Aldoux thought he had no choice but to wait for Sevda. That was why, after stroking the money he had received, he wandered through the market for a while, thinking about what he could buy with it. The only thing he could find was a lizard skewered on a stick and turned over a fire. Although he was "augmented," his body was hungry since he had only recently returned from death. Therefore, he left his gold coin in the robot's hand, took the lizard on a stick, and headed back to the transport ship.
Just as he was arriving at the transport ship, he saw two groups of robots arguing with each other in front of the vessel. These robots were different from one another. One group looked more primitive and helpless than the other. He searched his mind for a moment. Even a bite from the lizard helped him use his mind. Yes... the more helpless-looking robots were the ones from Uruzen.
"Damn it!"
He immediately tucked himself into a corner near the wall. Then he thought... Nuskul and his men didn't know his face. They couldn't have seen him from the satellite while the SWR Network was down. Unless they looked at this facility's security cameras, it was impossible for them to know he was intertwined with Sevda. The moment they checked the security systems, his "book of deeds" would be closed anyway. Since there were no robots swarming over his head yet, it meant he wasn't in trouble.
Among the Uruzen robots, there was a figure. Although he didn't have striking physical features like the bald man named Nuskul, he was dressed elegantly enough to make it obvious he was a manager at the TESO factory. Could it be Labiba? Aldo didn't think so.
He took another bite of his lizard.
At that moment, a man who looked like an officer—his pride making it clear he was an employee of the TESO2 factory—walked with heavy steps to meet the man in the suit. Aldoux didn't know where Sevda was, but he knew he had to listen to this conversation. While those men were in front of Sevda's transport ship, he walked over and leaned against a nearby spacecraft as if it were his own. Then he began to listen to the officer-like man and the man in the suit.
"Master Nagara..." the officer-like man said with great enthusiasm. "...what wind blew you here?"
"Bolver..." Nagara said, bowing his head in greeting. "I've come to discuss business."
"If you've come for a business meeting, you've come to the wrong place. The entrance to the management section of this factory is at BLOCK A. I thought you knew that very well. Or have Uruzen and Calos become so detached from each other? Is TESO that disorganized now?"
"Ever since Ormene was appointed to the TESO8 factory... yes, we are."
"Appointments... believing that appointments are what tear TESO apart is like saying it's the engine, not the wing, that makes a plane fly."
"Is that so? I've seen many missiles fly without wings."
"But those were missiles, weren't they? Maybe they were spaceships... I'm talking about a plane here."
"Maybe that's the point!" Nagara said with great heat. "We still haven't decided what we are. As TESO, we think of ourselves as a plane; as TESO2, you know yourselves as a missile. TESO3 might say a spaceship..."
"A wonderful observation," Bolver said. "But that neither solves our problems nor explains your reason for coming here. Or more accurately, why you didn't go to top management... If you wish, I can invite you to my office to make this conversation official. But we would have to record everything we say."
"No need, I prefer to speak unofficially for now."
When Aldo looked out of the corner of his eye, he saw some robots coming and loading items from the stands into a truck. It was as if the products on the stands were being moved elsewhere. Bolver must have noticed this too, as he pointed to the robots collecting products from the stands and said:
"Ah... look at that... there hasn't been a need for something like this in about 45 years."
"For what?" Nagara asked.
"Packaging the products on the stand because the orders won't be finished in time..."
"Ah... the SWR Network outage..."
"They say the TESO factory in Uruzen did it," Bolver said, narrowing his eyes. "Very interesting, isn't it?"
"Permit me to change the subject, even if only for a moment," Nagara said. "Don't you get bored here, dear Bolver?"
While both men spoke, they reinforced their conversation with condescending facial expressions and hand gestures. Both men seemed prepared for anything at that moment. The only difference was that Bolver, who looked like an officer, was more relaxed, while Nagara had sharper expressions.
"What kind of question is that? It must be a very clever question because I didn't understand anything from it."
"Please... please don't play dumb. We know you are in charge of all the security systems in the TESO2 factory."
"You know... you speak in the plural."
"My manager, Labiba, knows as well."
"Tell him I send my thanks then. I invite you to the top management," he said, pointing with his hand to the ship where the guests had landed. Nagara smiled.
"But you still haven't heard our offer..."
"I've been working at the TESO company for more than 88 years," Bolver said. "I know what kind of shit TESO is. Do you think you're different just because you're the TESO factory in Uruzen, because you're the first factory? You're the same. Please... please leave this place."
"Managerial position..." Nagara called out. "...we are offering you the position of production manager."
"What do you mean?" said Bolver, frozen in surprise.
"You must know about Nuskul's passing. His place must be filled..."
"For such a big offer..."
"Yes... and our request from you will also be big. First of all, I know that you track the robots and cameras of this entire facility. Top management doesn't give a shit about the crimes happening down here! They didn't even deign to spend money on camera systems to automate them. But whenever one of the crimes committed down here touches them or their reputation, then it becomes a problem. We can save you from this ordeal, Bolver. In exchange, we want a woman."
"A woman?"
"Yes... there is a woman who has taken refuge here. Labiba needs that woman. Her name is Sevda..."
"Sevda, the doctor, the one from the SWR? She was one of the most important SWR citizens on this planet..."
"Yes, that Sevda..."
"So she was the one using this transport ship..."
"Yes..."
"I had heard that a blonde cybernetic was causing trouble for the robots," he said, looking toward the robots behind him.
"Great... if you bring her to us alive, Labiba will reward you with all his generosity."
"TESO2..."
"TESO2 doesn't need to know about this. Hianyan must know nothing..."
"But they know you came here. They're suspicious."
"They won't think we came here for a doctor, though... no one would even think of it. Only you have the authority to access the cameras of this level and the levels below. They can't watch us here, so if you don't mention anything, they won't know. We will take a chip and go to top management. They will think we came to buy a chip. There's going to be a pretty heated meeting up there. Already..." Nagara said, opening his briefcase and giving the chip he took out to Bolver. "...thank you in advance."
While countless thoughts scrambled in his head, he put his hand to his chin and scratched it for a while. Then he looked at the chip in his hand.
"And what is this?" he asked.
"This is evidence for you."