Lisa breathed heavily as she looked down at the Liam on the ground, then turned around to see Liam looking at her.
W-wait a minute! Lisa flinched Why did that affect me so much?!
Lisa shook her head, trying to understand what exactly had just happened to her.
Obviously I froze. GAIA copied him perfectly.
Anyone would be shocked, and she suddenly touched my hair. Then she used something Liam actually said. It was unexpected, and the resemblance was scarily spot on, and I got embarrassed.
That's all.
Then she turned around to look at the actual Liam and flinched at his gaze.
Why is he looking at me with that weird stare?! Lisa shouted, No wait, I'm the one who's acting weird! What did he notice?! Did he see me turn red? Of course he did! But it didn't mean anything!...
DID it mean anything?!
Argh! What am I thinking?!
Then Liam looked away, clearly acting like he didn't see anything.
Huh?! Did he notice I'm acting weird?! Lisa grit her teeth.
"What?" she barked at Liam, who shrugged.
"Nothing."
"WHAT?"
"N-nothing!"
As Liam watched Lisa get flustered over GAIA's transformation, he had taken quite a few observations.
He had seen Lisa get flustered for seemingly no reason, then Judo flip GAIA for lack of a better solution. She had blushed in embarrassment and attacked him, or a version of him, and Liam's conclusion was this:
...is she fooled that easily? The clone was right behind her. It should've been obvious. Ah, I'm staring. She definitely hates it when I look at her embarrassment, so-
"What?"
Liam was taken aback by the sudden question, and automatically answered: "Nothing."
"WHAT?"
"N-nothing!"
Why is she so angry? I mean, she always gets like this when she's embarrassed, but isn't this more than usual?
Liam sighed, already deciding it was best to pacify her by letting her land a hit when-
"Well, that was definitely insightful," GAIA said as she walked past them in her regular form, "We must be going, unless Lisa would like me to disclose her reactions-"
"Shut up and walk," Lisa growled as she began pushing GAIA along.
Liam sighed in exasperation, What the hell is her problem?
After walking along the corridor for a few more minutes, the trio reached a large circular gateway.
"Master D awaits you on the other side," GAIA said with a bow, "I will now return to watching you from above."
With that, the body the Superintelligence had constructed melted into the ground, and the way opened up for the two.
They both looked at the spot where GAIA had stood, looked at each other, then walked through the doorway.
On the other side, they were greeted with the sight of an insane laboratory.
There were droids testing out weapons, carrying supplies, studying huge tanks with monsters floating in liquid, sitting and talking, and much, much more.
All of it's super organized, and no one activity interrupts the other. This place is enormous, so how the hell is it under the campus with nobody's knowledge?!
Liam scratched his hair in confusion, and Lisa suddenly spoke up.
"Liam, those robots...their conversing with each other..."
"Yeah, so?" Liam grunted, feeling a bit miffed about earlier.
"Wouldn't that only be possible if they each have independent coding and AI? Why converse if you share the same database?"
Liam froze, his eyes widening.
"Y-you're right!" he exclaimed, "And you're theory is perfectly plausible. Why would machines 'converse'? Humans only do it due to gaps in information and tightening bonds-"
"You are quite the intuitive pair."
""GAH!"" they yelled simultaneously.
D laughed at their reactions, "Well, we can add situational awareness to your weak points."
Both teenagers immediately rose their guard.
D smiled, then deliberately turned to Liam.
"Would you like me to explain?"
Lisa blanched and turned around quickly.
PaxWiki no!
****
For the next thirty minutes, Lisa was subjected to listening to the two constantly go back and forth over almost everything they had encountered.
"That orange gas-"
"I'm afraid that's a secret."
"The liquids right after, were they versions of electrolyzed water?"
"Yes actually. I modified the pH in order to..."
Soon, they left chemistry and moved on to the droids.
"Wait, wait, wait. So are their neural architectures independent?"
"Yes actually, you see I..."
"How much information do they share with GAIA?"
"All of it. But she doesn't share hers apart from my commands, as to maintain...
"Are they capable of modifying their own code?"
"Somewhat. The reason it's only partial autonomy is..."
"Why do they socialize?"
"Isn't the act of asking questions part of intelligence? Socialization with completely different AI models..."
"Do they develop individual personalities?"
"They do, but we don't have the time to observe that, so...
"How did you solve—actually, no, first, how the hell did you make organometallics?"
That was when D fell silent.
"That, I will not answer, as you wouldn't understand, and I do not wish to divulge my creation process."
"Oh..." Liam deflated.
"But I will gladly answer-"
"SO, SIR DA- D! WHY DID YOU CALL BOTH OF US HERE? SURELY IT WASN'T TO JUST RAMBLE ON WITH ONE PERSON AND PRETEND THE OTHER DOESN'T EXIST?"
D looked at her and smiled, "I wasn't expecting you to wait this long."
Lisa flinched, a vein throbbing in her forehead, "So you were testing me?!"
"Both of you actually," D smiled.
Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Who else knows about this place? There's no way you built this secretly... actually this kind of thing would take decades! How old are you?!"
D laughed, "You are correct. Many more people know about this place. The Headmaster, for example, as well as your father."
Lisa's eyes widened, "I remember you now. You're the creepy man hidden in Dad's car. I thought you'd be older? And anyway, you haven't answered me. Why did you bring us down here?"
Liam's head swiveled round as he looked at the two of them, They know each other?
D's brown eyes seemed to stare down into Lisa's very soul, but she didn't falter for even a second.
"You really are Hiroshi's daughter," he said as he turned and began to walk, "Forceful, stubborn, perceptive, caring, suspicious, and cute."
The last observation threw Lisa's composure into jeopardy.
"Since when does a grown man have any business saying that?!"
"That rage you fly into when something of yours is revealed. Adorable, don't you agree Paxton?"
Liam folded his arms, "No. Her anger is normal, not cute."
Lisa turned to Liam with a bright smile, "Tha-!"
Wait, isn't that him just saying I'm not cute at all?
Wait, why does that even matter?
"Watch your mouth you creeps," Lisa sneered at the other two.
Liam sighed, used to her antics.
Honestly, when she gets angry, it is cute. Like a little puppy yipping up at you.
"Although," D turned his head round, "Your bearing is similar to that of your mother. And didn't you have her hair?"
Lisa fell silent, and Liam was surprised at how cold her eyes became.
...A personal matter. Best not to pry.
"That's none of your business," Lisa uttered, her tone rigid and ice cold, "Also, just tell us why you brought us here."
Liam observed her out of the corner of his eye. I've never seen or heard her like this... is this her genuinely angry? Most at times she flares up because she's flustered and embarrassed, so I've never seen this side of her before.
D stopped walking, and he remained silent for several moments. Neither Liam nor Lisa bothered speaking up, so apart from the distant whirring in the distance and a humming under their feet, silence reigned.
Then D turned around, his entire presence shifting completely, and Liam and Lisa noticed it. There was no more warmth they felt coming from the teacher, only a strange, raw, curiosity.
"I brought you here to make an offer-"
"Get to the point," Lisa cut in, her voice as sharp as a knife.
"Would you like to get stronger? Not only that, would you like to be rid of your Status as Denied?"