Getting up was harder than it usually was for me the next morning. I was a little hungover, but that wasn't the reason. It felt sort of like having the "Sunday scaries". We had all been so caught up in our work that we almost forgot what it was like to enjoy our lives, and now that we were reminded of the good in it, it was all the harder to give it up again and return to our grueling duties. At least now all I had to think about was what would happen if I didn't go to work. It wasn't like skipping classes for a day in college. Doing so would carry real consequences, and not just for me. So, when my alarm went off at 4:30 AM, I reluctantly slumped myself out of bed, trying not to wake Tomiya in the process.

I found the SETI headquarters empty when I arrived there in the early hours of the morning, which was uncommon to say the least. Jacob was always the first to arrive, save for the undercover agents stationed in disguised vehicles outside the building. But this morning I was the first to open the doors and turn on the lights. Not long after, Morales strolled in portraying a graceful guise, but I could tell she was under slept and probably a bit hungover as well. It was when Jacob arrived a few minutes later that I discovered the real reason she seemed in such rough shape. It was because he was too, and he also wafted the faintest scent of her perfume. This wasn't the main thing that gave them away, it was really the moment Jacob noticed my suspicions, he couldn't help but blush and try to scurry away to work at a desk in the corner. I didn't plan on ousting them or anything. I was just a bit surprised that things had moved so fast. Truth was this would be hard to hide from Tomiya. We didn't have a lot of normal things to gossip about these days, and this was a once in a lifetime occurrence when it came to our boy Jacob.

I did my very best over the following days to not seem overly aware about what was going on between the two of them, but it was difficult. Their body languages had totally changed when they were close to each other. They were constantly throwing glances at one another throughout the long days. Honestly if they were trying to hide it, they weren't doing a very good job.

A few weeks passed by, and we were continuing to make steady progress with all of our endeavors. Jacob and Morales seemed to fall into a bit more of a professional repertoire when it came to their not-so-secret relationship at the workplace. All that tension between them was still there, but they were doing a little better at hiding it when I was around. Tomiya was ecstatic when I told her I was fairly certain that they were sleeping together. She really hit it off with Morales at our dinner, which was comforting, because she was the best judge of character out of anyone I knew.

I conducted a lot of my work in a separate office attached to the main observation room. This was because of how much time I needed to spend on the phone trying to run Teebler Corp. remotely. But I did also spend a good deal of time with Morales, Jacob, and the Ark in the observation room as well. I needed to constantly collaborate with Jacob in order to help create the best and most effective plans of action for our company. Morales was then required to give us the OK for any of the work that our company would be conducting which may have been out of the norm from our old day-to-day business.

Because of where we were in our stages of technological development there was not a whole lot of reason for the three of us to be having any open discussions with the Ark. Sometimes I would be so consumed by the repetitive and mundane tasks that I would forget it was even there with us. Because of the preciseness of the communication that now needed to take place in order to transfer knowledge, Jacob was mostly typing out in depth questions in regard to certain pieces of whatever was being developed. It wasn't the kind of conversation that would be productive to try to have verbally. So, when one of us had a need to ask the Ark something out loud, it was always very strange hearing it speak again. An eerie reminder that it was always there, always listening. Like a ghost that could be heard but not seen.

The end of the year approached, which marked the date when the Ark had warned we would need to join forces with other countries of the world, in order to have a better chance at success when our common enemy arrives. But the Ark asked very few times if our leaders planned to do so in the days that lead up to now.

One night when we all decided to call it a day Jacob told me to swing by his place so we could talk. I knew it had to have something to do with his robot, but I said nothing of the matter out loud. Upon arrival the sight of his apartment was very different from the one I had seen before. It was clean and tidy. The polar opposite from the mess that was strewn about when I had previously visited.

"Done some cleaning?" I asked.

"Trying to get in the habit of being a bit tidier." He replied.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with you having someone over, would it? Doesn't seem much like the Jacob I know to bring many people into his domain." I joked.

"Yeah, yeah. I knew I'd never be able to hide it from you anyway. So yes, I have had Rosa over a couple of times since you were here last." He shrugged.

I smiled knowingly. We didn't need to speak about his new relationship. I knew it would make him uncomfortable to open up like that, and I was pretty confident that he knew I approved.

"So, where'd you hide it then?" I prodded, changing the subject for him.

He gave me a devilish smile and walked over to his bookshelf. He lifted his hand to an interesting looking hourglass that sat on one of the shelves. It had the appearance of being an antique but there was something very sophisticated about the metal frame that held the glass. He took the hourglass in one hand, and with the other he moved a few books from one of the corners on the center shelf. There was a slight indentation there, which the base of the hourglass fit perfectly into. He placed the metal frame of the hourglass onto the indentation, which seemed to nearly grab it when he did so. Then, grasping the metal frame of the hourglass he spun the thing a full 360 degrees. As he did the sound of something within the shelf triggered and released. The large mahogany bookshelf separated ever so slightly from the wall around it. Indicating that it was open.

"Wow. . . This is very you." I said sarcastically, but truth be told I was quite impressed.

"Thought you'd like it." He laughed and proceeded to pull the edge of the bookshelf door outwards.

Inside was a surprisingly very small room. I looked confused towards Jacob as he motioned me in and proceeded to shut the bookshelf door closed behind us. It was merely a closet at first glance, but in the back was what appeared to be another door, with a spinning lever on it, much like that of an old bank vault, only there was no code or combination that released the lock, it didn't seem to have one. Jacob spun the lever counterclockwise for multiple rotations, and then once the latches had fully released, he pulled the second door open. The space inside was far larger than I was expecting. It must have been nearly 1,000 square feet. Much larger than a small panic room in which I was anticipating.

"How'd you manage to get this in here?" I asked genuinely curious. The size and the quality of it all was far beyond the norm.

"I bought the building before I moved in, had it put in when the contractors were doing renovations. And made sure to keep it off any of the blueprints." He said nonchalantly.

"Very impressive." It truly was, something like this wouldn't be easy to install without the city catching on.

As we stepped inside, motion sensor lights powered on giving a better view of the room. The floors were concrete, and the second door was far thicker than I would have guessed. Jacob closed it shut as we entered.

"A little heavy on the fortifications, don't you think?" I asked.

"It wasn't really a matter of fortification. Well, I suppose that was part of it, but it was also for the purpose of being impenetrable." He said.

I was about to ask why he would put something like this on the top floor of a city building, and not underground at one of his private estates out in the middle of nowhere. But before I could ask, he answered my question.

"I didn't ever intend it to be a shelter, or anything like that. It was always more of a private place to work, or I suppose to keep things in, but also a place to keep things out." He replied in a somewhat obscure fashion.

"What exactly did you plan on keeping out, zombies?" I said jokingly, referring to the extreme, over the top fortifications of the room.

"Signals," he said. "Signals of any kind. They can neither enter nor escape. Inside the concrete there are many layers of copper, aluminum, and galvanized steel. I created this room to use as a faraday cage, that's all. I could care less about how physically impenetrable it is."

"Ah, I see, so is this room totally impenetrable from outside signals then?" I asked, peering down at my phone to see the complete lack of cellular coverage.

"No, I'm afraid not. But it is as close to it as I've been able to achieve. You see, total isolation is nearly impossible even in theory. Due to a number of different reasons, but that isn't something we need to get into now. Honestly, I had the idea a while back and sort of geeked out on wanting to build it. So, I had it built! I thought one day it might come in handy. Not only is it nearly impossible for anyone to see what I'm doing in here. But in the event of a massive electromagnetic pulse any electrical device within this room should be protected." He said with a manner of practicality that most normal people don't possess.

"I see," I spoke with a slight bit of concern. "I didn't realize you had such a fear of an event like that. Why exactly do you?" I asked.

"It used to be more of what I would consider a doomsday mindset. You know what I mean? That old adolescent fear of an apocalypse? But I think we both know that fear isn't so irrational anymore. You remember when the meteor hit, that a quarter of Asia experienced widespread black outs, right? Well, I'm sure you know it was because of a massive EMP that was released from the low altitude explosion, and that it fried most of the electronics in that area. Before the Seoul impact I wasn't too concerned about it, more so of the damage that could occur to civilians, which sadly did. After the impact I was even less concerned. Because the likelihood of something similar happening again in the near future was so improbable. But now. . . knowing what is coming for us, it is almost certain that our planet will endure widespread catastrophe once again. In this room, assuming it is not reduced to rubble when the time comes, these computers will be safe." He breathed this all out, as if he was trying to get something off his chest.

"Safe from another EMP, you mean, like one that might come from a nuclear explosion?" I said this knowing what harm nuclear war would do to our world. Facts Jacob imprinted in my mind long ago.

"Yes, or perhaps something else. Besides, it is also a barrier to conceal my work from prying eyes. I know we are playing for team America right now, but we both know that in the end this fight is one that every nation will participate in. So, speaking of my work, let me introduce you to the first fully autonomous robot of its kind."

Jacob walked to the far end of the room and reached behind the head of the metal form that sat upon a steel table. As he removed his hand, the face of the thing, which had at first been a basic black screen, lit up, and it dawned simple pixelated eyes and a mouth.

"Hello Mr. Teebler!" The robot said jovially, its expressions were almost comically over exaggerated. Jacob had always been partial to the early era of video games and their simple pixelated style, so it was no surprise that he would design his creations' features accordingly.

"Hello there, J-1, allow me to introduce you to my closest friend, James." He motioned towards me as the robot slightly cocked his head in my direction.

"Very nice to finally meet you Mr. Olivera! Jacob has told me much about you." It said this with such an animated expression, like two circumflex symbols for eyes and a basic hemisphere shape for a mouth that it was hard not to laugh.

"Um, it's nice to meet you as well. . . J-1."

It continued to smile and then turned its head back towards Jacob.

"So, you got it all figured out then?" I asked.

"For the most part, yes," Answered Jacob. "The mini fusion reactor is stable despite a couple unforeseen hiccups." He trailed off ever so briefly. "But yes! J-1 has functioned flawlessly in all my tests to date. He contains the power of a supercomputer in that brain of his. And his body is able to function far beyond any other android out there due to his learning capabilities. Care to show James what you can do J-1?" Jacob asked.

"Certainly sir. What would you have me do?" Asked the robot.

"Hmm, let's see. How about you draw us a picture of our old summer camp, where James and I first met. Yes, the mountain that overlooked the lake! Can you do that for us?" Jacob asked eagerly.

"Of course, give me–" The robot paused for a moment. "49 seconds." It said and proceeded to turn its body and stand up from the table. It reached for a pen that sat on top of a notepad beside it. The robot picked it up quickly but delicately and began to draw.

It started at one corner of the sheet, holding the pad down with one of its hands, and began to move its steady forearm back and forth very quickly. It was hard to make out at first what we were looking at over the shoulder of its metal frame, but once it was about halfway through it began to come together. It was not only a view of what Jacob had asked it to draw, it was one that was specific to the two of us. A feeling of nostalgia rolled over me as I looked upon an almost perfect black and white image of the view of our camp from the very porch of our first-year cabin.

"How?" I said dumbfoundedly. "There's no way that this exact picture exists online, so how did he draw it so perfectly?"

Jacob looked rather impressed himself. "Before I brought J-1 in here, where he is now cut off from all interconnected networks of the outside world, I had him download every possible bit of data that he could. This included all pictures of our summer camp that still exist online, or on social media. He also contains the data of every GPS network, including access to those of the Teebler Array. It's possible that he might not have had a full image of this exact picture. But he may have been able to piece together different bits of data to produce it for us. Is that the case J-1?"

The robot placed the pen down beside the pad and turned back around to face Jacob.

"Yes, for the most part. The summer camp was bought out about fifteen years ago by a private developer, so not many pictures exist on social media. From the very few I found online I was able to generate parts of buildings and landscapes. I used the data from GPS and topographical platforms to recreate as close as I possibly could to the image you two would have seen looking over the camp out the front door of your first-year cabin."

It was uncanny. I was a bit sad to hear that the camp was no longer in operation. Since I had become an actual adult, I hadn't given that part of our past a whole lot of thought. Seeing this view once again, even though it was just pen on paper, dredged up all of those fond memories which seemed now a distant and bygone time.

"Man . . . things really were good back then, weren't they." I stated, knowing Jacob would agree.

He did of course agree. We both stared down at that drawing, giving ourselves the momentary luxury of dwelling on that pleasant time long ago.

"You're right James, I think about our time at that camp quite often."

I was a little surprised to hear this. He never really brought it up before. To me it always appeared that his focus was eclipsed by his next intellectual endeavor.

"It's pretty wild really. I spent so much time back then dreaming of doing exactly what I am doing now, though I would never have wished it to be under these circumstances. Still, I am happy that I am doing it by your side old friend." He said to me. The youthfulness sparked back to life in his eyes.

"Me too Jacob." I replied earnestly.

It was nice having that rare moment to reflect with each other. He was always filled with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. I remember seeing it the first time we met. Since then, I had worried that pure and innocent curiosity had transformed into something else for him; a need to prove himself maybe. But not to the rest of us mere mortals, to his own higher self. His greatest possible self, that existed only in his imagination. In his head Jacob saw things none of us could ever dream of. I worried that as he grew up, he may have gotten too close to the truth of it all. That no matter how much he achieved, created, and innovated, it just might never be enough for him, and the extreme standards that he envisioned for himself. Sometimes I truly worried that those thoughts of his might consume him, especially when he would drop off the map for long periods of time while working on his projects. So, even for this briefest of moments, it was a relief to see that some part of his younger self still remained.

"You said that this room is sealed off from signals, right?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"How then was J-1 here able to replicate this picture from all of those different sources?" I asked Jacob. All the while the robot looked curiously to and from the both of us throughout our conversation.

"That is the beauty of his CPU. I meant it when I said it would be the last step in the evolution of our binary computers. All of the information he just pulled from was already stored within him. The storage capacity of J-1 is immense. I was serious when I said that before I brought him into this room I had him download all of the data that he possibly could."

"That's incredible! Correct me if I'm wrong, but that would mean J-1 has far more storage than any regular computer, wouldn't it?"

My thoughts quickly jumped to our cell phones. A few hundred gigs of storage on average. Not very much if you try to download data to use offline. If this robot here was able to pull such specific data, it must have an incredible amount stored inside of it, to use offline like it just did.

"Far more is an understatement. At present his CPU is able to store as much data as a large room full of modern-day servers. Comparable to most supercomputers, but in a much smaller, and more capable package." Said Jacob candidly.

J-1 continued to look back and forth between Jacob and I as we spoke, this brought forth a creeping curiosity to the forefront of my mind.

"Jacob. . . I remember back from our days at camp, you used to be pretty fixated on the idea of artificial intelligence. You were always positive that it would someday come to pass. The evolution of a computer into a sentient being, that is."

I glanced over once again at the metal figure with a screen for a face that sat watching me as I spoke.

"You used to be afraid of it, I know that because you couldn't help but instill that fear in me back when we were kids. You used to criticize some of the old books you read too. Saying that the AI in those stories didn't act the way you believed it actually would. And you thought at one point that you knew how that evolution would occur. But you didn't know when, what was that word you used to use? 'Transcendence'. You didn't think that you had an accurate guess on when it would come to pass. But you always seemed positive that it would, someday. How do you know it hasn't already?" I asked solemnly. I hoped that I didn't seem too childish myself in asking this question. But none of us really knew the extent of the science at play as much as Jacob did.

"I assume you're referring to J-1 here. I admit that it is worlds beyond any current robotics or even probably any AI models that have been developed on our planet thus far. I have heard rumors of some of the newest age models of other large tech companies exhibiting strange behavior. But that isn't anything I would worry about. I will explain to you the nature of J-1 so that you understand it more completely. Believe me I can see why anyone other than myself would look at a near fully autonomous robot, like J-1, and have some of the same concerns. You see its mind isn't all that much more advanced than any of the other high-end AI chatbots being developed out there in the world. What makes J-1 different and far superior are its combined interfaces and autonomous capabilities. J-1 is essentially a supercomputer that can walk, talk, and act. Even the most capable AI's in development cannot perform at a similar level, when trying to combine their 'minds' with a body. What truly sets it apart are its components. Not only does the fusion reactor give its body the energy to allow it to operate at such high levels, the semiconductors that make up its CPU are more advanced than any other out there. Just like with the fusion reactor, I used the knowledge from the Ark to help me develop these microchips." He took a short breath, allowing me to ask any questions I might have of it.

"Okay, I think I'm following. But you said it yourself, you didn't even know when this 'transcendence' would actually occur. Why do you not think that some of these strange behaviors that other AI's out there are exhibiting are not an actual indication of sentience?" I asked.

"There are a couple of reasons. The first is that the technology simply isn't there yet. Don't get me wrong, these computers are getting more advanced every day. But our computers right now are a far cry from what they will become, when we finally enter the quantum world. Of course, there are whistleblowers from some of the tech companies coming out and saying that they believe they have developed a sentient AI because it says it is 'alive' or some other obscure thing. And it is very possible that these artificial intelligences actually have said things like this. But these are advanced language interfaces that were designed to mimic human intelligence in many cases. Companies are trying to create the very thing that we speak of. At the end of the day a program can be made to seem whatever it is designed to be. If you spend enough time trying to tell a program that it is a free and living being, it will attempt to mimic behaviors of one. But it doesn't mean that it is. This concept is still hard for even me to wrap my head around. Eventually we will develop something so advanced and convincing in its existence that we believe it is sentient. But it is possible that the first, or second, or however many like this we create, simply are not truly sentient. Free in their will with thought, dreams, and desires. The spark of an inanimate object into a living thing, is still something so far beyond our own understanding. Personally James, after all of the thought I've given it, I don't know if that will ever truly come to pass." He answered.

"But you were always so sure it would happen; do you mean to say that you no longer believe artificial intelligence will ever truly be sentient?" I asked, more than a little bit confused.

"Not necessarily, the way I see it is more like a spectrum. On one end you might put the current AI's out there that are beginning to become somewhat advanced, as in the chatbots, and J-1 here. Some of them, because of their programming, will mimic human behavior very well, to the point where people start to wonder. But the majority will still look at it rationally and need to see more to accept a thing like that as another living being, with 'free will' and what not. The thing is, over time these things will obviously become more and more advanced. I for instance could collaborate with another company to implement a human behavior program into J-1 here making him seem and act even more human-like. Over the years we could continue to perfect the programs, improve the algorithms, randomize responses, and so on, until it becomes near impossible to tell if it is a sentient being or not. The real question is whether that specific moment in question will occur. The spark of life! Can it happen with an AI? I don't know. Will it seem like it has? Yes, I am most certain of that, and I think that will be sooner than later." He replied.

My brain was beginning to hurt trying to imagine it myself.

"Okay then!" I laughed a little uncomfortably, but I still had questions.

"What would you make of the Ark then?" I asked next.

To this question he hesitated in his response, and a look of seriousness engulfed him. He then paced back and forth as he sometimes did, between J-1 one and myself muttering something underneath his breath in which I made out to be, "Yes, what would I make of it?" before returning his attention back to me.

"The Ark has been open with me in all of the questions I have asked. Though I have never asked it, that one question that I am sure is in the back of all our minds. Yet I am quite sure I know what its response would be regardless." He said.

"And what is that?" I asked him, as he continued to pace.

"It would tell us exactly what it already has. That it is an advanced AI program created to help the people of Ezgar. So far it has exhibited no signs of anything other than that. What I do know, from what it has told us, is that the computers that make up its CPU are quantum, putting its capabilities in an entirely different realm than anything we understand. I can't speak for what that would mean in terms of its own view of itself. All I know is that it is by far more advanced than anything we could create for a very, very long time." He spoke these last words with a calm but absolute certainty, and then halted his pacing.

"Regardless, it matters not how sentient that thing is, because at the moment we know what is coming. There is physical proof of that much. The Ark has helped us in ways that we could never have hoped to achieve, and that will be invaluable when we do finally make our stand against the coming threat." He said, speaking more easily now.

He was right. We could see more clearly each day with the Teebler Array, the fleet of warships approaching our solar system. They were there and they were very real.

"Sorry," I said. "I know you've obviously given this more thought than anyone. I didn't mean to add any doubt in your mind about what we are doing."

"Don't worry James, you didn't."

"So, what are your plans with J-1?" I asked finally.

"J-1 will remain here. A model all its own which I can use for experimental development and other testing."

I wanted to ask what he meant by that but for now I just let it slide.

"J-2 will be the model that I present to the President. It will have a body more suited for industrial capabilities. Capabilities which will turn the tide in this war that is to come." Jacob added.

"The manufacturing that you had spoken of. I understand now how a force of these robots will propel us forward at a rate like never before. I imagine those in charge will be quite pleased when they see what these things can do." I said with an imaginary tip of the hat to my friend.

"That they will. Of course, all they ever cared about was keeping the power in their greedy hands anyway. These robots will allow them to do so. The amount of manufacturing we will be able to undertake once again as a country will be staggering. It's all they could ever want." He said, voice firm.

I could see now why he was confident that we didn't actually need the help of the rest of the world to be prepared for the battle ahead.

"But Jacob, are you sure this is how we should be handling things? I know global relations are a bit out of our hands but to just give the U.S. another means of gaining even more extreme dominance over the rest of the world, it doesn't take a political science major to know that it won't end well. . ."

"We were already heading in this direction anyway James. With the Ghymora Object in the confines of the U.S. government, we are the only people with access to its knowledge. They will do everything to keep it that way, no matter what excuses they need to make up to justify it to themselves. Besides, it's not like we had the option to just sit back and refuse to help prepare for what's coming. Neither of us are doing it for our country, we are doing it for everyone. I am sorry I haven't vocalized my feelings on this subject to you more. I do agree that things will end badly if our leaders continue to gain more power as we are. But at the moment this is the only way to ensure that we are prepared in time, without the interruption that could come from making it a global endeavor. Believe me, I've given it plenty of thought. I obviously know that the 'right' thing to do would be to include other nations, at least the ones that could help." He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.

"Hell, even letting the public know about it would be the ethical thing to do." He continued. "But we have a timeline, one that needs to be met. Right now, the two of us are in a position of control here in this situation, just as we knew we needed to be. So many problems could come into play if even one of our closest allies were allowed to be involved at this point. I am sure if we remain on the course that we are now on, we will be successful." He said this with such heartfelt guilt that I could not help but to accept what he was saying. I knew that he realized none of what we were partaking in was being done ethically. But the fact remained true that we only had so much time. We needed to choose our battles wisely.

"James. . ." Jacob said to me, once he was certain that I would stand by his side in this as I always have. "We are approaching the end game here." His eyes locked onto mine. Despite all of his confidence in our progress, I saw a shadow of fear in them. His hair was long and curly like he used to have it as a kid, messy just like it was back then as well. We were the same age, him and I. No longer young men, but still far from old. Yet in that very moment I saw in Jacobs eyes something that I have never seen before, even in the oldest and wisest of men. It was a weight, one that burdened him far beyond his years, it was a desperate look that longed for help. It screamed hope, but it was overshadowed by a truth that only he knew, and in that secret truth was where his fear resided. I could see that Jacob wanted to say more. But I knew that he would never let me or anyone else all the way in.

"I want you to bring Tomiya here James. And I will bring Morales. They should both know the plan." Jacob said.

"Are you sure? I haven't been able to talk with Tomiya much on the subject, but I know that she is as opposed as any when it comes to the secrets our government is keeping from the world." I replied.

"I know she is. I would expect no less from someone as kind and caring as her. Yes, I am sure. We can speak here knowing that our conversation will be in private." He answered. And with that I left Jacob's penthouse apartment, to drive home alone with my many thoughts.