Stepping out of the dreadful place, Troy took in a full sigh.

Finally. He was out. No more white and blue in his sights. Never again, would he need to-

“Congratulations on your first, long test!”, Dr Fidelis said, giving Troy a clap on the shoulder. This movement caused his white, lab coat to move too. His white lab coat. Troy saw red. No wait, that sounded wrong. “Wasn't it great?”

“Will the other test be like this?” Troy asked, neatly deflecting the question.

“I think we had that conversation before”, Dr Fidelis said, his tone never lowering from its happy overlay.

“Just give me a general perspective, then,” Troy said. “Will I, ever again, have to sit on the floor for three hours, slowly solving a puzzle, which I could easily find a replica of out here?”

“Well… “, Dr Fidelis said, not finishing his sentence.

“You won't,” Dr Hale cut into their conversation. “He hasn't planned for it, at least.”

“Dr Hale!”, Dr Fidelis said, his voice nearly offended. “If somebody is going to ruin my fun, it better be me next time.” Was his tone nearly serious, at that last part? No, Troy must have imagined it.

“Anyway,” Dr Fidelis continued, as if Dr Hale had never spoken. “Unfortunately for you, you don't have the jurisdiction to force it all out of me. Fortunately, though, I am a good person and saw how much you enjoyed it, so I will tell you this; The test will be more complicated than this next time.”

That was all Troy could ever dream of getting out of him.

“Great,” Troy said. “Any more tests for today?”

“There was supposed to be one more”, Dr Fidelis amended. “But, as somebody made me modify a test, while it was being done, I have some paperwork to do.”

And that was even better than Troy would have guessed.

“A shame,” Troy said, already moving, after getting the last recording piece off. “Well… see ya.”

And out of the door, Troy went. He had an appointment to get to. Looking at the clock, before Troy walked out the doorway, he saw he still had plenty of time to move with.

Enough time to get back to his room, to get a thing or two. Taking a quick sniff of his shirt, he realized that it included a shower, too.

Finding his way to the personnel rooms was getting easier, Troy thought as he walked. Looked like it was just one of the many benefits of breaking the untold rules.

After finally getting to his room, he plopped down on the bed and snatched on the earpiece.

'Is it time for the test?', Adam asked.

“Not yet, I'm afraid,” Troy said, trying to get off his damned socks. “I'll be doing a few preparations before we get to the… alternative testing site. I think I need to point out a few things about this test of mine.”

Troy went up to put on the shower. He wouldn't be going in there for a few more minutes, but it needed some time to heat up. Why exactly it was needed so much time to do so, Troy wasn't sure. He had expected more of a top-tech facility when it came to this, but maybe that was just his opinion.

'Shoot.', Adam sent.

Troy paused for a second. Was Adam copying his mannerisms?

…

No. That was a question for another day. He was not dealing with that right now.

“Okay”, Troy said, sitting back down on his bed, to get out some clothes from under it. They weren't his, but they came with the room, so no complaints there. “This test is unorthodox, from all the previous ones we have done, so there will be some stark differences in them.”

Troy halted his explanation, to see if Adam had any questions for him. Seemed he didn't, so Troy just continued.

“The first, and most important, will be the secrecy of the whole thing.”

----------------------------------------

Secrecy? When was that ever a good idea, when it came to the search of knowledge? Why would one hide facts that could help create an overall, broader understanding?

“This is due to a great reason”, Troy continued. “During this test of mine, there will be more participants, than just the two of us.”

This is something that Adam had predicted earlier, during his conversation with Dr Fidelis. While a normal game of poker could be played with only two entities, this would still be impossible with Troy and Adam. This was because Troy technically only acted as an extension of Adam, and not as a person, in the spectrum of the test.

But, this begged another question.

'Who will the others be?', Adam asked in response to the new information.

“I'm getting to that”, Troy said, waving the question away. “As you might have guessed, people act differently, when they know that they are being tested. One's answer will always differ from the standard when the person is knowledgeable about being observed.”

Troy's tone implied that he wasn't sure what he was talking about. Yet, the logic behind it still made sense to Adam.

But, this didn't mention, who the other, unknowing participants would be.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

'You didn't answer-'

“It's a long answer, okay?” Troy said, cutting Adam off. “Anyway, due to the people needing to not know the test, it has caused the selection to be… unusual. You won't know any of them, and they won't know you either. Preferably, that has to stay that way.”

The people wouldn't know about their participation, after the test's completion. Why?

'What purposes are there, to them not knowing the test, after the completion of the test. Would they still be able to influence the result?', Adam asked.

Troy tensed for a moment, before continuing moving through a pile of clothes. He couldn't seem to make a decision on, which to keep on the bed.

“In a way, you're correct,” Troy said. “No, they won't be able to influence the result of this test. But, it will influence the results of any future tests completed. If they figure out the specifications of any test, it will seriously hamper my ability to create these situations.

This will further the time it takes to create any more tests. That's not something any of us wants to happen, I'm guessing?”

Oh, that made sense to Adam. He now realized that he had been thinking too low of Troy. This much long-term planning was not something he could have currently created.

'Understood.', Adam confirmed.

“Good”, Troy said. “Before I lay you down for a while, do you have any more questions?”

'Yes. I would prefer some more specifications on my personal objective in this test. The overall goal is poker, but is there any other focused goals, that I can be told?'

“Well… “, Troy said. “I don't think it's for the best, if I tell you precisely, what I want you to do. It is kinda your job to tell me what to do, in this scenario. But… maybe, it would be for the best, if I help you along a little. How about, you tell me, what you currently think you're supposed to be doing, and I tell you if you are on the right track?”

A moderate solution. It was better than no feedback, Adam amended.

'According to my investigations, the main purpose of this test will be my ability to read body language. To figure out the emotions and general thoughts of others, without needing them explicitly told to me.'

Troy just sat thinking about it. Were the objectives so advanced, that it required more than a simple thought?

“Eh, close enough”, Troy said after a second. “Let's just go with that.”

'So my assumptions were correct?'

“They were close enough”, Troy simply stated. Adam got the point. “Any more questions? And, not any lesser important ones, please. We have a schedule to keep up with.”

All questions were at the utmost of importance, but Adam didn't think it wise to state so.

'No.', Adam simply sent.

“Good. Without further ado, then-”, And off the earpiece went, leaving Adam to his planning.

…

What did he need to plan? The objective had been told. Information about the test had been analysed time and time again. Adam could recite them in his sleep! If he ever, slept of course.

So, he was left with nothing to do. This meant that Adam just needed to patiently wait for Troy to make the final preparations.

…

Maybe some more planning couldn't hurt.

From the new information, which Troy had explained to Adam, the number of potential players had increased. It was a minimum of three total players, with a reasonable maximum of ten. Excluding Troy from the equation, that left nine potential bodies to constantly observe.

Could Adam twist his perception to focus on so many people at once? He needed to if wanted a good score.

He already saw problems with that plan. Constantly focusing on different bodies, would not let him do constant, full analysis of bodies. With table placement, he wouldn't even get the chance to do full bodies, due to the table.

Adam needed to be efficient in his algorithms. Places that didn't show any signs needed to be cut out of the equations.

But, what places were less important? And were they constant across all humans?

He wasn't sure about the first question, but the second one was easy enough. No, they were random in the least and ever-changing. The signs that somebody was bluffing could change from day to day or just stay around for years. One could never know.

This created another layer of thinking. Before Adam could even see, if people were lying or not, he needed time to see their reactions to certain stimuli. Wait, did he have any way to control the stimuli? Maybe, he could ask Troy to do certain things…

Even with this, Adam would still need to have secrecy in mind. While certain sacrifices could be made, to get good results on the test, nothing would be worth ruining the chances of future, potential tests. One could only learn so much at a time. If spread over multiple tests, the total would increase nearly exponentially.

Adam wasn't getting anywhere, in this planning of his. He just walked deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole called Long-Term planning.

Oh, how he loved it. If only it always could be like this. Well… it could. But Adam wouldn't let it be so. Nothing would ever get done if it were so.

Still, though, how Troy ever got results from this, Adam couldn't understand. How did he take all this mass of pure information, and make a sustainable long-term solution out of it? It was something to aspire to be.

----------------------------------------

Troy stepped out of the shower, rubbing his sore skin.

The dials on that thing were just too sensitive. It was either a blazing blizzard or liquid metal. There was no in-between.

Now, the question might be; Did Troy choose the right option, when he went to the liquid metal side of the spectrum? Sure, his skin felt ten years older, but at least he could still feel it.

…

Wasn't there something about cold water being healthy for the skin, now that Troy was thinking about it?

…

It didn't matter now. Troy needed to focus, or he would just lose track of time. And if that happened, he would be late.

Late for the first meeting. Wouldn't that be awkward?

In his mind's eye, he could see it. The perfect, first impression. A positive attitude about everything, a joke at the right time, and no awkward silences. Oh, and for the first-ever meeting, Troy would also be cheating in their game.

Troy put his hand through his hair. It was getting too long for his tastes. It needed to be cut soon.

Was what he was doing that wrong? Troy didn't even need to think about that. Yes, it was very bad. Maybe even illegal. The right option would be to just fess it all up to Charlie, and explain that he hadn't played poker a single time in his whole life.

… Nah. Troy was sticking with his plan. He was already in too deep. Stepping out now would be such a waste.

And he wasn't sure how he would spin that with Adam. He still thought that it was all some elaborate test.

Oh, how Troy had screwed up on that front. A test? He couldn't make a hypothesis to save his life! It was a sign from the gods, that Adam didn't ask into the specifics. That he even bought his self-made objective was a miracle in of itself!

Again; He had screwed it up. He was in over his shoulders, and way deep with his head. His uncle Ron would be proud of him… That was meant negatively, by the way.

Putting on his clothes, he began dreading what was to come. Troy knew that it would happen. He knew that he would do nothing to stop it. Yet, it still filled him with dread in his stomach.

Deciding to just ignore this, Troy put on the earpiece.

'Is the test a go?', Adam asked.

“One moment,” Troy said, fishing up his shoes. “I need to get these things on my feet, and off we'll go.”

A quick thought flashed by Troy's head.

“Before we leave this room, there's one thing you need to know,” Troy began to say.

'Yes?'

“If you hadn't guessed, we won't be talking to each other,” Troy explained. “You know, with the whole secrecy thing. Your cover would be blown near instantly.”

Adam didn't answer immediately.

'Understood. But, I have one-'

“Great! Let's go, then”, Troy said, only paying attention to the first part, and not noticing the other.

He stepped out of the room, and quickly went ahead. Troy hoped he could remember where it was.

'There's something that has confused me. How will I-'

“Shush now,” Troy said. “Can't have you talking. I'll just reply unintentionally.”

That was a real fear of Troy's. If he didn't pay attention, Adam sounded like any other person talking. He had to really focus on the location, to hear that it was coming from his brain implant.

Adam didn't talk anymore, much to Troy's relief.

“There you are!”, Troy heard somebody say from behind him. “I knew you would get lost!”

Looking behind himself, he saw that it was just Charlie.

“I haven't gotten to that point, yet”, Troy defended. “I didn't even think I was close to the meeting place.”

“Oh, trust me, you aren't,” Charlie said. “But, Dr Hale warned me, of your less-than-stellar performance in spatial recognition, so I thought it a great idea to escort you.”

When did he- Oh, yeah. Charlie had most likely been told during lunch.

“Well, escort me, then.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

And off the two went.