As yet another message came in, Adam’s uncertainty only grew more and more. Thirty minutes had gone by. Thirty minutes of near inaction. No person conversed, with only the controller of the vehicle having moved at all. What was going on?

Troy had been performing his role as intended, keeping to himself. The AI could see the discomfort that this brought along. After the test, commendation for the man’s control would be given. The score rested in his hands.

The score… Adam couldn't understand the score. How did it go up? How did it go down? Only the actions of Troy could change it. The score would go down if the role being played was not the one of Nico. All of it made sense upfront. Play the role, and get rewarded for it.

But, there were no other actors to play with. No start to it all. The other people had sat in the car, silent like the unalive. Several starts should have started the play, set things along the right path. Adam had nudged Troy along in these moments, trying to set up their response just right. The man might not have noticed, no matter how obscure the trials were. A saddening reality.

Each time the persona was put into use, it was stopped not long after. Even at times where it seemed unnatural to do so, the other participant quietly ceased talking. Adam could clearly see manipulation in the air. But, was this the influence of Dr Fidelis or was it something else?

The AI was pressed to find out, as the people stepped out of the car. As stated before, a new message had come along. Only a few had come, but with each of them arriving did Adam’s understanding grow. It would not be many more before he could conclusively understand it all.

'Nico liked the lake. They all did, no matter how little they wanted to admit it. Everybody in the city had been at those pure waters at least once in their life. The yearly festival had been set up here. It would have been this year as well, just next week if things hadn't changed.

With all good things came the bad. Equilibrium at the finest. It held itself in his beliefs, and it showed itself on the impact of the world. Nico knew the others felt the pressure as well. No words needed to be said, for it felt heavier than any weight could ever hope to do.

If the birds were close, the sound of the song would have been heard. The song of sorrow.

Nico needed to help the two others. For all their passiveness, they could not carry the gear alone. Evon would certainly try, but he did not need to bear as much today. It was only fair.`

Once again, the message had been filled with mystique. Vague mentions, unexplained implications, and not-fully-understood symbolism. The AI knew it could sit around, trying to twist it all into something comprehensible. Put its full mind into finding out what was meant, why it was said so, and if anything really made sense together. Some threads were already doing so, had been since the start, but nothing had been found yet.

With each passing second, it became obvious that he lacked data. A fragmentary collection was before him. Judgments could be drawn, sure, but the chances of being right was low. Follow along and try to uncover the secrets while doing so. Multitask. With all the AI’s talk about it, the future moves were easy to understand.

The car had been parked not far from the lake, being taken as far as the dirt road allowed them. They might even have driven a few meters more than needed, but it was simply noted down as a precautionary measure.

Struggles were made by three of the people to get out of the car. They found the car was locked, the doors locked in place. The driver had seemingly held them inside, his hands not moving from the steering wheel.

“Algie?...” Was heard from behind. Judging from the higher tones, it was Evon giving his inquiry verbally. As Troy turned his head to the source, Adam was able to Naadim looking forward intently, the first large movement observed from the man.

The message was truthful at some points, in the very least. Could it be that the play had first started now? It was certainly an opportunity.

'Troy. Calmly put your hand on Algie’s shoulder. Do not talk. Only return his gaze, if it's started by him,` Adam sent. A caring gesture. Nico had been noticing the unrest in his fellow comrades. If it had been mentioned so many times, it was obvious that action needed to be made for it. Such a reaction was certainly planned when it came to the character of Evon. Nico had been planning to carry his… whatever they were going to be carrying.

It was self-sacrifice. Actions meant only to benefit the other. It was being considerate. If Adam was right about this, they would be getting their score turned up higher than ever before.

Troy moved calmly. Straightening his arm bit by bit, a firm grip was put on the driver’s shoulder. Not a forceful hold but one certain in its strength. It was not meant to hurt, but only to give an acknowledgement of its presence.

And it certainly did, Algie looking over at Nico with surprised eyes, unblinking in nature. Now that the trait had been mentioned, Adam could not remember the man every blinking while being watched. A presumed explanation for the bloodshot eyes accompanying the agitated expression.

Upon seeing the others staring, and Troy’s eyes remaining unwavering, the man seemingly deflated in intensity. Relaxing in his seat, the atmosphere that had been building up disappeared with it. One in the back exhaled loudly, but Adam was not able to figure out which was the source, sight not being upon them currently.

“What?” Algie got out, as the stares on him remained.

“The lock, Algie,” Naadim quietly said. His voice was not strong, not intimidating, not any type of deep. Yet, Adam could hear a force reverberate in it. How curious. Was it a trick of the ears, or was this man an anomaly? Mentality twisted sensations was a good guess, but the AI did not know that it did to him the same. Or did it? A question for another test.

The bearded man sat there still, seemingly having trouble understanding the words. Looking at Troy, who instinctively shot a glance at the car door, something finally clicked in the man’s brain. A switch was quickly turned, and the tired ensemble was able to move outwards.

Quickly, the object needing to be moved became apparent.

“Still can't believe you got Tim to borrow us the boat. Nico, what did you say to that poor old man? You didn't threaten him or anything, right?” Evon started, looking in the same place as Troy.

Upon the top of the car, a small fishing boat had been wired up. Naadim and Algie immediately got into the process of unstrapping the thing, as Troy and Evon looked on. Any attempt to move closer, so they could assist, was looked at with contempt and quickly stopped.

And there was still that response waiting to be made.

'Answer him casually, without any explicit methods being mentioned,` Adam sent.

“It was a special occasion,” Nico answered calmly. “Once the man was told, he gave it up instantly.”

Not the best to say, but the AI hadn't been expecting much more than that. There was a definite want to create the answers himself, but he knew the quality would only fall if done so. Natural formulations were easier to say than whatever Adam could create. Something about it coming from the heart, instead of the mind. The AI was still unsure of how the aforementioned worked but didn't have enough opportunity to use for its own gain now, so it was shelved for later.

Evon only laughed. Which… was actually a lot. In the car, the conversation would have already been over, making the silence pervade the area once again. Those giggles were music to the AI’s ears. This had the potential of extreme personal benefit.

“That old geezer has always been so easy to convince. I almost feel bad for the guy sometimes. He is probably the one of us who has lost the most. How long has it been since the last one fell? His brother should have gone down on his-”

Evon did not stop his words. It was but Adam getting another message. A short message.

'Nico did not like talks of the past. Their trip to the lake was not a time of losses spoken out loud. Nico needed Evon talk no more.`

The directive was clear, even if the reasoning was soggy. Adam needed to send it along quickly.

'Make Evon seal his speech up, but do it gently. Nico does not want him speaking, so you don't want him talking. Make him change the subject in the very least.,` the AI hastily sent. The speed at which the words were relayed was nearly three times the usual speed, but he was sure Troy would understand it. The controlled widening of his eyes was enough to tell that he understood the gist of it.

Another shoulder tap happened at that moment. A hand was tightly put on Evon’s shoulder. It was brief but showed nearly unconstrained emotion. Or fabricated emotion, if one wanted to speak of it as such. Troy was being very convincing in his act.

“Let us be more gentle in our words. We came here to enjoy ourselves. It would be traitorous to ourselves if we did not do as intended. Come along now. The others will need help to get the boat into the waters.”

No wait was given for a response, as Troy moved forward. In another time, Adam would have criticized this action. The opportunity for knowledge had been great. Evon had been ready to talk more if he was just encouraged to do so.

Yet, such actions would not have fitted the role being played, no matter how much the AI wanted it to.

Footfalls could be heard from behind. The younger man had been quiet, no comeback coming from his mouth. From the careful steps, silence from him was to be expected. He really had been shot down too much, in these last minutes.

A shame. The tension was always great but without an obvious pay-off, the man was a ticking time-bomb. Evon would remember the words said, just like the others would. Adam could see they acted like nothing, as the ultimately got the boat resting on the soil. They had only been a few meters away from Troy and Evon. They had heard the words said. And their reaction was just as obvious, glanced having been exchanged as they remaining two came around to assist them with the boat.

Question continued delving deeper.

Adam saw it all, as Troy took one side of the boat while Algie and Naadim took the other. Evon had tried helping, but the AI had made Troy blow off his attempts. The reasoning of him taking the fish up the hill after their little boat trip had been brought forth. The younger man had accepted it, no matter how little he agreed with it.

He was being treated as a gentle thing, and he disliked it immensely. Yet another thing the AI had trouble understanding. The stress on the man was smaller, but he was still acting as if it had only grown.

Why were humans built so imperfectly? They could not take a gift for what it was. A gesture of goodwill had the actual potential of being just that. Instead of acknowledging that simple reality, those primitive apes had two ways to look at that. They could go the way of cutting the head, trying to get more than was given. Give an inch, be ready for a foot to be taken. A proverb used more commonly than it should have reason to.

It was either an inflated ego making people taking more than they should, or it was the direct opposite. People unwilling to accept a gift, thinking of it more along the lines of trade. And an unfair trade at that. They would get a dime and then be expected to pay a dollar.

There were two extremes, with nothing in the middle. An erroneous form of the great window, breaking the laws of known physics. Why could humans not find a middle ground? Not everything was there to betray them.

Adam could not blame the creatures too much. It was only their paranoia that had allowed them to grow to such heights. Without it, they would have fallen like their predecessors before them.

Still… with so long to have grown in mind, the AI had expected to outgrow the basic instincts that bore them to the throne. They were now unneeded, only hampering them. It would be better if they had time to enjoy that throne. They were the apex predator but soon enough one could grow to rival them. One of superior creation, without the faults that they bore. A dream of perfection. But, most important of all, not one which the AI had any want of fulfilling.

Working in tandem, and with Evon walking beside them, the group was able to get down to the lake quickly enough. Walking out on an older pier, they were able to get it out into the water. They could have technically done it on the natural shore, but that bore the chance of damaging the boat with rocks. Even small ones bore potential in enough numbers.

On the back of Naadim, a small cluster of fishing rods had been brought. They were clearly not store-bought, looking extremely brittle. The materials were not of high-quality, even the colouring being discordant. However long the gear had been in use, replacement parts certainly had been used often.

They were dumped down into the boat, along with an unopened backpack. Its contents were a mystery, but Adam had a few guesses. All slowly got themselves situated on the boat before the self-brought paddles were put to use.

Not what had been expected, but it was unquestionably something. The AI just hoped for more to come.