Blake looked around, honestly, the place was unexpectedly big. From the outside, it hadn’t looked nearly this large.

Maybe it was the architecture, but the museum had an antique vibe to it.

Tall arches, dark wood, old stone and elegant decorations, the kind of building that looked like it belonged in a history documentary.

Blake stuffed his hands into his pockets as he slowly turned around.

"So, where do we start?"

Anthony smiled, seemingly ready to speak.

Honestly, Blake hadn’t seen him look this comfortable in a while.

This place was clearly his territory, he looked completely at ease.

"We should go this way."

Anthony pointed toward the right side of the museum.

"Huh. Why there?"

"First important figures."

"Ah, I see."

That made sense, he wanted a chronological route.

’I am about to have the classic museum experience after a long time...’

The two of them began walking.

Soon enough, the first exhibits appeared.

There were large statue, interactive screens and historical recreations.

’Feels pretty weird to be in such an advanced world... almost two hundred years ago, they had normal, colored pictures already.’

The first scientist showcased was Alver Rehn.

Apparently the first person to mathematically demonstrate atmospheric pressure variations and use them to predict weather patterns.

A pretty big deal, but it was basically almost five hundred years before.

Then came Celia Morvant.

The woman who discovered the existence of microbial symbiosis centuries before modern equipment could properly observe it.

Her theories had been ridiculed for decades, only for later generations to realize she had basically been correct...

"That must’ve felt nice."

Anthony blinked.

"What?"

"Being right."

"After dying?"

"...Well, good point, must’ve also been frustrating, like ’why didn’t you listen from the very start?’"

Anthony laughed, nodding.

"Well, no, she must’ve also been happy, since her goal was to advance the world."

Then they continued.

Another display showcased Dorian Vance.

The inventor of the first practical energy-transfer network.

Apparently before him, power generation was localized.

His system allowed cities to share energy across massive distances.

Blake stared at the model.

"Wow."

"Hm?"

"He basically invented the equivalent of civilization not collapsing."

"More or less."

"That’s terrifying."

"Why?"

"Imagine messing up that invention."

Honestly though... the order of discoveries felt weirdly familiar.

The scientific progression itself followed almost the same path as Blake’s previous world.

First observations, then chemistry, then electricity, then machinery and then advanced computation...

Different names.

Different people.

But the same ideas, more or less.

It was almost comforting.

At least reality still seemed capable of arriving at similar conclusions.

’Humans truly never change, no matter the world they’re in...’

Eventually they reached an area filled with interactive experiments.

Now that was more interesting.

"Oh."

Anthony immediately looked more excited.

Blake raised an eyebrow, snorting.

"What is it that got you smiling?"

"You’ll see!"

The first station involved gravity.

Several metal tracks curved around a large central sphere.

Visitors could release objects from different heights and watch how the trajectories changed.

Blake immediately grabbed one.

"This looks fun."

Anthony grabbed another.

The two of them released them simultaneously.

Anthony’s reached the end first.

Blake narrowed his eyes.

"Again."

"What?"

"Let’s do it again!"

As the three minutes later, Blake had still not won.

"This thing is so rigged."

"I don’t think it is, Blake... it follows physics."

"At this point then, physics is rigged."

A few exhibits later, they found a pressure chamber simulation.

Then a magnetic field display.

Then a machine capable of generating tiny artificial tornadoes.

Blake spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to destroy one using strategic hand placement.

But it did not work, unfortunately.

After that, they moved into a more modern section, and the atmosphere changed immediately.

The antique aesthetic gradually disappeared: there was much more glass, metal, screens, prototypes, machines.

’Now, this looks more familiar...’

Anthony slowed down.

"Oh."

"What?"

"This section is so beautiful."

Blake looked at him, then at what he was looking at.

The first major exhibit was dedicated to modern automation.

Then industrial robotics.

Then military engineering.

And then...

Blake stopped.

A large holographic display rotated above the room.

Polina Ennica

Pioneer of robotic defense systems.

Blake blinked.

"...Huh."

That definitely rang a bell.

Where had he heard...

’Oh, the jewelry company, wasn’t it?’

He looked toward Anthony.

"Um, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Ennica, isn’t that the jewelry company?"

Anthony nodded.

"Yeah, it’s a famous one throughout the country... if you’re wondering, she’s from that family."

’I was right.’

Anthony looked toward the display.

"I think she was the great-great-granddaughter of the company’s founder. Apparently she wasn’t interested in jewelry."

"Clearly."

The hologram shifted, several robotic models appearing.

Polina Ennica.

The woman credited with conceptualizing the world’s first autonomous robotic defense network.

An entire system of machines capable of communicating and coordinating responses without direct human commands.

Nothing short of revolutionary.

’That is... a little unexpected, why have I never read about her on the internet?’

Then his eyes drifted lower toward a smaller section, on the date of death.

It was twenty years ago, and the cause unknown.

Blake’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Twenty years ago, that’s when the previous CEO of AL-TECH had died. Can’t be a coincidence, right...?’

His gaze lingered on the display.

At the conception of AOP, there had been collaboration between AL-TECH and Ennica.

That much he knew, it was a matter of investment.

Corporate partnerships, the usual.

And, of course, the whole connection with Ennora’s ring, although he doesn’t know how or if that even went down.

’Well, at this point, it might be the way I thought it... was Polina the bridge?

In either case, nobody else in that family seemed to possess her kind of engineering expertise.

At least from what little Blake knew.

Whatever the matter was, jumping to conclusions wasn’t the answer, he’d already learned that lesson.

’Well, the research will go for later.’

Still...

If memory served correctly, the cooperation between AL-TECH and Ennica hadn’t even been primarily technological.

In return for whatever monetary support Ennica gave, AOP had developed precision kinetic stabilization systems for luxury jewelry to repay them much after.

Tiny mechanical frameworks capable of keeping gemstones perfectly positioned regardless of movement.

Completely unnecessary and ridiculously expensive, while apparently very popular.

’Rich people truly are fascinating creatures...’

After another hour of exploration, Blake finally sighed.

"I’m hungry."

Anthony nodded immediately.

"Same."

"The café sounds nice, right?"

"Sure."

The museum café wasn’t particularly crowded, thankfully.

A few minutes later, they ended up sitting at a table with two sandwiches and drinks.

Blake took a bite.

"Anthony."

"Hm?"

"Come here."

"...Why?"

Blake pulled out his phone.

"Oh, you want to take a picture?"

"Yup!"

Click.

There cheek to cheek, with Anthony smiling shyly and Blake smiling brightly.

Blake immediately opened his messages and selected a certain person, sending it.

Having a great time with him!

"So, is Asher busy over the next few days?"

Anthony nodded.

"Yeah, probably for another week."

Blake hummed.

"A week, huh."

"Something like that."

"Research again?"

Anthony thought about it.

"Partly."

"Partly?"

"He also has to meet a tutor."

"A tutor?"

"Yeah."

Blake quietly ate another bite.

’Does he mean Alfred Hicth? Eh, is Anthony even aware of the connection? But then again... how far could that even go?’

At this point, uncovering anything meaningful would require Asher himself revealing something about his alter ego.

’Yeah, no way.’

They went and returned the trays, heading then outside.

The warm air greeted them immediately.

Honestly, the museum visit had been pretty fun.

’Where should we even go now, I need more pictures—’

"Hey!"

Anthony suddenly waved.

Blake blinked.

Someone was approaching.

It was a tall, well dressed man.

The man smiled upon spotting Anthony, then immediately squeezed his shoulder.

"How’s everyone doing?"

"Yeah, we’re all good!"

"Your parents?"

"Super tired, especially during this time, you know how it goes..."

The man laughed.

"Absolutely! What about Asher?"

"What do you expect, he’s busy."

Blake awkwardly stood beside them.

This was probably his family, so none of his business.

But then, the man’s attention shifted toward him.

"Oh?"

He smiled.

"Out with a friend?"

Anthony nodded.

"Yeah. This is Blake."

Blake immediately straightened.

"Hi."

The man nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

Then Anthony casually added.

"Oh, he’s Asher’s uncle."

Blake’s brain stopped for a second. Then, his eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.

’Wait, what? This is Asher’s uncle? This guy? What are the fucking odds?! Why is he even here?’

Anthony continued speaking completely unaware of Blake’s internal crisis.

"He’s actually the reason we got in for free."

"Ah."

He smiled.

"Thanks, sir."

"No problem."

The man waved casually.

Blake studied him discreetly, he wanted to ask if he worked here, just casually but... that felt dangerous.

At this point almost everyone connected to Asher felt like a mystery box.

And Blake wasn’t eager to look weird, at least not in person.

Thankfully, the conversation remained brief and, a few moments later, Anthony said goodbye.

The man wished them well, then they both left.

Once they were far enough away, Blake finally spoke.

"You guys close?"

Anthony nodded.

"Pretty much, but as you know we’re not technically family. Just, when we were kids, me and Asher played with him all the time."

"Huh."

"My parents basically treat him like family."

Honestly... he figured as much, still he knew nothing about Asher’s parents, he literally had no names to search up

"What’s his name?"

"Sylvan Nada."

’Doesn’t ring a bell, at all...’

Still, it was something.

And honestly, the guy hadn’t looked like a museum employee, nor had he looked like a tourist.

The formal clothes alone suggested otherwise.

Before Blake could think further... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ding.

He looked down.

It was a message from Zlatan.

Let’s eat at this place

Attached below was a restaurant.

Blake stared.

Then laughed.

’This is the second time he is useful! Now I have more ways to make Myles jealous!’

Anthony glanced over, then raised an eyebrow.

"...Is that the same guy from before?"

Not sounding particularly excited.

Blake scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly.

’Ah, jeez. Look at this.’