Where It All Began

Year 2070.

The Berlin march that had taken place in the year 2030, had caused the Global Labour Union to ban any further development of A.I. technology.

Most people failed to realise the terror that this ban could cause. Rather, they thought of it as their victory since their jobs were secured and their lives wouldn’t change. But from a military standpoint, it was a disaster.

USA and Russia, the world’s only two superpowers, were competing for world domination. But neither country dared to explicitly pour funds into the re-development of A.I. technology because if their actions were exposed, they could possibly lose the favour of the public, as well as bring the world one step closer to nuclear obliteration.

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Richard Brown, an eighteen-year-old college freshman at the prestigious Harvard University, was a tall blonde haired male. Although his intelligence and physical abilities remained unmatched, he wasn’t very popular. Due to his introverted nature, not many were aware of his talents either.

Unlike most of his college mates who lived in the campus dorm, he lived in a rented apartment which was a few miles away from the university.

‘Ugh, what a gloomy day...I need to get up and get ready for today’s class.’

Richard stood on the balcony. It was his usual ritual to look at the sky and plan out his whole day.

‘Classes, then gym and then probably sleep...’

Richard had never shown any interest in extracurricular activities. Although he was super athletic, he preferred to not join any of the sports clubs.

In fact, Richard had never shown interest in anything. Ever since the world was on the brink of war, most people kept looking up the news and remaining updated with current affairs. But Richard didn’t care about the fate of the two superpowers. He would just do what he was told to do, and nothing more.

He had just gotten ready and was about to leave his house when suddenly he heard the doorbell ring.

“Yes! I’m coming.” He said as he opened the door. Two men in long brown coats, baggy trousers and white undershirts, wearing smokey topaz hats, were standing at the door.

The fashion style was weird but considering their age, it made sense. After all, their fashion style was only popular with men in their forties.

“Hi, is this Richard Brown?” one of the men asked.

“Yes, I am Richard Brown. Who are you?”

“We are actually teachers from Harvard,” they said as they pulled out their IDs.

‘John Smith’ and ‘Jason Smith’. They seemed to be brothers as their faces looked similar.

“We need to discuss some things with you. May we come in?” Jason asked.

“Uh yeah, sure.” Richard agreed, wondering what the purpose of their visit was.

The two men entered the room and looked around the house. It was a simple bachelor’s apartment, thus there wasn’t much to look at. The simple, basic furnishing of the apartment made it pretty obvious that Richard was a minimalist.

“Pretty nice apartment you have here, eh?” John complimented Richard as he touched the wooden table.

“Haha, yeah. I stay at home most of the time so I like to keep it clean. Anyways, please have a seat.” Richard said as he pointed at the sofas.

The two men sat down at the table instead.

“Umm...The sofa is there.” Richard muttered.

“Oh, this table is fine.” John replied.

“Ahh...okay.”

Richard went to the kitchen and began preparing some tea.

“Would you like some sugar in your tea?” Richard asked.

“Yes please,” John and Jason replied together.

After setting the three cups of tea in his fancy porcelain teacups, he sat down and looked at them.

“So...what did I do this time?” Richard asked.

They remained silent, ignoring his question as they continued to just stare at him.

Richard gently held his cup of tea in his hands and took a sip.

“You both aren’t really teachers, right?” Richard asked.

“No we really are tea-” Jason was interrupted by his brother.

“What makes you think so?” John asked as he took a sip from his cup of tea.

“Many reasons...It’s absurd for teachers to come to the student’s residence on a working day. But the biggest reason is that I’ve never seen your names in the teacher’s logs before. You both can’t be teachers. I might be wrong. In the end, it’s just my gut feeling.” Richard explained.

“Oho, so you have looked through all the teachers’ names and memorized them huh?” John asked as he continued to sip on his cup of tea.

“Oh no, I just haven’t seen two brothers being teachers. There aren’t two teachers with the same surname after all. If there were, it would have caught my eye.”

“Haha, clever indeed. But if you knew already then why did you allow us inside your house?” John asked as he placed the cup of tea on the table, and leaned forward.

“I felt like I didn’t have a choice,” Richard replied.

“You are not only clever, but also a perceptive man.” John said as he slowly pulled a gun out of his pocket and placed it on the table. “I shall cut to the chase. We are agents working for the CIA.”

Richard was shocked but he continued to remain calm. He had always been good at working under pressure.

‘Assess the situation, plan your actions and execute them.’

This sort of thinking had enabled Richard to work efficiently in stressful conditions too.

“What does the CIA need from me?” Richard asked.

“We would like to recruit you into working with us,” Jason said.

“Can I say no?”

“That’s up to you,” John said as he smirked. “The CIA isn’t very forgiving.”

The room fell silent. Richard stared at the two men and observed their body movements.

If anything, this was his only chance. Richard swiftly grabbed the gun kept on the table and pointed it at them. The two brothers didn’t flinch at all.

“Get out of my house right now!” Richard screamed. “I don’t plan on joining this bullshit. Let me just live my life in peace. Do you want me to stay silent about this? Fine, I’ll keep it a secret. Now please leave!”

“Whoa whoa, don’t get angry so fast. I already told you. The CIA isn’t very forgiving. Think it over.” John said as he put his arms up in the air and signalled his partner to do the same.

“I have already decided. I don’t plan on joining the CIA. Now leave!” Richard shouted and pointed the gun at John’s head.

“Oh ho ho, small boy likes the gun a lot, eh? It’s not a toy. One mistake and someone’s life can be taken away. Don’t hold it if you aren’t capable of shooting it.” John said.

“I’m well aware of what a gun is.”

“Are you capable of shooting it? Can you take someone’s life with your own two hands? Show me.” John said as he put his forehead in front of the nozzle of the handgun. “C’mon, show me!”

Sensing that Richard might actually shoot, Jason immediately reached for his pistol in his long brown coat.

Within a flash, the gun was fired.