"Can we do something about this noise?"
Yuki played an audio file. Full of static, impossible to hear what was being said.
Aoi listened carefully. "Let's try noise cancellation."
They started filtering software on the club room computer.
"How do you do it?"
"Analyze the frequency characteristics of the noise and remove it."
Mira looked over from the side. Silently watching the screen.
Aoi adjusted parameters. High-frequency noise disappeared, and the voice became slightly clearer.
"Oh, it's easier to hear," Yuki was surprised.
"But it's not perfect," Aoi pointed out. "There's still distortion."
"Why?"
"Because the frequencies of noise and signal overlap. Can't completely separate them."
Mira wrote small in her notebook. "Signal and noise are not always separable"
"Exactly," Aoi nodded. "Especially with complex signals like human voices."
Yuki thought. "Then where does noise end and signal begin?"
"Difficult question. Sometimes it's subjective."
Aoi gave another example. "When listening to music, is background chatter?"
"Noise."
"But if that chatter has important content?"
"Then it becomes signal," Yuki understood.
"Meaning it changes with context. The definition of noise isn't absolute."
Mira wrote again. "Context determines meaning"
"Human communication is the same," Aoi continued.
"For example, when someone's angry, is their tone of voice?"
"Signal? Or noise?"
"Both. Anger emotion is signal, but in terms of making words hard to hear, it's also noise."
Yuki said thoughtfully, "Emotions can't be noise-cancelled."
Aoi smiled. "That might be what makes us human."
"Machines might remove emotions as noise."
"But people are different. Emotions are often the core of communication."
Mira unusually spoke aloud. "Emotions are signal, not noise"
Both turned around in surprise.
"Mira?"
"Sometimes, what seems like noise... carries the most important information"
Aoi slowly nodded. "Profound insight."
"Crying, sighs, pauses. These aren't words, but they convey information."
Yuki realized. "So if you noise-cancel too much, you lose important information?"
"Exactly. Filtering is a double-edged sword."
Aoi played the original audio file. Noisy but the speaker's emotions come through.
"If you clean this too much, it sounds cold."
"You're right," Yuki felt it. "Noise has meaning too."
"Some people like the noise of analog records. They say it's warmth."
Mira added. "Perfect clarity is not always desirable"
"Rather than perfect noise removal, moderate imperfection."
Aoi explained. "Information theory pursues efficiency, but humans also love inefficiency."
Yuki laughed. "That's contradictory."
"Contradiction is human."
Mira said quietly. "My feelings... cannot be filtered"
"Mira's feelings?"
"Complex. Noisy. But real"
Aoi said gently, "No one's feelings can be noise-cancelled."
"That's okay," Yuki understood.
"Even mixed with noise, real emotions reach through."
The three fell silent. From outside the room, the sound of wind, footsteps, distant laughter.
"This world is full of noise," Yuki murmured.
"But that noise enriches the world," Aoi answered.
Mira smiled. A rare expression.
"Noise is part of life"
"And our feelings also cannot be noise-cancelled."
Yuki opened the window. Outside noise flowed in. But it was comfortable. Perfect proof of an imperfect world.