[???]
"That fool truly researches the dumbest of things."
The tone came without irritation or amusement—just a flat, androgynous voice. The words had been spoken as though out of habit more than anything. It settled into the space, blending with the sound of machinery.
The room was vast, almost excessively so, with its polished marble floor reflecting glows from the countless panels embedded into the walls. Those panels seemed to work independently, each with its purpose. Some projected blue holograms—rotating architectural structures marked with red highlights, flaws isolated, and annotated. Others displayed segmented schematics of machinery—arms, legs, torsos, and weapon systems—each one dissected into parts and labeled. A few screens, more oddly, displayed living subjects: animals in controlled environments—monkeys pacing, lions resting, and rats navigating mazes—data scrolling endlessly beside them.
There was no cohesion to it at first glance. Just systems.
