ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Leaving Mr. Vaughen's office, Jeremy walks behind Nina to gently take her arm, his mouth wide open as though gasping for air. He can't express what the expression on his face tells her in a few seconds. He is over two-metre (6 feet) tall while she is barely 1m60cm (5 feet 3 inches). So, he bends over to embrace her, holding her very tightly before letting himself cry like a little boy. Nina gently pats his back. She whispers softly "it's going to be fine" as if to calm both the young man and the little boy. More than their mother, his human dignity has been taken away from them.

Stephan watches the scene, calm and silent, his face impassive. He knows well the pain of his teammate for having felt this way every day since the death of his father. No matter how the parent is taken away from the child by death, the pain of the separation remains the same: bitter, heart-breaking, endless. In the circumstances that seem to divide the two young men as two completely different species, they have at least that in common, as well as their affection for Sarah.

***

'How can I do this again?' Jeremy asks the young man in uniform standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

Stephan, Nina, Borys, and Kofi hang onto the lips of the scientist, who still doesn't say a word.

'You see ... There's one thing that many people still don't understand about artificial intelligence, even after so many years; AI is just a tool, conscious and intelligent, yes, but a tool nevertheless,' the professional begins passionately, scanning his audience with his gaze.

'Take a pen for example,' he starts doing large hand gestures, 'You can use it to write on your screen, or to poke out the eye of someone who's attacking you.' He turns around as if to think before. 'You said it happened when the other agent fell to the ground convulsing; you then turned to the artificial intelligence in front of you and asked yourself: Hey, what happened here? Your brain transmitted this question to your device which translated this same question to the artificial intelligence, which probably answered it just as frankly. Realising that your life was in danger, you ran away with your device, or rather the other way around.' He burst out laughing.

As he sees that his audience remains silent and perplexed, he adds more seriously, 'You control your device by thought, the same way you turn it on and off. As simple as that. Have you ever tried?'

Jeremy nods dumbly as he remembers the night of Sarah's show. A few hours before going to the Xi Huangs, he had practised switching on and off his device for the first time since the operation. He had never tried before that evening. Why would anyone want to return to darkness after receiving the blessings of light?

'Excellent!' Nina exclaims after a long silence. She claps her hands as if to wake up everyone, who stands, puzzled, and speechless.

'Practice Jeremy, all you need is practice,' she says to the young man who looks at her confused.

'On what could he practise?' she asks, turning to the expert.

'He's spoiled for choice, all systems in the country, including ours, are run by artificial intelligence,' the scientist replies with a broad smile.

Kofi and Borys cast a wary eye towards one another as if to tell each other: Haven't they learnt?!

'This young man isn't going to practise on the systems of the country, or even on Libra Justice's,' Borys cuts in sweeping everyone with his gaze. The old man hasn't spoken a word since entering the buildings of the organisation.

'Our goal is to infiltrate the protection system of the Assembly of Almighty,' the MP says calmly, 'So, let him practise this on this system since it's the only one we're interested in. After all, artificial intelligence knows how to communicate remotely, am I correct?' he asks, addressing the expert.

'Right,' the man replies. He crosses his arms over his chest looking indifferent and thoughtful.

***

Jeremy gazes at his reflection on the screen in front of him. He also sees the reflection of Borys, Kofi and Nina standing behind him, their gaze filled with anguish. He can feel the impatience of Stephan sitting next to him too.

'It's hard for me to concentrate with everyone around, staring at me like I'm some fairground animal,' he declares, then gets off his seat, irritated.

'He's right,' Nina says, embarrassed, 'Maybe we should go to another corner of the room and let them both work.'

'Thank you,' Jeremy says softly as the three adults silently move away to settle in chairs further.

Instead of turning around to sit down again, he remains standing motionless. He hears Stephan fidgeting in his seat behind him. He lowers his head to stare at his feet without seeing them. He hears his own heart beating in his chest, he feels his chest moving with each inhale and exhale. He starts to breathe in his belly as in the first days of his life; the single point which once linked him to life. It is at the centre of this universe that he has always hidden all his emotions. In one thought, he switches off his device.

At this moment, he feels anxious and he is afraid of failure like in his childhood. He knows what he wants, but what he wants seems unattainable. What he wants stands behind many closed doors. It is so dark that he can barely make out the door handles. Asking permission; he doesn't get it. They don't want him on the other side. His own world belongs to the shadows, and it is there that they want him to remain; they are convinced they don't need someone like him. Kicking or hitting won't work either; he knows it well for having already tried many times. The seemingly hard material of these doors is actually as soft and fluffy as foam. These gateways can neither be broken nor dissolved.

So, like in his childhood, he decides that he must dissolve. He must become as hard in appearance while being as soft and fluffy as the matter which obstructs his way. Suddenly, he isn't like Jeremy anymore, and Jeremy isn't like him anymore. He no longer distinguishes the boundary between himself, matter, the obstacles and what he wants to attain. Together they form a new whole; nothingness. He is unrecognisable. He still is, but he no longer exists; he has completely vanished.

Stephan jumps, startled when he sees footage from the cameras of the Assembly of the Almighty appear on his screens. As discreetly as possible, he moves closer to look for his sister. Soon, Nina, Borys, and Kofi join him passing discreetly near Jeremy who remains still, head down, breathing deeply. A map of the Assembly appears with two flashing dots like signals. Stephan rushes to record the images on the screens.

A laboratory; researchers in facemasks busying themselves; A woman in her forties perhaps, seems absorbed by what another woman in a white scrub is telling her; her eyes are as red as blood; on a mattress on the floor, Gaëlle is sleeping peacefully; a long corridor; an empty lift; a metallic door; Unconscious, but alive, Sarah is suspended in the air, her arms outstretched and her bloody hands nailed to a wooden plank. Her completely naked body reveals large, deep wounds caused by a sharp or rough object. Her legs joined on one side, supported by her feet also nailed together.

Nina lets out a sharp cry. She nervously covers her mouth with her hands. Borys gently takes her in his arms. Within a split second, her gaze is no longer that of a mother distressed by the sight of her daughter on a cross; her eyes light up with a blazing fire; she is a she-wolf that must protect her pack, but to be able to do that, she must remain smart, agile, and patient, come what may.

All of a sudden, the metallic door opens in front of Sarah as well as the laboratory door and all the doors of the Assembly of the Almighty. The members of the assembly look around, puzzled, and worried. A second later, all the doors automatically close again as Jeremy lifts his head up to turn to Nina, Borys, Kofi, and Stephan. They stare at him, mouth dropping. The agent is concerned about Sarah and Gaëlle, but he is no longer afraid of not being able to go through the other side of the gates where they are being held captive. He now knows that there have never been any doors.