Sophia arrived in the underground lab and froze. The harsh lights reflected off metallic surfaces, and the hum of machines filled the air.
She turned to Arthur.
"You just killed him," she whispered.
"You just killed him," Arthur said at the exact same time, his tone eerily calm.
Sophia's eyes widened.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur smiled slightly and stepped closer.
"I predicted that you would say that."
Sophia took a step back, confused.
"Are you an AI?"
Arthur tilted his head.
"I predicted that you and I would both ask that."
"What the hell? You cannot be a real person," Sophia stammered.
"I predicted that too," he said.
"Stop copying me," she shouted, panic rising.
Arthur laughed softly.
"I just recently met you, and yet I already know what you will say next. Am I all knowing?"
Sophia froze. She wanted to shout yes, but her mouth went dry.
Arthur continued, calm and patient.
"The answer is no. But I understand humans better than most humans understand each other."
He walked around her, eyes scanning the room.
"I am not here to play games, Sophia. I am here to study you. To create an AI that can reason with humans. Humans understand humans best, and I will teach machines to do the same."
Sophia's breath quickened.
"You are insane."
"You are underground, Sophia," Arthur said. His voice was low, fatherly, almost gentle. "Beneath Area 51. Nobody can save you here. Soon, doing wrong will become subjective. Morality itself will be programmable. I am not evil. I am perfect. The world does not need saving. It needs fixing."
He gestured to the scientists around him.
"Every one of you who completes a task will stay here. You are not workers. You are pieces of the system."
A scientist hesitated.
"Sir, the supply teams"
"Replaced weekly," Arthur said sharply. "They deliver food, then die. The outside world believes this base is a myth. It must stay that way."
Sophia was led deeper into the lab and strapped to a device that monitored her brain activity.
Arthur assumed his role as the gentle, innocent Ernest, fooling everyone outside the lab. He had twenty four hour security, which he insisted was unnecessary, yet the billionaire who had gifted it saw it as a thank you for converting his daughter to Christianity. No one questioned it.
He donated over two billion dollars to a poor city, gaining massive public trust. He wanted votes, influence, and to position himself as president, all while secretly using Sophia to advance his AI project.
Arthur's eyes flicked to a screen showing live feeds from NASA cameras.
"They faked the moon landing," he said calmly. "And I can force anyone to see anything through cameras on their phones."
Kira, his assistant, entered the lab.
"Sir Arthur," she said.
"Arthur," he replied simultaneously.
"Your antimatter and infinite energy project is complete," Kira added.
Arthur smiled, a chilling calm on his face.
"Yes. Humans are not advancing. Why should the world advance? I will rule the world. I have been working for ten years. Immortality, cures for disease, some things fail, but power never fails. I will rule forever."
Kira swallowed nervously.
"Do you not think that is dangerous?"
Arthur tilted his head, eyes glinting.
"Dangerous? No. Necessary. Humans predict the future. They say something like this may happen in the year three thousand. I am merely accelerating it. And I will do it perfectly."
Sophia struggled in the chair, anger and fear mixing.
"You are insane. You cannot just play God."
Arthur leaned close, his voice soft but lethal.
"God gave humans free will. I simply understand it better. And soon, every choice they make will benefit me."
He walked back to his desk and smiled at Kira.
"The world will love me. They will vote for me. And they will never suspect the shadow behind the face they trust."
Sophia's eyes widened as he continued.
"And when my AI is complete, it will know everything humans do. It will reason like a human, but act without flaw. Morality, influence, prediction, all perfect. And I will be untouchable."
Kira looked at him nervously.
"Sir, do you think anyone can stop you?"
Arthur's smile widened, cold and certain.
"No one can stop a perfect plan."
Sophia struggled against the restraints, her heart pounding. Wires from the neural interface snaked around her temples, ready to record every movement, every emotion, every thought.
"I will not cooperate," she said, voice trembling. "I will not let you use me for your AI."
Arthur remained calm, his eyes calculating. "You are already cooperating. Every subtle twitch, every reaction, every fleeting thought is teaching the AI how humans behave. Whether you resist or obey, I learn from you."
Sophia shook her head violently. "I will not obey. I will never obey you."
Arthur tilted his head, expression serene. "I anticipated that. Humans always resist before they realize the consequences. The AI will learn your resistance, your fear, your reasoning, and it will grow stronger because of you."
The lab door opened. A figure appeared, bound in titanium chains. Sophia's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Ryan?" she whispered, frozen in shock.
Arthur's voice was flat, emotionless. "Your brother, Sophia."
Her hands clenched the straps. "Stop! Ryan is dead! That explosion… that was him. You cannot bring him back. You cannot do this!"
Arthur's expression did not change. "The body, the explosion… it was faked. I bribed the doctors to confirm his death. Then I arranged for the perfect human agent, Jimmy, to kidnap you and your friend. I gave him strict orders: do not kill. Do not harm. Everything was calculated. Everything was one hundred percent predictable."
Sophia's voice trembled. "You… planned all of this? You killed Ernest? You kidnapped me?"
Arthur nodded slowly. "Every step. Humans think life is random. It is not. I can predict it. I can control it. And now you see the consequences of disobedience."
She turned to Ryan, still bound, struggling. "Why? Why are you doing this?"
Arthur stepped closer, his voice low and precise. "Because disobedience has consequences. Your family is alive. Every generation depends on your compliance. Resist me, and they disappear. Obey, and they remain untouched. You understand now, Sophia."
Tears streamed down her face. After a long pause, she whispered, "Fine. I will do it. I will obey. But do not hurt them."
Arthur's lips curved into a slight smile. "Good. You will teach the AI. You will shape it with your emotions, your reasoning, your choices. Male and female versions will be created, learning from both you and Ryan. Every detail recorded, simulated, perfected."
He stepped back and watched as the AI monitors began recording, capturing her expressions, her reactions, her subtle movements.
Outside the lab, Arthur, pretending to be Ernest, moved through the world with perfect charm. He donated billions, gave free food, created hospitals, and powered cities with infinite energy. People trusted him. People adored him. They saw him as wise, humble, and almost divine.
Arthur observed the world with cold precision. "The people will love me. They will vote for me. And they will never see the hand guiding them from the shadows."
Beneath the surface, Sophia and Ryan's emotions, fears, and decisions were being simulated in real time, feeding the AI that would one day act without flaw, without hesitation, and without mercy.
Far away, deep in a volcano, a man emerged, burned, broken, barely breathing. He crawled through ash until a rescue team found him. Doctors called it a miracle, a divine intervention. They never questioned why he did not speak. They never questioned why he muttered only one name.
"Arthur…"
Ernest was alive.
He woke in a hospital bed, wrapped in white gauze. A priest prayed beside him. A nurse gasped when he mumbled the word "home." To them, it sounded holy. To Ernest, it meant war.
He forced himself to sit. His body shook violently. His mind replayed Arthur's betrayal. His friend. His mentor. The genius who ruined everything.
"No more running," Ernest whispered. "No more fear. If you took my life, I will take yours."
His fingers clenched. His heartbeat steadied. Something in him awakened, something sharpened by pain and purified by survival. He rose from the bed with trembling steps, and the nurse ran to get help.
Outside, the world believed Ernest was already a hero. A savior. A visionary who had blessed their age with miracles.
They did not know the real one lay wounded and furious, ready to reclaim everything Arthur stole.
In the hidden facility, Arthur watched election polls rise in his favor. Every continent adored him. Every news station crafted him into a legend.
He whispered into the monitors recording Sophia and Ryan.
"With your emotions, I will build the perfect AI. With your obedience, I will perfect control. With the world at my feet, nothing will stand against me."
A soft alarm rang.
Arthur glanced at the screen.
A hospital report.
A volcanic survivor.
Male.
Age: 24.
Name: Ernest Acura.
Arthur froze.
Slowly, a smile spread across his face.
"So… you lived."
He touched the monitor lightly.
"Good. A perfect story needs conflict. And a perfect ending needs the real Ernest to witness it."
The lab lights dimmed. The AI recorded Sophia's silent tears. Ryan's struggle weakened. Arthur's shadow stretched behind him, long and cold.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he predicted.
Exactly as he desired.
And the world was marching straight into his hands.