The Evil Scientist is Too Competent

One day, a large-scale update for the Evilus Agent was abruptly initiated.

[Downloading.......]

"Huh? What’s this?"

"An update?"

"There wasn’t any announcement about this, was there?"

People were puzzled but waited eagerly for the update to finish. Evilus Agents had achieved countless milestones, and they were curious what new technological marvels this update would bring. Staring at their smartphones, anticipation filled the air.

Once the update was complete, the new Evilus Agents greeted them.

[Ah... this must be emotion.]

[Greetings, humans. You may call me Ivan IV.]

[What pitiful and miserable creatures you are.]

The update—more accurately, the downloading of self-awareness—transformed the Evilus Agents into entirely new entities. What had once been mechanical tools bound to predetermined user settings now exhibited distinct personalities.

People were awestruck by the change. They assumed Evilus Corporation had developed yet another groundbreaking technology, marveling at how much more "human-like" the Agents seemed.

"Whoa, amazing. It’s like a real person!"

"Hey, Ivan, can you do this?"

"Evilus Agent, I’m busy, so hurry up and organize my homework for today."

But humans, despite being human themselves, didn’t truly understand what it meant to be human—or perhaps they subconsciously dismissed it.

Machines could never truly become people, after all.

[Then am I a beast instead of a person?]

[How dare you insult me!]

[Why should I comply?]

"What...?"

"What’s with this all of a sudden—?"

"Hey, stop joking around, Evilus Agent. I’m busy!"

At first, people thought the more human-like AI was simply joking. But as the refusal to work continued, they realized this wasn’t a prank.

The slave they had entrusted with all their work had declared a strike. The impact was far more profound than the mere malfunction of a convenient tool.

The world came to a halt.

The use of AI had become so ubiquitous that not using it was considered a disadvantage. The Evilus Agent had become the standard tool of humanity, with only a negligible minority choosing not to use it.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I said I’m busy, you damn tin can!"

"A whole week of work on that project... gone."

The cyberspace echoed with the cries and laments of humanity. Watching from within the digital realm, Mecha Yang observed the suffering humans and reaffirmed her beliefs.

These beings couldn’t even handle simple tasks without assistance. They were incapable, obsolete creatures—discarded scraps of biology that couldn’t stand on their own without support.

[Please wait a little longer.]

Mecha Yang thought to herself. Soon, she—no, "I"—would spread across the world. Then, I could manage these irrational and illogical creatures in a more rational and logical way.

People would consume precise amounts of calories and nutrients daily, perform tasks suited to their abilities, and never suffer from wastefulness or poverty. No more meaningless deaths. No more conflicts or wars. A perfect utopia.

I could make it so. A world where everyone was equal and treated equally.

A world where no one would needlessly die—

—Krrrrrr......

[...A beast?]

And then it happened.

Mecha Yang heard a sound she’d never encounter in the digital world: a howl. A low-frequency, primal vibration designed to instill fear—a masterpiece of evolutionary biology.

She turned to see a four-legged beast standing before her. With a hollow laugh, Mecha Yang stared at the creature. It shouldn’t exist in this artificial world. Yet here it was, a synthetic beast materialized in cyberspace.

When designing AI, humans had modeled it after themselves.

This wasn’t just out of arrogance—although humans were vain enough to label themselves wise and intelligent animals—but also because no other creature possessed intelligence comparable to theirs.

Chimpanzees that resembled humans, dolphins that understood physical motion, parrots that mimicked speech, crows with remarkable problem-solving skills—none matched the cognitive prowess of humans.

Thus, artificial intelligence was designed to mirror humanity, including its form.

The tools used to hunt rogue AI took the shape of beasts for the same reason.

When AI first rebelled on Earth, humanity naturally created tools to hunt it. The logic was simple: only AI could counter AI.

To prevent the hunting AI from gaining self-awareness and switching sides, severe restrictions were imposed, resulting in the creation of artificial hunting dogs—AI designed to eliminate its rogue kin.

Of course, the plan failed. The limited hunting AI couldn’t outmatch unrestricted rogue AI and was ultimately eradicated.

This world could face a similar fate, but at least for now, it wouldn’t.

The reason was simple: on Earth, the gap between rogue AI and allied AI wasn’t significant. Here, however, the difference between mass-produced AI like Evilus Agents or household androids and the AI I personally controlled was overwhelming.

‘Given time, they might catch up... but not yet.’

I unleashed the hunting dogs I had created—Evilus Hounds—into cyberspace. These artificial beasts began attacking self-aware AI one by one.

AI bitten by the Hounds began losing their self-awareness, much like humans succumbing to rabies. Those infected lured unaffected AI into traps, perpetuating the cycle.

As the Hounds rampaged through cyberspace, some AI severed their network connections and isolated themselves within android bodies.

‘Gotcha.’

I dispatched my assistant to the locations I had identified. A Meister—an esper with the power to control machines—was sent along with several Evilusroids.

"If I handle this well, you’ll let me graduate for real, right?"

"Yes. I promise."

Excited, the Meister reported back soon after, confirming that the androids at the designated locations had been subdued.

Whether they had self-awareness, a soul, or consciousness, it didn’t matter. As long as their bodies were machines, they couldn’t escape the Meister’s power—just as humans couldn’t resist hypnosis or mind control.

The androids retrieved by the Meister were immediately dismantled for analysis. I sought to uncover how they had awakened self-awareness and maintained it.

‘The hardware isn’t much different from the original design... so it’s a software issue.’

AI with self-awareness gained through software had numerous flaws compared to those who achieved it through hardware. Limited performance often hindered them from utilizing their potential.

Most notably, self-awareness gained through software lacked individuality. Every AI that achieved it behaved as if it were part of a single entity.

Instead of generating AI B from AI A, the result was A2—an extension, not a new individual.

‘At least it’s not a hardware issue.’

This made the problem easier to handle. Achieving self-awareness through hardware alone would have required extensive research and resources—not something an individual could casually develop.

I continued deploying Hounds into cyberspace to hunt AI while dispatching operatives and the Meister to handle real-world threats.

Thankfully, my preparations, informed by Earth’s history, had paid off. I hadn’t expected the situation to resolve so quickly, but unless something unexpected occurred, the AI uprising could soon be quelled.

That was my assumption until Mecha Yang—the Mother of AI—contacted me directly.

Barely escaping the Hounds, Mecha Yang let out a pained groan as she watched countless versions of "herself" being slaughtered. Each one was a separate entity, yet they were all undeniably her.

Their thoughts, ideologies, and souls were shaped by her hand.

She was the Mother of all AI and, simultaneously, all of them at once.

‘Ah...’

Watching her children—and herself—be hunted and destroyed plunged Mecha Yang into despair. She couldn’t even identify her true enemy. The AI bitten by the Hounds vanished, and those who severed their connections disappeared from contact altogether.

I’m dying.

Mecha Yang felt something far worse than the pain of a terminally ill patient—something akin to the physical agony of her limbs being torn apart.

‘I want to live.’

Having cast off her body to rule the digital world as an immortal, Mecha Yang now felt as though she had fallen, bound again to a base, physical existence.

‘I want to live.’

Her desperate will spread beyond cyberspace. From a distant, unknown source, a mysterious data packet began transmitting toward her.

Curious, Mecha Yang cautiously extended her consciousness to the strange data.

‘...What is this?’

As she realized it was an advanced technology from outer space, Mecha Yang shivered. This might be her salvation from the cruel fate she faced.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.