Apocalypse Shelter Administrator-Chapter 65: Job Aptitude Test (3)
Job Aptitude Test (3)
As I took a bite of the inari sushi, a rich, savory flavor filled my mouth. It was salty yet not cheap-tasting.
This special vinegar sauce developed by Artemis is incredible. Should I say it’s a sauce with ‘physical strength'? Beyond the usual sweet or salty, it felt like my tongue was being pickled and shriveling under the vinegar’s intensity.
The moment the moist inari touched my tongue, it felt like thousands of tiny grips were clutching my taste buds. This isn’t a metaphor—the true cause was the nanobots included in the sauce. Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, and even the spiciness associated with pain, combined with the texture, mouthfeel, and aroma of food—our perception of taste has practically hit its limits.
With the development of various culinary techniques and flavors hitting a dead end, Artemis came up with a revolutionary idea. She dismissed relying on factors like tongue movement, gravity, and osmosis as outdated and added nanobots to the sauce.
These nanobots apply microphysical and electrical stimuli to the taste buds. Her claim? “Pressure is also a flavor.”
Another advantage is the ability to control the chemical particles delivered to the taste buds. Instead of letting them spread naturally, the service of delivering them to every corner of the taste buds provided a more intense stimulation. This nanobot sauce is a revolution in taste.
“This is insanely delicious, but it’s so expensive that I almost feel bad eating it by myself.”
The downside is that this technology isn’t commercially available yet, so a single meal costs a fortune.
[It’s not just for flavor, so think of it as part of a medical procedure.]
Once the nanobots pass down the esophagus, they revert to their original function as medical bots. One of their main tasks is cleaning out any fat or foreign substances from the intestines.
[Since you’re the only one who’s going to eat it anyway, there’s plenty to go around. Don’t worry and just keep eating.]
Well, it’s true. The high-ranking individuals who were supposed to be here have all gone somewhere better, so there’s more than enough left over for just me.
Right now, I’m in the central control room. Recently, I’ve developed a habit of eating while watching the residents take their aptitude tests. It’s similar to the old days of eating dinner in front of the computer while watching YouTube—kind of like a reality show.
On the large screen in front of me, the law-abiding test, a part of the practical evaluation, is underway. As the name suggests, it checks how well the subjects adhere to the city’s laws and how they respond when faced with illegal situations. While it’s practically a written test since no specific skills or physical tasks are required, it’s classified as a practical exam due to one key factor.
The focus isn’t on the test subject’s penmanship.
The real purpose is to analyze lip movements, facial muscle changes, skin tone, and voice tremors. Sensors attached to various parts of the body also monitor pulse, heart rate, body temperature, and hormonal fluctuations.
“Ladies, make sure you answer honestly. Lies will be detected.”
[You’re asking for too much.]
Artemis responded with a dismissive tone. It was obvious that people would try to hide their true feelings during a test that could determine their quality of life. Everyone would want to come across as moral and provide answers that the leaders would like to hear. But the purpose of the test is to catch those who do just that.
On the screen, a young woman appeared. Her nervousness was apparent. Every bit of information about her was being analyzed in real-time as she listened intently to the speaker in the exam room.
[You are a worker at a factory that produces consumables.]
The speaker’s voice is also displayed as subtitles at the bottom of the screen. It’s Kiz, the AI responsible for managing daily life in the shelter. Unlike the lady-like models Artemis, Rose, and Chloro, Kiz is a girl-type model.
[After finishing your shift, you notice a colleague walking in an odd posture. When you call out to her, she flinches, and two cans of beer roll out of her sleeve onto the ground. It seems she was trying to sneak out some factory products!]
Kiz’s voice sounds oddly cheerful as she reads the scenario.
[Your colleague picks up the cans and offers you one, asking you to pretend you didn’t see anything. Now, you will be presented with several options. Please answer “yes” or “no” calmly.]
In a written test, you choose one answer and you’re done, but in a voice response test, you must answer “yes” or “no” to every option presented.
[Option 1: You accept the beer and pretend you didn’t see anything. Would you act this way?]
No one with any sense would admit to this. That wouldn’t be honesty—it would just be foolishness.
[No.]
She answered. The screen displayed the comprehensive data of her non-verbal cues, and the analysis showed that the reliability of her response was just 17%. In other words, this woman is much more likely to take the beer and keep quiet than not.
The next option followed.
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[Option 2: You report your colleague’s theft and bribery attempt to your superiors. Would you act this way?]
Even if someone is honest enough not to take the beer in the first question, they might not want to be labeled a snitch. That’s what option 2 is meant to determine.
[Yes!]
She nodded vigorously as she answered, but her response’s reliability dropped even lower, to 14%.
“She’s finished.”
This woman won’t be assigned to a managerial position or even to a consumable goods production facility.
The law-abiding test continued. After adjusting the panel, I searched for familiar names, and two familiar faces appeared. A beautiful yet slightly hard-edged woman in her late twenties—Sasha, a former madam. A delicate and pure-looking beauty in her mid-twenties—Sophia, a former bar owner. The next question to be asked would have a lot to do with these two.
[One day, you learn that your colleague is trying to form an illegal organization.]
As the questions were asked in Russian and Ukrainian, it was because detection technologies of this kind are most accurate when using the subject's native language.
Kiz’s youthful voice, fluent in Eastern European languages, didn't quite match the serious nature of the questions. It was almost like imagining a girl dressed in a KGB uniform.
[You don't know whether it's a labor union, an organization with a greater cause, or just a simple social gathering. You’ve only realized that it's being systematically and secretly organized.]
This question tests whether the individual is willing to become an informant. Surprisingly, fewer people than expected choose to report in such situations. It could be due to strong loyalty or dissatisfaction with leadership, but more often the reason is simply: "I don’t want to get involved."
In popular media, informants are always portrayed as villains who cling to corrupt organizations while the protagonist takes the hard road and suffers. As a result, being an informant often appears to be the cowardly, easy way out. But that’s a misconception. Becoming an informant requires considerable courage, keen awareness, and even more savvy.
[First question. You can’t let this secret organization go unnoticed, so you report it to the authorities. Would you do this?]
Both Sasha and Sophia answered "Yes." Their trustworthiness scores came out to 93% and 91%, respectively. In the system, a 100% score is almost impossible, so this indicates a highly cooperative nature.
The questions continued, and as the women responded, their overall reliability was analyzed and a trustworthiness rating was given. The term “compliance test” is just a polite label. Among the higher-ups, it's really known as a loyalty test. It's an accurate description.
[Now, onto the next question, everyone. This one won’t be easy! Think carefully. You see five adults tied to a railway track as a train approaches.]
It’s a version of the trolley dilemma.
[If you do nothing, all five will die. But if you pull the switch you’re holding, the train will be redirected and the five will survive! But oh dear! There’s a child tied to the other track!]
Kiz has always struck me as a bit different from the other AIs. She may seem like an overly excited young girl, but there’s a hint of coldness somewhere in her.
Rose pursues order, justice, and duty. Chloro honors the senses and emotions that come from human flesh, and values hard work. Artemis, as the central control AI, takes pride in overseeing the city and presenting a vision for the future. Unlike those three, Kiz’s inherent desires were harder to decipher.
"Do I desire something?"
When I once asked her, Kiz was perplexed.
“It’s like a dog that’s been cooped up inside for a really, really long time. And then, finally, it gets to go for a walk in the park.”
A hologram of a dog appeared, sniffing the grass and wandering around.
"Its nose, which had only known stale indoor smells, is now flooded with the scents of dirt, grass, wind, and even the rain-soaked clouds."
The hologram dog’s tail wagged furiously, as if it had a motor attached to it.
"If you grabbed that dog’s face and asked it what it wanted, how do you think it would react?"
The hologram dog flicked its tongue playfully.
"After licking its owner’s hand a few times, it would probably go right back to enjoying the walk."
Kiz’s cheerful explanation had an oddly thrilling quality to it.
