What was an acceptable amount of talk? For how long could two converse before it became irrational to continue. Theoretically, there was no such limit. Humans were social creatures, meaning they metaphorically fed off socialising with others of their own kind. It gave them energy, letting their brains develop in the ways they needed.

That was partly the reason that humans looked down on those who isolated themselves within their own chambers. It was a negative action to take, because it was bad, from a biological standpoint. It made it harder for the brain to develop the chemicals needed to balance things out, creating a so-called stage of imbalance. This was normally seen in the form of irrational mood swings, sudden bursts of dread, and a general inability to perform tasks efficiently.

But that statement did not need to be turned on its head. Sure, there was a need for conversation. Humans had always needed to talk, always needed to be acknowledged by others, lest they wither just a bit faster than the others. Yet… there was also too much of it to be had.

One could spend every day out and about, chatting with others without break. Troy had often talked of people doing just that as their jobs, enticing others into buying low-quality products without a shred of guilt to their name. From morning until night, such people would talk to others like them, always having a great smile and great humour in their tongues.

From what had been said, people in such a position did not last long, only staying on the job for a maximum of a year. While there were other factors into that short stay, an essential part of its reasoning was that the human might be not designed for constant communication in mind.

Humans could work together. That was the single trait that had been kept through the years, what had been a mainstay of their evolution. They had been bred through hardship to survive with the help of it. Few creatures could match the complexity of teamwork that humans showcased. Sure, other species were more dedicated, dying for the simplest of things and refusing to think of themselves as an individual, but humans were better overall.

But like it had been saying before, evolution did not make creatures better. Evolution made them less bad. They could socialise to the level they needed to be at. Anything more was a free throw.

There was a limit to most humans. At some point, the mind would refuse to cooperate, signalling a tactical retreat to recuperate. Hours could have been spent at that point on talking, never letting the vocal cords rest. But it was mostly much shorter in duration. And had been shortening for a long time. With the introduction of instant conversation, the evolution of communication causing shortened texts, and a populace dedicated to not wasting a second of their lives on pointless endeavours, the need for long talks had been lowered, and the general endurance had fallen accordingly.

And what was bad about it? Why waste hours on what could be done in minutes? There was only so much which could be gained, and going beyond that limit would only cause tiredness. That's how Adam saw it.

Was the AI to be ignored for this opinion? Adam was not human. He could not understand what it meant to be a human. There was no chance he would ever get to truly understand that feeling. Simulation upon simulation could be made, but the bias of an outsider could never truly be destroyed as it was. The only conceivable way for the AI to ever have the slightest bit of comprehension would be to completely alter his own view of the world, tricking himself into thinking that he was a human.

Going back to the original question, however, Adam still felt that he was able to answer it. While not having any chance of understanding the intricacies of every action, it was still fully possible for him to emulate them. It was only a surface-level copy, but it was enough to get by. And… from he saw, he had but one conclusion to make

‘Troy, I think you need to let Dr Hale rest now,’ Adam sent out. The young man was able to keep the conversation afloat by himself, as had been stated before, but the woman was showing her limits off. It did not help that her physical state was drastically below average. Even without it, however, Adam could distinctly remember her not having the highest tolerance for small talk.

The young man’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden words, before overlooking the situation with a new eye. The AI had front-row tickets as the man overlooked the physical state of Dr Hale, noting the mild shake on her left hand, the one being used to sit upright. She was having it hard to continue doing so, yet the persistence and an unwillingness to show weakness had apparently made her continue.

As Troy helped her down, Adam bore witness to hateful eyes being sent their way. Or… was it really hateful? The difference between mild irritation and extreme loathing was quite small when matched with a facial design fully focused on minimal movements. At such a point, everything was up to evaluation, where a general strategy had trouble truly working. It was all done case-by-case, as nothing else seemed to have worked.

Dr Hale was an enigma in that way. Even after having studied her facial mannerisms for weeks on end, Adam felt himself no closer to truly understanding what he saw. The general mood coming off of her was always negative, her eyes never shined, and there was hardly a moment ever spent looking anything but bored at the world around her.

Was this her actual mood and emotion? Was she never happy, devoid of emotion to a degree where mental illness had to be discussed? No. If anything, Adam was sure of her varied emotional outbursts. Dr Hale was emphatic, able to have sympathy for others, able to find humour in various subjects, and was more than able to see positive things.

There were few moments where Troy was able to see it. The times it was shown was in the slightest of instants, when the young man had never truly turned his head towards her. It was like the woman always put on a mask when looked at, making her features frozen in time.

Was this the truth? Adam certainly thought so, having catched the larger movements in the corners of Troy’s eyes. And with the help of some reflecting materials, it had been confirmed. Dr Hale had a variety of expressions that she used frequently. It was just never shown to anybody.

Originally, the AI had seen it as quite a peculiar thing. Expressions were meant to showcase emotion to others, as had been proven many times before. It was the visual aspect of communication, the most important and integral part of body language. To remove that part of it all, when it was clearly in one’s possession, was more than a tiny bit confusing for Adam. It seemed… without reason. It was not understood.

Was it done intentionally? Again, the AI was not sure. He understood it had been done during their stay at the facility, partly to disguise her own actions in front of Dr Fidelis. The times not spent in the presence of that man could have also been excused as a need for keeping up the charade. Major changes to one’s persona were notable by most humans, and it would make sense to keep it up indefinitely for that reason.

But it didn't make sense now. They were out of the facility. No other doctor was watching her for any missteps. There was only Troy and Charlie, both uncaring about how she acted. But she still kept it up. Her face was still impassive, every time somebody had their gaze upon it.

It wasn't even a gradual process. Like water running down a stream, the woman’s face would glide into stone, never moving much when being watched. It was done at every moment, whether or not Dr Hale was paying attention, like a background process always being ready to engage.

That was the part that Adam honed in on, later in their journey. It was always there, whether or not Dr Hale was focused on it. She would change her expressions to a near-zero, as long as anybody had the slightest chance of watching her face.

It was not intentional. It was instinct. She did it automatically. Did she know that she did it? Most likely, yes, but the chance that she cared was just as low. And… it wasn't as if there was too much wrong with it.

There were hardships in getting to understand what she said at times, and there were perhaps moments where Adam had to wonder if she was sarcastic, but the AI had still semi-succeeded in getting a decent read on her character.

While he might not have been able to read her like he did Troy or Charlie, he was slowly getting closer to removing that gap of understanding. It could have been looked at as a challenge, one might say.

There was nothing wrong with not conforming to the social standards set forth by the average, but it just meant that it was harder to understand them. One of them had a larger learning curve, it could be said. And Adam had next to nothing against that.

Dr Hale was still an enigma. With her past in shadows and next to no chance of it being revealed to him, the AI was forced to work with what he had. There was always a desire to understand, and it became just a bit more… endearing to do when it was hard. If everything came easy, what fun was there to be had? It was the challenge of it all that made it exciting.

Yes, there was most likely an underlying reason why Dr Hale did not showcase her emotions to a normal degree. It could be that she had gained a stress-afflicted condition after years of hardship, or it could be that her normal attitude had exponentially been increased at some placements due to the environment that she had been forced to stay in. Or it could have been that she had always found a lacking desire to show her emotions. Everything was possible.

There was no real way for Adam to know. Dr Hale had never commented on it, and Charlie had stated that Mara, as he so called her, had always been like she was, even if she was a bit more cutting with her words as of late. That had been said before they left the facility, however. Adam wondered if that opinion had changed.

The AI watched silently, as Troy went back to his own resting place. It was not the most comfortable arrangement, and Adam knew firsthand that it was able to create a discomforted neck and back. However, anything else equalled Troy taking the sofa from Dr Hale or them attempting to steal a rather heavy object from one of the more secure stores. Either alternative was already enough for them to accept the current arrangements.

At least Troy had a place where he slept. The human body was very sturdy, but proper bedding was one of the comforts that were needed in the long run. Adam had already had plenty of arguments for why they needed a more permanent solution, but the others had understood his points rather well. It was just that they had no real way of actualising it, still needing to get over the border first.

…

The border-conundrum. A paradox in its requirements. Adam had still not found the greatest plan for going through it all without incident. Even now, they had pushed too much, yet they still needed to push so much more.

The AI only hoped that the plan would work. If not, the consequences would be hard to survive through.