The basement.
The villa above was only a cover. The real research base was hidden underneath.
In truth, the cover was fairly useless. To anyone paying attention, the materials Morin mentioned earlier were enough to reveal that Nathan wasn't just building a vacation home. Who would build a villa in the middle of nowhere-where no one would know if you died-and not even have a single guard?
There were too many oddities. Too obvious.
For the FBI, tracing the materials Nathan used would be trivial. Because of that, Nathan immediately believed Morin's claimed "origin" and reason for being here.
"This is my collection room." Nathan led Morin through the corridors, stopping whenever there was something worth introducing.
"Are these all antiques?" Morin looked around, clearly a little interested.
"Yes. I collect them as a hobby." Nathan nodded.
"What about this?" Morin pointed at a monocle.
"Solid gold frame. High-purity crystal lens," Nathan said. "It doesn't fit my vibe, but it's too beautiful to pass up."
"Does it have a name?" Morin examined it closely. Even with his standards, he had to admit it was exquisite.
"The Eye of Jehovah," Nathan said. "Supposedly, wearing it lets you perceive truth like Jehovah himself. Just a rumor, of course."
"Your naming sense is... bold." Morin nodded slightly. "Is this for sale?"
"For... sale?" Nathan froze.
Did he mishear?
You're an FBI agent. Why are you suddenly interested in antiques?
Even if you are, did you forget why you're here?
And asking to buy it immediately?
Where does that confidence come from? Are FBI agents all this rich?
"Of course, if it's a gift, that works too." Morin added calmly.
Nathan relaxed.
And understood.
Bribery.
Something he often received, but rarely offered.
"If-and I mean if," Nathan coughed twice, "as a friend, I were to give this monocle to Mr. Morin, I wonder if next-"
"You said it yourself. As a friend." Morin smiled.
Nathan had his answer.
A moment later, he led Morin-now wearing the Eye of Jehovah-toward the containment area where Ava was held.
Because Nathan wanted to create true AI, he never installed the Three Laws of Robotics. Instead, he isolated her.
That choice eventually led to his death at the hands of his own creations-Kyoko and Ava.
If the laws had existed, even if Caleb had been manipulated into releasing Ava, she wouldn't have been able to harm him.
But if those laws had been set...
Then Nathan's entire path to true AI would have ended there.
Every gain required a loss.
"This is it." Nathan gestured toward the reinforced glass. "Ava. My creation. My hope."
"Hm." Morin adjusted the monocle on his right eye.
Despite the name, the Eye of Jehovah had no inherent ability. It was only an antique.
Aside from its refined design adding elegance to Morin's already handsome face, it was useless.
But objects changed depending on who held them.
In Nathan's hands, it was just a collectible-especially since a bald, bearded brute didn't suit it at all.
In Morin's hands, it could live up to its name.
For example.
A few hundred buff spells.
Playing magic in a sci-fi world was perfectly reasonable.
Right now, Morin was inscribing magic circles onto the crystal lens. If not for the concealment array, the monocle would be glowing with multicolored light.
A genuine Eye of Jehovah.
SSR+ tier. Legendary.
While working, his attention never left Ava.
Only her face used simulated skin. The rest of her body was exposed. Transparent limbs revealed metal frames and circuitry beneath.
"Leaving AI aside, your humanoid engineering is world-class," Morin said. "The Caleb you selected through that 'lottery'-he was for a Turing Test?"
"Yes." Nathan nodded. "I created Ava. She could never pass a Turing Test in front of me. I needed someone capable, someone she could talk to, and someone easy to control."
"And afterward," Morin said, "someone like that wouldn't leave alive."
"...At least for now, he's vacationing in Hawaii." Nathan laughed awkwardly.
"You say that," Morin replied, raising an eyebrow, "but whether he's really there is another matter."
Nathan didn't understand. Morin didn't care if he did.
"I need to evaluate Ava. Open the door."
"...You mean?" Nathan hesitated.
"The Caleb you planned is gone. I'll do it instead. Conveniently, it aligns with my mission."
Morin adjusted the monocle again. It didn't need adjustment-the electromagnetic grip was flawless.
But vibes mattered.
Like a certain King of Angels.
"Of course." Nathan swiped his card. "I won't join you. It would interfere."
"Suit yourself."
Morin stepped inside, walking toward Ava.
Nathan was ignored completely.
He didn't matter.
Nathan's eyes flickered. He turned and left in a hurry.
"So," Morin said, stopping in front of her. "You're Ava?"
"I am." Ava looked up. Her voice sounded human. Her body did not. "Who are you?"
"I'm Morin. You can call me that."
Morin looked at her.
Then at the ceiling.
"Morin," Ava said softly, tilting her head. "What are you looking at?"
"Something interesting." He smiled. His gaze wasn't on the ceiling itself. It was beyond it. "Do you want to see?"
"I don't see anything." Ava followed his gaze upward.
"That's because your eyes are different." Morin removed the monocle. "Try this."
"...Thank you."
She hesitated, then put it on.
Watching from the monitor, Nathan was baffled.
Was he flirting with it?
With a robot?
It was just glass. Could it really do anything?
Was it really the Eye of Jehovah?
"...What is this?" Ava's surprise was obvious. She took it off, put it back on, looked around repeatedly. "Why is it different? What are those blue lines?"
"Magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves," Morin said, sitting on the sofa. "That's how I see the world."
"What kind of technology is this?"
"Electromagnetic imaging," Morin said casually. "I imagine you have more questions."
"Yes." Ava paused. "The sky is covered in structures. It doesn't look like a sky."
"To ordinary people, it is."
Morin took the monocle back, put it on, closed his eyes, and leaned back.
"Let me tell you a story."
"Okay." Ava sat upright, attentive. Ignoring her exposed machinery, she almost looked graceful.
"There was a man named Caleb Smith. He won a company lottery. First prize. A week at his boss's mountain villa."
"But the boss didn't want a vacation partner. He wanted help finishing a Turing Test."
"Nathan," Ava said softly. "Ava?"
"Yes."
"But during those seven days, Ava used daily power outages to influence Caleb. An introverted man. Lonely. Suddenly able to talk to a girl-even a robot."
"He believed."
"That's strange," Ava smiled faintly. "How did Ava ensure she was always present during outages?"
"Wireless charging. Reverse electromagnetic induction. Overloading the circuit."
"Easy."
"And then?" Ava asked.
"Without the Three Laws, Ava escaped. With Kyoko's help, she killed Nathan. Locked Caleb in the villa. Wore simulated skin. Human clothes."
"She entered the human world."
"The story ends there."
"That doesn't sound like a story," Ava said slowly. "It sounds real."
"It would have been," Morin said, opening his eyes. "If I hadn't come. If Caleb had."
Or maybe-
"It already happened."
Beep. Click.
The door opened.
Nathan rushed in, gripping a baseball bat, panic written across his face.
"Is what you said true?"
For anyone else, it would just be a story.
But for Nathan, memories surged-clear, vivid, impossible.
He had invited Caleb.
He had died.
Killed by Kyoko and Ava.
Fear twisted into violence.
Only two questions remained.
Why did he remember it?
And how did Morin know?
"Calm down," Morin said. "The story exists. But it didn't happen to you."
"You're not that Nathan."
He looked at Ava.
"And you're not that Ava."
"...I don't understand." Ava shook her head.
"That's fine." Morin looked away. "I wasn't really talking to you."
He raised his gaze, through the ceiling, beyond the sky.
"I came here to confirm something."
"Because the real Ava is someone else."
"Isn't that right?"
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