Cosmic Editor

Chapter 16: Buying a 'house'

After finally getting himself together, David's thoughts began racing. He was now an international millionaire and a local billionaire; things had to be different, most especially how he could live with himself if he bought the cheapest villa on the list.

"Let's go with the mountain. We're rich now!" He screamed in joy.

[Affirmatives, I shall begin all procedures for purchase; however, note that certain parts will require your physical presence, so be ready.] The Nigerian government may be majorly corrupt and ineffective, but they are still a government] Nous warned

"I have no issues with that; I have nothing to hide."

[Excellent, though do note that it may take at least two weeks before you can officially move into the estate. Do you agree with these terms?

"Obviously, I have lived here for three years; what is two weeks compared to that?"

He clearly wasn't even thinking about anything other than the money he had just seen. He, just like any other human, wouldn't think straight after seeing such an amount in his or her account.

Thankfully, the decision this time was not a serious one, nor was it something that required deep thinking. Nous, seeing its master's overjoyed state, simply decided to handle everything else by itself.

Any artificial intelligence of its caliber or that was anywhere close to it would know that its master's thinking capacity had been compromised, and at the moment, the wealth was blinding him.

If not, he would have considered the background investigations, the possibility of them planting a spy camera in his new estate, and the possibility of the government interfering in his business because of how profitable it was.

Thankfully, he had an A.I., which had long since considered all of that and more. Nous immediately contacted the government agency responsible for such matters, and thus talks concerning the purchase of the estate began.

David himself spent the next hour randomly dancing and singing around his small apartment. It was understandable, but after all the excess joy left his system, some of his reasoning slowly began to return.

"Hey, wait, will they run a background check on us and the company?"

[It is standard protocol, sir]

"What if they find out that this entire company is just me? Your existence can't be known to them; it's only one guy."

[You really underestimate how much a guy with the right smarts can accomplish. Many popular companies began with one guy in his house. Also, never forget that this is the Nigerian government we are dealing with. An extra dollar goes a long way] Nous replied

Hearing the AI, David couldn't help but reason out the logic in her statements. He may not know exactly where the Nigerian government stands on the list of the most corrupt governments, but like every government out there, you can buy your way into obscurity.

Apart from that, he had ensured to register everything concerning the company, even though he had paid an extra thirty thousand naira just to get it done quickly.

The fact that everything was registered and, from what he saw, his taxes had been paid, so they had nothing on him

He was safe... That is, if they don't pull some random stuff out of their ass just to collect some money from him.

"If you say so," David replied as he relaxed into his seat as a weird wave of calmness overcame him.

He had gotten a house, or, well, a mountain that he could use to do anything he wanted, so the next obvious thing was to change his wardrobe, but how exactly does he go about that?

He neither had a fashion expert around him nor did he have any place to put his clothes when they arrived.

"Nous, what do you think I should go for next—a car or simply changing my wardrobe?" David asked sincerely.

[I would suggest you start with your morning exercise, sir.] Nous replied without even skipping a beat, almost as though he was expecting that from him.

"Oh... Come on, I thought that was a one-time thing," he complained.

[No, it is not, sir.] To advance as an editor, you need a powerful physical body and the ability to barely claim to be stronger than your fellow humans]

"Is that a fancy way of calling me weak?" David asked somehow, not offended.

[No, sir, if I wanted to call you weak, sir, I would... I am programmed to tell you the truth at all times, and now you are yet to be considered strong, even amongst the weak]

"Harsh!" David replied with a faked laugh.

However, deep inside him, the hurt was real. Nous may have just been following her programming, but this was too much.

The worst part of it all was that he couldn't see the lie in the statement; he was weak, and he knew it. He wouldn't say that he was fat or obese, but he knew that staying indoors continuously for the last few months had added even more fat to his already chubby appearance.

He was weak, and it wasn't just a statement; it was a fact. However, Nous's statement could also be stated to be a thing of pride in a twisted way.

Nous was omniscient, and by the very definition of the word, it meant that it was 'all-knowing' or 'know all'. He may be weak by her standards, but said standards spanned all of reality.

The Omniscient A.I. was comparing him to gods, aliens, monsters, and possibly even the administrators as well.

Following this twisted train of thought, David stood up and boldly walked out of his apartment and into the small garage in the compound.

As usual, Nous generated the holographic shadow and blocked his pain receptors to prevent him from collapsing under the incoming pain.

In preparation, David also steeled his resolve and planned to follow through with it all to the end. Soon, David could be seen under the garage performing some strange movements.