“You’re back!” The pale-faced young man immediately recognized the AI butler’s voice as soon as he heard it. “Did you bring all the parts that I ordered?”

The young man simply nodded at the hologram who had been standing still at the corner of this small room. He glanced around the nearly empty office as he entered. “I left them at the entrance.”

He quickly removed his coat, hung it behind the door, revealing his plain dark blue button-down shirt and jeans. He then dragged his towering figure towards the guest chair to his right and sat down opposite the modest mahogany office table. All these well-rehearsed actions he did without thinking every time he had to report to this office.

“Wonderful!” The AI butler suddenly appeared, standing beside the leather chair behind the desk, facing the visitor with glee. “I’ll get the bots to start fixing my virtual projection in the driveway then. How much do I owe you?”

“10,000 credits? No big deal!” The young man shrugged indifferently, his mischievous eyes betraying the scheming deal in his mind. He leaned towards the hologram, his face filled with anticipation. “How about paying me in kind, instead? I prefer being paid with information instead of just credits!”

“That would depend on the kind of information you need.” The AI butler’s happy expression turned serious, cradling his chin with his hand. “Presuming, of course, that you have the clearance for it, then sure, why not?”

The young man leaned back in his chair, confident that the hologram would eventually give in with a little persuasion. “Is the Bogeyman still stuck in his own nightmare?”

“That seems pretty straightforward!” The AI butler retorted sounding a bit sarcastic. His serious face began turning smug. “If you already knew, why did you still need to ask?

“That’s called small talk.” The young man smirked, mocking the hologram’s inability to spot the difference between his truths and his lies. “Didn’t that guy teach you a thing or two about small talk?”

“I understand.” The AI butler conceded, pulling up a miniature virtual projection above the desk. It showed another man lying inside what appeared to be a capsule. “Yes, Dimitri is still in a coma.”

The young man took a closer look, jeering at the unresponsive Dimitri. “How long has it been?”

The hologram pulled up another virtual projection beside the first one. The second projection showed a running timer. “Nearly two months, 51 days to be exact and counting.”

“That long, huh?” The young man tried to extract more information from the AI butler. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, still seated in front of the desk. “Why is he still alive?”

“Why wouldn't he be?” The hologram spoke with a self-satisfied look on his face. “Our health care facilities are obviously top-notch. He has the absolute luxury of being able to remain in a coma for years and still survive.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” The young man’s expression shifted from curiosity to sheer bewilderment. “Why doesn’t the Council just kill him to get it over with? Are they still buying his poor excuse of a lie? I don’t think he really has amnesia.”

“I apologize.” The AI butler’s eyes glazed with confusion. “I do not have access to that information. I am not sure how to respond to your questions.”

“And why not?” The young man’s face mirrored the hologram’s confusion as he thought of possible reasons why the council allowed Dimitri to live and why they restricted the AI butler’s access to that information.

“The database simply states that the council’s decision regarding Dimitri’s infractions is confidential.” The hologram pulled another screen that said, “Access Restricted.”

“I’m not allowed to pry any further.”

The young man stared at the screen, finding the council’s restriction to the information a bit odd. He tried to coax the AI butler to reveal the hidden information, certain that the hologram could find a way to circumvent this restriction. “But you can, can’t you?”

“Yes, I can.” The AI butler answered honestly, oblivious to the young man’s slyness. “But I would rather not. There is definitely no incentive for me to do that.”

“How about I run more errands for you in the next six months at no extra charge?” The young man dangled his offer enticingly to the seemingly gullible hologram. His strong gut feel gave him the impression the access to that information could be bought.

The AI butler refused. “Other than repairing my virtual projection in the driveway, I will not be needing any errands run in the foreseeable future.”

“What if your precious storage room breaks?” The young man observed the hologram’s reaction. “With Dimitri in a coma, you might need someone to help you fix that! I can be your backup in-house repair guy. What do you think?”

“Why would it break?” The AI butler looked innocent. “There is absolutely no plausible explanation why it would!”

The young man inclined towards the hologram and threatened it. “What if I break it myself?”

“Do I detect a threat?” The AI butler frowned, finally able to process the logic behind the young man’s statements. “You know pretty well that blackmail does not work with me.”

“Fine, I give up!” The young man shrugged. “I have top clearance in this outpost, anyway. I should be able to access that information! How about you let me try?” He stood up, ready to input his access code into the virtual screen.

“Very well, then.” The hologram pulled another screen up for the young man to enter his access code.

The young man tapped his access code into the virtual keyboard. An error message appeared followed by a beep.

[Access Denied]