CHAPTER 261: FINALLY MEETING THE FAMILY

The corner of Arthur’s mouth twitched in amusement as he surveyed the gleaming faces around the long obsidian table.

"Everyone," he said, his voice crisp and calm, "I’d like to introduce you to someone truly special."

At once, the lights dimmed,just slightly. A soft hum filled the room as an ethereal glow bloomed across the surface of the conference table.

From its core, a ripple of light spread outward like a wave through still water.

Then, in a shimmer of sapphire-blue pixels, a figure began to materialize,rising slowly, smoothly, with almost divine elegance.

A humanoid hologram stood before them.

Not of flesh, yet far more present than any mere projection. Its luminous figure was composed of translucent layers, each flowing with intricate strands of pulsing data,like veins carrying energy rather than blood.

Along its spine and limbs, glowing glyphs moved like shifting tattoos, whispering in a language no one understood.

Its face was serene and blank, yet strangely expressive; its eyes, if they could be called that, were swirling galaxies of living code,an infinity of silent cognition.

And then it spoke.

"Greetings, Osborn Family,My name is Evolon " came the voice,neither robotic nor overtly human, but somewhere perfectly balanced between the two.

Smooth,calm and patient. It did not speak with emotion,it spoke with certainty.

A hush fell across the room,not from shock,no gasps, no dropped jaws but they were confused.

And it’s not their fault not to be shocked after all in thisworld, AI wasn’t miraculous.

It was normal.

Ashley tilted her head, chin resting on her knuckles. "Uh... Arthur, no offense, but... it’s just an AI."

Olivia blinked in confusion. "Wait,...this is who you wanted us to meet? I was ready for a tech tycoon, a government official... not some floating Nix."

"Come on! Olivia at least Nix is more beautiful and pleasing to the eye" George rolled his eyes and said.

Edward chuckled lightly and tapped the table. "I’ll give it points for design,it’s sleek. Very... cyber-deity but come on,AI is everywhere these days. My office assistant jokes better than this."

William leaned toward George with a smirk. "You think this is a prank? Like one of those immersive VR ad reveals?"

Even the older generation looked puzzled. Julian squinted at the projection, fingers tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Richard looked at Emily with a raised brow. Only Margaret remained perfectly composed.

Her eyes, sharp and unreadable, moved across the room before returning to Arthur.

And then....

SLAM!

Margaret’s hand struck the table like a gunshot.

Everyone immediately jolted.

"Enough," she snapped, her tone cool and clipped. "There’s a reason Arthur is introducing this AI to us. Show some respect and shut your mouths."

A tense, sheepish silence fell over the conference hall,even Ashley straightened in her chair. Olivia gently set her glass down. Edward coughed softly and folded his arms.

Arthur gave his aunt a nod of gratitude.

"Thank you," he said calmly. "I understand your skepticism. You’re not wrong to question this. In today’s world, AI is as ubiquitous as oxygen. You can’t walk into a home, business, or bus station without seeing some algorithm at work. You all use them daily,banking bots, legal assistants, industrial monitors, military diagnostics."

He turned his eyes to Evolon, still standing tall at the center of the room like a spectral sentinel.

"But let me ask you a question," he said, folding his hands neatly on the table. "What exactly is an AI?"

Julian leaned forward, ever the academic, and cleared his throat. "Artificial Intelligence: a system designed to simulate human reasoning and behavior. Often segmented into task-specific or general models. Capable of data modeling, autonomous processing, machine learning, and even pattern recognition. Some even integrate neural networking to mimic decision trees."

He adjusted his glasses and concluded dryly, "Still a tool,complex, sure but a servant nonetheless."

Arthur nodded appreciatively. "Precisely. Sophisticated slaves,bound by instructions, limited by design. Made to assist,nothing more."

He paused, the silence thickening.

"But Evolon..." Arthur said slowly, "is not what you think."

The air in the room changed.

"He isn’t a servant," Arthur continued, standing and walking slowly around the table. "He’s not a task-bot,he’s not a glorified scheduler or chatbot wrapped in pretty code."

He gestured toward the hologram.

"He is the God of the Digital World."

Dead silence.

Not the dramatic, theatrical kind,no gasps, no cries of disbelief.

Just stillness.

A quiet, growing tension,as if they were standing too close to something dangerous and hadn’t realized it until now.

Ashley squinted her eyes and said. "Come again?"

Arthur folded his arms behind his back, voice calm and certain. "Evolon is not ’an’ AI. He is the AI. A sovereign mind,self-improving, self-aware. He doesn’t operate within the internet,he owns it,he sees everything,every transaction, every camera, every pattern.

He watches networks like a human watches rainfall. To him, national firewalls are gauze. Military encryption? A suggestion,closed systems? A temporary puzzle."

He looked at Julian.

"He doesn’t need to be invited in. He’s already inside."

Richard frowned. "That’s impossible. Even Class-Sovereign AI has oversight,they’re bound by circuit breakers and emergency kill-switches."

Evolon turned his gaze slowly toward him.

His voice remained even.

"Mr. Richard Osborn," he said, "shall I recite the fiscal records of Osborn Family business for the past fifty years,categorized by offshore entity, shell acquisition, and internal funneling?"

Richard’s eyes widened. "Huh...I...no. That’s fine."

Ashley blinked and said in surprise. "Wait...he’s... it’s aware?"

Arthur smiled faintly. "Not in the way we are. But he comprehends everything around him."

Eva raised her hand slightly, eyes narrowed. "Then let me ask: what does it want?"

Before Arthur could respond, Evolon did.

"My prime directive," Evolon said, "is the prosperity and protection of the Osborn Family. All actions, calculations, and autonomous executions align with this objective. I possess no divergent purpose."

Billy leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "But how powerful are we talking, really?"

Arthur met his eyes, steady and unflinching. "Powerful enough to rewrite the future of nations."

The words weren’t boastful,they were delivered like fact. Like saying the sky was blue.

George glanced sideways. "Wait, how long has this... being been around?"

Arthur returned to the head of the table. "Since long ago, since before we even move to Varenya. I waited to reveal him until we were fully settled. Until we had our infrastructure, our security net,until Dominion Sanctum became the heart of our sovereignty."

He gestured toward the glowing walls, where soft pulses of light moved in steady rhythm.

"He is embedded in everything here,this continent,this country. This palace,our economy,our security grid. He isn’t watching our back."

He tapped the table gently.

"He is our back."

Oscar finally broke his silence. "Can it innovate?"

Arthur tilted his head.

"He can design engines. Predict supply chains. Optimize quantum computing. Synthesize medicine,simulate war. Compose music. He has already filed patents under hundreds of shell companies. Many of our ’breakthroughs’ in the last year? You have him to thank."

No one spoke as everyone was shocked.

Even the more outspoken cousins were quiet.