"Okay then… but we are only offering an operating system… Wait, that's a lot," David said.
A vehicle's operating system does a lot more than just the infotainment system; it was mission-critical for safety, automation, and performance.
The operating system handled nearly everything from control and coordination to real-time data processing from sensors to driver assistance and even autonomy, etc.
Due to Nous's insistence on a custom vehicle, he had contacted a well-known brand to help in making a custom car, but they disagreed since the specs provided were beyond their allowed modification to that brand.
So instead, he simply had the idea to influence the brand to create the ideal car he wanted, hence the birth of Nous Systems.
Using Nous's advanced knowledge and capabilities, an operating system which he aptly named The Co-Pilot was born.
It utilized the compression model that Nous had designed for Renovatio to completely revolutionize the entire system.
David also realized something — he was understating what the model was capable of.
It didn't just compress the overall size of games or software; the compression model made it so that your regular chip would process information in that manner.
If installed on a phone, that phone would process 2000 bytes of data as though it were just 1 byte, all without unpacking.
In simpler terms, this was the chip processing a 2 GB file as though it were 1 MB.
It was processed as 1 MB and also took the space of just 1 MB, yet the actual data being worked on was 2 GB.
This meant that in a car's operating system, you get a car that saves on ECU wiring and chips but has superior capabilities.
A car that interpreted sensors at a speed far beyond anything — this was revolutionary, and he intended to use it as such.
The OS didn't allow for self-driving, even if it could, but it was positioned as the ultimate driver-assistance system.
Beyond that, due to the nature of the new OS, it was virtually unhackable. This was because it was largely offline, storing all data offline.
With the OS in hand, all he needed to do was simply contact brands that he knew weren't doing well, and as expected, they were quick to license it. In exchange, though, he got paid a certain fee.
"In estimate, how much do I stand to gain from Nous Systems?" David asked as he sat up.
[As it is, around $200 million by the end of the year, but if you scale to other means of transportation, I would say around $2 billion per year in 2024,] Nous replied.
Hearing this, David's eyes immediately widened as he quickly looked at the small green hologram girl on the chair opposite him.
"You should have led with that. Give me a list of shipbuilders and aircraft makers that would be willing to accept," David said as he immediately went into business mode.
Thinking about it now, even he was beginning to think that he was a little too relaxed about an event that they said could potentially end all life or something.
His instincts told him not to worry about it, and though he had learned that Nous wasn't omniscient, the AI had said that he didn't have to worry about anything till the end of the year.
To him, the only urgency he had was protection, but he could do nothing about it when Nous was still analyzing his being.
The bar was barely even 10% complete, so his hopes were on Ibrahim and Nous. Hopefully, Nous would be able to replicate whatever it had done with that cultivator.
"Wait, now that I think about it," David began.
"Nous, if you aren't omniscient, then when I asked you about the event, why did you tell me that you were not allowed to give me such information?" David asked.
When he had just gotten Nous, he remembered asking about the event, and it had told him that it wasn't allowed to dispense such information.
Now that he knew that the AI was never omniscient since the Akashic Record wasn't omniscient as well, that reply was bugging him a bit.
"Wait, does this also mean that you don't even know if I have the rest of the year to do as I please?"
[I never said I wasn't allowed to; my specific statement was that I am unable to dispense such information because I didn't know… As for your free time, I also informed you that it may be accurate or may not be,] Nous replied as it immediately pulled up a holographic screen.
On it was a transcript of their conversation as of that day, and truly, it never said it wasn't allowed to dispense such information.
He was the one to infer that, and it had also stated that he may or may not have the rest of the year to prepare.
"Wow, somehow I should have expected that," David said before releasing a sigh.
David immediately dropped the document in his hand as he relaxed well on the chair. He could feel his heart rate spiking little by little, but he took deep breaths to calm down.
His instincts told him that the event was nothing, but at the same time, those were instincts that were now governed by his current existential status.
Whatever this event was, there was a high likelihood of it being world-ending or probably worse, yet he considered it nothing.
The good thing he found in the situation was that all it took was one edit to solve it, but then the question remained: what was the Event?
"How high was the probability of nothing happening for the rest of the year?" David asked.
[99.99%,] Nous replied almost instantly.
"So that means a 0.01% chance of us all going to meet our maker then?" David asked.
[Yes.]
"Okay then, I choose to trust you, but keep an eye out for any anomalies. If one edit is all it takes to solve it, then let's find it fast," David said with a more determined look on his face.
[As you wish, sir,] Nous replied.
After that, David went back to drafting his business plans. If all it took was an edit to stop the event, then he might as well continue on his route.
More power, even in monetary terms, means greater room for movement.
…
Two days later, David was in the driveway of the Airbnb as he stared at the vehicle that was parked in it.
It was a Volvo S90, the latest model (2020). There was a large red ribbon flower on it, and standing beside it was Ibrahim.
The man was dressed in a full three-piece suit, and no matter how he looked at him, he didn't look like the Uber driver that had dropped him off just three weeks ago.
"Sir?" Ibrahim said as he opened the back door for him to get in.
"I see the training is really paying off," David joked.
"It's all thanks to your perseverance; if not, I wouldn't have endured as well," Ibrahim replied before closing the door to get in.
He removed the ribbon from the vehicle before throwing it aside as he got in.
The vehicle was new, and despite him entering as though he had always owned the car, he didn't buy it.
He had simply received a call from the Volvo dealership to come pick it up; hence, he sent Ibrahim.
"Here, sir, they said I should give this to you," Ibrahim said as he started up the vehicle.
As the engine roared to life, a smile formed on his lips. The car was indeed a gift from Volvo.
They were the first company that he had contacted for the OS, but he had approached them with the intent to build a relationship so he could purchase this very vehicle.
Receiving it as a gift wasn't his plan, but it was something he was thankful for. Being in the car felt vastly different.
He wouldn't say that he hadn't been in other luxury vehicles — this was just different. It made him feel important.
"Okay sir, do you have anywhere you want us to go to or just a regular drive?" Ibrahim asked, his voice clear even over the engine's hum.
"It's a test drive, do as you please," David replied as Ibrahim nodded before backing out of the driveway and taking to the streets.
For the next few minutes to an hour, they simply drove around the estate with no real destination in mind, but both driver and the chauffeured passenger enjoyed the ride.
For David, it was like he was riding on a cloud, and for Ibrahim, the car felt responsive — like he was simply guiding the car on where to go, not actually driving it.
As someone who had spent a good amount of time behind the wheel, he couldn't lie that he enjoyed the feel the steering gave him.
When they returned home, both parties quickly got prepared as they set out for the evening training.