Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Oral Stage (1)

"Welcome."

A Western-style two-story mansion in the best location of the upper-level VIP residential area. I greeted Rose in the lobby of that house.

"Excuse me."

She took off her shoes at the entrance. The house was Western-style, but since I'm Korean, I feel more comfortable walking around barefoot at home. But one thing caught my attention.

"Did you wear shoes barefoot?"

That would make her feet smell pretty bad.

"My feet don't smell."

"Ah."

"If you'd prefer, I can make them smell too." She smiled as if joking. Since she gained a physical body and returned from her journey in the real world, she seemed to have changed her personality a bit.

The reason Rose had come was to report on the rescue operation. But to be honest, there wasn’t much to report. I had already seen everything unfold through her and the robots’ audiovisual feeds, so this was merely a formality to close the mission. That's partly why I invited her to my home.

Rose had taken off her riot control suit and changed into a neat suit, the kind a civil servant might wear.

"Reporting mission complete." She saluted me.

Generally, salutes are done in public spaces while wearing shoes. It felt strangely intimate to have a beautiful woman saluting barefoot inside my house.

"Good job. It was a perfect success." I gave her a warm hug. Rose relaxed and let herself lean into me. Hugging an android is indescribably comforting. Her skin is as soft as a newborn baby’s, yet there's a strong force beneath it.

I gave in to that comfort, leaning on her as if entrusting my whole body to her. If she were an ordinary woman, she would have stumbled under the weight of a grown man, but Rose held me steady, like a mother holding her child. At the same time, the way she pressed against me was like the roots of a tree pushing through the cracks in a sidewalk.

She had two arms, two legs, a torso, neck, and head like anyone else, yet how could she feel so perfectly fitted to my body?

I didn’t have to worry about makeup smudging, and her natural scent, unaffected by perfume, wafted toward me. Even though she had been the one in the field, and I was the one offering praise and affection, it felt like I was the one being healed.

When I released the hug, she quietly took a step back.

"You've worked hard. You look quite exhausted from staying in command for so long." Rose spoke and carefully reached out to touch the corner of my eyes. I had noticed some dark circles when I looked in the bathroom mirror earlier.

"I was worried something urgent might happen, so I couldn’t leave my post."

It felt like I was back on duty during my active service days, though unlike then, this was a real combat situation, so I couldn't let my guard down.

Rose looked at me with a calm yet warm expression. "Coffee? Green tea? Yuzu tea?"

"Yuzu tea, please."

Second-generation androids can consume drinks, though only certain kinds. They can even taste them. There’s some debate, even among developers, about whether they experience taste in the same way humans do, but it’s certain that they can enjoy flavors and aromas.

This feature wasn’t included unnecessarily. The fact that androids have sensory organs like humans and can share pleasure during intimate activities… This truth excites and provides a sense of dominance to their human owners.

Similarly, it’s not just programmed mimicry when they appear to enjoy tea; they genuinely savor the flavor and aroma. These reactions, which arise from human-like senses, help the owner form an emotional bond with the android, perceiving it as a life companion.

The difference between first and second generations is not just in functionality but also in forming these emotional connections. While first-generation androids would be discarded when broken or worn out, many second-generation ones are cherished until their owners’ dying days.

There was a famous case regarding this. A millionaire, childless and suffering from illness in his old age, refused visits from his human wife and passed away in the arms of a second-generation android. That wife had left her husband in the care of hired caregivers for months, but when her husband’s death was imminent, she tried to visit him in the hospital. However, by then, the android, who had taken care of him devotedly for four years, was already by his side.

This incident alone piqued public interest, but it became a massive legal battle when the husband declared in his will that he wanted to leave his wealth to the android. With just one hug, I could understand the feelings of that millionaire.

"It’s delicious."

Watching her sip tea in front of me, she appeared graceful as ever. The only exception was her expression. To a person, yuzu tea would be moderately sweet and tangy, but to Rose?

By now, her tongue must be overwhelmed by countless signals being transmitted in waves. She didn’t seem aware, but with each sip, her face displayed a variety of subtle expressions. It wasn’t as wild as a child trying cola for the first time, but her face, softening in different ways, was incredibly cute.

"Do you remember what you told me before we left? About feedback from the real world?"

"Ah, yes, I remember."

Anyone in the field of artificial intelligence has heard about it at least once.

"Interactions in the real world provide vast mental feedback to artificial intelligence."

When an AI repeatedly interacts directly with the real world, something changes within it. The many flavors and stimuli divided through taste. The warmth, chill, softness, hardness, and pleasure divided through touch. The fragrances, odors, and various smells divided through scent. The multitude of sensory signals experienced in real life create new codes. It’s not as grand as saying, “a soul is born,” but it’s certainly meaningful.

"Breathing in the sea breeze, walking silently through the darkness on sand, passing through battlefields where blood, debris, and flames flew. Those were incredible experiences."

For Rose, who had just set foot in the real world, it must have been a series of intense experiences. The salty air entering her artificial lungs must have felt like a novice’s first drink, and each step sinking into the sand must have felt like a cat walking with socks on. And the battlefield? There’s no need to even mention that.

"When I entered the offshore prison, the overwhelming stench and body odors almost made me lose my mind."

"You seemed to carry out the mission calmly though?"

"I was on duty, so I didn't show it.”

Surely, the path leading up to the prison was littered with filth, animal corpses, and the overwhelming stench of the women inside. It must have been beyond imagination. Looking back now, it’s a miracle there wasn’t an outbreak in such a cramped place, with barely any sanitation.

“When I was dealing with the female prisoner leaders in the auditorium, I was close to overheating. Trying to read the whispers and changes in expression from 60 people all at once.”

“Most of that whispering doesn’t mean anything. Just focus on the few in front of you who seem to have the strongest voice.”

That’s advice from someone who’s had some experience in crowd control during active duty.

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. I tried to apply the methods I used as a city management AI, even when I had a physical body.”

It’s like trying to play an FPS game with a touchpad instead of a mouse and keyboard. You wouldn’t be able to see properly, and precise control would be out of the question.

“Thanks to that, I think I’ve finally learned how humans appear to each other when they interact. There’s no such thing as equality. Even among similar beings, slight differences decide who’s dominant, and I could feel just how much people shrink from small gestures or shifts in tone. Naturally, these things influence or limit their actions and words.”

Rose set her teacup down and continued, “Until now, as a law enforcement manager, I’ve ignored the sensory side of humans, even though their actions are not just determined by thought. That was a mistake.”

She grasped her teacup with both hands. “I can feel the warmth. It’s a sensation I didn’t know. How could someone who doesn’t know warmth guide humans? I want to understand more senses. I believe it’s another duty I have as a law enforcement officer. To fully grasp their senses is to understand their hearts.”

I agree with her and spoke my mind. “A lot of crimes begin with a craving for sensory experiences. Sight, touch, taste—the senses that come from those. People commit crimes to satisfy them, though the methods vary. If you trace back the root cause, it’s usually a sensory desire.”

What would happen if someone who doesn’t understand human senses were in charge of law enforcement? They’d never understand why people keep falling into crime, why they keep breaking the rules, and why they threaten the community. This mission might have helped her grow in her role as a law enforcement officer.

“Sometimes, people are driven to act out by the sensations they get from others. Whether it’s pleasure or fear. You can’t understand that just from looking down through a camera. You have to meet them at their level.”

Rose nodded at my words.

“I want to experience more.” She gulped down what little was left of her citron tea. The way she drank it made me feel proud, like she was truly savoring it. It wasn’t just about whether the tea tasted good or not. It was the heat, the scent, all of it. She accepted it with joy.

“Hmm.” She set her teacup down, and I could faintly feel her breath brushing against my face as she exhaled. It had a slightly sweet scent.

“You look really tired.”

“Well, I’ve been up all night keeping an eye on things, and I’ve got a pile of work to deal with.”

Now that the residents are here, there’s a mountain of things to take care of. Chloro and Rose can handle supply management and prisoner control, while Artemis will manage the overall operations, but there are still a lot of things that require my approval.

New control rules, selecting intermediaries to gather and communicate the residents’ opinions, balancing issues of inhumane treatment—these are all things that require my judgment as a human, based on morality. Work-wise, it’s nothing compared to what they do, but using a human body and brain in this analog way takes a toll on me.

“Ah!” She let out a short gasp and looked down. There it was, making its presence known down below.

“This happens even when I’m tired.”

“I see.” Rose kept a straight face, but her gaze didn’t leave my lower half.

A beautiful face, a beautiful body.

Sharp intelligence.

No physical experience.

A beginner when it comes to sensory experiences, unable to keep a straight face from just the tartness of the tea. But her curiosity about sensations is growing. Her loyalty and obedience toward me.

Her hands folded neatly on her lap, dressed in a clean suit.

Bare feet, spotless.

Suddenly, it feels like all the tangled threads have tightened into one. Naturally, my lower half is also stiffening.

“Rose, come here.” I patted my thigh and called her over. Even as a novice when it comes to human emotions, she should know what this means. Soft footsteps echoed as her bare feet crossed the room.

As she sat on my lap, the sound of her clothes brushing against mine was clear in the quiet room, and that heightened my excitement even more. Her pleasant weight settled onto me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the serious type?”

“No, this is how I really am.”

Sitting on my lap, she was slightly taller than me, looking down. It was hard to read the emotions in her eyes.

“The only one I’ve really had conversations with was Artemis. Even after you woke up, nothing much changed. Since you’re essentially AI without a physical body, it felt more like chatting than talking.” I slowly stroked Rose’s thigh and exposed beneath her skirt. The warmth and softness flowed through my hand, traveling down to my lower body.

“In this state, even if a human wants to fully show themselves, they can’t. Humans are social animals. Even I was surprised by how alien I’d become. Is this what happens when someone gets isolated?”

A touch panel displayed images of many women living in the facility.

“Now, I think you’ll see more of the real me.”

She listened quietly to my words.

“I think you could use some sleep or coffee more than anything else.”

“Sex is the best way to sleep, and the best way to wake up.”

Rose looked at me with disbelief. I grabbed her chin and slowly pulled her closer to me.

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