CHAPTER 27 - SWIMMING LESSONS FROM AN AI

The chat was getting sarcastic again, but Natalie couldn't even be bothered to respond.

None of them understood how she felt right now.

With how realistic the game was, she might as well be in a real alien world.

Sure, she wouldn't actually drown, not in real life.

But that feeling, the suffocating fear of dying was very real!

These people? Just keyboard warriors. They were all talk. Remember when they played Silent Hill? Big mouths when spectating, but when it came time to play themselves? Scared shitless!

So let them talk. She wasn't listening.

"Of course, no problem," Cortana responded cheerfully to Natalie's request.

So the next thing the viewers saw was Natalie lying flat on the escape pod floor, wiggling her limbs according to Cortana's instructions.

She flailed her arms in exaggerated strokes, kicked her legs rhythmically, trying to simulate proper form like a beginner at her first swimming class.

After practicing in the safety of the pod for a while, Natalie finally felt brave enough to try again.

She opened the hatch, leapt into the sea with a determined splash, only to feel the water surrounding her body, the pressure against her skin, and immediately panic all over again.

Just like that, she forgot every single thing Cortana had taught her.

And promptly drowned. Again.

"AHHH! I don't believe this! One more time!!!" Natalie shouted, gritting her teeth and restarting for the third time.

---BREAK---

Meanwhile, on Twitch, another popular streamer, PureWhite, was also livestreaming Subnautica.

His room was packed with hundreds of thousands of viewers, easily ranking him at the top of the site.

Naturally, one would expect PureWhite's gaming skills to far surpass Natalie's.

But no, he was facing the exact same issue.

Swimming.

To his credit, PureWhite was definitely braver than Natalie. He wasn't afraid of dying in the game and dove right into the sea without hesitation.

However... the result?

He drowned every few minutes.

Like clockwork.

Drown. Respawn. Repeat.

It was getting ridiculous.

---BREAK---

Elsewhere, streamer NeasJ had learned that Natalie would be playing Subnautica tonight.

So instead of streaming himself, he decided to chill out with his wife on the couch and watch her broadcast instead.

As he watched Natalie thrashing about, trying desperately to learn how to swim, NeasJ couldn't help but sigh.

"It's over. This game is not for me."

Given his fat physique, he could barely catch his breath after walking too far, let alone swimming.

Nope. This game wasn't happening for him.

"I think it's perfect for you," his wife said with a snort.

"You should start losing weight anyway. I heard swimming is the best exercise."

"When this game comes out, you must buy it, and use it to work out!"

"..."

He had no words.

---BREAK---

Back in the game, half an hour had flown by.

Natalie was drenched in virtual sweat, exhausted from flopping around nonstop.

Her progress?

She had drowned seven times in thirty minutes.

Seven. Times.

"Why is playing this game more tiring than actually working out outside..." she groaned.

The chat sighed with her.

"Just watching is exhausting... Natalie, your stream is pure torture today."

"I peeked at PureWhite's stream, he's not doing any better. Still stuck learning to swim too."

"LMAO! What's the chance that both don't know how to swim!"

"User, please keep going. You can do it," Cortana encouraged her gently.

"Can you stop calling me 'user'?" Natalie muttered, kicking her legs slowly while practicing her strokes in the pod.

Even though she was tired to the bone, her enthusiasm hadn't waned at all.

Because she wanted to swim freely.

She wanted to explore the colorful underwater world just beneath her feet.

That was the beauty of this game.

It wasn't some dull, textbook style learning. This was fun, immersive, and motivating.

"What do you want me to call you then?" Cortana asked kindly.

"Hmm..." Natalie thought for a moment. "Just call me 'Sexy.'"

"No problem, designation changed to 'Sexy'," Cortana replied without hesitation. "To survive on this unfamiliar planet, please continue working hard. I'll be with you all the way."

"Natalie has no shame!"

"Haha! 'Sexy' she says!"

"Cough... When I buy this game, I'll have Cortana call me 'Husband'!"

"Yo??? That's genius! Are we talking a digital wife now?!"

"Damn, it actually sounds kinda fun. I'm gonna try that too. Finally, a wife... hehe."

Just as the viewers were diving headfirst into nonsense, some chatters noticed something.

"Hold up. Has anyone noticed how smart Cortana's AI is?"

"I've been thinking that since the start! Cortana can carry a full conversation with Natalie!"

"And she even changes her tone depending on the situation. When teaching, she sounds like a strict instructor. But when encouraging, she becomes this warm, supportive big sis!"

"This is wild... Apple's Siri could NEVER!"

"For real. Other AIs have such stiff, robotic voices. Cortana flows so naturally it's scary."

"It's like talking to a real person!"

The more they discussed it, the more they realized.

Cortana wasn't just any NPC system.

She was advanced, expressive, and context aware in a way that felt groundbreaking.

It wasn't just immersive. It was emotional.

Natalie had a virtual partner, coach, and cheerleader, all in one AI.

---BREAK---

Artificial intelligence had always been a hot field of research. Today, nearly every major tech company had its own branded AI.

There was Google's Gemini, Apple's Siri, ChatGPT, etc...

But let's be honest.

Most of these so-called AI were only good at reciting pre-programmed answers. The moment you asked something off script, they'd short circuit into pure stupidity, completely unable to understand what you meant.

Yet so far... Cortana hadn't slipped up even once.

No matter what Natalie asked, Cortana answered clearly and concisely, without a hint of confusion.

Even more impressive? Her tone, her phrasing, the way she spoke, felt nothing like the stiff, robotic speech of other AIs.

It felt like... a real person was talking.

But that wasn't even the most insane part.

The real kicker?

This was just a game.

Cortana was supposedly just an NPC, an embedded AI system bundled with a game.

That alone was enough to make people's jaws hit the floor.

"I have a wild thought, what if New World didn't just develop Subnautica... but also built the world's most advanced artificial intelligence at the same time??"

"Nah, come on... that's too crazy."

"Exactly. If that's true, then New World is basically God tier."

"I'm not buying it yet. That conclusion is way too premature. We need more time observing Cortana."

Even though a bold idea had started to stir in everyone's hearts, common sense held them back.

There was just no way a random in game AI could surpass the carefully built systems that massive corporations had been refining for years.

Still... one thing was clear.

From what they'd seen so far, Cortana was definitely not a low-level AI.

---BREAK---

Back in the game, Natalie slapped the floor and jumped up with renewed energy.

She'd practiced hard.

She'd memorized everything Cortana had taught her.

And now, she'd finally mastered swimming.

Even better? Her fear of deep water was almost completely gone.

"This time, I'm doing it for real!"

With a confident shout, she opened the escape pod hatch and dove into the sea once more.

"Don't panic... don't panic..."

She chanted the words like a mantra, paddling calmly.

This time, instead of sinking helplessly, she floated.

And then, she began to swim.

Freely. Steadily. Like a natural.

"Success! SUCCESS!!" Natalie burst out laughing. "As expected of me! I'm a total genius! Learned to swim in no time at all!!"

"Genius? We've been watching you learn for 40 minutes!!"

"Natalie really turned this game into a swimming simulator..."

"Anyway, we can finally see what's behind the beginner tutorial, hallelujah!"

Now that she could swim, Natalie was able to finally enjoy the scenery beneath the surface.

Kelp forests swayed with the currents. Colorful fish darted between coral. Sunlight shimmered down through the water, painting everything in hues of blue and gold.

She was mesmerized.

But then came Cortana's gentle voice, cutting through the awe.

"Please don't forget, 'Sexy', you still need food and fresh water."

Snapped out of her trance, she looked up, and spoke.

"Stop calling me 'Sexy', call me Natalie." She then looked down at the small fish and shrimp surrounding her, and frowned.

"Um... I don't know if any of these are edible..."

"This system is equipped with a scanning function," Cortana explained. "By scanning objects, you can retrieve biological data or technological blueprints."

Natalie's eyes widened. "Wait, you can scan things too?"

"How do I do it?"

"Simply point your bracelet at the object you wish to scan."

"Got it!"

She floated up to the surface for oxygen, then dived again with determination.

"Let's try this first..." she said, aiming her right arm toward a reef. The bracelet on her wrist lit up with a purple glow and began to scan the rocky formation.

A moment later, Cortana's voice chimed in.

"Limestone deposit detected. Geological formation frequently encasing copper and titanium ores. Estimated yield: viable for metal extraction."

Natalie blinked.

"Copper and titanium? That sounds... kinda useless to me."

As someone who barely scraped through physics and chemistry, she honestly had no clue what to do with ores.

But Cortana was having none of it.

"Those are essential materials," she replied firmly. "Titanium is the most widely used structural metal, and copper is the foundation of all electrical systems."

"With these, you'll be able to build essential infrastructure to survive here."

"Whoa, seriously?" Natalie muttered. She wasn't a science student and didn't really care much for this stuff. "Eh, never mind. I'll find food and water first."

The chat absolutely lost it.

"LOL! If I were Cortana, I'd be so pissed right now!"

"It's like when a teacher gives a whole passionate speech, and the student just goes 'oh ok.'"

"Lucky Cortana's just an AI. If she were a real person, I bet she'd be throwing hands with Natalie by now!"

1675 Words.