“A market that sells memories.”
Park Mujin looked at No Geon.
“Does something like that actually exist?”
“If there are people who want to buy, there will be people who sell.”
“Who would buy someone else’s memories?”
No Geon tapped the dark screen in the analysis room with one finger.
“Someone curious about what it feels like to kill someone.”
Park Mujin’s expression hardened.
“Are you joking?”
“No.”
No Geon turned the screen back on.
Just before Choi Munsik’s death began, the first segment of the murder memory appeared. Numbers and letters of unknown meaning repeated at short intervals.
“Ordinary memory copies don’t have identification characters like these. They’re product codes attached when a memory is converted so another entity or a human can experience it.”
Jin Seoah asked, “Can a human experience an android’s memory exactly as it is?”
“Not exactly. Our sensory systems are different.”
Jung Haeun enlarged the screen.
“Androids store pressure, temperature, and visual information as numerical data, but humans don’t remember things that way. The memory has to be converted.”
No Geon nodded.
“The numerical data is converted into sensations the human nervous system can process. Without proper equipment, using it can damage the sensory organs or the brain.”
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “Choi Munsik was doing that?”
“That’s what the field equipment suggests.”
“So he may have sold the memories he deleted from the three androids.”
“He didn’t delete them. He extracted them.”
No Geon looked at the three memory cores.
“He probably told the androids he’d erased them and stored the originals somewhere else. The more painful the memory, the more it sells for.”
Jin Seoah asked, looking confused, “Why would anyone pay to experience someone else’s painful memories?”
No Geon looked at her.
“Because it isn’t their pain.”
It was a short answer.
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “Where is the market?”
No Geon didn’t answer right away.
“It doesn’t have a fixed location.”
“Then how do we find it?”
No Geon held up the transparent sealant he had brought from the scene. It was a small fragment stamped with black numbers.
“We can find the seller with this number.”
“The seller’s information is in the sealant?”
“Not the operator’s information. It’s an identification number for the trading network. It indicates where the memory should be sent after extraction.”
Park Mujin stepped toward No Geon.
“You said you’d tell us how you knew.”
“I’ll tell you once we’re inside the market.”
“Tell me now.”
No Geon didn’t smile.
“If I tell you now, I won’t be able to get inside.”
Their gazes met.
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “What if we send in the police?”
“They verify identities before letting anyone into the market. If a police officer or an AI Administration employee approaches, every trading device is wiped.”
“What about Rian?”
“Her AI Administration registration data will be flagged first.”
Rian spoke up.
“I can temporarily block my registration signal.”
“A blocked signal would stand out even more.”
“Then No Geon will have to go alone.”
At Park Mujin’s words, No Geon looked at Jin Seoah.
“We need someone who can verify the memory.”
Jin Seoah pointed at herself.
“Me?”
“Even if we find the original, I can’t tell whether it’s genuine.”
Jung Haeun said, “I’ll go.”
No Geon studied her for a moment.
“They’ll recognize you over there.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re from the robot hospital.”
Jung Haeun’s expression stiffened.
Jung Haeun, who had handled memory procedures at the robot hospital, was well-known in the industry. She had also participated several times as an advisory committee member overseeing legal procedures.
No Geon looked at Jin Seoah.
“The new hire isn’t known yet.”
Park Mujin objected.
“How long has she even been on the job? You want to take her to an illegal market?”
“That’s why I’m taking her.”
“Assign another memory forensic scientist.”
“They verify identities at the market. Anyone who’s worked for the Administration for a long time will have a record.”
Park Mujin looked at Seo Jinhyeok.
“Chief, we can’t do this.”
Jin Seoah cut in.
“I’ll go.”
Park Mujin turned toward her.
“Do you even know where you’re saying you’ll go?”
“The original memory is there, isn’t it?”
“There’s no guarantee it is.”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Park Mujin was about to say something else, but Seo Jinhyeok asked No Geon first.
“Can you protect Jin Seoah?”
“If there’s trouble, I’ll get her out first.”
“I’m telling you to make sure there isn’t any trouble.”
No Geon nodded.
“Understood.”
Im Suhyeon’s voice came through the communicator.
“Wait a second. Are you deciding in an official meeting to infiltrate an illegal memory market?”
Park Mujin said, “You were listening?”
“You never cut the comms.”
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “Is there a legal problem?”
“Of course there is. If you enter an illegal market without a warrant and take data, it’ll be difficult to get it admitted as evidence.”
“We have to confirm whether there’s evidence before we can get a warrant.”
“Which is why you need to formally request approval for an undercover investigation.”
“How long will that take?”
“Two days at the earliest.”
No Geon said, “The market will move at midnight tonight.”
“How do you know?”
“The last digit of the sealant number is today’s transaction round.”
Im Suhyeon sighed.
“Memories obtained this way might not be usable in court.”
Seo Jinhyeok answered, “What we need right now is a lead that can identify the culprit. We’ll worry about turning it into evidence after that.”
“I’m always the one who has to worry about the after.”
“Please do it this time too.”
A brief silence came through the communicator.
“At the very least, don’t directly purchase illegal data.”
No Geon said, “I can’t promise that.”
“No Geon.”
Seo Jinhyeok ended the transmission.
“Get ready within two hours.”
10:40 p.m.
Most of the lights at Yongsan Electronics Market were off.
During the day, the place sold electronic components and parts for older androids. At night, the shutters came down, leaving only the emergency lights in the hallways.
Jin Seoah followed No Geon into the building.
Instead of her usual suit, she was wearing a black hoodie and loose work clothes. In her hand was a portable memory reader modified by Gu Daechul.
All Administration markings and serial numbers had been removed.
No Geon looked more or less the same as usual.
A worn jacket, black pants. In his hand was the fragment of sealant found at the scene.
Jin Seoah asked, “You didn’t think about disguising yourself?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“I dressed more modestly than usual today.”
Jin Seoah looked him over.
“You look exactly the same as usual.”
“Then I succeeded.”
They walked up the stopped escalator.
At the end of the third-floor hallway, one repair shop was lit.
The sign read “Daeseong Electronics Parts.”
No Geon pressed the call button beside the shutter.
Nothing happened.
He inserted the sealant he had brought from the scene into the slot.
A moment later, machinery whirred behind the shutter.
Part of the wall opened, revealing a palm-sized screen.
Checking trading-network identification number.
A blue light shone from beneath the screen.
No Geon placed his hand over it.
Biometric information check.
Jin Seoah watched the screen change.
Humanoid biological signal.
Just as new information began appearing beneath it, No Geon removed his hand.
The screen flickered.
Partial authentication complete.
Jin Seoah asked, “Why did you pull your hand away?”
“If you leave it there too long, it takes your fingerprints too.”
“What would they do with your fingerprints?”
“They probably wouldn’t use them for anything good.”
The screen requested Jin Seoah’s identity.
When she started to raise her hand, No Geon stopped her.
“She’s the technician who came with me.”
A voice came from the screen.
Additional authentication is required for companions.
No Geon pushed the sealant back into the slot.
“We’re here to inspect the memory traded under this number. Buyers don’t like it when technicians get registered too.”
A moment later, the screen went dark.
The shutter slowly rose.
There was no electronics store behind it.
Only a narrow staircase leading down.
No Geon went in first.
“Don’t speak first from here on.”
“Why?”
“Because they’ll realize you don’t know anything.”
“If you don’t know something, you should ask.”
“Here, they charge ignorant people more.”
Jin Seoah looked down the stairs.
“You introduced me as a technician.”
“So just pretend you know what you’re doing.”
“What if I buy the wrong thing?”
No Geon shrugged.
“That’s why I brought a real technician.”
At the bottom of the stairs was a long hallway.
It was an abandoned underground shopping arcade.
Small shops lined both sides, each entrance covered by a curtain. There were no signs or display shelves.
People spoke in low voices.
Humans and androids mingled together.
Some people had most of their faces covered. Some androids had removed their synthetic skin, exposing their internal frames.
Screens displaying nothing but numbers were mounted along the hallway walls.
Sensory memory, 14 minutes 20 seconds. Sadness level 3. Includes physical pain. Human conversion available. Single-use experience pass available.
Jin Seoah’s steps slowed.
Inside one shop, a human man sat in a chair wearing a memory interface device.
Tears streamed from his eyes. Yet a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“What is he watching?”
When Jin Seoah whispered the question, No Geon answered without looking away from the path ahead.
“I heard it’s a memory of meeting his dead wife again.”
“His own wife?”
“Someone else’s wife, probably.”
Laughter from a child spilled out from another shop.
A product description was displayed on the screen.
A human child’s first steps. From the guardian’s perspective. No emotional loss.
Farther inside were products marked with red warnings.
Falling-to-death experience. Sensation of suffocation. Thirty-seven seconds before bodily destruction. Not for human use.
Jin Seoah stopped.
Part of an android registration number was written beside the last product.
“Is that a memory from a decommissioned android?”
“Probably.”
“How can we verify whether we have the owner’s consent?”
“We don’t.”
“Then it could be stolen.”
No Geon turned to her.
“Most of what’s here is.”
A man sitting inside the shop looked at the two of them.
No Geon started walking again.
Jin Seoah followed without asking anything else.
At the end of the hallway was a space wider than the other shops.
A single white circle was painted above the entrance.
No Geon lifted the curtain and entered.
Inside, a middle-aged woman with no hair at all was sitting down. Her right eye was human, while her left was an old artificial eye.
When she saw No Geon, she slowly smiled.
“Long time no see.”
Jin Seoah looked at No Geon.
His expression didn’t change.
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“I recognized you by the way you walk, not your face.”
The woman’s artificial eye turned toward Jin Seoah.
“And you brought someone new.”
“She’s a technician.”
“What kind of technician?”
“We’re only here to inspect the merchandise.”
No Geon placed the sealant on the table.
The woman checked the black numbers.
“This is Choi Munsik’s merchandise.”
Jin Seoah’s gaze shifted to the woman.
No Geon asked, “Did anything come in today?”
“Looks like you heard the news too.”
The woman pushed the sealant with one finger, spinning it back toward him.
“Choi Munsik is dead, they say.”
“So something came in?”
“It did.”
“I’d like to see it.”
“You buying?”
“We’ll inspect it first.”
“Why?”
No Geon pointed at Jin Seoah.
“Choi Munsik’s merchandise sometimes has corrupted sensory values. If the buyer’s human, it could fry their brain.”
The woman thought for a moment.
Choi Munsik’s brain had been damaged when his memory interface device overloaded. There was certainly a chance that the final product he left behind had a problem.
“Thirty seconds.”
“That’s short.”
“You’re not seeing the whole product. Just check the structure.”
The woman connected a black storage device to a small reader.
Jin Seoah attached her equipment beside it.
The memory’s basic information appeared on the screen.
Original sensory recording: 6 minutes 42 seconds. Edited recording for sale: 47 seconds. Human conversion grade: 4. Original owner: deleted.
Jin Seoah’s gaze stopped on the first item.
The original sensory recording was six minutes and forty-two seconds.
The murder memory copied to the three androids was only thirty-six seconds long.
The memory edited for sale was forty-seven seconds.
Eleven seconds longer than the copy.
Jin Seoah opened the detailed structure.
The woman said, “I told you to look at the structure only.”
“I’m checking for conversion errors.”
“Twenty seconds left.”
Jin Seoah found the starting point of the memory for sale.
The copy began the moment the interface needle was picked up.
The product listed on the market had eleven seconds before that.
When she tried to connect a data-transfer device, the woman grabbed her wrist.
“No copying.”
No Geon pulled the woman’s hand away.
“She’s not trying to copy it.”
“You said that last time too.”
At the woman’s words, Jin Seoah looked at No Geon.
No Geon was staring only at the storage device.
“When is the buyer coming?”
“Midnight.”
“How much did they pay?”
“More than you can afford.”
No Geon checked the transfer information displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen.
The memory was scheduled to be delivered to a separate receiving device at midnight. The receiving location was not shown.
The woman disconnected the storage device from the reader.
“Time’s up.”
Jin Seoah asked, “Did Choi Munsik sell any other memories here?”
The woman returned the storage device to the shelf.
“A lot.”
“Mira’s, Yuna’s, and Sera’s memories too?”
The woman’s movement stopped.
“You came knowing their names?”
No Geon stepped in front of Jin Seoah.
“They were in the procedure records.”
The woman’s artificial eye swept between the two of them.
“Who are you?”
Outside in the hallway, the sound of metal shutters rolling down rang out.
The curtain covering the shop entrance trembled.
No Geon said quietly, “Get ready to leave.”
“Without the original?”
“For now.”
The woman reached beneath the table.
No Geon kicked the table first.
The table toppled over, blocking the woman from the two of them.
“Run.”
Jin Seoah ran out of the shop.
The curtains of the shops along the hallway were thrown open at the same time. The people inside stared at the two of them.
The shutter at the entrance was already more than halfway down.
No Geon ran after Jin Seoah.
The woman’s voice rang out behind them.
“Get them!”
Two men blocked the hallway ahead. One was human, while the other was an android with an entire right arm modified into a mechanical limb.
No Geon didn’t slow down.
The mechanical arm shot toward him.
No Geon ducked beneath it, then shoved the android in the side. Its massive body slammed into a display case in the adjacent shop.
The human man grabbed Jin Seoah’s equipment bag.
Her body was yanked backward.
No Geon twisted the man’s wrist.
The man screamed and let go.
“Keep going.”
The two of them ducked beneath the shutter and escaped.
The shutter came all the way down, blocking the people chasing them.
Jin Seoah sprinted up the stairs.
When they reached the third-floor hallway, No Geon headed in the opposite direction.
“The exit’s that way.”
“If we leave through the front, our faces will be recorded.”
“They already recorded us coming in.”
“It’ll be a problem if our faces coming out match our faces going in.”
No Geon stopped in front of a locked parts warehouse.
He took a thin piece of metal from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. After moving it around a few times, the door opened.
Inside the warehouse was a freight elevator leading to the building’s exterior wall.
Once they stepped onto the elevator, No Geon pressed the down button.
The elevator began descending slowly.
Jin Seoah caught her breath and looked at No Geon.
“You said you’d never been there.”
“Been where?”
“The Memory Market.”
“I never said that.”
“You said in the conference room that you’d never been there.”
“I was talking about the illegal clinic.”
“That woman knew you.”
“Lots of people claim to know me.”
“She said you’d tried to copy memories before too.”
No Geon didn’t answer.
The elevator reached the first floor.
When the doors opened, a dark parking lot appeared.
Gu Daechul’s van was waiting behind a pillar.
The side door opened, and Park Mujin shouted, “Get in!”
Jin Seoah and No Geon climbed into the van, and Gu Daechul pulled away immediately.
Park Mujin checked through the rear window to make sure no one was following them.
“The original?”
No Geon answered, “We confirmed it.”
“You brought it?”
“No.”
Park Mujin’s face hardened.
“After all that, you came back empty-handed?”
No Geon took a small device from his pocket.
It was a black transmitter slightly larger than a coin. A single signal blinked on its screen.
“I attached a tracker to the original storage device.”
Jin Seoah looked at No Geon.
“When?”
“When you almost got caught.”
“Couldn’t you have told me first?”
“If I had, your expression would have given it away.”
Park Mujin took the transmitter.
“So we just follow where it goes?”
“It’ll be delivered to the buyer at midnight.”
Rian’s voice came through the vehicle’s communicator.
“I’ve confirmed the tracking signal.”
An Administration vehicle was waiting three blocks from the van. Rian was inside, tracking the signal.
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “Are you sure it’s the original?”
Jin Seoah answered, “It contains a memory eleven seconds longer than the copy. And it was automatically sent to the market after Choi Munsik died.”
“Is there a clue in those eleven seconds that can identify the culprit?”
“We haven’t been able to check the contents yet.”
“We’ll secure it when the buyer receives the original.”
Im Suhyeon cut into the transmission.
“Don’t arrest anyone or seize anything on-site. I’m requesting an emergency search-and-seizure warrant now.”
Park Mujin asked, “How long will it take this time?”
“I’ll have it within thirty minutes.”
“You said it would take two days earlier.”
“Approval for an undercover investigation and seizure of criminal evidence in transit are different matters.”
“The law sure moves fast when circumstances change.”
“I’m trying to move faster than you, Investigator Park.”
Gu Daechul turned the steering wheel.
The van moved while maintaining its distance from the signal of the memory storage device.
11:57 p.m.
The storage device containing the original memory had left Yongsan and was moving toward the Hangang River.
The courier was riding a black motorcycle.
There was no license plate.
The Administration vehicle carrying Park Mujin and Rian followed behind, while the van traveled one block back.
At midnight, the motorcycle stopped in front of an unmanned storage facility along the Hangang River.
The helmeted courier got off and opened a small locker. He placed the black memory storage device inside.
After he left, another person appeared.
It was a man wearing a long coat and a hat.
When the man stood in front of the locker, Rian got out of the vehicle.
“This is the AI Administration. Step away from the locker.”
The man immediately ran.
Park Mujin blocked him from the opposite side.
The man changed direction and sprinted onto the riverside walkway.
Rian chased after him.
As he ran, the man pulled a small device from inside his coat. When he pressed a button, a red warning light came on inside the locker.
No Geon shouted over the comms, “He’s trying to erase the storage device!”
Jin Seoah and Gu Daechul got out of the van and ran to the locker.
Jin Seoah connected the reader.
The deletion progress appeared on the screen.
Data initialization 12%.
“Can you stop it?”
Gu Daechul tore off the locker’s front panel.
“If I cut the power, the storage device will go with it.”
Initialization 21%.
Jin Seoah accessed the original data.
A lock was in place.
“I need a password.”
No Geon held the fragment of sealant beside the reader.
The black identification number was recognized.
Part of the lock disengaged.
Initialization 34%.
“I’m starting the copy.”
“We don’t have time to move all of it.”
Gu Daechul said, “Find the murder-memory segment.”
Jin Seoah selected the forty-seven seconds edited for sale from the original six minutes and forty-two seconds.
The data began transferring to the reader.
Transfer 8%.
Initialization 43%.
Both progress bars rose at the same time.
On the walkway, Rian was rapidly closing the distance with the fleeing man.
The man looked back and pressed another button.
Heat began building inside the locker.
Gu Daechul pulled his hand away and cursed.
“It has a self-destruct device too!”
Smoke rose from the surface of the storage device.
Jin Seoah didn’t release the connection cable.
Transfer 51%.
“Jin Seoah, get away!”
Gu Daechul grabbed her shoulder.
“Just a little longer.”
“If it blows, it’ll take your hand off!”
Transfer 72%.
The outside of the storage device glowed red with heat.
Gu Daechul grabbed a tool and placed it over the connection cable, ready to cut it the moment the transfer ended.
Transfer 91%.
Transfer complete.
Gu Daechul cut the cable.
At the same time, a small explosion went off inside the locker.
The two of them fell backward.
The locker door flew off and rolled across the ground.
Jin Seoah was clutching the reader to her chest.
The screen was still on.
“We got it.”
Gu Daechul got to his feet and asked, “Let me see your hand first.”
“I’m fine.”
“Not the equipment. Your hand.”
Part of Jin Seoah’s glove had melted from the heat. Her skin, however, wasn’t seriously injured.
Only after checking her hand did Gu Daechul look at the reader.
“Is it the original?”
Jin Seoah opened the data.
Forty-seven seconds.
The murder memory, eleven seconds longer than the copy, remained.
The fleeing man was caught by Rian.
By the time Park Mujin caught up, the man was face-down on the ground with both hands restrained.
Rian removed the man’s hat.
He was a human man in his fifties.
Park Mujin asked, “Who are you?”
The man kept his mouth shut.
“Why were you trying to buy Choi Munsik’s memory?”
He didn’t answer.
Rian took the remote deletion device from the man’s hand.
There was no buyer information left on it.
Park Mujin hauled the man to his feet.
“Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”
As the man was dragged away, he spotted No Geon.
His expression changed.
“Why are you here?”
Park Mujin turned to No Geon.
No Geon looked at the man but pretended not to know him.
The man spoke again.
“Do you know how long Choi Munsik searched for you?”
Park Mujin’s gaze shifted to No Geon.
“You know him?”
No Geon answered, “I’ve never seen him before.”
The man laughed.
“You expect anyone to believe that with that face?”
No Geon didn’t answer again.
Park Mujin put the man in the Administration vehicle.
After closing the door, he approached No Geon.
“Why was Choi Munsik looking for you?”
“How would I know if you ask me?”
“That guy recognized you too.”
“I must have a memorable face.”
Park Mujin stared at No Geon for a long time.
“When this case is over, you and I need to talk.”
“Are you asking me out?”
“In the interrogation room.”
No Geon smiled.
“Not really my thing.”
Back at the Administration, Jung Haeun and Jin Seoah opened the original memory.
Seo Jinhyeok, Park Mujin, Rian, and No Geon gathered in the analysis room.
Choi Munsik’s underground clinic appeared on the screen.
The first eleven seconds, which hadn’t been in the copy.
The field of vision was pointed toward the floor.
The right hand slowly rose.
Before picking up the interface needle, the fingers curled once and then opened.
Sensory information appeared beside the screen.
Pressure sensor: normal.
Temperature sensor: normal.
The joint responses of all five fingers on the right hand were normal as well.
Choi Munsik’s voice could be heard.
“Wait.”
The field of vision shifted toward the operating table.
Choi Munsik was backing away.
At the edge of the screen stood two androids with the same face.
Two of Mira, Yuna, and Sera.
The owner of the memory couldn’t see their own face.
Choi Munsik said, “We can erase it again. This time, we won’t leave any trace.”
The right hand picked up the interface needle.
From that moment on, the same scene continued as in the copy held by the three androids.
The memory ended.
Jung Haeun compared the sensory values of the original and the copy.
“The original’s right-hand sensory sensors are normal.”
Gu Daechul brought up the maintenance records for the three androids.
“Mira’s right-hand temperature sensor failed three years ago. They haven’t been able to replace it because the part was discontinued.”
Park Mujin asked, “Then it wasn’t Mira.”
“At least this isn’t Mira’s hand.”
For the first time, one of the three culprits was eliminated.
That left Yuna and Sera.
Jin Seoah replayed the opening scene of the original memory.
Just before picking up the interface needle, the fingers of the right hand curled and opened.
It was an extremely brief movement.
She paused the screen.
“Doctor.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think this movement was just a movement.”
Jung Haeun enlarged the finger-joint readings.
The five fingers hadn’t moved simultaneously.
They curled and opened in sequence, beginning with the pinky, followed by the ring, middle, and index fingers.
Jung Haeun’s expression changed.
“That’s a sensory-calibration movement.”
“What does that mean?”
Gu Daechul leaned closer to the screen.
“It’s a self-check that runs automatically when there’s an error in the finger sensors.”
Park Mujin asked, “Which one of Yuna and Sera makes that movement?”
Gu Daechul checked the maintenance records of the two androids.
According to the records, neither of them had any problems with their finger sensors.
Rian said, “The maintenance records may have been altered.”
“Then we can check them ourselves.”
Park Mujin started toward the interrogation room.
Jin Seoah said as she looked at the screen, “Wait.”
A small time indicator was displayed in the lower-right corner of the original memory.
Eleven seconds before picking up the interface needle.
The nearly six minutes of memory before that remained locked.
Jin Seoah checked the full length of the original memory.
“What we recovered was only the forty-seven seconds edited for sale.”
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “What about the rest of the original?”
“It’s either still on the market’s server or has already been sent somewhere else.”
No Geon spoke quietly.
“There’s one more.”
Everyone looked at him.
No Geon enlarged the black numbers on the sealant found at the scene.
04-771
“04 is the memory for sale. 771 is the original storage number.”
Jin Seoah asked, “You mean there’s a separate original?”
“Before selling it, Choi Munsik stored the original memory somewhere else.”
“Where?”
No Geon was silent for a moment.
Park Mujin glared at him.
“Don’t tell me we have to go back to the market again.”
“It’s not in the market.”
No Geon’s gaze shifted to the screens showing the three androids locked in the interrogation room.
“The original should be with the first android Choi Munsik took the memory from.”
Seo Jinhyeok asked, “Who’s that?”
No Geon answered, “The fourth android in the house that created Mira, Yuna, and Sera.”
Only the three identical faces remained on the screens.
The fourth android existed nowhere in the registration records.