What the hell is this?

Like the grumpy guy outside said, there was literally nothing. Junsung was stunned. But one thing was clear: he just couldn’t leave like this. Instead, he scowled at the man in front of him.

“…….”

[…….]

There was a long, awkward silence. Junsung refused to leave the room, and the man just remained silent without urging him to leave or trying to kick him out. When the man didn’t budge, Junsung became nervous and began looking around the room again.

“Wait… wait. Wait!”

The same sign was on the door, and here, too. The anger he felt toward this man suddenly activated Junsung’s brains, and he finally came to a conclusion. A light bulb went off in his head. “Got it!”

[What is it?]

“You’re not human — you’re Artificial Intelligence!”

[…Huh.]

The moment Junsung shouted his answer out loud, the masked man who hadn’t budged an inch until then, slowly lifted his hand. It was not a natural motion like that of a human, but was rather stiff and rigid, like that of a robot. He removed the patterned mask with his gloved hand and revealed a red ball with a sleek surface instead of a human face. The ball spoke in a computerized voice and said, [Correct.]

“Oh man…!”

Junsung was in awe, both of the quality of this test and his smart brains for passing it. “Turing test in progress.” Everything in this room was literally the Turing test itself! Junsung was supposed to figure out whether this man in front of him was human or Artificial Intelligence, and he had just passed the test. As the Artificial Intelligence spoke, the red ball began to blink.

[Congratulations on passing the selection round for the Turing test.]

“Wow, what an incredible test!”

He kept shaking his head, still stunned by the whole thing. He was so proud of himself that he couldn’t help but blabber to Artificial Intelligence how difficult the test really was. “This wasn’t an easy test at all, you know? You, well, you looked kind of suspicious in that getup, but you understood everything I said and reacted just like a human being. How did Artificial Intelligence get so advanced?”

[Thank you for your compliment. The prize money for passing the selection round is in the inside pocket of my coat. You may take it yourself.]

“Oh…?”

One cannot typically just put their hand into the pocket of another person! However, it seemed like this could be done to a machine – and that only those who passed the Turing test had the privilege to do so. Junsung bent over and dug into the pocket until he found a thick white envelope.

“Wh- whoa!”

Junsung’s heart dropped, and he almost felt sick to his stomach. He peeked into the envelope in utter disbelief. Undoubtedly, there were a 100 50,000 won bills as promised: 5 million won in cash. He clutched the envelope in his hands.

“Is this really for me?” he asked incredulously.

[Of course.]

“I get five million won just for passing this test?”

[More people have failed.]

“…Just how much money do IT companies make?”

This seemed like a scam. He had barely earned 800,000 won after days of taking all sorts of strange pills, drawing blood, and staying still in one position. Now, he had made 5.05 million won just by passing a test? This suddenly made Junsung more afraid of all that awaited him in the future. It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to stand it, whatever it was. He caught something from what Artificial Intelligence had said before.

“I passed the selection round for the Turing test? So, this is just the prize for the selection round?”

[That is correct.]

“You mean there’s a main round?”

[Today’s test was intended to choose successful candidates to participate in the main round. And you have just qualified.]

“Oh, wow…!”

Junsung felt a shiver run down his spine. If he made 5 million won just by passing a selection round, he couldn’t even imagine how much he would make in the main round. He shoved the envelope full of cash deep into the inside pocket of his coat. “What’s the main round about?” he asked.

[Only the actual players will get that information when the main round begins.]

“Oh, right! I see. That is fair. Okay, then just tell me when and where. I’ll be there two hours early!”

[Let me first tell you what the stakes are.]

“The stakes? You mean, like terms and conditions?”

He was asked to provide personal information to participate in the selection round. Wondering if he now had to offer his family’s personal information for the next round, he waited for the red ball to speak. And then the red ball spoke up in dry voice.

[In the main round of the Turing test, the eliminated players will die.]

“…What?”

He felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of him. It wasn’t just personal information anymore — it was his life. Junsung just gaped for a while with his arms crossed, stunned.

“How much is the prize money, then?” he asked.

[I like your aggressive attitude. There is no fixed prize money as it may change based on the circumstances. There will be 11 players in the main round, and the total prize money will be at least 3.3 billion won.]

“……!!”

Junsung couldn’t believe his ears. He had to admit that the amount was enough to put some losers’ lives at stake. The red ball continued. [The main round is kind of a brain survival game. The game ends the moment the players meet the end conditions, and the prize money is distributed equally among the survivors.]

So 11 players will fight over 3.3 billion won… Does that mean I get something between 300 million and 3.3 billion won?

The losers die, and the winners get hundreds of millions, to maybe even a few billion won. Both the rewards and stakes were extremely unrealistic. The red ball continued: [The players cannot quit playing in the middle of the game. So, if you decide to play, you either win and get the prize money, or you lose and die.]

“Well, so…” As he listened intently to the red ball, Junsung kept racking his brains to look for some clues. He played back all that he had just heard in his head and found a hole in the story. “Wait… So, I’m supposed to meet the end conditions for a game I don’t even know about? That sounds a little too unfair. What if you set the rules so that it is impossible for any of the players to win, and eliminate all 11 of us and maybe sell our organs or something?”

[That is a great expected value you calculated.]

“Wh- what?”

He was taken aback by the compliment – especially as he had just started an argument. The red ball kept talking, unfazed.

[I understand your concerns. Our Turing test guarantees the survival of most players. One of the end conditions is that four players will remain in the game. In other words, no matter what happens, at least four will remain. This is just the worst-case scenario. There are several end conditions for this game, one of which allows all 11 players to survive, even though it can be very difficult. In other words, this game may have 4 to 11 winners. At least 3.3 billion won of prize money will be paid out, no matter what. The bodies of the eliminated players will be cremated after the game. There will be no sale of organs.]

“…….”

The conditions and details of the test flowed without missing a beat. Everything sounded so well thought out that the surreal story about the losers dying began to hit home. However, he couldn’t figure out what the test would be like. The red ball blinked.

[Any questions?]

“Who the hell is hosting this test?”

[That information is confidential.]

“…Oh yeah?” He wasn’t really expecting to hear an answer, anyway. Anyone brutal enough to conduct this dreadful test that would clearly kill people would never reveal their true identity. Besides, the offer itself was impossible to judge. Junsung scratched his head and mumbled. “Oh, shit. I can’t just risk my life not knowing what the test is going to be about. From what you’re saying, it’s going to be a survival game, and I’m no fighter.”

[The Turing test is a game for the brains, a “brain survival game” if you will. Your physical abilities are not needed. Violence will not be tolerated. One of the rules is to avoid all physical contact with other players. You need your wit and wisdom to win the game, just like you just showed here.]

“Really…?”

Still suspicious, Junsung waited for more information on the game, but the red ball blasted his hopes.

[You do not have to decide right now. As you have passed the selection round, we will send you a text with information on when and where to meet us. If you get in the van that day, you will automatically be a player in the main round. The van will pick you up and take you to the place where you will be participating in the main round. All 11 players will be playing the game at a Western-style mansion in a deserted place… Oops, spoiler alert.]

Which doesn’t really spoil anything.

Anyway, he didn’t have to decide then and there, so it was no use thinking about it. Then, a disturbing thought hit him. “Wait, if I don’t participate in the main round, are you going to take back this 5 million won?” he asked.

[No, that is just the prize money for the selection round. It is a reward for those who passed it regardless of their participation in the main round. Use it wisely. Goodbye.]

“…Huh.”

It was funny hearing a computerized voice speak that way. After Artificial Intelligence bid him goodbye, Junsung opened the door with a smile. Whether or not he participated in the main round, he couldn’t help but feel happy. He had five million won in his pocket and the pride of passing the selection round for the Turing test.

Five million won…!!

Whatever the future may bring, what he had now in his hands was his reality. What Artificial Intelligence had said — the deadly game and 3.3 billion won — still seemed surreal, but the thick envelope in his pocket was definitely real. He had just won more than six times the amount of money he had earned from the bioequivalence study just after a 20-minute conversation. The man who complained at the front desk waited for Junsung outside.

“You were in there for a while. What’d you talk about?”

“Oh, well.”

It was clear to Junsung why this guy had failed the selection round.

How could he possibly fail? Even Artificial Intelligence may have been frustrated with this guy!

This guy failed the test despite the signs saying “Turing test in progress” on both the door and the wall, along with the chance to actually look up what the test meant online. Countless people have probably failed. Junsung sniggered at the thought. “He just told me to leave, too.”

“I knew it! What a complete waste of time. I thought for a moment that they may take away my organs or something. Well, at least that would’ve given me an excuse to call the police and tear this place apart!”

The guy kept whining as he pulled out the 50,000 won bill from his envelope. He turned over the bill suspiciously, looking closely at both sides, and whistled. “Well, at least I got 50,000 won out of this. Maybe I should get a lottery ticket or something. Can you suggest a number?”

What a moron!