“Can you believe him?” Adam burst out suddenly.
He and Lance had just arrived in their secret headquarters and he finally exploded from the tension.
“He is doing his job,” Lance stated coolly.
“It just makes it more complicated that he is your brother.”
“Yeah, you think?!” Adam snorted.
“Complicated is putting it nicely! He almost had you too!”
Lance walked toward the main computer system and began typing some commands.
“You don't want to admit it, do you?” Adam asked, pushing the subject.
“I'm used to having to be more guarded about details,” Lance stated.
“It will come more easily in time.”
“Oh, so lying to my closest friends and my family will get easier? That's comforting…” Adam continued, incredulous.
“I suppose I'll also be able to trick those lie-detection machines without batting an eye too?”
He paused.
“Wait… you said that you got the highlights from L.A.S.S.I….” he said.
“Hasn't that system been offline for the last week?”
“Correct. I've also been using an auxiliary system for the cafe hideout that just responds similarly to L.A.S.S.I. since we moved down here,” Lance said without looking up from his work.
“It will serve the purposes of our friends for the simple commands they would use the system for anyway.”
“Why is L.A.S.S.I. offline?” Adam asked.
“Don't we need it to analyze the crime scenes we have been investigating?”
“Not necessarily,” Lance stated.
“While it takes longer to do, there are other systems that can check them. Besides, weren't you working on something for that?”
Adam sighed.
“I was but the code is not passing the initialization phase…” he said.
“The biobots deploy without a hitch, but the rest of the controls aren't interfacing properly.”
He looked over Lance's shoulder and crossed his arms.
“SOMEONE decided to turn off my cheat sheet to debug the codes…”
Lance finally stopped and turned to Adam.
“I feel something more specific is bothering you,” Lance stated.
“What is the problem?”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Adam retorted.
“Don’t ask me more questions of your own to deflect from it.”
Lance let out a deep sigh and turned back to the keyboard. He typed in a command and sent it with a final overdramatic press of a key to finish. The holographic projector centered over what they considered the command bridge illuminated the space with a projected diagram of what looked like a robotic sphere with a digital screen covering about a third of one side. There was a modular interface on the bottom of it that the schematic indicated would dock with the main console and a set of circular components on either side that were indicated as being electromagnetic hover disks. A smaller set of images to the side noted that the screen was to act as a digital face, showing various expressions with a pair of simple pixellated eyes.
“L.A.S.S.I. was the pinnacle of my personal achievements in technology,” he began.
“While obviously there are systems out there that function the same way, I was limited by my own resources. With virtually unlimited resources as we have now, I was able to build a housing and write the code over the last month.”
He gestured to the diagram.
“This will far surpass what L.A.S.S.I. ever would be able to do or be, which was limited by its own software.”
Adam read over the schematics and notes.
“A new artificial intelligence system?” he asked.
“L.A.S.S.I. was fairly advanced, being able to learn and such… What more could this one potentially do?”
“In short? Learn in a way that L.A.S.S.I. never could,” Lance said.
“The potential for such an advanced system that it could be regarded as a mirror to a real person.”
“True artificial intelligence?” asked Adam as he continued reading.
“Then what’s with the name? Omni-Responsive Autonomous Cognitive Lifeform Engine seems like a re-flavored version of Life Assistant Simulated Software Interface.”
“I just have a thing for acronyms…” Lance said.
“I picked a name and made the acronym work for it.”
“I see…” Adam said, trailing off as he continued reading the notes.
There was a long silence as Lance waited for Adam to say anything more.
“So…” Lance said tentatively after a time.
“I’ll ask again: what is really bothering you?”
Adam took a deep breath and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“I guess I’m just… stressed out…” he began.
“I think that the novelty of all of this has worn off and the reality is truly setting in…”
He looked up at the ceiling above them.
“I want to do this, but I'm so tired already at the same time…”
Lance nodded.
“I remember having a similar feeling. The burnout happened rather quickly actually,” he said.
“No amount of coffee in the world was enough to keep me going,” he added with a half-hearted laugh.
He stepped back to the controls and started typing again. The holographic display shifted over and a live feed from several locations around the city appeared, one of which was a security camera in the Brewer’s Cafe.
The two of them watched the feed for a few minutes in relative silence, the clatter of cups and people talking drifting lightly from the console speakers. Adam realized that this was to be a reminder of the life they were both trying to live and navigate as well as protect at the same time.
“I still don't know how you do it…” Adam muttered, shaking his head.
“You seem to juggle the vigilante stuff and a relatively normal life so easily… meanwhile I feel I'm barely keeping up…”
“That's the trick though,” Lance said, his eyes never leaving the feed.
“It's all about keeping the facade that things are relatively normal, because in reality it isn't easy. We can't afford to slip up, not with so much at stake. It doesn't matter if it's the police, the Ouroboros, this new gang… or even if the mayor himself declared us enemies of the city… they won't stop, so we can't either.”
“I get that,” Adam said as he began to pace, his agitation beginning to flare again.
“I'm just tired… physically, mentally, emotionally… tired of having to keep dodging questions from my family… I sometimes ask if the price is too great…”
“It's a balancing act, Adam, ” Lance stated.
“And it isn't going to always be a fully sustainable one, but if we don't do this… who will? We committed to this and I intend to see it through.”
“I know, but what if I lose myself in it?” Adam asked, clenching his fists in frustration.
“What if this whole thing starts to eat away at me as a person? Even now sometimes I am starting to see someone else looking back at me in the mirror.”
Lance took a deep breath, slightly softening his stern expression.
“That's why you need to hold on to something else outside of this.”
He gestured to the Brewer’s Cafe display. As if on queue, Charlie and Adam's mother were visible around the counter, taking care of customers.
"Your family, your friends, they ground you. Don’t shut them out, even if you have to lie to protect them. You need that connection to stay human in all of this.”
Adam stopped pacing, his shoulders slumping slightly.
“But I feel like a fraud around them. Every time I’m with them, I find myself thinking about what we’re doing behind the scenes, what’s coming next.”
Lance nodded, understanding.
“It’s part of the double life. You will carry that weight everywhere you go. But you’re not alone in this. The reason we’re still standing is because we have each other to share the load and watch each other's backs.”
Adam let out a dry laugh.
“Yeah, well, sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough.”
“Maybe not,” Lance agreed.
“But it’s what we’ve got. And it’s more than most people ever will have.”
The room fell quiet again, the low hum of the computers the only sound. Adam sat down and ran a hand through his hair as his gaze drifted back to the holographic interface. He looked over the schematics for O.R.A.C.L.E. that were still floating in the air. He pointed at it.
“So… you say that O.R.A.C.L.E. has this huge potential,” he said.
“What if it wants to do things we don't want to?”
“There are always directives and failsafe parameters to prevent such things,” Lance replied.
“I have a very specific morality code written to keep it in check. The system is designed to work with us and learn from us, not replace us.”
“And if it wants to overwrite that code?” Adam countered.
“Then we pull the plug,” Lance said.
He stepped away from the controls and fully faced his friend.
“Trust me, the last thing we need at this moment is a rogue A.I. You’re not wrong to worry, but we can’t win this war by playing it safe. We need every edge we can get, and O.R.A.C.L.E. might be that edge.”
Adam crossed his arms, staring hard at the display, before finally nodding.
“Alright. I trust you. And I'm still with you on this.”
Lance gave a small smile.
“That’s all I need to hear. Are you ready for the next step?”
Adam stood, the exhaustion still clinging to him, but his resolve slowly building once more.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Lance nodded, turned to the console again, and typed a one-word command.
<Activate>
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