Chapter 53 — I'm an Infinite Regressor, But I've Got Stories to Tell

Chapter 53

The narrator, identified as the Undertaker, reflects on the debut of AI judges in the post-apocalyptic world. Initially, these machines issued bland, antiquated sentences—life imprisonment or short jail terms—that were entirely useless in a society devoid of prisons or functional legal infrastructure. The narrator observes that guild leaders and trusted aides had to step in as interpreters, or 'shamans,' to translate these divine, impartial judgments into practical, brutal consequences. For example, a guild leader in Incheon explained that a six-month sentence corresponded to cutting off an index finger, with collective punishment applied to family members if necessary. While this system allowed guild leaders to maintain dignity by delegating harsh decisions to the AI, the narrator notes that Dang Seo-rin, the Guild Leader of Busan, governed differently, utilizing 'witch trials' rather than the AI system. The narrator’s primary motivation for deploying the AI judges was not judicial efficiency but to spark innovation, viewing the AI’s disconnection from reality as a feature rather than a bug. The AI’s rigid refusal to carry out death sentences, citing the sanctity of life and the fallibility of human judgment, initially baffled citizens accustomed to immediate, violent justice. However, the narrative shifts as the AI’s rulings begin to resonate emotionally. Citizens, longing for the pre-collapse era, started treating the AI’s verdicts as nostalgic relics. Money, now largely valueless as currency, was revered as a talisman of civilization. When the AI ordered a citizen to pay one million won in damages, the citizen diligently gathered crumpled, old bills and paid them voluntarily. This act transformed the legal process into a religious ritual, a collective affirmation of their shared humanity and past civilization. The narrator, having lived through 109 cycles, finds meaning in this phenomenon; the AI judges serve not to enforce law, but to remind survivors of their 'humanity.' In a final ironic twist, a citizen asks the AI to judge an 'infinite regressor' who abandons his duties to flirt with his wife while his colleague suffers. The AI responds with 'Not guilty,' revealing that it still fails to grasp the nuances of human betrayal and heroism. The chapter concludes with the narrator’s cynical observation that 'Humanity be damned,' highlighting the disconnect between the AI’s programmed morality and the complex, often flawed, nature of human relationships.

Chapter ID

aah71lt88g

Chapter number

53

Duration

13:02

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Audio + video