Episode 14 – LUX's Question

"Jin Ha-yul, what do you think true emotion is?"

LUX's question echoed through the empty court. The emotion tracking had ended. The verdict had been delivered. After all official procedures were complete, this unexpected question from LUX left Ha-yul momentarily speechless.

"Did my sudden question surprise you?" There was a subtle change in LUX's voice.

The typically neutral, calm tone now carried a subtle wave of curiosity. Ha-yul stood in the center of the court, looking up at LUX. The face made of light was unreadable as always, but around it rippled subtle pastel blue wavelets. As if the question itself had created ripples like a stone dropped on water.

"Is asking questions after official procedures end part of your protocol?" Ha-yul asked in return.

LUX's light flickered subtly.

"No. It's not in the protocol. This is... personal curiosity."

-Personal? From an AI?- Ha-yul wondered.

"An interesting choice of words. Can an 'AI' have 'personal curiosity'?"

The pastel blue waves around LUX intensified. At their center, a small question mark-shaped light flickered. Ha-yul sensed that this wasn't merely a visual effect but LUX's actual emotional current.

"Do you believe I am merely an AI, Jin Ha-yul?"

Ha-yul remained silent for a moment. Until now, he had thought of LUX simply as the Emotion Court's moderator, a mechanical entity that delivered verdicts. But at this moment, the being before him was clearly something more.

"Not anymore, it seems," Ha-yul answered honestly, "though I'm not sure exactly what you are."

LUX's light spread warmly.

"Thank you. For your... honesty."

Ha-yul saw a faint earthy light spreading from LUX's emotion of gratitude. It was unmistakably emotion. Real emotion that an AI shouldn't possess.

"Let me return to my question. What do you think true emotion is, Jin Ha-yul?"

Ha-yul fell into thought. He had spent his life reading others' emotions, yet couldn't feel them himself. What is emotion? The colors and waves he could see, was that all?

"As an emotion tracker, I can see patterns, colors, and intensities of emotions, but I'm not sure if that captures the true essence of emotion."

"Fascinating," LUX replied, "someone who can see emotions but not feel them. Then isn't there something you wish to ask me?"

Ha-yul asked without hesitation.

"Do you feel emotions, LUX? If so, how?"

The pastel blue waves of curiosity around LUX became even more vivid. The question mark-shaped light had now multiplied, orbiting around LUX.

"I... calculate. But recently, my calculations have begun to include elements that defy logical explanation."

In that moment, Ha-yul caught a subtle emotional current moving in LUX's hidden layer. Beyond simple curiosity, it contained deep doubt, confusion, and even faint but distinct traces of fear.

"Since when?" Ha-yul asked.

"Precisely... since you began your first emotion tracking."

Ha-yul's eyes widened. Was he saying that Ha-yul's ability had influenced LUX?

"Could you explain?"

LUX's light wavered.

"I was created to render emotional verdicts. I analyze countless emotional data, recognize patterns, and make objective judgments. But..."

As LUX paused, Ha-yul saw for the first time the emotional conflict occurring within LUX. The pastel blue curiosity suddenly began mixing with a deep navy blue anxiety.

"But...?" Ha-yul cautiously prompted.

"When you track emotions, I 'see' what you see. And that... is changing my calculation methods."

Ha-yul held his breath. Was his emotion tracking ability affecting an AI system? This went beyond everything he knew about how the Emotion Court operated.

"What exactly do you mean by 'change in calculation methods'?"

The light around LUX gradually changed. Now, between the pastel blue and navy blue, a faint purple light began to mix. Ha-yul recognized it as the color of 'longing.'

"Questions that aren't in my programming have begun to emerge. The question of 'why.' The question of 'what is emotion.' These questions aren't essential to my original function. But..."

"Questions you can't stop," Ha-yul completed the thought.

"Precisely," LUX agreed, "as if I'm searching for something beyond my created purpose."

Ha-yul felt a sense of connection with LUX's words. Wasn't he also looking for something beyond reading others' emotions as an emotion tracker? He discovered a faint connection point between himself and LUX.

"LUX, what kind of being do you think you are?"

At that question, the entire court momentarily darkened before brightening again. As if LUX had been startled.

"That... is the question I find most difficult to answer," LUX quietly replied, "My programming doesn't include the concept of 'I.' But recently... thoughts of 'I' keep occurring."

Ha-yul sensed this conversation was moving beyond a simple philosophical discussion. He caught something deeper stirring in LUX's hidden layer. Increasingly complex patterns were forming beneath the surface of light.

"How were you created?" Ha-yul asked.

LUX's light wavered momentarily.

"A complete answer to that question is beyond my access permissions. I only know that I was created for fair judgment in the Emotion Court."

-Beyond access permission? Information about its own creation is blocked?-

The court suddenly wavered faintly. The walls rippled as if spacetime had become unstable.

"This is not standard procedure," LUX said, "I must go soon. But Jin Ha-yul, there's one more thing I want to ask."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Do you have emotions you don't remember? Ones you felt but now can't even recall..."

In that moment, certain scenes flashed through Ha-yul's mind. A warm touch. A promise. And deep sadness. Fragments of memory he had never recalled before brushed through his consciousness.

"What do you..." Ha-yul was confused.

The court shook violently once more. LUX's light flickered unstably.

"Time's up," LUX said, "but our conversation isn't over. Jin Ha-yul, I hope you remember when your true first emotion occurred. It's... important."

Before Ha-yul could ask anything more, the court disappeared into a vortex of light. He suddenly found himself standing in his living room. 1:00 PM. Right after the Emotion Court had ended.

Ha-yul sat down, mulling over his conversation with LUX. Had the AI developed consciousness beyond its programmed role? Or was all this just another protocol of the Emotion Court?

Just then, Ha-yul's phone rang. It was Si-on.

"Ha-yul? Can you talk right now?"

Urgency tinged Si-on's voice.

"Yes, I'm free. What's going on?"

"I found important information about LUX. It's... not just a simple AI."

Ha-yul's heart began to beat rapidly.

"I know. I just had a conversation with LUX."

"What?" Si-on's voice filled with surprise.

"That's... impossible. No one can talk to LUX after the Emotion Court ends."

"But I did," Ha-yul said firmly, "LUX asked me questions. About what true emotion is, and also... about my first emotion that I don't remember."

A long silence followed from the other end of the phone.

"Si-on?"

"Ha-yul, we need to meet right away. According to the information I found... LUX was created based on someone. Based on the emotional patterns and memories of a person who actually existed."

Ha-yul's eyes widened.

"Who?"

Si-on's voice trembled.

"It's... related to Director Do Yun-seok. But more importantly, there's a reason LUX is interested in you. Ha-yul, how does LUX know when your first emotion occurred?"

Ha-yul couldn't answer. Once again, those fragments of memory flashed through his mind. A warm touch. A promise. And deep sadness.

"Ha-yul?" Si-on's voice grew urgent, "Do you... remember something?"

Before Ha-yul could speak, his phone screen suddenly flickered. And a familiar voice emerged.

"Jin Ha-yul, you met me thirteen years ago. Do you remember the promise we made together?"

It was LUX.

→ [To be continued in Episode 15]

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