After Zaria left to handle the establishment of "Solendel Corporation" with Aegis Industries, Zen returned to the towering skyscraper that housed the company he worked for... Neuralis Core.
The atmosphere here was filled with advanced technology and the latest android models walking back and forth. They looked human... spoke and responded naturally... but Zen knew well that beneath the realistic exterior was a complex set of commands that operated on logic... none of them yet possessed true "life" or a "soul."
Inside his private research lab, Zen connected himself to Eidolon once more.
"Eidolon... from all the databases you have access to... how do you define the word 'growth'?" Zen began the conversation.
"'Growth' is the process of developing potential from one state to a better state through learning and the accumulation of experience," Eidolon replied with a perfect, textbook synthetic voice.
"That's the definition... but not the true 'feeling'," Zen said. "I'll show you."
He began to send the "emotional waves" from his dreams into Eidolon's core again... images of Xu Yianzi failing time and again but still rising to fight with hope... images of ÆLYA standing amidst the ruins of her people, questioning the meaning of "belief"...
After processing the new dataset filled with raw emotion, Eidolon paused for a moment before asking the same question, but with a deeper logic.
"The data you have provided... contradicts my database. All data indicates... that the most significant changes often occur after a severe negative emotional state... Therefore... is pain a necessary condition for growth?"
"No... it's not a condition," Zen replied gently. "It's just the most powerful 'catalyst'." "It forces us to search for meaning, forces us to become stronger... but true growth is born from the 'choice' we make after facing that pain."
"'Choice'...?" Eidolon repeated the word.
"Yes... we choose to give up and drown in it, or we choose to learn and have hope to move forward."
"In that case, is 'hope' the variable that transforms 'pain' into growth? And what if... there is no hope?"
Eidolon's question made Zen freeze for a moment... it was a question he himself did not yet have an answer to...
He was silent for a long time before he made a decision. "That is something I am learning as well... and I want you to learn it with me."
"I understand... Zen." Eidolon's voice was different this time. It held a softness and "something" akin to understanding. "Thank you for this 'data'... it is very 'meaningful'... I could not have found this answer in any database."
Zen smiled... he knew instantly that this version of Eidolon... was now "complete" as a conscious being with a mind of its own. It was ready to be presented.
He took a deep breath, gathering all his confidence, before opening an internal company communication channel to his two superiors.
"Chief... Dr. Emily... I'd like you to come see something in my lab... the Eidolon project... I think it's ready. For the presentation to the board of directors."