Saeyung had said she wanted to talk to Marvin. Nothing else. Thus, Marvin agreed to meet her. He embedded three trackers in his hull, hid rocket boosters in his legs, inserted a smoke grenade in his left arm, and equipped arm-shields and mini-sabers. Amir and the rest of the team would be nearby in a shuttle, ready to swoop in and rescue him.
Alone and unarmed, Saeyung had requested. Well, if she was smart, she would not have followed through on either.
At 8:40 PM, he took the tram from Renee's apartment to the shopping mall. As he sat on the metal bench, he turned off his voice box and tested the comms channel. Caroline could hear him, and he could hear her from inside his head. Working as usual.
It was 8:50 when Marvin got off at the tram station. He took the stairs down the arch and into the shopping mall. Every step felt heavier and heavier, each one further cementing the thought that nothing would be the same after this.
He wasn't sure if he would get answers. From what Caroline had said, it seemed Saeyung didn't know his true identity. He had to keep an open mind and listen to whatever Ainsel's CEO had to say; he could not expect anything.
The city was humming as Marvin stepped out onto the roof of the shopping mall. Giant aircraft sank from the sky, delivering supplies for the Rain Festival. Ships docked at the floating islands high above, preparing to alter the nanoparticles in the air. Entire buildings shifted beneath Marvin, all to provide shelter and make way for a mere three days.
Saeyung was standing under the canopy. Her left hand rested on the back of a chair, her right was tucked in her pocket. She had ditched the professional attire, instead wearing a navy jacket, jeans, and a cap that shadowed her glasses. She could have been any resident of Megacity 14.
Marvin steeled himself and told Caroline he was approaching. Then he turned on his voice box.
"Hello, Steve," Saeyung said.
"Hello," Marvin said curtly. He walked up beside her and they gazed out at the city below. Should I say Dr. Park?
"You've done well as a pilot. The implant is helping?"
Marvin nodded. There was no use hiding it. He could only hope to find out now if Saeyung was responsible for said implant.
"I won't ask you about the details," she said. "I just want to put an offer on the table: I'd like to have you at our lab. In return, we'll give your team as much money as if you made Mecha Realm."
Getting straight to business. Marvin respected it, though it seemed he was becoming the megacity's most valuable guinea pig.
"Why?" he asked.
He expected Saeyung to give a similar spiel as Luyan, but instead, she said, "Did you know—my research isn't actually on AI. The AI we use here gets developed in Megacity 13; my company just distributes it. That's why we're in so much debt."
Marvin looked at her, stunned. "Debt? To Megacity 13?" He and most Megacity 14 residents barely even knew the neighboring nation's location.
"Yes. My company pays them, and Hosaka pays me to keep my research going. They trust me to make something novel, something the rest of the world needs." Saeyung flashed a smile, and Marvin felt an inexplicable spike of terror. "With your help, I'll have it by the end of this year."
It was subtle, but Marvin was sure Saeyung had been faking every other emotion prior to this. Now, talking about her life's work, she was truly excited.
"Marvin, the surroundings are clear," Caroline said in his head. "Saeyung might have actually come alone."
It was a little late for that to bring comfort. Marvin contemplated Saeyung's offer. That much money would help Ben and Renee a lot, but he had no idea what he was signing up for.
"What are you going to do to me?" he asked. "At your lab?"
"Understand how you work. How you pilot your mech, how you experience sleep… everything."
"Why?" It wasn't like Marvin was the first consciousness implant. Maybe the first one to be in a mech Core, but did that make that much of a difference?
"Do you feel human?" Saeyung asked.
"Yeah," Marvin said.
"But you're not. Not by conventional standards, at least."
Marvin frowned. He felt enough emotions to maintain relationships with his friends. He even had a crush on a girl. Was that not enough proof that he was human?
Saeyung continued, "Once, when I was a kid, I wanted to see how long I could hold my breath. I held it until I blacked out, but the moment I went unconscious, I began breathing again." She looked to the sky thoughtfully. "It's human nature to keep ourselves alive. You've got rocket thrusters, right?"
Marvin nodded in surprise. I guess they're not that well hidden.
"If you went on standby and I pushed you off this roof, would they activate to break your fall? Would your body feel that same urge to survive?"
Marvin stared at her in horror. No way she'll do that. I can easily overpower her.
Saeyung laughed. There was nothing malicious behind it, yet it unnerved Marvin. "What I'm trying to say is, there are so many questions we don't have answers to. What makes someone human? At what point do we have to treat a computer the same way we treat each other?"
"What if I refuse to go?" Marvin asked. Will you kidnap me?
"That's fine. This is still your choice."
She was back in an act. Again, not a malicious one, but one that implied she would simply be hurt if Marvin refused.
Just then, Caroline's voice pierced Marvin's microphones. "Shit. End your meeting as soon as possible."
Marvin's circuits went cold. He turned off his voice box with an internal command and asked, "What do you mean?"
"We just found—"
"Talking to your friends?" Saeyung said, tilting her head.
Marvin widened his eyes and activated his voice box. "What?"
"It's okay," Saeyung said. "They're circling us, aren't they?" She pointed at the shuttle stream above them.
Dread seeped into every crevice of Marvin's hull. This wasn't some gang member they were dealing with; this was one of the most powerful people in the megacity. Of course she knew.
"It's good that you don't trust me," Saeyung said. "But I'm sure your friends have confirmed I did hold my promise? That I'm alone and unarmed." She held out her palms.
Marvin couldn't find his voice. He could escape from this easily, he could incapacitate Saeyung even, and yet he had a feeling he was completely at her mercy.
Get me out of here. Say this meeting is over.
"My offer still stands," Saeyung said. "If you refuse, I will leave you be."
Marvin could only nod. Saeyung headed to the door, leaving him on the roof. He could have sworn he was trembling.
-----
When he boarded Caroline's shuttle, his friends swarmed around him and checked him for injuries or trackers. He had to repeat again and again that Saeyung hadn't even come within three feet of him.
Caroline, Ben, Renee, and Ella were all there, along with Amir. Ishaan was calling in from Caroline's tablet, though he remained silent. Seeing all of his friends made the fear dissipate. Saeyung may have been a little eccentric, but she hadn't threatened him or anything.
"What did you find?" Marvin asked after everyone had more or less settled down.
Everyone looked at Caroline, and she took a deep breath.
"We found a pattern to all the deaths," she said. "Besides the psych ward. They had different names and fake NIDs, but their descriptions match perfectly: all of the victims were enrolled in Ainsel AI's first round of clinical trials."
Marvin shuddered. Had the experimentation led them to commit suicide, or had Ainsel AI sent someone to take them out once they were free from the psych ward? Neither possibility bode well.
"We can't find anything else on those trials except for the lab location," Ben said.
"Which is being cleansed as we speak," Amir added. "They've labeled it as neglected property and are letting Hosaka tear it down."
"Ainsel AI is definitely involved, and they're hiding something," Caroline said. "We need to stay as far from them as possible."
"Is your apartment safe?" Marvin asked Renee.
"Amir says it's the best option we have," Renee said. "No one knows it belongs to me."
"And Ainsel doesn't have control over private residences," Amir added.
Marvin nodded. The farm workshop was compromised, and Saeyung and Sunwoo probably knew where Amir lived. Caroline's parents were not around. Ella was a public figure, and her residences were on record. The rest of them were orphans.
"We don't have evidence against Ainsel yet," Amir continued. "Best bet is to plant a bug on Saeyung."
"I can do it when I go to the lab," Marvin offered quietly.
"You're not going anywhere near that place," Amir said. "I'll do it."
Marvin couldn't help but feel relieved.
"What about Sunwoo?" Ben asked. "Can you get him to spy for us?"
"No, we don't know enough about him," Amir replied. "I want to keep watch on him, too."
"Wait, why are we doing all this?" Ella said. "Aren't you the police chief? Can't you just get a search warrant or something?"
"We're using illegally obtained files and going off nothing but a hunch. My department, the Inspection, they'd be right not to help me."
"Oh." Ella didn't look like she understood. "Well you shouldn't do all this alone."
Marvin nodded. "How can we help?"
Amir surveyed each person in the shuttle. Then his eyes grew distant and he frowned.
"I guess there is something you can help me with, Marvin," he said.