Chapter 2: A.I. (2)

"Hey... it’s not coming out."

"What should we do, Professor?"

"What can we do? This is a resident, right? It was said that an accident happened during the observation, wasn’t it?"

"Yes."

"But we can’t just cut out a healthy brain. For now... since this capsule has formed..."

Professor Choi Nak-pil, who was involved in the surgery, narrowed his eyes.

Clearly, the surgery room had been entered immediately after a CT scan was taken.

The material observed on the CT scan, which was likely the chip from Baruda, was already surrounded by a capsule made of connective tissue.

When he tried to pull the capsule slightly, it was firmly fixed to the nearby brain tissue and showed no signs of coming out.

'What a headache... but...'

Foreign objects causing problems in the body usually do so because they are exposed to other organs and trigger an immune response.

However, this capsule, and the chip inside it, did not seem to be causing any inflammatory response.

'If I touch it carelessly, it might cause more trouble... I should just keep a close eye on it for now.'

The media was already in an uproar.

Other university hospitals, which had been eagerly waiting for the failure of A.I. Baruda, were in a celebratory mood.

If it became known that the resident who had the accident died or suffered severe disabilities, what would happen?

The position of Tae-hwa University Hospital would undoubtedly be greatly diminished.

'Can’t be helped.'

Professor Choi Nak-pil met the eyes of the hospital director, who had entered the surgery room, and decided to close the wound.

Swish.

Soon, the scalp suturing began.

Looking down at the leg, the expression of Professor Kim Sun-woong, who was in charge of the orthopedic surgery, was also very dark.

Although amputation was avoided,

It was certain that the leg would need to be amputated in the future.

Everyone in the surgery room was filled with worry about what to say to Su-hyuk and his family in the future.

[Accessing database, inputting data.]

But Su-hyuk, the actual patient, had no mental capacity left for such concerns.

Ever since he had been hearing strange sounds, and now, lecture notes and textbooks he had read as a student were filling his vision.

'Maybe I’m under too much stress...'

Su-hyuk thought as he watched the textbooks pass by in a blur.

He was even going through content he hadn’t read in a long time, in great detail.

It felt as if the information was deeply etched into his mind.

As if it were being recorded somewhere else.

"Move the patient to the ICU. Maintain the ventilator for two days and start weaning."

"Yes, Professor."

Meanwhile, the head and leg surgeries were completed, and following the orders of Professor Choi Nak-pil, who was a neurosurgeon closely related to the patient’s life, Su-hyuk was moved to the neurosurgery ICU.

Clunk.

The surgery, which was more of an observation, was over.

A resident, carefully pulling the bed with Su-hyuk’s head fixed, spoke up.

"Professor."

Choi Nak-pil, who had been looking gloomy, raised his head.

"What?"

"According to the information... this guy is an orphan. He has no family."

"Is that so? That’s... good... No, not really."

Choi Nak-pil’s expression brightened for a moment, but he quickly put on a serious face.

But he was indeed relieved.

At least, it would be easier to cover up the incident quietly.

Of course, not everyone in the room shared this thought.

Especially the hospital director, Lee Hyun-jong, who was following the bed, was furious.

"Is this the time to say such things when a student is injured? Professor Choi, were you about to say it was a good thing?"

"No, Director. I wasn’t..."

"Tsk. How can someone like this be a doctor..."

Director Lee Hyun-jong shook his head and then turned to Su-hyuk.

Su-hyuk had just finished the surgery, his face was swollen, and his head was bandaged, making him look terrifying.

'Why did this happen?'

Baruda was a kind of masterpiece that Tae-hwa Electronics had put their heart and soul into.

It was strange enough that it malfunctioned, but to explode?

He even wondered if there was some kind of conspiracy.

But Lee Hyun-jong decided that the most important thing right now was not that.

First, they needed to take care of the injured student.

That was the job of the hospital director and a doctor.

"Charge the treatment costs to me, and do your best. I’ll contact the board and the alumni association to raise funds. Got it?"

"Ah... Yes, Director. There’s no problem."

Professor Choi Nak-pil bowed deeply.

After all, Director Lee Hyun-jong was not just a director but a person highly trusted by the board.

He was one of the two distinguished professors in the history of Tae-hwa University Medical School.

Getting on his bad side would have serious consequences.

[2% of the database has been restored.]

[More data input is required.]

Amidst the chaotic moment, Su-hyuk was still facing this noisy signal.

The difference from before was that

he was starting to have some rather outlandish thoughts, like 'Could Baruda have entered my mind?'

He almost laughed at the thought.

But the signal was undoubtedly from Baruda.

[More data input is required.]

There was no other way to explain the vast amount of knowledge now in Su-hyuk’s mind.

'This is definitely the anatomy I learned in the first year of medical school.'

The anatomy of the limbs, which he hadn’t thought about since deciding on internal medicine, was now vividly in front of him, more so than if he were looking at a book.

'This is internal medicine... Yes, that’s right. The kidneys work like this.'

Now, a textbook illustration was in his mind, so vivid that it made his legs tingle.

As this process repeated, he eventually burst out laughing.

The thought that this vast amount of knowledge was only 2% of what Baruda claimed to have was what made him laugh.

"Professor, he’s laughing."

A neurosurgery resident, who noticed this, called out to Professor Choi Nak-pil.

He was staring at a TV in the corner of the ICU with a frown and couldn’t immediately turn to the resident.

It wasn’t Professor Choi’s fault.

The news on the TV was full of bad news.

"Amidst the ongoing concerns about the stability of Baruda, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Tae-hwa Electronics, which were involved in the development, have announced that they will suspend the project."

Indeed, it was a country that always chose to eliminate the police when an accident happened.

'Don’t they know that Baruda was the only chance for our country to lead the world in medicine?'

It was regrettable that the resident was injured.

But if they were careful, they could prevent more accidents.

How could suspending the development make sense?

"Professor, he’s laughing."

"What?"

"The... patient is laughing."

"Huh? Oh... I see. Hmm."

Professor Choi Nak-pil looked down at Su-hyuk, who was grinning, and tilted his head.

Unwanted laughter after brain surgery was a common side effect.

But such a smile with a tracheal tube still in place was quite rare.

"Check the brain waves... please."

"Ah, yes."

He thought that if this patient’s brain was damaged, the development of Baruda might not just be suspended but canceled.

With so many papers waiting to be published using Baruda, that would be a disaster.

So he was paying extra attention.

The neurology fellow, who was called, examined Su-hyuk’s brain waves for a while and then spoke with a slightly surprised look.

"Professor, the brain waves... are almost like he’s awake."

"What?"

"Is the medication working?"

"It is. Remifentanil."

"Oh, it’s a painkiller. Is that why? He’s almost awake. It might not be bad to wake him up now."

"Hmm."

Professor Choi looked at Su-hyuk and the monitoring equipment with a worried expression.

The vital signs had been stable for a long time.

But was it safe to wake him up just six hours after brain surgery?

As he was thinking, Director Lee Hyun-jong walked over to Su-hyuk.

"He’s awake? Then wake him up quickly. We need to check if he’s really okay. This guy... he’s an orphan, right? It would be too pitiful if we let this happen."

"Um..."

"Are you unsure? If he can’t breathe on his own, you can put the tube back in right away."

"I understand..."

With the director’s insistence, Professor Choi couldn’t refuse.

He stopped the Remifentanil and began the weaning process.

Fortunately, Su-hyuk followed the weaning process very well and started breathing on his own after the tube was removed.

"Your name is Su-hyuk, right? Are you okay?"

The problem was that the loud noise in Su-hyuk’s ears was not Professor Choi’s voice.

It was so loud that he couldn’t even recognize Professor Choi’s voice.

[More data input is required.]

'Noisy...'

[Reflecting the user’s request, I will express opinions in a different way.]

'Huh?'

Baruda’s voice had changed to text.

It seemed to be using the visual cortex in the back of the head, but the exact method was unknown.

In any case, Su-hyuk realized he could communicate with Baruda.

[More data input is required.]

'Read it?'

[Please clarify the expression.]

'With my eyes?'

[Do you mean the visual input organ?]

'Yes.'

In response to Su-hyuk’s words, Baruda paused for a moment and then resumed.

[Accessible information collection organs have been updated.]

[Visual]

[Olfactory]

[Auditory]

[Gustatory]

[Tactile]

[Database construction for each information collection organ has begun.]

At the same time, Baruda gained the ability to collect human senses, a long-standing goal of all A.I. developers.

But such a significant task couldn’t just be done alone.

It needed help.

Help from someone proficient in each sensory organ.

[Improvement activities through interaction with the user are required for this task.]

[Interaction is requested.]

'You want to have a conversation?'

[Correcting the expression to your preference. A conversation is requested.]

'Hmm...'

Su-hyuk fell into thought.

But his contemplation didn’t last long.

The medical staff, judging that Su-hyuk’s consciousness was not fully restored, increased the painkiller dosage.

It wasn’t a sedative, so he didn’t completely lose consciousness.

Just enough to have a conversation with Baruda.

'Alright. Let’s have a conversation... I need to understand what’s going on here.'