The Activity Ends

The announcement continued, "There's also a new picture book."

"It has lots of animals in it."

Even after hearing all that, Joanna still wouldn't let go.

"You can watch television for another half hour, too."

The researchers in the Observation Room exchanged glances. Surely she would leave now.

Sweets, picture books, television.

These were ordinary things for most children, but they had almost never been offered as rewards in Joanna's life.

The researchers had never thought she needed entertainment. Or perhaps they were practicing a different kind of emotional abuse, trying to shape her into a machine that obeyed Vought completely.

Now, to make her return to her room willingly, the researchers were offering these things as bargaining chips for the first time.

But Joanna showed little interest. She leaned her head against Lin Mo's arm, her fingers still clutching his clothes.

"No."

That was her only answer.

Outside the Observation Room, Marty's expression darkened.

"Rewards aren't working. Prepare for a forced transfer."

At his words, the research assistant beside him stood ready to activate the defense system. The anesthetic gas lines in the four corners of the room began warming up, and the high-frequency sound equipment went on standby.

Lin Mo heard the faint sound of valves turning inside the walls. He immediately understood that the researchers were running out of patience.

If Joanna kept refusing, they would release the anesthetic gas.

When she woke, she would find herself back in her old room.

And this act of resistance would be recorded as a new behavioral tendency.

Worse, Vought might reduce or even end their contact because of it. That was the last thing Lin Mo wanted. Besides...

He still had to hurry off and get some sun. Looked like he would have to talk her into leaving.

Inside the Observation Room, Vogelbaum suddenly spoke.

"Have Lin Mo talk to her."

Marty let out a few breaths of relief. Having Lin Mo persuade her really was their best option right now. Still uneasy, he looked at Vogelbaum and said,

"Will it work? I think a forced transfer would be safer." No one knew whether Lin Mo could get through to her. What if he started making trouble too?

Vogelbaum saw it differently. "She might not refuse Lin Mo. This is a good chance to measure how much influence he has over her."

A new voice soon came over the speaker.

"Lin Mo."

"Please tell Joanna that today's activity is over."

"Have her return to her room."

Hearing that the researchers had decided to leave it to him, Lin Mo lowered his head and looked at the girl clutching the hem of his shirt.

"Joanna."

She looked up at him, her eyes seemingly streaked with tears.

"You should go back first."

At that, Joanna's fingers tightened at once.

A faint tearing sound came from his shirt. She hadn't hurt Lin Mo, but she was clearly unwilling to leave, as though this was her way of protesting.

"No."

"I have to go back to my room today, too."

Lin Mo sighed. "We can't stay here forever."

Joanna looked at the door to her living area.

"There's nothing there."

"I know."

"You're not there."

"Then I'll come tomorrow."

Lin Mo spoke slowly, making every word clear so she could understand what he meant.

Joanna stared at him for a long time before gradually releasing her grip.

Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Joanna was smart. She must have known that what she wanted would be difficult. The researchers might tolerate the occasional tantrum.

But she still asked, uneasy, "Really?"

She had no way of knowing whether Lin Mo would be there tomorrow. Researcher Vought had never told her when she could see him, so all she could do was wait and wait until a researcher came for her.

Besides, Vought had previously brought her to see Lin Mo only once every few days.

"Really."

Lin Mo sounded utterly serious. He had said it right in front of Joanna, so surely the researchers would bring him to see her every day.

Otherwise, there was no telling what would happen if Joanna lost control tomorrow.

"I'll come keep you company tomorrow."

Joanna kept looking into his eyes, as though searching for any sign that he was lying.

"Then it's a promise."

Only then did Joanna turn with the blanket in her arms and walk, step by step, toward her passageway.

As she passed through the doorway, the two caregivers instinctively retreated half a step.

Joanna noticed, but unlike before, their fear did not make her wary.

She simply hugged the blanket tighter and continued toward her room.

Click.

The isolation door slowly closed.

Only after the blond girl had vanished completely did someone in the Observation Room say quietly, "She really listened to him."

Marty watched the surveillance replay.

"The rewards did nothing, but Lin Mo needed less than a minute."

The head of behavioral research quickly pulled up Joanna's physiological data.

"After SOL-0 promised to see her tomorrow, her heart rate dropped significantly."

"Her emotional fluctuations stopped as well."

Vogelbaum stood before the glass, watching without a word.

He looked at Lin Mo, who was still in the Game Room. The boy was straightening the rumpled hem of his shirt, wearing the faintly exasperated expression of a child.

But Vogelbaum knew that, from this moment on, the significance of the two-child project had changed completely.

Lin Mo's value was clear: his words were a means of control in themselves.

They began considering how to turn one child's trust in another into a company asset without either child noticing.

After returning to his room, Lin Mo was taken aboveground for a little sun. On the way back, he was told he would see Joanna again tomorrow.

Just as he'd expected. These researchers knew which way the wind was blowing.

Early the next morning, the researchers brought him to the Game Room. As soon as the door opened, he saw Joanna waiting in the middle of the room.

Instead of sitting on the floor as she used to, she stood less than two meters from the entrance, holding her blue blanket and staring fixedly at the door.

Clearly, she had been waiting the whole time.

Lin Mo crossed the threshold, and Joanna immediately came over. She first looked up at the electronic timer on the wall, and Lin Mo followed her gaze.

It appeared the researchers had only recently installed it in the Game Room. A new set of letter and shape cards had been laid out inside.

A low table and two reinforced children's chairs had also been added by the wall.

Lin Mo sat down at the table. Joanna did not sit across from him. Instead, she dragged her chair over beside his.

The legs scraped against the floor with a harsh sound. Fortunately, she controlled her strength and did not send the chair flying.

Lin Mo picked up a card showing a red apple and pointed to it.

"What's this?" Curious about Lin Mo's gesture, Joanna looked at the card and asked.

"An apple," Lin Mo replied.

The researchers had taught Joanna almost nothing about the world, but Lin Mo's education had not been quite so neglected. They had taught him the basics; otherwise, he would not have known what to call it.

Joanna's sources of knowledge were extremely limited, and her emotional maturity had not kept pace with her intelligence. She could quickly understand complex instructions but struggled to judge whether the orders behind them were right or wrong.

Joanna suddenly stopped looking at the card. She raised a hand and pointed to herself.

"Joanna."