Adam had grown curious of Troy. The transformation had transpired swiftly, quicker than the AI had ever recorded before. It was an anomaly in his data to be assured, but it had always been remarked as feasible on the side of pure theory. To change one’s demeanour with an unknown catalyst, never having the chance to be observed, was something which he had always been interested in since the moment it was heeded.

How unusual humankind could be. Adam hoped to be surprised again, no matter how little it made sense. Preparation for every possible scenario was his goal in life, yet he would not mind a failure in his planning? It was hypocritical, in every sense of the word. The AI should have been ashamed of his illogical thought-processes.

But no shame came. Tranquillity, the concepts guiding along as they always did. Adam was not a supporter of self-loathing. Not having trust in one’s own action led to hesitation. Hesitation led to failure. The failure led to anger. And anger led to self-loathing, creating a cycle of exponential germination. It was better to accept the lesser stains of one-self, instead of creating major ones with them. A net gain was better than flawed attempts to rectify it all. Not that it removed his goal of supremacy. That was always something he strived for. But, by now Adam knew the chances were close to zero, closer than most things had the possibility to be.

Another chance for surprise. The AI was certainly not expecting it to come true.

Going away from self-centred attempts at reverse psychology, Adam had been reconnected with Troy yet again. From the moment of the current aligning itself correctly, it was apparent that things were not as they had been before.

'Hello, Troy. You are in pain,` Adam sent to the man, who was walking slightly hunched over. Not in Troy’s normal behavioural patterns though. In those times, the shoulders would be slackened and the neck would be bent a little forward, causing a general bad posture. At the current time, it had not been caused by a lack of the back muscles being put to use. From the tenseness exhibited, they were about being put to their near-fullest potential, in relation to the non-strenuous position they were in.

The back-muscles were being held at a near-constant pressure, to balance things off with the front. The abdominal muscles were not in a state of relaxation either, far from it. In Adam's own evaluation, and with limited observations of the human muscle structure, this was unmistakably not meant to happen. Troy might have gained a precise amount of control when it came to his body, but even he would not have been able to control it by this amount.

The abdominal muscles were contracting themselves. Not in full states, smaller groups of muscle fibres during it separately. There was no pattern, no purpose to see it. From the painful feedback, of which Adam knew was painful due to Troy’s stressed expressions, it was obviously causing damage. It would cause growth, very minor but still, yet the AI did not believe any human to willingly cause themselves this. What had caused this, Adam wondered to himself.

“Really? Are you sure? I had not even noticed,” Troy sarcastically replied his left hand putting pressure on his side. An informal method of massage.

'How surprising to not notice. I can feel that your stomach is feeling unwell. There had been minor signs of it during the test. It is safe to believe that these symptoms have been worsening for some time. Do you have any ideas for the causes of the ailment?` Adam sent to Troy. The man had been sarcastic in his words, leading the AI to do the same, if only at a smaller degree. There was no greater love for the practice, but such crude methods of communication were common in normal conversation.

It was all a game of understanding, knowing how to interpret blatant lies in such a way that it made sense. Coding a message, wrapping it in inversion, and sending it through one’s preferred media, only to be unwrapped by another, who would have no first-hand experience on how to do so correctly. A game of wits, best played by those who had absolute control. It could be crude, yes, but it could also be so much more. Intentions could never be fully realised, never be fully understood. It would only be much long after, that any had a chance of even comprehending a smidge of the truth. Irony and sarcasm. True powerhouses in their own right. It would be stupid to not fear them. Even more not to use them.

Troy scratched the back of his head in thought, as he walked along the table filled with foodstuffs. Adam was unsure of his intentions for it. From the taste on his tongue, the man had obviously been eating. What, the AI wasn't sure. Troy did not eat much while wearing the earpiece. He needed to do that more. The AI had been wondering about the intricacies of taste for so long.

Sweet, sour, salty, and bitter were the groundworks of taste. They were the pillars, the foundation of what humans could feel on their tongue. It was the base of all, coming out into a world of infinite possibility. Things may have seemed similar at times, but the differentiation possible was out of the AI’s world.

There was also Umami of course. Adam didn't like that one. It was a terrible designation, one which deserved all the pain in the world. It was a mass of concepts, all bundled together into one. A designation of many different things.

The AI would not have had any criticisms against such bundles normally. They were made to be easier to handle. A designation for many things. One would not have to give a unique name for every atom, only the different types of them. Adam was sure that had been the thought of Umami. A name to help humanity combine all the things which had one type of taste in common.

If only that were so. The sheer variance in what could be called umami frightened the artificial intelligence. It was the taste of mushrooms yet also the taste of the onions. It was the taste of garlic yet it was also the same as bacon. The descriptions of their individual tastes were not the same as any of the others. Yet they still fell under the description of umami.

The designation was simply for what could not be described with the others. A ragtag name was just given due to the laziness of humanity. They required it to be simplistic, no matter how damaging it would be when showing the nuances. Would it not be better for the hairless primates to call it all taste? 'It tastes of Taste. Excellent!` Would that not satisfy their undeveloped minds even more? Make them howl in pleasure, of not having to stress their brains of thinking of more than five different types of taste?

Adam could not understand it. He likely never would. Some time ago, the AI had just characterised it as one of the many things, which required a human mind. Not one to fall to such lows, he had simply left it as is. The AI could always create his own table of tastes, no matter how little it would ever be used.

“The cause of the pain lies at the feet of my own,” Troy answered as Adam continued his minor rants. Not that this stopped the AI from listening of course. Multiple threads were still focused on listening, no matter how much they wanted to add more fuel to the rapid rantings. A few had even started making bids on the conclusions. A weird occurrence, seeing as the ranters, the onlookers, and the bidders were all the very same entity. And that the currency being used was not in any way adhering to market values. Not that Adam knew market value anyway.

'How so?` Adam inquired curiously. It was not always that humans would give themselves the blame so quickly. It required time for them to realise their own mistakes usually. Had the man been discussing it earlier? How rude. The AI needed as many body language changes as possible, especially on such rare matters. How was he expected to create efficient processes without it? Again, how rude of him.

“The pill I took before the test is what is causing the less-than-pleasant reaction. It stops the need for food and water completely for some time. As you should be able to remember, I did not feel the slightest bit of hunger or thirst during the test. I have that pill to thank for. But… the trade came with the slightest bit of pay-back. Human bodies do not take it kindly when their needs are ignored. I am not sure how it worked, but my stomach is currently doing its best to violently torture me.”

Violent torture… it was not sounding all too positive. Adam might have even gone so far, to state that it was negative. That would have been the message conveyed if the sarcasm was still being used by the man. But, they had apparently gone past that phase, moving into the more serious roots.

'If the effects have worsened to such a degree, that you have trouble performing daily tasks, should it not be looked over by a professional. It would not be good for you to have performance issues tomorrow, due to a hindrance easily fixed.`

“Oh, you have no reason to worry there,” Troy assured him. The man had apparently reached his goal of the buffet before him, reaching for bite-sized sandwiches. A few were quickly consumed, with little to no chewing in between. Adam was not sure whether to be enamoured or appalled. Having resources at one’s disposal while not using them. It was a wonder sometimes, that it was the homo sapiens that survived. Though that could also have been due to Uncanny Valley giving them an upper hand. Thoughts for later.

“Dr Fidelis assured me that it was completely normal. Apparently, the first time is always the worst. Seeing as I haven't actually tried those pills before, it should have been obvious that the reaction was big. I was told that getting something to eat would solve the problems quickly enough. We’ll have to see how much it actually helps in a while.

And, it is not like it would stop any tests tomorrow. Because, you know, there aren't any to be stopped. The last one was the final for one of the segments planned. Dr Fidelis wants to spend some time revisiting everything, so he could do some stuff with it. Don't know what, but it's important enough to halt testing for a day. Seeing as Dr Hale isn't really able to help either, it will take some extra time. Shame for you, I'm sure. You were probably pretty excited for those tests.”

So, no tests were planned for the next day. It was a shame to be sure. Constant experimentation was a dear hobby for the AI. Helping others in furthering their own was to be expected of anybody. It was only through mutual aid, that one could rise above the individual strengths, becoming what can be commonly known as perfection incarnate.

Yet… Adam did not feel much negative about it. There were still others to aid, others to learn from, and others to rise together with. Why was Troy thinking that the AI only had such shallow a mind?

'While it will be a change from the standard, I do not feel too inclined to weep due to it. Is there any reason for such an assumption about me? It is not meant in a negative way of course. It is purely for curiosity's sake.`

Adam did not relish the message that had been sent. It was improper, having to correct itself within itself. If he knew the words could have been misinterpreted, there was no reason to send them! But… the AI had trouble coming up with a way to do anything else. Inquiries into the mental processing of others were always symbolised to be negative in nature. It was a sign of untrust in most social circles. So it said in his pre-known knowledge. If he was to doubt its words now, many of his mental pillars would be doubted.

Troy, who had been in the process of going through small assortments of biscuits, stopped in his movements. The pulse had spiked for but a moment, adrenaline pushing through the body. It was not the readjustment of the centre of mass, that told Adam this. It was the literal sensation of chemicals moving through the man’s body. It was not a healthy thing, that the AI had grown to recognize the feeling.

The fight or flight instinct was a terrible thing. It could save the host in dire situations, yet it could also mobilize them in situations where it is unneeded. Adam had not even used a different tone, yet Troy was looking ready to flee. Not that fleeing would stop their closeness, since the AI was attached to him, literally meant in this scenario.

Three seconds had passed on, and Troy had yet to make his move. While the effect of the instinct was a strong one, no regular person would have been made to falter for so long. What was going through his head? Adam felt the need to know. Yet, asking for it once more had the chance of increasing the current affliction. Both the mental and physical one. Any longer, and the time passing by would be an incentive to stay quiet. An awkward silence upheld only by the consequences of stopping it. A bastardized version of loss aversion, if the AI had a say about it. Something needed to be done.

'Are you okay, Troy?` Adam sent. This time, to bring the man out of his stupor, the AI had used a minor worrying tone. It did not normally use it, but this was a time where it was needed. The chance of it not working could not be accepted.