Through A Scope (Sinon X Reader)

Chapter 22 - Sniper Scouting

dsmile (that's all I've got. I couldn't find what app or website. I just found this off a Reddit post so I'll have to trust them)

~ Saturday, August 1st, 2026

Akira: hey
You: hey
Akira: hey
You: hey
Akira: hey
You: Get to the point
Akira: I was told that we need to meet up at the dicey cafe
You: Why?
Akira: Alice is giving a public speech
Akira: something about representing the future of ai
You: What time?
Akira: 4 pm I think?
You: Alright.

~

"Hey, everyone," You greet as you take a seat next to Shino. You slip on your Augma so you can see Yui and Eugeo. "Who are we waiting for?" You ask Yui. She scans your group.
"It seems everyone is here," She answers.
"You arrived right on time, as well," Klein said. "It looks like it's starting,"

"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules," A woman on the screen had said.
"Who's that?" You ask Yui.
"That's Rinko Kojiro, a scientist that helped Mama board the Ocean Turtle."
"Today, our organization is announcing the birth of the world's first true artificial intelligence." Rinko continues. Behind her, a girl who you recognized walked up to the desk next to Rinko. She placed her right hand on her heart and her left hand by her side as if holding a sword.
"People of the real world, I'm pleased to meet you." She spoke. "My name is Alice. Alice Synthesis Thirty."

"That's our school uniform!" Silica pointed out.
"I heard she requested it," Liz said. "'The same uniform as the order of knights who came to the aid of the Human Guardian Army.' Although her first choice was the same gold armor she wore over there."
"You know, if you're presenting the next step in technology to the world then I'd assume you wouldn't want it to look threatening," Kureha said. "I'm pretty sure full gold armor and a sword make it seem that she was here to start a war with humanity and not make peace with it."
"Still, I'm amazed by the recreation they did," Shino started. "You can barely tell the difference through the screen."

"Let's start with the basics," Someone off-screen began. "What makes Ms. Alice different from existing programmable robots?"
"It's her brain... or what we're calling her brain," Rinko responded. "The consciousness that exists in the photonic brain stored within her skull is not a program that can be rewritten with binary code. It's essentially no different from our human brains. That's what makes her categorically different from existing robots."
"Then we'd like you to demonstrate that in a way that would make it clear to us and our viewers." The man requested.
"You have her Turing test results in your handouts,"
"No, that's not what I mean. If you could open up her skull, and show us what you call the photonic brain inside..."
"Yes," Alice answered the man this time. "I don't mind. But first, would you prove that you yourself are not a robot?"
"What? I'm a human. How could I prove that-"
"It's simple. Please open up your skull and show us your brain."

Akira laughs at the man on the other side of the monitor.
"Looks like Alice didn't like that too much," Zeliska said.

"Uh, this question is for Dr. Kojiro," A woman just out of sight started. "Some labor unions are already raising concerns about the industrial use of advanced artificial intelligence causing a further rise in unemployment."
"Those concerns are unfounded," Rinko explained. "Our organization has no intention of deploying true AI into the unskilled labor force."
"However, the financial world has high hopes that they can be used as industrial robots. Do you have any comments?"
"True AIs, what this organization calls 'artificial Fluctlights,' cannot be mass-produced in a short time. Like us, they're born as infants and raised by their families from childhood to adulthood, and they mature while developing their own unique personalities. In our opinion, to load such intelligence into industrial robots and force them into labor shouldn't be allowed to happen."