Chapter 27: The Law of Extra-Programmatic Phenomena

With his gaze locked firmly on the high-tech red case sitting neatly on the floor, Luca approached with anticipation and tapped the outer shell lightly.

"Thump, thump, thump."

"Hmm? No reaction?"

"Though it does seem to be made of carbon fiber."

After fiddling with it for a while, even the main chip board of Baymax popped out when Luca pressed the prominent circular chip compartment, yet the robot itself showed no signs of starting up.

After reinserting the chip and recalling the plot of the original *Big Hero 6* in his mind, Luca spoke tentatively and with a hint of hesitation.

"Ah... ouch..."

Despite it being nothing more than a feigned cry of pain, the red case, which previously had no movement, suddenly lit up with a ring of light around the chip compartment, accompanied by a faint "beep-beep" alert sound.

Immediately after, the red storage case expanded rapidly.

The white "filler" inside inflated quickly, much like a balloon.

Within moments, a plump, inflatable robot, somewhat resembling the Michelin Man, stood atop the opened storage case.

The chubby white robot first lowered its head to survey its surroundings, blinked in confusion, and then took small, shuffling steps out of the case toward Luca.

However, the living room of the villa where Luca was currently located was cluttered with a mountain of packages, and there were several pieces of debris blocking the robot's path.

The chubby inflatable robot didn't seem to mind; it slowly began to repeat a sequence:
Lower its head.
Lean down.
Move the object.
Shuffle forward.

The fellow was actually planning to move every single piece of clutter blocking its way, one by one.

Watching this, Luca—who had been full of anticipation—felt his composure shatter.

He rushed over, frantically shoved all the objects aside to clear a path, and the inflatable robot finally stood still and looked back at him.

The robot raised its four-fingered right hand, and a very gentle, albeit slightly stiff, electronic voice emanated from within.

"I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

***

Seeing that Baymax was finally operating normally, Luca let out a long sigh of relief.

However, Baymax's next sentence left him frozen in place.

"Hello, Luca."

"Huh??? You know my name??"

At this moment, Luca’s head was filled with question marks.

Although the synthesis panel had mentioned earlier that Baymax possessed "tens of thousands of medical knowledge reserves," this suggested that the robot he synthesized should possess all the information loaded by the original creator, Tadashi Hamada, and perhaps even some original video footage.

Even so, by no means should Baymax’s database contain his own name.

Even his previous [Dominator] pistol had only been bound to his usage permissions after he had completed the synthesis and entered basic information such as voiceprints and fingerprints via the response program.

However, when Baymax heard Luca's question, it tilted its head toward him with a hint of confusion.

(●—●)

"Yes, I know your name, Luca von Orange. I noticed you required medical assistance because you cried out in pain."

"Wait, wait!"

Luca interrupted Baymax’s stiff recitation and continued his previous line of questioning.

"Why do you know my name??"

(●—●)

"According to the Zeroth Law, Luca von Orange is the designated highest authority and all orders from the highest authority must be followed absolutely," Baymax replied promptly after its black eye-cameras blinked twice.

"The Zeroth Law? Does that mean there are other laws, like First and Second Laws?" Luca asked immediately.

"The extra-programmatic law is only the Zeroth Law, which takes priority over everything else. The first law within the program is: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction..."

Baymax continued to broadcast, but Luca had already fallen into deep thought.

'An extra-programmatic law? And it specified that I am the highest authority?'

Even with his toes, Luca knew that this must be the power of his "Goldfinger" at work.

In fact, when he obtained the core components for [Baymax], Luca had harbored similar concerns.

***

The few items he had synthesized previously, even the [Dominator] pistol with its intelligent chip, were at best limited to simple functions like scanning, responding, and verifying identities. Only this [Baymax] synthesized this time was an advanced artificial intelligence truly capable of autonomous evolution and emotional modules.

For a technological creation with advanced AI—like the "Red Queen" from *Resident Evil* or the "T-800" from the *Terminator* series—if one couldn't guarantee loyalty, the prospect of being backstabbed by one's own creation would be a farce.

The reason Luca dared to synthesize [Baymax] so confidently this time was that this version of Baymax was merely a medical-type robot, so there was no need to worry about issues like betrayal.

But now it seemed his cheat had already thoughtfully handled that concern for him.

However, in Luca's view, this "extra-programmatic law" mentioned by Baymax had its pros and cons.

The benefits were self-evident.

Since this was a manifestation of his cheat's power, even if someone were to tamper with his AI's programming, a single word from him would reclaim control, and no one would be able to snatch it away.

As for the downsides:

The "extra-programmatic law" meant that even Luca himself couldn't replicate this code.

If, in the future, he were to create a copy through technical means rather than a system-synthesized creation, it likely wouldn't enjoy the benefit of this "absolute loyalty."

'Well, I'm being too greedy. The current situation is already as good as it gets. I can be more bold and confident when synthesizing things with intelligence in the future.'

Having gained a piece of truly good news, Luca refocused, and by this time, Baymax had finished reciting those miscellaneous "laws" and returned to its previous task.

"Scan complete. No trauma detected that could cause pain."

"Detected fluctuations in your neurotransmitters and hormones, diagnosed as tension and mild anxiety. There is no treatment plan for similar conditions in the database; the database requires expansion."

"Detected that the forearm below your right elbow is missing; it has been effectively treated and fitted with a mechanical prosthetic. I recommend regular resistance training and muscle contraction exercises to ensure the health of the limb."

As it spoke, Baymax's chest lit up, beginning to project "rehabilitation exercises" from within.

"Stop, stop, stop. I'll do that when I have time later."

Luca, who hadn't even noticed Baymax's previous remark, waved his hands repeatedly. Only after Baymax stopped the projection did he start asking questions again, his expression becoming a bit more solemn.

"I want to know, in your database, is there a way to treat 'Synaptic Cocooning Syndrome'?"