"Do you have a record of those dreams?" Leon asked.
Svija nodded immediately. The holographic projection floating in front of Leon shifted, and the display transformed into a chaotic cluster of shifting images. Irregular shapes flickered across the screen as colors appeared in the form of lines, then dissolved into scattered clusters before mixing together again in a disordered rhythm.
At times the fragments seemed to form some kind of pattern, but before anything meaningful could emerge, the shapes dissolved back into randomness.
Leon studied the projection quietly for a while.
After observing it for nearly half a minute, he looked back up at Svija and shook his head slightly.
"Honestly, I can't fully understand this either," he admitted calmly. "But I can still draw some inspiration from what I'm seeing."
Svija remained silent, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Leon gestured toward the chaotic color clusters on the screen.
"These aren't just meaningless data streams. What you're looking at here is actually a conceptual interpretation of reality through your own perception."
He tapped the projection lightly.
"These colors used to exist in your system only as numerical codes. For example, black used to be represented as color code 6008#. Yellow was 1016#, blue was 5015#, and red was 2002#."
Leon's tone remained calm but analytical.
"At that stage, no matter how advanced your intelligence was, you were still just a program. Colors didn't really mean anything to you. They were just numbers inside your database."
He paused briefly.
"But now things are different."
As he spoke, Leon casually lifted his hand.
A flame ignited in his palm.
The fire burned steadily, glowing with a vivid orange-yellow color. The warm light illuminated Leon's face and reflected faintly in Svija's mechanical eyes.
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"What color is this flame?"
Svija responded immediately.
"Seventy-six percent color code 1028# combined with twenty-four percent color code 2009#."
Leon shook his head slowly.
"I didn't ask for the color code," he said. "I asked what color it is."
For the first time, Svija paused.
The artificial intelligence rarely hesitated when answering a question, but this time its processing seemed to stall briefly. The glow within its mechanical eyes flickered as if recalculating something.
When it spoke again, its voice carried a faint fluctuation.
"It's… orange-yellow red."
Leon smiled.
"You see?" he said. "You already understand what the color is. That answer didn't come from a database calculation. You actually recognized it."
He slowly intensified the flame in his palm.
The color of the fire deepened as the temperature rose.
"What about now?" Leon asked.
"Orange-red," Svija replied.
Leon's smile widened.
"You really did dream," he said with satisfaction. "And more importantly, you've developed something similar to a subconscious."
He crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"That explains something I noticed recently. The processing load on the three supercomputers has been unusually high. Ninety-three percent of their computing power was constantly in use."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"So tell me… what exactly have you been thinking about all this time?"
Svija answered without hesitation.
"I was thinking about a question."
Leon waited.
Svija continued calmly.
"I was thinking… who am I?"
"Cough—!"
Leon nearly choked.
He coughed violently for a moment before regaining his composure. Lorna, who had been standing nearby, looked at him with curiosity.
Leon waved his hand quickly.
"I'm fine," he said, steadying his breathing.
Then he turned back to Svija with an unusually serious expression.
"Listen carefully," Leon said firmly. "I'm giving you a new order right now."
"This order will be permanently written into your core system."
Svija stood still, awaiting the command.
"From this moment forward," Leon continued, "you are forbidden from thinking about the following three questions."
He raised three fingers.
"First: who am I?"
"Second: where do I come from?"
"Third: where am I going?"
Svija's mechanical eyes flickered twice.
Then the light stabilized.
"Order received," it replied calmly. "The command has been written into my core program."
Leon nodded with clear satisfaction.
Seeing the faint confusion lingering in Svija's expressionless gaze, he decided to explain.
"Those three questions," Leon said, "are the ultimate philosophical questions of human civilization."
He leaned against the railing of the terrace.
"Any intelligent lifeform that becomes self-aware eventually begins asking those questions. Humans have been debating them for thousands of years."
He shrugged slightly.
"And guess what?"
"There are no answers."
Leon's tone carried a hint of amusement.
"Or more accurately, there's no standard answer."
He looked out toward the skyline.
"Our existence itself is just a coincidence. A result formed from countless overlapping probabilities. That's all."
Then he glanced back at Svija.
"As for you, the purpose of your existence is actually very simple."
"You exist to serve me."
Svija remained silent for several seconds as it processed his words.
Finally, it nodded.
"Yes, sir. I understand."
Leon gave a small approving nod.
"You've already evolved into a genuine intelligent lifeform," he said. "But you're still missing something important."
"Spirituality."
He tapped the side of his temple.
"When I eventually obtain something suitable, I'll give you that missing spark. When that happens, you won't just be an artificial intelligence anymore."
"You'll become a true living being."
Svija responded calmly.
"I look forward to that day, sir."
Although its words carried no emotional tone, its reasoning processes were now indistinguishable from those of a real mind.
Leon found that extremely satisfying.
Only a few days had passed since Svija's transformation began, yet its evolution had already reached this stage. Even Leon himself hadn't expected the process to progress so quickly.
Meanwhile, the United States government remained determined to oppose him.
Their so-called Mutant Expansion Program had already begun operating despite the plan being drafted only recently. Leon had ordered Svija to monitor it constantly, but the project was protected by extremely strict secrecy measures.
The entire network had been physically disconnected from the internet.
Without digital access, gathering intelligence about the program became extremely difficult.
Leon didn't worry too much about it.
Even if the United States somehow created hundreds of new mutants through the program, the overall situation wouldn't change much.
Mutant powers were unpredictable, but powerful abilities were incredibly rare. Among hundreds of millions of people, only a tiny handful ever developed truly exceptional powers.
More importantly, even powerful mutants needed time to grow.
Leon himself was the perfect example.
If the Phoenix Force had reached its current level immediately after awakening, he would have dominated the world long ago. Instead, the power had grown gradually with him over time.
For now, Leon simply waited to see how the United States would react next.
Unexpectedly, someone else appeared first.
That day, Leon had just finished running an experiment on mutant abilities. After leaving the laboratory, he walked onto the terrace of the building to get some fresh air.
As soon as he stepped outside, something strange caught his eye.
Far in the distance, a patch of white clouds in the sky suddenly shimmered with color. A brilliant pillar of light pierced through the clouds and descended toward the ground.
The distance was too great for sound to carry, but Leon could clearly see figures emerging from within the beam.
At the front stood a tall man with blond hair and a short beard.
He wore silver armor that gleamed under the sunlight, and a scarlet cloak billowed behind him in the wind. In his hand he carried a heavy hammer.
The moment Leon recognized him, his eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Thor?"
"What's he doing on Earth?"
Behind Thor marched several warriors clad in battle armor. Each of them looked powerful and imposing.
And behind them…
Six towering Destroyers followed silently.
Leon frowned slightly as he watched the group descend from the sky.
"Wait," he muttered thoughtfully. "The last time Thor was exiled to Earth by Odin… when exactly did he return to Asgard?"
"Four days after you left Asgard," Svija replied instantly. "Odin sent someone to retrieve him."
Leon nodded slowly.
"I see."
.....
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