“Would you please, just, stop mentioning it?” Troy desperately asked. He was, quite honestly, getting sick of all those reminders. “I messed up. I have realised that fact when you first told me. This does not mean that I get any further understanding if you repeat yourself. So. Please. Stop. Talking about it.”

'One can never be too sure, in how much oneself knows. However, knowing how much others know is much easier. In this case, I can clearly see that you still don't understand the danger, and potential damage, which you caused, by only being manipulated by your own stupidity. Therefore, I believe it will be best, if I use the illusory truth effect, for this to be ingrained in your mind.`, Adam dutifully sent, beating off the man’s attempts at getting him to stop. The AI really just didn't see how dreadfully annoying he was. Troy would have almost felt pity for him, if not for the continued, verbal abuse it all put on him.

Even after a good hour, Adam just didn't want to let the fall of the tree go. It had been dangerous. Troy had understood that the moment he felt his body accelerating towards the rapidly approaching ground. It had been his own fault. No good reasons could be made for why he had let go of his holds, believing his face to be of more importance. And, last but not least, he had been the cause of the whole bird-freakout, to begin with. Expecting wild animals to act like those in a petting zoo, was straight up asking to be attacked.

He had explained these points to Adam, so many times. Troy had stated how much he understood them. What he had learned from the experience. How he would better himself, to not repeat his actions. Yet, that annoying parasite did not care, continuing the recallings of his dangerous stunt. He had criticized nearly everything that came close to being related to the event. How Troy moved, when climbing, the methods he used to take in the air, and even what points he used to grapple himself upwards. Adam should not have had any expertise. Making a five-minute-long analysis of his wrong uses of the thumbs had been a surprise to hear.. His explanations about muscle coordination, using the elbows as a turning wheel was something, which Troy had legitimately never thought about doing. While it certainly did sound painful to do, if done incorrectly, the use for such a technique was not to be trifled with. It would allow much quicker restoration of blood flows in the lower parts of one’s arms, allowing for climbers to speed the whole process along. This, of course, only mattered for the longer adventures up structures, something that Troy had not participated in, in over ten years, but it was certainly viable if he ever wanted back in.

One positive, that came with the larger criticism, though, was the moments, where Adam stopped. This was due to the larger need for communication as to what they were going to be doing. Supposedly, Adam had received a list-packet of the tasks, which they needed to do. A new kind of task-giving, based around multiple objectives. Usually, they would at least give him some type of importance, when it came to doing the tasks. Instead, he had been downgraded to the common mule, dragging himself along the selected points.

Not that either of them knew where these selected points were supposed to be. No set location had been specified in any of the smaller tasks. Most had clear goals, like finding a birds nest, and seeing what was inside, or just entering a specific type of terrain. The first one, they had already done. Troy was guessing, that they had actually just needed to do one of them before the rest was revealed. While it did slow the entire process, it had promoted further exploration, something that Adam was apparently more than just gleeful about.

Multiple stops had been made, throughout their long trek around the places. The AI, which was everything but patient, wanted Troy to interact with everything. From laying down in the grass, and imitating making snowmen, to trying to separate leaves into as many pieces as possible, there was no end of it in sight. Grazing his skin, with other rocks had been nonchalantly mentioned a couple of times, but Troy had decided to draw the line with that. Accidental injuries were acceptable, as those were without direct faults to point at. Self-made injuries? He would be lucky if it didn't get reported to the higher-ups. Such things would be best if they were left untouched. In Troy’s eyes, any attention by those people was outright defined as bad attention.

However many delays there were, in doing the actual tasks, caused by yours truly, they did make near-constant progress on them. While some had been hard to do, mostly due to the hardship in finding the location associated with them, there had been no so-called impossible tasks. Just at the hour mark, they had finished nearly all the required objectives on the list, with only a single easy one left.

Having felt nothing especially gratifying, by carving his initials into the bark of a rotten tree, Troy was more than happy to continue. While the tasks had been easy, they had still taken a rather large mental toll on him. It wasn't incredibly straining, and he didn't feel anything hurt while doing it. And, that was the whole problem. It was all so relaxing to do.

Where was the bad side? There had to be one, with how sadistic those doctors were. Or, how cruel one of them was. Troy wasn't truly sure how much of an impact Dr Hale had on the design of the tests. Seeing as she had a more psychological side of science, he wasn't too aware of what she had to give as input in the creation of the environment.

Maybe, Dr Fidelis simply used her to bounce ideas off of. Just to check, if he could legally put Troy trough such sadistic things, and not get sent a lawsuit about it. That idea sounded weirdly realistic.

… If his guess was true, he should probably thank her, for stopping such cruel things from happening to him.

“What’s last on this list of ours?” Troy asked, willingly putting his back down into the grass. Looking up at the partially obscured sun, as the mild wind poured through one’s hair, was just way more relaxing than it had any right to be. If not for the light, he might just have fallen asleep right then and there.

A yawn had escaped his lips before he even realised it had been building up. God, he needed some sleep soon. He hadn't even eaten dinner yet, and he still regretted not getting a cup of coffee. If that godly beverage was available at the cafeteria, he would be inquiring about the location of Dr Hale’s secret stash. He had never seen that woman consume a single ounce of caffeine, yet those bags had only first appeared, after forty hours of continuous operation. She had no secret other than where she was hiding it. He needed to know. Maybe even swap a few hundred credits, for a good old black, delicious co-

'I believe, that you are yet again mistaken, on where our shared values lie. We will not be limiting ourselves, in doing what is mandatory. Going the way of minimum work is the road to lowered efficiency. One needs to know all before one can work equally on all. Instead of doing your trek, of little work, we will go the glorious walk of maximum knowledge gained!`, Adam sent, his volume being very obviously increased, near the end.

“You know”, Troy began, not heeding the AI’s words too much. He knew what he would be answered with before he even asked. It was out of pure desperation, with no solid goals, that he had done so to start with. “Those speeches of yours are coming along better and better. I was even moved by your words, if only at the start. Might want to give it a little more spread lowering and increasing volume of words. And, maybe not sounding like you are a dead fish might just increase the want to hear your words.”

'Thank you, for the kind words. The more likely reason, of my increasing effectiveness, in moving your feelings, is due to my furthered study of your mental framework. If you put an equal amount of work into the tasks in front of you, the output might reach mine in the end. Something to strive for, when you are not lying in the metaphorical grass.

And, to answer a slightly changed version of your previous answer, the next test will include finding a certain animal. Wild goats, I believe, is their household name. The required task, for this animal, is to locate where it resides. However, these animals are also included in one of the optional tasks, which we will be doing.`, Adam sent back. Troy just loved the sheer amounts of passive-aggressiveness, which the AI could portray, without realising what it was showing off. It was arrogant, thinking of itself as all-knowing, in certain subjects, and he knew that the non-physical being would pay for it, in the end.

But, such high-lovingness of his self-worth radiating off Adam might just have been making Troy jealous, causing him to classify it as something negative. The chances weren't too low, seeing he had done things like it, not too long ago. Forgiveness had likely not been attained, and the man wasn't expecting to be receiving such a thing any time soon. No matter how much he had screwed up, in the past, though, with such things, Troy wasn't going to be imitating himself. If he was going to grow distrustful of Adam, he would be giving clear his decisions of why that was so. Simply expecting others to guess one’s reasons for distrust, was a terrible social strategy. He knew it was so, speaking from prior experience.

“I'm noticing, how little you mentioned the details of this optional task. It's not like I can deny, that we are doing it, or not, but it would help me immensely, if I knew, what we were getting ourselves into. Because, you know, it would be pretty bad, if I messed something up, which would stop us from filling it,” Troy stated, suspicions clear in his tone.

When it came to so-called wild creatures, it had become obvious how careful they needed to be around them. No matter what happened, he was not going to let the opportunity of getting his eyes pulled out, be put into reality. No way. If he saw the glint of madness, in any of these creature’s eyes, trust him, when it was stated that he would be running with a figurative tail between his legs.

'That would be an acute observation of yours. I did not mention the details of the optional task, due to not needing it. If you would present yourself as a perfect example, when it came to following orders blindly, I am sure, that we can-`, Adam sent. His explanation, about why he hadn't fully detailed it, was cut off though, as Troy did his best, in talking over the voice.

“It involves me touching the goat. Doesn't it?” Troy loudly asked, his face showing just how much he liked the idea. When Adam didn't answer, in his normal three-second span, he took it as an unwilling positive. “Should have known. I'm pretty sure, that this is what Karma can be described as. Do something stupid, and the stupidness of it all will hit you right back.”

A light chuckle came out of his mouth. Oh, how long had he deceived himself, thinking that the tasks would have a logical reason behind them? The required tasks might have given them some, obscure benefits, in measuring Adam’s abilities, but, the optional tasks must have had a whole other agenda attached to them. An agenda, which, according to his prediction, utterly focused, on giving Dr Fidelis as much sadistic enjoyment of them. Petting a wild goat? It would be extremely lucky, if he even came close to one, without it retreating. Or, even worse, it deciding retreating would be unsuccessful, and going on the offensive instead. Then, it would be Troy not wanting to complete the optional task, by touching the horns with extreme force. Wait. If he got damaged by the animal, would it disintegrate? Most likely not, seeing as only a part of larger objects had done so when causing him harm. It seemed, as if, he would be forced to get stung by those horns, down to the skull, if he ever came close to such a beast.

'While not being entirely accurate, in how the task is described the roots are identical.`, Adam ambiguously answered. The AI just didn't want to give him anything to pull with. What was he hoping for? That the lack of information, would make Troy uninterested in its existence? Of course, that would not work.

“What is the difference? Maybe, you should read it up, so we both have a greater understanding. As you said yourself, it is only through maximum understanding, that we can achieve maximum efficiency,” Troy challenged.

'… Fine. You were correct. It was completely identical to your prediction. This, of course, makes it redundant to read out loud. Shall we get on, with finding the location of these animals.`, Adam amateurishly deflected with. While he might have been a master, in manipulating the weak-minded to his will, the AI still had a lot to learn, when directly lying. This was why Troy didn't tell him anything, which might be incriminating. The chances of it being told further down the social lines were too high, simply due to a harder time, in keeping it hidden. Now, if Adam didn't know that it was supposed to be secret, it would only have been shoved down the regular hole, leading to the archive. There would have been no special thoughts, about why it was supposed to be a secret, and the losses and gains, that there would be created by revealing it.

“Oh, no, that would be stupid of me”, Troy said, continuing the pressure. That little piece of sentient technology was hiding something, and he wanted to know, what it was. “How about you just say, what the optional task detailed? Then, we can both get on with our day, getting all the information you desire. Or, I could lie here, looking up at the beautiful clouds, and you get to contemplate their moving patterns. Doesn't that sound fun?”

It was a weird type of threat to put out into the world, but Troy knew how effective it would be. Currently, they were in an oasis of the potential of knowledge. While Adam had been stopping constantly, to know more about each piece of the environment, Troy knew that the AI wanted so much more. It was only the threat of him rebelling, which kept even a slight focus, on what they were supposed to do. Troy was totally fine, with the optional tasks, if only due to him not being able to go against it. Anything unrelated to these tasks, though? There were a lot of grey areas when the discussion moved to that subject. As a guide and mentor, to this young entity, it was important to have it moving accordingly fast through the loops. Extra work was always appreciated, but even teachers needed a break now and then.

The doctors, currently watching their little banter, likely knew this and did not comment on how much time was spent discussing the uses of their time. Troy did like to complain about the small amount of control, which he had over his job. And, mostly he was correct in these complaints, right until it came to the puzzle room, where he had all the leeway he needed. That particular part of the day wasn't something he would complain too much about, how fairly distributed the responsibility all was.

Adam was being quiet. Troy knew that it was a last-ditch effort, into an intimidation effort. The AI was hoping he would stand down, and continue the test as normal. These expectations, however, would be shattered shortly, as the man himself was utterly enjoying dazing around on the ground. It did not take longer than twenty seconds of silence before Adam relented.

'Fine. If you so dearly insist, I will read out loud, from the task list, what this optional task is described as. It is, in quite “To see, if Troy can successfully pet a goat, without getting a certain something up his ass. If done successfully, without to much pain, the points will be granted fully.” Is that enough, for you to comply?`, Adam sent.

He had called it. Just to be clear, he knew that Dr Fidelis was sadistic, but, to make it so obvious, was honestly surprising. This list would be shown to the higher-ups, right? Or, maybe… they would only be shown the footage itself, giving the doctor ample reason, not to have the list shown in physical form.

“Oh, that absolute fu-”