The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!

I rose from the bed and made my way to the main hub to confront The Lord. There was one question burning in my mind, and his answer would determine my next move.

I would think about making the decision to escape this place, be it alone or with my family, I didn’t care anymore.

I wanted this sick experiment to end to find out if, on the other side, I could live a normal life.

I didn’t even know if I needed all this intelligence. I just wanted to lead a normal life—a life that I lived before everything changed.

At that moment, I was smart enough to tell that I was falling into some sort of depression. I really wasn’t feeling well.

I approached The Lord who was standing with the others in the main hub.

I needed answers.

"Was Therion truly a traitor to your alliance against the Zytherians, or was there more to his actions?" I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil within.

The Lord regarded me in silence for a few heartbeats before speaking. "I told you he revealed information he shouldn’t have. You weren’t meant to know."

"I will ask you once again. Was he a traitor to the alliance or maybe a traitor to the Architects, and that’s why you can’t tell me?"

"He... I can’t tell you this."

"Are the Architects preventing you from telling me?" I persisted.

"You are not meant to know," he repeated, his tone firm.

My frustration mounted, so I tried another angle. "So, are you privy to everything?"

"You are not meant to know," he reiterated like a robot.

Feeling a surge of defeat, I changed tack. "When do you depart for the 4th Cluster?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"In 6 hours," he responded.

With that, I turned away and made my way back to the resting area. Collapsing onto one of the sofas, suffocating.

As I sat down on the sofa, my mind started buzzing with thoughts. The things The Lord said made me wonder. Was he really involved in all of this? And if he was, who else knew about it?

Were my parents, Oliv, and Veronica part of it too? What about my friends, the professors, and the students? Could they all be playing a part in this?

I questioned everything I thought I knew. It felt like my whole world was falling apart.

...

Meanwhile, in the Zytherian Cluster.

Double Maximillian departed for the border of the 4th cluster together with the Zytherian fleet.

This marked the end of his purpose.

A dark figure stood silently within the void, watching their departure.

He had long, wavy black hair and light features without a single blemish.

Dressed in a long white leather cloak and a dark blue suit underneath it.

While holding one of his hands behind his back, he looked at a white watch on his wrist, smiling softly. His green eyes shone with satisfaction.

Unperturbed by the lack of oxygen, he observed the events within all the clusters, at all times, in all of the iterations.

The man was happy because he believed that in this particular iteration, the object of the experiment might finally succeed.

After so many unsuccessful trials...

This could be the correct configuration.

Now, the key lay in the object of the experiment making the correct decision.

Being incredibly intelligent was not enough; it was also about making the right choices with emotions.

He crossed his fingers, hoping everything would go well.

...

The Lord’s cluster.

After calming down, I tried to think things through logically. The Lord mentioned we had 6 hours until the expedition to the 4th Cluster.

I needed to speak with General Naomi.

I made my way back to the main hub, finding General Naomi there. I asked her, "Do we know the current location of the Zytherian Fleet?"

She explained their whereabouts and I followed up, "How long until they reach the 4th Cluster?"

She replied, "Without using Observers, it could take them around 5 hours, maybe 4 at the earliest."

I approached The Lord and said, "We need to move faster to get to the 4th Cluster. We need to get there before the Zytherian Fleet does."

The Lord raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "And why is that?" he asked.

"If I’m going to make this move, I will do it on my terms," I replied firmly. "I need to reach the 4th Cluster before the Zytherians do."

The Lord nodded slowly, considering my words. "Very well," he agreed after a moment. "I will make the necessary arrangements."

After saying this, he looked at his watch and smiled.

Now all I had left to do was think about my loved ones.

I couldn’t fathom the idea that my loved ones might not be real, that they were merely constructs of some simulated world.

They felt too real—their emotions, their feelings—everything about them felt genuine.

I also could not believe that they would willingly take part in some twisted experiment, be aware of it and intentionally hide everything from me for the experiment to succeed.

No. No way.

I needed to take them with me if I were to escape from this place.

Entering the resting area, I felt the weight of the impending revelation pressing upon me. Taking a deep breath, I addressed everyone gathered there.

"Please, listen to me," I began, my tone serious.

I looked each of them in the eye as I spoke.

"Mom, dad, Mike, Kaya, Oliv, Veronica, Mrs. Hayes, James, Mary, Rick," I said, addressing them one by one. "I have something important to tell all of you."

Feeling a bit uneasy, I continued, "My mind has been grappling with a lot lately, and I’ve come to a conclusion that might sound funny to you."

I could sense their confusion as I uttered the next words, "This entire universe... it was created for me and two other people. One of them is probably no longer alive, and the other is currently speeding toward the barrier of the 4th Cluster."

Their expressions ranged from bewilderment to disbelief.

"What does that even mean?" someone asked, breaking the stunned silence.

"This universe we’re in... it isn’t real," I began, feeling the weight of the words as they left my lips. "But I believe that you are."