“Heh.”

The woman in the middle briefly chuckles when I point at her.

D-did I get her? I totally got her, didn’t I!? Ugh, I can’t tell from her reaction! She is either congratulating me or mocking me... or both?!

“Good work, you had only 43 seconds left.”

Charles declares as he looks at his watch.

“Please tell us about how you approached this exam. What was your thought process, how did you intend to expose the human and how you reached the conclusion that you did.”

“Ah, well...”

I turn toward Charles, a little puzzled. Nobody gonna tell me first whether I’m right or wrong...?

Without knowing that, it’s difficult to properly explain what I did. I can’t boast in confidence about the whole “memory” thing, it’ll make me look like a clown if I got it wrong.

At the same time, if I don’t convince them that I knew what I was doing... wouldn’t it make them think poorly of me? That I just answered based on  random conjecture?

I face this dilemma as I begin explaining the easier parts of the whole process.

Firstmost, I state that half of the time I was shooting in the dark, hoping to obtain data to work with. Then, I begin explaining the different strategies I attempted.

I make sure to draw analogy between my actions and some QA testing procedures. This should earn me some points, even if the strategies ended up being inefficient.

Finally, the part where I have to explain my conclusion arrives. As I get calmer throughout my speech, I decide to fearlessly lay everything bare.

“Basically, the androids were just too good to be human.”

I explain my theory about the android's short-termed memory, saying how it may potentially be superior to that of the average human. It’s difficult to not make it sound like a random leap in logic, but I try my best to support the explanation with some vague computer science knowledge.

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“This is all.”

Even once I’m done, nobody says a word; only their pens continue to work. Nobody asks anything, nobody confirms whether my answer was correct.

“Good, you are free to go now. We’ll contact you as soon as we have an answer.”

Charles announces as he flips a page in his notebook.

“So, um... did I answer correctly?”

I just can’t let this point go. This woman made me go through hell, I NEED to know if I beat her smug face.

“We’ll leave it to your imagination.”

Charles answers indifferently and focuses on writing in his notebook. With nobody willing to provide me an answer, I collect my wares and proceed to the entrance.

A businesslike woman guides me toward to the exit, which is located on the opposite side of the entrance . This is probably yet another countermeasure, ensuring that I don’t pass any tips to those waiting outside.

Seems like this time Ms. Anxiety will have to bear through the exam without any aid from me... she’s doomed, isn’t she?

As I’m about to leave, I throw one final glance at the three identical women sitting in a row. No.2 is leaning on the chair’s back, looking in my direction.

Once our eyes meet, she brings a hand toward her lips and sends me a kiss.

Brrr. A thoroughly irritating woman, till the very end.

However, thanks to this stunt, my confidence surges.

No.2 is the human. She has to be. Please, be the human...!

Even if passing the test doesn’t mean being accepted for the job, at the very least I should have earned some positive points today.