Sonny

"Mr. Robertson asked me to do everything possible to help you." In the descending elevator, Dr. Susan turned to Spooner and said.

"Is that so? Great!" Spooner said with a slight smile.

"I've reviewed Dr. Lanning's psychological records. Alfred had become very reclusive and refused contact with both humans and machines." Susan spoke to herself, completely ignoring what Spooner had just said.

"You're a psychologist?" Spooner asked another question whose answer he already knew. Susan had already told him that at the elevator entrance.

"My ex-wife would be delighted to know I was talking to you. You don't know her, do you?" Spooner made a little joke, but Dr. Susan's expression had already darkened.

"Sorry, are you joking?" This was clearly a serious investigation, yet Susan had not expected Spooner to still be joking at a time like this.

"No!" Spooner replied carelessly, completely failing to notice Susan's expression. At that moment, the elevator reached the tenth floor. This was the laboratory where Dr. Lanning had developed the A.I. Artificial Intelligence VIKI and the NS series robots before his death, and of course, it was also where he had jumped from in the end. Susan did not pursue Spooner's idiotic behavior from earlier. Work was work; she could not fuss over it with him.

"Do you think Dr. Lanning had suicidal tendencies?" Spooner finally returned somewhat to the subject.

"I think the answer is obvious." Susan spoke coldly as she walked. She had said so much only to make Spooner believe that Dr. Lanning had committed suicide, but clearly, it had all been wasted on him.

"That wasn't what I asked you."

"But I didn't used to think so. But apparently, I was wrong." Susan's expression was unnatural. She had already come to believe that Dr. Lanning had committed suicide.

Spooner suddenly whistled, walked to the railing, and looked down. "That's quite a drop. You cleaned up pretty fast. I don't blame you. Who'd want an old man like that lying dead in the lobby?"

"He wasn't some 'old man.' Alfred Lanning was everything here." Unable to endure Spooner's flippant tone any longer, Susan glared at him angrily. "We're about to launch the largest robot rollout in history. By Saturday, one out of every five households will own a robot. These robots are dreams made real—Dr. Lanning's dream." After calming down slightly, Susan continued.

"You know, I bet he didn't die in his dream." This time, Spooner's words left Susan speechless. Everything she had said had been for nothing.

"Do you have round-the-clock surveillance here?" Standing outside Dr. Lanning's laboratory, Spooner continued recklessly pressing the issue.

"Of course. It's company policy," Susan replied irritably.

"Cameras?" Spooner asked. "No, sensor lines. They're everywhere except the maintenance areas. They connect to the Central Computer," Susan answered.

Meanwhile, Tang Tian, who had already become Robertson's partner, looked greedily at the Artificial Intelligence Brain beneath the top floor. That so-called Central Computer was VIKI's mainframe. This was an important target of his. Robertson saw Tang Tian's expression but said nothing. Besides, if the events Tang Tian had predicted came to pass, Robertson would still need his help. As a partner, Tang Tian had also given Robertson a weakened version of the Super-Soldier Serum, a small taste of the benefits. After all, even if Tang Tian claimed to be an alien, cooperation would not go smoothly unless he could produce something of value.

"The Central Computer was Dr. Lanning's first creation. It is the Virtual Interactive Intelligence System." Susan led Spooner to a corner and pointed at the streaks of blue light as she explained.

Just as in the original plot, VIKI concealed itself well enough that Spooner and Susan found no flaws. Then the two entered Dr. Lanning's private laboratory, and the story continued to move forward.

"See that? That is Dr. Lanning's ultimate creation—Sonny. He has emotions just like a real human." Looking down from the USR headquarters building at the silver robot running swiftly below, Tang Tian spoke meaningfully to Robertson.

Robertson was extremely surprised by the robot racing before his eyes. A normal robot would obey human commands, but this robot was clearly far from ordinary.

"Since you know about him, what do you need me to do?" Robertson asked Tang Tian, who was drinking red wine.

"Of course, Spooner suspects Sonny killed Dr. Lanning, but I already told you the outcome. What you need to do is classify the case as an industrial accident," Tang Tian explained in detail.

"That won't be a problem. Even if you hadn't said so, I would have done the same. The NS-5 launch can't be accompanied by news like this about safety." Robertson nodded in agreement.

"Very good. On Saturday, you will understand that without absolute strength and laws, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and robots are not things you can control." Tang Tian spoke meaningfully.

"Yes, I understand," Robertson replied.

The beginning of VIKI's betrayal came when Spooner discovered a robot named Sonny and believed he was very likely the "murderer" ordered to kill Dr. Lanning. During the pursuit, he discovered that Sonny not only possessed independent thought, but also emotions strikingly similar to those of a human.

During the interrogation, Sonny told Spooner that he had not killed Dr. Lanning. Instead, he had been helping him do something. Telling Robertson this meant having him classify the matter as an "industrial accident" and bring Sonny back to the company. That way, the aliens could retrieve him first.

Of course, as Spooner investigated further, VIKI would also dispatch large numbers of NS-5 robots to hunt him down and try to kill him. Susan would come to Spooner's home and inform him that during Sonny's examination, she had discovered that he was not only a new-generation robot that completely surpassed the older models, but could also do anything without being bound by the Three Laws of Robotics. Naturally, the alien's final preparations were already complete: biochemical weapons. Although there were many NS-5 robots, there were plenty of biochemical weapons as well. This world would soon yield what Tang Tian wanted, and then it would be time to plunder other planes.

P.S. Second update complete. Please support me in every way, everyone. Thank you.