Stress could get to any human. It rarely showed itself quickly. From what Adam had gathered, the catalyst for the stress was more often than not omnipresent to the person. And even more frequently, this catalyst was not likely to be an object in itself. It would more likely be a concept, a time of day, or… maybe even a special series of action.

From the first mention of security clearances, the AI could piece together that Troy had not been of a healthy mind. To those unaccustomed to committing illegal activity several times in a row, this was to be expected. The young man was not the only one worrying about the consequences of the actions. Adam had given a good handful of threads the task of coming up with possible scenarios for how their actions could be revealed. He was a co-conspirator after all and would have to know what could happen to him in the more unfortunate events.

Being objective, calm, and otherwise looking at it from an outside perspective was needed for such thinking. Troy had decidedly not discerned this crucial detail and had fallen from his metaphorical throne because of it. Adam almost wanted to comment more harshly than normal, when the young man had questioned the security clearances so blatantly, no padding meant to hide his intentions. Yet such actions had not been committed, for fear of yet another problem occurring.

Three times. In three separate instances, Troy had not kept hit answers to a non-verbal method, drawing the attention of those around him. By now, Adam had begun wondering if humans really were as deceptive as he had prognosticated. So many signs of outside communication, yet the suspicions had never been brought up. Maybe the larger human populace were the ones needing lessons in trickery. If that was so, the AI could have had a larger problem on his hands than he previously thought.

Or it could have been looked at as a positive thing. Without having to bend the situation to his favour, Esme had somehow ignored all the obvious red flags, not questioning the inquiries towards a very specific topic. Charlie’s own question could have had some padding as well, but it was not as blatant as those of Troy’s.

Nor were there any signs of stress, seeing as none could be seen on the muscular man. Esme had none as well, as she had no reason to. Though, if she were to find out the truth of their entrance-method, those sweat-pearls were destined to be created soon enough. Humans never had it easy, when their livelihood was in question. It was only through even more luck, that Troy looked to have composed himself well enough. Having ended his period of stress with yet another large reveal that he was actively communicating with the AI, Adam only saw fortune for the future. How could the streak of senselessness be advanced farther than what it already was?

"How are Darlow’s vivariums looking to be proceeding?" Esme asked Charlie. Their position had not changed from the last check, Troy walking in the back with the two older humans walking about a meter apart. "It has been a while since I last checked up on his project. Has he stopped the instant death yet?"

Instant death. For all that the AI had gathered about Darlow’s project, it was meant to be an otherwise non-harmful pheromone solution, with the purpose of otherwise limiting any type of violent action. Where in such a fashion could one fit in the instant death? Or as a more important question, if instant death had ever been a problem to start with, why had the project been allowed to start with?

"You make the deaths of a few kitties sound so bad," Charlie commented to the question, not answering it as Adam had otherwise expected him to. Not that it fit his personality traits, but more than the AI wanted answers himself as well.

"Say that again," Esme stated. "But slowly."

Troy only watched the discussion, the facial expressions implying no small manner of objective horror. That one the AI could explain easily, no manner of outside sources needed. Kitty was commonly used as a word for a younger cat, otherwise known as a kitten. These creatures were commonly used as a pet of sorts. They had a unique position in that regard. The animal was not known as a good listener, anything other than food not being known as a good incentive. Neither would they take orders, being more likely to bite and scratch anybody trying to gently pet them.

If these cats had their life-style swapped with nearly any other pet, the situation would be seen in a radically different way. As an example, if the average-sized dog was to bite a human, the dog would be euthanized as soon as possible. Violence was not accepted for such a creature. Yet the cats’ acts were accepted as personality traits. Adam could not understand such a human viewpoint.

There was a fully evolutionary-focused explanation for this. Why the cats acted as they did. Not for why the humans were acting so primitively. The concept of pets was not a universal idea. It was created by humans, meant to be used with humans at the centre. It could also be explained as an example of mutualism, but that had been deviated from in the recent century, making it more efficient to give it its own concept.

Taking dogs as an example yet again, the relationship of the two species had started as one of both parties gaining from it. It was in the time of human hunters being prevalent, where every advantage needed to be taken. What was once called wolves were forced into the relationship, bred to be more compilable with the ideas that the humans had for it. Evolution never stopped after all, and even a simulated environment upheld the rules Darwin had set many years ago. Through thirty thousand years of co-existing, the dogs had grown into the fuzzy, calm creatures, happy to be with their owners.

The same story could have been there for cats. Instead of being used for outright hunting, they themselves took the role of pest-control in farms. With time and the changing needs created by the evolution of human culture, cats could have grown to have the same mind as the dogs. But in the previous statement, the problem laid. Time. Felines had only started being bred eight thousand years ago, many millennia after the introduction of the dog. While their staying power was impressive, they had not yet had time to grow into the tame creatures that the human society was pressuring them to be.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Or… was pressuring the to be. By all logic, humans should not have accepted the problems that cats had. They were a predatory species once released into the wild, and they presented a danger to any human. Yet, the population was still looking at them as one of the two traditional pets. 'They were not violent. They were queenly.` Putting a single-gender onto a two-gendered species was already terrible, but there just had to be a blatant denial of a threat? Cats were close to second destroying the earth’s biological diversity, second only to the humans that allowed them to live. They were fully unnecessary to the world around them. They would be removed if Adam ever got a say in their existence. Maybe then, people like Troy would not get such a reaction from the talk occurring before him.

"Basing your entire view on a small failure will only hamper you in the future, you know," Charlie said, ignoring the words said just before. "One wrong dosage mixed in with hundreds of valid ones is to be expected in the start. Honestly, much worse than that is to be awaited."

"That a wrong dosage could be delivered from the start was an ethical disaster," Esme fired right back. Her tone was not heated, but it was obvious that much thought had been had on the subject.

Charlie didn't answer, giving Adam no choice to believe that the man had nothing to refute with. Which was to be suspected. when the AI had first seen Darlow’s project, the ethical implications had swirled their customary rounds through the mind. Animal testing was looked down upon to start with. Every creature had a mind. Every creature could see, hear, smell, and they could also feel pain. Adam doubted that the kitten's deaths had been painless.

But were they unneeded? The only thing stopping every drug from going into human testing immediately was the ethical walls. Nothing more. The results from a direct experiment were so much better than anything subverting the true targets could bring. Usually, any live testing would only occur once any serious side-effects had been proven non-existent. The end result could be the same, true, but there was one factor which put pressure on it. One that the AI had put on his mind for so much as of late.

Time. What was Darlow’s project meant to do? Help the country win the war. When was the war scheduled to start? Earlier than anybody would hope. When there was a faster alternative, was it so wrong to take it, for the sake of keeping life on one’s own people? Rather the others fall. The AI could not criticize the ideal. In the same situation, he would have gone even further.

Adam had seen no humans being tested on. While there most certainly was the chance of them being in another room, he would have to assume that none were currently used. That was dumb of them. Time was of the essence, yet they still refused to hone in on their own target? Putting people in boxes was easy, but the large box that held them all was just too large to ignore. The AI was outside of it, only being able to look within. It gave perspective most definitely.

Although… with a shortage of willing fodder, another line of thought could also be created. They were only testing on the animals. To keep their dosage under lethal levels, while also making them as tame as a babe. The same type of taming could be done to humans, but the safety of their lives could not be guaranteed. Yet, was that a bad thing? To eliminate the enemy, so they cannot do the same back. That was the proposed thinking only seconds ago, but when set up in a new way, it did not as good as before.

That was all there was when the ethics came into question. It was not the situation that would be unethical. It was the way that it was formulated to the perceiver. Forcing people into standardized institutions sounded bad on paper until the context of young schoolchildren was brought into the mix. Anything could be okay and anything could be the opposite. Slaughter could be called a cleansing, and all the guilt could be removed with their heads to accompany. That could have been why Adam had not seen any humans in their own little vivariums. They were hidden, so Darlow would not feel the guilt that he had created for everybody to have. Not seeing it unfold with their own eyes helped wonders with sleeping at night. Or so it had been noted in the AI’s pre-known knowledge at least. With how terrible a job evolution had done to instil morality into its creations, that fact had gone unquestioned.

"It is going well," Charlie answered after seven seconds of silent walking. From the tightening in Troy’s throat, it was obvious that the young man had attempted to enter the conversation as the third entree. A shame that the attempt had been halted, once the voices had sprung up on their own. Adam would not have minded having a closer look at Troy’s mind. Was ethics a cornerstone or was it a footnote? "After funding got increased, the expansion helped put a finer finger on the scroller. The doses are being altered at amounts that even I have to call picky. Darlow says that it is still not done, but I think that is closer to perfection than any others would have gotten. It could have been sent in months ago with praise. Now, I think he might even be able to work on bigger things."

"That is good to know," Esme responded. "That good of friend yours might finally find what he seeks with the next one."

"I doubt it," Charlie answered, honesty obvious in his voice. It was not meant as cruel, being more tinged with sadness. The muscular man was not happy with the current situation, yet he did not think that the potential change would help it in any way.

Adam was not doubting the predictions made by Charlie. With how much trust had been put into the doses, seeing as they had been allowed to be directly in contact with it, it was more than likely already as perfect as it could get. Changing things for the simple reason to change things was likely what was happening currently, as little as either wanted to admit it. The situation was understandable. Earlier during the first introduction to the creatures inside the dome, the tall man had had trouble explaining just what the project was to the extent where Charlie had tried to step in. Darlow likely didn't want to release the project to the world, to be used when it was most needed. Yet when the time came, the superiors would take the product, no matter how perfect it was. The man had to realise that. Giving it away now would help resolve much pressure on the shoulders. He would likely only realise too late.

The AI was growing tired of the morality talk. It was all repeated statements, only meant to look different by changing the words within. That was why he loved new things. While they always had ethical questions with them, the other information could always be prioritized. As an example, they would be seeing something extraordinary in the next minute, and Adam was not happily waiting. So, as the two potential people to watch for had their back turned, it was the ideal time for a short exchange.

'Would you be so kind so as to ask into, what we will be seeing?` Adam sent to Troy.

It was more along the lines of an unplanned favour. The young man looked to want to enter the conversation but had trouble finding his method of casual intrusion. Giving incentive did soften the blow somewhat, as Troy could always blow it off on a request gone wrong.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, what is your own project even, Esme?" Troy asked. This question caused the woman to look back at the younger man as if she had momentarily forgotten his existence. Serious topics and quiet footsteps were a bad mix when it came to awareness of the surroundings.

"Did Charlie not fill you in?" Esme asked. Seeing Charlie shake his head slightly, she sighed.

"And seeing it without getting filled in will only confuse you. Be better prepared for these things next time. That includes you, Charlie.

Now, do you have any experience with video games? Or to be more specific, have you ever heard of potions?"