Adam saw the man appear, just as the bearer of the earpiece felt the impact of the chair under him. To say it simply, this person was unique in appearance. In earlier tests, Troy had been used as the base model for the simulated people. While the similarities had only stopped at the surface, looking alike had always been a stable convention.

If Dr Fidelis’ words were to be believed, this had been due to a lack of workable character models. They had no reason to have such things on hand, forcing them to use whatever was available at the time. Seeing as the current test had been sporadic in its creation, the AI had not thought them able to find a model for the character, causing them to use the earlier techniques. Now seeing the person before the two, Adam knew how wrong he had been. Appearance-wise, he had never seen anything like it.

It was only through his pre-known information, that the AI was able to label the man’s clothing as anything other than tight fabrics. On the top of his head, not successfully hiding the bald spots on the side, was a larger bowler-hat. It sat tight, following the head movements perfectly. Under the neck, nearly the entire body was covered by a slightly ruffled, black and white suit. The sleeves were longer than needed, coming to a rest just below the thumb. Likely to be an intentional design. The attire of the lower body was unreadable, due to the table being in the way. Nonetheless, the AI thought the attire down there was similar to the one above.

The age of the man was not questionable, the wrinkly forehead making the time since youth prevalent in form. This body had certainly seen much, as he sat with the spirit on a young man, confident in his small movements. A homely smile was on his face, one of experience. The man knew what would be happening, knew what the outcome would be, and certainly knew just how much he would be beating Troy in the game.

An arrogant person through and through. If such arrogance had the possibility of being backed up with actual skill, Adam was confident that something could actually be learned. He had been alarmed of the difficulty being turned down, due to the assumed inexperience in the game. Yet, such things had apparently been forgotten, seeing how utterly little the man was showing about himself.

The hands were calm, collected, with every movement having a purpose. Before materialising, or just before Troy was able to see him, the man had seemingly been smoking. The last puff had been given to the shortened stick of ash, before being deposited ashtray to the side. The AI had not seen the tray before the moment of impact. If objects were only viewable, after being interacted with, how many were around them? Were they in a casino, invisible to only them? The chances were low, but still within the probable range of action.

“Good day to you, son”, the man stated, surprising both Adam and Troy. A hand was reached over towards the two, in the usual hand-shaking custom. Or, so the AI was interpreting it as. The table was not narrow, making it impossible for Troy to answer the hand while sitting down.

Instead of not shaking his hand, and seeming impolite, the bearer of the earpiece stood up again, putting most of his body over the table. It did the trick, and Troy was able to shake the man’s hand.

“Good to meet you too, sir”, Troy replied in kind. “Do you have anything that you would like for me to call you?”

“My name, please” the man replied, chuckling as his own humour.

It took longer than the AI was comfortable with, for Troy to realise the punchline and the joke associated with it. Adam had been surprised as well, seeing the simulated person so advanced, to try to manipulate the atmosphere around them. Create a casual situation, where the mind can relax. Then, utterly consume them while they are distracted. Not the most elaborate plan hitherto of course, yet the AI was beginning to believe that more was to this man. They had only been able to see him for a couple of seconds. Expecting to know everything about him was not within normal possibilities. This man was cunning, and for now that was all they needed to know.

“Well, what is your name then? Or should I just call you 'my name`?” Troy said, firing back with his own punchline to accompany it. A more dry attempt, fitting that of an older gentleman. Perfect for the intended age group.

The older man certainly made some sort of noise. It could have been described as a mix of snorting loudly and having a coughing fit. Positive in nature, it most likely was.

“If I successfully smuggled my whisky in, I would have choked on it. You have some temper inside yourself, young man. Temper enough to be worthy of hearing my name even!” the still-unnamed said, with a small slam to the table accompanying it.

The man turned to the side, seemingly hearing the voice of the dealer. Troy also looked at him but was unable to hear anything. Yet from the hand gestures pointing at the side, the message wasn't too cryptic.

“All right, good sir. I understand your rules, and I do respect them. It will certainly not happen again without good reason,” the older man assured the unseen dealer. Why only the hands were visible, when it had been interacted with, the AI wasn't too sure. Maybe it was simply not designed to be that way, to not give any signals, which would aid him. No more thoughts were given to it, as the eyes fell back on Troy. “Where were we? Oh, of course. My mythological name revelled in the sagas. My name… is Soren.”

A name fitting the cheater at the graveyard. Adam certainly would not have suspected it. Few mentions of the name appeared in his data, only obscure references to it. Troy surely appeared to have recognized it, no uncertainty appearing upon hearing it.

“Is that nordic? Also, my name is Troy. It would be unkind of me if I didn't return the name-giving,” Troy replied. The AI was impressed. The actions of both individuals were layered with intentions. No distinctions could be found, from normal conversations. It was as if the simulated person was as real as a, well, real person.

Such technology had never been observed before, by the AI. To replicate human behaviour fully and truly, with no discernible flaws. It was a technology-based marvel, that they had been able to distinguish Adam from this and actual sentience.

How had they done so? If asked to say who was real and who wasn't, he did not believe himself capable of finding the impostor. The Turing test was non-functional in this scenario. Making that specific test incapable of working correctly was not arduous of course. Even Adam could do so, with little to no preparation time. Yet, how about other methods? Would they be seen for what they truly were, if they were thrown at the clever simulation?

Such a thing would need to be tested, at the earliest opportunity!

“It is! Not the most widespread name these days. People don't even know how to pronounce it! And, it is good to meet you, Troy. Seeing as you sat on the opposite side of the table, I am led to believe that you are considering playing against me? Is my prediction correct?” Soren exclaimed.

Compassion was shown with great force. The man had clearly not been asked into his name-history much before. An abrogating thing, it appeared to be. Also a method of exploitation. If the need ever called for it, ask into it, Adam could request Troy to do. Humanity had many faults. Keeping track of multiple things was one of them.

Things had led on for too long, it looked like. Even in normal people, so long a time spent talking, when gambling was also on the table, would be looked at as time wasted. The subject had forcibly been changed over to their current circumstances. To Soren, it would definitely have looked to be that Troy had an interest in playing. There were few other reasons for sitting down at the poker table. And, from the impatient finger tapping, coming from the dealer’s side, it was obvious that they needed to get a move on.

'You have strayed from the needed topic. Focus on the subject of poker. Answer any questions he has about them. If you don't answer him within five seconds, I will supply an answer for you. With the hand currently under the table, give me a thumbs up, if this arrangement is fine to you.`, Adam sent to Troy.

Mild twitch of the jaw was all the signal that came from him, as a response to the message. After a second, the right hand was twisted into a sideways thumbs up. He had made sure not to put any force into it. Strong movement equalled the flexing of muscle groups. Such things were too noticeable.

Technically, the two would have no reason to be discreet about their private conversations. The simulated humans would not have anything against it, according to realisable sources. Though there was one thing, which the AI wondered about. Even if they would not question it, did they already know of it? Did they have integrated the knowledge of Troy having a voice in his head? If so, it would likely come up in conversation soon. Such things could not be regular occurrences.

Yet, if not, there would be no reason to let them know of his existence. Giving away such information had the potential of skewing the balance. Troy possessed knowledge, which the other side did not. A favour to his own placement. Adam only hoped that Soren did not have anything like it.

It would have all been so much better if the two had been able to keep their level of communication to the same level of complexity. But, for all the good humanity had in such a subject, they lacked it non-verbally. The AI needed some way to do so, without the mouth ever hinting at him talking. But, Adam was not sure what he could do here. Inquiry about it to Troy, after the test, was the safest route.

“You guess correctly, Soren. Poker looks to be one of the few things to really do here. Don't you feel the same way?” Troy said, a shrug of the shoulder accompanying it. He was still in the mindset of humour-based communication. A shame that the receiver did not understand it.

“I most certainly do. I never will understand this place’s version of decor. A silver chandelier was never the best choice to make, in any place of this nobility. The only thing worthwhile here these days are the poker tables and the slot machines to the side. But, only one of those things is ever truly in use by the regulars. Which, as a matter of fact, I don't think you are. Would you call yourself experienced in this fine game?”

There it was. The difficulty adjuster. To Dr Fidelis’ knowledge, that AI had never tried the game before. This would make Troy be the one to make the final decision on the difficulty. He would choose the level at which he would be able to guide Adam through it. Such would the way be if he had never tried it. Luckily for them both, Adam had more than enough experience with it.

The pause of five seconds could not have gone slower by, as the AI fired off the required answer.

'While you certainly aren't an expert in the game, you aren't a beginner either. You are familiar enough with the mechanics to save yourself in an emergency”, Adam sent over to Troy, who quickly repeated his words.

Calling himself an expert on the spot would not have gone well, in being taken seriously. Modesty was key, in being seen as good. At the Gartner Hype Cycle, one could say they were at the disillusionment stage. Enough to be skilled, yet not enough to acknowledge oneself as such. The perfect place to be taken as an actual opponent, but not enough to create mistrust.

“So, you've tried it a few times before, eh?” Soren replied, fishing for more information. Dr Fidelis was likely outside, tweaking the difficulty in real-time. They needed to be challenged in this test. Being utterly annihilated by an expert would not help them improve. If anything, it had the potential of causing disappointment, and a lesser want to continue the test itself.

“My history with this fine game could certainly have been described as such. Tried it a few years ago, and have played periodically since,” Troy stated. A glance was taken at the dealers’ hands. They sat still on the table, the plastic-encased stack of cards between the digits.

“So you can recognize the cards. Good enough for me,” Seron said.

“Throwing the question right back at you, are you as good at this game as me?” Troy asked. It was a question, which the AI was proud of the man for creating. It had been set aside as a possible conversation keeper if the need arose. That Troy asked it, without any hints of it coming from Adam, meant that the man was learning his needs.

“One can never be sure about that, with only mere words exchanged. To find true skill, you need a practical lesson”, Soren said. Stringing the lead up along, making Troy initiate it. Not the strongest of manipulations. Yet, how far down it had been planned, the AI wasn't sure.

“Should we get a practical example, then? We are already sitting at the needed table”, Troy pointed out, playing right into the older man’s hand.

“Are you sure? Poker can get strange when only two people play. We could wait for others to join, if you want to,” Soren replied, not being obvious in how much he wanted to accept. Yet, this was also a lead-in, to the possibility of multiple players. Adam saw no reason to add more variables. Skin deep observations could never be as worthy as a singular analysis down to the bone.

'Accept.`, Adam sent. The five seconds had not passed, yet taking the chance of Troy accepting the offer was not on the table of satisfactory outcomes.

“Two people make it more interesting,” Troy reaffirmed the older man. A laugh came on as a response.

Soren glanced at the dealer. The answer to it was the dealer unwrapping the stack of cards. It was time to see what simulated characters had to offer.