"Are you sure you don't want to accept my investment? I can sign you a 10$ million check as soon as we return to Earth, and that will be just the initial investment," Evelyn said as the team walked back to their dorm.
"It's not happening," Zane replied. Today's event reminded him of his previous life plan: using AI or LLMs as the foundation of Skylar Dynamic and revolutionizing all fields in the world. Unfortunately, that single accusation derailed everything. But now, the plan can continue with Kwame Dynamic and the application of magic. His future was now brighter than it has ever been.
As much as he would love doing business with someone as wealthy as Evelyn, he understood that if he did so while he was in such a weak position, it would only be a matter of time before his company was controlled. And Zane refused to allow this. According to his plan, even when Alisha joins him, he'll still hold the majority share of Kwame Dynamic.
Evelyn sighed. "I won't insist, but if you change your mind, you can always contact me."
"I will." When the time is right, he'll have no issue partnering with her.
"You really just refused 10 million dollars?" Keesha asked.
"Not all money is good money."
"Should I take offense?" Evelyn asked.
"You know what I mean."
She understood. In fact, Evelyn admired the fact that he could remain resolute in the face of such a large sum. With her experience, she could tell that once someone like Zane had access to a large capital chain, his meteoric rise was only a matter of time.
"You're a better man than me," Keesha admitted. She had no way to refuse such an offer.
"I'm curious about something, but I hesitate to ask," Khadijah added.
"Go ahead."
"What's your IQ?" She'd heard Zane and Tom Nguyen had high IQs before, but only today did she realize how brilliant they were.
"I have no idea."
"You didn't take the test?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"My parents were heavily worried that I would suffer from Gifted Kid Syndrome, and in their attempt to minimize the effect, they never allowed me to take the official test."
"You must have taken the unofficial ones, right? How did you score?"
"I usually score between 190-195."
"Well, those aren't accurate at all."
Zane nodded. "That's true."
"What's yours?" Khadijah asked.
"184," Tom Nguyen replied.
"Amazing. I only scored a 132."
"I'm one point less than you," Evelyn added.
"Those are great scores," Zane commented. 138-140 is the cutoff for "gifted" or "genius," so their score was extraordinary.
"So, what you're saying is I'm surrounded by a bunch of little and big geniuses?" Keesha asked.
"So what?" Zane shrugged. "We are living in the age of magic. High IQ only means a faster ability to absorb and digest knowledge; it has no bearing on magical aptitude."
"Yeah, says the genius with a terrifying magic talent."
Evelyn nodded. "She's right. Those words coming from you are a bit hypocritical."
Zane shrugged. What can he say? His family has practiced spirituality or shamanism for countless generations, so it's understandable that he has extraordinary talent. Anyway, he wasn't anything unique; there should be countless people on Earth like him.
"You really built an LLM decades in advance?" Tom Nguyen suddenly asked.
"I guess so."
"Can you not be so nonchalant? We're talking about Artificial Intelligence — something that can revolutionize, well, every aspect of society."
"Wait, artificial intelligence? Like JARVIS?" Keesha asked.
"What's that?"
"You don't know JARVIS from Iron Man?"
Zane secretly blushed at the mention of JARVIS, remembering something embarrassing. Meanwhile, Tom immediately lost interest and refocused on Zane. "Why would you allow such technology to rot? If we had it decades earlier, maybe we could have already created AGI."
"Okay, you're exaggerating a bit. We don't know whether Artificial General Intelligence is possible. Plus, have you thought that maybe this technology should not exist in capitalist society? Maybe I shelved it because the world wasn't ready for it. Maybe I didn't want to open Pandora's box too early."
"Forgive my language, but I call bullshit," Tom Nguyen said. "You were decades ahead of everybody, which meant you would have a monopoly. If you truly cared about these things, you could have set up the rules, standards, regulations, and all the necessary precautions."
"And I would also have been assassinated." Zane thought, but he didn't say these words. Instead, he cleared his throat. "I wouldn't lie about such a thing. I truly did it for the world. Tell them, Myk, have I ever lied?"
"Never. In school, his nickname was Honest Zane. He was so truthful that even George Washington would be ashamed."
"See? Anyway, Keesha, I noticed your new hair. It looks quite good. Why did you change it? Did you feel spontaneous?"
"She's beautiful, isn't she? But she looks good in everything," Myk added.
"I agree, but there is something unique about this particular style. It gives her some kind of presence —"
"Like she was regal and a fierce fighter at the same time."
"Exactly. Man, you captured her essence perfectly. It's like…"
Keesha and everybody looked at the two, utterly speechless. They were so in sync and spewed so much nonsense that by the time they reached the Crimson Feather Yard, Keesha was starting to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, to a certain someone, maybe she was.
"I wonder what truly delayed Zane," Khadijah said as they entered the elevator.
"He was in prison."
"Hey."
"She's one of us," Keesha argued.
"He did? I would have never guessed."
"Didn't you notice his knife scars?"
"I thought those were from the second dimension shifts."
"Nope."
Khadijah's brow furrowed. "But why, though? Did he commit a crime? Or was someone trying to get rid of him because of his invention?"
"With that kind of technology, the people who would want to eliminate him have countless ways to do it. They wouldn't need to send him to jail," Evelyn said.
"Unless they didn't want to kill him; they wanted to slow down his progress until the rest of the world catches up," Khadijah stated. "Then, after his release, he would be easier to control, to follow in line."
"That makes sense."
"Or they couldn't kill him."
They looked at Keesha.
"Didn't he say he's from a long line of shamans? Maybe he was protected by magic, and they couldn't kill him."
Khadijah nodded. "That's possible." She sighed deeply. "Looking at him, it's hard to imagine he's had such a harsh life."
"This only means he's very good at hiding his pain and trauma," Keesha commented.
"True."
After a long shower, Zane lay on his bed, thinking about today's events. He realized he had made a mistake in how he approached his case. From Zane's perspective, the person who targeted him did it for more personal reasons. His mind never suspected the US government because, if they were truly after his technology, they had too many ways to get it. Put a charge of treason on him, and all his rights could be waived, and Zane would be under their control. Or find an excuse to have him tried in military court. Sending him to prison felt like a personal act of revenge, an act driven by emotions. But after today's conversation, Zane realized he might have looked at things the wrong way.
"Someone might have wanted to temporarily lock me up and stall my progress. Then, when the time was right, they would offer my release in return for basically selling myself to them. But who could it be?"
After a moment, Zane thought of a clue. While he was developing his LLM, only two people knew about it: Cindy, who funded the project, and Professor Jacob Ziti. He was one of the few people Zane trusted, but after being screwed over many times, Zane had learned his lesson. So, even the professor wasn't completely in on what he was doing. However, Zane regularly consulted him about some issues, so the latter might have deduced something.
"I'll check his whereabouts after I return to Earth."