"An island," Ava repeated, slowly.
"An island."
"You are buying an island."
"Yes, Ava... I am buying an island."
On the glowing screen suspended in the air, Ava's face settled into a careful professional stillness she wore when deciding exactly how much treason she was allowed to commit with her next question.
"With what... they won't just take money."
ARIA smiled from her cloud, bright and terrible.
"With a gift," she said. "Something your people have been unable to solve for themselves. Something that will relieve them of forty percent of the problems currently keeping their best minds awake at night. Peter and Charlotte will deliver it. Quantum Tech's name on the paperwork, Peter's hand behind it, Charlotte's signature at the bottom. It will be handed over for a price. A price they can afford.
"A price they will be so relieved to pay that they will thank us in writing—which is a thing your agency normally does not do."
Ava tilted her head, the gesture sharp as a blade.
