Infinite darkness, the boundless abyss, a starless space or the eclipse of a black hole. Within the underworld presents that hollowness, the depraved depths of despair, an indefinite network of burrows slithers beneath the surface world, the hidden world always beneath the shadows yet never discovered by anyone not indingeous.

Among the vastly untamed territories of darkness is an oasis, for one of the open caverns of the second world is gently featured in a delicate light, exposing the structural framework of the lightless land. The undeterminable depths are covered in a flat layer of water, unstressed and inert, masking the deeper rings of the system.

Hanging from the ceilings also dimly lit from the central lights are an array of sharp stalactites, like a siege of spears waiting to drop down on foreign intrusion. Refined adequately to take lives mercilessly, they stalk the shining pads below, the mark of civilized territory, or rather a print of native intelligence.

Amongst the countless silver pads that hover stationarily within the vast cavern, there is major silence, as though the pads are abandoned, lost homes without residency, a husk of a once thriving soul lost to time.

Serenity of absence strolls until stricken by a sudden electric hum that crescendos before reaching a climax that exerts a roar that slams the cavern. Ripples in the water erupt from the boom as it echoes into the deep abyss, not vanishing, but rather traveling distant until no longer audible, reaching the unseeable.

Just like the tapering sound, the ripples weaken as they expand, struggling to maintain strength as they simply seek more land. They eventually cease from excess expansion, leaving the water once again still, once again unmoving.

On one of the larger silver pads, eight curved silver tabletops hover off the surface, four making a tight circle about the origin and the other four closer to the edge. The stationary tables stand over the silver ground which emanates a gentle white light. That light is then trampled on by a foot encased in a silver shoe, which plants itself firmly on the surface, albeit without sound as though the entity had no weight of its own nor physical presence.

The foot then steps off the floor and moves forward, approaching the origin of the pad where the four nearby tables are.

The man in the leather jacket walks between two of the tables, the sole occupant of the cavern, the single source of sound in an otherwise uninhabitable biome. He stands within the center of the cavern, below many of the tips of the stalactites, unnerved by the inhospitable space he deems his most comfortable home.

He raises his pale white hand and gently places it on the silver table, to which rounded holographic screens begin projecting off the table, surrounding him. On the blue screen, windows begin appearing, which display various resources such as line graphs and contour maps in front of the man’s eyes.

More windows appear, providing maps with annotated red lines as paths, as the screen is consumed by data while a soft gust of wind brushes the man’s white locks of hair, his black hood down resting on his back.

“I’ll need some time to formulate a plan on how to go about executing Operation Entropy; while most share a near identical composition in structure, the environmental surroundings may provide ease and difficulty in certain aspects of the operation. I’ll need to have a case-by-case plan for each base to optimize efficiency. That will be my task, just as planned the day before, everything is moving well on that side. For you, the additional mission I carried out supplied us with a potentially valuable set of data that can help us understand the currently inexplicable strength of the Exhumans. I ran the most precise class of scanning on each of them, so you should have the most ample intel to use, including what should be adequate data on their keys. Once you extract all you can, compare it to the database to search for contrasts that might give insight into what caused this enhancement. I’d appreciate it if you could construct your own hypotheses, and once you finish up I’ll take a look and try figuring out what it all means. While this subsidiary investigation may not exactly give us a combative advantage since there is likely no reversion and ultimately I’ll just have to neutralize more difficult threats, these sorts of insights may pay out later on in case this is drawn out for longer. It’d be undesirable for them to be enhanced further, so if we can understand their process, we may be able to halt it, and regardless of if we can’t, I see no disadvantage with further understanding the enemy,” softly delivers the man, explaining the thoroughly organized plan. His voice remains monotonous, unwavering, like a bot, speaking in such formality as though presenting to a figure of professional relations.

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“I understand, I’ve begun the procedure already, which may take several hours to perfect the results and conclusion. Your plan sounds solid, although I present an alternative which may be more beneficial to the efficiency of our project,” responds the British male voice, speaking in his head once again with an equally formal tone, speaking as though he’s a business partner in a scheme.

“Hm, I believed that plan to be ideal, but it seems I must’ve made a mistake. Please enlighten me on this alternative, and I’ll process which of the two options is the most optimal. Thank you for presenting this insight,” fancies the man, his tone unshifted, still serious as his eyes remain on the screen, viewing the schematics.

“Well, according to the statistical data I’ve surmised over countless credible resources, the recommended hours of sleep per day for an adult of your age is at the very least seven hours, with more being beneficial. However, I have observed that you have not completed even a minute of this vital rest in the past twenty four hours, in fact you haven’t completed a single minute in a far longer span of time. It is thus why I have deduced that the most optimal course of action for you is to perform this paramount slumber,” advocates the voice with a firm, profound term.

“No.”

A few moments of silence follow after the harsh, immediate rejection from the man, as the cavern falls into stillness once again. That is until the voice implores, still with a formal tone, “Well…it seems my initial antithesis is perhaps too extreme for you.”

“You would be correct.”

“It seems so. Well, may I offer a fair compromise? While it seems you prefer to remain fully conscious today, which I admit would be the most optimal in terms of processing a plan, may I advise you to spend that time up in the estate during this contemplative procession rather than here? It would be beneficial for you to be exposed to sunlight and overall more colorful environments, increased natural exposure has been scientifically reported to cause an increase in mental efficiency,” the voice meticulously articulates the proposal.

“Is there reason to suspect that you are encasing ulterior motives into this proposition beyond simply advising for the most optimal conditions of my plan composition?” callously interrogates the man, his tone still still and monotonous, yet with a flame beneath his unwavering voice.

“I do not see any reason, no. You must be mistaken. Now, rather than continuing to exhaust more precious time that could be better spent on working, I insist on your relocation. I have prepared the Elevator. You’re welcome,” softly urges the voice with a still tone.

“It seems then that your recommendation is most suitable, I shall take you up on that. I trust you have not misinformed me, for such treasonous behavior would have vast ramifications on the integrity of your character,” deliberately surrenders the man.

“Of course, now let us have you mobilize and we may continue to cooperate in the superiorly productive environment,” compulses the voice, having obtained victory in the firm dispute.

All of the holographic screens surrounding the man vanish, closing out without a word. The man stands in the center of the pad for a few moments before turning around and marching away from the origin, approaching the edge in silent steps.

As he approaches the edge, a holographic bridge projects from the pad’s edge in front of him, connecting the pad he stands on to another hovering in the distance. The blue bridge immediately stabilizes, upholding the man as he steps on it and continues on it up to the next pad. He follows the path to departing the dark caverns, accepting the voice’s proposal after the stiff exchange.