Troy stood a small ways apart from the doctor, making sure his negative atmosphere couldn't find any targets too quickly. It had already been quite embarrassing being told off for it once. The situation would just turn awkward if it became a recurring problem.

As a divergence from normality, the fine doctor had walked away from his little screen. More than a good few steps were between him and the technological device. It was fascinating, even more so when one took in Troy as the reason for it. Dr Fidelis must have had something on his mind, to trek so far away from one of his many treasures. Could he have a fever?

“Feeling a little tired, buddy? Those eyes of yours are dropping. Give it a few more seconds, and I might just have to stop another injury from coming,” Dr Fidelis said, bringing Troy out of his daze with his words. This caused the aforementioned falling of eyelids, and a few blinks keeping away the sleepiness rapidly.

That didn't take long. Troy still wasn't feeling anything out of the ordinary. His body just wasn't… following his orders. The wording brought more with than it reasonably should have. Questions were already appearing, and he already had the perfect man to answer them.

“Not in the slightest, sir. I am as fit as a fiddle,” Troy answered, trying to wave off any of the doctor’s worries. “By the way, mind answering a few questions about the test?”

“I will bet you a dollar you've any seen a fiddle in your life. Kids nowadays have hardly even seen an instrument. Electronic music really did a number on us all. And you can ask away. Don't expect too much from me, though. I'm hardly on my third watch through this test. It just gets too interesting at some of the middle parts. I never would have expected you to actually… nevermind. What questions do you have for an old man, such as me?” Dr Fidelis asked, not seeming like any old man would. He was still a good bit taller than Troy. The width was not even fair to compare to each other. That man might not have had a low body-fat, but that refined muscle mass was certainly not on top of the curve. A rarity in the fitter leagues of man.

Honestly, that body could rival a diet version of Charlie. Would it be wrong to ask how much the doctor could deadlift? Or did the man do fitness of any kind? Steoriods were available to anybody, as long as the right person was known. With a larger clearance on a government hidden facility, would it be too hard to imagine the doctor having a taste of the newest biological technology?

If it turned out the man was pure natural, in the steroids department at least, Troy could also ask where the fitness rooms were. He had been looking for-

No! Troy catched himself that time. While it might not have been too obvious as first, with no warnings coming from his body, his mind was obviously tired. Not in the usual way, though. This was something new. Something which might just go away with some time resting. If not, it would be brought up with the doctors. Or, well, doctor.

“This test. You made all of it yourself?” Troy began the questioning off with. A simple yes or no would help guide things along smoothly.

“Of course I did. When it comes to work that I trust, it is that done by my own hands. While some of the modellings might have been left to randomisations, nearly everything about what happened inside was orchestrated by me. Pretty neat, don't you think?”

Troy thought it a perfect example of why virtual violence had gotten so many restrictions on it. Nowadays, it was nearly impossible to tell the fake, more violent videos apart from the real ones. Enough advancements had been made. What could be discounted as being obviously unreal was now useless as an excuse.

“It was unique in its own right. Certainly haven't seen much like it before,” Troy answered, not wanting to spend too much time on that subject. The tip of the needle had been sharp. With a bit more pressure, blood would have flown from his palm. “You just said that everything that happened had been composed by you. Was that all there was? Was it all intended to happen? Everything happening just as planned?”

How much control had Troy really had over it all? Was he able to pull any responsibility on anybody beyond himself? He may just have been following the requests of Adam, but was that a viable excuse? It might have been accepted as one for some, but he was having trouble accepting it as such. Troy knew what he had done, and he felt no remorse for it. But, as was becoming more and more obvious, he was certainly feeling something.

Dr Fidelis laughed at first. A full one at that, while the whole spiel that involved slapping of knees. The doctor’s own, of course. Troy didn't feel comfortable letting the older man touch his... What a ghastly thing to think.

“Oh, buddy, you really can say such comical things. Only one possible ending? What does this look like? The forties?” Dr Fidelis rhetorically asked, having a small giggle at the inside joke. It might have been an obvious reference, but that was a whole other thing when it came to how long the man had had to gather information. “Alas! Such a simple task would not have been allowed in my sight. What could a good test be, if not fully dynamic to the wishes of the ones being tested? Could I really brag about the results to my peers, if they had not a chance of being applicable in the real world?

No, it is not as you think, buddy. Those personages you saw in there? They were as fraudulent as they can be. Not a single thing about them was sentient. Simple puppets, with a character sheet longer than any man should ever have to read. Wrote most of it myself.

You played a character. A character with his very own sheet. It might not have been as long, or even fully detailed, but there was a sheet nonetheless. Had to allow you some wriggle room. While this character did fit the hole left for it, there were some traits I left up for your choices. Or, you could say it was the choices of Adam. Does it really matter, when it comes to the two of you? I think not, personally speaking.

I wrote the backstory for this test as well, you know. Spent a long time on it, actually. I gained a few more wrinkles because of it. While my mind might have it easy, finding some new extraordinary hardware pieces, I am lost when it comes to stories. I have never understood them. If they aren't real, why bother? Inspiration can be gained much more effectively from better sourced in under half the time.

Ended up stealing most of the plot, though. Made a few changes to the locations, changed some of the details, but it all essentially happened.”

Troy stared at Dr Fidelis for a moment, before getting right back into it. There had been no expectations for the doctor to detail it out so quickly. Not much was held back. Many of the minor questions had just gotten out of the way, in under a minute.

“Thanks for the longer answer, but that… wasn't what I was looking for,” Troy meekly stated.

“Oh? What were you hoping I would say? If you want me to get some more details on the coding, I could give you a few-”

Yeah, no way in his life was he allowing that to continue. Troy was not going to be able to bear through another technical discussion in his life. Especially not coding. It was the devil’s language. Only the true masochist of the world subjected themselves to interacting with such a vile thing.

“I was hinting at you talking more about the ending of the test. You know… the finale of the whole thing.”

That brought a damper on Dr Fidelis’ mood. Not that it had made his enthusiasm disappear. Far from it, actually. It was closer to being along the lines of him showing just a little respect. He had watched Troy do it, and more than likely heard the vocalisations that came afterwards.

“Ah, yes. The showstopper of the whole thing. I had been afraid of even having that part in this test. But, I felt it was needed if the experiment was to reach the heights it deserved. An all or nothing scenario. Adam’s less-than-stellar reactions to earlier stimuli of similar type was not the greatest. If such a thing was to happen again… I would not be sure that I could keep doing these tests,” Dr Fidelis said. His lips were tight-pressed together for a moment, his face revealing just how many thoughts were swimming by in the doctor’s head. “So much risk assessment. But, after much discussion with Dr Hale, I felt that this test was needed. It was the final piece of the puzzle. The true finisher of this subject. Lies, deceit, and so much more was hidden in this test. Adam actually picked up on a lot of it. I could see it in your actions. Some weirdly specific requests should have been made by the little guy, I'm sure.

The ending… that was an unexpected one. In total, there were thirty-eight main endings, with some variations inside each. I had noted this one down as the least likely, just between some of the ones only made for the sake of humour.

Was it destined? It was as destined as your own actions are. And that, my friend, is a whole other branch of science to discuss. You could have changed it if different actions were made. Nico could have wished to do something else. The messages were special in that way. I only wrote the first one of them. The others were made, with your actions as a base. Some information was sprinkled in after the fact, but the foundations came from what you did, Troy. Even smaller opportunities can be turned into something great, just as it can be turned into something terrible. It would do good to remember that.

Got any other questions? I can certainly keep answering.”

Troy did not like the answer. He had not been expecting to but was more than a little bummed out by the result nonetheless. It would have been perfect if things were as simple as he wanted them to be. The world would be a better place. For him, at least.

“Can't say I have too much left in me, sir. I had more than a handful, but your answers drain them away. You aren't even keeping yourself to one at a time,” Troy stated.

“As if I would only answer one question at a time! Why do one when you can do two? Constant vigilance! It allows so much more if you just put your mind onto reading the things around you. Figuratively speaking, of course. I have made that mistake before. There are not many interesting things written about people, I can tell you that much. So… what do you want to know?”

Dr Fidelis’ attempts to brighten his mood were semi-successful. Troy certainly couldn't hide the very unprofessional snort that came forth. He actually understood that one, no matter how old it might have been.

“I just wanted to ask… what is the meaning with all of this?” Troy asked. Dr Fidelis looked ready to answer, but the man just continued his questioning without letting the doctor begin. “I get that it is to further your understanding of the AI. That's what the recruitment guy told me. I understand that part. But… what else? There has to be more than that. There are extremely many things other than this that you can do if you want to know more about Adam. Maybe just have a conversation with him? It will not bring what this does, but I can't say I understand why you want what this can give you. Why do you want to know what he will do when asked to follow a character-driven story? What point is there to all of this? You know… I was wondering about that kind of stuff.”

Dr Fidelis had looked ready to answer immediately, that overly-complicated wordings coming along with it. Yet, as Troy didn't stop the questioning, going more in-depth about his worries, that easy-going smile slowly disappeared. It went downwards, into a state of focus. The doctor was listening intently to his words. He was being regarded as an individual. A person with legitimate worries. Troy would have been happy for it, if not for the situation that caused it.

“Troy… I have to a little honest here and say that you will never get the full truth out of me. As much as we like to put it up like it isn't, you are as much part of the test as Adam is. You are a large factor in the test. I will tell you what I can. Always. When you ask into it, but that's something you do so it still counts.

This test right here? It is more than a simple experiment. It has importance, that you will never be told in a million years. You may have a high-security clearance, and the perks that accompany it, but even I am not allowed to grant you this information. It will be used for powers you can't even imagine, by people who you will never meet. That I will likely never meet.

For what, you ask? A greater purpose. Something bigger than you. Something bigger than me. Something bigger than nearly every living person in this whole facility. This experiment may seem simple, but it gives what is needed to accomplish things we will have never dreamed off. The information will serve us for as long as it can. This is the pavement for a path never walked on before.

Troy. I trust you. If I didn't, you would have never stepped a foot on this place. You would have never met me, Dr Hale, or anybody even related to this facility. If that is a gift or a curse, you can decide for yourself.

I am sorry about this. I know you want to know more. You are not the only one that wants this. If my superiors ever decide to lower the information threshold, to put this closer on going public, you will be one of the first to get noticed of it. I mean that literally. Your name is written on some very important lists, all the way up top.

Any other questions? If not, I believe it would be best, if I get back to work. Without Dr Hale, this will take more time than I would want it to. No man is eternal, and even I need some sleep some days. Tomorrow is a day off for you. You were supposed to have this one off as well, but that is neither here nor there.

Enjoy yourself. That is the only real path to greatness.”