“Social science,” an old man in gold-rimmed lab coat set in his cosy antique armchair, in his hand he held a glass of clear liquid, he put the glass right between the dim orange lamp and his eyes as if he was trying to read secret messages hidden in the liquid, “a study of the behaviour and relationships of an intelligent species’s society.”

“I knew that very well, Dr Mat,” opposite the old man was a young man who sat uncomfortably in a wooden chair, similarly to Dr Mat, he was wearing a lab coat with gold rims, “if the reason for you to call me…”

“I want you to understand the importance of social science,” Dr Mat sipped the liquid, he then pointed at a chessboard, “the idea is simple. If I want to predict the outcome of a chess game, I just need to analyse all the positions of the pieces and record every change, soon enough I will be able to predict the flow of the game and ultimately, its future.”

Dr Mat’s eyes lit up as the other person picked up the chessboard and played it in his hands, “That is what you are good at, creating algorithms to observe and record. To summarise all the data collected and compose them into a fine harmony that explains everything.”

Dr Kruskal finally felt the heaviness of the night, slowly, he put down the chessboard, “I’d be happy to help, but can you elaborate in detail your exact…”

Like a lightning strike, Dr Mat pulled out a sheet (an ancient way of recording), “Here, take a look.”

He handed the thin sheet to Dr Kruskal.

“Sampling,” Dr Mat sat up from his armchair and put down his glass as Dr Kruskal stared at the sheet covered in scribbles, “you just heard the word ‘census’. In terms of sampling strategies, a census produces the most accurate, reliable data.”

“This…” Dr Kruskal swallowed hardly, “this…is not…”

“I know, I know,” Dr Mat said in an assuring tone, “no need to rush, you have plenty of time, or rather, our kind have plenty of time. Yes, a census accounts for every single subject that exists, and it will take an extremely strong processing power.”

“I don’t think any computer in the world can…” Dr Kruskal started, but he looked down again at the paper, “Are you sure the community will approve such…a project? We are speaking here, a full-scale model of…our world…A single intelligent bot takes computing power…”

“I am the chair of the community,” smiled Dr Mat, “I think it is getting late already, and I don’t want to keep your family waiting for too long. But as the chair of the Scientific Community, I promise that the scientific community will be fully committed to supporting your team.”

“I will try my best,” Dr Kruskal stood up and shook Dr Mat’s hand, “but I don’t think either of us will see the completion of this project.”

“Have faith,” Dr Mat walked towards the door and opened it for Dr Kruskal, “just keep in mind that what you are doing is the greatest scientific experiment ever conducted by our kind. Its result will allow us to learn about ourselves and to prevent any future conflicts among us.”

“One final question, Dr Mat.”

“Please say it.”

“What will this project be named?”

“EARTH.”

-----------------------------------------------

Tann finally reached the final question in the Q&A section.

“Dr Angle,” one member in blue-rimmed lab coat asked, “how many more tests until we can finally say that the project is ready to be accessed by all researchers?”

Tann paused for a second, fixing her sentences, “I am going to enter the world myself, today. I assume within the next few months this project should be complete, and I can finally take a nap. That is the last question? Good, I should get going now.”

“That was such a BRILLIANT speech!” Cotanian jumped out of nowhere trying to hug Tann. Tann embraced her colleague, but she purposely left a gap between their chests, “Thank you. Were you awake this whole time?”

“Of course,” Cotanian smiled, “so you are going in today?”

“I’ll say right now,” said Tann who took out her caffeine injector and plunged it into her arm. Together, they left the meeting zone.

The Core: as its name suggested, the Core is located in the exact centre of the EMU, it is the heart of EMU that functions as the central processor of the whole simulation. Its secondary function is for the login/out usages.

Tann looked through the clear window of the control room. Covered in a carbon-alloy coating, the Core looked darker than usual thanks to the pure white surroundings, like a spherical vantablack in snow. A tiny entrance was linked to the control room via a narrow flyover made of glass, that seemed almost invisible. The control room was filled with virtual displays of different graphs and running programs. Unlike the common room, where all the CREATORS work normally, the control room was actually neat and ordered, everything was at where they meant to be.

“Someone should be here,” Tann uttered annoyedly, according to the policy, there must be a member of the CREATORS in the control room in case of emergency.

“Sorry,” pushing a long trailer filled with toolboxes and back up battery packs, a slim person rushed into the room, “I was in zone C.”.

“There you are Dr Bino,” said Cotanian happily, “I had been searching for you.”

“Really?”

“Good to see you, Dr Bino,” Tann started, “have you…”

“Fix the coolant?” Bino replied quickly, he picked up all the stuff from the trailer and in quick successions, like an industrial robot, he placed each one neatly into its own gap among the storage cabins, “Yea, they are all set to go. Not a big deal. Just a minor issue. I have increased the coolant flow rate. I have activated chamber P and K.” One of Bino’s most interesting ability was understanding someone before he/she reaches 30% of his/her sentence, but, it became annoying to most people as he will cut in bluntly.

“Sure…” Tann muttered, “nice job…”

“Dr Bino…” Cotanian began.

“Yea,” Bino interrupted, “sorry for my bluntness. I’m trying to improve. I will try to minimise my urge to interrupt. Please do understand me. My main objective is to save time.”

“Whatever you say, “Cotanian turned around and rolled her eyes, “fine, prepare for…”

“Log in,” said Bino. He walked to one of the monitors and swiped it with his boney finger, “You may enter the Core.”

As if fleeing from a disease, Cotanian grabbed Tann’s arm and hurried out of the glass gate which lifted slowly.

“I’m not as sporty as you Cotanian,” Tann laughed.

“I’m enough of that cancer,” Cotanian scuffed Tann harshly.

Suddenly Tann realised Cotanian was holding her hand which caused her to blush instantly, “Cotanian…”

Cotanian turned her face slightly, with a childish smile she giggled, “Anything wrong Dr Tann?”

“Nothing…”

So, the two walked across the glass flyover, holding hands.

Finally, they reached the Core. Cotanian put her white hand softly on the smooth surface of the Core. A blue rim formed around her hand, indicating that her genetic identity, as well as blood vessel patterns, had been clarified. As a result, a part of the Core’s surface broke apart and faded like dust, leaving an entrance.

“Behind you Dr Tann,” Cotanian withdrew her hand from the surface.

“Thanks.”

The inner part of the core could only be described by one word, ‘dark’. Since some components may be damaged by visible light. The inner side must be kept dark at all time. Instead, they use visible light waves, the ‘light’ inside consisted of a low-frequency radio wave. Thus, soon after they enter, Tann and Cotanian took out specialised glasses from their pockets.

In the centre of the room was a throne-like chair surrounded by vires, tubes, and all sorts of sensors.

“Have a seat there while I prepare the launch,” Cotanian pointed at the chair and turned to the control panels located beside the throne, “ just gonna take a minute. ”

“Take your time,” Tann smiled and sat atop the throne. Soon, she could feel the vibration of her surroundings as Cotanian started the ‘login’.

“Ready to deploy the mirror.”

It was actually a mirror that lowly descended from above and stopped as Tann could see her entire face’s reflection.

“Are your ready Dr Tann?” Cotanian asked her finger right above the touch screen of the control panel.

“Any time,” Tann replied, then she whispered under her breath, “let us see if they improved the drinks…”

Then, Tann looked at her reflection again. Slowly but surely, her reflection’s hair colour switched gradually from blue to a lighter colour, golden.