Chapter 14: The Jerusalem Strategy
Four hundred and sixty-seven dollars and eighty cents.
Kayel stared at his bank balance with a mixture of elation and terror. He was only thirty-two dollars and twenty cents away from the five-hundred-dollar threshold—the magic number that would unlock the External Interface Protocol and free him from the tyranny of pay-per-thought existence.
So close he could taste it.
Which made the frantic knocking on his door all the more unwelcome.
"Kayel!" Sheldon's voice carried through the door, high-pitched with panic. "I require immediate consultation! It's a matter of intellectual survival!"
"What fresh hell is this?"
[QUERY: $0.10]
Balance: $467.70.
Kayel opened the door to find Sheldon standing in the hallway, hair disheveled and eyes wide with the kind of manic energy that usually preceded either a breakthrough or a breakdown.
"There's a child," Sheldon said without preamble. "A fifteen-year-old child who's threatening to make me obsolete."
"Good morning to you too, Sheldon. Please, come in."
Sheldon brushed past him into the apartment, immediately beginning to pace like a caged animal. "His name is Dennis Kim. Korean-American prodigy, graduated high school at eleven, PhD at fourteen, and he's just published a paper that makes my last three years of research look like finger painting."
"Dennis Kim. I remember this episode. The kid genius who shows up and makes Sheldon question his entire existence."
[QUERY: $0.10]
Balance: $467.60.
"And you want me to help because...?"
Sheldon stopped pacing and looked at him with something that might have been desperation. "Because your logic is... efficient. Your problem-solving approaches are unconventional but effective. You see solutions that I miss."
"He's actually admitting I'm useful. This must be serious."
[QUERY: $0.10]
Balance: $467.50.
"What kind of help are we talking about?"
"I need to neutralize him. Not physically!" Sheldon added quickly, seeing Kayel's expression. "Intellectually. Professionally. I need him to become distracted, unfocused, diverted from his research so that I can regain my competitive advantage."
Kayel considered this. He was thirty-two dollars away from financial freedom, and Sheldon was essentially asking him to become a consultant in academic warfare. On one hand, it would be expensive. On the other hand, it might be the perfect test case for a major system query—a way to see if he could handle the pain before committing to the five-hundred-dollar upgrade.
"This could be interesting. And if I'm going to test the system's capabilities, might as well do it for a friend."
"What do you know about fifteen-year-old boys?" Kayel asked.
"They're... young. And male. And presumably interested in age-appropriate activities."
"Like what?"
"I have no idea. That's why I need your help."
Kayel sat down on his bed and looked at Sheldon, who was vibrating with barely contained anxiety. He could give generic advice about teenage interests—video games, sports, social media. But Sheldon wasn't paying for generic advice. He was paying for a solution.
"System. Fifty dollars. I need a comprehensive strategy for socially sabotaging an adolescent prodigy. Something that will distract him from his research without causing permanent harm."
[ADOLESCENT PRODIGY SOCIAL SABOTAGE: $50.00. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION STRATEGY. PROCESSING WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT NEUROLOGICAL STRESS. PROCEED?]
Fifty dollars. It was more than he'd ever spent on a single query, enough to buy a week's worth of groceries. But Sheldon was looking at him with something approaching desperation, and Kayel was curious to see what a high-end system consultation would provide.
"System," he said aloud, not caring if Sheldon heard him talking to himself. "Purchase the adolescent sabotage strategy."
[ACCEPTED. PROCESSING...]
The pain hit him like a freight train made of molten lead.
Kayel's vision went white, his muscles locked up, and every nerve in his body began screaming in harmony. This wasn't the gradual buildup of a minor headache or even the sharp agony of a simple app generation. This was pure, concentrated suffering delivered with surgical precision directly to his brain stem.
He collapsed against the wall, clutching his head as information poured into his consciousness like acid through a funnel. Psychological profiles of gifted adolescents. Social dynamics in academic environments. Hormonal triggers and emotional vulnerabilities. Specific intervention strategies tailored to Korean-American cultural contexts and parental expectations.
The data came with footnotes, cross-references, and case studies. A complete behavioral analysis of Dennis Kim based on publicly available information, academic publications, and social media presence. Detailed recommendations for introducing distractions that would appeal to a fifteen-year-old boy genius who'd spent his entire life focused on academic achievement.
All of it accompanied by pain that made his previous system experiences feel like gentle massages.
"Kayel?" Sheldon's voice sounded distant and concerned. "Are you experiencing some form of neurological distress?"
"I look like I'm thinking so hard it's causing physical pain. Which is technically true."
The information was still flowing, still burning pathways through his neural tissue. Social engineering tactics. Psychological manipulation techniques. A step-by-step plan for introducing Dennis Kim to teenage social experiences that would prove irresistibly distracting.
When it finally ended, Kayel was slumped against the wall, sweating and shaking like he'd just run a marathon through hell. But his mind was crystal clear, filled with a perfect understanding of exactly how to neutralize a teenage genius.
[BALANCE: $417.80.]
"Girls," he gasped, still clutching his head.
"I'm sorry?"
"Girls. Teenage girls. That's how you neutralize Dennis Kim."
Sheldon stared at him with a mixture of confusion and concern. "I don't understand. How do girls constitute a strategic advantage?"
Kayel slowly pushed himself upright, his head still pounding from the information download. "Dennis is fifteen. Academically gifted, socially isolated, probably never had a meaningful interaction with a peer of the opposite sex. Introduce him to girls his own age—smart, attractive girls who are impressed by his intelligence—and his priorities will shift faster than you can calculate orbital mechanics."
"That seems... manipulative."
"You asked for a strategy to distract him from his research. This is the most effective approach available."
Sheldon was quiet for a long moment, considering the implications. "And you derived this conclusion through pure logical analysis?"
"I derived it by paying fifty dollars to have a comprehensive psychological profile injected into my brain at the cost of significant neurological trauma."
"Basic psychology," Kayel said aloud. "Hormones trump intellect in teenage boys. Every time."
"Fascinating. And how would you suggest implementing this strategy?"
"Get Howard to help. He knows girls. Not well, but he knows them. Have him introduce Dennis to some age-appropriate social situations. Maybe a group study session with some smart, attractive high school girls. Let nature take its course."
Sheldon's eyes lit up with something that might have been admiration. "Elegant. Psychologically sound. Completely unethical."
"You asked for effective, not ethical."
"True." Sheldon stood up, apparently satisfied with the consultation. "I'll implement this strategy immediately. Thank you for your... unique perspective."
After Sheldon left, Kayel collapsed back onto his bed, still recovering from the system's most expensive query to date. Fifty dollars for a psychological warfare strategy. His bank balance had dropped to $417.80, putting him eighty-two dollars away from his goal instead of thirty-two.
But as he lay there, replaying the downloaded information in his mind, he couldn't help feeling a perverse sense of satisfaction. The plan was good—better than good, it was brilliant. And watching Sheldon implement it would be entertaining in ways that were probably morally questionable.
"Worth it. Expensive, painful, but definitely worth it."
[QUERY: $0.10]
Balance: $417.70.
Three hours later, Dennis Kim was completely smitten with a sixteen-year-old girl named Rebecca who thought quantum mechanics was "like, totally fascinating."
That evening, Kayel's phone buzzed with a notification from his freelance platform. A major client wanted a complete e-commerce overhaul—rush job, willing to pay premium rates.
Commission: $80.00.
New balance: $497.70.
Two dollars and thirty cents away from freedom.
So close he could feel the mental chains loosening.
"Almost there. Just a little bit more."
[QUERY: $0.10]
Balance: $497.60.
But as he watched Leonard and Sheldon through his window, celebrating the success of their Dennis Kim strategy, Kayel realized something had changed. He wasn't just surviving in this universe anymore—he was participating. Contributing. Maybe even thriving.
The upgrade would free him from financial anxiety, but it wouldn't change the fact that somewhere along the way, these people had become his friends.
And friendship, he was learning, was worth more than any system protocol.
Even if the system insisted on charging him ten cents to think about it.
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