[Edward POV]
As I made my way back to the office, feeling the heat from the performance, I fanned my face with my arms, eagerly anticipating the refreshing coolness of the air conditioning. Exhausted from the show, both Billie and Finneas joined in taking a mont to rest before the duo left to enjoy the carnival.
Left alone on the couch, I savored the brief respite. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of coldness against the back of my neck. I had already noticed soone sneaking into the office, so I couldn't help but let out a teasing pleasurable groan as I exclaid, "Ohh, that's so good stuff."
Haley, with a pout on her face, took the ice-cold macchiato from my neck and playfully complained, "Can you at least act surprised sotis? It's getting a little boring."
Then, she handed the drink to my hand. I accepted it, but as I took a sip, I couldn't help but complain, "Hey, you drank from this."
Haley smirked mischievously and replied, "It's mine! I'm just giving you a taste."
I shook my head and jokingly responded, "Well, that was a poor decision on your part. Now you're not getting it back."
"Ah!" Haley gasped in mock disbelief while trying to hold back her laughter. "Thief!"
But, she didn't try to take the drink back. Deep down, I knew that she had indeed bought it for , as it remained practically untouched.
"Where's Selena?" I asked.
As I asked about Selena's whereabouts, Haley's expression grew a bit complicated. She sighed and replied, "Well, I can't really force her to hang out with . After the concert, she called for a ride and left. I'm not sure if she went back ho or sowhere else. Oh, and she wanted to let you know that she's leaving and she really loved the song. I think she even shed a few tears; her mascara was running."
"Hmm... I hope she's alright," I muttered, my concern evident. Haley, perhaps wanting to shift the mood, changed the subject and complinted , saying, "You're a really nice guy. Despite everything else."
Raising an eyebrow playfully, I teasingly responded, "Oh, what's 'everything else'? Devilishly handso?" Leaning closer to her face, I could see her eyes widen and her cheeks flush with a blush.
Haley pouted in a mix of embarrassnt and mock anger, exclaiming, "Playboy!"
Raising an eyebrow playfully, I continued the teasing banter, saying, "Oh, but you're not pushing away. I wonder why that is?" As I leaned closer, Haley's eyes widened in surprise.
"Shut up! My parents are coming here!" Haley hastily pushed away, her tone filled with a mix of embarrassnt and urgency. She quickly stood up and escaped as we heard the sound of clamoring from outside the door. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, I dropped my head down in dejection, realizing that the playful mont had co to an end.
Just as Phil, Luke, and Claire entered the room, the tension dissipated. I lifted my head and greeted them with a warm smile, saying, "Hey, guys."
Phil, filled with excitent, rushed over and engulfed in a hug before I could even get up from the couch. "Ed! That was inspiring," he exclaid, expressing his enthusiasm. After a brief discussion about the concert, we returned to the main topic at hand.
Curious, I asked, "So, who won?"
Luke's face contorted in disappointnt as he admitted, "You did."
Sensing his sadness, I smiled and replied, "Yeah, but it's not really fair. You could have sprinted at the last second and gotten more tickets than , but I ruined it with the concert. So, how about we call it a tie?"
Luke's expression brightened, and he agreed, "Yeah,.... it's a tie."
[Comntary: Luke's]
"I actually wanted to bring up the bet at that ti, but I completely forgot about it."
[Comntary ends]
Haley, always quick with ideas, chid in, "You know, if you guys pool your tickets together, you can go for the grand prize."
My eyes lit up with excitent, and I exclaid, "That's a brilliant idea, Haley! I'm surprised it ca from you."
She rolled her eyes playfully and retorted, "I can have good ideas too, you know!"
I couldn't help but tease her further, saying, "No, I'm just surprised you can count."
In response, Haley playfully hit my arm. I quickly apologized, saying, "Sorry, sorry."
Phil and Claire smiled softly, seemingly enjoying our interaction, when Robin, the artificial intelligence assistant, suddenly chid in.
"Boss, an urgent problem has arisen," Robin announced, bypassing the silencing order I had implented to ensure that she communicated only through text in public, following the priority protocols I had set.
Startled, I turned my attention to Robin. "What's the problem?" I asked, concerned about the urgency of the situation.
"Hey that's Ratata–"
As Robin almost relayed the urgent problem, I quickly interjected to correct Phil, who had almost called her by her previous unholy na. "Not now, Phil. And her na is Robin."
Robin said, "Liza Friedman, and Jas Friendman, a married couple, are trying to copyright the song 'I Lived' by copying the lody and the lyrics they recorded in your earlier concert."
"Wait. Are they from the concert?" I couldn't believe that individuals who had attended the concert would resort to such actions. But again, I shouldn't hold out too much hope for humanity.
Robin confird, "Yes."
Deep in thought, I considered my options. Claire, visibly upset and angered by the news, voiced her strong opinion, "Who the hell do those people think they are? They need to be sued!"
Phil's usual amiable deanour gave way to rare anger. He exclaid, "And to think they're biting the hands that provided them with a free, awe-inspiring, phenonal performance in the afternoon! These ungrateful people need to pay!"
Haley, sharing the sa sentint, added, "Give a picture of them. I'll post about what they've done on my Instagram! I have 200,000 followers now, and I can influence so of them to take action!"
Luke, with his innocent face, chid in with a slightly threatening remark, "I can shoot them with my BB gun."
Hearing Luke's comnt, I gently rustled his hair and reassured him, "There's no need to get physical, Luke. Robin, were there any records of similar trashy behaviour from them before."
"Yes. They tried to sue Usher for quote "Slandering them in his song", and tried to claim credit for the Black eyed peas too."
"Was there any connection between them and the artist of any kind?"
"None. They were total strangers to them. Their actions have no substance behind them, therefore it was ignored by the judicial office."
Turning to the family mbers, I shared my plan. "Well, they are just trashy people. Don't worry, they can't do anything. Robin, activate order 22."
"Okay, boss," Robin acknowledged. "I have bypassed the Hall of Music Records and officially registered the song in your na. The copyright has been set, with the tistamp half an hour before the concert."
"Thanks, Robin," I replied, grateful for her assistance.
My smile turned slightly mischievous as a plan ford in my mind. "Leak the news that I was going to use the royalties from the song to establish a foundation for terminally ill children."
"Simultaneously, send the news about the couple trying to claim copyright on the song to the paparazzi and dia outlets. Let them get shad for their actions."
Haley shuddered and muttered, "That was way worse than what I was going to do."
Claire asked worriedly, "Are you really going to establish the foundation? Because if you don't the backlash–"
"Oh, don't worry about it Honey. Ed didn't say anything. It was just rumors. So they can't press that against him. Right Ed?"
I looked at Phil with a slight surprise and said, "Yeah. Exactly...." I pointed at him and said, "Nice catch Phil. Although, I am really going to donate the proceeds of the song. You know, for a good cause."
With the pressing matter resolved, I joined Luke and headed to the prize booth. We claid the number one prize, a PS3. As I already had a ga console, I decided to give it to Luke, who was overjoyed by the unexpected gift.
In his excitent, he exclaid that he wouldn't make bake a cake for him anymore, though the context behind that statent remained a bit unclear to .
After leaving the prize booth, Haley decided to catch a ride with on the way ho, seeking so company during the journey. As we waited at a red light, she suddenly asked, "Hey, who's Robin?"
A sense of déjà vu swept over , and I felt a twinge of anxiety. I hesitated for a mont before responding, "She's an artificial intelligence, an AI..."
Haley appeared confused at first, taking a mont to process the information. Then, a spark of recognition and excitent crossed her face. "AI? Like, AI... AI? Like the ones we've seen on TV?"
Overwheld with enthusiasm, she hugged my arm and shook it, exclaiming, "OH MY GOD! THAT'S AMAZING! How did you get it!? Did you create it!? That's SOOO aweso!!"
However, the car was already moving, and her action made swerve the car for a bit.
*Blaring Horn*
5 minutes later.
"I'm sorry for almost making us get into a car accident." Haley said after we almost arrived at our neighbourhood. I turned to her and saw her snickering mischievously.
Despite my attempt to appear stern, a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, betraying my true feelings. I couldn't bring myself to feel angry or upset with her.
"You're not apologetic at all," I responded, trying to maintain a serious tone.
Haley shrugged playfully and replied, "No, I really am."
"I can't see that on your face." I teased her.
Haley's eyes sparkled as she shot back, "Then maybe you should look closer."
Judging by her tone, I knew she wanted to continue our repartee from inside the office earlier. Unfortunately, I had to go to et my God-Grandma at this ti, so I had to send her back ho with disappointnt.
Eve Saltzman sent a limousine to fetch from my house. Then, after a short 30 minute ride with a helicopter, I finally arrived at her ginormous estate.
The main residence, a palatial mansion of imnse proportions, stood proudly at the heart of the estate. Its architectural magnificence was a testant to the wealth of its owner, boasting ornate facades, gilded accents, and sprawling balconies that offered panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.
The mont I t Eve at the garden table where she had prepared for lunch, she hugged and said, "Oh dear boy. Why are you so skinny? Does playing football stress you out so much? You'd be better off playing that barbaric sport–"
A tall, blonde woman, 19 years old, with a nice figure dressed in a modest black dress and carrying herself with elegance, quickly intercepted Eve before she could continue, saying, "Gram-gram, don't discourage Ed from playing football. He loves it."
"Oh. I'm sorry Ed. It just broke my heart to see you get tackled out there. I hope you understand ." Eve said apologetically after.
"Oh no Eve. I'm fine. I'm not offended at all." I replied quickly. Eve smiled and introduced the girl beside her. "This is Denise."
Her Norwegian features, from her light blonde hair to her captivating green eyes, added to her unique allure. If I was being honest, she was really gorgeous.
"I'm sorry, do you an 'The Niece' or Denise?" I asked jokingly, noticing Denise's eyes twitch at the jest, though she maintained her composed deanor.
I chuckled inwardly as Eve guided towards the table. However, her next statent piqued my curiosity. "I'm sorry, Ed. I wanted to introduce you to soone, but he's running a bit late," she explained.
As we continued our conversation, a middle-aged man with white hair and a slightly larger build approached our table. Eve caught sight of him and exclaid, "Oh, I stand corrected. He made it, albeit at the very end."
Since the man was approaching from behind , I quickly wiped my mouth with a napkin before turning to see who it was. What I saw caused my jaw to drop in astonishnt.
"George... Lucas?" I managed to utter, my voice filled with disbelief.
...
The next day arrived swiftly, following the peculiar and eventful lunch gathering. I stayed at Eve's estate until midnight, engrossed in conversation about Star Wars with George. He appeared genuinely impressed by ROBIN, the creation I had proudly showcased to Eve.
During our discussions, I delved into my future plans for ROBIN. I spoke of my intentions to develop an AI application that would provide assistance in people's daily lives, even though it would only harness a fraction of the AI's capabilities and lack the advanced sophistication ROBIN had.
I envisioned a user-friendly interface that would offer practical functionality, such as organizing schedules, providing reminders, and offering helpful suggestions. While it wouldn't possess the sa level of complexity as ROBIN, it wouldn't be hard for it to reach basic chat gpt level in my previous life.
Why was I telling the world my advantage? Because of the significant financial support being provided by Microsoft and Raytheon in the form of nearly 4 billion dollars in grants for AI research.
"Why would I reject free money?"
The availability of this significant funding presented a rare opportunity for to take full advantage of the program, gain influence, and connect with influential individuals within the country. By leveraging this financial support, I aid to take over a few of my industries of interest.
Interestingly, during the conversation with George yesterday, he made a joke suggesting that with the money I would accumulate from the success of my AI, I could potentially acquire Lucasfilm. We had already spent hours talking at this mont, so we were already quite close with each other.
"Although that may sound tempting," I replied, "I would feel an imnse amount of pressure if I did that."
Curious, George asked, "How so?"
I explained, "It's primarily due to the fans' expectations ."
George looked at , expecting to continue explaining. I sighed and said, "You know, We– the fans, have been eagerly anticipating new movies from the franchise for a considerable amount of ti."
"For the fans, even if a movie turned out to be of subpar quality, it could still generate substantial revenue at the box office due to the nostalgia associated with the brand. It could easily break 1 billion at the box office. "
"However, if the creative team consistently disregards the opinions of the fans and pushes forward with their own political agenda, the franchise would eventually wither away."
George beca silent and he lowered his gaze for a mont before he refocused his attention on .
"Right now, you're surrendering away the creative rights to Disney. It might seem like a good deal, but the company has been so disconnected with the masses nowadays... They will pretend to respect your words at first, but honestly, they won't really care..."
Eve, the representative of the capitalist company, nodded in agreent to my words while Denise beca increasingly annoyed.
"Ed. You don't have to continue. I got it," George said with a heavy sigh. "I kind of already know all of that stuff. But... I am already old. I can't do much anymore. "
George had dedicated a significant portion of his career and creative energy to building the Star Wars universe. However, he realized that the franchise had grown beyond what he could personally manage. In order to ensure its continued growth and preserve his own legacy, he entrusted the company to soone he trusted, taking a step back and becoming a creative consultant instead.
After a brief silence, I asked him, "Do you believe that they will bring characters like Luke Skywalker back into the franchise?"
"I believe they will. Yes. They spoke about it in our etings," George replied.
"Then, do you believe that they will kill him off, one way or another in the story?" I asked, making George widen his eyes in disbelief.
Denise was taken aback upon hearing the question. Annoyance filled her voice as she responded, "No, they won't! He's like... the backbone of the entire franchise."
"Oh, you like Star Wars too. That's... surprising," I muttered casually, glancing at the angry woman. She seed taken aback by my remark and quickly resud her composed deanor, while Eve gave her a smirking side-eye.
"Edward, you spoke as if you had already foreseen it all." George said with a wry smile. "Is my decision really that wrong?"
"Well sotis I get nightmares like Anakin, so I know that if they get them they will kill the franchise." I said jokingly.
That conversation about Star Wars ended there, and when I went to the toilet before going back ho, I caught Denise smoking weed in it. As part of a morally righteous man, I lectured her about it for a bit, while taking so puffs on my own.
Well I said I was only a part of it.
On Monday, a lot of my equipnt ca and was sent to my lab while I was at school. In the history classroom, before the other students went to class, I had a one-sided willingness therapy session where I dumped my worries on her while waiting for the class to start.
Despite being reluctant at first, Sage slowly gets into it and scolds , "You're already in a... what did you try to call it? Situationship? That's really cowardly Ed. It's either you want a relationship with a girl, or you don't!"
"That Haley, and Taylor too, and you keep flirting with other girls. What do you want to do exactly?" She asked directly.
I was tongue tied at first before I smirked and joked, "Well, you know Sage, when a transmigrator got an AI, that ans, he will find a solution to every problem. So–"
Sage cuts off before I could continue, "That's the reason?! You believe you're the main character or sothing? You know this kind of thinking will blow up in your face, right? Especially so when you're playing with the girl's feelings."
"No it won't."
"Yeah it will."
"No It won't."
"It will."
After the class ended, I walked past Sage and said, "It won't!"
"It will!" She shouted as I ran away from the class.
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