Noa entered the elevator, its walls adorned with screens displaying a detailed map of the building. Drones stationed nearby were ready to assist, answering questions and providing directions if needed.
Curiosity piqued, Noa asked one of the drones, "Can you show me the directions to the office of the company's project programmers?
The drone promptly indicated that it was on the fifth floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Noa stepped into a hallway and approached the room that instantly caught his attention. The lights flickered on, revealing a vast chamber filled with an array of strange and intricate machines.
The room buzzed with a symphony of mechanical sounds—whirring gears, humming engines, and crackling electricity. It felt as though the very air was alive, pulsing with energy.
At the far end of the room, a row of polished metal machines gleamed under the ambient lighting. Tubes, wires, and pumps were connected to each machine, all leading to a central pool of bubbling liquid.
Intrigued, Noa moved closer, but was startled when a sudden burst of steam hit his face, prompting him to shield his eyes.
"What in the world is this?" Noa exclaimed, bewildered by the sight.
As he regained his composure and looked up again, he noticed a group of technicians huddled around one of the machines, frantically scribbling on clipboards and discussing with each other in hushed voices.
Within the machine's center, Noa could make out the silhouette of a small, squirming figure, surrounded by a labyrinth of wires and cables. He squinted, trying to get a clearer view, and gasped at what he saw.
"Wait, is that a human baby?" Noa couldn't believe his eyes and wanted to know if he was seeing things correctly.
Floating peacefully in the pool of glowing liquid was a perfectly formed newborn baby, its skin glistening with droplets of the surrounding liquid as it slept soundly. Throughout the room, dozens of similar machines held infants of various shapes and sizes, each encapsulated within their own glowing pools.
As Noa approached one of the machines, a sudden malfunction threw everything into chaos. Gears and circuits jolted and sparked, causing the machine to behave erratically.
In a state of panic, Noa's instincts kicked in. With lightning reflexes, he reached out and caught a falling baby, preventing a potentially disastrous situation. The malfunction had severed the baby's umbilical cord connection.
"Quick, move the baby to another machine!" a man in a white coat urgently commanded Noa. "Without immediate placement, the baby won't survive."
Without hesitation, Noa followed the man's instructions and carefully transferred the baby to an empty machine.
"Why did the machine suddenly break down?" Noa questioned.
"It's just a technical glitch," the man quickly dismissed, evading the question.
Unconvinced, Noa studied the machine, searching for any clues. His attention was drawn to a small, blinking light that hadn't been there before.
"What's that light?" Noa pointed to the machine, his curiosity piqued.
The man glanced at the light and let out a sigh. "It's nothing, just a minor glitch. We'll have it fixed."
Noa's heart raced, sensing that something was amiss. He took a deep breath, attempting to compose himself.
"Will the baby be okay?" Noa asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Offering a reassuring smile, the man replied, "Of course. The machine is designed to have safety measures for such situations. It'll only take a few moments to address the glitch, and then everything will be fine."
The alarm earlier caught the attention of another worker who noticed the anomaly in one of the projects. They swiftly investigated the situation.
The man in the white coat acknowledged that it wasn't a serious issue and that it could be handled easily, relieving everyone.
Noa looked at the worker he first spoke to earlier, but the latter avoided his gaze, making him purse his lips. He just remained silent and started to look for So-Rin.
After searching for a while, he spotted her working.
With a smile, he started walking in her direction.
"Noa! What are you doing here?" So-Rin exclaimed upon noticing Noa's presence. "Are you on duty?" she asked with curiosity.
"Yes. You guessed correctly. I'm on duty here today," Noa confirmed.
"Oh, that's great. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" So-Rin expressed a hint of disappointment.
"Well, I didn't have the time to tell you. I was only given fifteen minutes to come here as soon as I received the order," Noa explained.
"Ah, I see."So-Rin's face brightened up. "Well, I'm glad that you're here."
Noa quickly scanned the surroundings before asking, "So, what project is this?"
"I'm sure you know about this project already. But they gave this project more funding recently, so everything is new and improved," So-Rin replied, placing a Faraday pouch on her headset and signalling Noa to do the same. They wanted to ensure their conversation remained private, away from the system's recording device by blocking the electromagnetic signals and preventing it transmitting the data. However, they could only do it in a very limited time as the system may detect it.
"Are you referring to the baby machines?" Noa asked after turning off his headset.
"Exactly," So-Rin confirmed with a nod.
"Well, artificially conceiving babies isn't entirely new or uncommon. But for some reason, it's unsettling. Why would Infrablack put more budget on producing babies?" Noa inquired.
"You know why, Noa. Unlike what everyone else is brainwashed to think, this project is not about preserving life and humanity," So-Rin whispered, casting cautious glances around to ensure their conversation remained confidential. "Infrablack is planning to form a new army. Some of us humans are spared because he needs our intelligence to be of service to him. But these babies… their brains will be used to produce smarter Androids."
Noa had always known about Infrablack's ruthlessness and knew that he was the type to exploit humans for his own gains. However, knowing the nefarious intention behind one of Infrablack's projects shook him to the core.
"He's terrible. He already has Infinity Globe under his control, so why is he still doing this?" Noa exclaimed, clenching his fists in anger.
So-Rin nodded in agreement. "I know, it's terrible."
"These projects were started by humans to benefit humanity. They eliminate the need for surrogate mothers with these machines. But it's a disaster now because it had fallen into the wrong hands," Noa expressed his deep concern.
So-Rin fell silent for a moment, acknowledging the truth in Noa's words. However, they weren't strong enough to stop Infrablack, who had a system that controlled the entire world.
"You're right." So-Rin smiled sadly. "I'll show you some other projects," So-Rin said, leading Noa to another room.