Bardi's expression froze momentarily, but internally, he was already running through his meditation techniques, carefully controlling his heartbeat. He raised it slightly to mimic the reaction of someone genuinely caught off guard, someone surprised at the sight of the object before him.
And truthfully, he was a little stunned. He hadn't expected the key to be in Dean Bori's possession. On his previous visits to the research room, he hadn't seen it and had assumed it was lost, a fact that had secretly filled him with regret.
"It's a key," Bardi finally said after a brief pause, his mind racing.
He wasn't sure how much Bori had uncovered about the key's functions. Several half-truths formed in Bardi's head, ready to be used if necessary. Even if the old dean had some knowledge about the key, Bardi planned to deceive him into keeping the key locked away and heavily guarded.
Under no circumstances could Bori discover the truth: that the key was more than just a tool for the spacecraft. It housed a fully functional artificial intelligence, created by Bardi and Faora for his personal use.
"A key?" Bori echoed, raising an eyebrow. He had assumed the object was some kind of insignia or ceremonial relic, not an actual key.
"How much have you studied this key, Bori?" Bardi asked casually, his tone light but his mind already working on how to exploit the old man's greed.
Bori paused, choosing his words carefully. "I've drawn a few conclusions, but I was hoping you could clarify a few things for me, Mr. Bardi."
Bardi smiled faintly. He could tell that Bori was trying to fish for information without revealing how little he actually knew. Perfect. The old dean's greed and arrogance were weaknesses he could exploit to push his plans forward.
Everyone in this base had a flaw.
Bori for example, was greedy and vain. He would do anything to acquire and hoard knowledge or objects of value, often disregarding the lives or well-being of others in the process.
Slade, on the other hand, was a soldier with a sharp sense of danger, meticulous to the point of paranoia. To Bardi, Slade was the most difficult obstacle to deal with.
Then there was General Vic, a man consumed by ambition. Vic had promised Bardi freedom after he made sufficient contributions to the base, a promise Bardi knew was empty. Still, he played along, feeding Vic tidbits of knowledge like candy to keep him satisfied.
"I see," Bardi replied, his tone easygoing. "Bori, let me save you some trouble: you won't uncover much from this key on your own. But I will tell you this, it's no ordinary key. On Krypton, this key was both a disaster and a treasure."
Bori's eyes narrowed at the statement. "A disaster?" he asked, intrigued.
"Yes," Bardi replied, his expression darkening as if recalling painful memories. "It was the source of much conflict on Krypton, the spark that ignited power struggles between factions. Ultimately, it played a role in the planet's destruction."
Bardi's tone shifted slightly, tinged with mockery as he looked at the key with feigned disdain. "And yet, this same key unlocks the greatest treasure of Krypton's royal family."
At the mention of treasure, Bori's eyebrows shot up, his pulse quickening. He could scarcely contain his excitement.
"A royal treasure?"
Bardi nodded, his expression one of reluctant remembrance. His pupils drifted upward slightly, as if lost in thought, and he maintained a perfect facade of sincerity.
"Yes, a treasure containing the entirety of Krypton's advanced civilization: star charts for interstellar navigation, records of alien races, a complete scientific library… Everything you'd need to propel a planet like Earth into the era of space exploration."
As he spoke, Bardi watched Dean Bori carefully. The old man's face betrayed his inner turmoil—shock, disbelief, and unbridled greed flickered across his features.
Bori's breathing grew shallow, his pupils constricting as he struggled to process what he was hearing.
But, as expected, the old scientist quickly composed himself, his skeptical instincts kicking in. "That's… quite the claim," Bori said cautiously, though his tone couldn't fully mask his excitement. "How can I believe that such a treasure existed? And if it did, why would you share this information so readily?"
"I can't lie to you Bori," Bardi said plainly, tilting his head slightly. His voice carried a subtle reminder of the lie-detection capabilities of the pulse radiofrequency needle embedded in his spine.
Bori glanced at the monitoring equipment reflexively. The readouts showed no indication of deceit, yet he still hesitated.
"It's hard to believe," he admitted. "Even if what you say is true, why would you dismiss something so significant?"
Bardi sighed dramatically, his tone tinged with self-deprecation. "Because it no longer matters. The treasure is gone, destroyed in the explosion that consumed Krypton. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't recover it. This key is nothing more than a remnant of a lost world."
Bori's face fell slightly at the revelation. His grip on the key tightened as he processed the implications.
The treasure was gone.
Destroyed.
But…
The key itself was still an artifact of an interstellar civilization. Surely it held some value, some secrets waiting to be uncovered.
"Don't you need it?" Bori asked, shaking the key slightly in front of Bardi, testing his reaction.
Bardi smirked faintly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "What would I need it for? Do you think the treasure is going to miraculously fly to Earth?"
Bori exhaled slowly, his disappointment tempered by the faint thrill of owning such a unique object. "Then I'll keep it for now…" he said, trying to sound casual.
Inwardly, Bori's thoughts churned. Even if the treasure was gone, the key itself could still yield valuable research opportunities. The lightweight, durable material alone was worth studying, and there was always the chance it contained hidden technology.
Unbeknownst to him, Bori's greed played directly into Bardi's hands.
"Aren't you curious enough to study it further?" Bardi asked, his tone playful, subtly teasing the old man's insatiable hunger for knowledge.
Bori chuckled, waving off the remark. "I'll get to it eventually. But tell me, Mr. Bardi, how are you and Jenny doing these days?"
The sudden shift in conversation caught Bardi off guard, but he quickly recovered.
"Very well," he replied with a warm smile. "Jenny comes to see me every day."
Bori nodded, pleased. In his mind, Jenny's connection to Bardi kept the alien tethered emotionally to the base. As long as the two remained close, there was no risk of Bardi becoming a problem.
It seemed like the perfect arrangement.
Then, Bardi seized the moment.
"Bori," he said, his tone serious. "I need your help with something. I want to marry Jenny."
Bori paused, his mind racing. The idea of the two marrying seemed harmless enough, if anything, it would deepen their bond and solidify Bardi's role within the base.
And then, a thought struck him. What if they had children? A child born of two vastly different genetic makeups… The scientific implications alone made Bori's heart race with excitement.
"Yes," Bori said after a moment. "You and Jenny should get married. Perhaps I can even serve as your witness. The union of an alien and a human, quite the historic event."
Hearing Bori's agreement, Bardi felt a weight lift from his shoulders. After months of effort, his careful planning had finally yielded results.
Bardi smiled. "In that case Bori, I'll need a ring."
Bori laughed, shaking his head. "Of course, of course. Consider it a gift. This key of yours… the treasure may be gone, but it's a fascinating little trinket. I'll see to the ring myself."
His tone was light, but his intentions were clear. He would keep the key for himself, a secret trophy of his greed and vanity.
Bardi's smile deepened. "That works for me."