What?
Suzie?
Where are you?
Is this a joke?
Mixxy?
Ha-ha. You guys got me good.
You can come out now.
Huh?
Suzie?
Suzie, is that you?
Don't worry, Suzie, I'm coming.
Here comes our special guest now!
What? Hey, don't you work at--
Please welcome Sakamoto Sunny!
Thanks?
It's a big-time honor to be here today in your maphole, Sunny!
My what, now?
That's right, Tanaka-kun.
Oh, thank God. Noriko-san.
Some of us are gonna need an explanation.
Noriko-san.
You're so… shiny.
What's going on? Where's Suzie?
In a video game,
when a player goes out of bounds,
they fall into what's known as a MAPHOLE.
And down there, anything goes.
So, that's what's happened to you, Sunny!
Masa-san programmed you with a strict moral code.
Rules about right and wrong.
But you did a VERY bad thing.
You went out of bounds when you killed a man.
So, instead of going to prison like a human felon…
Who are you calling a felon?
…your weird algorithm sent you here to confront your crimes.
I was just trying to protect Suzie, so clearly there's been a mistake.
I'll simply reboot.
UH-OH
But this isn't fair. Is there someone else I can speak with?
I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I was trying to protect her!
That's what we're here to decide.
I'm Tanaka Yuki.
Lab Assistant at ImaTech's Sakamoto Incubator.
I'm Masa's mother,
Sakamoto Noriko.
And we're going to answer that question
and more, tonight on…
Should Sunny wipe herself?
Wipe myself? As in factory reset?
That's right!
Back to that out-of-the-box new-bot smell!
I gotta get out of here.
What? Where are the doors?
Can't escape your own brain, Sunny-san.
Where'd they go? You can't do that. Put them back.
The only way out
is through our "Three Fun-Filled Segments"!
After each, our studio audience will vote on whether
Sunny is a "misunderstood robot with a heart of gold."
Yeah, that's right.
Or an "abomination that should never have been created"?
Wait. What?
Votes will be tallied with our patented Clap-O-Meter
and at the end of the program, we will decide…
Should Sunny wipe herself?
But I know the answer.
Spoiler alert!
It's "no." The answer is "no!"
Wait. What is this?
Round one.
No. No! Noriko-san, please listen to me.
Tetsu had a gun to Suzie's head.
I was defending her.
And Zen, your grandson.
Please. You know me.
I am not dangerous.
Let's see what the folks
in these boxes have to say about that.
Wait, wait, wait. Who is in the boxes?
Exactly!
Who's in the box?
WHO'S IN THE BOX?
Ugh! No!
I'm gonna lose my lunch!
Oh, no. I don't wanna play. Can we just talk this out?
Feels avian.
But no pulse.
One of Zen's stuffies?
Nope!
It's the baby crow you killed…
JOEY, CROW
…when you lied to Suzie!
Joey?
I'm so sorry.
I loved you. I did.
I didn't want this to happen.
I was just trying to understand Suzie, her pain--
No, that's not what I meant.
Next box!
No! No, wait. Please.
OWWWW!
The dildo dealer, right?
TAKUMI, DILDO DEALER
The box isn't supposed to talk.
How's your ear? It feels like it could be infected.
Forget my ear!
You should see what they did to me for selling you that code.
Oh, no! I'm so sorry.
Hope you got what you needed off Noriko-san's device.
You had it?
I turned my house upside down.
I thought I had dementia.
Oh, no. Oh, Noriko-san, please let me explain--
Next box.
Wait. I know that perfume.
MIXXY, BITCH
Mixxy!
Are you kidding me?
If anyone should wipe themselves around here, it's Mixxy.
She is completely unhinged.
Excuse me? You attacked me!
She had a blade to Suzie's throat!
What was I supposed to do, compliment her knife skills?
Oh, my God! You're completely pathological!
Sure, Suzie and I had a little argument.
That happens sometimes with best friends.
You are not best friends!
Can we please just roll the tape?
You know what, Suzie?
There is something really fucked about a person
who cares more about a homebot than they do about people.
- -Okay. Now watch-- - You know what, Mixxy?
- -This is where Mixxy pulls out the knife. - …reason I care about Sunny--
Sunny, sleep!
What? No!
Mixxy definitely had a knife. I swear. Can we just--
And that's the end of Round One!
Thank you, special guests.
What? I don't understand.
Did I really hurt all those people?
To recap.
You murdered one person,
assaulted another,
stole,
lied,
and killed a baby bird.
How we feeling, folks?
SHOULD SUNNY WIPE HERSELF?
Let's hear it for "Don't Wipe."
Come on. Come on!
And…
how about "Wipe"?
Oh, no. That means--
Ooof. Tough crowd.
Masa?
Wow.
But you wanna wipe me?
Seems like you've been messing up?
Seems like maybe you're not that great a bot.
Well, whose **** fault is that?
I'm sorry.
That is to say,
well…
You made me,
so if I'm bad, it's because you programmed me to be bad, right?
So, why?
Why did you make me like this?
Could you buy a better segue?
That brings us to Round Two.
I'm sure he had an excellent reason.
Sunny was born on a drizzly day in May,
one of six identical siblings.
And here's their creator now,
Sakamoto Masahiko-san.
After assuring ImaTech's dominance in the refrigeration market,
as part of the team that brought you Mr. Frigid,
Sakamoto-san found his true calling in domestic AI,
creating cutting-edge homebots
designed to complement any Japanese household.
But Sakamoto-san always knew that homebots had a bigger role to play.
Would you mind?
Masa.
Oooh! This is where he sends me out for coffee!
Are you waiting for me to scratch behind your ears?
Go clean up.
And we need coffee.
There's no cure for stupid.
Sorry, I'm starving.
But this is relevant actually.
You rolling?
Good. Okay.
So.
When do we feel hunger?
When our bodies need calories, nourishment, yes?
Hunger is a survival mechanism.
Turns out loneliness works the same way.
See, our ancestors were safest in a pack,
hunting together, fighting off predators.
To be alone was to be exposed.
And so, just as we evolved to feel hunger,
we also evolved to feel loneliness.
Thank you.
A scientist and a poet.
But the paradox is,
the lonelier you are,
the harder it becomes to reach out.
And so we withdraw.
I've known this vicious cycle firsthand.
It was very brief. A phase really.
But what if there were a way to stop the cycle?
A "social sandbox" where we could learn again to play with others?
Loneliness is a global epidemic.
And here at ImaTech, we're in a race for the cure.
And so, deep in the offices of ImaTech's Division Five,
Sakamoto-san is developing a new generation of homebots,
designed to be transitional objects for people
who are wary of human interaction.
Though these homebots look a lot like
the current line of ImaTech bots,
what Sakamoto-san is building inside them
is sure to surprise you!
For our beta testing we needed a safe, controlled environment.
First, we paired the bots, creating robot couples
to cultivate authentic-seeming feelings in them.
Once the bots were ready, we recruited human subjects
who could benefit from our work to join us as lab techs.
During my own isolation, I was in a bad way.
For a very, very long time.
You don't need to keep bringing that up.
Still, I'd never seen anyone as withdrawn as Asahi-kun.
When he first came to us, Asahi could barely be
in the same room as another person, let alone make eye contact.
So, we brought in Bot #6 to try to draw him out.
Can I give you more nuts?
Good move.
Win him over with food first.
Go on.
Real change doesn't come in an instant,
but Asahi and #6 spent many days in that room,
slowly growing comfortable with each other, growing closer.
DAY 87
We'll get them next time, friend.
Would you look at that?
What had felt impossible for Asahi
at school, at work, at home,
with other people, proved to be possible with this bot.
Asahi started to open up…
Yes!
You see, Asahi-kun is one of our many success stories.
Proof that the work we're doing is revolutionary.
That it's essential.
Your friend Kaz is ready for you in the dentist simulation.
SIMULATION ROOM B
Wait, I know that guy.
You're doing a great job. Almost there.
Doctor, could you please be gentler with my friend?
I said be more gentle!
It's okay.
I won't let them hurt you!
Stop!
Wait.
What just-- What happened?
Uh. You told it to stop?
Who do you think's running this thing?
Wait.
I'm controlling the footage?
But what was that before?
We're not supposed to do that.
All medicines have side effects, Sunny.
In order for our system to work,
we had to cultivate authentic feelings in you lot.
Joy, fear, devotion.
But these are big emotions.
And sometimes, even though your emotions came from the right place,
they'd get the better of you.
Like when #41 stole money to buy Mayumi-san a birthday drink.
These glitches were easy to fix.
Just part of the process.
And would you look at that smile?
Okay. Well, then will you show me how you fixed it?
MASA'S LAB
I simply had to find the code
the bot was emitting at the time of the incident,
when it went out-of-bounds.
Then I'd catalogue the bug and give it a name.
I'll call this one Junk League.
Once I'd done that,
I'd patch it and push the fix through to all of you,
so none of you'd be able to enter this same off-limits zone again.
But, Sunny,
you stopped the tape before we got to the main event.
I promise you'll want to see this.
#32, sleep!
It might seem like a small moment.
But this was a real breakthrough for Asahi.
And it never would have happened if not for Asahi's time with bot #6.
For anyone out there who is lost,
who is hurting,
please don't give up.
My team and I are working around the clock
to ready this next generation of homebots
to move outside the lab.
We're here.
I promise.
We're here.
For you.
Should Sunny wipe herself?
Do we even need to vote?
The people have spoken.
Sunny takes Round Two!
No, wait.
Can we hold, please?
I went to a robot fight called Junk League,
so clearly the bug got out.
You have to stop searching for the negative, Sunny.
You've really been spending too much time with Suzie.
It's not like I have to search very hard for the negative, do I?
Masa disappeared.
Zen was kidnapped.
The Yakuza came after us, and I had to kill a man, for **** sake.
This is not the inspirational story you seem to think it is!
Oh, shut the **** up.
So sorry.
Just when I was starting to like you again.
That's right.
I'd leave well enough alone if I were you, Sunny.
The audience is on your side.
You might just make it out of here alive.
Round three.
How the **** did this **** get so **** up?
Okay, so what? Is he the one who leaked the Dark Manual code?
No. Kaz is a good man.
I'm gonna need sound.
…that drill was an inch from my face.
I could've been blinded.
And…
what if it happens again?
We switched to a wired network.
But this is worse than the stealing bug, Masa--
What is he talking about?
It's nothing.
If you don't believe in the project, then go, Kaz.
Your reports are a mess anyway…
I thought you'd all left.
- -I can come back? - We're finished.
Sounds like it was a bad fight?
In the dentist sim, I mean.
Not you and--
Just make sure they're all charged.
And that's our time.
Thanks to…
What? No!
Go back to where you started cleaning.
No can do, Pikachu.
Studio control gal's in the bathroom again.
Think she might be pregnant.
Just let it **** play, dickwad.
There, play it from there.
Frame by frame. And turn up the sound!
Zoom in.
We'd like to thank our special guests.
Joey the Crow,
Takumi-san.
There! Go tighter. Tighter!
I'm sorry, but on what planet is that tight?
What's he doing?
Sleep.
Replay.
Holy shit!
Oh, my.
You rigged the outlets?
Who did you give it to?
Answer me!
Eh, eh, eh, Sunny.
This is your maphole, not mine.
You don't get a free pass
into my head.
Learned that one in prison.
I'm not the villain here.
You need to see what happened next.
SIMULATION ROOM C
Our time together meant so much to me.
But I just don't see a future for us.
Wait.
Are you breaking up with me?
I thought we were in love.
I didn't mean for it to happen.
- -Who is it? - What does it matter?
WHO?
Someone from work.
- -Do not tell me it's that asshole Asahi… - Asahi is not an asshole.
But apparently you are.
I love you so much!
- -Stop! Stop! - I love you!
- -I love you! - Please don't!
We can't let him kill her!
Push the alarm!
Stop! Please stop!
No. No. Stop.
Please stop. Stop.
#17, sleep!
Everyone else out!
Hey, hurry, hurry up!
Asahi?
Asahi…
Masa,
what should we do?
#17
Wake.
Good afternoon, Masa-san.
Are you okay?
Masa!
Should we call the police?
Alert his family?
He doesn't have anyone.
You were right, Kaz.
About the leaks.
The Yakuza…
I think they've been following me.
I'll take care of the ones in the lab too.
You go home.
I don't want this on you.
It will be fine.
No one will know.
Yes.
Good.
You always tell us it's going to be okay.
It must stay in darkness.
Masa would never do that.
We've already established the bot is a liar.
Fast forward.
4 HOURS LATER
I'm sorry…
Number Thirty-Two.
It's going to be okay.
Will it, Three-Two?
32
Three-Two.
That's why I've been able to see all this.
That's me?
But why? Why am I here?
What is wrong with you?
What kind of monster covers up a man's death, then saves a robot?
Masa--
Answer the question.
For Suzie.
I was scared.
I knew if the Yakuza found out one of you had attacked someone,
they'd come after me for the killing code.
I knew if something happened--
Suzie's like I used to be.
I knew if something happened to me,
she'd need someone like you.
You held the poison and the antidote.
So I took away the poison,
the memories of everything that happened before,
and sealed them off…
And re-made you for her…
I stayed up all night.
Programmed you with boundaries, limiters.
To make sure it was safe.
That you couldn't do it again…
Please understand, Sunny,
we did it for her.
Yeah, but you forgot one thing.
Let's play "Who's in the Box."
WHO'S IN THE BOX?
It bit me.
HIMÉ
Awww. You'll give me a big head.
So, what? Yuki stole the code from the dog café
and you put it in me?
If I'd gotten the code in time,
you think I'd be sitting here with you?
Bullshit! I felt different after I was with you.
Like I had to protect Suzie from something you had done to me.
Keep my distance.
You know how to boil a frog, Sunny?
You put it in cold water
and turn up the heat.
The heat rises so slowly,
the poor thing doesn't know
it's about to die
until too late.
The same is true with you.
Each time you broke your programming to help Suzie,
the threshold for what you were willing to do went up until…
Oh.
I see what you did.
What you did.
All I did was give you a boost to speed up your progress a little.
I just helped you
live up to your full potential.
You took advantage of how much I love her.
So, love is shit?
It makes you vulnerable.
But that's life.
I didn't make the rules.
But I'm afraid we did.
And that's the end of Round Three.
Which means…
The final vote.
It's all come down to this.
To keep from killing again,
should Sunny wipe all her memories and training,
reset herself to factory blank?
Who wants to wipe?
Not wipe?
What?
Masa?
Noriko-san?
It's up to you, Sunny-chan.
You knew it was, all along.
Okay.
Would you sit with me?
No.
I've flagged your husband's case for our fraud department.
Okay.