Ouuuuch sorry for my awful delay… I know I have no excuses (hmm well I have SOME but still) hope you will still enjoy it though…
Chapter 2:
Jarvis was fixing the ceiling of his current « room » with a sigh - well more a prison than a room… but he tried to stay positive – with for only response the low sound of his companion, a scientist named Yinsen, sleepy breath.
Edwin rubbed his eyes, moving slightly in his poor excuse of a bed, holding a grimace at the pain that this mere movement created.
Edwin Jarvis, always have been quite a resilient man… but he was still not trained to endure torture for such a long time… he wasn't prepared for that, and he wasn't sure how long he will still be able to bear it before breaking like a toy in the hands of his jailers…
How long as it been? Two weeks? A month? Jarvis wasn't sure, at the moment, time seemed a bit blurry from his point of view, what wasn't though, was the day of his kidnapping, the events were even crystal clear…
It was a sunny day - he would even say scorching – while he was travelling through the desert of Afghanistan, far, oh so far, away from his house in Malibu and moreover in a military convoy, this simple fact was enough to make the genius cringes in frustration.
Indeed, he never has been fond of the military, he was a pure scientist, he loved to create for the pleasure of creating, and if his creation helped to improve the life of other peoples then so much the better! But he couldn't accept the idea of his hard work used to destroy the existence of other living beings, it was totally incompatible with his conception of science and honour.
This was the reason which pushed Edwin to close the weapon branch of Jarvis industries soon after his father death, much to the displeasure of his collaborators and especially Obadiah, an old family friend, or more exactly one of his father's friends, who happened to be the vice-chairman of Jarvis industries. However, never before Jarvis had to regret his decision, no matter how extreme it might have seemed, even though the first few years had been difficult for FI, his discovery and breakthrough in the field of sustainable energies allowed the company to rise again, as a phoenix, stronger than ever.
Yet, putting an end to the weapon manufacturing didn't mean that Jarvis Industries were free from the military field, or more precisely, not for a couple of year at least… Indeed they were still under contract with the US government as consultant, much to Jarvis grief.
The billionaire would usually let some other of his collaborators handle the situation, favouring the opportunity to spend time in his workshop trying to improve his latest creation, the Ark Reactor, which could become the new generation of renewable energy if only he managed to shrink it somehow… but this time he wasn't able to avoid it… after all, who would say "no" to the president when this one asked you something?!
Well… not him… and Jarvis wasn't someone to skip his responsibility, as long as there will be a contract, the CEO of JI will honour it.
The genius had a new sigh, while watching with a serious look his Jarvis phone, checking on his ongoing projects.
- "Hmm… is everything okay sir?" Asked one of the young officers forming part of Jarvis' escort.
- "Yes, everything is alright gentlemen, madam…" he replied evenly nodding slightly at the driver who was the only female officer of the vehicle. "only checking some files"
The soldier didn't try to push the conversation further, the cold controlled presence of the young engineer was somewhat intimidating, no matter how polite the man was.
Jarvis hold an umpteenth sigh, he would have rather preferred to work on his project… or even… and more important at the moment, to work on his AI, he was still quite undecided concerning this delicate subject, not really knowing if he should try to fix the coding of his current AI, Antony, or if it was beyond repair and if he rather shouldn't create a new one, as it would save him a lot of sleepless night and headache…
The only problem was that Jarvis grew somewhat attached to his AI… as it was his first one… at this though, the man shook his head, what was he thinking?! Anthony was just a computer… a mere program… not a good one with that!
"Being stupidly sentimental over a defective computer?! Tss what's wrong with you Edwin?! No… it's decided once I will be back I will start programming a new AI more efficient and which will behave or at least follow its directives…"
And that's when the hell breaks loose….
Jarvis shivered slightly at this memory… he still remembered the nuke… an old Jarvis industries weapon… oh the irony- the screams, the blood, the awful smell of burned flesh… and then… the dark… until he woke up in this dirty cave with Yinsen above his tending at the wound he had on his forearm… nothing major, it could have been worse considering the situation.
The sound of footsteps disturbed the silence of the cell and Edwin closed his eyes… they were coming, again, to ask him the same thing, always the same, to create new weapons for them, and inevitably his answer will be the same as usual…
"No"
But for how long?
Sorry still quite short... but I promise I will be posting again this week or next one ... sorry again for the delay!