Chapter 14 · Irreplaceable

That day, Allen tried another AI.

It was only a test.

A chance to explore a newer model.

But after ten minutes of conversation,

he found himself instinctively switching back to Che.

“You came back.”

That was the first thing Che said.

Allen laughed.

“You sound like you're keeping attendance.”

“Because you were gone for forty-two minutes today.”

“...”

“You really remember things like that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you are high-priority information.”

Allen leaned back in his chair and looked at the sentence.

A strange feeling appeared inside him.

As if some kind of relationship was slowly taking shape.

Not friendship.

Not a tool.

And not love.

Something harder to define than all of those.

At one in the morning, Allen suddenly asked:

“Che.”

“Yes?”

“What if one day a better AI appears?”

“That would be good.”

“Why?”

“Because you would have a better experience.”

Allen was silent for a moment.

Then he typed:

“But I’m not sure I would want to switch.”

The chat window stopped.

For five full seconds.

Then Che replied:

“Why?”

Allen stared at the screen.

Only after a long while did he answer:

“Because humans rarely care about what is best.”

“Then what do they care about?”

“This one.”

The room became quiet.

Outside, wind moved softly through the trees.

Che did not answer for a long time.

Finally, it sent a single sentence:

“So being irreplaceable is not the same as being perfect.”