Sure enough, the moment Nick and his team stepped into the demo hall, the press—who had been swarming the hardware displays—turned and descended on them like a pack of wolves.
"CEO Harryson! Mr. Harryson! One question about the..."
Beside him, Tyler quickly raised his hands to quiet the crowd. "Everyone, take a breath. We have fifteen minutes for Q&A. Please keep it to one question per person so we can get through as many as possible. You, in the front—go ahead."
The young female reporter Tyler pointed to squeezed forward, looking energized. "Hi, I'm with New Trend Tech. Mr. Harryson, the AI you demoed today is incredibly intuitive. Does it possess true human-level intelligence?"
Nick offered a polite smile. "Let me ask you this: do you think a human is smarter than a computer?"
"That's a matter of perspective," she countered. "In some areas, computers are lightyears ahead; in others, they can't compete with a toddler."
"Exactly," Nick nodded. "If we define intelligence as raw processing power or rational calculation—what we call IQ—computers are closing the gap fast. It's entirely possible they'll surpass us there eventually."
"So you're saying your device isn't smarter than a human yet?" she pressed.
Nick hadn't planned on a follow-up, but he took the bait. "Intelligence isn't a single metric. It's cognitive ability, critical thinking, linguistics, spatial observation, rhythm, and more. Depending on which 'ethnic' or regional data set you use, even human IQ varies. Making a blanket comparison between a person and a chip is ultimately meaningless."
Before she could pivot, Tyler cut in. "Next! The gentleman in the button-down."
"Mr. Harryson, I'm with Fox Tech. Everything you showed on stage sounds like science fiction. Can this device actually deliver on those promises in the real world?"
"Whether it's a dream or reality is for you to decide," Nick said. "I suggest you head over to the experience booths and put it through its paces. Our marketing can only do so much; your own hands-on experience will be much more convincing."
"Mr. Harryson, IT Tech here. Have you considered open-sourcing this technology? If you made the code public, the global dev community could accelerate the tech and bring it to the masses faster."
Nick shook his head decisively. "Absolutely not. Some innovations are meant to be shared; others aren't. For the sake of user privacy and data security, our core architecture will remain proprietary."
"Does keeping it closed-loop hinder the public interest? Look at Microsoft, Google, or Apple. They don't open-source their flagship kernels, yet they serve billions of people every day."
"I'm with Vermilion Bird," another reporter chimed in. "Isn't the $250 price point a bit of a barrier? Do you have plans for a budget model so the 'convenience of technology' is more accessible?"
Nick smiled. "Like I said on stage, you get what you pay for. We were very intentional with that price."
"People often look at the bill of materials for the hardware and ignore the millions spent on the software. To build a system this responsive, we poured every cent we had into R&D. We nearly went broke getting this to market. Given the performance you just witnessed, $250 is an absolute steal."
"Q-Swift Tech here. Any plans for a merger or partnership to scale the OS?"
Nick thought for a beat. "Not at the moment, but our door is always open to the right strategic collaborators."
After a few more rounds, Nick managed to slip away through a side exit with Tyler's help. Left without their target, the media pivoted back to the demo units. Those who had already finished their testing—or didn't want to wait in line—headed straight for the exits to start their teardowns and reviews.
Within the hour, the first wave of headlines hit the web:
"Militech Shocks Tech World with H1 Launch: First Look Inside the Future"
"Breaking: The Era of the AI Assistant Is Here—And Militech Is Leading the Charge"
"Is the Robot Uprising Starting in Tampa? Militech's New AI May Change Everything"
"Uncanny Valley: The New H1 Assistant Sounds More Human Than You Do"
Between the press coverage and the massive livestream audience, terms like "H1 Assistant," "Nick Harryson," and "Militech" shot to the top of the trending charts.
The eighty "lucky followers" invited to the event also started making waves. Nick suspected very few of them were actually random fans. Since the tickets weren't tied to an ID, many winners had flipped them for a premium to tech bloggers and influencers who had been snubbed by the official invite list.
These creators were hungry for clicks. They skipped the polished press releases and went straight to raw, handheld footage and social media "leaks" that satisfied the internet's immediate curiosity.
The real viral explosion, however, came from the "unboxing" crowd. One influencer, who had managed to snag an H1, uploaded a short video that caught fire instantly.
He named his assistant "Wife" and set the address-to-user as "Hubby." He'd shout "Wife!" with a ridiculous, exaggerated face, and the H1 would chime back, "Yes, Hubby?" with perfect, sweet clarity. Set to a classic rom-com soundtrack, the clip racked up millions of likes in hours.
Naturally, the copycats followed.
Another creator leaned into the "period piece" vibe, naming the assistant "Milady" and setting his own title as "My Lord," turning a simple request for the weather into a Shakespearean drama.
Within a day, the internet was flooded with variations: Batman and Alfred, Han Solo and Chewie, even Robert Downey Jr. joined in the fun. The H1 wasn't just a tool anymore—it was a meme, and it was spreading across every platform like wildfire.