Initial Revelations

Not much more was said after that. Peter quickly agreed to the operation after my talk with him. I know that if I was in his situation that I'd want someone to approach me as a friend. This was probably looking to him as if his life was over. I had full confidence that Arthur would be able to find some glue to prevent it all from falling apart. If there's one word that I would use to describe Arthur, that word would be capable. More so than almost anyone I know.

It had been about 15 minutes since then. I was currently on an elevator heading to floor 27. This was the R&D lab for the android department. This floor was where all of the hardware was designed, prototyped, and tested. It was also where Mark would be repaired.

On this floor were several labs. Each of them was managed by employees that are referred to as senior design engineers. One of them was the only design engineer that I trusted with Mark due to the sensitive nature of the project. The man went by the name Yakov Zoabi.

Yakov was probably the most intelligent person on my team. If he was a better leader, he'd probably have my job. Yakov was an Israeli man poached from their military. With three PhDs, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science, he could feasibly design an entire android by himself.

*Ding*

A robotic voice sounded off from the elevator's intercom. "You have arrived at floor 27, android research and development. Please prepare your identification."

As soon as the elevator doors started to open, the android sitting at the security desk stood up. Without looking, he spoke, appearing to grab something. "Identification please."

I chuckled. "Good afternoon Phillip. Is Yakov in his lab?"

Seemingly recognizing my voice, Phillip looked up while holding the hand held card reader he had retrieved. "Oh, Dr. Mittdermit, how are you doing today?"

I waved my wrist brace for him to see. "Could be better."

Phillip placed down the card reader and looked concerned. "Are you in need of treatment?"

I shook my head. "Thank you, but I should be fine by this evening."

Phillip nodded, accepting my reply. He didn't really have much of a choice other than listening to me regardless. It was in his programming. "Very well, doctor. To answer your question, Dr. Zoabi is currently in the break room. You can find him there."

I nodded, smiling. "Thank you Phillip. Have a good rest of your day."

Phillip smiled, appreciating the respect I showed him. "Thank you, doctor. I wish the same for you."

I then continued my walk into the R&D floor. Looking around, I realized that I am impressed every single time I walk onto this floor. It is hands down the cleanest floor in the entire building. Even more so than the executive suites. This makes sense though, due to what occurs here. Just a singular speck of dust could impact the efficacy of the testing instruments or prototypes.

Following the security desk was a hallway. If I were to follow this hallway, it would lead to a four way intersection that leads to all of the labs. This is a security measure in place to make it so that there are less points of entry into the labs. There are, of course, other doors for safety reasons but they are only able to be opened from the inside in case of emergency.

Rather than following the hallway, I hooked a right into the break room. Honestly, calling it a break room was putting it lightly. It was part restaurant, part coffee shop, and part rec room. In other words, anything the researchers may need when stepping away from the lab could be found in this room. They could stay on this floor from the moment they come to work until they leave. Aside from the security benefit, this was also a major convenience. When I find myself bored at work, I'll often come down here.

When I walked in, I found Yakov reading off of his tablet while eating falafel at one of the tables. He also had a cup of coffee in front of him. I could smell the perfectly fried falafel from the entrance.

Yakov was a smaller man. He was quite skinny and only around 5'4. However, his stern resting expression and sharp facial features made him seem much bigger than he was. He was bald and a short goatee that was mostly gray at this point. The lack of hair on his head and the gray facial hair made sense though since he was 125 years old. When he was younger, the anti-aging technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is now.

I chuckled as I walked in, heading straight towards his table. "Yak, do you ever get sick of falafel?"

He finished taking a sip of his coffee before setting it back down. He didn't even look up from whatever he was reading when he replied. "No. It is my mother's recipe."

I shrugged. "Fair enough."

An android server walked over and stopped next to me as I sat down. "Good afternoon Dr. Mittdermit. Can I get you anything?"

I thought for a moment, before remembering how hungry I was. "Hi Hunter. I'll take a turkey wrap and my usual iced coffee in a to-go cup."

Hunter nodded and turned to fetch my order. "Right away, doctor."

I turned back to Yakov. "So, what are you reading?"

Yakov finally looked up from his tablet. Apparently he was willing to actually converse about this topic. "Researchers at MIT have released an absolutely fascinating paper regarding the construction of artificial brains. The whole motivation behind the project is how even the most powerful quantum computers still can't match up to the processing power of the human brain."

I tilted my head, my interest having been piqued. "I've always wondered about that. How does the processing power thing even make sense?"

Yakov chuckled. "That is what's amazing. Our brain works through a mixture of chemical and electrical signals. They believe the key is in this mixture and have released some of their theories in this paper. I am following this closely to see if I can apply it to my research."

I nodded. "Yes, I know your unit has been focused on creative thinking for our androids lately. Have there been any developments?"

Yakov nodded excitedly. He was truly a nerd through and through. "Yes! We have been experimenting with the impact of full emotional freedom on their capacity to think creatively. Human artists often derive their work from complex emotions. What if this is the key to unlocking an android's creative capabilities?"

I scratched my chin, thinking about it carefully. "Couldn't the emotions impact the processing power?"

Yakov shrugged. "There is only one way to find out. We have an AI in the growth phase currently and it should be able to form sentences by the end of this coming week. Oh, I got the message regarding Mark. His parts should be completed within the hour and then I can repair him."

I smiled, happy to hear that. "That is good news. Do you mind if I observe the repairs? I might be able to learn something."

Yakov nodded. "Of course. I'll give you a call when I'm ready."

Coincidentally, my watch started blinking. Arthur was requesting me on the sublevel I had just left from. Thus, I stood up, my food having just been brought by Hunter. "Thank you, Hunter. I shall be going now."

Hunter nodded. "You're very welcome doctor. I hope to see you soon."

I smiled before turning to Yakov. "Well, see you in a bit Yak."

Yakov just waved to me before returning to his tablet, lifting his coffee cup again for another sip.

As I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to head down to B40, I thought about my time here at Southrop. When I first started, I was actually a junior researcher on Yakov's team. Each research team had a software guy and that was me. Even back then he was in the same position.

He really took a liking to me and showed me the ropes, quickly catching me up on everything his team was working on. It made my transition to the company from university extremely smooth.

*Ding*

The robotic voice spoke again. "Please scan your badge to access this floor."

I sighed, realizing my hands were full. I put the corner of the sealed bag containing the wrap in my mouth as I reached for my badge. It was on a retractable lanyard attached to one of my belt loops.

Putting it up to the scanner, the red light flickered to green so I quickly let go of the card. It snapped back to my waist as I reached up and grabbed the wrap from my teeth.

*Ding*

The voice spoke again. "Identity; Dr. James Mittdermit. Clearance level; black. Access granted."

I shook my head at this. I understood why they did this but it was still a hassle. Any floor that isn't an office area requires everyone in the elevator to scan their badge. The biggest pain in the ass was how it only allowed people who have the proper clearance level to be in the elevator as it heads to that floor.

Fortunately, I had the luxury of other people yielding the elevator to me 99% of the time. I would always feel bad when they do so but I genuinely appreciated it. Everyone knows how much of a workaholic I am and when I am using the elevators, I'm usually in a rush.

*Ding*

The robotic voice returned yet again. "You have arrived at floor B40. Please use the biosecurity terminal to the right of the elevator to exit the reception area."

I groaned, almost forgetting that I'd have to do this. The biosecurity process involved fingerprint scan, blood test, and, my favorite one, the retinal scan. All the while, it would also test your vitals and flag you if they were anything but nominal.

Rushing through the scans so I could eat my food, I soon found myself outside of a lab that was nearby the operating room I had just left.

As I was raising my hand to knock, a voice came from inside. "Open the door. He needs to see this."

I easily recognized this voice as Arthur. He appeared to be extremely invested in this. The door quickly slid open, revealing a young research assistant. She was one of the techs that worked under Samira.

Speaking of the woman, she quickly turned to me as I walked on. "James, come over here."

I was immediately concerned. "Umm, can I eat in here?"

She scoffed and pointed. "Put the food in the fridge for now. There are a few components I need you to look at."

I sighed, turning towards the research assistant with a pleading look.

She chuckled. "Yes, I'll take it over there for you, Dr. Mittdermit. I'm Dr. Sheila by the way."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Sheila. And you can call me James. The doctor title sounds too stuffy."

Sheila shrugged and relieved me of my wrap and coffee. I nearly shed a tear as I watched my coffee fade off into the distance. I didn't even get to drink the coffee at the diner. Today was truly awful.

Sighing yet again, I made my way over to the workstation Samira and Arthur were sitting at. With just a glance, I could immediately tell what they were looking at. "That's quite the complex device."

Samira grunted in frustration as she lightly slapped the desk. "This is the analysis of what we pulled out of Peter's head. I just want to figure this out, inshallah."

I chuckled, feeling bad that I was about to make her struggle appear like it was nothing. "Well, there is a nanochip that releases electrical signals, a few compressed liquid storage cells, and a dispersion mechanism. I'm confused about what would use all of that though."

Samira immediately stiffened up. "I think I know what it is."

Arthur slammed his palm into his forehead. "Well, fucking spit it out!"

Samira gulped involuntarily, clearly anxious about what she was about to say. "I believe it is what some might call a mind control device."