, but it’s a nice quiet place in the middle of the city. I go there often when I’m stuck on a case and I need to think.”
“I see.”
“How about you? What do you like?”
“Insects!” Aiba proclaimed happily, almost as if she had been waiting to be asked that question.
“Insects? What do you like about them?”
“I simply think they are cute.”
“Cute?” That was one of the last words Date would use to describe insects. “You’re weird.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a man in his thirties living by himself with a huge porno magazine collection.”
“That’s perfectly normal as far as I’m concerned!”
Aiba and Date quickly acclimated to each other in the months that followed. They made a pretty good team, their constant bickering aside. About a year later Mizuki Okiura, the daughter of Date’s friend Renju Okiura, came to live with them. She was a troublemaker for sure. Date didn’t think he was well suited to being Mizuki’s guardian, but he did try to make a home for her. Aiba always pushed Date to be the best parental figure he could be.
Around that same time, Boss had given him a call and asked him to come to her office. When he arrived she was already sitting legs crossed on top of her desk. She gestured for him to sit down in his usual spot, which he did.
“As I said on the phone, I would like to discuss how your partnership with Aiba is going,” Boss said, indeed iterating what she had told them before on the line. “Could Aiba come out? I would like to discuss this with both of you.”
Aiba popped out of Date’s eye socket and he handed her over to Boss so she could sit comfortably next to her on the desk. Date waved at himself in Aiba’s vision and she rolled her one eye. Boss giggled at that before continuing.
“You two seem to be getting along just fine. Date, could you start by telling me how your partnership has been treating you?”
“Yes, of course. It has been… how do I say this?” Date saw himself fidgeting in Aiba’s vision as he tried to come up with the right words. Summarizing how this past year had treated him was hard to do in just a few sentences. “It’s been eye-opening? Pun intended.”
“Absolutely hated that, but go on.”
“Well… In short, I would say it has been good? We have our differences, but it’s never something we can’t work out together. There are plenty of cases I don’t think I would have been able to crack without her and she also makes sure Mizuki and I are eating well by forcing me to go out and go grocery shopping.”
“But more importantly than that, she… I don’t know how to explain this very well. I don’t know, I guess you could say… The world has more colour now? Everything was so bleak before. I had nothing after I lost all of my memories. Even after you, Boss, had taken me under your wing I was just going through the motions. Now I look forward to every new day.”
Boss switched her legs’ positions as she pounder on what Date had said. After deliberating her own words for a few moments she replied.
“So you would say you’re happy now?” she asked, the corner of her mouth turning up in a small smile.
“…Yes, I would say I’m happy now.”
Boss sent a knowing glance at Aiba, one that Date missed completely because he quickly wiped a tear from the corner of his eye when the opportunity to not be seen doing so presented itself.
“How about you, Aiba?” Boss continued. “Has this absolute disaster of a man been treating your well?”
“I’m sitting right here,” Date bit back, but the words didn’t come out as harshly as he had hoped.
Aiba laughed, her tiny gel body shaking slightly. “I don’t have much to add. I’m happy too, Date.”
“Great!” Boss interrupted their whole moment. She scooped up Aiba and threw her at Date. He managed to catch her, but only barely. “That’s another to do crossed off my list. Get out there and solve some crimes you two.”
“Yes, Boss!” Date and Aiba replied in unison.
Aiba was back in Date’s eye socket before they were out of Boss’ office. After about a year of practice putting her back in was as simple as putting in a contact lens.
[ She’s crazy, ] Date thought to Aiba. [ I’m not sure how I ever managed to befriend someone like that. ]
[ You and Boss are more alike than you might think. ]
[ Are you calling me crazy? ]
[ Affirmative. But I’m glad. My purpose is to serve you. I’m happy to hear I’m serving you well. ]
Date reached for Aiba and carefully petted her with one finger. [ This is unlike you. Want me to have Pewter check up on you? ]
[ It takes one to know one. I saw you crying back there. ]
[ Shush. There was something in my eye, that was all. ]
[ Uh-huh. ]
A gust of wind gave them a dramatic exit as they stepped out of the Tokyo MPD building. Date didn’t know which life-changing events would be waiting for him, but he was sure of one thing. Aiba would always be there to have his back.