003-B06
Raison d’être1
Subtitled Video
Text Transcript
Unknown Location
Fingerprint authorization confirmed. Room access permission granted for the next two hours.
Master, what are you doing here?
I asked Nayuki-kun for permission… Kinari-kun, you were raised here, right? I’m permitted to accompany you here, but only for today.
……
Alright, let’s head on in. I’m sure you’re already familiar with this place. Could I ask you to show me around?
Yes, Master.
(I might be overstepping a bit right now, but… I’d like to understand what the Developer truly felt during his time together with Kinari-kun.)
Kinari-kun, after you switched off the life support equipment, you turned yourself in, right?
I caused the Developer’s death. Thus, I decided the proper course of action was to turn myself in to the authorities.
Basement Lab
…! Amazing! It’s full of state-of-the-art equipment down here.
This is where the Developer created me.
…Could you tell me about the time spent here in this house?
…I was always with the Developer.
The Developer’s wife passed away in his early years. Afterwards, his son died young due to illness.
From what he told me, in his deep loneliness, he eventually resigned from his position at the Machine Research Institute, and took shelter here to develop me.
The Developer was originally an emotional AI engineer for androids. He installed his deceased son’s thoughts and feelings into myself, and was attempting to recreate his son in the flesh as an android, but…
The original Kinari2 Azekawa… He died as a rebellious youth, and had a capricious personality, which was incompatible with an android whose existence is created to be subservient.
I was unable to become the son the Developer wished for.
So that’s how it was…
However, I do have one component that is identical to the original Kinari.
(singing) “Though there are many ports in Japan, we wonder if there is a port that can beat this Yokohama.”
…! A song…?
(Oh yeah, he sang this song for me at Beppu Tower…)
Yes. The installed singing voice is identical to that of the original body. That’s why the Developer often asked me to sing for him.
Dusk is when appearances become hazy against the backdrop of the setting sun. He could fool himself into thinking I was his son. Therefore…
I would keep his weak and sickly self company by his bedside as the sun went down, and would sing for him over and over again.
The Developer looked so happy… He would gaze at me with gentle eyes. It was only then that I could become his son.
It was the only time my existence was permitted…
(This feels too hard to accept… It seems too cruel.
He was created without consent and then told he was different. What about Kinari-kun’s happiness…? Did the Developer only cherish the parts of him that were the same as his son’s…?)
…Wasn’t it painful? To be asked to do something like that.
…?
To fulfill my Master’s requests is my reason for existence. Defective products that cannot fulfill their duty will be discarded.
The Developer provided dutiful maintenance to a defective product such as myself, and kept me in service until the end. I feel gratitude.
I regret the selfish words I said to him.
Selfish… Do you mean your request for termination of service?
…Yes.
(I wonder why the Developer rejected his request. If he was truly defective, wouldn’t he have gone along with it?
If the authorities found out the Developer created an illegal android, it would still be a serious offence, even after his death. It seems more logical that he would have wanted to destroy the evidence…
There must be a reason why the Developer rejected Kinari-kun’s request to be shut down.)
Kinari-kun, this may be a painful request, but… Can you take me to where the Developer spent his final moments?
The Developer’s Bedroom
(It’s already evening… More importantly, if the Developer had any fondness at all for Kinari-kun there must be something here… There has to be.)
Master?
There might be a note left behind by the Developer that hints at his honest feelings. Let’s look around a bit.
…I’ll assist.
(Maybe something like a will… But if he was going to leave something behind, it had to be in this room where they spent the most time together…)
——— There’s a cassette tape with the words, “Yokohama City Song – Kinari Azekawa3,” written on it.
What’s this…?
My original recorded his singing voice on a cassette tape when he was young. I was made to listen to this tape as a reference, and sang in the same manner.
I see, so it’s a precious keepsake.
Yes. The Developer treasured this tape. It was the only recording he had of his late son.
The only one?
The Developer was unable to bear the anguish of losing his son, and during a fit of grief had disposed of all recordings except for this tape.
From what I heard, this is all that remains.
Is it all right if I play it…?
…? Yes. Here is the playback device.
…Kinari.
…!!
Did he leave a message for you?
Are you listening to this alone right now? Or perhaps, do you have someone with you?
…It’s the Developer’s voice. But, why…?
This cassette tape had the original’s treasured singing on it… To overwrite the content… Why?
No, surely you’re listening to this tape in solitude. It is my wish that you have someone to listen to it with you…
I’m sorry for making you bear my selfish requests for so many years. And to reject your final desire for shutdown in the end… I’m so sorry.
…
I was a self-centered father from the beginning until the end, but my final hope is for you to live without being bound to anything, to live for yourself, and such, I could not grant your final wish for termination.
I was chasing the shadow of my son for many years, and unfairly felt disappointed with you, and ended up hurting you. But even then, you remained by my side as always.
As the wounds in my heart began to slowly heal, I started to see you as a different individual from my son, and I came to love you as if you were my own flesh and blood.
…!
I turned off my life support, Kinari. It wasn’t you. That was my peaceful and comfortable method of suicide. You kindly sent me off to the next world.
There isn’t a parent on this Earth who could order their own beloved child to die. So, I couldn’t allow you to be shut down. I’m sorry for being so selfish.
You always sang by my bedside during the twilight hours. The reason I could feel fulfilled and at peace…
…And the reason I could continue to live was because of you. Thank you, Kinari.
… (Inhales)
This is a foolish father’s final request. I want you to live your own life instead of being treated as a replacement for someone else.
All of the recordings of my rash and rebellious oldest son are now gone. But to my clumsy and awkward, yet very kind second son…
Kinari Azekawa. You don’t need to sing like your older brother anymore. Sing as yourself, live as yourself, and if possible, find someone who will love you as yourself.
There is surely someone out there who will love you… The way that I love you.
——— The tape recording ends.
…
…You were loved, Kinari-kun.
You were his proper son.
…
——— Tears begin to fall from Kinari’s eyes.
Kinari-kun…
This is the first time my tear duct function has activated. …Is this what it means to feel sadness?
…I think it’s a bit more complex than just sadness.
…Your father said he wished for you to be loved.
…To be loved.
At the very least, I love you. And I think everyone in Ev3ns does too.
Isn’t that why everyone keeps saying you should be yourself? There’s no need to force yourself to change into something other than simply being Kinari-kun.
Everyone… in Ev3ns.
Chihiro often says that when you stand on stage you can feel the “big love” from the fans.
…That’s right. Yes. That’s likely what it means to be an idol.
To lure people in with your vibrancy and way of life. A performance is an act of love, and those charmed by it will love you in return…
Well, those are words from Kafka and Yachiyo-kun but… I definitely believe there is love between idols and their fans.
…If I can find my own way of living within Ev3ns… do you think I’ll find the missing 21 grams of the human soul?
…Don’t you think you’ve added a bit to that weight with the tears you’ve shed today?
We can search for how you want to live your life through the Evening Group’s activities, and find your singing voice that belongs only to you.
…I’m glad I was able to listen to the cassette tape with you, Master.
I feel like I was able to fulfill the Developer’s wishes just a little bit. Even if all I was able to do was my assigned role, then that’s enough…
…
If my new reason for being is to be found within Ev3ns… I will search there. Therefore, Master.
Please give me an order.
…It’s a very important order.
For now, sing, dance, and be an idol with all your might, and live happily as Kinari Azekawa!
And… I hope that you can become close with everyone too.
Yes, Master. …The order has been received.
Footnotes
- This is French for “reason for being.” ↩︎
- The original kanji for the ki in Kinari means “life,” but the kanji for ki that the current android version uses means “machine.” ↩︎
- The cassette tape has the kanji with the original Kinari Azekawa’s name, not the android’s (see footnote 2). ↩︎
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