With the doctor out of reach, Troy was left alone with Adam. There had been some expectation to be blasted with questions. The last part of the older man’s speech had not been the greatest thing to hear. What was he to believe? Which message was he to trust?

It was all conflicting with each other. First Dr Fidelis explains to Troy that he can share the information whenever he pleases. Then he tells him that he can do it, under any circumstances. How was that fair? It didn't make any sense!

Was he misunderstanding something? Troy might not have been the brightest of bulbs, but he had to be able to see some secret in this. The speech had apparently been prepared, no matter how little it sounded to be so. With preparation came a dive into the details. And there had to be some detail missing. Had Troy not paid enough attention? Had he misheard something? If not that, the doctor just had to be messing with him.

And… What was that about a persona?

“Adam,” Troy said

The AI wasted no time in answering the statement.

'Yes?` the AI inquired. That tone, so devoid of humanity, was not the greatest for questions. Yet with so many hours purely used for interaction, Troy felt himself getting closer to sussing out the entity’s emotions.

As a certain somebody had said many times. it didn't require openness to see that which lies within. It had been a long time since he had read it, but he still remembered the quote vividly. What had been that man’s name? The creator of that fictional world? The only detail about the man was the fondness of discs and skeletal holiday creatures.

“I will be imitating another person during this test,” Troy began his observations off with. “That's doable. It will take some effort, but I can do it. You just give me some tips on how to act, and we will be well on our way to this. But, there is another problem which I'm a little worried about.

Dr Fidelis said that this test will be a mashup of all the previous tests. I'm not entirely sure, in what capacity he meant this.”

'I am not sure what you mean with this. Could you explain in more detail?`

“Alright, so he said that things will be taken from the previous tests. Let's take an example for that,” Troy said. “During this test, there will be plenty of creatures which we will be meeting. The animals are obvious from the test where you had to describe environments. The guard-dogs, in particular, might be a hint towards a certain feline which we saw recently. This can all be moved over easily. There's not much you can do with those creatures before they are wholly different. That is not the same when it comes to humans.

During the test where we met Soren, Dr Fidelis stated that your presence would not be surprising. That it wouldn't be out of that world to have a voice talking in one’s head. A precautionary measure to be sure.

But… is it the same with this test? It could be that only the human aspect was pulled over to this test. There was no mention of their reaction to you, and there certainly wasn't any persona delegated to you, so will this be a problem.

Should we hide your existence? If me hearing voices in my head is not regarded as a regular activity, and I give this information over to these simulated beings, it could seriously hamper any chances of success, whatever success might mean in this scenario.

As I am only the guide, you kinda have to decide on this. Do you just want to ignore this flaw, or should we plan for it?”

Not the greatest way to formulate the question. Troy realised that halfway through the improvised speech. Honestly, he hadn't even been sure, if he would be able to raise that point. If it was important, Adam would have noticed it and planned for it silently. That AI could think situations faster than most, and it would have been more than a little embarrassing to be told that-

'I did not think of that. You raise a valid point. A very disconcerting point, which we will have to plan for immediately. Please look around, for any signs that the test is starting. We have no opportunity to waste,` Adam instantly responded. More than a slight shock to Troy, but no one which caused any form of displeasure.

The area was quickly surveyed. No sign of change had occurred. Nothing indicating the environment being generated, and certainly nothing coming out of the ground. Whatever was being generated, it had to have been massive, if it hadn't even started the generation face yet. If that was scary or exciting, Troy wasn't too sure.

“We should have a minute or two more if the last few tests are any indication,” Troy answered honestly. The first intractable environment certainly had been one of the slow to load ones. It had taken nearly two minutes to get that one ready, and that counter had only started upon first sight of anything other than white. If this environment was bigger than that, he was betting on it taking even longer. If their preparation was to be thorough, they needed the extra time.

'I would have preferred longer, but there is no time to waste. If your theory is right, non-verbal communication must not be established. While it would have been best to create a larger system of words to fall back on, it seems we only have enough time to get through the essentials. I have already prepared a small list, which I hope you will be able to memorize in the next two minutes. It is seventeen different signals, but you should be able to do it, even if the speech is sped up. Are you ready?` Adam sent. No hint of the delay was in the voice. And, if it sped up even more on top of the already doubled word output, Troy wasn't too sure he would understand any of it.

Wait for… non-verbal. Of course!

“Stop for a second!”, Troy said. “It would be stupid for me to try and memorize anything new now. My memory is faulty at best. Expecting perfect results in so little time is anything but logical.”

'Then what do you propose? Your species do not use non-verbal communication intently. Anything requiring sound is disqualified as a viable method because of that.`

“But, that's where you are wrong, Adam!” Troy stated, getting way too much into it. “Sign language! That's the answer right there!”

A slight pause this time. Not enough to satisfy the usual second, but enough to be noticed.

'I own rudimentary information about these sign languages. Only the basic techniques on how it works, but no hand-signs. From your ecstaticity, I am guessing you do. Your reaction to my words are an indication of my prediction being right, so you do not need to answer that… okay. Here is the plan.

You’re saying that my memory should be trusted instead of yours, due to my superiority in that aspect. That is logical. Therefore, instead of me teaching you body-signs and what meaning I have laid behind them, you will be using an already established one. That works perfectly. From the small percentage of your population that uses this slower method of communication, it should not be noticed.

For the next minute, please give me as many hand signs as possible. While doing them, please say out loud their meaning. Do it as fast as you can, as long as the gestures are replicated to a recognizable degree. And stick to the essential ones.`

A swift nod and off Troy went. It had been a long time since having to use it, but he had more than just a superficial grasp of sign-language. The sign-language. There weren't many others in use now. According to historic sources, many had been in use in the past. How peculiar. Adding a language barrier, where there was no need for one. According to his brief read through, the mother languages hadn't had too much difference. Braiding the two together wouldn't have taken long.

A shame that had only happened after the destruction of those countries. Troy was sure that the people living in it would have loved it to be like it was now.

With the quick history buff out of his mind, the question came around rather quickly. What exactly counted as essential? It all came around to the situation really, but Troy wasn't sure what the situation would be. Was it best to just guess?

Taking a glance at his surroundings, a certain object came into view. Not something identifiable, other than its colouring scheme.

“Guess they are taking more than a little from the earlier tests,” Troy quickly muttered, getting away from his more relaxed posture. The starting point needed to be found. He was not losing another fine pair of shoes again. The doctors had replaced the earlier ones without even being asked, but that wasn't a favour needing to be repeated often.

This time, the platform had appeared quickly. With no more than five steps, it was reached and he just had to wait.

'It certainly seems so. Please get on with the sign-language showcase,` Adam sent.

Oh, right!

Much too little thought was put into the signs. Troy wasn't sure what was good and what was bad. At that point, it didn't matter too much. Anything shown should have been able to benefit both of them.

Just in case though, he did go through the whole alphabet. It usually wasn't used in conversation, with it being much too tedious to spell out every word. But, it had the potential of helping in the pinch. Nothing other than the movement of fingers was needed for most of the letters, helping make it extra discreet.

However quickly Troy wanted to be though, nothing would stop the increasingly enlarging mass of land coming towards him. If not for prior experience with such a sight, he might even have stopped making gestures. Instead, he stood steadfast, trying to cram those last words in.

Danger, Who, Knife, Should, Run. All were put in at the last second, just as the ground swallowed him up. Just like last time, nothing was felt from it. With him already being inside the safety net of the barrier, only the blur of materials passing by was any sign of movement. If he closed his eyes, Troy would have thought himself standing still. But well, he probably was. It was all just an illusion, making him think that he was moving. Not like it mattered but still.

'You should stop,` Adam sent.

“Why? Don't we have plenty of time before we reach the surface?” Troy asked.

'We most likely do. But, there is a chance we don't. I have still not received any information about this persona. It would be best to prepare an overhaul of your personality at any moment.` Well, wasn't that just a scary thing to be told?

Rolling his neck, and getting those satisfying cracks out of it, Troy felt more ready than ever.

How he came to eat those words, not five seconds after thinking them.

“A chair?”