Chapter 48: Machines and Prophets
After David hung up the phone, it quickly vibrated again.
Looking at the text message that appeared on the lit-up screen, he smiled silently.
Because it was from an unknown number, it was clear the Machine had noticed David's existence.
"Who are you?"
David didn't rush to reply, instead looking up at the security camera on the street corner and saying:
"I am your spokesperson, Machine. Do you want to talk to me?"
After speaking, David waited for a while, but no more text messages arrived on his phone.
It seemed the Machine didn't want to continue communicating with him.
David smiled again. The Machine, just like Finch, would find him again sooner or later.
He then put his phone in his pocket and looked toward the street corner, where a black town car was slowly approaching.
Soon, David arrived at Finch's secret base, an abandoned library in New York.
Here, he was not surprised to see a completely renewed John Reese.
Reese, having a new purpose to strive for, was no longer lost or disheveled, shining brightly like a long-sealed blade seeing the light of day again.
Reese was also slightly surprised when he saw David arrive.
Because Finch had just told him that an important person would be coming, he had thought it might be a high-ranking CIA official or perhaps a federal prosecutor.
But he hadn't expected the person to be this self-proclaimed prophet who seemed mentally unstable.
That's right, from Reese's perspective, David, who had said those incomprehensible words by the river that day, was someone suffering from delusions.
After all, what sane person would call himself a 'prophet'?
Only the mentally ill would firmly believe in such mystical nonsense.
But Reese wasn't stupid. Since Finch had called this guy named David Wells here...
Then...
Could it be that the crazy stuff this guy said to Finch that day wasn't all fabricated?
Is this guy in front of him really not mentally ill? But an actual prophet?
Reese shook his head, removing such bizarre and supernatural thoughts from his mind. How could something like a prophet exist in this world?
He was a firm non-believer in anything mystical.
Although Finch had indeed said, 'Everything he told me was true,' after taking him to investigate Hansen that day...
But Finch that day hadn't explained anything about the Machine, admin access, or anything similar.
So, even now, Reese still had doubts about Finch's entire operation.
Perhaps he should find a way to get some straight answers out of the two of them.
While Reese was thinking, David had already started talking with Finch.
"You said on the phone that you had a new vision? Can you tell me about it?"
David hadn't replied yet when Reese, who had snapped back to attention, suddenly interrupted:
"Wait, Finch, you don't actually believe he can see the future, do you?
You said you could give me a chance to arrive in time to save people—you're not relying on this kind of fake 'prophet', are you?
If that's the case, I'm out!
I don't want to run around the city because I believed in the delusions of two crazy people!"
Facing Reese's challenge, David raised an eyebrow and said to Finch:
"Are you going to explain, or should I?"
Finch hesitated for two seconds, then turned and pulled open a disguised partition behind him, revealing dense social security numbers and surveillance photos covering the wall.
"I'll do it. The most important thing in any team is trust. Mr. Reese has the right to know about the Machine."
Hearing the word Machine again, Reese frowned:
"What exactly are you two talking about?"
Finch calmly gestured toward the chairs:
"Alright, no more riddles. Please sit down, both of you—Reese and David.
I assume you both remember September 11th, right? That was truly a catastrophe.
Before that day, my life's goal was solely dedicated to building my company and accumulating wealth.
But after those towers fell, I suddenly realized that money didn't matter anymore.
If there was a machine that could predict disasters before they happened, would those tragedies have occurred?
Coincidentally, after 9/11, the federal government directly relaxed restrictions on citizens' privacy rights—the Patriot Act.
Behind every email you send and every phone call you make, someone is quietly monitoring everything, attempting to eliminate threats at their source.
But human capacity is limited, so they needed someone to create something for them that could automatically analyze these communications and evolve on its own.
Therefore, with unlimited resources from the government, I created this entity that can analyze human behavior patterns and learn autonomously—the Machine.
And every number on the wall behind me represents a person of interest the Machine has flagged. They were either killed or became killers themselves.
As for David's role in all this, let him explain it himself."
After hearing Finch's explanation, Reese sat in stunned silence.
He finally understood why Finch knew so much about him—every detail of his past, his missions, his fake death.
In modern America, few people can escape the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras, and even fewer don't use cell phones or the internet.
The existence of this Machine is essentially the greatest violation of citizens' Fourth Amendment rights!
Reese then looked at David again.
After learning about the Machine's existence, he had a vague theory about David's claim of being a prophet.
Perhaps this guy wasn't actually delusional, but rather when he obtained enough information from the Machine, he could become a prophet-like figure and predict how events would unfold!
That would make everything make sense.
But David's next words left Reese completely baffled.
Because David said...
"I am mentally ill—genuinely sick. I think I made that crystal clear when we met by the river.
Perhaps it's because of the brain tumor pressing on certain areas of my brain that I can somehow tap into electronic frequencies when I come into contact with devices, which then forms images in my mind.
Therefore, since I became ill, I've been able to see many strange visions—scenes that haven't happened yet, or things occurring far away.
These visions include both you and Finch.
Speaking of which, Reese, do you remember your last mission in China? The one where you had to eliminate your partner, Jessica's husband, Mark Snow.
That operation was also connected to the Machine's existence, which is why everyone who knew about it had to be silenced."
Hearing those last sentences, Reese immediately stood up, his eyes sharp as daggers as he stared at David:
"That was a classified CIA black op. How the hell would you know about that?"
David chuckled softly:
"Classified? In front of the Machine, nothing is classified. Finch, am I right?"
Reese immediately turned his intense gaze to Finch:
"You knew about it too?"
Finch nodded:
"I should have mentioned this earlier. To give the Machine sufficient data to work with, it autonomously attempts to access every network and database in the world—including NSA, CIA, FBI, DHS, and foreign intelligence services.
So yes, your black ops mission overseas was faithfully recorded by the Machine through various channels. Originally, only eight people in the world knew about that operation.
But obviously, now there are nine."
Finch looked at David carefully. Asking David to explain himself just now was actually a test.
Anyone's hidden past, if there are no digital or photographic records, is essentially invisible to the Machine.
But David in front of him could genuinely know about Reese's classified past—operations that happened when David was still in medical school and couldn't possibly have witnessed firsthand.
Excluding all impossible explanations, the remaining one, however improbable, must be the truth.
This David Wells really does have the ability to access the Machine's knowledge—or something even beyond it!
This conclusion was indeed absurd, but considering the equally absurd existence of the Machine itself, Finch slowly began accepting this reality.
And Reese, who had gradually composed himself, sat back down in his chair.
Having suddenly learned so much classified information being casually discussed, his mind was racing. He needed time to process this paradigm shift.
After a long silence, he raised his head again and looked at David:
"So, we're now going to use your precognitive ability—during whatever limited time you have left—to save people, right?"
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