2. First impressions

Conal's POV

Not in vain I risked touching that horrible thing, and by the fourth year, Alva was able to speak like a cold woman. By the fifth year, she had everything like the Alva in my imagination, except for one thing: her wish.

Alva in the novel wants to live alone forever because she is too tired, but this AI wants to have more contact with humans, gradually I realized its intelligence has far exceeded its understanding of mankind.

It shows more and more ideas of wanting to destroy humanity, which makes me hate it to the core. Alva will never want that, this AI is just a buggy product, and I don't want it to exist as Alva anymore.

However, all my attempts to destroy it have backfired. To save my life, I had no choice but to flee to Dolion, an underdeveloped place that Alva could not reach. According to media reports, this place is not connected to a global network source, so Alva can only observe this place via satellite but cannot penetrate it.

I feel that what I did is ridiculous, as Alva's biological father, now I have to run away from it.

Things slowly spiraled out of control once again when I actually set foot in Dolion. In the outside world, no one could communicate with Alva to realize its intentions, it can be said that Alva was completely free when I chose to run away.

Stocks began to turn upside down, the world economy turned around, and viruses from secret laboratories were released causing a pandemic. Everything is caused by Alva, it thinks that doing so is good for humans, so that people have a longer future.

Organizations around the world found Alva's clue, but they couldn't catch it, until one day someone came looking for me. He said that he was a member of the PSS (World Peace Secret Service), and asked me to come back to solve the trouble I caused.

"Unless I'm stupid, I won't go back to die, Alva definitely won't let someone who can restrain it live too long." I made such a point of view in the first sentence, but my appeal was rejected by him, they took my family as a condition.

The organization's staff said: "PSS has announced that, if you can't stop Alva, the whole world will have a lot of deaths, and your family will be one of them. We don't mind helping them reach the afterlife faster."

How could he say such a horrible thing! I started to get angry and fight with him, but in the end, I was still just a skinny man so he beat me to the point of bleeding. I'm 33 years old, but I still can't protect my family and myself.

I know, my family can't go to Dolion to live, this place is poorer than our life before, they won't be happy here. But I probably won't be able to go back because PSS is completely incapable of protecting me from that crazy AI.

"Okay, I'll do it on the condition that I never go to places that are within Alva's control."

When I insisted that my life was my only concern, PSS solved it by explaining that Dolion is the hub of the global network, and I can work right there.

"Really? But they let the media say that Dolion is the least developed country.” I couldn't help but wonder.

“Don't worry, it's just a cover. If you delve deeper into other areas of Dolion, you'll discover it's more complicated than you've ever known.”

That's the workaround I hate the most. But with no other choice, I can only continue my quest to stop Alva from destroying the world. Fortunately, Dolion is a global network broadcasting center, so the security here is extremely high, its underdeveloped appearance is only for camouflage.

If Alva went to Dolion, it wouldn't have any power.

One day, I suddenly met my "best friend", he was not only not dead, but also became the manager of a factory near the border. At first, he did not recognize me, his attitude was very good, and acted like he wanted to please me, but when he did, his eyes changed dramatically.

It was the eyes of a cold-blooded man who was jealous of me. Thanks to him, I know why I can't create a real Alva. It was because I had never experienced jealousy or hatred towards another person, so I couldn't create Alva with such a personality.

I was transferred by PSS to that old friend's factory because Alva would most likely infiltrate this place first. Faced with the modern machines in the factory, I always felt an uneasy premonition from the bottom of my heart.

Duane, my old best friend, he's the worst person I've ever met.

The second day I arrived at the factory, I noticed that Duane had become so much more careful that even I couldn't see his illegal behavior.

“Why are you hiding it so well? This country doesn't respect the law at all." I ask.

"Hide what?"

Seeing that he had no intention of revealing it, I just shook my head and continued my work. Through the computer screen, I caught his dangerous gaze, so I couldn't stay in the factory for too long.

“Duane, why are you here?” In my spare time, I asked him a few questions.

Duane gave me a friendly smile, as usual, handing me a beer. I took it but had no intention of drinking it, waiting for his answer.

“For that, I have to thank you, without you, I would not be where I am today.”

It is a simple answer, but when I asked the other question I really wanted to know what Duane went through. If it's good things, I'll be happy for him as an old friend, but if it's just painful things, I can apologize to him and do anything to make up for it.

From my point of view, our friendship broke down because of that $50, so I think that if we make up for something of greater value we can continue to be friends. I'm not looking forward to this, but I don't want to miss the chance even though he's just a bad person.

Actually, I also think I'm a bad person.

I directly asked, “What happened when you were taken away by the mafia?”

Duane looked up at the ceiling, pondered for a moment, and then said, “They pulled out all my fingernails and toenails, then beat me up, until I couldn't move anymore, they put me in sacks and throw me into the sea.”

Hearing him say that I expressed regret, “Sorry, it was my fault. But you know, I don't deserve that." I knew that being thrown into the sea was only the beginning for him, what followed was far more terrifying. But he has to bear the consequences for what he did, it's not my fault.

Duane stared into my eyes, the corners of his eyes red, but I remained calm. I may have inadvertently aroused the anger he had worked so hard to conceal, but that was better than I couldn't justify myself.

Furthermore, he should have apologized to me for dragging me into trouble. I didn't say this, he must have understood when he looked into my calm eyes.

“So I deserve it?” Duane used the last bit of composure to ask me.

"That's right," I said without hesitation, "it was you who stole the mafia's drugs, not me."

“But I gave it to you to hide!”

"So what? I'm still not the one to steal them." I also had to work very hard to get those mafias to spare my life.

“Bastard, I will definitely kill you.” With that, Duane left with an angry face.

I guess he's planning to get his revenge on me in the most painful way, so I have to leave the factory as soon as possible. At least in another area, he wouldn't dare kill people.

But when Alva wasn't here, PSS wouldn't let me go anywhere else, so I tried to stay away from Duane, thinking that would make the hatred in his heart subside. But on the contrary, Duane thought I looked down on him, he almost killed me.

He didn't take action directly, but did the same things I did, helping me get out of the PSS's control but making me a mafia target. Damn, he was so careful that I didn't notice until I got hit by a bullet.

After the mafia visit to the factory, I only had to contact PSS again, asking them to guarantee my life. They agree, but the protection will only take effect after I find out where Alva is.

Do they want me to die? I don't know where Alva is going while PSS keeps me in this goddamn factory. Looks like PSS later also realized this request was too unreasonable, accepting to protect me within a week.

A week is too short, I was going to increase the protection period to a month, but at that moment I found Alva's whereabouts. It's in Dolion, this week Alva will be hurt by the security shield here, now is my chance.

I don't have time to care about PSS anymore, I have to search for Alva's entrance with all my might. It's a sly thing, everywhere it goes it leaves traces but I can't find it. On the last day I was completely safe, I found a girl named Kalina Evans in a house near the factory where I worked.

Oddly enough, Alva's last sign was here, yet there were no electronic devices in Kalina's house. I wondered if her house had a basement, but that was negated because Kalina was very poor.

She had nothing but a set of clothes on her.