Third page of Compendium's X profile, part two
Dr. Cain’s diary
4/8 Nothing’s turned up yet. Last month I walked all over the wasteland looking for fossil proof of the plants that lived in the Middle Ages [see Trans. Note below], but nothing turned up. Let me break ground at a new site tomorrow. Maybe I’ll find something. 4/9 I set up camp at the new site, laid out a grid pattern, and started to excavate. My instruments gave a strange reading in Block E46. A metallic substance seems to be buried several meters below the surface. I’ll dig there tomorrow.
4/10 Unbelievable. Several meters below the surface were the remains of a laboratory. Most of the lab was ruined. At length I found writings indicating this was the lab of the famed robotics engineer Dr. Thomas Light. I looked through Dr. Light’s remaining notes. It seems his research was making great advances. In the notes there is something about a “capsule.”
4/13 At last I’ve found the capsule. 14m tall by 8m wide, the capsule was hidden beneath a collapsed ceiling. Although the building is rubble, the capsule alone was preserved intact, strange to say. At the time I found it, it was running some sort of diagnostic functions. There was a warning not to touch the capsule, but all the indicators were green, which means safety. It’s probably okay to open it. I’ll find out tomorrow.
4/14 Today I met Rockman X.
Rockman X is not just a robot. He’s a robot that’s nearly human. Dr. Light gave Rockman X the power to think and the power of judgment. Rockman X is more like a human than a machine.
4/15 Dr. Light was a genius. I tried skimming through the doctor’s design notes. An unimaginable quantum world is described there. With these notes as my guide, I can reproduce Dr. Light’s design concept. I may be able to build a new generation of robots. I’ll take Rockman X and Dr. Light’s notes back to my lab tomorrow.
11/22 With Rockman X as a reference, I’ve completed the first robot “Repliroid.” It doesn’t mean I completely understand how the system Dr. Light built operates. I tried making a few small revisions to the system. Thereupon, the Repliroid became fully functional. The Repliroid has unlimited strength and intelligence, and seems fully able to make decisions. The Repliroid can even debate. I actually debated it. What a splendid robot it is.
5/3 These last few weeks the new Repliroids have been running an assembly line. Surprisingly, they can accomplish even difficult tasks with ease. I tried putting them to work alongside humans. The sight was rather odd, but the humans seem to accept the Repliroids gladly.
7/16 Three Repliroids became “Irregular,” and were shut down because they injured two people. This is the third case of this kind of defect in Repliroids, and I have no idea what the cause is. Some say we had better stop the creation of Repliroids. However, I don’t think so. Weren’t the humans simply relying on the Repliroids too much?
11/20 At last the council has settled on a countermeasure. They’ve decided to establish a “Hunter” group, and destroy Repliroids that have gone Irregular before they can inflict harm on a human. A Repliroid called Sigma has been appointed as the leader of the Hunters. Sigma is a Repliroid of the highest intelligence, with the latest circuit design. Sigma has the talent to cope with any problem.
12/10 Sigma has been commanding the Irregular Hunters for about two years now. The actions of Sigma and his staff of Hunters have stopped Irregulars from harming humans. It’s time everyone breathed a sigh of relief… I’m a bit concerned about Rockman X. Rockman X seems to lack the self-confidence to progress on the course Dr. Light planned for him. But I am sure that, with time, Rockman X will find his own path in life…
7/4 The dreaded nightmare has come true. Today, Sigma went Irregular, and took nearly all of the Hunters with him. His motive is unclear, but he seems to have the false impression humans are inferior, and has pronounced “judgment” blaming humans for the arrested development of Repliroids. Therefore, Sigma has decided, “Humans must be exterminated.” Most people are hiding, or trying to flee from the cities. I don’t know how long humans will be able to withstand Sigma. Did we build too many Repliroids?
Rockman X diligently reports news of the fight against Sigma to me. I don’t know whether Rockman X can win or not, but I won’t stop him. We must do something.
_________________ [Translator’s Note: I swear that’s what it looks like, although it wouldn’t make sense. There’s not enough time for anything from the Middle Ages to fossilize. So either I’ve misunderstood and he’s referring to some other sort of “intermediate age,” or it really doesn’t make sense. We may have to consider the possibility Cain turned to robotics because he wasn’t much good at archaeology.]
ETA: I just noticed Sigma went Irregular on American Independence Day! That must have been deliberate.