Sarah and Felix began their lab tours one by one, swiftly moving from one lab to the next as soon as they satisfied their curiosity in each. As the twelfth hour approached, they found themselves instantly teleported back to the city's skies, having only explored approximately nine research labs. Their progress accounted for less than a quarter of a percent of the total number of labs present in the city.
Surprised by their sudden teleportation, Felix questioned, "Twelve hours have already passed?" He couldn't believe it, as from his perspective, it felt like he had spent no more than three hours exploring the city's labs.
"Yes" Aron confirmed, settling into the chair that Nova had materialized for them in the sky.
Sarah, after glancing at the screen she had used to navigate the city, exclaimed, "According to the progress bar here, I haven't even visited one percent of the research labs in the city!" She was astonished by the sheer scale of the remaining unexplored labs, realizing that their tour had barely scratched the surface of what the city had to offer.
"Don't worry," Aron reassured them. "I've granted your glasses access to this place, so you can revisit it whenever you want in the future. However, remember to log out after you pass through the Rashomon gate when you come here on your own." Aron pointed towards the distant Rashomon gate, which became visible only when he zoomed in due to its considerable distance from the city.
"Why do we need to log out after passing through the Rashomon gate?" Sarah inquired, her tone expressing genuine curiosity rather than arrogance.
"As I mentioned earlier, the time acceleration here is set at five to one. If you log out directly from here, your brain will undergo a sudden transition from experiencing time at five times the normal rate to returning to the regular pace. Such a drastic shift will break your mind." Aron explained.
Felix raised an important question, asking, "If the transition from accelerated time to normal time is potentially harmful, how is it that we didn't feel any negative effects when you forcefully logged us in earlier?"
"When I forcefully logged you in earlier, I actually teleported you into a time bubble where time was not accelerated." Answered Aron.
"Why didn't you make it impossible for people to log out from this accelerated zone? It seems like a straightforward solution to prevent any potential harm." She asked, wondering why such a precautionary measure wasn't implemented in the first place, considering the potential risks involved.
"I didn't consider that aspect since I was the only one accessing this world from the outside. " Aron admitted with a touch of embarrassment.
[Actually, I've already taken care of that, there's no need to worry about it] Nova said, her arm gently patting Aron's back
"But why are we still up here in the sky? I just can't get used to it," Sarah asked, attempting to shift the conversation and spare Aron from further embarrassment as she gazed down at the city beneath them with an unwavering sense of curiosity.
[No other reason, it's just cool that way,] Nova replied, addressing Sarah's question.
"I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that you're an AI," Sarah admitted to Nova, engaging in their first conversation since being introduced to her.
[Thank you] Nova replied, offering a smile that caused both Felix and Sarah to blush, captivated by her beauty and radiant smile.
Feeling her face flush with embarrassment, Sarah turned to Aron and exclaimed, "Did you intentionally design her appearance like this?" She tried to conceal her own feelings, using Aron as a scapegoat for her reaction since she couldn't blame Felix, who was also experiencing the same trouble.
"No, I didn't. All I did was give her a name. The choices regarding her appearance were entirely up to her," Aron explained, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence to demonstrate that he had no control over Nova's decision regarding her look and body.
[He's telling the truth, although it was the name he gave me that sparked all of this,] Nova chimed in, playfully teasing Aron further, causing Sarah and Felix to burst into laughter.
Aron's expression expressed a sense of feeling betrayed by Nova's mischievous remark, adding to the amusement of the situation.
"Seriously, why is it that way?" Sarah inquired, leaning closer to Nova in an attempt to gather more information and further tease Aron.
[Even though the name itself is neutral, the data I collected shortly after being named indicated a slight leaning towards the female side. That influenced my decision to choose a female voice, and later on, when we had access to a powerful computer, I designed my body in that gender,] Nova explained, shedding light on the factors that influenced her choices.
"You see, I even gave her a neutral name, but she herself made the choice of her gender," Aron stated, casting a sidelong glance at Sarah and Felix, seemingly proud of Nova's answer that removed suspicion from him.
"If she had chosen to be a man, what would you have done?" Felix asked this time.
"Reboot her!" Aron said in such a serious tone, that it triggered laughter from all of them. It was the first large laugh that they shared since Aron had given them the glasses, and it served as a much-needed release after experiencing a cascade of surprises that nearly overwhelmed their emotions, bordering on short-circuiting their brains.
After a few minutes of laughter, they finally regained their composure, and Aron spoke with a serious tone.
"Since you are already aware of my story and reasons, I would like you to initiate the process of relocating the company's registered location from America to Eden," Aron said, addressing Sarah directly.
"I will begin the process as soon as I return to America next week," Sarah replied in a serious tone not asking any further questions, as Aron's previous explanation had already covered most of the details she would have inquired about had she not been aware of them.