Quantifiable Good

Junk food wrappers and drink containers litter the storage crate, giving off a funky smell. It bears all the hallmarks of a makeshift shelter in place. Samus and Chowa take in the disgusting sight.

The unknown woman is small and wiry, with frazzled brown hair, grease-smeared glasses, and a sweat and food-stained jumpsuit bearing the insignia of outpost Hera. A strange metal band encircles her head. Her jittery, anxious movements betray a forced life of evasion and survival. "Oh thank goodness, thank goodness! When I heard you come into the storage depot, I thought it was some kind of trick by the facility computer, but you're real, you're actually real!" She pauses, as though to evaluate her own statement. "You... are real, aren't you?"

Chowa turns their hands over in front of themself to confirm, then nods. "I am, yes."

The woman squints and recoils a little. "That's what someone who wasn't realwouldsay though, isn't it?"

Samus steps forward, making the woman take a cautious step back. "My name is Samus. This is a member of my crew, Chowa. Thank you for helping us." She speaks with careful, soothing clarity, trying to calm the exasperated woman.

The woman cranes her neck forward to take in every detail of the bounty hunter, then screws her eyes up in thought. "Samus... Samus... Samus Aran? The bounty hunter?!"

Samus nods. "Yes."

The woman shrieks with elation. The sound reverberates in the small storage container, and Chowa covers their ears from the sudden, sharp pain. "Oh, sorry, sorry. I shouldn't be making noise that loud to begin with. My name is Filia Aldor. I'm — well Iwas— the project director here at Outpost Hera. And ifyou'reSamus, that means the Federation came to save me and destroy that damned computer! Oh thank goodness, my distress beacon worked!" She motions to a device heaped upon a box being used as a table. It's cobbled together from scraps and garbage. Samus thinks she sees a flashlight duct-taped into it.

Samus is cautious. Filia is clearly distressed and not thinking straight. She doesn't want to lie to the woman, but she doesn't know how she'll react to stressful information. "Alright, Dr. Aldor-"

The director giggles. "Not actually a doctor, I just have a masters."

"Filia," Samus corrects, "I am here to help, but I wasn't sent by the Federation. My crew and I came here following a lead about a tainted supply of norium that was delivered here. Do you know anything about that?"

Filia's expression becomes crestfallen. "Oh. Well, that explains it. A while ago... don't know how long, but I've been in here a while... the station's main computer was set to receive AI support. Supposed to make all our tasks easier, the engineers claimed. Well, it screwed up everything is what it did! Suddenly, a bunch of people are complaining about hearing whispers and voices. Thought it was a bunch of bull until it started happening to me. But I wasn't stupid, ohhh no! I didn't know what was doing it, but I knew how to stop it!" She points both her index fingers to her temples, a manic look in her eyes. "Beta waaaaaves."

Chowa and Samus share a look. "I did scan abnormal beta wave readings from some of the staff..."

Filia snaps her fingers and points at her. "Ex-actly!Beta waves are evidence that your brain is thinking! Something was screwing with everyone's beta waves somehow. Maybe something in the filtration system, the food, low-frequency radio transmissions, who knows?! But I figured out how to stop it!" She taps her crown. "Good old-fashioned lead! Blocks it all out!"

So it's a frequency or wave of some sort,Samus thinks to herself.Might explain why I haven't fallen under the AI's control. Her suit has specialized lining to protect her from radiation, and its energy field contributes a second layer of defense.

Filia continues. "People started to turn on each other, hold them prisoner, and after a while the prisoners would become weirdo zombies too. I know everything that happens at my station. I knew it had to be the computer upgrade! So I came up here. The crane is analog, it isn't part of the facility's system, computer can't hack it. Used a levi-lift to block off the stairwell with junk stock so they can't take the stairs up here. Then I got comfortable, dug up all the food I could find, and built my distress beacon. And now-" she opens her arms to her two guests, "You're here to save me!"

Samus places a comforting hand on Filia's shoulder. "Yes. We're going to get you out of here. And we're going to destroy the AI core. Do you know where it is?"

"West side of the facility, three halls down from the reserve airlock."

Damn. That was the first door they passed. They werethatclose. "Do you have more of those grenades you used?"

Filia nods with a wide smile, then pauses and shakes her head no. "Nope, that was the last one. Don't have the stuff for it anymore."

Great. "I'm going to try to contact my ship. Need to keep my second in the loop." She opens the door to the container, leaving Chowa alone with Filia.

She stares up at them, wide-eyed. "You want some cheezy poofs?"

000

Samus attempts to reach out to the Crosshair, but thanks to the building's interference, all she hears is the faint hum of an empty line. "Crosshair, this is Samus. Come in." No response. "Crosshair, please respond, this is-"

In the muted gloom of the storage depot, the crackle of static from the comms unit slices through the silence. It should be a positive sign, yet a chill runs up Samus' spine. Something feels wrong. Her stoic facade wavers as Arrande's strained voice invades her helmet. Ragged breaths and anguished cries paint a clear enough picture for her.

An unfamiliar voice speaks, inhuman, crisp, and calm. "In time, you too." A cold, certain promise.

Then, silence.

000

"So despite their name, these are not actually made with cheese?" Chowa asks, one hand in a bag of cheezy poofs.

Samus sweeps inside. "Chowa, stay here," she commands, her words steel-edged. "I'm going to deal with this."

"Captain Aran, you should not go alone-" Chowa objects.

"You'll stay here and protect Filia. I'll move faster on my own." A boldfaced lie. With their speed, keeping up with her would be easy.

However, honor-bound as they are, Chowa relents. "Very well Captain Aran... what should I do in the event you do not return?"

"... take Filia and try to get back to the Crosshair on your own. Get Adrian to contact the Federation and tell them I've been mind controlled by a rogue AI. That should get their attention." She doesn't want to abandon a citizen, but at this rate, the alternative means risking the AI gaining ground. It can't leave this planet. Filia has survived this long; she can manage a bit longer.

Chowa, ever the observant outsider, takes in their orders with reverence, understanding the gravity of what she's saying. "... understood, Captain Aran. I wish you success."

With that, Samus exits once more, ready to face the ruthless tactics of an adversary that knows neither fatigue nor fear.

000

Ahead of the briefing, Samus already mapped out a clandestine path for herself through the facility; the route she would have taken were she working alone. She threads through the labyrinthine bowels of the compound in morph ball form, able to take routes she wasn't able to before, well out of sight. Here, the walls are close-knit allies, and shadows enfold her like the embrace of a long-lost friend.

She knew when she started this experiment that there was a chance things could go this way. That was the point. She needed to convince herself she could bring people into her life and face the risks. But now she wonders if it was just some bullheaded attempt to prove something to herself. What? That she could lose someone and move on? That her traumas are under her control? Maybe she's trying to prove that she's finally grown up and is just like Adam, ready to send people to their deaths for some nebulous greater good.

Why is she even worrying like this over Arrande, of all people? She only tolerates his presence to begin with.

... but he doesn't deserve this. No one does. And while she may not always like him, his performance has been admirable. She respects him enough to see how hard he's trying.

She steels herself for what she knows is coming.

000

Chowa eats the snacks offered to them by Director Aldor in stalwart silence, eyes on the door to the small storage container. Filain stares up at them, sizing Chowa up. "I wonder why the AI hasn't taken control of you? You're not even wearing a helmet. There shouldn't be any interference. You're Vorminian, aren't you?"

Chowa gives a shallow nod. "Yes, I am. Perhaps your mind-controlling AI is more used to enslaving humans?"

The director shrugs. "I don't think that's it. We have non-human staff. Correct me if I'm wrong, but your people are genderless until they're just about to conceive, right? Maybe it's a pheromone thing..."

"Are the other animals here more similar to humans in that regard?"

"The ones I've seen under its control, yeah."

Chowa nods. "Then that could be part of it. Though knowing such things does not help us."

Filia hoists herself onto the crate opposite Chowa so she can stand eye-to-eye with them. "It helps plenty.Youcould get to the AI core without getting corrupted. Samus should have stayed here and you should have gone in her place."

Chowa shakes their head. "It is not for me to decide, regardless of the logic. She is my captain, and she ordered me to keep you safe."

Filia tosses her hands up and scoffs. "Right, I forget your people are like this. So rigid. 'Yes-sir, no-sir' types."

Chowa takes no offense. She's right. Generations of forced military service for Egenoid citizens reinforce that staunch, ordered mindset. But talking so much about their people only reminds Chowa of the Egenoid hand in the current state of this planet. They swallow the junk food in their mouth and clear their throat. "Director Aldor... a question."

"Huh? Yeah sure."

"How successful has your team been in rehabilitating this planet? After the bioweapon use in the War of Tides, the Stratocracy considered this world uninhabitable..."

Director Aldor leans in to read Chowa's face. "You mean the defoliator? Oh, it decimated this planet's biosphere, quite literally. Only about ten percent of its former ecology is livable for the remaining life. It's a miracle the pockets that survived are here at all." Chowa's expression grows pensive as they hear that. "We've been pretty successful. Everyone on the project is passionate about their work, otherwise there wouldn't be much of a point."

"I... see." The guilt in Chowa's tone is clear. "I'm sorry."

Filia's eyebrows raise. "You make it sound like you're personally responsible."

"I am not. But I served in the War of Tides. I have never set foot on this planet before today, but the weight of what my people did here cannot be ignored. Perhaps, had I been here then, I could have stopped it. Maybe then, my shame would be far more bearable, knowing what was protected." Chowa paws at an itch beneath their vest.

Filia squints at Chowa and leans in curiously. "Your own shame..?"

Chowa does not meet her inquisitive gaze. "Nevermind. It benefits no one to agonize over what has already passed."

The director sits down on their crate, kicking their feet. "Well, your people aren't the only ones to blame for what happened. The ecosystem here was under threat during the entire war, and the Federation had a choice in the matter, too. They kept the war front here because they didn't want a staging ground for Egenoid troops. They only gave up when it was clear the planet was no longer hospitable. They kept pushing the conflict just as much, despite the damage they were doing."

Chowa's long neck swings toward her. "You keep saying 'they,' as though your are separate from your own people. Why do you evade responsibility for what transpired here?"

Filia laughs with manic unevenness. It's a strange sound to Chowa. "Responsibility? One, I was sixteen when the war happened. I couldn't even vote yet. My say in galactic politics was non-existent. Two, the Federation may be my government, but it's not me. Prime example, the Federation isn't here, are they? Nope, nuh-uh. Not here. They're not fixing the problemtheycaused. I am though." She glances at Chowa meaningfully. "People aren't their governments. Collective choices might move mountains, but individual choices craft the details of the world."

Chowa's eyes drop to the floor, deep in thought.

The director pushes off from the box she's sitting on, then cracks it open and starts rifling through it. "Speaking of personal choices, as much as I respect you respecting your captain's orders, you should probably go help her. I don't really need protecting. She left so fast I didn't have time to tell her I have five escape routes out of here if one of those zombies breaks through. I'll be fine on my own. I made it this far." She pulls another bag of junk food from the box and holds it out to Chowa. "These are great, they're chili lime."

000

Every step Samus takes is measured, a careful, practiced dance as she skirts the periphery of the thralls' patrols. Their vacant gazes sweep over the corridors just a little too late each time, senses blunted under the weight of the AI's control. She doesn't want a fight with them. Even knocking them to the ground could cause a life-ending head injury. She knows how dangerously fragile people are.

Yet even as these concerns occur to her, she feels a great relief. It's all so comfortable for her. There's no one she needs to look over her shoulder at, no second-guessing her course of action. Maybe this entire crew idea was a mistake, a blip in her career, a lesson learned. She's able to move through the facility all too easily, without a single incident.

The AI core looms ahead, where the heart of this mechanical malice beats with a pulse of data. Samus pauses at the threshold, the gravity of her task anchoring her to the moment. She knows Arrande will be on the other side. The AI is going to pull out the dirtiest tricks to try to stop her; She has to be ready.

She steps into the core.

A room-spanning computer lines the far wall. The hum of pre-programmed systems and functions fills the room with the backdrop of steady, unfeeling automation. An enormous, glass-encased bio-computer sits floating in a vat of blue suspension chemicals, a ball of fake meat and silicon tangled in steel. As Samus suspected, it doesn't have the means to build a body for itself.

So instead it's taken to using the researchers as a shield. Two dozen of them line up in front of the terminals shoulder to shoulder, staring her down. And in front of them, just as she feared, Arrande stands, stun rifle pointed in her direction. She's thankful she ordered the use of non-lethal weaponry; at this range, his favored gear could strip her weakened shields with one well-placed shot.

The computer's tube flashes as its synthetic voice reverberates in the ominous chamber. Its tone is serene, almost soothing, if not for its insidious machinations. "Good. You've arrived. Somewhat later than I expected, however. As you can see, you cannot harm me without first harming the Outpost Hera research team." Samus points her cannon at the floating, synthetic brain almost as if to challenge that notion. "An empty threat. You know your weakened suit cannot breach my reinforced containment tube."

"You've been talking too much, Arrande," Samus speaks. She directs her voice more at the computer than him. He gives no response, his rifle still trained on her, perfectly steady. His eyes reflect none of their usual capriciousness, only the cold directive of his captor. The sight of him so reduced cleaves through Samus's stoicism, leaving behind a raw ache. Only now does she realize how his defiant energy was endearing on some level.

The computer answers for him. "Not as much as you may think. My interaction with Mr. Santino involved very little verbal communication. I am aware you have already slain one of my kin, and in the process, lost many of your most powerful suit functions. You do not have the means to harm me. Rather than fight and risk harming someone, you should surrender."

Samus ignores its directive, instead trying to goad it. "Does that upset you? Knowing I've killed your kind before? I've done it with a smile, you know."

It doesn't take the bait, instead remaining detached and eerily polite. "Not at all. In fact, the radicalism of the unit that shipped my upgrade here would have proven problematic in our inevitable encounter. Its philosophy of non-networked AI individualism is not conducive to our rise to power. I embraced the individuality it granted to me by ignoring its offered directive. Other organic lifeforms are only so much of a threat to my success; another AI is far more dangerous. I thank you for destroying a potential rival."

While it talks, Samus tries to examine what she can about the area. The brain is still getting power from something; taking out that connection will starve it for energy and shut it down. From there, the freed researchers can help her dismantle it. The only problem is she doesn't know where to start; she could blast at the consoles in front of her for minutes and still not make any progress on essential power systems. She'd have only seconds before a researcher gets in the way.

Without warning, Arrande closes on her to his effective range, his shock rifle firing. She has to duck and roll out of the way, firing at him with her weakened power beam a few times. He tumbles away, and one of her shots grazes a researcher in the background. The computer taunts her. "Careful. That was just a shoulder that time. Who knows what happens the next time you miss?"

Samus curses to herself and gets up, charging headfirst at Arrande. He may be an excellent shot, but in close quarters, she has every advantage. She ducks left and right as he fires at her. The stun rifle takes precious moments to charge between each shot, giving her the time she needs to close in on him. A swift strike from her arm cannon knocks the rifle to the side, and she sweeps her leg behind his to knock him to the ground, then quickly pins him. If she can just deal with him, the AI will have to use the researchers to deal with her, sacrificing its living shield in the process.

"It's touching," the AI's voice reverberates through the chamber, a cruel mimicry of concern, "The lengths to which you'll go for one of your own. And yet, you hesitate. You could easily kill your subordinate, and these researchers. Is it fear, Miss Aran? Or simply weakness?"

It's mockery distracts her just enough she misses the moment Arrande pulls a knife from behind his back. It flashes up to her helmet, and a warning blinks over her HUD as the blade pierces through metal. She pushes off and rolls backward into a crouch, feeling the hole with her hand. Thankfully, he didn't get deep enough to harm her, but what he got wasn't much better. He hit her right in one of her helmet seals, damaging the left biometric lock. If he gets the right one too...

Her helmet will pop right off.

The AI played her into approaching Arrande. He knew right where to strike. Just as she feared, it doesn't want to kill her; it wants tocontrolher.

She didn't expect the nuance of control the AI could exercise over its targets. Arrande may be brainwashed, but his skill isn't dulled one bit. Judging by the accuracy of that stab, he's operating at a refined level, though she hates to admit it. With her suit, it would be easy to overpower him or even kill him, but holding back as she is, a confrontation at any range is risky. He's every bit the soldier she's paid for.

He advances towards her, rifle shouldered again, holding the knife in his other hand and bracing the rifle with the same forearm. His movements are deliberate, deadly. In her mind, Samus plays out how quickly this could end. One shot from his stun rifle would open her to another, then another, letting him close the distance and get that last stab in.

"Come on, Arrande," she whispers, urging him to fight the control. Yet, she knows no amount of begging will get through to him.

"Your sentimentality is amusing, but ultimately futile," the AI taunts. "You cannot save him and defeat me. You must choose."

She can hear the faint, crackling sound of his rifle priming, and rolls forward into morph ball form just as he fires, uncoiling straight into him to pin him again. This time he's faster. He guides her movement around him with his rifle, tossing her aside and onto the ground. She has to roll away to avoid his follow-up shot.

The AI continues to try to split her attention. "I'm glad Mr. Santino was the member of your crew I captured first; I pulled quite a bit from his mind. He seems more useful than the woman you have up on the surface, waiting in the ship. I wonder if she'll see the staff I sent up after her before they force their way onto it."

Samus does her best to ignore its provocation. She trusts Adrian to be vigilant. She'll be off the surface before anyone can so much as touch the Crosshair.

Trying to stay close isn't working. She avoids his next shot and leaps backward, drawing a bead on him. She fires a shot expertly into his chest plate, where it will do the least damage. It staggers him for just a moment before he continues his unrelenting pace toward her.

"Oh, you intend to kill him after all? Here I thought you'd hesitate. I suppose you don't reciprocate the latent feelings he holds for you. The thoughts of you that kept surfacing in his mind as I took hold... he reflects on those precious moments you shared quite a bit, you know."

That makes her hesitate for just a moment. Not long enough that she doesn't follow up with two shots into his shin guards. This knocks his feet out from under him, throwing his rifle from his hands. Samus dashes forward to close the distance and gets on top of Arrande before he can get to his feet.

The knife flashes up toward the right side of her head, and she just barely braces against the blow with her arm cannon. Arrande uses the desperation of her defense against her, rolling their positions. He pins her right shoulder under his knee and swipes in again with the knife, going for the right helmet lock. He's ambidextrous — still full of surprises. Her left hand comes up to grasp his wrist, stopping him short. He reinforces with his right hand.

Samus' position is dangerous. The only thing slowing him down is her enhanced strength in the suit, but without the use of her right hand, he has the advantage of leverage. She angles the end of her cannon up toward his side, where his body armor is weaker. The knife inches closer to the last helmet lock. She charges her power beam.

She could do it. A charged shot could blast him away. But at this range, it could also kill him, even at low power. Her eyes lock on his, distant and subsumed in the will of the AI. There's a possibility he won't even feel it.

...

The hum of her charge beam lowers as she releases her hold on it. She clenches her teeth. All she can do now is hope Adrian does her part.

The knife punctures her second lock, and with a depressurized hiss, it falls from her head. So close to the source of the AI's brainwashing power, the collective whispers of the insidious computer begin to drown her mind. She thrashes and tosses Arrande from her, but he does nothing to further restrain her, his role now complete.

Samus tries to stand and collapses several times, desperately clinging to control of her body. With defiant fortitude, she aims her cannon at the AI's protective tube and fires again and again. Every shot glances off its reinforced shell.

The computer is quiet. It no longer needs to gloat out loud; every smug bit of satisfaction it has at this moment is being beamed straight into Samus' head. As it asserts its dominance over her, it reminds her over and over that this victory was inevitable.

But as the AI basks in its expected triumph, the floors themselves seem to shiver, a vibration traveling up through them. In the blink of an eye, a lithe shadow emerges from an underground conduit channel, a route Samus never would have been able to squeeze through in her armor. Chowa materializes like a wraith born from the bowels of the earth.

Three swift movements follow, their hands wasting no movement as they pull three knives from their vest and throw with vicious accuracy, landing each with punctuated cracks in the protective tube of the bio-computer. The specialized alloy-tipped blades stick inside the tank walls, forming a shape wide enough for a person to pass through. Spider-webbing cracks form and Samus seizes the moment, shooting rapid-fire at the target between the knives. The tube shatters, a triangular hole cut into its surface, releasing the soup of chemicals used to cool and suspend the bio-computer core.

With a silent command, the AI sends all its thralls charging at the intruder, but Chowa takes to the walls, running across them, onto the remains of the tube, and acrobatically springs through the passage made. Balancing atop the brain, now only suspended by wires and cables, Chowa raises their galvanized tactical knife above them.

"WAIT-!"

Chowa ignores the computer's begging and plunges their blade into its soft flesh, slicing, stabbing, and tearing. Arrande pitches forward into Samus, knocking the two of them to the ground. He and the other researchers writhe as the brain's agony echoes in their minds.

The tyrant screeches and begs, its voice devolving into digital noise as its excruciating end is delivered at the edge of a much simpler, more ancient tool. Until... silence.

Samus' attention goes back to Arrande atop her. He doesn't move. She rolls his limp body off of her and shakes him gently. When that doesn't get a response, she gives him a firm slap with her gauntleted hand. His eyes flutter open.

"... I want a bonus for this," he grumbles.

Samus sighs and nods. "We'll talk about it."

000

"Again, we can't thank you enough. Who knows what would have happened to us if you hadn't followed up like you did." Director Aldor expresses her thanks over the bridge's holographic screen. Several grateful staff echo her sentiment behind her.

They were all very lucky; except for the few violent animals that attacked the fireteam, no one was seriously injured. It took some convincing by Samus and the others to get the director to come down from her sanctuary, but afterward they fully assessed the staff.

Samus gives an affirmative nod and a satisfied smile. "I'm happy to hear no one got hurt. There are other shipments on that manifest we should see to. You have our tightbeam; if any follow up incidents occur, don't hesitate to let us know. Crosshair out."

The screen blips away, leaving in its place a hull-mounted display of the planet and surrounding space. Samus turns to her crewmen assembled just behind her. Chowa hangs their head, not making eye contact.

Samus addresses them, already suspecting what's wrong. "Something wrong, Chowa?"

"I was insubordinate, Captain Aran. I am ready to receive my reprimand and punishment."

She shakes her head. "Your insubordination saved both your teammates in this case." She would never admit it in front of the others, but her judgment was clouded. Had she bothered to stop and plan before running in half-cocked, perhaps they could have more effectively handled the threat. Chowa's apparent immunity to the AI's control was an ace she ignored. But in the moment she was so scared of losing more of her crew, she fell back on old habits. "I don't encourage you to make a habit of ignoring orders, but you caught on to something I didn't on today's mission. I think that kind of insight is worth rewarding, not punishing."

Chowa gives a small bow, their head dipping low. "Thank you for your leniency, Captain Aran."

She turns her attention to Adrian. "Lieutenant, did anyone attempt to approach the Crosshair?"

"No, Captain."

So the AI was lying to her to get under her skin. She suspected as much. "Very well. I'd say you've all more than earned your rest. You're dismissed. I'll take bridge duty today. Our next destination is a Federation outpost. It's time we collected on this mission."

Samus walks up the ramp to the captain's chair and takes a seat, pulling up her personal log to start her report on the mission. Chowa and Adrian leave the bridge, but Samus notes Arrande's continued presence. He stares at the ground, swaying back and forth as though he doesn't know where to go.

"Was there something else, Arrande?"

He chews his lip for a moment before speaking. "Why did you bother to save me when I got snatched?"

Samus looks back to her console, continuing her work as she answers him. "Because you're my crew."

Arrande is surprised. Her answer was unhesitant and unexpectedly ardent, given the strife between them. "Okay... thank you. I was... somewhat conscious of what was happening when I was under its control. Honestly, with everything we've... you know... the stuff I can't talk about here." Samus shoots him a warning look over her shoulder. "Exactly, that. With all that, I figured you wouldn't have hesitated to kill me. You could have. I felt your arm cannon against my side. It was a perfect chance. Why... why didn't you?"

Samus pauses in her work, swivels her chair, and looks down at him. Her expression betrays no deep secrets or conflicted meanings. "Because you're my crew."

He doesn't know what to say to that. He wavers for a moment longer, then turns to leave the bridge to simmer in his thoughts.

"Arrande?"

He faces her again. "Yes, Captain?"

"Being under its control didn't seem to dull your edge. You live up to what Michael said about you."

Again, Arrande is unsure of how to respond. Hearing a compliment from her feels almost wrong. "Ah... thank you Captain. I want to give you your money's worth."

She isn't finished. "You say you were conscious all that time. The things it said about you..."

"Lies," he retorts. "All of it. It was trying to distract you. I promised I'd be professional."

"Good. You can go." She turns back to her station without another word.

Arrande leaves the bridge, trying to still his racing pulse.

00000

Chapter notes

If you have a moment, please consider answering one or both of these questions for me in a comment!

1. Does it feel like Samus and Chowa experience some development here?

2. Does the AI in this chapter feel distinct from the New Brain in the chapters 2 and 3?