Every year towards the end of the first half, students throughout the school are treated to a trip, but not just any trip, a trip to Versepolis, the central city of not just the country, not just the world, but all of the worlds. A city of infinite, the largest city in the Superverse, with the highest population, and the most amount of opportunities for a future that anyone could get.
For the trips, students were separated by their majors and then further separated into groups, who then had a choice of different tours to take, as each tour went to one of the major buildings that led in the field the students chased.
While this trip was formatted as a fun vacation out of the school, it was also the time to scout for desired future occupations, and to speak with possible future coworkers and bosses. It was a time to network and move towards that future.
Many students took a more leisurely approach with this, just intending to have fun with their friends in the city, eating good food and admiring the sights.
However, there were other students such as Rohan, who had been planning for this day for months now, researching all the choices and finding the best course of action to maximize chances into getting into the best possible job they could find.
Rohan's target was more centered around artificial intelligence and innovations in deep advanced digital creations, and unfortunately, that differed from the interest of his group, as Shuraj and the others found more of an interest with gaming and learning how to be a part of the design process.
While Rohan tried to persuade his friends to accompany him, his efforts were in vain, and they decided they'd have to stay separated for the day.
Lucky for him however, Erica also found interest in the near fantasy of artificial intelligence and its massive implications on the world, and she offered to tag along with Rohan so he didn't feel alone. She also suggested that it could be a nice outing for them, as while it was still very much a work-related trip, it was one of the few times they could leave the campus together.
Eventually, they chose to visit the O.R.I.A.L, a beautiful facility that led in the advancement of artificial intelligence, and both their integration and advancement of society.
The trip was during the holidays, so it wasn't exactly mandatory, yet most students went anyway since they couldn't go back to their homes due to how far they were, and either way, the trip was one of the largest selling points of the university.
Early at 8:00 A.M, students already had to begin boarding the bus pods that were stationed in the campus, which were larger and more luxurious than normal bus pods, and had their own design to match the SAT, showing its prestige.
Rohan and Erica decided to meet up at the bus before entering to get a seat together, so Rohan stood outside the bus for a good fifteen minutes before Erica arrived, wearing a casual black dress with a green hoodie over it since it was said to be chilly in the city. Erica waved to Rohan, who was wearing what was nearly a suit, with formal pants and shirt, with the only casual part being his jacket, which was already semi casual.
After getting in the bus and waiting for some time, all the buses left the campus, and headed for the city, which wasn't too long of a drive, as soon after they left campus they went airborne.
Inside the bus, the two sat towards the front, with Erica getting the window seat, her head resting on Rohan's shoulder. Rohan would look out the window, watching the city from afar.
Once they reach the city, the buses begin to go their separate ways, and join with the infamous traffic of the capital. The bus flies by the limitless skyscrapers, which Rohan had only been able to see from a distance by his dorm room's window. They were far larger than what the view credited them for, and it was even a bit hard to notice where the exceptionally taller skyscrapers were, since so many of them were already too tall that their peaks were out of sight.
While there was of course a ground level to the city, the only pods that went that low only went there to pick up or drop off anyone who was walking. The majority of the pods stay far higher up, as many buildings already have elevated parking spaces, and so there was no need to go down to park on the ground.
Rohan looks down the window of the bus pod, staring far down below at the ground, where the sea of people hardly even looked like people. He smiles softly to himself, excited at the sights, as he knew this city would most likely be the place he'd end up working at.
Erica looks up at Rohan as he observes the city, and she softly asks him, "Just wondering, is your roommate here?"
Rohan looks down at Erica, and he responds, "No, he's actually in a different major than me."
Erica gives a confused glance, and she asks, "Wait, then how did you become roommates? I thought they try to fit people together with the same classes."
Rohan answers, "He's my brother, so we chose to be roommates. Why? Is your roommate here?"
Erica nods her head, and she answers, "Yeah, just in the back with her friends. And that's cool, I didn't know you have a brother. I'm an only child so I don't know what it's like to have a sibling, is it true that it's like a best friend?"
Rohan tilts his head as he contemplates the question, as he always talked with Dexter before going to SAT and even did around the beginning, but over time their interactions reduced down to meeting each other in the morning and night.
He says, "I guess in a way, you may go your separate ways, but you still always have them."
Erica smiles, and she says, "He's lucky to have you as a brother then."
Rohan smiles, and he shakes his head, not knowing what to respond to that with.
However, before he'd have to respond, an announcement interrupts their conversation, as the driver says, "We are arriving at the O.R.I.A.L shortly. Make sure to have your belongings, because you will not have access to the bus until we regroup at six."
Rohan looks out the window again, and his eyes widen as he sees the building they were heading to. It was one that stood above others, and had a beautiful unique design, with a central silver tower that stood strong and tall, surrounded by a system of rings that were attached to the center.
Rohan's eyes widen as he stares at the magnificent building, and the bus pod lowers slightly to one of the lower rings, where a garage was located.
The bus pod enters a wide opening in one of the rings, and as it does, an announcement plays from within the pod, however rather than it being the driver, it was an unrecognizable female, which greeted, "Welcome to the O.R.I.A.L, you are here on a tour. Your vehicle will now be guided."
Just like the voice said, the bus pod suddenly begins to move on its own, as though simply entering the building puts it under a trance by what appears to be an A.I. Right from the entry, the facility was already showing off its impressive artificial intelligence capabilities.
The bus pod moves into the garage full of other pods, and moves towards one of the bigger lots, where there are other bus pods or larger vehicles in general. The bus pod fits into one of the parking spaces, and it then lowers to the ground, parking itself.
The greeting AI then says through the announcement, "You are now free to roam the building. Enjoy your stay!"
The driver opens the door, and he then says through the announcement, "Make a line, don't push each other over."
At the very front of the pod, a few staff from the university, including Mrs. Frieda herself, stand up. They then walk off the pod, ready to lead the students.
Erica moves her head off of Rohan, and the two stand up before stepping into the aisle among the other students, and walking out of the bus.
As the students leave the pod, Mrs. Frieda says, "Okay everyone, stay by me, you don't want to get lost here don't you? Today we have a very special tour with Dr. Lobin, he'll introduce himself when we meet with him. I heard that there might even be a special surprise at the end of the tour!"
Once all the students are out of the pod, Mrs. Frieda and the other staff lead the students into the main door through the garage, and into the lobby.
The lobby was beautiful, as it has a white spacious interior, with multiple bridges of different floors visible by the edges, and multiple elevator pads with transparent tubes on the other side of the lobby. Many people were walking around as it was clearly a busy place, with the workers wearing formal attire.
Rohan looks around the lobby in awe, and as he does, an asian man with short hair approaches the group. Mrs. Frieda exclaims, "It's him! Everyone, give your attention!"
Rohan turns to the man the professor has highlighted, as do the other students. The man waves his hand at the students, and he introduces himself, "Hello, my name is Dr. Lobin, one of the leading developers in the AII field, also known as the Artificial Intelligence Integration unit, or A2 for short. I'll be directing you through this tour, as there is a lot to show you! Any questions before we get started?"
The students remain quiet, as they didn't have anything, so Dr. Lobin takes that as a cue to continue. He turns around and says, "Well then, you can all follow me in that case."
He leads the students to one of the elevator pads, which they all board. Once they board it, the pad ascends, taking the students up through the floors of the expansive center.
The whole day was like Christmas morning, opening one present after the other under the comforting warmth of home. The students were taken up and down different floors of each ring and then shown the other rings, which Dr. Lobin explained separated different fields of research done in the building, as while the building specialized in artificial intelligence, there was still much more to break down, and the rings created a physical divider.
The students were treated to views of laboratories, where workers were watching androids move around and complete tasks such as picking up chairs and placing them around a table evenly. They then were able to watch classrooms of sorts, where a worker was teaching a group of robots, which was rather humorous to watch, especially since it was a trip from school.
At nearly every point of interest that they stopped at, Rohan would ask questions to Dr. Lobin eagerly, to which he would get answers that'd fascinate him. Rohan had his Connect out, and he wrote notes down from different things Dr. Lobin said, whether it was directly to him after question, or information he gave to all the students while showing them around.
Erica would joke around with Rohan about how studious he was trying to be on a trip, and the two would exchange laughter, as Rohan was aware of how odd he looked being the only one to openly care so intensely, but even then he still wouldn't let that awkwardness stand in his journey of curiosity.
Maria also encountered the two, and she would poke verbal jabs at Erica in light fun of her clear relationship with Rohan, which she didn't do a good job of hiding, especially to her own roommate who knew her better than anyone else.
Maria looks at Rohan, and she asks, "So, now I get what you meant when you were 'teaching' her on my bed."
Rohan's eyes widens, and he waves both of his hands frantically, responding "Wait no no, I promise I never did anything like that, nor will I. I don't seek that sort of intimacy, and I wouldn't do that on your bed."
Maria giggles, and she turns to Erica, saying "You're right, he is adorable."
Erica giggles back, and she wraps her arms around Rohan, comforting "Don't worry Rohan, she's just kidding. Don't take her so seriously."
Maria laughs back, and then she adds, "Yeah don't worry, unless you do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you and even if you kill me I'll haunt you."
Rohan chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his head, saying "Noted, I'll make sure not to do anything of the sort."
Erica hugs Rohan closer, and she says, "Aw he couldn't do anything if he tried, 'hurt' isn't part of his vocabulary."
Rohan's eyebrow raises, and he refutes, "I know what 'hurt' mea-, oh wait, I said nothing."
As the trip continues, the blue sun reaches its peak over the city, and then gradually begins to lower as the day goes by.
Dr. Lobin walks the students down a large hallway, where the walls were completely transparent, allowing everyone to see the massive room below where workers and droids seem to be working together and completing tasks in harmony. There was a kitchen where they seemed to be helping cook different dishes, they were tossing balls back and forth, and some were working on computers together.
Rohan walks next to Dr. Lobin, asking him questions as they walk, with the other students and staff behind, admiring the work being done.
Rohan asks, "So, is a major part of your job working towards making these A.I as human as possible? Most other facilities don't have such a significance on human and robot activities."
Dr. Lobin nods his head, and he answers "Yes, we've had artificial intelligence for centuries now, but what many haven't been trying to focus on is making them human. Artificial intelligence is a window to a new species that can coexist with humans, made by humans. The aim is to move past the father and son relationship humans and A.I have had for so long, and instead move towards a more brotherly relationship. One where humans and A.I can benefit from one another equally."
Rohan nods his head with a smile, intrigued by the answer. He puts his hand under his chin and thinks for a moment, having observed Dr. Lobin throughout the whole tour, and finding something interesting with him.
He asks, "Do you think artificial intelligence can be as good if not better as companions for humans than other humans?"
Dr. Lobin answers, "Well, of course there is still a limit, humans and robots can't reproduce as you know, and so in a family of that sort, A.I could never replace humans in that way. Humans will always have a natural element that A.I can't fully achieve, as even though there has been research into creating artificial bodies that operate like real ones, it can't be the same, and cross breeding is very clearly impossible even now. But of course, for anything else different, such as friendships, workers, assistants, mentors, any type of relationship you may have with someone who you don't share blood with, A.I should be able to have that with you. Of course, there must still be a coexistence, and in coexistence, neither side can dominate the other, so I do not believe A.I should necessarily replace companions for humans. But in certain instances, they can be great companions."
Rohan nods his head, and he continues walking, thinking more. He then decides to go for it, and asks Dr. Lobin a rather risky question, "Apologies if this comes off as degrading or overly personal in any way, but are you by any chance, an A.I?"
Dr. Lobin turns to Rohan, surprised by the sudden question. He then shows Rohan his right wrist, and out of nowhere, an opening forms in it, where a small chip driver seems to be housed, and inside is metallic coating and wiring.
Dr. Lobin then closes the opening, and he looks back at Rohan, giving a smile before saying "Well oh my, you're quite the detective, I didn't expect a student to know. Let's keep it a secret between us for now, alright? It was something I planned to reveal at the end of the tour."
Rohan blinks in surprise, as while he had the theory, he didn't fully expect to be proven correct. He looks up at Dr. Lobin and nods, smiling and saying "Of course. That's cool."
Dr. Lobin smiles, and he asks, "What gave it away anyways?"
Rohan shrugs his shoulders, and he answers, "You didn't take any time to think about my questions, even ones that were deeper and more theoretical. I also noticed the way you moved lacked several inconsistencies humans are known to have, and I noticed that your views on A.I felt too personally connected and you spoke about humans more as though they were a different type of being from you."
Dr. Lobin nods his head, and he jokingly asks, "Well, are you human yourself?"
Rohan answers with a smile, "I believe so, I guess if there exists A.I like you, the lines must be quite blurry already."
Dr. Lobin replies, "As I said, I think coexistence is key between us A.I and humans. In evaluating our conversation, I noticed how relaxed you are with one too. Some people connect well with A.I while others still distance, I can tell you're one that can understand our code. That's a very key characteristic for someone to work here. To work at a place like this, you have to be willing to view A.I as something else, and when you do that, you can see the greater potential."
After a few more hours of showing around the building, which was so large and full of wonders that it was impossible to show even the whole surface level, Dr. Lobin was finally beginning to draw the tour to an end.
The group draws towards one of the main central elevator pads to move between rings, and once they reach it, Dr. Lobin stops and turns to face the group.
Dr. Lobin says, "Well, we only seem to have time for one more sight. I'm sorry if you expected to see everything today, that is just impossible in one day, however I know that you will have more opportunities to visit the building throughout the second half of your year, and in your later years of university you will have more time to come and explore. Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky enough to get an internship here. But for now, there is one more place I would like to show you. Much of what I've shown you is cutting edge, sure, but there are some things here that we won't even allow the use of to anyone. In fact, I'll only be able to show you through a protective vault, and explain how it works, because we can't demonstrate it publicly. But as I said, maybe one day if you're part of this organization, you can use it yourself. Now then, let's get going."
With that, Dr. Lobin walks into the elevator pad, and the rest of the group follows. The door then closes, and the elevator pad begins ascending, as the group were just in the lowest ring.
As the group waits in the spacious pad, Rohan approaches Dr. Lobin, and asks him, "Just wondering, when exactly can students apply for an internship here?"
Dr. Lobin turns to him, and he answers, "Well, most students do it in their third year in the middle, but some students will try to do it earlier, depending on how confident they are that they could make it. But I'll tell you, you have good chances of getting an internship here. Maybe not this year since you are a first year, but try again as a sophomore."
Rohan smiles, and he nods his head, delighted that the tour guide believed in him.
The elevator pad reaches the floor, which was on one of the upper rings, however not the highest. The door then opens to reveal a large hallway with a red floor carpet-like floor design. Dr. Lobin then begins leading the students down the hallway, and out of the elevator, ready to show them the final sight.
As they walk, Dr. Lobin begins explaining, "So, this whole tour I've been showing you innovations that will lead to a friendly coexistence between A.I and humans, but for this last sight, it focuses more on the side of security, and protecting from cyberattacks. To anyone interested in cybersecurity, you might be interested in this, but we've been working hard on a new self-learning security device that is focused on outwitting the cyber terrorist, and thinking outside the box to creatively challenge any opponent to prevent successful strikes. This could be the end of cyberterrorism if done well, but it's still too new to distribute."
Rohan's eyebrow raises in intrigue, as he wonders why for the final sight, it would be something centered on security, even though he didn't think cyberterrorism was much of an issue at all.
While he guessed that extra protection could be helpful, it was odd to choose this to be the final showcase, since it sounded like the most unimportant of them all, however he could've just been missing the point. Still, he didn't know why Dr. Lobin praised this innovation so much, but he trusted that there was a good reason.
He sighs, guessing that maybe he was just exhausted from the long day, and no longer had enough energy to show interest. As he walks, Erica catches up to him, and grabs his hand before bumping into Rohan's side playfully.
Erica asks, "So, how was today? You looked like you had the most fun. Maybe you are the type to actually prefer museums for a date. I was just talking to Maria and her friends while you were talking to Dr. Lobin, and I noticed how happy you looked. It was cute."
Rohan smiles softly from the comfort of Erica, as while the drop in excitement left a sour taste, Erica's presence helped to sweeten the mood. He gives a soft chuckle, and says, "I guess I'm not self aware enough then if I looked that dumb. But I had fun today, thanks, I might try coming here more often when we can. I won't try pushing you to go, however, if you'd rather not?"
Erica rubs her face against Rohan's cheek, and responds, "If you're going, it'll be fun, of course I'd go. Besides, I want to know more about why you're so interested in this, since that joy you have about this makes me want to find joy in it too."
Rohan remarks, "Well, if you're asking me to teach you more in our free time, I'd be happy to obli-."
However, Rohan's sentence is immediately interrupted by the deafening sound of an explosion from above, resulting in the whole building seemingly shaking. All the lights start flickering as the sound of screaming follows instantly.
Dr. Lobin looks up for a moment, and his eyes suddenly widen, as he receives a dire alet. He turns back to face the group, and he yells, "GET BACK IN THE ELEVATOR!"
Before the students could speak, he began to start pushing the group backwards, and as he does, the sound of collapsing is audible from above.
Rohan blinks twice, completely lost in the chaos, as he hears more screaming all around himself, but tries to listen and runs back to the elevator. The students and staff run back to the elevator pad, with Dr. Lobin in the back. The sound of the collapsing gets louder and louder, and so does Rohan's heartbeat, as he couldn't make sense of what was happening.
Most of the students and staff got inside the elevator, with only Rohan and Dr. Lobin still running to the elevator, as they were the farthest ahead. Rohan had luckily pushed Erica forward to get into the elevator first, but he was still out of safety.
Dr. Lobin's eyes widen even more as he hears the collapsing get louder, and realizes there wasn't enough time. He looks at the elevator, and connects to the interface, but turns to see that Rohan was still in the hallway.
Dr. Lobin lunges at Rohan before shoving him forwards, and into the elevator, however the push causes himself to stop.
Rohan falls on the elevator pad, and he turns to face Dr. Lobin, before extending his hand and yelling for him to follow.
Instead however, Dr. Lobin closes his eyes, and sets the elevator pad to begin descending. He keeps his eyes closed, standing as the sound of the collapsing gets louder.
Rohan keeps yelling as the elevator pad begins to descend, and as it does, the ceiling of the floor collapses under a pile of metal and concrete. Rohan watches with wide eyes as Dr. Lobin's body becomes crushed by the debris, unable to save himself.
The elevator pad continues descending at a rapid speed, and as it does, the sound of the collapsing continues, as it was now clear that the whole building was coming down.
Rohan tries to get up to his feet, however the speed of the drop didn't let him, and so he instead grips to the floor. He tries to think, but his mind is too chaotic to think any clear thoughts.
The elevator pad passes the garage floor, as while the elevator gets past the collapse, the garage doesn't, and the massive pile falls on the bus pod along with the other pods.
Erica stares at Rohan with wide eyes as Maria grips onto her, as if trying to protect her, with everyone in the elevator having the same expression of despair.
The elevator pad finally reaches the ground floor, and the door dissolves open, exposing the students to the chaotic lobby full of screaming workers, running in all directions. Mrs. Frieda yells, "Come on!" before leading the students down the lobby, and towards the exit, where everyone else was headed.
Rohan struggles to get to his feet, as while the pad luckily protected the occupants, Rohan was still given a hindrance in his initial position. Luckily for him, Maria manages to grab Rohan's hand, and yanks him up to his feet, before sprinting with Erica handheld on her other. The sound of collapsing was quieter than before since the pad bought them time, but it was still audible, and clearly they didn't have much time left.
Rohan finds himself bumping into random workers and students while running, as it was impossible to look ahead and behind oneself due to the density of the crowd. All he could do was run forwards, and hope it was the right direction.
His ears begin ringing from the deafening sound of the crowd, and he feels his head ache and heart become heavy. While running, he suddenly finds the hand holding his let go, but he couldn't do anything, as the crowd was now pushing himself like a violent river.
He looks ahead of himself to see light barely visible from behind the crowd, with tears in his eyes, as this was the first time he ever felt a fear this strong.
The crowd runs outside of the building, continuing to sprint without signs of stopping. Among the horde, Mrs. Frieda runs out, along with the rest of the staff and students. Rohan reaches the outside as well, and he looks to his side to see Erica running as well, tears streaming down her wide eyes.
Rohan turns his head back to look at the building while running, only to see the building complete its collapse, as the hellish fog of debris reaches the ground, sending an explosion of blinding smoke that knocks Rohan and Erica with its strong gust, and consumes the crowd in blindness.
For minutes, the smoke makes it impossible to see, and Rohan finds himself lost in the abyss. He holds his hand out in front of himself, trying to get himself up, trying to think clearly as all he could hear was people screaming and crying. As he tries to move slowly, he feels his body collide into an object, and contracts his eyes to try seeing what was right in front of him.
His eyes settle on Erica, who's also on the ground, her head bleeding from the knock. Rohan kneels down to pick up Erica, sliding his right hand under her head to try supporting it.
Tears leave Rohan's eyes as he holds Erica up, and turns her on her side to get a look at her face. He examines the injury, seeing that while her head was bloody, and her eyes were slightly open.
Rohan yells, "Erica? ERICA?!," and begins shaking her body, his heart racing in fear. Erica's eyes then shoot wide open, as she snaps back into consciousness, and looks up at Rohan.
Erica stares at Rohan, and the only words that could leave her mouth was: "Where's Maria?"
Rohan blinks twice, as he remembers that Maria was the one who pulled him up, and she was the hand that let go of him while they were running.
Erica turns towards where the building was, and her eyes become even wider as the fear becomes stronger. She then throws herself off of Rohan, and she sprints into the smoke.
Rohan's eyes widen, and he stands to his feet, chasing Erica to the smoke while yelling her name.
Rohan runs blindly in the heavy smoke, as he knew that it was better to get away from the building, but he couldn't let Erica go. He puts his hands out ahead of himself to try protecting himself from running into any rubble, his face completely dusty.
It doesn't take him too long to run into something again, to which he stops and looks down at what he ran into. It becomes easier to locate her however when Rohan hears Erica begin yelling, "MARIA" repeatedly. He follows the voice, not sure what direction he was heading towards.
Eventually, Rohan bumps into something again, and he looks down to see that it was Erica. He sighs with relief that she didn't get herself hurt, and opens his mouth to ask her to get up so they could move away from the building.
However, before he can speak, his eyes shoot wide open, and his iris shrinks.
In front of him was Erica, who was on her knees, seeming to be trying to push something. In front of Erica was a giant chunk of rubble. Under the giant chunk of rubble was Maria's extended arm.
Rohan becomes frozen as he stares ahead of himself, listening to Erica continue to scream her roommate's name while trying to push the rubble off her.
Erica turns to notice Rohan, and she begs, "Rohan, help me push this off of Maria! Help me save her! Please! We can push it off her! Help me!"
Rohan just stares with a horrified expression at the arm, and the only response he could give was: "We...can't."
Erica continues trying to shove the debris, and she turns to Rohan before crying "We can! Please Rohan, just help me push this off her! Come on! We can save her!"
Only Maria's forearm was exposed from under the rubble, with bruises along the arm, as it seemed she had been trampled.
Her hand was extended, as if trying to reach out and grasp something. Either it was safety. Or it was freedom. Whatever it was, she couldn't get it.
Rohan just watches Erica in silence, locked in place, as his mind is completely blank, not having anything to say or do.
All he could do was stand behind Erica, watch her try pushing the rubble, and listen to her scream for her roommate.
There was nothing to do.
They had fought and lost.