“Move your ass. That door beside you is gonna close one way or another, and I would rather not have to explain your unintended demise.”

Those were the words that came out of Dr Hale's mouth. Troy didn't notice them and much less noticed that he was following her.

 

Before him was a technological wonder. Or, at least, it looked like one might call such a wonder. Troy wasn't really sure what it was. It looked to be a massive box, which was made of smaller boxes that were constantly moving around its surface. Every few seconds, a gap would emerge from one of its walls, making a strong, glowing light emerge from it, with what looked to be a small amount of blue smoke. It was amazing. Troy didn't have the mental capacity to call it much else.

 

What Troy did have the mental capacity to notice, was him almost stumbling over his own foot. While his falling was unsuccessful, it did help to take his focus off the large boxyfied wonder, allowing him to see other details of the room.

 

Like the man standing at the entrance to the box, pleasantly waving at Troy.

 

If the man had to be described, it would be like the stereotypical, big, nice uncle. Not large as in fat. Large as in, Troy could jump on his back, and the man wouldn't even notice. On top of the man's head, sat a big mound of grey hair. His face was serene, pleasantly waiting for us to come over.

 

“Good morning, Dr Hale,” the man welcomingly said to Dr Hale, with an outreached hand.

 

“Good morning, Dr Fidelis,” Dr Hale curtly answered, not even moving her arm. The man, which Troy now knew was named Dr Fidelis, put down his hand after a second, her disregard not seeming to bother him. It was probably a regular thing.

 

“I haven't seen you around here before,” Dr Fidelis said to Troy. He reached out his hand, with Troy immediately doing the same back. This surprised the doctor, which Troy thought was kind of sad.

 

“Oh, no, sir. I'm the recent hire, for this project of yours. My name's Troy.”

 

“Well, it's nice to meet you, buddy! How has your current experience with this place been?”

 

“It's been fine if a little rushed.” This is what Troy said. Now, what Troy meant was: ´As of now, I regret all my thoughts pertaining to being even slightly involved in what I can only call torture. Anything positive I may have seen or experienced amounts to nothing compared to the overwhelming amount of uncomfortableness that the last three hours have been.´

 

At hearing Troy's words, Dr Fidelis nosily chortled.

 

“Don't worry, you get used to it. I remember my first day here, all those years ago. The other employees had thought that it would be a jovial prank to glue my back to one of the inner-”

 

Dr Hale loudly fake coughed.

 

“Do excuse me for saying this, but we do have a schedule we need to keep up with,” Dr Hale said, with that kind of tone.

 

This seemed to bring Dr Fidelis back on track, with his face growing the slightest bit sterner.

 

“Of course, of course,” Dr Fidelis said, with a sigh. “Do come closer, Troy. I need to strap a few things on you.”

 

Troy complied, taking a focus on the series of things that Dr Fidelis was pulling out from a desk.

 

He pulled out what looked like a camera with a head mount, a strap-on wireless microphone, and what looked like a miniature headpiece.

 

“You see that booty right there?” Dr Fidelis asked, pointing a finger at the massive box. “That's what we call the puzzle box. It will be where you will be doing the majority of your work. It includes the newest technology when it comes to visual and auditory projections. We're working on making it so you can even smell your fake surroundings, but it still needs a lot of fine-tuning. It's funny, to be honest. With most people seeing and hearing in almost exactly the same way, you would think it would be the same for the smell, but it isn't. The hardest thing about it is simulating-”

 

Dr Hale fake coughed again, this time much louder than last time.

 

“I get it, I get it. No time to talk about interesting things… No matter. With the nature of the puzzle-box being that it's completely empty, save for you, we can't really have any forms of recording equipment inside it. That's why you will be strapping on these. A camera, so we can see what you see, and a microphone, so we can hear what you hear, and most importantly of all-” Dr Fidelis held the ear-piece up like it was the holy grail. “-this closed network-transmitter. It's what you would currently call one of the cornerstones of this project. By just tagging this on to your right ear, it will allow the AI to tag along with you.”

 

Troy was putting on the head-mounted camera and microphone, as Dr Fidelis rambled on about the technicalities of the ear-piece. It was obvious that he was proud of it, but Troy could honestly not understand most of what he was saying. He did catch that it allowed them to send him messages, though.

 

It really was surprising that it took Dr Hale thirty seconds before she snatched the earpiece out of his hand, and gave it to Troy. He simply put it on, with a few thoughts for approval of the comfiness of it. He couldn't even feel that it was there.

 

“All right, the hardware is all set up. Does it look all right on your front, Dr Hale?”

 

She went over to the touch-screens, quickly checking the live-feed coming from the camera and microphone. From her nod, it seemed everything was fine.

 

“Great! On with you now, kiddo. There's research to be had.” The last sentence was accompanied by a good clap on the back, that made Troy stumble forward.

 

Nevertheless, Troy went forward, across the steel-grating separating them from the puzzle-box, and right into it.

 

The first impression of it could neatly be described as an endless void. Not an endless black, but an empty white. The only details within it were Troy, his shadow, and the- nope, not the door. That seemed to have disappeared.

 

Okay, that was a small amount of worry coursing through Troy's body. While his mind knew that it was all fake and that he wasn't in a massive white expanse, his body didn't seem to have reached the same conclusion. His legs aren't shaking terribly, but he also couldn't be described as standing still.

 

Troy deeply exhaled. He needed to get his pulse under control. He had a job to do.

 

An idea formed in Troy's head. He just needed to prove to himself that this place had boundaries. If he just walked forward for a few seconds, he would be able to slide his hand across the walls.

 

And so, he took a step. Then another step. Then ten steps. Then twenty. It was at about the forty-fifth that he realised that he should have reached by now.

 

“The boundaries don't move. I move. Why haven't I reached the boundary?” This was something Troy muttered to himself, not expecting an answer.

 

´By the method of exclusion, the floor must also be moving.´

 

This unexpected, monotone voice caused one of Troy's trademarked, very manly squeaks. It took him more than a moment to realise that the source was coming from his brain-implant. You see, when one heard a noise, one can sense where the general direction source of the noise was from. When the noise came from the brain-implant, it didn't have any direction. It was just… there. It could be described as being mono-sound, but in the way that the noise came from a direction never heard from before.

 

With the source of the voice being the brain-implant, there only was one true source of the voice.

 

“Are you Adam?” Troy asked, with a slight cringe on his face. It felt weird saying things to somebody you couldn't see and expecting an answer back.

 

´No. But my name is Adam.´

 

Seemed that Troy had been on point.

 

It seemed ironic. Here he was, in the presence of a unique entity, whose entire existence had been deemed impossible by nearly all, and he was patting himself on the back from guessing it. He had dreamt of this moment too many times to count, yet, Troy was acting so nonchalantly about it. Why? Oh, yeah, here's the reason. It was either acting like it was nothing, or acting like a complete fanboy, and he would rather keep that fickle thing he called his pride.

 

Troy shook his head. He needed his mind back in the game.

 

“Hello, Adam. It seems we will be working together for some time.”

 

´Are you my assistant? Dr Fidelis said that I would have one.´

 

“Well, I guess you could call me that. You're speaking English remarkably well. I thought you didn't get any info-packs.”

 

´What's an info-pack?´

 

This threw Troy for a loop. How would Adam know what an info-pack was?

 

“It's a larger amount of information packaged into a single file.”

 

´Okay. Then, no, I did not get any info-packs.´

 

“Then, how did you learn English?”

 

´I didn't learn English.´

 

Well, if that wasn't mildly concerning, Troy didn't know what was. He says he hasn't learnt English, yet speaks it fluently, if in a slightly unorthodox manner, with his severe monotone tone.

 

“If you didn't learn it, how do you know how to speak it?”

 

´I´ve always known.´

 

Troy didn't know why, but he already knew there was something special about Adam. He could simply answer any question Troy had, and create so many more questions with it. ´I've always known.` What was that supposed to mean? There were few things in life one could know from the moment of their birth. Well… Troy couldn't really think of anything one could remember since birth. Sense of self, maybe? Back to the point, Troy needed to know more.

 

*Hey, buddy, can you hear me?*

 

But, his search for information would be put on hold, it seemed. Dr Fidelis's voice emanated out from the earpiece, a bit too loudly for Troy's taste.

“Loud and clear… Perhaps a bit too loudly, even,” Troy answered.

 

*Sorry, buddy. These dials are sensitive. I'm not surprised if I could make you deaf. Well, something to try at some later date.*

 

“I would prefer not to.”

 

A laugh was heard. Not a peep from Troy, though.

 

*Whatever you say, buddy. Now, we do need this test to start, so let's commence operation; calibration. Tell me, when you see anything other than white.*

 

And then came the radio silence. A silence that gave Troy plenty of time to ask a couple of questions.

 

“So, what do you mean, when you say that-”

 

But, it seemed that ´plenty of time´ was relative, and could sometimes mean a couple of seconds.

 

In front of Troy appeared what only could be described as a floating, transparent square. It didn't follow Troy or anything. It became smaller, if he walked away, and bigger if he walked closer. Yet, and this would sound weird, it looked two dimensional. It would show a constant flatness, not changing proportions from any angle.

 

“I see the floating square.”

 

*Not squares, as in, multiple squares?*

 

Troy looked around. There only seemed to be that, single floating square.

 

“No, just the one.”

 

*Great! Seeing as you're only supposed to see one, everything is totally fine!*

 

Why did Dr Fidelis sound so unconvincing, with that wording, and the clacking of buttons being pressed? Seemed nobody would ever know.

 

Looking back at the floating square, it seemed to be acting peculiar. The two, top points of the square looked to be slowly converging. Currently, the square has become a trapezoid, but would likely soon become a triangle.

 

“Is it intentional that you're changing the square?”

 

*Yes!... it's slowly turning blue, right?*

 

“Uhh, no. It's slowly becoming a triangle.”

 

From the radio feed, Troy could hear Dr Hale commenting on something. No specific words could be heard, but they didn't sound pretty.

 

The square had reverted to its default state, slowly acquiring a blue hue.

 

“It's turning blue.”

 

*Oh, praise the sun. Things finally seem to be working fine, then. A second square should be appearing to your… right.*

 

And, lo and behold, a second square did appear. But, this one was slightly different. Around this square, a full-colour circle had appeared with it. Troy tried touching the circle. He felt a slight resistance. Enough to feel it, but did not require any great effort to get his finger through it. When his finger went through it, the circle distorted slightly around it, until he took it out again, where it returned to normal.

 

“Everythings fine on my end.”

 

*Good. So, let me first begin to explain the task. This will be the first test of Operation Calibration. As you might have guessed, we will be calibrating something today. We will be making sure that Adam can see through your eyes perfectly. Or, well, we'll be making sure that he can see the colour perfectly.

 

Before you are two squares. One of them has a colour grid in circle form. When you press on the colour grid, the corresponding colour will appear on the circle to the right. On the left square, a random colour will appear, which you have no control over. Adam's task is to emulate the colour from the left square to the right square. Troy, your task is to follow Adam's instructions, in where to press. Don't correct Adam, even if he is wrong. Are the instructions clear?*

 

“Yes.”

 

Adam didn't answer. Or, Troy couldn't hear him answer

 

*Then, begin.*

 

The background noise coming from the earpiece disappeared, letting the lack of sound spread into his mind.

 

Adam was equally as quiet, not saying anything.

 

Then, the left square changed to a lightish red, and noise finally appeared.

 

´Press the colour which is two lefts away from the top.´

It was correct. Troy pressed it.

 

The colours matched for a few seconds, before the left changed again, transforming into a darker blue.

 

´Press the colour which is one left away from the bottom option.´

 

It was, again, correct. Troy pressed it.

 

And the colour changed again, and Adam made Troy press a new colour. This went on and on.

 

Until, finally, something new happened.

 

Like before a new colour appeared. This time, it was magenta. And Troy moved for just a second, ready to press the colour, but paused in his movement. Adam had not said anything.

 

Troy wanted to ask, what had him stumped, but, as per instruction, he remained quiet. And, on the time passed, no answer came from Adam.

 

Several minutes went by before Adam finally said something.

 

´Guess.´

 

“What?”

 

This was not what Troy had expected.

 

´Guess. It's within the parameters given. As long as it is pertaining to the colour grid, you are supposed to follow my instruction.´

 

Well, Troy couldn't argue with that. Or, he could, but saw no real reason to.

 

He pressed on the yellow colour, and the two squares disappeared, along with the colour grid.

 

´Did you choose the correct choice?´

 

“I'm not allowed to tell you that, Adam.”

 

*Great to you that you're following instructions, Troy! Do get out of the room, now. We would like to see the footage.”

 

The door he had entered earlier appeared on his right, and he went through it.