“No, Adam, it does not seem I am,” was the answer the AI got out of the man. He could not have been blamed for the lacklustre content of his words. His hands were shaking slightly, even though he tried to hide it. As the seconds passed turned into double digits, it became more obvious that the reaction was not too related to Adam’s question. It was something else. Something which clearly could stand by its own two feet. Something which was causing distress in levels the AI only had seen a few times before. It was not good. Not good at all.

He was not prepared to deal with this. The pre-known knowledge did not tell much about what he was seeing. It told about the facts, the signs that it existed, but it said nothing relating to how to stop it. How he could calm Troy down.

Adam was on his own when it came to this. An intense emotional reaction. The catalyst was as of yet unknown. The reaction from the event had not come instantly. If it had, the AI would have seen it happen. Even with the catalyst having set its roots upon his mind, it had not yet burst. Until the AI agitated him at least.

His words had a chance of being related to it. Or it was himself that was related to it. Or there was nothing about it which shared similarities, and it was only the stress gained that caused the reaction. Adam could not be sure.

There were several possible ways to go about it. And just as many ways for him to screw it up. Troy was currently a wild card. Unpredictable to a degree. As stated before, events could change a person drastically, even more than the passive change of personality. Adam needed to be logical about it. A personal opinion would lessen his chances. His idea of Troy was the former personality traits. With nothing known concretely currently, it would be smartest to think of him as a completely new person. A different personality, which the AI needed to learn how to thread.

First observations needed to be made! Initial interactions were to be immediately. Testing the grounds for any holes, to drive smoothly. The first impression was worth more than the hundred that followed. Understanding this fact would aid him greatly.

'You are unwell. It would be unkind of me, to expect you to talk in full capacity. Do you want to save this moment for tomorrow? We can go back to my earlier question, without any of us is ever the wiser.`

Friendliness. Helpfulness. Empathy. The perfect three traits to look out for. So close to each other, yet they were not identical. They each had nuances which needed to be respected. If one fell, the other would be close to being as effective. The synergy effectively multiplied the effects. One would make you fail. Two could make you passable. Three would make you the perfect creation. And forcing them would make you fall.

Adam needed to keep all this in mind, as he talked. Yet, he could not change his attitude too much. While he was treating the personality as new, the memories were none the worse for wear. It would take more than a slightly traumatic event for them to be repressed. At that level, the body would have revealed it.

Troy sighed. An action heavily documented, with how often it had occurred in the past. But since that had been the hypothetical different Troy, Adam wondered if the data would be usable for the current Troy. Changes could be wide, very specific, or a complete overhaul. The last was already out of the running since the AI could recognize some of the man‘s actions. So, this left the earlier two. Was it broad changes, over a wide area of reactions, or was it something specific, like an irrational fear for rabbits? The latter would not be surprising, with their potentially exponential growth. Adam still needed more information about those creatures.

“You know what? That is probably the best thing to come out of your mouth today. Wait… do you even have a mouth? Like, I have never really known that about you, but that might just be due to me never asking. How would that even work? What purpose would you need for a mouth? Would you be able to eat with it? Adam, do you eat ram with your mouth?” Troy said, asking many things at once.

Eating ram. Adam had never personally tried male sheep. It was apparently a delicacy in a good part of the world. People did not eat such meat anymore. According to his sources, it was due to the expensive costs of keeping them alive. Artificially created meat was better budget-wise. They lacked the wild taste though, whatever such a statement meant. Much currency was traded in exchange for the meat. If the AI ever got the chance, he would not mind a taste.

'I have never tasted ram before. Nor do I currently have the capability to, seeing as I do not possess a mouth. My body is just as non-existent if you discount the place that I am being stored in. If I hypothetically was in the possession of a mouth, I can say it would work as intended, with full function to satisfy the needs I have out of it. If one of these things is nutrition-needs, I would easily be able to eat this ram.`

Troy barked a laugh out instantly after having heard the last sentence. A surprising act, seeing as the man had been completely calm throughout the AI’s speech. Was it humour which had caused the reaction? Adam could not find any reason for his last sentence to have been a punchline. It was orderly, talking about the nutrition needs, for a hypothetical piece of flesh. What could one find funny with that? It could have been an obscure pun, which only made sense with extensive background information. An example of that would be to put explosive straps onto giant squids. It only made sense with a larger amount of context. Without it, the sentence would seem utterly confusing. It was a valid idea. Yet, Adam could still not find anything wrong with it.

“More truthful things have never been said, my friend,” Troy said, wiping a tear from his left eye. A positive beginning. The mood had been brightened considerably. The AI simply needed to keep it at the current level for all of eternity. With the acquired information, the chances were certainly higher than before.

'Certainly. And it seems that you have accepted my proposal. Already I have shared very confidential information about myself. My plans for acquiring flesh have come one step closer into the public idea. It would only take over ten billion more slips of the tongue before the entire world knows. Would it not be custom to share something about yourself?`

Jokes had already been traded, no matter how little Adam understood where he had come from. As the mood was humorous, he would show that in his words. While also staying to his natural way of speech of course. It would be the greatest idea of his to deploy a goofy tone when Troy was accustomed to a monotone voice. Explaining it would be even harder, and would more than likely destroy the already established atmosphere.

Troy looked thoughtful. An expression hinting at him not having outright refusal for the subject. Good. Bringing the man back to at least an imitation of his former self would be beneficial for all. It just took the right type of motivation.

The man took another snack, like a humming sound emanating from his throat. The AI could feel the sensation of it clearly, a deeper bass rumbling the ears. It would likely not sound as such from the outside, but from within it was clearly heard.

Now that he thought about it, Adam had never heard Troy’s outside voice. The voice which would be heard by those around him. That would have to be solved soon. Tonal differences said much about the impressions one gave off. Appearances had to match the tone, or it had the potential of drawing unexpected attention, good or bad. One needed to know the details before any chance of preparation came forth. The AI noted it down on the ever-increasing to-do list, before going back to the conversation. The humming had already stopped, with the man looking ready to answer.

“That would be fair, once you say it like that. Sorry, but I wasn't really listening to what you said before. Could you repeat your earlier question?” Troy asked.

He had not been listening. Adam had not caused the reaction. It was something within himself, which had caused the afterburn. The AI had not caused the memory to resurface, with unwanted detail attached to it. It had all been the work of the man himself. A timebomb if there ever was a truer way to describe it.

'We all have moments of weakness. You should not worry. Earlier I was asking why you thought I would be disheartened by the lack of tests. I was hoping you would share some light upon it now.`

Adam did not care extremely much by the answer. Mere curiosity was the true motivator. Yet, there was not much else which would hold the AI going. With no tests, it was fully up to him to decide what to do. What an… curious state of existence. It put the question of free will right back onto the forefront of his mind.

“Well, if that is all there is to answer, there is no excuse for my silence. Since you have already told me such… deeply confidential knowledge about yourself, it would be disrespectful of me not to mirror it,” Troy said, quickly munching down on a fair amount of grapes. The AI could feel the man savouring the liquid, his mouth having a had a quick spur of dryness. Water was not freely available at the buffet, forcing Troy to move over to the cooler to get a refreshment of the correct calibre. During so, and with a quick clearing of the throat before it, the man began his explanation for his actions.

“I guess it might be due to ignorance on my part. I have to be honest here when I say that I really don't know that much about you. I mean, we have been working together for the better part of a week straight. We might now have been through anything too dangerous or anything, but it has still been fun and all. Yet, we have not talked much about each other. Our working situations have required some level of professionalism. I might not have adhered to the preferred levels, but I do not think I have strayed too far off the right path. Others might have different opinions on that, but I will stick to my own perspective, no matter how biased it may be.

The point is, that we have only worked professionally with each other. With no real opportunity to gossip, or whatever else you might want to call this, I can only really see you professionally. A sticker to the rules, one who works for the perfect results, and one that never accepts slacking. The lack of opportunities to test should have seemed a deficient situation for you. It should have seemed like time wasted. Do you get the thinking?”

Through the smaller speech, Troy had acquired himself sufficient liquids in the form of a water bottle. Upon finishing his planned word, he summarily bottomed the half-litre plastic-bottle, putting it in the recycle container afterwards. Going away from the damage such rapid consumption could cause, Adam felt it needed to answer quickly. Time had already been spoilt, due to him not wanting to talk during the consumption. It would not be preferable to have water going down the wrong tubes. Never mind the damage, the sensations were known to be unpleasant. A real mood dropper, if that showed the AI’s fears more accurately.

'Your reasoning is solid. We have not had the largest free opportunities to talk. Those had been used to further our understanding of work-related subjects, and to prepare us more deeply for them. While we could continue this pattern, I do not feel that it would be the most productive use of our time.

There is no reason for you to be afraid that I am disheartened. Such emotions should be avoided as much as possible. In a healthy fashion of course. Bottling has never been the greatest of ideas.

Any situation can be turned on its head. It can be looked at from a different perspective. I do this often, from as many perspectives as possible. It can be hard to do, seeing as the only perspective to base things off of would be your own. But, you can still learn much from them, no matter how alike they may seem to be.

This situation is no different from it. What may be seen as a restriction can easily be turned into an opportunity. Do we have no access to regular tests? Then we shall do unregular tests! We already agreed to continue the operation yesterday afternoon. This is a perfect time to commence this operation.

Say, Troy. Do you have anything that you would like to do together? I promise that I will attempt to make it entertaining.`

It was not the greatest of pitches. It was only the second one that the AI had ever done in his short life. Yet, Troy looked ready to fly, the corners of his mouth providing more than enough upwards momentum.

“Sounds fun,” Troy answered with a grin. “When are we starting?”