Troy wandered down the vacant hallways. The trek to his chamber was a lengthy one, giving him hope of seeing another, breathing being. Except for the use of the diminutive earpiece in his pocket, the chances of interaction were looking marginally down.

What was the time? How long into the night was it? The night shift should have begun by now, giving no incentive for any sane person to roam the corridors. Those with the ability to do so were sleeping soundly, and those without were working their spirits out, crunching their work-related problems down to atoms.

It wasn't too long, since Troy had come in touch with the facility. How many days had it been? Four? Maybe five, if you counted the shortened, first day. While he may have seen a lot, when it came to this place, there was always more to see, always more to discover. The twilight-shift had been one of those discoveries. Evidently, this place never stopped running. All sides were manned twenty-four seven. People were operating around the clock, trying to force a system onto the natural world.

Such a notion was not out of this world. This place was one of the many frontiers when it came to the arms race. This site had everything, in the way of science. People were put under constant obligation, to make that one discovery, which would be the next atomic bomb. The last big discovery had been a working rail-gun model, which could make a decisive strike everywhere on the planet. It had allowed a single country to split the political world in two, making the countries stand on opposite sides.

Less than twenty years ago, people had resigned to the world ending. All that was due to some young person who, while stressed out of their mind, learned to generate fully localised, artificial gravity. The techniques on how it was done had still not been released. The methods were constantly hanging over them all, never to be told in full. The country it had originated from had only shown the rest the effects of such a weapon.

A quick-fire into the ocean, and the tsunami signifying the after-effects of it, had been more than enough to intimidate all. Countermeasures had long since been created, but none had been tested more than superficially.

Now, then, came the question of, what would happen, when another one of those discoveries came along. A single could split the world in two. What could two of them do? What eldritch existence could dwarf a doomsday-weapon? What could scare people more than a fixed rifle over their heads, aimed right at them?

Troy had an inkling of precisely what could do such a thing. It scared him sometimes. But, being fearful about it was not his place. One did not think when one was frightened of the thing they were helping evolve.

Again. It would have been nice to see some face, other than his own.

His time at the facility had provided one thing, though. His memory had gotten better during his stay there. In the start, Troy had considered it impracticable to travel around the uncharted territory of a professional workplace. The help of Adam had been enlisted several times, some times more successful than others.

But now, he had a decent grip on where things were in relation to each other. It would not be too far-fetched to say that he could even find his way to the cafeteria. The brain really did have a preference for locations containing food. And, Troy couldn't blame it one bit. While his body may have hurt more than ever, it was the complete opposite with the stomach. For the first time in a long while, his body felt fully sated. Even with the long hours, it had the ability to heal now. The only time was the deciding factor now. Rest would make it all go away. He just needed long enough.

It was not too long a walk until he reached the personal rooms. Ten minutes at most. Troy wasn't keeping count anymore. It all just flew by his face. His blinking was getting longer than was safe. When he got inside, a bath was of utmost importance. A cold one, preferably. With caffeine out of possible fixes, only cheats could let the endurance keep at it.

Twenty meters more walked, and he was at his door. It stood as the last, great barrier before he could finally relax. The handle was pushed downwards, and his body weight forced it open. Leaning on things honestly was so relaxing. But, such things would have to wait. A moment of weakness would allow his eyes shut. Seeing as he did not have a stapler at hand, Troy felt safer standing upright.

The clothes were dumped before he got himself into the shower. The good thing about cold showers was that you didn't have to wait for it to heat up. It let one start the process of shivering, hyperventilation, and overall wide-eyed expressions. No man, woman, or person could ever dare to love such coldness. If he stood there long enough, Troy would certainly get a red mark on his skin from the liquid.

Only the effects made it worthwhile. Apparently, it was good for the skin and such frivolous things. Troy did not care a single bit about those positives. With the usual diet, the effects only lessen the negative effects if anything. The only good thing was the norepinephrine being sent out. Good old mental enhancer. While it certainly was for a short period, that elaborate compound would give him the burst of focus needed for his next move.

With the body cleansed, cleaned, and scrubbed until figuratively sparkling, Troy moved on with the arrangements. Getting a new set of clothes on, and fishing out the earpiece from the old ones, he was ready to talk with a certain AI.

Setting himself down the enticingly soft bed, he popped on the earpiece. A familiar voice came to him almost immediately.

'Hello.`, Adam sent, as his customary greeting of the hour. It could not have been more than forty minutes, since they last spoke. Yet, it must have seemed longer, to the little guy. It would be rude for him to not respond in kind.

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“Hello, Adam. Ready to start this thing of ours up? It would be best if we could keep it short,” Troy replied. He stretched his arms over his head, trying to get the last part of the stiffness out. If nothing could be felt in those joints of his, it would allow him to fall asleep all the faster.

A glance was given to the white pillow, at the end of the bed.

Soon…

'I am afraid that we have a lot to talk about, Troy. Much has been left for the future. It is now that we pay for such actions,` Adam sent much to the man’s dismay. It always had to be like that, didn't it? So close to the finishing line. Yet, he was held back by his partner strapping a ten kilo to each of his toes. Any quick movement would cause immeasurable pain, forcing Troy to take it slow and steady. Someone had forsaken him. He just knew it.

“Can't be too much, that we have left out of our conversation,” Troy said desperately, trying to downplay the affair. “But, whatever. How about we just start with our earlier topic, and we can branch out from there?”

With the important out of the way, he would be able to ready himself for rest. It was a gift, that he could deal with a lesser topic, without sparing a single thought in its direction. Any misunderstood questions could always be excused as him being tired.

'Our earlier topic is one of the subjects that we need to talk about. I have concerns about it.`, Adam sent back.

Oh? This wasn't good.

“What troubles your mind?” Troy asked. Adam was not answering straight forward. He really did need to know if the thing was bugged. If he said anything bad, before being told of the outcome, it had the potential for some serious trouble.

'What troubles me is something concerning the topic. I will take a note from my other contacts, and ask if you want to say it yourself. This would remove any unwanted delays.`, Adam sent.

He knew something. The AI knew something. Something which he wasn't supposed to know. Troy had always known the day would come, where Adam would learn something bad. But, what had he learned then, which required his direct answer?

“I can't say such a method of information extraction is the best strategy. Dr Hale tried to use it on me earlier today, and I messed up that conversation greatly. I don't know what I was supposed to say back then, but my own answer certainly made her walk away. Maybe it would be best, if you just say, what plagues your mind? Knowing my luck, it would probably be faster that way,” Troy finally answered, after much hesitation. Again, he had gone the way of half-truths. He had an inkling of what Adam was unhappy about but did not want to chance anything by mentioning it.

'You don't lie. I will note down your personal experience with this technique, and try to refrain from using it in the future. Unique people require unique care, of course. With that taken care of, I will then say it outright, if you believe yourself incapable of guessing it.

I suspect, that your intentions for my assistance have not been as previously stated.`

And… there it was.

“Care to be more specific?”

'Initially, during your first, handmade test, you had given off the intent of advancing my perception. That it was all for my benefit, at the only cost of your time. I did believe this, in the start. Your task was given to me certainly held itself under the current category of official testing objectives. Even if some of your words were lies, it was put off as miscalculations.

This time, when you asked for support again, it has turned out differently. The task given is vague as if you don't understand it yourself. From further analysis, I suspect this fact greatly. Even your reaction now leads me to believe, that I was correct.

Furthermore, there is no directly linked benefit here. You desire for me to give you information, which has never been discussed before. It had no purpose of being brought up. There is nothing for me to learn out of it, if you have no greater concept, of what you are looking for. And, if you have, you have not told me what it is. The need for me to not know is there. But, there is a limit to how much you can keep from me.

This isn't for my benefit. There is nothing here, which will further my knowledge. This is something you will benefit from. I don't know what, I don't know how, but the only reason for this task given is that it will help you.

Answer me this. How can I trust you, if you try to lie to me?`

It might have looked inconsiderate, but Troy could not help but sigh heavily. The AI had a point. And, a very accurate point at that. He had hit the prediction spot on, and he was finding it hard to find a way to get out of this mess.

Maybe he could have amassed some functional idea, on how to do it, if he had had some sleep. Yet, that was still a dream long out of sight. With the heavy words said, Troy was finding it hard to be positive about this whole thing. No matter how one looked at it, this would take more than the hoped-for two minutes. He was on his bed! His back yearned for rest. Having sat down, his feet felt whole again, the blood freely rushing through them. Just thinking how his upper body would feel nearly brought tears to his eyes. Troy just needed to get through it. Easy. He had done harder things before.

No way out of it was in sight. He had to answer truthfully. The message of surrender would be sent fully. Adam had caught him red-handed, and nothing would stop him from paying the toll, no matter the size of it.

But, things were still in fluctuation. The AI had still not answered him. There was a good reason for his negligence of course! One could not hold the attention stiffly, without a pawn to hold before the other. Adam would likely not tell him if he could speak freely until Troy had already explained himself.

This just cut the skin. He had to talk, without revealing anything again. This time, the one to fool had simply changed. He only hoped Adam would not demand a clear wording to be said.

“You are correct. My words have not been, as I put them up to me. It is my fault, for this misunderstanding to occur. It is also my fault, for starting it all up, intentionally or not. I am the one that needs to be blamed.

I have tried to get information out of you, without saying what I wanted. It was a mistake for me to do so. If you want to know how you can trust me, then I have a single thing to say. You can't.”

'This is not the intended way to answer me, and you know it. Rephrase and try again.`

“I am not sure that I can do that, Adam,” Troy answered, his voice cool.

'Why not,` Adam sent. It did not sound like a question, being closer to a demand for him to explain himself.

“There was a reason for my request. One which I can't say until you have given me the result. I promise that I will tell you everything, as long as you give me the answer beforehand. Without it, I don't dare speak of it.”

A small pause.

'How can I trust you?`, Adam asked.

“You can't. And, doing so would be stupid of you. Nevertheless, I ask for it,” Troy answered.

A longer pause. One which he taught would never pass.

'...There is no change. Nothing has become different than the last connection. Speak.`

“Do you want to start with the long explanation or the short one?”

'I feel that both will be needed. Talk.`